Carling Cup Final: Familiar Failure For Arsenal
151 comments February 28th, 2011
Birmingham City 2 – 1 Arsenal (Zigic 28, Van Persie 38, Martins 89)
Highlights | Arsene’s reaction
You have to credit this Arsenal team: they really know how to throw games away in style. An 89th minute rick to gift Obafemi Martins an open goal for the winner is a hell of a way to go.
I think, in the cold light of day, the majority of Arsenal fans will admit to having expected to win yesterday. And why wouldn’t they? Fourteen league places separate the two teams, and Arsenal have already beaten Birmingham home and away this season.
More than that: Arsenal have an infinitely more talented team. You could argue that from 1-11, we have superior players. And yet we lost. You can only marvel at our capacity to snatch defeat from the gleaming jaws of victory.
I have said that on paper we are better than Birmingham in every department. I maintain that is the case, in spite of my reservations about the XI that Arsene selected yesterday. He plumped for Tomas Rosicky over the likes of Bendtner and Diaby. That was surprising in itself, but I found the fact he deployed the Czech in Cesc Fabregas’ central role whilst shunting Nasri wide absolutely staggering.
That position, which is essentially a ‘number 10’ role, demands a player who is efficient in the final third; a maker and a scorer of goals. Cesc is perfect. Nasri is a great alternative. Rosicky, with one goal in a year and as much penetrative power as a bullet made of butter, isn’t. He’s lovely, our Tomas, but rather pointless. He can chase and hassle and harry and try the occasional backheel, but he doesn’t actually do very much. I would have far rather seen some bulk and height added to the side in the form of Abou Diaby or indeed Nicklas Bendtner.
Regardless of my concerns, our team was still more than strong enough to win the game. And Birmingham, let’s face it, aren’t very good. Their team contains people like Stephen Carr, who has already retired from football once, and Nikola Zigic, who makes Peter Crouch look like the bastard lovechild of Jesus and Pele.
But they wanted it. And they wanted it, much as it pains me to say it, more than us. And that counts for far more in football than our club seem prepared to recognise.
The warning signs were there early on. Lee Bowyer raced through on goal and rounded Wojciech Szczesny, only for the Pole to bring him down. As I braced myself for a penalty and a red card, we were spared by an offside flag. An offside flag which, replays show, was entirely incorrect.
Arsenal recovered and their attacking flair began to show, with Andrey Arshavin forcing a smart save from eventual man of the match Ben Foster. But as I watched the game unfold, with Arsenal failing to take the initiative, a horrifying equation began to formulate in my mind…
Arsenal Defence + Set Piece + 6’8″ Striker = Disaster.
And as soon as Birmingham won their first corner, I was proved horribly right. Roger Johnson leapt above Laurent Koscielny to nod the ball towards goal, where Zigic towered over three surrounding defenders and Szczesny to nod in to the net. The defenders and particularly the ‘keeper could arguably have done better, but sometimes you just have to concede that there is little you can do to stop a literal freak of nature.
Conceding was a blow. But there was plenty of football to be played. The goal in itself wasn’t decisive. What gave me the greatest indication as to how the match would end, however, was our collective reaction. There was no rallying, no jockeying, no encouragement. Just sullen faces and bowed heads. It was one of those horrible, horrible moments where that mindless pundit-talk phrase of “lacking leadership” genuinely seemed true.
We clawed our way back in to the game thanks to an outstanding piece of finishing from Robin van Persie. Jack Wilshere tore through the midfield only to see his show crash back off the bar. However, the ball rebounded to Andrey Arshavin who dribbled to the byline and crossed for Van Persie to hook home with his right-foot. It was a goal fit to grace a cup final.
Either side of half-time, Arsenal were in the ascendancy. Birmingham were resolute but increasingly ragged as fatigue took its toll. Although van Persie had to be withdrawn due to an injury sustained whilst scoring, Samir Nasri was an increasingly influential figure in the game and Foster had to be at his best to deny both the Frenchman and Robin’s replacement, Nicklas Bendtner.
With extra-time approaching, Arsene threw Chamakh on to join Bendtner and attempt to exploit the limping Roger Johnson, who was playing on through a calf strain. Despite the switch, we could not put together any sustained pressure. Despite the fact that Arsenal were on the verge of silverware, we somehow played without any great sense of urgency.
As we moved in to the last ten minutes, it was essentially “next goal wins”. And the next goal, of course, was Birmingham’s. And, as we all now know, they won.
A ball launched in to our box fell harmlessly between Laurent Koscielny and Wojciech Szczesny. The proper Pole appeared to call for it, but the semi-Pole seemed to go for the ball anyway only to pull out at the last moment. The ball bounced off the keeper’s chest and fell perfectly in to the patch of Birmingham City’s veteran striker Obafemi Martins, who couldn’t miss. And didn’t.
There’s a bit of a debate raging between who exactly is to blame: Szczesny or Koscielny. The vast majority blame Koscielny, and I can understand the logic: if the defender goes for the ball, he has to clear it. Either that, or leave it completely. As it was, he did neither one nor the other.
I don’t think Wojciech is entirely blameless. His call might have been late, or weak. He could have come through Koscielny and cleared him out himself. Just because the ‘keeper is young and promising doesn’t make him exempt from criticism. Only by making mistakes will he learn.
At that stage, a team lacking Vermaelen, Fabregas and Van Persie, it’s three most obvious leaders, stood no chance of coming back in to the game. The final whilst sparked raucous celebrations from the Birmingham end, and an evacuation of those in red and white.
Arsenal fans were left to reflect on a day that promised much, and delivered little. The funny thing about yesterday was that we were such clear favourites that winning would have brought relief, not joy. Defeat promised humiliation, and it’s the anguish of the latter that we’re left with this morning. Losing this final, after all the talk of ending the wait for trophies, was downright embarrassing.
But the truth is that we didn’t deserve any more. Birmingham had other chances, striking the post and feeling aggrieved that a one-on-one fell to Zigic rather than a player capable of kicking the ball rather than just heading it. On the day, they were outstanding. Every single one of their players overperformed. Most of ours underperformed.
It’s extraordinary that this team can beat Barcelona and lose to Birmingham. But that is symptomatic of the consistent arrogance this squad displays. There are certain games where we turn up and expect to win based merely on our talent. See the recent draw against Orient for evidence. If we had played with half the urgency we showed against Barca, we would have battered Birmingham.
That message should be coming from the top, and by that I mean the manager. It’s a point that’s been made before, but these are his players and he has to take responsibility for them. There weren’t enough characters out there who knew what was required to secure victory. The lad in the picture at the top of this article was one of the few. Jack was devastated at the final whistle, but he will hopefully have many more opportunities to set this right.
Yesterday was Birmingham’s day. Let them have it. We might not have won anything for six years, but for them it’s approaching fifty. We could yet win another prize in May.
I can get over failing to win the Carling Cup. What will upset me far more is if this is beginning of the end of our season. There’s still plenty to fight for – above all, pride. The fans have a right to expect better. Let’s see it.
