Arsenal stumble whilst Orienteering
4 comments February 21st, 2011
Leyton Orient 1-1 Arsenal (Rosicky 53, Tehoue 88)
Highlights | Arsene’s reaction
On Wednesday night, Arsenal shot for the moon and battered the stars, beating the world’s greatest team 2-1. Yesterday, the gravitational pull of reality saw us crash back through the atmosphere and firmly down to Earth.
The draw at Orient is no disaster. Let’s not forget that only the width of the crossbar presented Man United from getting the same result in a home tie with a non league club.
The Os, however, were understandably delighted with the result, but not many of their fans will be booking their trips to Old Trafford for the Quarter-Final. A replay at the Emirates will be ample reward to appease both Orient’s fans and book-keepers. The return fixture is an inconvenience for Arsenal, but one they should be able to navigate without too many complications.
The biggest concern, then, is perhaps not the result, but the continued unreliability of our second string. Arsene Wenger rotated, meaning that of our current ‘first XI’ only Alex Song and Bacary Sagna started. Andrey Arshavin, Wednesday’s matchwinner from the bench, was also included.
Elsewhere, it was a mixture of deputies (Rosicky, Denilson, Bendtner) and a debutant: teenage Spanish defender, Ignasi Miquel. Miquel was one of the positives from the game – his composed display suggested a player of both of poise and potential.
The full line-up was: Almunia © – Sagna Squillaci Miquel Gibbs – Song Denilson – Bendtner Rosicky Arshavin – Chamakh. That side contains players with more than enough ability to dispatch Orient. And yet…
It’s a perverse situation. You’d expect the understudies to be the ones chomping at the bit, fighting for every ball, and showing the urgency born out of a desire to supplant their first-team superiors. Not so. Whilst our best XI play with heart and high-tempo, this line-up are remarkably casual.
They were completely dominant yesterday. With about ten minutes to go, the stat for completed passes read Arsenal: 658, Orient: 169. However, once Tomas Rosicky nodded us in front (his first goal in more than a year), we didn’t show any real desire to go on and kill the game. A second goal for Arsenal would have made the remaining minutes an exhibition. Instead, we left a glimmer of hope for the League Two side.
You have to credit Orient. The sat deep, clung on, and the gambled late on with a couple of attacking substations. One of the men brought on, Jonathan Tehoue, scored what will surely become a famous goal, side-stepping between two feeble challenges from Miquel and Gibbs to fire under Almunia.
Suffice to say, the existing hierarchy remains undisturbed. The majority of these players – like the prospect of a replay – remain far from Arsene’s first choice.
