Fab Lukasz Protects The Points
258 comments November 11th, 2010
Wolves 0 – 2 Arsenal (Chamakh 1, 90+3)
Highlights | Arsene’s reaction
After the defeat against Newcastle at the weekend, I questioned Lukasz Fabianski’s right to be Arsenal’s first-choice goalkeeper. Based on the evidence of last season, it was a fair aspersion to cast. The hallmark of his disastrous 09/10 campaign was shattered confidence: each disaster had a cumulative effect, gradually wearing down of his self-esteem, and the mistakes followed on like dominoes. Last night, however, he showed us that something has changed.
Undoubtedly, Fabianski made a big mistake against Newcastle. But instead of allowing that to be a catalyst to a downward spiral, he recovered with perhaps his best ever performance in an Arsenal shirt. Not even his ridiculous pink outfit could make him look silly: he was outstanding.
Arsene Wenger said:
“I think he did extremely well and made a fantastic save in the last minute of the game. He was of course disappointed with the goal we conceded against Newcastle on Sunday but overall it’s good that not only he had a good game tonight but as well that he has the mental strength to respond quickly in a positive way.”
This was a big, big win. Wolves will be wondering how they ended up losing by two goals. Fabianski is one of the main reasons, as he made a succession of impressive saves. But this Arsenal side showed desire and determination that was notably lacking at the weekend. When they needed to put their body on the line and in front of the ball, they did.
Arsene made a couple of changes to the team beyond the enforced switch of replacing the suspended Koscielny with Djourou. Rosicky and Arshavin came in for Nasri and Walcott.
The introduction of Rosicky reaped dividends inside the first minute, as he found Song, whose cross from the right was met by the forceful header of Marouane Chamakh to give us an early lead and the perfect start. A goal so soon after kick-off threw Wolves, and we ought to have taken advantage. Andrey Arshavin missed a presentable opportunity as we put their defenders under pressure high up the pitch.
As the half wore on, however, Wolves crept back in to it, and Fabianski had to produce his first piece of outstanding goalkeeping to claw a deflected cross away from the presumably empty head of Stehen Hunt. A Hernandez-esque header from Kevin Doyle also threatened, but fortunately dropped just over the bar.
The second half started with a great opportunity for Cesc Fabregas, but he dragged his shot wide. After that, and with the exception of an Arshavin shot that cannoned off the post and a Djourou effort from a corner where he really ought to have scored, it was all Wolves pressure. Our goal was under siege. Tomas Rosicky made a clearance off the line, and Fabianski was on hand to palm away a delicate lob from Kevin Doyle.
His most crucial save came in stoppage time. Despite seeing Christophe Berra’s shot late, he got a strong left-hand to the ball to prevent it nestling neatly in the corner. He then instantly gathered the ball to prevent an opposition forward latching on to the rebound. And there was more: he also had the presence of mind to look up and launch a swift counter-attack.
It was a move which ended with Fabregas clipping the ball through to Marouane Chamakh, whose unorthodox finish with the outside of his boot was too powerful for Marcus Hahnemann to keep out. Game over.
Some will say Fabregas shouldn’t have been on the pitch, after catching Stephen Ward with a late lunge by the touchline. It was indeed very reminiscent of Joe Cole’s challenge on Laurent Koscielny on the opening day of the season, which produced a red card. On this occasion, Fabregas escaped with a caution.
I haven’t had a chance to study the morning’s headlines, but it wouldn’t surprise me if that challenge picked up undue attention. Perhaps it ought to have been a red card, but I hope any article condemning Cesc also mention Karl Henry’s appalling ‘tackle’ on Andrey Arshavin, for which he wasn’t even booked. After the game, Cesc went in to the Wolves dressing room to apologise to Ward. I wonder if Henry did the same.
Fabianski aside, there were plenty of big performances. The back four were solid – Sebastien Squillaci has adapted to the Premier League remarkably quickly. Until the 94th minute, Arsene Wenger made just one substitution, meaning that plenty of sweat was shed in the name of the Arsenal cause. Even Andrey Arshavin could be seen chasing and harrying defenders. Marouane Chamakh’s goals, meanwhile, came 92 mins 26 seconds apart (thanks Optajoe), which is ample demonstration of the fact he worked solidly from the first whistle to the last.
Arsenal will need to do the same at Goodison Park on Sunday if we’re to prevent this from becoming another November to forget.
