emirates cup

Alexander Merkel


Arsenal 1 Milan 1

Playing against the Gunners is never easy, especially when there is a shocking lack of pace and quality. Arsenal approached the game fearlessly. Milan played the 4-3-1-2 which made them concentrate the play through the middle. Arsenal used the wings and stretched our central midfield which enabled them to override us in the centre as well. Gibbs was running wild down the left leaving the new Greek defender dazed. AC Milan were adopting a direct form of attack but they the midfielders rarely found the forwards. Borriello was highly ineffective and this game showed us why we need a Dzeko. Borriello is as slow as an old Russian tank and lacks the technical or physical quality to play against top oppositions. Sokritis, who clearly has left his form behind in South Africa lost the ball before Gattuso was comfortably shrugged off by Arshavin in the build up to the goal. I wasn't the least bit impressed by Sokritis; he dribbles with the ball when he isn't skilled enough to do so. Being a defender, his job is to clear the ball, which he doesn't like to do. Allegri realized something wasn't working and introduced Berretta and Merkel by withdrawing Borriello and Gattuso. This made Seedorf drop deeper and Milan seemed to adopt a traditional 4-4-2. The only area of the pitch Milan could hold possession was in the defense. After having scored the goal, Arsenal didn't try too hard to defend from the front. Pato finally levelled the scores with a header which gave the team a renewed sense of confidence. Oddo then replaced Pato to my amazement. Merkel was the stimulus in the midfield. He was so much more dynamic compared to the sluggish Gattuso, linking the midfield with the attack and seting up Zambrotta for the winner but the veteran hit the bar. Yepes on the other hand wasn't solid. He was assigned to man mark Vermaelen on set pieces but consistently lost his man, causing the ex-Ajax defender to be a threat from set pieces. On one particular occasion, he totally mistimed a sliding tackle isolating Abbiati to come up with a stunning save. If not for Abbiati, people's predictions would have come true.

Arsenal - Chamakh 36'
Milan - Pato 76'

Milan 1 Lyon 1

Lyon had taken notes from the earlier game and decided to come out firing all cylinders at Milan from the word go. Milan were heavily relying on Merkel and Verdi to deliver up front. Merkel has been the player of the tournament from Milan's perspective, at least for me. A lot has been said about Verdi and Strasser, but Merkel is one missing piece in our midfield and is doing all he can to fit in. He is doing a fine job of it, might I add. Seedorf played in an unusual deep role and Borriello played deeper than usual. This resulted in our attack breaking down in the final third. Our passing was woeful in the first half, we could barely hold on to the ball. Verdi was being played out of position and was therefore struggling. He missed a glorious chance early on. Borriello finally scored! Verdi brushes off the poor form to set up Borriello who nearly misses. A magnificent, patient build up resulted in the goal. Milan resembled Argentina of 2006 in those couple of minutes of possession. Briand, who was always a threat, got explosive in the second half after Oddo's introduction. Oddo's sheer lack of pace, positioning, or defensive understanding gave the former Rennes man plenty of space to unleash his pace and attacking prowess. How Oddo manages to make the first team baffles a whole contingent of fans, not just me. Going by the evidence of the Emerites Cup, we will be at the receiving end of 4-0 scorelines against high quality counter attacking oppositions. Truth be said, Lyon should have put this game to bed by half time. But so poor were they in attack that Milan were up by a goal to nil at the break! Lyon finally scored and the great Oddo be thanked for leaving Briand open on the cross by wildly, lazily swinging his leg at the crossed ball instead of committing to the challenge. Allegri has realized the team's vulnerability against counter attacks and has insisted he needs a dynamic midfielder who can help in attack and run back in defense. Whether he gets that player or not, he decided to take the concern of Milan's vulnerability to the press. Gutsy bloke. Thankfully, there's a start. Friday, we play Panathinaikos. Until then, godspeed.

Milan - Borriello 55'
Lyon - Briand 78'