Archive for November 26th, 2006

Bolton 3 – 1 Arsenal: Ouch.

399 comments November 26th, 2006

Look at that scoreline. I know it’s hard, but take your hands away from your eyes and stare at it. Painful, eh? Couldn’t be worse, could it?

Nicolas Anelka scored twice.

Just when you thought…

Where to turn? Who to blame? The team? Maybe: the first half in particular was lacking in passion and bite, and the defending for Bolton’s first goal was shocking – Emmanuel Adebayor cunningly running in the opposite direction to the man he was supposed to be marking.

Freddie Ljungberg was made to look like a bit of an idiot after his comments in the week. If anyone needs to learn a lesson, it’s him. Or at least, unlearn whatever the last three years have taught him in order to try and get back to somewhere near his best.

Not everyone was poor – Philippe Senderos looks a different player to the Bambi-on-ice figure of a year ago – his passing was accurate and his headers powerful. Gilberto, our goalscorer, was excellent in the centre of the park, and Theo Walcott showed glimpses of his potential with an impressive wing-display, much as it pains me to say it, reminiscent of Aaron Lennon’s early appearances at Tottenham.

What’s more, Ljungberg, Fabregas, and Adebayor all crashed efforts against the woodwork in a revitalised second half. But the scoreline doesn’t lie, and ultimately that’s all that matters. Yes, we were close to scoring a few more goals, but we didn’t. Hitting the woodwork is no different to smashing it out of the stadium: if it’s not on target, it’s not good enough. It’s not unlucky to hit the post: you’ve missed.

What this team lacks is a natural leader. In recent days I have caught myself thinking fondly of Patrick Vieira. We don’t have a player whose very aura inspires the team to reach greater heights, whose presence terrifies other teams and makes them feel like they’ve lost before they even step onto the pitch. Vieira was that man, Adams was before him, and both Bergkamp and Henry have hit those heights at points in the last five years.

Henry remains the closest thing we have to that, but as a lone striker he is isolated: it is impossible for him to get stuck in and take the game to the opposition.

The game was so bad for us that Arsene has gone to this to this with pretty much no hesitation. I have to say, I agree with him: the title is beyond us for this season. And it’s bloody annoying.


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