Match Review: Fenerbahçe vs Arsenal 21.8.13 - Champions League Qualifier

Kieran Gibbs opened the scoring for Arsenal

It was a game that we were all rightly worried about.

Everything got very doomy and defeats like the one at the weekend always make the next opponent seem a little more frightening. When it’s a trip to one of the more hostile footballing countries in Europe, it is unsurprising that there was more than a little trepidation surrounding this fixture. However, it was successfully negotiated and it’ll be a massive relief to to everyone involved with the club.

You really have to give credit to the players for winning in such a commanding fashion. The press leading up to this game was unrelentingly negative, there were questions over the manager’s ability and a lot of fan unrest, so to perform as well as they did is testament to the quality of players we do have.

We started off really brightly, Fenerbahçe looked off the pace and allowed us plenty of space (deja vu?). We looked much sharper than the home side and unlike Villa at the weekend they never improved. Fenerbahçe were playing a slightly odd 5-3-2 formation and they looked very unsure in what they were trying to achieve, it was quite difficult to work out who was playing where.

There was no clear line of attack and it all looked very uncomfortable for them. Arsenal took advantage and when they didn’t have the ball they pressed much better than at the weekend, so much so that Fenerbahçe didn’t manage a single shot on the Arsenal goal in the first half.

But there was something missing from it all; despite near total domination there was a creative spark missing. While we had control of the game, we didn’t seem to have the intensity needed to finish off the moves we put together and Theo was frustrating (again). He plays in bursts and despite clearly having the beating of the full back, he seemed to struggle to impose himself on the game. The players were, perhaps, a little apprehensive following the events of the weekend; the last thing they’d have wanted to do is go all out and concede early.

After the first 5-10 minutes, we controlled, but didn’t convert. Around 37 minutes, though, the ghost of Saturday reared its head again. This time it was Koscielny receiving a nasty cut and again Jenkinson was thrust on before half time. Sagna was moved over to centre back and Jenkinson went in on the right, the lack of depth in the squad exposed again. Sagna is a decent centre back, but it’s not ideal and we really shouldn’t having to be making do like this so early in the season. There was a brief flurry of activity towards the end of the half but it stayed scoreless.

The second half started with a few chances for the home side. They looked a little sharper and seemed to be fighting for the ball a bit more in midfield. Just when it looked like the match was going to get a lot tougher for us, we found the cutting edge we needed. The impressive Ramsey drove towards the penalty area; twisted and turned, biding his time before playing a lovely ball inside the full back to Walcott.

Theo fizzed the ball across the six yard box and Gibbs poked it in. You could see the relief on the player’s faces. It was a quality goal, things had finally clicked and the performance visibly picked up. It also knocked the stuffing out of the short lived Fenerbahçe revival.

Aaron Ramsey

We seemed to have found some more belief and the pace of our attacks picked up. We doubled our lead on 64 minutes when Wilshere drove forward past some weak defending and laid the ball off to Ramsey. Ramsey brought the ball forward and probably should have returned the ball to Wilshere, who would have been clean through, but he chose to shoot and his effort had enough to beat the keeper. The keeper should have saved it, but Ramsey really deserved the goal for his fantastic performance and to be honest, it’s nice to see an Arsenal player go for goal like that, because that’s what can happen.

The second away goal put us in the driving seat in the match and in the tie overall, but we almost gave Fenerbahçe a way back into it. The passing dropped off in intensity and we suddenly weren’t keeping our shape as well. We relaxed a bit too much, switched off and suddenly it looked as if the toothless home team could bite. Szczesny was forced to dive in bravely to stop Moussa Sow and took a boot to the neck as a result.

There was a header over the bar and Sow went close with a long range effort; we weren’t exactly panicking, but things had certainly become a little uncomfortable. Thankfully we wrapped things up on 77 minutes. The ball was played forward to Walcott who controlled well and was bundled over by Kadlec, who’d had a torrid evening against the winger. It was a clear penalty; Giroud stepped up and thumped home. It well and truly wrapped the game up and hopefully puts the tie to bed too. Szczesny made a few more good saves and Jenkinson had a magnificent effort tipped over the bar on the final whistle.

It was a very satisfying evening, given what has been going on at the club recently. Ramsey put in a man of the match performance, Cazorla looked fitter and sharper and Wilshere, Szczesny and Walcott all improved a lot from the weekend. We all know the squad is still light, we all know that Fenerbahçe were poor and we know that there is much to be done to make this squad competitive before the end of the transfer window. But this match showed we are still a quality team, with some seriously good players. Barring a monumental catastrophe, we should be through to the group stages and it is a difficult job very well done.

Teams

Fenerbahçe (5-3-2)Demirel, Irtegun (Gonul 46′), Alves?, Yobo, Kadlec?, Meireles (Potuk 82′), Topal, Emre, Kuyt, Webo? (Emineke 62′), SowSubsGunok, Korkmaz, Gonul, Cristian, Potuk, Erkin, Emenike

Arsenal (4-2-3-1)Szczesny?, Sagna, Koscielny (Jenkinson 33′), Mertesacker, Gibbs; Ramsey, Wilshere; Cazorla, Rosicky, Walcott (Monreal 87′); Giroud (Podolski 82′)SubsFabianski, Monreal, Podolski, Sanogo, Frimpong, Gnabry, Jenkinson

Ratings

Szczesny	7/10	Made some important saves after a poor game on Saturday
Sagna	6/10	Did his job quietly, but effectively
Koscielny	6/10	Played well until he picked up a worrying injury to his head
Mertesacker	6/10	Not hugely troubled, but did worry me when he stepped up
Gibbs	7/10	Looked lively, but disciplined and got a rare goal
Ramsey	8/10	Best player on the night, ran the midfield and deserved his goal
Wilshere	6/10	Improved from Saturday, but still not quite finding his best
Cazorla	6/10	Looked a lot sharper, was fairly quiet, but showed promise
Rosicky	6/10	Worked hard and interchanged with Santi well, but quiet overall
Walcott	7/10	Frustrating first half, followed by a much improved second
Giroud	6/10	Converted the penalty well, but otherwise quiet
Subs
Jenkinson	6/10	Forced on early again and, like Gibbs, looked lively but solid
Podolski	N/A	Not on long enough to see much of the ball or make an impact
Monreal	N/A	Late substitution