Clock End Boy: Where Arsenal went wrong against Chelsea

Will Olivier Giroud come good for the Gunners? Photo: Jon Buckle/PA

By Jem Maidment, London24’s Arsenal blogger
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
1:33 PM

Arsenal blogger Jem Maidment discusses Arsenal’s 2-1 loss to Chelsea on Saturday and asks what can be learnt.

Some observations from the weekend:

Wenger played it far too safe with Aaron Ramsey

Nobody should rely on Abou Diaby because he’s a perennial crock and will never play more than five games in a row

Per Mertesacker would have stopped Chelsea’s second goal

Gus Caesar (who was actually slightly better than most people think, well, certainly better than 50k-a-week fifth choice centre half, Johan Djourou) might have stopped their first

Olivier Giroud will come good. Another poor miss but – clichéd as it may be – he’s getting in the right positions

Chelsea might very well win the title this year, which is a most unedifying prospect

John Terry and Ashley Cole – loathe ‘em or hate ‘em – have extraordinary mental strength, even if the former is as overrated as Tony Adams (yes, you heard me) and the latter is just a general stain on the human race’s already questionable record.

And so what did we learn?

Some of our players are a little too complacent. But, most worryingly, we looked tired. And we’re only six weeks into the season.

That concerns me greatly. We looked far too sluggish.

How we could have down with young Jack’s zip and vibrancy.

Meanwhile Spurs fans are gearing up for Champions League football next season. When will they learn?

PS – I just saw Jeremy Corbyn on the telly. He’s been MP for Islington North since 1983. A big Arsenal fan who, as I remember, point blank refused to take complimentary tickets from the club, always paid his way. In short, a man of principle.

I used to meet him in a café on the Holloway Road when I was chief reporter of the local paper back in the late 1990s.

A lovely guy who surely can’t be enjoying the Labour Party conference (what kind of weird, socially inept political plebs truly enjoy that garbish, anyway?)

Was never a fan of his politics, but as a man he has few equals.

Bet he wishes he was at the Olympiakos game tomorrow – even if we do seem to play ‘em every other season.

Expect a comfortable win.