Blimey, I said I wasn't very interested in yesterday's match but I still watched it. The highlight of the night was the Jack Daniels I was drinking at home
I don't care that Arsenal finished 2nd, especially when you look at City with all that money being sodomised in their group and not getting even Europa League... and looking at Chelsea's task tonight, I think we could have been in a much worse position.
But if we talk about the game itself, that was very poor again from Arsenal. Our goal was an isolated fact that doesn't paint the real picture of what was happening. They were actually playing better by that time.
Vermaelen was playing great in the 1st half and then he was all over the place in the 2nd half. Look at their first goal, him and Squilaci running out of the box before the cross! What are our centre halves thinking?
Gervinho made the first goal, well taken by Rosicky, but I still don't rate the Ivorian highly. He seems to just drop his head down and run at anything in front of him, even if there are 5 opponents. There was a time yesterday when he literally tried to dribble past 4 or 5 guys!
I don't know how Wenger reacts to that. I know he gets angry at people having a long range shot, for "wasting possession", but what Gervinho often does is worse. I prefer someone actually having a shot than giving it away so cheaply.
That's where I think Arshavin is more menacing, because he will hit some shots on target. But in all fairness, when he came on in the 2nd half, the Russian looked defeated. He looks like a hopeless, broken man. He has the ability, but the attitude has been negative (and being benched by an improvised Ramsey doesn't help your self esteem).
Now, on to Ramsey. I'm not gonna be quick to slam him here, because the boy clearly isn't the same player he was before the injury. All due to that almighty cunt Shawcross and that Stoke manager who encourages that kind of stance.
Ramsey seems lost, with almost no confidence. I am actually shocked that Wenger is insisting so much and exposing him to this degree. He's been overplayed, he didn't have a summer break, having played for Great Britain in the Olympics.
But you know what's worse? Is playing the boy as a freaking winger!! It does my head in!
I don't know how the hell Wenger came up with this idea and why the hell he thought it could work. The boy is already devoid of confidence as it is, so playing him improvised in another position is a terrible mistake by Wenger IMO.
There was a particular chance in the 1st half when Chamakh headed a ball to the middle and if fell neatly for Ramsey, but he flunked his left-footed shot miserably, almost missing the ball completely, and it the buildup he still chases the ball, only to accidentally dribble it past the byline. It was truly pitiful.
I may be a pessimist, but I think that passage of play sums up perfectly what it is to play Ramsey as an attacker.
I'm really worried about WBA this weekend now. I have serious doubts we can win this one.
EDIT: yesterday I now recall seeing Gervinho, Oxlade-Chamberlain and Chamakh as the attacking trio. So Ramsey wasn't a winger last night, but I stand by everything I wrote about playing him there on other matches.
I am praying he can get back to how he was last season and hopefully the other players react to him and buck up their ideas.
