Well, it wasn’t quite the romp or performance that people were hoping for but at the final whistle the three points belonged to Arsenal and that was the main thing.
We started very brightly and could have gone ahead early when Cesc found Nicklas Bendtner with a clever pass but Burnley got back just in time and the chance went begging. It was, sadly, a sign of things to come as the big Dane contrived to miss chance after chance after chance. He didn’t so much have his shooting boots on as his missing wellies. The chances got easier, the misses got worse.
Had we not found the goals from somewhere else he’d have been a very unpopular guy this morning but we did and I think there was an awareness from the crowd that this really was just one of those days. And in fairness to him, he didn’t hide. When he was replaced by Eduardo his song had been sung and he got decent applause. It was nice to see because last season the reaction might not have been so positive. After the week we’ve had it was a good moment. When you think about it, every single chance he had yesterday was considerably easier than the great goal he scored last weekend at Stoke, and that goal was crucial. He wasn’t the only one either, when Andrei Arshavin came on he fluffed two good chances as well. Something in the water bottles perhaps.
Just as well Theo Walcott was drinking his own, home-made isotonic concoction. His was a display of a man with a point to prove. When people are agreeing with criticism of you from a man who says ‘pelanty’ then it must sting a bit. He was incisive, dangerous and tore their left back a new one. His goal to put us back in front was well deserved.
Previous to that we had gone in 1-0 at half-time. No less than we deserved but the first 45 minutes were rather flat. Cesc was clearly worried by his hamstring from early on but the captain again showed his willingness to drive this team on by opening the scoring. Nasri’s floated pass over the top of the Burnley defence was a thing of beauty and Cesc’s finish between Jensen’s legs as cute as can be. The more you look at it the better a goal it is.
In the second half, after failing to go further ahead due to Danish wellies, we typically let Burnley back in it. I don’t quite know how to explain their goal other than it looked as if our entire defence just went to sleep. A bouncing ball, David Nugent, a shinned finish and all of a sudden they’re level. It was another horrible goal to add to our collection this season, although the centre of our defence wasn’t well balanced yesterday.
It would have been a thoroughly miserable day had we dropped points to Burnley who have lost whatever bit of spark they had under Owen Coyle. They’re poor on the road anyway but they showed little yesterday to suggest they’ve got a Premier League future. At 1-1 though, and with our tendency to concede stupid goals, there’s always the fear. Theo Walcott made things better with his second goal of the season, cutting in from the right and finishing smartly with his left foot. Bendnter was taken off and replaced with Eduardo and although he missed a lot of chances I felt we lost a bit of shape and momentum when he came off. Burnley had their best spell of the game at that point and there was one very decent chance from a corner which their lad whacked over the bar.
Andrei Arshavin eventually gave the scoreline the measure of respectability it deserved, based on the number of chances we created, when he fired one in at the near post in injury time. His haircut though …the less said the better!
Overall a nervy performance, perhaps with one eye on Europe, but the three points was vital. How nice to see Theo start to find a bit of form. Obviously he’s got to build on this now but maybe it’s just the right time for him to start performing. Props to Samir Nasri too who showed he’s better than his recent performances had suggested. When Cesc was taken off he stepped up and took responsibility from a creative point of view and played very well.
It could have been four, five or six but as well they had a chance to make it 2-2 after a corner. In the end you are happy when you miss the chances we missed today, but you get the three points.
There was no criticism of Bendtner, as he said nobody misses chances on purpose, and praise for Theo. The big talking point though is the injury to Cesc Fabregas. It’s his hamstring again and his withdrawal is said to be ‘precautionary’. Obviously he’s a big doubt for the Porto game on Tuesday. More on that in the days to come. So well done Arsenal, well done everyone (banners were flying and clearly visible on TV across the world), after what has been a difficult week off the pitch we did the business on it.
A quick round-up of some of the other stories this Sunday. Thierry Henry has backed us for the title:
I know it’s coming up to five years since we won a trophy. But don’t rule us out for the Premier League title this year. We’re very much in there fighting for the big prize. And there can be no doubt now that Arsene’s latest generation have the stomach for the fight.
You’ve gotta love his use of pronouns there. The News of the World says Aaron Ramsey’s leg isn’t even in plaster after his operation. If so the doctors obviously know what they are doing but the idea of it still makes me feel a bit squeamish.
Roma are after William Gallas who can leave on a free this summer. I honestly think if he was going to stay we’d have wrapped up a deal by now, and a couple of years in Italian football probably seems quite attractive.
And that’s about that – final thing for today is a blogarrific two fingers to Sky’s Jeff Stelling who I had previously had a lot of time for. He’s clever, witty and plays the Devil’s Advocate role very well on Soccer Saturday. Yesterday though he led a snide and quite disgraceful hatchet job on Arsene Wenger, aided and abetted by Tony Cottee and Matt le Tissier. It was awful to watch, especially as you expect better from him. It puts me in mind of the quote from the Guardian last week which suggested that when Craig Bellamy has the moral high ground over you (after his comments about John Terry) then you know you’re in trouble. In this case when Phil Thompson is the voice of reason then it shows you up good and proper. Poor form from one of the few football presenters I had any respect for.
Anyway, enough of all that. The sun is shining and I have a slight hangover which requires pork based breakfast. Have yourselves a good Sunday folks.
