Back in August Portsmouth came to the Grove and left having been on the end of a 4-1 hiding. Last night saw us beat them by the same scoreline. This time they didn’t have as far to go home.
It was the perfect way to end 2009, a win that keeps us right in the title race. Even old hairy hands on Sky had to reluctantly admit we were in it last night and it’ll give the team confidence that despite all the injuries they can play that well and score those goals. We were good last night, no doubt, but I don’t think it’d be right not to mention just how poor Portsmouth were. Without trying to take anything away from what we did, they’re obviously a club with big problems right now, and that’s obvious on the pitch as well as off.
We might have got a bit of luck with the first goal. Eduardo’s free kick looked to be heading for the corner flag, instead it whacked off Kaboul, who always reminds me of Hellboy for some reason, and skidded in the bottom corner despite there being a man on the line. Eduardo was also involved in the second. He held the ball in the area after a nice pass from Song, when nobody came near him he played it to Ramsey who touched it to Nasri who drilled it in home to make it 2-0. I don’t think you can really say Eduardo had a good game, in the traditional sense. He’s clearly still off-colour and trying to find his form but scoring one, if he’s given it, and having a good hand in another will do him some good.
Portsmouth had their moments, Almunia had to make a decent save from Boateng in the first half, his erratic handling might have been more of a problem at times, there was one shot which flashed wide in the second half but there wasn’t any sustained threat. At 2-0 though you’re always a bit nervous with this Arsenal team. I’m sure I wasn’t alone in thinking about what happened against West Ham. The impressive Aaron Ramsey settled the match though with an outstanding goal. He won the ball in midfield, ducked inside one, came back in on his left foot and from the edge of the area he lashed it home with his left foot. A top goal and he had a very good game, I thought.
Naturally we got a bit sloppy, as we do, allowing Portsmouth to get one back shortly afterwards, but the scoreline was given the emphatic flourish our performance merited when Alex Song scored the fourth. The more I look at it the more impressive that header is. The ball from Nasri had very little pace on it so he had to make his own. He had another very solid night and he deserved that goal, not just for the shift he put in last night but for his season so far. He’s been an almighty surprise in 2009, the turnaround from this time last year is nothing short of remarkable, and all credit to him. The ‘One Song’ chant rang out loud and clear and he is going to be missed when he goes to bless the rains down in Africa.
Afterwards Arsene Wenger said:
I’m proud of the team because the belief is there and we played like a real team. It was a big game for us tonight. We knew, to keep chasing, it was important to win here. Tonight we showed a physical response in the first half when they made it very physical. In midfield we were really up for it and dominated physically.
It was potentially a tricky game but clearly Portsmouth are suffering. They were issued with a winding up order from the Revenue yesterday and if Avram Grant manages to keep them in the Premier League it’ll be a huge achievement. I really have no time at all for that bell ringing twat, I hope he gets an appropriate palsy, but I can think of other clubs I’d rather see in their position. And if they go under where the hell are all our old players going to go now?
One small point regarding our performance though – despite the fact we won handsomely and scored 4 goals, I think it’s blindingly obvious we need a striker. The best thing I can say about Andrei Arshavin’s performance is that he’s taking one for the team. He’s not a central striker, he clearly doesn’t enjoy playing there and we’re robbing ourselves of his ability by not playing him where he’s best. He’s struggling to get into games at the moment and I suppose we run the risk of him losing what form he has when he does get to play in a more favoured position. Arsene said afterwards:
Everybody tells me to buy strikers, but when I look at the league, nobody has scored more goals than us. We have players who move the ball well and everybody gets in dangerous positions. And that’s why with the confidence high, everyone can score goals. But we are still in the market.
I know Bendtner is coming back in the next few weeks but we have crucial games at the end of January and in early February. The Death Crunch Run is going to be a massive test and he is going to take some time to find his fitness and his match sharpness, something he’s not always renowned for even in the best of health. The window opens tomorrow, the need is pressing, and I hope that whatever business we do, we do it quickly and efficiently without playing the dangerous ‘Let’s wait until the last seconds to see if we can drive the price down’ game.
Still, we can worry about that in 2010! For now 2009 has probably ended better, in football terms, than many of us thought. We’ve put 16 points on the board in December after what was a pretty miserable November, we’re right in the title race and positioned well going into the new year. Well done lads and well done Arsene.
From my point of view I’d just like to thank everybody for visting the site this last 12 months. Thanks for reading, commenting, emailing, listening to Arsecasts and everything else. And to the guests on the podcast who so generously give their time, cheers to you.
So to all of you, I wish you a happy, peaceful and prosperous new year. May 2010 bring you everything you want … not least of which the Premier League and the Champions League for the Arsenal, right?
Have a good one, everyone. See you next year.
