Dial Square Story – Part 3
The continuation of my Arsenal career storyline. You can find the previous part here.
December 2010
Premier League
Tottenham 0-1 Arsenal
With Adler injured, Fabianski got the chance to prove himself worthy of his contract. During the first half, Walcott was tearing apart the Spurs backline, and had a couple of chances to score, but it was 0-0 at the break. Second half and Walcott continued his destruction, and finally scored in the 55th minute. I wanted to keep him going, so I instructed the team to have Walcott as target man and a run onto ball instruction. Even though Theo huffed and puffed, it all ended 1-0.
Premier League News
Manchester United were finally catching up to Arsenal and Chelsea at the top, and they were now 3rd – 6 points behind Chelsea, and 13 (!) points behind us. Spurs were 5th, on the same points as Man Utd. Aston Villa had 2 games in hand, and if they won both, they’d be 3rd. Wolves managed to get themselves away from the relegation zone after a very poor start, and were now having a good spell, being able to reach 11th place if they won their game in hand.
Arsenal 2-0 Sunderland
Next up was Sunderland at the Emirates. Cesc had returned to full training, but we were playing Villa away in 4 days, so I wanted to save him for then. Djorou, Ramsey, Rosicky and Chanakh got to rotate a little, as I expected a somewhat easy game against Sunderland. After 30 minutes of pure propaganda football, Chamakh scored his 5th goal of the season. We were very unlucky not to be 7-0 up at halftime, as we fully dominated the game, making 30 passes in a row, and having 15 shots on goal. In the 66th minute I brought Cesc on to get some grass before the Villa game. We couldn’t break through, and Sunderland had a good spell in the last 20 minutes of the game.
Aston Villa 0 -1 Arsenal
Cesc got his first start after his injury and looked sharp, but even though we dominated yet again, it was a very dull match. Villa were playing anti-football and Richard Dunne got sent off early. 1-0.
Arsenal 3-0 West Bromwich
With WBA dead last in the league, I thought about rotating a bit, but next game was a FA Cup fixture, and I always let the reserves play those. So full force it was. Cesc finally had a decent game, and Subotic scored his first goal for the club from a Cesc free-kick.
Halfway through the 2010/2011 Season
So with the 19th game being played, I had now played half of the fixtures in this season. We were number 1 and Chelsea were 8 points behind us, with one more game played. We had scored the most goals in the league, and also kept the most goals out. We were also undefeated so far, taking our streak up to 25 games in a row unbeaten. Last time someone won against us in the premiership was march 2010, almost a year ago.
Champions League
Before the Fiorentina game, 4 of the other groups played their final games of the group stage. Biggest scandal was that Barcelona didn’t manage to get out of their group, as Shakhtar and Man City had a lucky year. Europa League action for the spanish champions, and things just seems to have fallen apart since Inter took them out of the CL last year. ;)
Arsenal 4-1 Fiorentina
Seeing how important this game was – needed at least a draw to be safe – I took a gamble on Adler, who just returned from a small injury. Cesc, Diaby and Nasri were out, and Ramsey had a small injury as well. I wanted to play Rosicky on the left flank instead of Wilshere, to get some experience in there for this important match, but since I didn’t really have any options in midfield, Rosicky took a more central position, and Wilshere got yet another start.
Van Persie put us up 1-0 early in the game, and then 2-0 up shortly after. At least I was feeling safe about qualifying now, and at halftime it was 3-1, while Celtic was up 2-1 against Standard.
In the second half we were looking nervous and shaky at first, but Wilshere was starting to do some very impressive stuff down the left. He harassed the Fiorentina right back, dribbled and had a couple of very good shots at goal. He started to get tired though, and after Walcott made it 4-1, I subbed Wilshere for Barazite.
Celtic somehow let a 2-1 lead slip to a 3-4 defeat against Standard, so we were comfortably through to the knockout stages.
First Knockout Round
We were drawn against St Etienne, who were having a good season in France. First leg was away, which I preferred. Their star player of the season so far was Bergessio, a striker who had scored 15 goals in 17 league games. In other parts of the draw, Inter got an easy one against FC Copenhagen, while Chelsea and Roma would battle for the quarterfinals.
League Cup
Aston Villa 3-0 Arsenal
Straight after the 1-0 win in the premiership, we had to play Villa away again in the League Cup. I really wanted the youngsters to succeed in this competition, and they only needed to win three more games to lift the trophy.
Szczesny
Hoyte – Nordtveit – Bartley – Traore
Ramsey – Emmanuel-Thomas – Randall
Barazite – Bendtner – Vela/p>
We started out very shaky, and Aston Villa started their first choice team. We were 2-0 down after 10 minutes, and it wasn’t looking great. Villa were disruptive, pressing, dirty and made it very difficult for us to get anywhere. It was 3-0 at halftime, and I gave my young guns the hairdryer treatment for the first time this season. We looked a little better in the second half, but it was still lacking movement, and Bendtner shot straight at the keeper several times. No Mickey Mouse trophy this year.
On a good note, Jay Emmanuel-Thomas showed some amazing fighting spirit and fire. Still don’t know what to do with him in a couple of weeks when the January window opens up. He’s had some good performances lately, so maybe I should just show some faith in him, while retraining Djorou for the position as well.
January 2011
Premier League
Arsenal 2-1 Stoke
Diaby had finally returned to full training, but I didn’t want to rush him and risk another injury. Stoke were dangerous and were getting into our penalty area on numerous times in the first 15 minutes. Something was wrong with the team today. Ricardo Fuller scored in the 20th minute, and Cesc scored an awesome goal a couple of minutes later. Wilshere made it 2-1 in the second half, just before Faye got sent off.
Bolton 1-3 Arsenal
Bolton next, and Van Persie had a very good day, scoring twice in the first half. My gamble on Diaby was a mistake though, and he came off injured in the 67th minute. Comfortable win again, and still undefeated.
Wigan 1-2 Arsenal
I was getting tired of Cesc’s consistently poor form, getting 6.8-6.9 every game, so I decided to start putting pressure on him, by first telling him that I expect a performance, and then saying I’m disappointed in him if he’s below 7.5 at halftime. It seemed to work, and Cesc ended on a 8.6 rating.
Arsenal 0-0 Manchester City
So to get Cesc to perform better, I started tinkering with his position to see what would suit him. I removed him as playmaker and target man, and I also reset all custom sliders on his position, so I could try some different roles and duties. First 30 minutes I tried Advanced Playmaker – Attack, but Cesc was at his regular 6.9ish rating. Next 30 minutes I pushed him up to an AMC to see if the problem was positional. No go there either. Last 30 I pulled him down to a Deep Lying Playmaker – Support instead, but no go there either. He just seems to not play well, no matter what position.
West Ham 0-2 Arsenal
West Ham next, and apart from Nasri, I had a fully fit team. Wilshere replaced Nasri, and I expected Cesc to play WELL FOR ONCE. Diaby instantly scored a rocket, followed by Walcott 10 minutes later. West Ham started to focus though, and managed to keep us from scoring more.
Fulham 0-1 Arsenal
Fulham wrapped up January, which was a very good month for us, and we went into the game on a 30 match unbeaten run. Cesc scored early, but Fulham was tough to break down and we went into halftime 1-0. Second half was the same deal, and even though we had 21 shots at goal, Fulham was determined not to lose with a big margin.
FA Cup
Arsenal 4-0 Crewe
Finally time for some FA Cup action, and first up was Crewe at the Emirates. Just like in the League Cup, I tried to stay away from the first choice team. In the FA Cup we’re playing rotation and fringe players close to, or in, the first team though, unlike the League Cup where we play the most promising youngsters from the Academy.
Fabianski
Eboué – Nordtveit – Djorou – Gibbs
Ramsey – Emmanuel-Thomas – Denilson
Barazite – Bendtner – Vela
2-0 up after the first 15 minutes, with another goal disallowed meant there was no way Crewe would be spared by my eager reserve players. Bendtner scored a hat-trick to make it 4-0 in the end.
Arsenal 1-1 Newcastle
Another FA Cup fixture meant I could finally keep some fringe players happy with first team football.
Fabianski
Eboué – Bartley – Djorou – Gibbs
Ramsey – Emmanuel-Thomas – Denilson
Bendtner – Chamakh – Rosicky
After 30 minutes, Bendtner scored yet again, having scored 4 goals in 2 appearances in the FA Cup. He clearly likes this tournament. He also seems to be fairly comfortable in the right wing position Walcott normally holds. 2 minutes later, Bartley made an embarassing mistake, and Newcastle took the chance to go up to 1-1.
It was still 1-1 up until final whistle, so a replay match will be played at St James’s Park at the start of February.
January Transfer Window
So half the season gone, and it was time to evaluate the position I had doubts about from the start of the summer: defensive midfielder. Alex Song was doing an good job, even though he only had a 7.15 overall rating so far (probably because I wasn’t playing him in a pure DMC position). According to Pat Rice, Song is twice the player of our second strongest DMC, which is Jay Emmanuel-Thomas.
After a couple of games where JET showed some real fighting spirit and did some good tackles, I was prepared to give him a chance until the end of the season. But just as the January window opened up, Pat Rice informed me that he thought we should transfer list JET, with the other coaches strongly agreeing. Maybe I was too hopeful? Or maybe I was slowly transforming into Wenger?
I ultimately decided to stay hopeful that my young guns would step up to the plate. After all, I had Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, Francis Coquelin, Craig Eastmond, Håvard Nordtveit and Emmanuel Frimpong, all able to play in the DMC position. I also had Djorou on a retraining schedule, making the total number of defensive midfielders (or players capable to play in that role) already at the club: 7.
Wellington Silva was finally completing his transfer from Fluminense, so the striker department was filled up and at least we didn’t need to worry about that.
Juventus was becoming desperate to sign Chamakh, trying to unsettle him through the media, and bidding around £10m. I just signed him, so they can screw. Chamakh himself claimed to be tempted, but I’ll blame that on translation.
In the rest of the world, the most notable transfers included:
Naldo to Fiorentina – £20.5m
Ricardo Carvalho to Valencia – £9.25m
Goran Pandev to Roma – £9m
John O’Shea to Juventus – £3.5m
February 2011
Premier League
Both Manchester United and Chelsea had started to slip up a lot, leaving them far behind us. Tottenham was second, 14 points behind us with one more game played. The premiership trophy seemed to be secured, for the first time in 5 years for the club.
Arsenal 3-0 Newcastle
3 days after Newcastle knocked us out of the FA Cup, it was time to set the record straight in the Premier League clash. Subotic scored a screamer in the 18th minute, and Walcott scored two goals in the second half. Take that, Newcastle. ;)
Arsenal 1-1 Liverpool
Next up was Liverpool at the Emirates. Sagna, Walcott and Nasri were still doubtful, so Wilshere got his 15th start in the league. Liverpool scored early, and then continued to close the door for the rest of the game, desperate to seal a win and end our unbeaten run. Cesc was horrible, so finally I subbed him for Nasri. This helped, and Wilshere scored in the 70th minute. Still unbeaten.
Birmingham 0-1 Arsenal
Birmingham away, and Subotic scored his second goal of the season from a corner, 30 minutes into the game. This was starting to get ridiculous, we were rock solid and just unbeatable. Another win, but also another poor performance from Cesc. It’s driving me crazy, and I’ve tried playing him in several different positions and roles, but he just can’t play well.
Arsenal 3-1 Everton
I did some tweaks to Cesc’s position again, and hopefully this will help. Once again we dominated possession, and Nasri scored after 15 minutes. After 30 minutes, I decided to try a basic 4-4-2 out, to see if the reason Cesc is underperforming has to do with the surrounding positions, maybe he gets drowned out in a three man midfield. No go, and he continued to perform below average. We still won the game, but Cesc needs to get his head straight.
Wolves 0-1 Arsenal
Took us some time to score in this very boring game. We were 21 points ahead of the second placed team (Man City) in the league, so the players seemed to not really care anymore. Nasri scored in the 70th minute to make it 1-0.
Champions League
St Etienne 3-0 Arsenal
First knockout round, an away game in St Etienne. The pitch looked bad right from the start, and St Etienne scored after 5 minutes, from an embarassing mistake from Adler. 30 minutes later they scored again, and our gameplan was being destroyed. Hairdryer treatment in the dressing rooms at halftime, and I expected us to score at least one goal in the second half. St Etienne were disciplined and effective, and I was desperate for an away goal. I brought on Chamakh instead of Nasri, and pushed the wingers up to form a pure 4-3-3. This didn’t help, and we were 3-0 down at the end of the game.
FA Cup
Newcastle 3-0 Arsenal
February started with the replay game against Newcastle, and I wanted to let Djorou try playing the defensive midfield position, to see if he would be comfortable there.
Fabianski
Eboué – Bartley – Nordtveit – Gibbs
Ramsey – Djorou – Barazite
Bendtner – Eduardo – Vela
Bendtner and Eduardo never got going, making us ineffectual up front. Meanwhile, Newcastle had a good day and scored three good goals. Another trophy out of our hands, but we still have the premiership and the Champions League to aim for.
March 2011
Premier League
Arsenal 2-0 Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough was having an embarassing season, dead last in the premiership having let in 55 goals in 30 games. We had the very important return game against St Etienne coming up, so it was time to let the fringe players have a go at some premiership action. Ramsey, Denilson, Wilshere, Gibbs, Eboué and Djorou got to start. 2-0 up within 5 minutes, but once again after early goals we couldn’t penetrate more. Ramsey got a 8.9 rating in the exact same position where Cesc is getting 6.9ish ratings, so it’s obviously a problem with Cesc, not the position.
Premier League Title
I had now effectively won the premiership, in mid-March with 7 games left. I was absolutely dominating, and if I could avoid losing in the last 7 games I had created Arsenal’s second invincible team in the clubs 125 year old history. The key to this success was two important signings: Adler and Subotic. With the defense tightened up, we were solid enough at the back to avoid losing. We could get scrappy 1-0 wins here and there, which helped alot.
Arsenal 2-1 Manchester United
Man Utd came to visit the Emirates, and if we won this game we would officially win the premiership, even though it was effectively ours already. But a win over Man Utd to win the title is always sweet. Man Utd were playing a rock solid midfield trio of Carrick, Fletcher and Hargreaves, making it very difficult for us in midfield. Nasri scored twice to win us the title, in a tighly contested game.
Champions League
Arsenal 2-1 St Etienne (2-4 aggregate)
So we needed to score at least 4 goals, while avoiding conceding, in order to go through to the next round. Not an easy task, and St Etienne were sure to park the bus. Since Ramsey had such a good game against Middlesbrough, and Song was out…I experimented putting Cesc in the holding midfield role, and Ramsey in Cesc’s position. St Etienne scored after 2 minutes, and now we needed to score 5 goals to go through. Van Persie scored in the 12th minute, and Cesc was playing much better in the holding midfield role than in his usual position. Van Persie was quite lonely up top, so I replaced Nasri in the 28th minute with Chamakh, and pushed both Chamakh and Walcott up to a pure 4-3-3.
Van Persie got sent off in the 36th minute, making life very difficult for us. Such a dumb move from RVP when we need to score at least 4 goals in the second half. In the 60th minute I got desperate and sacrificed my wing backs for two wingers instead, in a 2-2-3-2.
Cesc scored in the 77th minute, but the goal got disallowed. This ref was embarassing. Instead, Chamakh scored a minute later. We needed 3 more goals, but the ref was clearly wearing a St Etienne shirt. Matuidi got sent off and I made two substitutions in the second half, but the ref only gave us 1 minute of injury time. What a scam.
U18 Cup Final
While preparing for the St Etienne return game, Steve Bould sent me a text saying “lol we won teh youth cup yo”. The academy players had to battle out a penalty shootout against the Newcastle U18′s, but Newcastle missed 4 penalties.
Part 4 >