Newcastle 1 – 1 Arsenal: Sloppiness costs us two points
1 comment December 6th, 2007
Arsenal could have won at Newcastle last night, if only they’d remembered that a match lasts ninety minutes as opposed to four. When they got an early goal though a stunning Emmanuel Adebayor volley, it looked as if our team were ready to go on and pummel the struggling Northerners. But after a couple of promising breaks, two significant shifts in our team’s play significantly reduced our capacity to attack. The first was a tactical switch – after about twenty minutes, we switched from a threatening 4-4-2 to a timid 4-5-1, with the dangerous Eduardo moving out to the left-wing. The second was a change in attitude: our players began allowing the ball to bounce, ducking out of challenges, and generally becoming careless with their passing.
I wonder if Arsene and the side made the mistake of thinking that because of the way we held onto a lead in the second half at Villa, they could sit back on the one goal advantage. But 45 minutes is a good deal shorter than 86, and although Manuel Almunia gave a commanding display in goal, we should have maintained our usual insistence that the best form of attack is defence.
Our goal had been a special one. After Charles N’Zogbia gave the ball away in the left-back position, Emmanuel Eboue lofted a cross into Emmanuel Adebayor, who took a touch before volleying the ball into the top of the net. It was the kind of finish that until this season many fans thought he was incapable of producing.
However, its quality did not give us the right to sit back on our laurels, and Newcastle’s endeavour deserved the equaliser they scored in the 59th minute. Adebayor and Eduardo conspired to give the ball away in an identical position to N’Zogbia, and a cross into the box reached Steven Taylor, who squeezed his shot into the near post.
After we introduced Nicklas Bendtner for the ineffective Eduardo and moved Rosicky back out to the left we again looked dangerous, but some poor refereeing prevented us from capitalising on our play. Twice long-balls sent the loping Adebayor clear; on both occasions he was fouled, and on both occasions the referee bottled any kind of decision.
So a draw it was, and I consider it a decent point. Judging by some fans’ immediate reactions, there is an air of disappointment at the result. However, you have to look at the names we were missing. Hleb, Flamini, and Fabregas were all out. That’s three quarters of our first choice midfield. Consider United without Ronaldo, Scholes, and Hargreaves. On top that, we were missing Robin van Persie – arguably our most gifted forward. Allow me to quote my friend Allyboy from the arseblog forums:
Well without Flamini, we couldnt break up their attacking play.
Without Hleb we could not keep the ball, and stretch their defensive with his magnetic touches and penetrating runs.
Without Cesc, we could not dictate our attacking tempo properly.
Without Van Persie, we lacked genuine world class natural ability up front.
When you consider all that, and this was their biggest game of the season so far, which they simply could not afford to lose and they HAD to put a performance in, 1-1 is a decent result.
If we can win at Middlesbrough on Sunday, we’ll have taken seven points from a possible nine in three away games. That would be an extremely good return.
So chill-out guys. We’re four points top. Enjoy it.
