Archive for March 30th, 2008

Bolton 2 – 3 Arsenal: The Most Remarkable of All Comebacks

38 comments March 30th, 2008

Cesc celebrates an amazing win

I am very glad I made a point of posting my thoughts at half-time in yesterday’s game. Viewed next to today’s piece, it should highlight the incredible disparity between two of the strangest 45 minute sections of any season I can remember.

I don’t want to dwell for too long on that horrific first half. I actually thought we played pretty well, and could have had the game won within the first fifteen minutes. Nicklas Bendtner and Robin van Perise both went close, before Bolton took the lead in their first attack after a well-worked throw in ended with Matthew Taylor nodding in at the far post. Kolo Toure was arguably at fault for allowing Taylor to get across him, but surely we can forgive him the slightest error when playing a in a position fairly unfamiliar to him.

Things got worse when Abou Diaby was sent off for a horrible tackle on Greitar Steinsson.

Abou Diaby's lunge

I don’t believe it was malicious, just poorly-timed and typically sloppy. After this latest set-back, Diaby’s Arsenal career is sinking further into malaise. His potential is evident, but now is the time to step up and fulfill it. He’s had more chances than most.

Toure and Bendtner went close again, then before you knew it, we were two nil down – this time from one of our own throw-ins. Mathieu Flamini recieved a pass under pressure and failed to turn away from the hounding Diouf, enabled Taylor to regain possession, and his deflected drive beat Almunia.

Two nil down, one man down, and to top it all of, Flamini blazed over from Toure’s excellent cut-back right on half-time. At that stage many fans were wondering whether or not Arsene should declare the game lost and try and rest the likes of Fabregas ahead of the Champions League tie with Liverpool.

If morale was bad at that stage, it was soon to be worse. The start of the second half saw Bolton come out in search of a killer third goal, and we were under siege. Were it not for a remarkable reaction save from Almunia to deny Gary Cahill, it would’ve been game over. But it wasn’t…

With half an hour to go, Arsene made the substitutions that changed the game. Theo Walcott and Emmanuel Adebayor replaced Philippe Senderos and Nicklas Bendtner, and with that came a tactical switch. Kolo Toure and William Gallas played as roaming centre-halves, with Clichy and Walcott in more advanced roles as wing-backs. Flamini and Cesc patrolled pretty much the entire pitch, as Alex Hleb drifted in from the left to support Adebayor and Van Persie.

The new arrivals immediately changed our game. Adebayor’s pace and power visibly worried the Bolton centre-backs, whilst Theo Walcott was outstanding all along the right-flank.

William Gallas might not have been proud of the way in which he turned his back on the Matt Taylor shot which ended up in the back of the net. But he can afford to look back fondly on the neat finish which began our remarkable turnaround. Cesc’s corner was flicked on by Ivan Campo, and the skipper arrived unmarked at the far post to volley the ball home.

From the nature of the Arsenal celebrations, it was clear belief was there that a comeback was possible. And within six minutes, we had equalised. A neat move involving a backheel from Emmanuel Adebayor finding a storming Flamini run ended in Hleb being brought down for a definite penalty, which Robin van Persie tucked away for his first goal since October.

The Dutchman then had two good chances to win the game after crosses from Walcott and Flamini, but blazed over on both attempts. But we did not stop coming at Bolton, and we finally got our reward in stoppage time. Clichy played Hleb in to the left of the penalty area, and the Belarussian showed a remarkably cool head to find Fabregas, whose shot was deflected twice, the final touch making it an own goal by Jlloyd Samuel.

The celebrations were ecstatic, and understandably so. It was a remarkable achievement, and keeps the faint glimmer of our title chances alive. Every single player was outstanding in that second half, though the contribution of Mathieu Flamini was frightening. The combination of stamina and fearlessness will be nigh-impossible to replace should he decide to leave. Walcott was also excellent, and must surely be in contention to start Wednesday’s Champions League tie with Liverpool.

Yes, the first half exposes deficiencies in the squad which are genuinely worrying. But for today at least, let’s just celebrate a remarkable game, and a fantastic win.

ps. Highlights here.


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