Betalogue

Arsenal are obviously in a bit of a slump, and the injuries to Sol Campbell and Gilberto are not helping. The defeat at Manchester United 10 days ago has obviously hurt the team, and they badly need a convincing victory at Crystal Palace on Saturday to restore their own confidence and the confidence of their supporters.

Still, the team’s specific problems in Europe remain a mystery. Cygan was unlucky to score an own goal late in the game last night and Reyes was unlucky to hit the bar, but the Gunners were lucky that they were awarded a penalty in the first half, and that the Greeks failed to convert their own penalty award in the second half. All in all, 1-1 was a fair result, and an accurate reflection of the lack of sharpness in the Gunners.

Why is it so difficult for Arsenal to perform consistently in the Champions’ League? They didn’t exactly get the toughest group draw… And most of their strike force is available. Why is Thierry Henry in such a foul, destructive mood when playing international games? I clearly saw him mouth the words “fucking prick” in the direction of the linesman for an offside call early in the game that was a perfectly correct decision. While Thierry’s mastery and spontaneous use of the English language is commendable, I am not sure I understand why he was so readily angered by a non-contentious decision so early in the game. There is clearly a psychological problem going on here. And I think Arsène Wenger badly needs to work on this. The Gunners need to learn how to better cope with unfamiliar opposition using unfamiliar tactics. Until they do, except for flashes of brilliance here and there, I don’t see them going very far.

This entry was posted by Pierre Igot on Wednesday, November 3rd, 2004 at 12:57 am and is filed under Football. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.