Tag: nasri

What’s the difference between Arshavin and Samir Nasri? The Creator and the Assassin – Data Analysis

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal, Data25 Comments

Statistics cannot inform every conclusion when it comes to football. They are merely descriptors for physical, tangible actions which take place on the pitch over ninety minute periods. However, data can tell the tale of the role of an individual within a team, and assess their contribution in basic form.

This season has seen the rising form of Samir Nasri capture the imagination of the footballing world, and his importance to Arsenal even prompted the placing of the Frenchman on a par with Cesc Fabregas where team selection is concerned.

By contrast another key player, who often inhabits the opposite flank, Andrey Arshavin, has been the subject of criticism over his performances in 2010/11. This season a perception has prevailed in sections of the public, which sees Arshavin as playing very poorly this season. There are valid points to this, his passing has at times been inaccurate, and there is the old criticism that he just doesn’t run enough. There is still room for debate on the topic though.

Continue reading “What’s the difference between Arshavin and Samir Nasri? The Creator and the Assassin – Data Analysis” →

Arsenal sticking to formation

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal

Samir Nasri remains convinced that the 4-3-3 formation can help Arsenal in their quest for Premier League glory.

The French international was brought to the Emirates from Marseille in 2008 and recently made his 50th appearance for the club, with his time in North London hit by a number of injury problems.

He is looking to remain at Arsenal for many years and feels he can offer a lot to the side in the future. The Gunners currently sit fourth in the Premier League table and are 11 points behind leaders Chelsea after the West London side beat them 3-0 at the Emirates at the weekend.

Nasri claims the 4-3-3 formation that Arsene Wenger has been using this season suits the players which he has at his disposal and can be used efficiently to beat teams this season.

“I think that the 4-3-3 has worked because of the quality here,” he said. “It enables not just me but everyone to express themselves. I think that at the end of last season we adopted this style against Chelsea and some of the others, but it suits me as I can play on the left, on the right or in the middle and is something I’m well suited to.”

Wenger came out earlier this week and insisted that Arsenal were still capable of winning the title despite lagging behind in the table.

According to the Frenchman, Chelsea can drop points over the rest of the season and his side need to continue picking up wins to make up ground.

Hull City 1 – 3 Arsenal Highlights

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal, Video

Hull City 1 – 3 Arsenal: Adebayor 30, Cousin 65, Nasri 82, Bendtner 86.

A strong Arsenal responded well against Hull City this weekend, as we saw the side go 1-0 up, only to concede a customary goal after half time. I always thought it looked likely we would concede, but what was good to see was the response.

With Bendtner and RVP playing well we took the initiative and instead of conceding again we defended well and RVP set Nasri up for the second and then Bendtner for the third to make it 3-1. Bendtner could have even added a fourth when his header hit the post.

Arsenal are putting a good run together at the moment, and if it continues then we will see a return in confidence. That away game was the first in a long time where we really took the game by the scruff of the neck and forced a result when it could havbe gone the way that the Villa game, and so many others went.

We need results like this, and the fact that Bendtner played well will only increase his effectiveness as confidence grows. RVP meanwhile is having his best ever season at Arsenal, and he will be key in the coming months.

Click here for the highlights.

Arsenal 1 – 1 Liverpool: Dealing with Long Balls

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal3 Comments

Arsenal 1 – 1 Liverpool: Robin Van Persie 24, Keane 42

I have to agree with Arsene Wenger. Had Adebayor not been given a second yellow in the 62nd minute Arsenal could have won today, however, the score ended 1 – 1.

Van Persie scored a lovely first half goal, after a long pass from Nasri put him into the box, and he slotted it past Reina. Liverpool responded just before half time. They were hoofing massive high balls down the pitch the whole game, and this time it fell to Keane, being chased by Djourou and Gallas, and he put it away, not much we could do.

Cesc got injured before half-time, and it seems that he has injured his knee ligaments which is grave news, meaning Diaby replaced him after half time, and went on the wing, with Denilson in the centre.

We didn’t have any of the ball early in the second half, which suprised me, as I thought that we would push for a goal. Just when we were getting a grip on the game Adebayor was sent off. A disgraceful decision, a second yellow. The first and second for nothing almost, neither were yellow cards, and this handicapped us.

After the incident the atmosphere intensified. It was like being in Turkey, Liverpool were booed and whistled whenever they were in possession, and we fought very hard.

I was proud of the way we played in the second half, and I totally agree with Wenger’s comments, that had Ade not been sent off we could have won. There was the feeling round the stadium that we were heading for a goal. The fact that Fabregas is injured, and Ade will be suspended makes me feel that we will be fighting for 4th place this season and nothing more.

Arsenal 2-1 Man Utd highlights, super Sam!

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal8 Comments

We did it! I still can’t quite believe it, but we beat Man Utd 2-1 at home. Nasri’s two fantastic goals gave us 3 points! We played with a weakened side, and we had just come off the back of some awful results and we still did it! The lift this will give the team will be amazing. The game started tentatively, but we got into our game as it went on. We defended hard throughout the match, and we did close the game, bringing on the likes of Toure and Alex Song. We still conceded in the 90th minute, to a goal which we couldn’t have saved, and that put us in for 6 horrible minutes of injury time. But a great win and special mentions to Nasri, Gallas, Fabregas and Diaby who all played fantastically!

Arsenal 4 – 4 Tottenham Highlights. How did we draw?

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal, Video1 Comment

Click here to comment on the game..

I returned from watching the North London derby feeling a little deflated, although I have to say it was one of the most exciting Arsenal games I have seen.

There was an electric atmosphere at the Grove, Bentley was abused as you might expect, and there were plenty of goals.

Tottenham scored first, Bentley (who else?) lobbed Almunia from about 40 yards. We couldn’t get the ball down in midfield and we were all over the shop.

The goal provided the usual wake up call, and we pressed back, getting a few good opportunites, with lovely passing moves, Theo and RVP linked up well. Then came our reply on ’37 – Silvestre got a goal from a corner – Gomes got nowhere near the ball, he looked very weak at corners.

We were hoping for a quick start after half time and we got it, RVP was felled and the freekick was swung into the box for Gallas to head in, 2-1 on ’46.

Things were looking up, and we went into cruise control as Ade put Nasri’s stunning chip over the line and made it 3-1.

THIS IS WHERE WE SHOULD HAVE CLOSED THE GAME.

Spurs then went on to get a lucky goal within 3 minutes, Almunia spilled a strong shot from Huddlestone, and Bent picked it up, 3-2 on ’67.

We went back up the other end and scored straight away, Hutton gifted Ade the ball, and he set up RVP for a beautiful goal, everyone went wild, 4-2..

Eboue, Diaby and Song all came on as Theo, RVP and Nasri got a rest. We seemed to relax a little – in the 89th minute Clichy (who was fantastic all night) slipped on the ball, presenting Jenas with an open run on goal, his shot went past Almunia – 4-3.

Now panic set in, and Arsenal looked in disarray, the feeling in the crowd was that we couldn’t hold on, and it was only to true, in stoppage time Modric shot took a deflection off Silvestre, which put it onto the post, it bounced back out perfectly for the onrushing Lennon who easily put it away. The few remaining Spurs fans went mental.

Tonight was very disappointing, there were positives, Denilson had a fantastic second half, and RVP played amazingly, but our defensive mistakes cost us yet again. We were unluck, but all of their goals could have been prevented by more astute defensive work.

Interestingly, two of our goals came from centre backs today – maybe representing how much more of an attacking team we are!

In all, it was an amazing Arsenal performance, but the last 4 minutes where we lost focus cost us 3 points which we thoroughly deserved.

If you liked this post then subscribe to our news feed, and get the latest match highlights and news!

Silvestre among other things against Fenerbahce

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal, Champions League

So, Arsenal have travelled to Istanbul to play Fenerbahce in tonights CL game. It’s always tough in Turkey, and we have a couple of new faces in the team.

Silvestre will start alongside Djourou in the centre and we may see Song or Eboue at right back again. I’m happy with the centre back pairing – Silvestre got better as the game went on against Everton, and Djourou is decent. I would prefer to see Eboue at RB, as Song doesn’t look comfortable there.

Nasri and Walcott should take the wings, as they are our best choices, both were fantastic against Everton, and hopefully it will be Diaby and Cesc in the centre. Nasri picked up a knock on Saturday but should be back.

Ade and RVP upfront sounds good to me too.

Almunia is taking the captain’s armband – Gallas, and deputy Toure both being injured.

“I am very proud, it is a great thing to wear the armband. I am a bit surprised because I am the oldest player on the pitch.

You can say that again Manuel – of course you are the oldest tonight – this is Arsenal remember?!

So we go into a game with a few key players out, and it is a hard game – playing away in Europe is very hard – I think Wenger knows that the home results put you through, but we have quality in the team, and I hope we can put a few goals past Fenerbahce tonight!

Come back after the game for the highlights – subscribe to our news feed here to make sure you don’t miss out!

Fabregas thinks the squad is a little thin

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal

Hello Gooners. Fabregas has been talking to the press about our threadbare squad and our style of play compared to Spain.

He raises some quite worrying points about our potential for this season, but he is positive:

“We have a short squad and we are very young, behind me Denilson and Song play, and they are 20. Walcott is 19 and Nasri is 21. Can you imagine I’m the oldest midfielder? Winning will be tough for us because we are not experienced.

“Last season I scored a lot because I had Rosicky, and Flamini who used to run all over the pitch. Hleb as well, who is like my brother. They have gone now and I feel weird. We are more conservative and strong, but with less touches.”

It seems like Fabregas is all too aware of our problems in the squad, and I think he might feel a little more comfortable with some more experienced players challenging for places. Certainly we are lacking cover in midfield right now. He explained Wenger’s policy to the press:

“Arsene Wenger has crystal clear ideas, there aren’t two like him. He doesn’t want to spend money as he prefers to trust youngsters. His idea is that Walcott can’t develop if you sign Cristiano [Ronaldo].”

He was questioned about his differing roles for club and country – the fact that he isn’t an automatic starter for Spain was mentioned:

“To me it is not an issue because I’m aware I’m young, I play differently and must adapt. I’m not an attacker that plays with his back to goal because I haven’t got the body neither the agility to do it. I need to watch what’s happening because I’m not quick neither agile. I rely on my passes and my vision.

“Nowadays we play in 5-4-1 with Spain and at Arsenal it’s always 4-4-2. At Arsenal I can move, do what I think I must do. The gaffer doesn’t make me to do anything. I feel free. With Spain it is different, you touch the ball, make lots of controls. There (in England) it’s more about counter attacks and going as quickly as possible in front of the goal.

“I know who I am. I notice a change when I’m with Spain but it’s normal – I don’t play (in La Liga) and people don’t see me. I am 21 and have so much to learn. I feel so important in England, but you should remain humble when you play football.”

When he plays for Spain he obviously feels like a young boy with a lot to learn, and at Arsenal I think he has some responsibility resting on his shoulders. Maybe it isn’t so good for him to have to be the main player in the squad at such a young age.

On scoring the last gasp header against Sunderland:

“It’s rare because I’m used to scoring set pieces including corners, and I’m not good at headers. But I’d like to improve because a midfielder that can head the ball is more efficient.

“Most of all I must improve defensively. I always want to attack, to score, to deliver, it’s my dream.”

I think Cesc is possibly the best player at Arsenal, without him we don’t tick, but he needs to feel that the club is matching his ambitions, and losing players like Hleb and Flamini has obviously affected him.

He doesn’t know if we can win the league this year with our current squad and that worries me.

Arsenal 4 – 0 FC Porto: Highlights

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal, Champions League, Video1 Comment

Arsenal responded resoundingly to their critics tonight, outplaying Porto and winning 4 – 0 to put them top of Group G with 4 points.

To watch highlights of the whole game click here.

Click Here For Our Recent Posts

Match Report

Arsenal started well, although there were a few close calls early on – a badly defended corner lead to Clichy clearing off the line, and a Porto shot skimmed the bar.

Van Persie looked so much sharper than on Saturday, and he got the first goal – a lovely move, leading to him sliding in Ade’s cross. Click to watch.

Ade got the second, heading down into the ground from a corner, the ball looped over Almu and in off the underside of the bar. Click to watch.

RVP scored again in the second half, this time taking it past the Porto defender and smashing it home with a left footed drive. Click to watch.

Ade finished the scoring from a penalty after Bendtner was brought down in the box. Click to watch.

Goals: Van Persie 31, Adebayor 40, Van Persie 48, Adebayor 71 pen.

Player Analysis

We could have scored more, Bendtner, Nasri, Eboue, Walcott all spurned chances. Walcott played well, as did Nasri – I thought he added an extra dimension to our play which was much needed. Clichy was also back to his best on the left!

Eboue, Bendtner and Vela came on, Eboue didn’t contribute greatly, except by making the crowd laugh at his imitation of Ronaldo step-overs – badly.. Bendtner, who I think is excellent, wasn’t sharp at all, but still looked ok. Meanwhile Vela performed fantastically and is definetly one to watch!

Overview

All in all a good, standard Arsenal performance, Porto weren’t great, but we kept possession well and closed them down, which made it hard for them. The goals were well taken and we could have had more. In the last 10 minutes we got a little complacent but we still won 4 – 0, a clean sheet is always welcome!

One point to make is that Porto never really got going, and we were lucky that Clichy cleared their best chance off the line. They like to play attacking and keep the ball on the ground, that is our game, and we can beat anyone at that on our day. The Fulhams and Hulls of the world are teams who you need to beat to win the Premier League.

4 points now in the CL – top of Group G, so lets take this result and push on against Sunderland on Saturday – another team who will be hard to beat.

Wenger – changes and ‘Champions League focus’ – pre-Porto

On By jamesgillespIn Arsenal, Champions League, Injuries

Arsene Wenger spoke on a large range of issues in the press conference ahead of the Champions League game against Porto.

It has been widely expected that there will be changes in the line-up that lost to Hull City, but a knee-jerk reaction will not be the correct one.

The BBC has the video of Arsene Wenger’s pre-match press conference.

Wenger said there would be changes:

“There will be changes, certainly,” the Arsenal manager said. “I will see how many, but there will be changes.

“There were enough ingredients (in the Hull game) to make me physically sick.

“What we delivered was not good enough and we know that. I believe that is more down to the mental side than anything technical.”

“What is important now is to recover and prepare for the next game,”

He then calmed speculation that the changes were being made as punishment through demotion to the bench:

“Punishment? No, you know sometimes you make changes because you consider the other team, you consider the balance of your team, sometimes because one player is not at his best,”

“If a player or two do not play tomorrow it is not a punishment, it is just because of a rotation in the side. You cannot play every single game with the same 11 players.”

“I believe the goal we conceded where we are less guilty is the corner against Hull because it was a well-taken chance,” he said. “[Hull’s Daniel] Cousin is very tall and very good in the air. It was a perfect header and that can happen to anybody.

“You gain experience through the games. At the back is where we have experience because you cannot say with Clichy and Sagna and Kolo and Gallas that we lack experience. Will Kolo play in midfield? No, not at all.

“As for Vela, it’s difficult to go into any individual case. I believe Carlos Vela is a player of the squad and the whole squad will be used over the season. You cannot go from one team to the other and change 11 players because we just lost one game.

“I believe what is happening is that players have shown quality behind the first team and that is very interesting for the future of the Club.”

On the last CL game against Dynamo Kiev he defended the team:

“The side we played against Dynamo Kiev was very young. Theo Walcott is 19, Alexandre Song is 21, Denilson is 20 and even Cesc Fabregas is only 21,”

“It is not easy to win away in the Champions League with such a lack of experience.”

“This group is tougher than in previous years. It is definitely the most even group we have had because there are no easy games.

“That makes the match with Porto more important. We know in the Champions League you qualify with 10 points, so if we win our home games we are through.

“If we can do well, then the other teams will take all the points off each other and that is why I think even draws from our away games could prove good results because all the teams will drop points.

“There is no obvious weakest team, so every game will be very important and we will have to be at a high level for every game.”

He believes that we need to regain a ‘Champions League focus’ for every game:

“I believe the Champions League is a different game,”

“We have learned from the Hull match that you need a Champions League focus in every game.

“If we are guilty of something it is that we couldn’t get our focus to the right level to take our chances.

“The analysis of the game shows that we had enough opportunities to win. On the other hand, they made 100 per cent of the few chances they had. So credit to them and damage to us.

“You have not to make too much of it. We lost a game we did not want to lose but we have enough strength inside the Club and inside the team to deal with that. It can happen but it cannot be repeated.

“I don’t think we needed to be woken up but it was a big disappointment because we felt that we had enough quality to win the game.”

On injuries the main news is that Nasri is back:

“Song has still not recovered, I had him on the bench on Saturday but he did not feel comfortable and he had a little setback.

“Nasri is fit and is in the squad.”

Gallas echoed Wenger’s comments talking about how he wants to prepare:

“What we delivered against Hull was not good enough, we know that, so the important thing now is not how many games we can lose this season, but preparing well for Tuesday night.”

All in all you can tell that the team are very dissappointed about the Hull result. Losing at home is never pleasant, and especially not against teams like Hull.

It is very, very worrying that we have lost for a second time this season to ‘smaller teams’, and that we conceded from a corner yet again – we look extremely weak when defending set pieces.

All I can hope is that the team can recover and be back to their best for the Porto match, or we will be in trouble in the CL, and pressure will build from the media and fans.

If you liked this post then read more posts and subscribe to our RSS feed by clicking here

%d bloggers like this: