Another night for the younger members of our squad to gain experience and get matches under their belt and they’ll have learned last night that you probably need to work a bit harder in the games when things don’t go exactly to plan.
That said the first 30 minutes was all ours, we passed it around nicely, didn’t make too many chances (although Bendtner’s header drew a good save from the keeper), but it was almost when the clock hit the half hour the tide swung in favour of Sp*rs. We stopped doing the simple things and began to give the ball away a lot. Denilson and Diaby were guilty of dwelling on it too much and the back four stopped getting the protection they needed, especially when Johann Djourou was really having a game to forget.
Malbranque missed two good chances in a row and Sp*rs were on top. Then their goal came when Djourou missed a high ball, it came to Berbatov who played Keane through (athough it did look offside to me) and he squared for Jenas the Penis to make it 1-0 to them. Berbatov was being given too much space and despite the fact he’s a lazy cunt he’s got the kind of quality you can’t stand off. Fabianski made one very good save from him after a shot from just outside the box. Still, as much as they played ok in the 15 minute period we certainly made life difficult for ourselves and the strikers got no service whatsoever. Robin van Persie looked knackered after about half an hour and it was no surprise to see him replaced by Eduardo at half-time. It wasn’t a surprise to see Djourou off either for Sagna which meant Justin Hoyte moved into the centre of defence (and Hoyte is a decent player to have in your squad, he did well).
The substitions did make us a bit more solid without really getting us back into the game. We were second to too many 50-50 balls and while Sp*rs were playing well they didn’t really trouble Fabianski, one Keane chance is about all I can remember and he put his shot wide. As an attacking force we weren’t clicking at all, Denilson seemed to always look for a glory pass rather than the more simple option while Gilberto looks a shadow of the player he was last season. Diaby didn’t offer much and Theo Walcott was practically anonymous. He had a decent chance in the first half had he hit it first time but made up for it in the 79th minute when he made a great run, Eduardo played a beautiful pass through to him and got lucky with the finish when the tackle from the Sp*rs defender hit the ball into Theo’s hand, beyond the goalkeeper and in. 1-1. And I laughed, I have to say.
We did perk up a bit after that but not enough to get another goal and they could have had a second when a clearly offside Berbatov wasn’t flagged by the blind cunt of a linesman which allowed some other cunt to go through and play the ball across for Jermaine Defoe but he put it over the bar from about 6 yards out. Which is only right and proper. Any man who has ‘hair’ like Jermaine Defoe deserves all the ill fortune that comes his way. What a cock.
So 1-1 it finished and it’s off WHL in a couple of weeks for the second leg. I did enjoy the ‘You’ll never beat the Arsenal’ chants at the end. Let’s face it, despite how off our game we were this was essentially our reserve side, playing as badly as we’ve seen them play all season, against Sp*rs first XI playing as well as we’ve seen them play and they still didn’t win. There’s no point being too critical about individual performances because giving these lads experience is what this competition is all about. They’re intelligent and they’ll learn and I’d imagine some of them will get some ‘words of advice’ from the boss and the coaching staff about where they went wrong. It’s all part of the process and we have to accept that a team with an average age of just 22 is going to struggle from time to time. No big deal.
Afterwards Arsene promised to stick with the younger players for the second leg, even though the tempation would be to throw in a few ‘first teamers’. I think that’s the right thing to do and I think that’s why these lads respond in this competition. They know the chance will be theirs and they know there isn’t another club in the country that would give it to them.
However, we did pick up injuries. Djourou was apparently taken off with a knock and not because he was playing so poorly, Senderos has a knee ligament problem and worst of all Robin van Persie looks to have aggravated his knee ligament injury with Arsene saying:
We have to see tomorrow morning, is it just scar tissue? Sometimes, you know, when you come back after a long time, is it just a question of two days or is it longer, we’ll see that tomorrow. We had no injuries before the game started but tonight considering that we lost three players, and we lost three players in the African Nations Cup, we lost suddenly in one night six players… basically in two days – that is very difficult for us.
Fingers crossed that none of those injuries are serious because we really would find ourselves stretched the limit if they’re going to be out for some time. To lose both central defenders would be a big blow. That said Justin Hoyte did well there in the second half so he could be an option along with Gilberto and the boss even mentions Sagna, so it’s not too bad. I suppose we have to hope that RVP’s substitution was more precautionary than anything else. He’s such a good player who really does add an extra dimension to our attack. It would be lovely to supplement Eduardo’s great form with his creativity but he’s having a rotten time with injuries this season.
One obvious absentee from last night’s game was Lassana Diarra and it seems a fee of £5.5m has been agreed with Newcastle. Apparently Diarra isn’t sure if he wants to go there and is waiting to see if Sp*rs match that offer. Seriously, this boy is obviously mental. Leave Arsenal, where if he worked hard he could almost surely establish himself as an important player, for Newcastle? If his ambition is simply to play then perhaps that’ll suit him fine. And it means a profit for us of £3.5m on a player we bought less than 6 months ago.
Given our midfield situation, with Gilberto unconvincing, Denilson still raw and Diaby not trusted by the manager to play in the middle, there would have been lots of chances for him in the second part of the season. But he’s obviously decided to leave and that’s it. Arsene is normally quite forgiving if players say things they shouldn’t. Things that upset the fans a great deal don’t really phase him as he looks beyond it and at what’s best for the team. Diarra has been outspoken but obviously he’s determined to quit a club which provides young players with great opportunities if they work hard for any old club where he can play week in, week out. Oh well, cheerio you weird headed fool.
On the TV last night they mentioned that news was breaking about Jens Lehmann agreeing terms with Dortmund. Arsene said after the match that nothing had been settled but it does look like he’s going to leave and go back to Germany. I guess we just wait for official confirmation now. Unless we draft him in as an emergency centre-half.
Martin Keown talks about Mathieu Flamini.
Fran Merida has joined Real Sociedad on loan while Thierry Henry talks about how he’s an Arsenal supporter and wants to come back to the club, in some role, one day.
Right, that’s it. Busy morning ahead. More tomorrow.
Update: Oooops, forgot about this. Suck it up you fat Walrus looking cunt of a cunt. May his career continue as successfully as that of John Gregory.
