By Dan Ferguson
I love Led Zeppelin playing How Many More Times.
It felt a bit like that on Sunday. Foaming at the mouth.
Wenger showed some passion and then apologised, which was fun and rare.
Maybe he fears that pushing the fourth official and getting sent off will finally incur FA wrath?
Myles said to me before the game that he wasn’t convinced by the midfield. Nor was I.
Ramsey and Xhaka have already been described as flair players and liabilities. Today they proved how much they are willing to risk. Ramsey needs a freedom not found in Arsenal’s forward 5.
So he’s now looking for it in the back 6.
That is nearly as bad as Ozil’s attempt to dribble and retain the ball outside our box today.
Do me a favour!
If Xhaka isn’t careful, this could be his final season as an Arsenal player.
There is nothing Wenger dislikes more than a talented player who won’t listen.
A word about fouling. Virtually all of the fouls Xhaka makes, culminating in bookings and worse, could be done with his arms and hands rather than leading with his feet. A tug and pull would rarely result in a sending off. The problem is, he genuinely seems to believe he is better (and worryingly) faster than he thinks.
So we created a lot, stroked the ball around nicely, and did virtually no damage until well into the second half.
Oh how we all laughed when Ramsey tried a scorpion kick from Giroud’s knock down. Come on guys! What the hell are you doing having a giggle at 0-0 when the game should have been dead and buried by now?
There were some great touches, but also some pretty worrying gaps again.
I think Ramsey and Coq would be far more disciplined in the centre, and thanks to Xhaka we now have that for the next 3 games. Saying that, Ramsey was pants and Coq’s contribution after his first star jump/hand ball, was a penalty. Just a bad day at the office.
But how many more times can we play like this and win?
Southampton next week will batter us if we turn up like that. Then Watford will bully the bejesus out of our midfield if we run around sprinkling magic fairy dust in midfield. And Chelsea? They will grind out a solid 1/2-0 in second gear if we don’t shape up.
We can win all of these games, including Chelsea. We have the strength.
But it is time to drop Giroud in the league games and use Alexis up front again.
Welbeck for the impending away games defends and attacks with a zest that Iwobi cannot yet match.
We need results over the next 3 weeks but the players are playing at times like it is still August.
Enough rust. Enough pissing about with the the best pass to magic space. Enough being caught out of position. Back to basics. Stay tight in defence, Coq and Ramsey need to spend the next week listening to John Paul Jones and John Bonham’s timing and discipline. Ozil and Sanchez need to shape up if they were going to be the real deal Page and Plant duo.
Finally, if Wenger is going to manage the league Peter Grant style, he better not revert to Gary Barlow after the game. Passion and aggression might just be the example that many of our show ponies will respond to.
No fecking Quarter. Not any more. (Forget the ref, forget the elbows on Mustafi, forget the inconsistencies).
In fact aside from Black Mountain Side, this whole review could have been written far better quoting the remaining 8 songs on Led Zeppelin 1.
Good Times Bad Times
Babe I’m Gonna Leave You
You Shook Me
Dazed and Confused
Your Time Is Gonna Come
Communication Breakdown
I Can’t Quit You Baby
How Many More Times?
Damn.