Beleaguered Arsenal Survive Stern Turkish Test

Match Review: Besiktas 0 Arsenal 0 - Champions League - 19.03.14

A difficult night for the Gunners ended in a scoreless draw. On a pitch that resembled a cattle grazing field and in a typically hostile atmosphere in Turkey, we were frustrated, but in the end came away with a decent result, all things considered. Besiktas were very physical, but unlike Crystal Palace, posed a genuine threat up top with Demba Ba and former Arsenal man Ozyakup testing our defence.

The good news before the game was that Koscielny was passed fit to start following an ankle problem. Monreal replaced the injured Gibbs and Giroud replaced the injured Sanogo. But it was Demba Ba, a man who was nearly an Arsenal player last season, who nearly made instant headlines. Straight from kick off, he attempted to lob the ball over Szczesny, who only just managed to nudge the ball onto his crossbar. It was a signal of intent from the Turkish side and for the first ten minutes or so they put us under some stern pressure. Calum Chambers came to the fore with a stunning display, continuously denying Ba and others with some impressive blocks, tackles and headers.

Although the game was quite open, there weren’t many chances for either side. Ba tested Szczesny with a volley and also fired wide after a rare intake from Chambers. At the other end, Alexis looked dangerous, but was still failing to pick his passes and lost the ball too much. There are really promising signs from him at the moment, but I think we’re going to have to be patient. He’s used to a different system and isn’t quite clicking with his team mates. In terms of chances, Wilshere had a shot from distance and Giroud had two tricky chances, but he should have certainly done better with the second after a stunning set up by Ramsey.

Jack Wilshere battles for the ball in the second half. Credit: PA

In the second half, we were forced into an early change with Arteta worryingly forced off with an ankle injury. Reports after the game suggested he may not be back for months, rather than weeks, meaning we are already in the middle of a full blown injury crisis. I think it’s clear now that we need to bolster the squad, ideally with up to three players, We already know we need cover at centre back and a defensive midfielder and I think it would be sensible to sign another centre forward and loan out Sanogo. Giroud cannot spend another season being our only option and while I do think Alexis will end up playing through the middle later on, injuries will inevitably prevent that from being the status quo. We have Campbell as an option and even Chuba Akpom, but I just feel we could do with another option to help share the load. There will surely be one signing at least, but I fear that if we don’t take the necessary steps, we’ll be facing an uphill struggle from the beginning.

The standard of play dropped significantly in the second half and there were a few nasty challenges and flash points between the two sets of players. The ref went a bit mad for a bit and started yellow carding anything that moved, which was completely unnecessary as only a couple of the fouls actually warranted any action at all. There was not a lot to get excited about really, apart from a moment when one of the Besiktas players tried to start on Wilshere and ended up with Debuchy, Flamini and Wilshere himself all squaring up and telling him where to stick it. Unfortunately this was followed by Ramsey, who had picked up an initial yellow card for a nothing foul earlier in the half, receiving his second for a similarly soft foul that really didn’t deserve that punishment. There was more than a hint of a dive by former Arsenal youngster Ozyakup and the ref bought it and set Ramsey off. Very disappointing as neither of the fouls should have seen a yellow card.