Arsenal Youngsters Let Down By Experienced Players
Match Review: Arsenal 1 Southampton 2 - Capital One Cup 23.09.14
Arsenal are out of the Capital One Cup after just one round, following a disappointing game against Southampton. With a mixture of youngsters, fringe players and first team stars, it was always going to be difficult to produce a cohesive performance and it proved too much as we succumbed to a Southampton side who played well, but certainly weren’t world beaters.
The team that took to the field on Tuesday night retained only one of the starting XI from the weekend, with Calum Chambers moving from right back to centre back. The nineteen year old was partnered by fellow youngster Isaac Hayden, making his first team debut and the centre backs were flanked by Hector Bellerin and Francis Coquelin. In midfield there was the wondrous sight of a living, breathing Abou Diaby starting a game, with Wilshere for company and Rosicky in front. The flanks saw Podolski on the left and finally a chance for Joel Campbell to show his worth. The most surprising inclusion was Alexis, who started in the central striking role. Quite the mixture, but under the circumstances, it was the sort of line up many had predicted, especially with Sp*rs on the horizon.
Arsenal took complete control of the opening exchanges, controlling the possession and probing at the disciplined Southampton defence. Our midfield an attack was unquestionably stronger than our defence so it was important to keep the ball and try to create early opportunities. On fourteen minutes, we won a free kick on the edge of the area and Alexis stepped up and showed us what £35m gets you. The Chilean whipped a stunning strike over the wall and it fizzed into the very top of the top corner. I don’t think I could have placed it better with my hands, it was simply unstoppable. The hope would have been that that stunning strike would have settled the younger players down and helped us get a strong grip of the game. Unfortunately, it didn’t pan out like that.
Whilst we looked fairly good going forward, at the back we looked a bit of a mess. Bellerin looks very raw and Chambers suffered without a more experienced partner to help him. But it was a far more experienced player who set us back, when Tomas Rosicky went diving into to a stupid challenge just inside the area and gave away a penalty. Now, I will say, there was only slight contact and Mané threw himself to the ground in a way that would make Arjen Robben blush with embarrassment. It’s one of those that could have easily not been given, but you can also understand why it was given. The fault lies with the challenge from Rosicky, which was reckless and unnecessary, given that Mané was moving away from goal. Tadic stepped up, Ospina went down early and it was easy for the Southampton forward to stroke the ball down the middle.
With only six minutes having elapsed between our opener and the Southampton equaliser, it was a very disappointing set back. I felt that if we could have taken that lead into half time we could have played the second half on the counter attack and probably picked Southampton off with our quick attack. As it was, we didn’t even make it to half time level. A Southampton corner was headed out of our box and fell to Nathaniel Clyne, about 35 yards out. Wilshere jogged out to close him down and then seemed to think better of it and held his position on the edge of the box. Clyne took advantage of the courteousness shown by blasting the ball high into the roof of the net, leaving Ospina wondering what had happened. Looking back at it, not only should we have been sprinting out to stop the shot, but Ospina could have done a lot better. Maybe it was the lack of playing time and the recent return from injury, but he looked rusty and nervous all night.
The second half was a bit grim in all honesty. Our attack and midfield looked like they had no idea who one another were and the defence got progressively worse throughout the game, losing their shape and finding themselves out of position. It wasn’t their fault, Southampton played pretty much their first team and that back line had barely even seen each other before, let alone played together. At the other end, we created very little and even the introductions of Cazorla, Chamberlain and Akpom failed to bring us any joy. In the end, Southampton actually looked the most dangerous on the break and we meekly succumbed to the defeat.
Obviously any defeat is disappointing and especially when you had both home advantage and taken the lead. But I doubt this will cause uproar amongst the fans, it’s just disappointing that we’re out of a winnable competition this early, especially as it was our own mistakes that caused it. The younger players acquitted themselves well, it was actually the more experienced Rosicky and Podolski who were the most disappointing.
Still, a number of players will have got some valuable experience and there are definite positives to take: Diaby didn’t get injured, Coquelin was excellent, Hayden got a valuable ninety minutes and played well. Hopefully this defeat won’t affect us at the weekend, with the majority of the starters unlikely to feature from the beginning against Sp*rs. I’m sure most fans would agree, out of this game and the Sp*rs game, I’d rather we mashed the Spuds.
Teams
Arsenal (4-2-3-1)
Ospina, Bellerin (Akpom 86’), Chambers, Hayden, Coquelin, Diaby (Cazorla 67’), Wilshere (Y), Podolski, Rosicky (Y), Campbell (Chamberlain 71’), Alexis
Subs
Martinez, Mertesacker, Gibbs, Cazorla, Chamberlain, Akpom, Ajayi
Southampton (4-3-3)
Forster (Y), Clyne, Gardos, Fonte, Targett (Y) (Bertrand 85’), Schneiderlin, Wanyama (Y), Davis, Tadic, Mané (Long 72’), Pellé (Y)
Subs
Davis, Long, Cork, Bertrand, Mayuka, Reed, McCarthy
Player Ratings
Ospina - 5/10 - A tough debut, kicking was atrocious and should have done better for the winner
Bellerin - 6/10 - Had a bit of a tricky time, but worked hard and looks talented
Chambers - 7/10 - The lead man in defence, it was a tough game, but he did well
Hayden - 7/10 - Acquitted himself very well and looks a good option for 4th centre back
Coquelin - 8/10 - The stand out performer and could have worked himself into Wenger’s plans
Diaby - 6/10 - A ‘meh’ performance, but you can forgive that considering what he’s been through
Wilshere - 7/10 - Looked the best driving force, but made a big mistake for their winner
Podolski - 4/10 - Anonymous and profligate, difficult to see what he brings to the team now
Rosicky - 4/10 - A rare shocker for the veteran, he was wasteful and gave away a dumb penalty
Campbell - 6/10 - A big opportunity for the winger, but he didn’t really take it
Alexis - 8/10 - Worked unbelievably hard, scored a stunner and surely will start on Saturday
Subs
Cazorla - 5/10 - Didn't really improve us and looked very frustrated
Chamberlain - 5/10 - Similarly ineffectual
Akpom - N/A
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