Game Recap: Arsenal vs. Everton

Arsenal players are in a celebratory mood after Gallas scores the opening goal in the 43' minute.

Score:

Arsenal 2 - 0 Celtic

Scoring Summary:

Gallas 43'

Caldwell (OG) 70'

Good performance by the Gunners yesterday against a very tricky opponent. Arsenal lined up in the same 4-3-3 formation that was used in the Everton game, and luckily Cesc Fabregas was fit for the game. Both goals had a measure of luck, the first much more so than the latter, but Arsenal seemed good value for the win. At the beginning of the game, Arsenal dominated possession but Celtic were pressuring well and no quarter was being asked or given. Much of the game was being played in the midfield in the early going and the pressing was working effectively for both teams.

Around the quarter hour mark, Andrei Arshavin fired in a shot after a deflection off the Celtic player but he was rightfully called offside. Arshavin was largely anonymous in the game, but did have some good moments of running and kept possession well. The game really opened up when Arsenal scored their first goal. A Gary Caldwell foul led to a free-kick opportunity from about 30 yards out. Robin Van Persie rolled it for Fabregas who whipped in a shot. Arthur Boruc seemed to have had it covered had it not been for a lucky deflection off the back of Gallas into the far post. That is two goals for him in two games, and if Arsenal continue to get goals from unlikely sources and from set plays, it will go a long way to beating negative opponents.

Celtic played a formation with Aiden McGready as a long striker and he played well in that role, but it seemed like manager Tony Mowbry played too defensive a lineup at home. Celtic have had success against top European sides in this competition, but the atmosphere at Parkhead was not enough to boost this side. Scott Brown and Georgios Samaras played wide for width and Celtic had some success playing through ball behind our full-backs, but there was not enough pressure for a sustained attack.

Possibly the closest moment when Celtic came to scoring was on the counter after a broken set play. McGeady skipped around an Arsenal defender on the left side and played a wonderful chip over last man Clichy to the onrushing Brown who seemed to have a wide open volley from 5 feet but Thomas Vermaelen sprinted the entire pitch and manage to break up the play at the critical moment. I can not be more impressed with how Vermaelen has adapted to this Arsenal squad. His attacking of the first ball seems to be an ideal complement to William Gallas' method of sweeping up the mess. Also, Arsene Wenger metioned Vermaelen in his post-game chat, saying:

'I believe he has a good mix of the physical and technical for a centre-back and
it is interesting to have a left-footed player because he gives you angles for
the pass which are very important for the midfielder."

He rounds off a very good defense, but depth in central defense remains a concern. We may need one more player who can play central and right back in case of injury and when Eboue goes off to the ACN.

The second half began with Arsenal controlling the ball with more space, as Celtic opened up to find that second goal. Celtic changed their formation by introducing striker Scott McDonald 15 minutes into the second half, but it proved be ineffective. It was obvious when watching the game that Arsenal's class was far above that of Celtic and Celtic didn't really have a life-line back in the game.

Arsenal sealed the game and likely the tie with a goal in the 71th minute. Fresh substitute Abou Diaby made a good run in central midfield before finding Clichy on the left. Clichy played a good low cross which Caldwell poled into his own net. The Celtic skipper had a very poor game with both of his mistakes directly attributed for the goals.

Arsenal just passed the ball around and the final ten minutes became a training exercise. Song played a very good game, intercepting passes and making intelligent tackles. What impressed me the most was his passing, where he really did spring a few attacks. If Song is able to improve on his ball control and passing, he could become a very good defensive midfielder for Arsenal.

African Cup of Nations

This, however, brings a concern for Arsenal as he is going to leave for the ACN this winter. I am expecting Wenger not to buy any additional players for midfield and I think that he is going to play a middle three of:

Nasri-----Cesc

----Denilson---

with Rosicky another option for the front two. This formation is more aggressive than the one being used right now, but I think Wenger is modelling the central part of the pitch after Barcelona's three and having two creative and good dribbling midfielders with one ball-winning defensive midfielder.

Rosicky may also replace Bendtner on the right giving a formation of (during the ACN):

-----------------Almunia-----------------------

Sagna-------Gallas---Vermaelen---------Clichy

----------------Denilson-----------------------

-------------Cesc-------Nasri------------------

Rosicky-------------------------------Arshavin

-----------------Van Persie--------------------

which is a fantastic lineup. Substitute Denilson with Song and that would be my preferred lineup for the 4-3-3 formation.

Even though we have won two games, I still feel that the 4-4-2 would be more effective for this Arsenal team. Most of our goals have come of set-plays and the 4-3-3 really dampers the ability of the top three to roam into their favourable positions. Arshavin and Van Persie have been largely non-existent in the first two games, and this will have to change in the upcoming weeks.