Hendon Gooner (Only Easy Day Was Yesterday))
09-29-2014, 02:39 PM
says Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
Good gawd...another mauling is on the cards... :banghead:
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is adamant that Arsenal will attack Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Sunday even after last season's 6-0 humiliation and believes that any weakness on the counter-attack is the natural risk of their style.
Despite injuries to their best attackers, Arsenal employed what proved to be suicidal tactics in taking the game to Chelsea in what was Arsene Wenger's 1,000th match as the club's manager and, although Oxlade-Chamberlain accepts that the team will have something to prove, a major change to the strategy looks unlikely.
"We do understand what happened there last season," said Oxlade-Chamberlain. "Maybe we have got a point to prove there, we know this year we have got to step up in the big games and get some results in them this year.
"We're really looking forward to that game. We definitely give Chelsea the respect they deserve but, at the same time, I have belief in my team-mates and we do in ourselves to be able to go to a place like Chelsea and set the tempo and hopefully take control of the game. There will be times in the game I'm sure when they have a spell, because they are a top team.
"It's two good sides. They are going to have their time, we are going to have ours, we just have to make sure that when we do have our chances we make them count."
Arsenal again proved on Saturday that they are often at their most vulnerable while in possession, with Tottenham pouncing when Mathieu Flamini dwelled on the ball to exploit space down their left that had been exposed by Kieran Gibbs playing high up the pitch. Manchester City did something similar at the Emirates earlier this season, while Chelsea and Manchester United have had considerable success by playing Arsenal on the counter-attack over recent years.
Is it something that the team should address? "I think that's the risk you take when you play the way we play football, we send a lot of bodies football in a positive and attacking fashion," said Oxlade-Chamberlain. "You do leave yourself at times a little bit vulnerable to the counterattack. As a team we do work on trying to stop that at source. Sometimes you do get countered and I think teams maybe set up to do that against us. But, as I said, you can't have everything.
"You either don't send so many bodies forward or you do and sometimes you can be susceptible to the counterattack. It is something we have always worked on because it is an area I'm sure teams look at to try and break us down in that aspect. We have got to be ready for that and we will continue to work on it."
Oxlade-Chamberlain says that he prefers to be in a team that takes the game to their opponents. "We try to take control of games, we like to set out and set the tempo, be positive, that sometimes means sending bodies forward," he said. "It's just important that when we do, we have got people in the team that are willing to take the responsibility of holding back and being there to stop counterattacks. But, yeah, I do love playing in this team, and the style of play that we do, as I think all the players could say. But we do need to obviously be careful and make sure we are defending at the same time as when we are attacking."
The big positive from Saturday is that Arsenal still stand with Chelsea as the only unbeaten Premier League team after overturning a deficit for the fourth time this season.
"1-0 down is a tough ask, especially in a derby – it's not a situation you want to find yourself in," said Oxlade-Chamberlain. "Nerves can creep up at that point because you know how much it means to everyone not to lose the game. So we did well to come back into the game and make it 1-1. At that point I felt we had the momentum to go and win it. Personally I'm a bit disappointed we didn't managed to nick the last goal and take all three.
"There are certainly some games we would have liked to have won, but the important thing is we haven't lost and not losing those games I think that can play a role towards the end of the season. You never know how important those points here and there can be especially if you are not losing games - giving yourself a chance to build on that and build to win games.
"It's a positive in one way – you have to show character to come back but it's not a situation we want to find ourselves in too often. We set out to take control of matches, to set the tempo and I feel that at certain points this season we have done that and we have been counter-attacked, and teams have scored against the run of play. It's not something we want to find ourselves too often, having to come back but if we are going to go behind it is a positive that the team can show character and not give up and get back into games."
Good gawd...another mauling is on the cards... :banghead:
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is adamant that Arsenal will attack Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Sunday even after last season's 6-0 humiliation and believes that any weakness on the counter-attack is the natural risk of their style.
Despite injuries to their best attackers, Arsenal employed what proved to be suicidal tactics in taking the game to Chelsea in what was Arsene Wenger's 1,000th match as the club's manager and, although Oxlade-Chamberlain accepts that the team will have something to prove, a major change to the strategy looks unlikely.
"We do understand what happened there last season," said Oxlade-Chamberlain. "Maybe we have got a point to prove there, we know this year we have got to step up in the big games and get some results in them this year.
"We're really looking forward to that game. We definitely give Chelsea the respect they deserve but, at the same time, I have belief in my team-mates and we do in ourselves to be able to go to a place like Chelsea and set the tempo and hopefully take control of the game. There will be times in the game I'm sure when they have a spell, because they are a top team.
"It's two good sides. They are going to have their time, we are going to have ours, we just have to make sure that when we do have our chances we make them count."
Arsenal again proved on Saturday that they are often at their most vulnerable while in possession, with Tottenham pouncing when Mathieu Flamini dwelled on the ball to exploit space down their left that had been exposed by Kieran Gibbs playing high up the pitch. Manchester City did something similar at the Emirates earlier this season, while Chelsea and Manchester United have had considerable success by playing Arsenal on the counter-attack over recent years.
Is it something that the team should address? "I think that's the risk you take when you play the way we play football, we send a lot of bodies football in a positive and attacking fashion," said Oxlade-Chamberlain. "You do leave yourself at times a little bit vulnerable to the counterattack. As a team we do work on trying to stop that at source. Sometimes you do get countered and I think teams maybe set up to do that against us. But, as I said, you can't have everything.
"You either don't send so many bodies forward or you do and sometimes you can be susceptible to the counterattack. It is something we have always worked on because it is an area I'm sure teams look at to try and break us down in that aspect. We have got to be ready for that and we will continue to work on it."
Oxlade-Chamberlain says that he prefers to be in a team that takes the game to their opponents. "We try to take control of games, we like to set out and set the tempo, be positive, that sometimes means sending bodies forward," he said. "It's just important that when we do, we have got people in the team that are willing to take the responsibility of holding back and being there to stop counterattacks. But, yeah, I do love playing in this team, and the style of play that we do, as I think all the players could say. But we do need to obviously be careful and make sure we are defending at the same time as when we are attacking."
The big positive from Saturday is that Arsenal still stand with Chelsea as the only unbeaten Premier League team after overturning a deficit for the fourth time this season.
"1-0 down is a tough ask, especially in a derby – it's not a situation you want to find yourself in," said Oxlade-Chamberlain. "Nerves can creep up at that point because you know how much it means to everyone not to lose the game. So we did well to come back into the game and make it 1-1. At that point I felt we had the momentum to go and win it. Personally I'm a bit disappointed we didn't managed to nick the last goal and take all three.
"There are certainly some games we would have liked to have won, but the important thing is we haven't lost and not losing those games I think that can play a role towards the end of the season. You never know how important those points here and there can be especially if you are not losing games - giving yourself a chance to build on that and build to win games.
"It's a positive in one way – you have to show character to come back but it's not a situation we want to find ourselves in too often. We set out to take control of matches, to set the tempo and I feel that at certain points this season we have done that and we have been counter-attacked, and teams have scored against the run of play. It's not something we want to find ourselves too often, having to come back but if we are going to go behind it is a positive that the team can show character and not give up and get back into games."