Three big points in the last game before January
2 comments December 29th, 2008
Arsenal 1Â – 0 Portsmouth (Gallas 81)
Highlights here; Arsene’s reaction here
Say what you will about William Gallas: he scores some very important goals. A winner against Portsmouth might not seem the most crucial of his recent efforts, but given the fragile state of our confidence and the fact we hadn’t won in four games, his header was a big moment.
The performance was, as many have been of late, poor. Robin van Persie was left on the bench, with Nicklas Bendtner starting the game alongside Emmanuel Adebayor. Kolo Toure was also left out, with Mikael Silvestre slotting in alongside William Gallas.
Early on it became apparent that our central midfield of Diaby and Denilson lacked the neccessary craft to break down a very defensive Portsmouth side. To counter that, Arsene pushed Bendtner out to the left and granted Nasri a free role behind Adebayor. Nasri was a rare positive in a stagnant performance, buzzing all over the pitch and, in the absence of Cesc, being the only genuine creative outlet.
The change in system was a response to almost falling behind when Peter Crouch nodded a header against the near post. Soon after, we ought to have taken the lead when Abou Diaby slipped in Emmanuel Adebayor. The Togolese striker skipped round David James and looked certain to score, but a combination of Sol Campbell and Sylvain Distin somehow prevented the goal.
Adebayor arguably had the best chance of the second half too, volleying into the side-netting after David James had flapped at a corner. The Portsmouth keeper had been up to his calamity capers all day, and it was no surprise when our goal was eventually the product of a set-piece.
Carlos Vela and Aaron Ramsey had injected a bit of pace into our game, and as the pressure mounted Portsmouth eventually succumbed: James was beaten to Denilson’s free kick by Gallas, and the ball bounced agonisingly into the net. After the frustrations of the last few weeks, my celebration was a moment of unadulterated joy. I wasn’t at the ground yesterday, but the passion was still there: tea was split, laptop knocked over, and my dog looked on confused by the provenance of my valedictory dance.
I could spend a long time going over the same old flaws – principally the chronic lack of depth in central midfield – but we (and, we pray, Arsene) know those already. We have stumbled through to January, and before yesterday we had won only three of our last ten games. However, a new year, new resolutions, and new players beckon. The next league game we play is at home to Bolton in almost two weeks’ time. By January 10th, we might even have a signing…
Well, you never know.
