Arsenal 4 – 2 Bolton: Much more fun than just winning 2-0
48 comments January 21st, 2010
Arsenal 4 – 2 Bolton (Cahill 7, Taylor (pen) 28, Rosicky 43, Fabregas 52, Vermaelen 65, Arshavin 85)
Highlights | Arsene’s reaction
If Sunday’s win at the Reebok was fairly routine, last night’s return fixture was anything but. Perhaps it was a full moon or something, but couple last night’s game with Aston Villa beating Blackburn 6-4 and it’s clear that something very odd was going on in the football world last night. Even Liverpool won.
Half an hour in and it felt like the moment of silence for Haiti that opened the fixture had extended right in to the game. Arsenal were 2-0 down and the fans were shellshocked. Some truly calamitous defending had put us in that position: Gael Clichy celebrated his return to the side by attempting to hit a passing plane with a clearance that dropped for Gary Cahill to swivel and volley home. Shortly after that, a typically panicked attempt to deal with a set-piece saw Denilson lunge in and a penalty awarded. Matt Taylor tucked it just beyond Almunia before celebrating in front of the Arsenal fans. I imagine he felt very pleased with himself. At that point, an Arsenal comeback was hard to envisage.
We needed something to change the game. It was provided by Tomas Rosicky. Collecting the ball outside the area from his right-wing position, he looked up and saw the supporting runs of Fabregas and Eduardo. In that moment, Rosicky faced a choice: slip the ball inside and embark on another round of tippy-tappy pingball against Bolton’s giant centre-halfs, or go for goal. His decision was emphatic, with Juicy Jaaskelainen left flat-footed by an absolute rocket in to the near post.
That goal changed the mood entirely, and we started the second half full of optimism. It’s no surprise the crucial equaliser came from our captain, Cesc Fabregas. A move that included a reportedly dreadful tackle from William Gallas ended with Cesc bustling his way in to the area and finishing between the keeper’s legs. Bolton, however, were furious that play wasn’t stopped. Now, I’m yet to see Gallas’ challenge on screen. It may well be terrible and if it is I won’t hide from it. However, Gallas hardly has a track record of thuggish activity. And furthermore, it is the referee’s responsibility to stop the game – no-one else’s. That is the rule that was introduced and Arsene is so obsessed with the flow of play that he is insistent that his team follow it to the letter – to the point that he had no complaints last week when Everton attempted to capitalise on a Denilson injury by putting James Vaughan through on goal. With all that said, I can understand where Coyle is coming from: if the team I managed chucked away a two goal lead, I’d be doing all I could to detract attention from that fact too.
After drawing level a winner suddenly seemed inevitable. And so it was when Thomas Vermaelen ended his ‘goal drought’ with a thumping volley in to the top corner after Diaby knocked down a set-piece. Bolton then started hurling the ball in to the box at every opportunity, but Vermaelen was as dominating at the back as he had been in front of goal. Andrey Arshavin, irked in to action by a foul from the world’s least inspiring substitute, Gavin McCann, added a fourth after battling past a couple of challenges in the penalty area. The game was safe, and we had the two goal lead we needed: we were top of the league.
Full-time brought a mixture of elation and relief. Although everyone is fully aware Chelsea have a game in hand, being top so soon after being ruled out of the race by so many is a symbolic victory. The fight we showed to come back from 2-0 down (not for the first time against Bolton, I might add) exemplifies what makes Arsene so firm in his belief that we will contest this trophy until the last possible second.
The victory came at a cost – Abou Diaby picked up a calf strain which I’d guess could put him out of contention for a couple of weeks. That was followed up with the news today that Kieran Gibbs will miss the rest of the season after an operation on his foot – fortunately left-back is one area where we’re very much covered.
In transfer news, Sky linked us yesterday with a £7m move for Fulham centre-back Chris Smalling. It wouldn’t surprise me to see us accumulating a few defenders over the next six months. By the time next season rolls around, Gallas, Silvestre, Senderos and Campbell could all well have left the club.
There’s a few mad rumours around today about Edin Dzeko, but as far as I can see there is absolutely nothing in them. If anything, last night’s comeback may have strengthened Arsene’s conviction that this team can thrive as they are.
Today is a good day. If you’re feeling a bit blue, just go and take a look at the league table. Till tomorrow.
