Can Arsenal Players Learn To Concentrate Better?
Arsène Wenger’s men don’t have any excuses left for their performance on Saturday. Even when down to 10 men they should never have let a 4 goal lead slip. Any other team would have parked the bus and spent the second half booting the ball out of their own half. And there is no shame in doing that.
Unlikely comebacks aren’t that unlikely, especially this season and especially with Arsenal. I don’t know how many times I’ve seen a side score early on, only to become complacent and lose grip on the game. Or a side go down to ten men and work themselves into the ground in order to win. This is football and it only takes seconds to score a goal, games can change just like that.
But even if Arsenal players have not watched these kinds of games they now have several first hand experiences for themselves. Last season it was Wigan that overturned a 2-0 lead, then it was Tottenham. These kinds of results can’t be described as unlikely any more. This is football, anything can happen.
As Viera said you have to concentrate from the kick off until the referee blows the final whistle. The players have only themselves to blame for throwing away 2 points that could prove to be vital at the end of the season. They aren’t inexperience any more. This particular kind of experience has come several times now.
Will the Arsenal players learn their lessons this time and improve their concentration from start to finish? It may already be too late for this season.
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a leader on the pitch to calm, motivate and uphold a winning tactic. that’s missing. sorry but fabregas is an excellent playmaker but not exactly a Viera mould.
he should step up at times like that.
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True!!! We just lost focus !!! cant repeat this kind of feat with barcelona to come in a weeks time….
hope they recover and fight back again…forget what happened at newcastle,its still a point gained and lets focus on wolves…
End of story
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Don’t think they are capable of doing so. It just keeps getting worse with this team. Wenger alone can find the answer but he’s been doing a really bad job of it. It’s either he changes, or the board shd do something! Sick of seeing my team throw away such leads over and over
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Its nt too late. Arsenal need to concentrate on their defensive side. D stupid act of Diaby cost us 2 lose already gained points. Cos Newscatle knw dat we dnt ve a defensive midfielder in d second half compare 2 first half.
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It’s not too late, I’m sure of it.
But they need to prove to themselves by winning our next match against Wolves.
All is not lost, if you know what I meant.
Waiting for re-match against Barca.
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The game was effectively on the slide after 27 mins.
Arsenal simply stepped off the gas. This is where a true championship winning team would score another 5 to gain advantage on goal difference and destroy the opposition. No mercy given.
This is where a real captain and leader steps in. They dont allow their team to rest on a cushion. We clearly lack that.
We have seen Chelsea and United score 7 or 8 or 9 in recent seasons, but not Arsenal. They start to hit coast mode. I have seen them do this at 2-0. They thought they had won already. They were showboating after 15 mins of this game. Hence the tackles by Barton and co.
Arsenal’s players believe they play the best football? But thats a matter of oppinion. Playing in safe areas where the opposition wont challenge you looks good, nice one touch multi passing game bit which breaks down means nothing. Direct football with fast attacking play and an end product can be equally considered the best football. Depends what floats your boat.
Let’s not blame the red card. Thats a weak one. We have gone to 10 many times and played better. Lets not blame the injury. We have a big squad, (the best ever apparently) and should have cover in all positions. Football is a team game and responsibility is collective.
The failing is not to go for the jugular when a team is down. To destroy the opposition and get clean out of sight. Thus is something i havent seen in quite a while with this team.
Credit to Newcastle, not many teams would be able to do what they did, even if they did have a little help from the blatantly smirking ref. He seemed to enjoy restoring ref power over Arsenal.
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i blame rosicky and squillaci.. end of.
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ever1 seems to b putting all d blame on d players..’we lost concentration’ we did this we did dat! bt we fail to remember dat d referee was totally against u right from d sending off of diaby!
am not saying i know better than d referee but i tink that that second penalty was jst too cheap…
english referees r killing d beautiful game of soccer n it shouldn’t b so!
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Whoever said Rosicky and Squillachi to blame got it bang on – you can not expect success with either. Rosicky is simply not strong enough, mentally or physically and Squillachi not simply good enough – period!
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Watch game were you watching Neil as the referee got involved and gave two ludicrous penalty decisions to Newcastle,Arsenal didn,t blow anything the ref blew his whistle to often ,spoling the game ,do try and watch the game
in it,s entitrety without dozing off ?
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It’s not about concentration, Newcastle were fired up enough and had a helping hand with 3 of the 4 goals. They had one chalked off which should have stood. We went down to 10, which was a fair red card.
The crowd got behind Newcastle at 4-0 (do you think many of our fickle fans would get behind Arsenal 4-0 at home?) and they pressed and were helped out by the ref. We played an excellent first half, and second half we just had a lot of pressure that we couldn’t cope with. Without the two soft penalties, could you see Newcastle scoring another 2 from open play? I couldn’t. I think the first pen was certainly a sympathy penalty, I can’t explain the second one.
Anyway, it’s over, we gained a point on the league leaders and still fighting on 4 fronts. So if you’re a true supporter like me, do something crazy and unheard of, support the team and ALL the players!!
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Eamon, are you blaming the 4-4 draw on Rosicky and Squillaci? I’m so glad you’re not an Arsenal manager. Are you even an Arsenal fan? Most Arsenal fans know how to spell their players names. Do you even know football or just following the crowd? Squillaci didn’t put a foot wrong when he came on. Did you even watch the game? Rosicky didn’t have the best game when he came on, but he’s only getting hammered as Dowd somehow gave a penalty against him and a soft free kick against him which led to the equaliser.
They are both better than you, that’s a fact, and even if not first choice and one of our better players, they are still better than any other teams (possibly in the world) 4th choice defender and say 4th choice midfielder.
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the problem is squillaci, he doesn’t work with djourou, nor with koscielny, and when denilson is around he is even worse. Though Wenger hasn’t acknowledge that yet.
Without anyone holding on the midfield Squillaci is worse than sh**.
This guy might good with the head, and everything that is technical, that’s why he is an arsenal player, but he is the sh*** ehn it comes to is psychology, he has no brain nor vision (i mean vision, he seems to be a blind player when you look at him moving on the pitch).
The issue also reamins on picking the right players and putting them at the right time, however there is too much hesitation.
So, think it is not concentration, it is psychology put the concentration on what really matters, instead of just improving concentration.
The 4-4, was the aftermath of a big misunderstanding, the attack wnated more goals (fabregas and van persie) while the defence wanted to be finished at 50 min at 4-0, and we had more defenders than attackers. So the thing went the way they settled it to go.
Also, i don’t understand what addition eboue, rosicky, and squillaci would represent. Out of the bench and the scenario (4-0), that was the worst pick he could have ever made. And that is matter of psychology, Wenger needs to hire or listen some new experts on that field, and therefore start picking the right players, without hesitation, because the clock doesn’t hesitate.
And to tom, all the caos began when squillaci tried to pass the ball to diaby, i think you are the one who didn’t watch the match.
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TO samuel:
they were both penalties. It is true though that they wouldn’t have been signaled by other referees. But the last penalty was just mere stupidity from rosicky, when it was a certain goal kick he decides to make fun and push the acttacker.
Have you seen him on other matches? Perhaps away at sunderland? or away at shakctar donest?
I grant you that looks very decent when he plays alongside Nasri, but that’s because it is Nasri.
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YOu have to blame the manager, he can easily say: “I picked the wrong substitutions”.
And I love Wenger,and i don’t want him out. but he has some flaws that when corrected can be the points and goals that have restraint us form winning trophies.
I mean what is easier; to content our magnificent attack at a 4-0? or to try to break a defense leaded by squillaci with an average height of 1.77 m?
Walcott defends better than eboue, and he scores goals, so i don’t understand, what would eboue add to squad, perhaps more confusion to mr Squillaci.
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