From: Kevin Sheil
Date: Nov 6, 2007
Subject: AFC vs Man Utd: Substitution timing

Myles,

On your 10 observations on Saturday’s game, I was a little surprised that you did not pick up on the impact of Arsene’s substitutions which led to Utd’s 2nd goal.  OK Walcott was clearly at fault by not making the run with Evra, BUT Arsene made simultaneous substitutions of Rosicky & Hleb one minute before the goal.

I could not believe he took off two link players at EXACTLY the same time. They were replaced with Eduardo (a forward who comes on with a view to attack NOT defend), leaving Gilberto to instantly be aware of the ‘feel’ of who is doing what in Midfield. It was reckless and naive.

At least Arsene has appeared to have stopped making substitutions at defensive corners.
One day we may see him make a half-time tactical substitution !

Myles replies :

One of the best things about ANR is that we have a lot of discerning readers, so we get  thoughtful letters from fans, like this one. Kevin is making a very good point.

The substitutions last Saturday were significant, and if I was gonna make 10 observations, that should have been one of my top five observations. I thought about it but it was already a long piece and discussing all the subs, and what might have happened if subs had come on at different times, would have made the piece much longer.

With six subs coming on in 10 minutes, the game, which had been tied at 1-1 since 46 minutes, was disrupted a lot. Arsene wanted to win and time was running out. He knew that a win would be a huge morale-booster but he also knew that a draw would keep Arsenal on top with a game in hand. It WAS very, very risky to put on two strikers like Walcott and Eduardo, especially when both are still adjusting to the Premier League. But if one of them had scored and Arsenal had won 2-1, the manager would have been a hero.

Instead, Ronaldo scored immediately and Arsenal almost lost. I doubt if Arsene would do the same thing again against Man United, although he might do it against some other teams.

I’m still thinking about the United game and will still be chewing it over after the Reading game on Monday night. The 2-2 draw confirmed what I think about Arsene’s team and it also confirmed what I think about Fergie’s team .

It boils down to this : If United don’t win the league, Arsenal might.

Right now, Arsenal have only played 11 of their 38 games and so far their enthusiasm and spirit has put them on top of the table. Clearly, they are much harder to beat than last season. But, as always, football changes slightly every week, as the kaleidoscope is given a shake, and another page of history is written.

Without the injured Rooney, who has damaged ankle ligaments, will United stutter? Will they beat Blackburn on Sunday ? Blackburn are out of the Uefa Cup, so they did not play in midweek, and 43-year old Mark Hughes is tipped as Fergie’s heir.

So that is a very interesting game in which the champions could drop points. A nine-month season usually gets interesting after four months, and it often gets really interesting after six or seven months

1. It was a good game and a fair result

It wasn’t a great game or a thriller or a classic. But it  was very intense because both sides wanted to negate the other and knew how to do it.

2. The Fabregas goal was the best of the four.

Good pass forward by Eboue, Van Der Sar saved Abebayors shot, loose ball went wide, Sagna beat Evra to it and picked out the unmarked Fabregas, who passed it between Rio Ferdinand and the post to make it 1-1 in 46 minutes

3. Fabianski will replace Almunia during this season but we don’t know when.

We know that Almunia is not an Arsenal goalkeeper. Never has been, never will be. He ran out hysterically beyond Gallas to confront Evra, when it was 1-1 and 82 minutes, and Gallas was furious. He screamed at Almunia : What are you doing out here? Or words to that effect. In a match as vital as this, you don’t do that once, let alone twice. Almunia had already done the same thing in 67 minutes, when Evra was played in by Rooney. When Evra was played in by Saha, Ronaldo had a tap-in to make it 2-1

4 . Man United nullified Arsenal and Arsenal nullified Man United.

Arsenal’s five in midfield allowed them to keep the ball but they had no play in the box, apart from two well-taken goals by Fabregas and Gallas. The fast counter-attacks that Man United can launch never happened because they played a high line and that meant that there were ten players in a short zone in the middle and not enough space from which to launch their fast attackers.

Clichy had a below par game because he was playing against Cristiano Ronaldo, and Ronaldo was almost invisible because he was marked by Clichy. Ronaldo only had the ball five times but he made a goal and scored a goal. The most authoritative player by far, the player most on top of his game, the one whose thinking and running and passing were more incisive than anybody else’s, was Rooney. And he won everything in the air. But he missed a header that went four feet wide, surprisingly.

5. The goal times were very unusual.

The first goal came after the first half ended, the second goal came before the second half started, and the fourth goal came after the game had finished. That’s only a slight exaggeration.

The goal times were  45+1, 46, 82 and 90+1. The narrative was : Gallas o.g. Fabregas, Ronaldo, Gallas

6. Gallas was in a right state after the game.

The size of the game,  the hype about a billion viewers, the unbeaten run, his responsibility as captain, going 2-1 down, scoring the goal that keeps Arsenal above the champions with a game in hand – it was all too much for such a seriously professional gladiator. He was in no state to receive the Man of the Match Award or speak coherently.

Many people enjoy such raw reportage and think it’s “real reality TV”. But it’s voyeuristic and makes me uncomfortable.

Before the game, as I watched Rooney warming up below us in his red boots, and Cristiano prancing in his blue boots, I saw, in the other half of the field, Gallas with his team gathered round him, talking passionately to them. He has won two titles. He has scored vital goals. He has played left back and right back, so he can advise Clichy and Sagna, who are, like him, French. He had Arsenal’s only decent goal attempt in the first half and he told Fabregas where to place that free-kick so he could sneak across and head it downwards.

His injury-time winner was a brilliant finish from a narrow angle and while he was wheeling away to celebrate, the other players carried on, and few realised a goal had been given.

Gallas talks, leads,  cares, concentrates. A fantastic defender. I could never imagine Arsenal winning anything with Thierry Henry as captain and they never did. But I can imagine them winning the FA Cup this season with Gallas as captain. The title? If United blow it, Arsenal have a chance. Man United were better than Arsenal on Saturday but they might blow it, might drop points, might focus more on the Champions League, the trophy Fergie really wants.

7. Arsenal’s best players were Gallas, Fabregas, Hleb and Sagna.

The others were OK in their various ways. The thing to remember is that the 25 other teams Arsenal will play this season are not as talented or tough or organised as Man United. That was the hardest game Arsenal will have at the Emirates this season. And if Robin van Persie had played, they would have won.

8 Man United were lucky.

They were lucky when Howard Webb failed to see Vidic’s shirt tug on Hleb in the box in 15 and lucky again when Evra’s miskicked clearance squirted against the top of the crossbar.Their first goal was lucky. Ronaldo fizezd the cross into the six yard box at high speed and Rooney, sprinting towards the near post, tried to flick the ball across the goal, where two other United players were running in. But he missed the ball with his right foot and it hit his left ankle and flew up against the thigh of Gallas and then onto his arm and into the net. 

9. Anderson could be a helluva player.

Very competitive, balanced and fast, he is an inventive passer who can pick up the tempo of a game, whatever the tempo is, and join in very efficiently. But not all his Latin characteristics are welcome.

When I’m Prime Minister all foreign footballers working in UK will have to sign a document promising not ask the ref to book opponents, and promising not to roll over 9 times when tackled.

10. Sir Alex should be fined by the FA for saying referee Howard Webb favoured Arsenal at times.

Webb had a good game but favoured Man United at times, especially on the penalty when Vidic pulled down Hleb. He could have let three other challenges go, but gave a free-kick. Fergie was ranting in the technical area early on and it was his body language, and his ridiculous abuse of the fourth official, which provoked the crowd and triggered the comments he received from Gooners behind the United bench.

Not much to add to that.

Arsene told the Monday reporters that he would be rotating his team in November, resting players who have played every game so far, and he said RVP will come back after the international break and play his first game in early December

Before the game I wasn’t excited or worried because I hardly thought about it on Saturday. That’s one benefit of writing a preview on Friday morning. Having had to write down what I thought, I then forgot about it. I typed out my views for ANR and then forgot about it. Sure, I chatted to friends who phoned to talk about the game but I just listened to what they said and reprised what I’d said on ANR.

I went with Michael and afterwards we walked down Holloway Road towards Highbury & Islington station.

“We’ve got no strikers,” I said.

“If we had strikers, Dad, we’d win the league every year. It wouldn’t be fair.”