Wenger: Cech not only one to blame for loss
Hammers hell for Petr as title hope falters early
ARSENE WENGER refused to single out Petr Cech for blame after Arsenal began the new Premier League campaign with a shock 2-0 home defeat by West Ham yesterday.
The Czech goalkeeper, recruited from Chelsea for £10million in the summer, looked unconvincing for the goals from Cheikhou Kouyate and Mauro Zarate.
But Wenger insisted his entire back line was at fault, saying: ‘I haven’t spoken to Cech. I can’t see many convincing individual performances. It’s difficult to see beyond that. It’s not only him. We have experience along the back line. It was a collective lapse. We have to look at ourselves and think we were not good enough.’
It is believed Wenger will make a move for Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema this week in a bid for more firepower up front.
AND SO, it turns out, t here i s more to plotting a credible assault on the Barclays Premier League than signing a prized goalkeeper from the champions.
Arsenal’s £10million outlay on Petr Cech was chiefly responsible for firing optimism among fans who have not savoured the title for more than a decade. When Arsene Wenger beat Jose Mourinho in the FA Community Shield, it crept a little higher still.
Arsenal had f i nished t he l ast campaign in such terrific form and Wenger bagged another FA Cup before spending the summer talking up the value of continuity and cohesion.
As kick- off loomed, a crackle of anticipation rippled outside the stadium. Inside, Cech’s name was greeted with a triumphant roar. Then, the serious business started.
West Ham turned up, armed with a new manager in Slaven Bilic and a team rippling with the sort of strength, athletic presence and set-piece menace associated with their old boss.
Cheikhou Kouyate opened the scoring with a header from a free-kick just before half- t i me; a goal which wrenched the game from its predictable rhythms of heavy periods of Arsenal possession and wasted chances.
Mauro Zarate made it two soon after the break and a different mood descended upon the restless natives. One of frustration mingled with mild panic. Concerns about the same old problems appear set to linger on.
Still flimsy at the back and lacking punch up front in the absence of Alexis Sanchez — and with Mesut Ozil ohso-easily neutralised by a 16-year-old debutant in an unfamiliar position.
Then, perhaps most depressingly of all for Arsenal, there was Cech. It is not like this at Stamford Bridge, where his goal was well-protected. Here, he was exposed with alarming regularity.
Keeping goal f or Arsenal i s an entirely different proposition and yet Cech must hold up his hands and accept blame for two goals soaked in defensive disorder.
The f i rst came via a f ree- kick, expertly delivered by Dimitri Payet and converted by a simple header from Kouyate. Nacho Monreal on Kouyate was a mismatch born out of Arsenal’s lack of height, but the fullback’s attempt at marking was awful.
Having clocked the danger, Cech charged out from goal, fists clenched and arms extended, only to be beaten to the ball and l eft on the turf as it nestled in his net.
For the second, Arsenal made a hash of tackling full-back Aaron Cresswell and, when they did, gave the ball to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain who was nudged aside by Zarate.
When no- one closed him down, Zarate took aim and shot early from 20 yards, f i nding Cech was off balance and unable to adjust as the ball flashed inside the post.
Reece Oxford, at 16 years and 236 days the second youngest player to appear in the Premier League, was immense in a midfield holding role as he shackled Ozil— it was a day the teenage centre-half will never forget.
For Wenger, the summer feel-good factor lasted less than 90 minutes. While he bemoaned his team’s lack of concentration, organisation and wastefulness, the manager has to accept some of the blame.
It was difficult to find the logic in moving Santi Cazorla f r om a position, deep in midfield alongside Francis Coquelin, where he has proved so influential, to a role on the left.
Perhaps it was to allow OxladeChamberlain freedom on the right, arguably his best position, while keeping Aaron Ramsey in the team to provide thrust from midfield.
The Ox, bright and effective in the opening half-hour, went close with a volley, while Ramsey rattled the bar with a half-volley and squandered another opening when Mathieu Debuchy was better placed.
Cazorla was back in the centre for the second half, but by then the visitors were digging in to defend. West Ham protected their goalkeeper with far more purpose than Arsenal.
James Tomkins thwarted Ozil soon after Kouyate’s opener and Winston Reid blocked from substitute Theo Walcott l ate on. Even Sanchez’s 67th-minute arrival couldn’t rescue Arsenal. Worrying times ahead, then, for Wenger.