march 15th
18.04 – Blackburn 2-0 Arsenal
The decision to allow Matthew Upson to leave despite not having anyone better looks to have backfired. Martin Keown did his hamstring after 18 minutes, we had no central defender on the bench, Gilberto came on to play alongside Pascal Cygan and Arsenal conceded the first goal with 4 minutes.
Cygan standing off Tugay then turning his back on the Turkish international’s shot allowed Blackburn to make it 2-0 and there was just no way back for Arsenal after that.
While he has brought unrivalled success to the club, sometimes AW makes some odd decisions. We should have had another defender on the bench today, even if it was Igors. We should not have allowed Matthew Upson to leave until the end of the campaign, if at all. We’re now in the situation I’ve been afraid of all season. Sol Campbell and Martin Keown both out injured, and what we have as cover is just not good enough. Cygan is just not Arsenal quality. Maybe we’ve been spoiled a bit with the centre halves we’ve had over the last few years, but if we have ambitions of winning the Champions League, we need better. Much better.
This summer we need to spend proper money on a proper centre half. An Edmilson, a Hofland, a Mexes, a Chivu, a John Terry. Make a long term investment in somebody with real quality. Taking a gamble on a midfield player or a forward is one thing – trying to replace a Tony Adams or a Martin Keown with a player who’s spent most of his career in the French second division is quite another.
So, we’re two points clear at the top after Man Utd’s 1-0 win over Villa today. It’s not the end of the world, but I’m afraid that unless we get Keown and Campbell back soon, a season that has promised so much, could deliver very little.
