Going into the break, the gap with Villa is far bigger than three points…
Add comment March 23rd, 2009
After Aston Villa’s crushing 5-0 defeat at Anfield, the gap between them and Arsenal is bigger than three points – an attituditional gulf has opened up between the two teams. Arsene is talking (albeit whilst acknowledging the irrational nature of his ambition) about chasing the top three, whilst Martin O’Neill seems ready to take a ‘Europa League’ place and run:
“You would have to say now there won’t be much of a threat from us to Arsenal’s position. It’s no fluke that the top four are where they are and we are in a dip right now. We are not as strong as those four clubs. I have said it many times before and I will say it again – we still have a lot of catching up to do. It is still reachable as Arsenal have many tough games to come, but they are getting some of their injured players back and it’s going to be very, very tough.”
To be fair to O’Neill, he is probably just trying to take the pressure of his players in an attempt to get them to turn their dreadful form around. He wants his squad to come back from the International break with a clear mind, and just take each game as it somes. In that respect, the ‘Interlull’ couldn’t have come at a better time for Villa.
For us, the break is an inconvenience. A glance at the current form table shows just how great the disparity between the recent performances of us and Villa is, and I’m sure that with more league fixtures in the coming days there would be opportunities to widen that gap.
Saturday evening was a good example of our improving form, with two players who’ve come in for plenty of criticism this season at the forefront of our display. Nicklas Bendtner powerfully headed in his twelfth goal of the season, meaning he now has an identical total to our supposed first-choice forward, Emmanuel Adebayor. Adebayor’s hamstring injury occurred six full weeks ago now – it’s clear there’s been no rush to bring him back. With Bendtner’s all-round play improving and a goal tally that isn’t to be sniffed at, I think the Togolese striker will have to put in some of the hard work that was the hallmark of his early days at Arsenal if he wants to regain his place in the side.
Abou Diaby also scored another terrific goal, and Arsene Wenger has commented once again on the comparisons between the 22-year old and Patrick Vieira:
“There are similarities. They are the same stature and the same size and have the similar style. Also Patrick is from Senegal and Abou is from Ivory Coast. But there is a lot of room for him to get where Patrick was. He is only 22 years-old and Patrick is a good role model for him.
In the first half I was not always happy with his performance. There was not a lot wrong but our positioning in the middle was not right some of the time. We were on the back foot and did not protect our defence.
But in the second half he did well. Abou has power coming through the middle of the park and he showed that on the goal. That is interesting for me. I feel there are similarities with Vieira and I feel he is growing at the moment.”
Saturday’s performance was a microcosmic encapsulation of Diaby’s capacity to both frustrate and thrill. In the first half he was sloppy, and occasionally lazy in tracking back. In the second, he appeared to have the ball on a string, languidly bringing it past players as if they weren’t there, and thumping one effort into the top of the net and another against the post. If only he could be a) consistently fit and b) consistently good, what a player he’d be.
Andrey Arshavin deserves credit again. Not so much for any moments of genius in the final third, but because Saturday was the first time it looked as if he’d been targetted by the opposition, and it didn’t phase him one bit. He was kicked all over the park, but got up, and got on with it. He almost managed the perfect retaliation, crashing one effort from thirty yards off the top of the bar with almost as much force as Steven Taylor used to thrust his forearm into the Russian’s face.
The next two weeks is a bit of a waiting game for Arsene and us fans. In order to keep our momentum going, it’s fairly essential that all our key players return fit. Start praying… NOW.
