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By 
Monday, May 19, 2014
If you are going to give your opposition a two goal lead; at least
have the good sense to do so in the first ten minutes. In three of their most
important matches of the season, Arsenal conceded very early; in the FA Cup
final as well as the league matches at Liverpool and Chelsea – Arsenal let in 8
goals within the first 20 minutes. Mr Wenger decided to start with his 2nd
choice goal keeper and although I wouldn’t blame Fabianski directly for either
goal, I think Szezesny commands his goal area with more authority and gives his
defenders more confidence.
Arsenal’s defensive shape was once again chaotic, irrespective of
whether you mark man for man or zonally, you have to take responsibility for
your actions and defend your goal in a professional manner. When Arsenal had a
corner for example, Hull City packed the six yard box forming a wall of black
and amber, Arsenal left pockets of space all over the area which were too
easily exploited. This may be the ugly side of the game, but it is the side
which Arsenal have to improve upon.
Hull City were very spirited but also played very good football in
the first 20 minutes, in fact they started the final as well as any team I can
remember. They moved the ball well; they had a game plan that comprised getting
the ball to the wide areas and then hitting Arsenal in its soft centre, Hull
also played for set pieces and, it has to be said, pressed every advantage from
the early stages of the game, including time wasting in from the first minute.
From 2-0 down, Arsenal hit back in emphatic style, Alex Bruce (as
good as anyone on the pitch on the day), gave away a naïve free kick which
Santi Cazorla dispatched just under the cross bar with superb skill. From this
moment on, I believed that Arsenal would win, but didn’t we make long, hard
work of it? This was due, in part, to Hull’s obdurate resistance but also to
the joint effect of Giroud having one of his off days and let’s face it, he has
to be at the top of his game to be good enough to play for Arsenal and Podolski
deciding to play hide and seek for 50 minutes. Add to the mix, the lack of pace
we suffer when Theo Walcott is unavailable, Ozil choosing to play only the last
half hour, giving the ball away cheaply….
Still as the game went on, Arsenal did exert telling pressure and
improved, I felt we grew into the game and improved when Podolski was replaced
by Sanogo. I can’t help but like this lad, but he makes Niall Quinn look like Johan
Cruyff. However, he was game, he showed for the ball and his sheer gangly,
cluttered enthusiasm seemed to upset Hull’s back three, in part due to his
habit of doing precisely the opposite of what was expected of him. Maybe I’ve
got him wrong and he’s actually a genius, and I’m sure he’ll improve, but the
performances of all three of our “strikers” demonstrate why we need to spend a
significant sum on a proven central forward in the summer.
Hats off to Laurent Koscielny, who was excellent from the point we
were 2-0 down. He was both sharp and brave to score the equaliser, albeit from
a corner that wasn’t. A quick memo to Steve Bruce here, I agree it wasn’t a
corner, but by the same token, you are supposed to take free kicks from the
point of the offence, not nine yards further forward (nine yards!!) and had you
been playing your old club Manchester United, you would have conceded at least
two and probably three penalties.
I think the manager delayed bringing on Wilshere and Rosicky for
too long, but as the match went into extra time, it was becoming clear that
their introduction was crucial. Hull were tiring badly and as gaps appeared
Arsenal’s player of the season, Aaron Ramsey, hit a perfect shot into the
bottom right corner. There was still time for Hull to go close twice, but after
90 seconds of injury time, the whistle went and Arsenal had won the FA Cup.
The question is, will it be like winning the 1930 final, which heralded
a platform for a period of genuine competitive status in fact, dominance, or
1979, which stands alone in between two sterile eight year trophy droughts?
Apparently, our manager will sign a new three year contract today,
whether Saturday’s victory is a precursor to an era of genuine challenge or a
one off, is largely down to him. It was good to see our owner at Wembley,
hopefully this peculiarly granite reptilian might have been moved by the sight
of how his employees and “fan base” react to actually winning something? We
will see.
I’ve not written a blog since my father passed away on May 4th.
My love of football was passed to me directly by Jim Byrne, a lifelong Celtic
supporter who loved to see attacking, passing football. He idolised Charlie
Tully, the star of Celtic’s 1950’s team and saw Real Madrid destroy Eintracht
Frankfurt in 1960 at Hampden Park. He coached a local football team from also
rans to unbeatables and claimed that the Spanish World Cup winning team had
stolen his coaching ideas!
One of my favourite memories was of Dad at the
Emirates, approaching Paul Davis and chatting with him amiably about how
Arsenal had moved the ball that afternoon and comparing it to the late 80’s
midfield. Paul couldn’t have been nicer. Goodbye to a real football man – RIP Dad.
By Ian Byrne
Follow me @RightAtTheEnd
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