It’s all so simple. Win two games, and third is ours. Other teams’ results can do nothing about that single, unalterable fact. It should be utterly reassuring. And yet…
I must confess that I am an anxious Arsenal fan. If you’re a regular reader of the blog, that won’t surprise you: the enormity of wrenching third place from this most nightmarish of seasons, and the potential heartbreak of handing it back to Tottenham on the final day have combined to fray what little nerve I ever had. It seems it’s catching, too. Amusingly, after Newcastle and Spurs both picked up impressive wins in midweek, a reader tweeted me declaring the results were my fault, as I’d been giving out “negative vibes†all week. I question his reasoning, and yet apologise profusely.
I appreciate the arguments against anxiety. We’ve only got to play Norwich and West Brom. The Canaries seem to have preempted their summer holidays, losing three on the bounce and conceding an average of almost four goals p/ game across those fixtures. West Brom, meanwhile, are also playing for nothing, and are led by a manager who has admitted to the press he would have preferred to resign in order to focus on his forthcoming responsibilities as England manager. On paper, these are distinctly winnable fixtures.
The problem is that Arsenal have a habit of losing distinctly winnable fixtures. Even in the midst of our best run of the season, we managed to come unstuck against Wigan and QPR. Common perception is that we’ve stalled; our positive momentum halted by an unshifting metaphorical handbrake. We’re all looking nervously towards Robin van Persie, a figure whose form this season has been so stupendous as to take on a mythical quality. He, we all hope, is the Arthurian figure who can release the handbrake from the stone and set us on the roll again.
My panic reached its peak on Wednesday night. Whilst things have been in our own hands for a while now, I can’t help but hope for favours from others. Going in to the game, we knew that a draw between Chelsea and Newcastle, coupled with defeat for Spurs, would leave us needing to win just one of our two remaining games to guarantee third spot. At a certain point, it looked as if we might get our wish: Newcastle held a slender 1-0 lead at Stamford Bridge, as Bolton equalised against Tottenham. However, Papiss Cisse’s wonder goal and Bolton’s defensive collapse soon put an end to that. Spurs and Newcastle have now closed to within a point of us, and suddenly we’re under the cosh.
After a brief period of catastrophising, during which I began to cancel all my post-August appointments for Thursday nights, I consoled myself with the thought that in these end-of-season tussles for league positioning, the dynamic can shift very quickly. Look at the battle at the bottom: the favourites to join Wolves in the Championship seem to change on a week-by-week basis. This Saturday, Arsenal have a tremendous opportunity. Beat Norwich – as we know we must – and suddenly the pressure piles back on to the chasing pack. They would know that defeat on Sunday, when Newcastle face title-chasers Man City and Spurs travel to a relegation-threatened Villa, would leave us out of reach.
There is no reason we shouldn’t do it. When you take a step back, talk of our ‘poor form’ is somewhat overblown. Yes, we haven’t won in three, and the defeat to Wigan was very disappointing, even taking in to account their recent giant-killing exploits. Draws against Chelsea and away to Stoke, however, are creditable results. At the Britannia, there were signs that the fighting spirit so crucial to our second half of the season resurgence is returning.
We have all the ingredients to win both remaining games. Our first-choice back four is fit and in form. We have the league’s best player, and he’s back among the goals. And, as supporters, we have the reassurance provided by having been in this situation before, and come out on top – albeit with a little help from a dodgy lasagna and a certain Yossi Benayoun.
The squad must know now that there is absolutely no margin for error. Spurs have had their dip, and are now right back in form. Newcastle’s dip came and went months ago, and they look like they could overturn anyone at the moment. The pressure is back on us now, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It’s when we were comfortably clear that we began to look a little complacent. Beat Norwich tomorrow, and the pendulum swings once again.
I was furious at how Arsenal allowed the game to pass them by…
Chelsea are already in one major cup final, and could make it two. Â This was, in many respects, our equivalent. Â After defeat against Wigan, a win was required to restore momentum and build a protective cushion between us and the chasing pack. Â I was bang up for this game, and had been excited all week. Â However, from the first five minutes I couldn’t help but think that the players didn’t feel the same. Â The game opened with a prolonged period of possession from the Arsenal back four, knocking it back and forth across the width of the pitch – there was no pressure from Chelsea’s attack, and little intent of driving forward from Arsenal.
It made for an incredibly dull game…
It burst briefly in to life at the latter end of each half, with Arsenal making most of the running, but it was more the most part an uninspiring affair. Â It had the feel of an end-of-season game in which nothing was at stake. Â And yet, bizarrely, there was a huge opportunity for both sides to secure a vital three points. Â Neither team was at the races, and the game was there to be won for anyone who could find an extra gear. Â However both sides seem to play with, as the Arsene Wenger might say, the “handbrake on”.
Arsenal’s midfield lacked shape and authority…
Mikel Arteta was a huge miss. Â He is disciplined in his positioning, and intelligent in his use of the ball. Â At the best of times, Aaron Ramsey isn’t really either of those things, and out of form and out of position he fell well shot of the Spaniards standards. Â Alex Song was also poor alongside him, and Chelsea looked relatively comfortable in the middle of the park.
Abou Diaby could have a big part to play…
I almost couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw him taking the field with half an hour or so to play, but I was impressed in flashes. Â With Arteta out for the rest of the season, Diaby (and indeed Francis Coquelin, who is also fit again) could be a key figure between now and the end of May.
That said, we did have chances…
With a fresher Robin van Persie, we’d probably have won the game. Â Laurent Koscielny also struck the bar with a free header, and if any side was going to win it I was sure it’d be us – partly because of the inexplicable selfishness of Chelsea forward Daniel Sturridge, who ruined several counter-attacks by failing to make obvious passes to team-mates.
I was possibly a little harsh on the team…
I’m sure they were up for it. Â I’m sure they wanted to win. Â We’re probably just a little jaded. Â Due to injuries and lack of quality options, we have not been able to rotate the side much all season long. Â Inevitably, we’re suffering a little for that in the final straight.
Spurs’ defeat made it a better weekend…
Every time I expect Tottenham’s form to pick up, they confound me with yet another disastrous result. Â Their form is so patchy that Newcastle are arguably now the greatest threat to our third-placed position. Â Arsenal have three games to go – our next, a trip to Stoke, is arguably the toughest. Â That said, none of the three sides we face (Stoke, Norwich, WBA) have much to play for. Â We should aim for nothing less than nine points, though I suspect six will be enough to claim third spot.
RVP is a deserving Player of the Year…
Despite his recent ill-fortune in front of goal, he has been a cut above everyone else in the Premier League this season, and is richly deserving of following in the foot-steps of the likes of Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp by being voted the PFA Player of the Year. Â There can be few greater honours than being recognised by your fellow professionals, and I hope this individual gong will be followed by the trophies his class richly deserves – with Arsenal, of course.
This was an old-school, hard fought victory…
It was fitting that Thomas Vermaelen should score the vital goal, because in every sense the defenders were the match-winners in this game. Messrs Vermaelen, Koscielny, Sagna and Gibbs were outstanding, showing a combination of discipline and desire to keep Everton at bay. At the start of the season we all imagined this might be our first-choice back four, and whilst I am a big fan of late arrivals Mertesacker and Santos, this quartet are clearly benefiting from a run of games together. Vermaelen, meanwhile, has rediscovered his knack for crucial goals at just the right time of the season.
Bacary Sagna is a beast…
An aspect of his game that has long been overlooked is quite how good he is in the air. Â Last night he won 14 of his 17 aerial duels. Â Find me another full-back who can match that.
Arsenal should have been out of sight early on…
Everton looked shell-shocked by our quick passing game, and the first ten minutes saw us carve out a host of presentable opportunities, the best of which fell to Aaron Ramsey, who volleyed over when well-placed. Although Vermaelen did grab the goal in this period with a great header from a Van Persie corner, we didn’t capitalise on our best spell in the game with the ruthlessness you would hope for.
It was a great night for Arsenal…
…not just because of our three points, but because of results elsewhere. Chelsea lost to a late goal at Man City (courtesy of, of all people, Samir Nasri), Spurs needed a last-gap equaliser to grab a point against Stoke, and Liverpool threw away a two-goal lead to lose at QPR.
Arsenal are now above Spurs…
It’s a delicious fact, and something that seemed impossible when they were 2-0 up at the Emirates just a few games back. A win on that day would have taken Tottenham 13 points clear. The turnaround in fortunes since that moment, for both clubs, has been extraordinary. Their collapse has been as spectacular as our resurgence.
There is still, it’s worth pointing out, a long way to go. After this weekend’s game at home to Aston Villa, we enter a potentially tricky period of fixtures where trips to relegation battlers Wolves and QPR sandwich a clash with title-chasing City.
I daren’t commit the same sin as several Spurs fans, and gloat about our current position. However, what I will say is that to be six points clear of fifth place at this stage in the season is better than any of us could have hoped for a few months back.
Finally, on Fabrice Muamba…
Like everyone connected with football, I’ve been hugely moved by the recent events surrounding the former Arsenal midfielder, England U-21 International, and thoroughly likeable human being, Fabrice Muamba.
Like many, when I saw him collapse at White Hart Lane, I feared the worst. What we’re hearing about his recovery since then is nothing short of miraculous. I’d just like to take this opportunity to publicly send my best wishes in his battle to return to health. I’m backing him all the way.
“Arsenal are alive more than anybody thought before the game.” Arsene WengerÂ
As we all know, Arsenal vs Tottenham is more than a game. And yesterday, with an Arsenal side on the verge of crisis hosting a rampant Spurs, it looked to be more than a derby. Fitting then, that what we got in the end was more than a victory. It was a hammering.
With 34 minutes gone, it wasn’t looking so clever. Spurs had glided in to a two goal lead; first Louis Saha broke beyond an Arsenal backline more jagged and ugly than one of Aaron Lennon’s eyebrow designs, and his shot deflected off Thomas Vermaelen and over Wojciech Szczesny. Then Gareth Bale fought his way past Kieran Gibbs, and took a self-inflicted tumble over the advancing Szczesny. The referee pointed to the spot, more out of habit than anything else, and Emmanuel Adebayor stroked home his inevitable goal.
At this point, I feared the worst. In the short-term, I was worried we would be on the end of a humiliating result. Although we hadn’t played particularly poorly, Spurs looked deadly on the break with the pace of Bale and Walker, and Saha and Adebayor were proving a real handful. It was inevitable we would pour forward in search of a goal, and I feared we’d be picked off on the counter-attack, much like Manchester United were in their 6-1 drubbing at home to City.
In the longer term, I wondered if this match might prove to be another nail in the coffin of Arsene Wenger’s tenure. A hefty home defeat to Spurs, off the back of exits from the Champions League and FA Cup, could have turned the tide against him irreparably.
The players, it seems, had other ideas. Before the game Arsene said he didn’t feel they’d let him down at Sunderland. I disagree. On that day they weren’t up for a battle; they didn’t fancy a fight. Yesterday was different.
Their combative spirit was typified by the goal that got us back in to the game. After Robin van Persie struck a post with a right-footed effort, the ball was kept in play and knocked back to Mikel Arteta. The Spaniard floated a clipped pass to the far post, where Gareth Bale seemed certain to nod the ball away. Instead, he was beaten to it by Bacary Sagna, who launched himself at the ball and headed powerfully beyond Brad Friedel and in to the far corner.
It is said that great headed goals depend on two components: delivery and desire. All too often our attempts to score from crosses lack either. This was a rare example of both. In recent years, I haven’t seen too many Arsenal players throw themselves at the ball the way Sagna did yesterday. He didn’t care if he got hurt. He knew what a goal back before half-time would mean, and he wanted it more than every single Tottenham defender.
Even he could not possibly have known the avalanche that goal would inspire. Before half-time, we were able to grab the equaliser that turned the game on its head. Of course, it fell to Robin van Persie to turn this way and that on the edge of the box before arcing a beautiful shot around Brad Friedel and in to the back of the net. It was a moment of sheer class. It had struck me before the game that since his evolution in to a penalty-box poacher, RVP has not often found himself with the time and space required to score the wonder goals for which he made his name. Yesterday, in his desperation to drop deep and make things happen, he inadvertently created an opportunity for one of his patented long-range strikes. And what a strike it was.
As the second half kicked off, the momentum was firmly with Arsenal. Harry Redknapp made a double change, introducing Sandro and Van der Vaart and switching to 4-3-3 in an effort to stem the time. It served only to weaken Spurs’ attacking threat, and a creaking Tottenham backline found itself coming under wave after wave of Arsenal attacks.
In this most unpredictable of games, Arsenal’s third goal had the most unpredictable scorer. Tomas Rosicky picked up the ball about thirty yards out, slid it wide to the onrushing Sagna, and sprinted in to the box to meet the full-back’s cross with a deft finish off the outside of his left boot. Wojciech Szczesny celebrated with a backflip. The Emirates was delirious, and Rosicky relieved. It was his fiftieth game since his last league goal.
If Rosicky scoring was a surprise, then so too was what followed: a brace from Theo Walcott. Walcott had been dreadful in the first-half – he seems destined to inherit Andrey Arshavin’s role as the fans’ designated scapegoat – and was probably considered for the hook at the interval. However, he showed tremendous persistence and self-belief to put in a considerably improved second half display.
At the heart of his performance were two fantastic goals. First he raced almost the length of the pitch to support Robin van Persie, and lifted the ball neatly over Brad Friedel. Then he beat the offside trap to meet a remarkable lofted pass from Alex Song, and finish expertly across the American. Big goals from a player who has not been a fan favourite of late.
Late on, a headless chicken who goes by the name of Scott Parker was sent off for a second bookable offence, and Arsenal were able to see out the game with a bit of keep-ball against ten men whilst ‘Oles’ rang around the Emirates. A remarkable turnaround, and a contender for the most entertaining game in our new stadium’s short history.
We’re not out of the woods yet. Amidst the Arsenal fans’ gloating, one song was conspicuous by its absence. Quick though we were to ask Adebayor what the score was, or to remind Spurs they had been two up before collapsing, there was no chant for the man who had masterminded the victory: Arsene Wenger.
He got his XI spot on, starting Yossi Benayoun ahead of the more fancied Gervinho and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. His recent faith in Tomas Rosicky was vindicated with the Czech’s finest performance in years, and his decision to retain Walcott rewarded with two excellent goals. And yet the 60,000-strong crowd did not see fit to salute Le Boss individually. Perhaps we were too busy taunting our rivals. Or perhaps there’s more to it.
Grateful though we all are for yesterday, there is a strong and accurate feeling that redemption is about more than one game. This was the first of three hugely significant league games, which will also take in clashes with Liverpool and Newcastle. The performance yesterday has to be a blueprint for those games, and beyond. If we are to qualify for the Champions League we need to consistently find that level of desire, that degree of determination, and that quality in our play.
Each of our goals was expertly taken, and each demonstrated a player prepared to go that extra mile for his team. Â Each of those five goals gave rise to joy and, crucially, belief. Â Belief that this is a side who are capable of taking fourth place, ensuring Champions League qualification, and (with the right reinforcements) pushing on beyond that in the year to come.
Today marks a year to the day since the Carling Cup Final defeat by Birmingham – a game which signified the beginning of something on an annus horribilis for Arsene’s Arsenal. Let’s hope yesterday’s victory can signify the start of a more enjoyable twelve months.
The table makes unpleasant reading for Arsenal fans today. Â Spurs are in the top six; Arsenal are in the bottom six. Â If Tottenham were to win their game in hand, they’d have more than double our points tally. Â Seven games in to the season, we have less points than the promoted trio of Swansea, Norwich and QPR.
After the game, Arsene trotted out the now-familiar refrain of Arsenal’s problematic braking system:
“In the first half I felt we played a little but with the handbrake on.”
Maybe. Â But I thought a handbrake was supposed to stop you going downhill fast?
This wasn’t, by any stretch, our worst performance of the season. Â But that only makes the fact we failed to take any points away from it all the more damning. Â The first half was a fairly even affair, and we should have taken the lead when great work from Van Persie down the left saw the Dutchman cut the ball back to the onrushing Gervinho, who put his effort wide at the near post. Â It was a fantastic chance, and underlined some of my concerns about the Ivorian. Â When he signed I compared him to Chelsea’s Salomon Kalou, and it was as much for his inconsistency and erratic decision-making as his pace, trickery and versatility. Â It’s clear Arsene is a big admirer of the winger, but at this level you simply have to put chances like this one away.
Spurs had opportunities of their own. Â When Alex Song overplayed in defence, Wojciech Szczesny spread himself well to block Scott Parker’s goalbound effort. Â There was little he could do, however, about the goal that gave Spurs the lead.
Rafael Van der Vaart uses his arm to control the ball
When Emmanuel Adebayor brought the ball under control on the edge of our area, Kieran Gibbs and Bacary Sagna were nowhere to be seen. Â Adebayor looped the ball over Mertesacker, for Van der Vaart to bring it down and finish smartly in to the far corner. Â The German immediately appealed for handball, and whilst replays yesterday still left me feeling it was a marginal decision, the photograph on the right provides little room for doubt.
With Van der Vaart already on a booking for a lunge at Kieran Gibbs, a deliberate handball could even have seen him dismissed, which would have altered the pattern of the game enormously. Â Some suggested he was lucky not to go for his celebration, which saw him embrace fans in the crowd, but that’s a rule I’m neither fond nor keen to take advantage of.
The start of the second half saw Arsenal looking purposeful, and we swiftly had an equaliser – Alex Song danced to the byling and pulled a left-footed cross in the box for Aaron Ramsey to tap in.
From then on, however, we simply failed to impose ourselves. Â Spurs grew as the game wore on, switching from a 4-4-2 to a 4-5-1 to combat our midfield trio.
The winning goal was one strewn with errors. Â First Arteta and Ramsey were slow to react to a quick Spurs throw in; then when the ball was cleared Kyle Walker was not closed down and allowed room to hit a screamer from range. Â Powerful though the shot was, Wojciech Szczesny (who had produced another outstanding save to deny Adebayor) will know he ought to have done better, allowing himself to be beaten by a late swerve on the ball.
At this stage there were still twenty minutes to go, but instead of laying the Tottenham goal to siege, we lay down and meekly accepted our fate. Â Even when we threw Per Mertesacker upfront in stoppage time, we seemed reluctant to hoist the ball towards him. Â There was a lack of urgency and a clear lack of belief.
At full-time Arsene Wenger shook hands with Harry Redknapp and his assistant, before being pursued by the demented figure of Clive Allen, who felt he’d been overlooked for a handshake. Â Allen himself overlooked the fact that he’s about one above ‘kit man’ in the Spurs pecking order, and that he did little to endear himself to Arsene by giving him a shove on the touchline in this fixture last year.
As I said, it wasn’t our worst performance of the season, and young Francis Coquelin can be very proud of the job he did holding midfield. Â However, there were still plenty of negatives. Â Aaron Ramsey, goal aside, had a dreadful game and seems to be making countless wrong decisions on the ball. Â His performance highlighted a longer-term problem – without Wilshere or Diaby, we don’t have anyone in central midfield with the acceleration to beat a man. Â It means our game is inevitably slower and more predictable.
Defensive organisation was again an issue, and both Gervinho and Walcott will have reason to feel they didn’t contribute enough to turn our possession in to chances. Â The greatest blow could yet be the injury to Bacary Sagna, who is expected to miss three months after breaking a fibula. Â Sagna remains an outstanding right-back and relatively consistent performer, and without experienced cover could prove to be a huge loss. Â Although Carl Jenkinson replaced him yesterday, I wonder if Coquelin might be given a go in a role he played several times for Lorient last season.
Another international break now. Â A fortnight of stewing over how to put this right. Â Just what we don’t need.
