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Schalke 2 – 2 Arsenal: Decent result; Disappointing circumstances

130 comments November 7th, 2012

Schalke 2 – 2 Arsenal (Walcott 18, Giroud 26, Huntelaar 45, Farfan 67)
Match Report| Highlights | Arsene’s reaction 

We would all have taken a draw beforehand…
On paper, it’s a creditable result.  However, losing a 2-0 lead is never a good thing, and the best sides tend to maintain that kind of advantage.

I’m not sure it’s a game we would have deserved to win…
If Theo Walcott had snatched a late winner, it would have been mightily harsh on Schalke.  Our opening two-goal salvo was hugely against the run of play, and whilst it understandable knocked the wind out of the German sails, they dominated for large periods of the game.

Theo got Giroud out of jail on the first goal…
Put clear on goal, the Frenchman should have scored.  Fortunately, when he trundled in to the keeper, Walcott was on hand to pick up the pieces and tap the ball in to an empty net – yet another example that he doesn’t need to play through the middle to score a ‘striker’s goal’.  It was telling that when the Frenchman did find the net just a few minutes later, it was with an instinctive headed finish – one that didn’t give him time to think.  He owes a lot to another fantastic cross from Lukas Podolski.

Vermaelen at left-back was the right call…
Koscielny looked more comfortable at centre-back than he has for most of the season, and Vermaelen was steady if a little positionally naive at full-back.  He has helped by an injury to Schalke’s marauding full-back Uchida, who looked a major threat in the opening period of the game.  On first viewing it appeared he might have been at fault for the equalising goal; in fact it was Podolski who ought to have followed Farfan to the far post.

Blaming the referee is a little bit rich…
Whilst there were a couple of decisions that plainly went against us, we were also lucky beneficiaries of the officiating on a couple of occasions.  There are plenty of referees who would’ve given a penalty for the (albeit accidental) handball by Per Mertesacker, and by my understanding of the increasingly laughable offside rule Olivier Giroud should have been flagged on the first goal.

The green shoots of recovery were there…
Arsenal scored a couple of half-decent goals and briefly looked like their confidence had been restored to them.  Had they managed to make it to half-time at 2-0, I suspect it might have been a rather different game.  As it was, Huntelaar got the crucial goal and Schalke attacked the second half with real vigour and ultimately outplayed us.  Even so, in the 20 minute period after Arsenal went ahead, I saw enough to remind me of why people were talking about this team in such positive terms at the start of the season.  Now we just need to see that across the 90.