It’s always difficult to know where to start on mornings like this. You think about a killer opening sentence, one that will sum up everything and allow you to launch into what’s probably going to be a fairly lengthy blog. You sip coffee, you think, you think and nothing happens. Eventually you figure one word will probably do it:
Bollocks
Mathematically Arsenal’s title chances are not over but I’ve always hated maths and reality tells you a different story. Sp*rs beat Arsenal in the league for the first time since 1999, it had to happen at some stage, I suppose, but you can’t help but sit here and think we’re our own worst enemy at times. I don’t want to talk about the players we had missing, we all know who they were and what they might have brought to the party, we’ve got to talk about the players who performed, or didn’t perform on the night.
Sp*rs took the lead in the 9th minute when youngster Danny Rose fired home the goal of his career. Yes, I know his career is just starting but he won’t score a better one than that. Of course he won’t come up against Manuel Almunia again (hopefully) and in my opinion (just making that clear lest those who wish to be offended claim I’m talking on behalf of many) the keeper should have done better. A better keeper wouldn’t have punched that corner out, he’d have caught it. He was under no pressure, better timing and more confidence and he’d just have taken the ball.
However, for the sake of argument, let’s take it that the better keeper did punch. I’m pretty sure he would not then have watched that ball come at him in a straight line and waited till after the ball had gone over his head to put his hands up. A cracking strike from Rose, no question, poor keeping from Almunia – and even though we’ve had injury after injury this season, I can’t help but wonder how many more points we might have had we had a decent player between the sticks.
Arsenal had most of the ball in the first half but did precious little with it. Our only attempt on target was a bobbling Sol Campbell miskick from a corner which beat Gomes but Apu-Eskimo chested off the line. We passed it around nicely but there was absolutely no penetration whatsoever. On the rare occasion we did find a way through it broke down, see Eboue’s poor pass to Rosicky in the box and Bendtner unable to get a Rosicky pass out from under his feet. Sp*rs had better chances. Pavluychenko shot was blocked by Thomas Vermaelen (which led to the corner for the goal, I think) and late on in the half Modric was foiled well by Almunia.
We had lost Vermaelen to a calf problem in the 19th minute which meant the introduction of Sylvester. The Belgian is likely to be out for 2-3 weeks, we’re down to our last two fit centre halves and they have a combined age of 185. Anyway, half-time 1-0 Sp*rs and you’re looking for the manager to have words in the dressing room, for the team to spark themselves up and remember they’re playing in the north London derby. You need a reaction, an early goal to put the shits up them.
And we got an early goal, sadly at the wrong end. Sp*rs came forward, Bacary Sagna was about 4 yards behind the rest of the defenders and played Gareth Bale onside as some fucker played a pass behind Sylvester. Wales’s most famous chimpanzee scored to make it 2-0. Arsene’s reaction was almost immediate. Sagna was hauled off, Eboue moved to right back and Theo Walcott brought on his place. The difference it made to Arsenal as an attacking threat: none.
Arsene said after the game that a few of our players could learn from Sol Campbell and if I were manager this morning I’d sit them down and make them watch that game again. At the back 35 year old Campbell was unbelievably good. He won every header, every tackle, refused to be outmuscled or outpaced by players clearly quicker than him. How did he do this? Easy. He had spirit, desire and balls like a randy goat. I know the north London derby is a special game for him but this is what you get from him in every game. He hates to lose, he always wants to win, whether it’s Sp*rs or any other team, and there were precious few amongst the red shirts who shared that desire last night.
Robin van Persie was brought on with about 22 minutes to go. The difference it made to our attacking threat: lots. Despite being out for 5 months his class was obvious and in the last 15 minutes Arsenal really threatened. A wonderful chest down and volley in the box showed just what we’ve been missing, the save from Gomes matched van Perie’s skill. Gomes then saved from a free kick and then touched a Sol Campbell header onto the bar. Rosicky had a shot deflected just wide, and then Arsenal got the goal. Walcott crossed from the right, Bendtner stabbed home his 9th goal in the last 11 games. At this point Sp*rs were rocking, trying to keep the ball when they got near it but it ended up with us quickly enough.
Then the momentum was broken. Having done well to force a goal kick off Bale, Sylvester picked the ball up from Almunia in the 91st minute. He had options, left and right, Arsenal needed to get forward and see if they could find the equaliser. Instead he miskicked a pass straight to a Sp*rs player and we lost possession. Instead of piling on the pressure we were trying to get the ball back, never had full control of it again and obviously didn’t find the goal. For a player of his experience that is just not good enough. I’m not saying it cost Arsenal the game, far from it, but if you can’t make a simple pass when the pressure’s on then you have no business playing football at this level.
I don’t want to point fingers at individuals but I’ll go back to what I said about Sol Campbell, there was a lack of urgency and desire to win this game that was worrying. If you knew nothing about football and were asked which team had played 120 minutes on Sunday you’d most likely have picked Arsenal. I know we’re missing players but Diaby, Denilson and Rosicky aren’t nobodies at this stage, they just did not perform. What’s clear is that they’re members of the supporting cast, not good enough at this stage to step up and take responsibility when the main players are absent. I thought Nasri tried, always wanted the ball, kept it well enough, but rarely had any kind of movement ahead of him. Some players coasted through the game, I won’t go so far as to say some player hid but clearly there’s a reluctance from some of them to try anything beyond the safe option.
Man of the match by a country mile was 35 year old Sol Campbell and our next best player was a striker who has been out for 5 months. That tells you a lot. It tells the manager a lot too. With four games still to play I don’t think now is the time for an total dissection of the squad, we still have football to play this season but you can only hope the things which are now painfully obvious to you and I are even more obvious to the manager. I don’t want to quote Arsene on the title or the performance of the team last night. Here is he on Sol:
Sol was one of our better players. He has shown the way to some players. What a winner he is. He showed what you need if you want to win titles. He deserves a lot of credit because he turned up with a real performance.
Until the last 15 minutes it looked as if there was only one team out there who really wanted to win the game, and they were wearing white. The manager has a big decision to make about Sol Campbell this summer – one more year or not? On the basis of last night you’d have to think it’d be a good move to keep him on. He might not play often as you’d be looking for the manager to bring in a proper, long term partner for Vermaelen, but he could teach some of these Arsenal players a thing or two about what’s required in games like last night. You don’t win them unless you give absolutely everything and when only one player on the pitch does it you find your title hopes dead and buried. Football will punish you like that.
Still, as painful as defeat last night was we shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that in terms of the league table and our title challenge progress has been made. We’re a bit rag-tag right now, what’s left of the squad held together with bandages and electrician’s tape, but at least there’s the sense there’s something to build on. The manager said we would definitely win something this season, we haven’t. He said that if we didn’t win anything a change of tack was needed with regard to our recruitment process, he’s got to do that in the summer and examine the worth of some of the current squad.
I have to admit that I never expected us to stay in the title race for as long as we did. I certainly had no real expectation of winning it, even if we’d got three points last night, so the result and its implications aren’t as painful as they might have been otherwise. There’s still something to play for this season though, second place is not impossible, and while nobody remembers runners-up we have to keep going and finish as high as we can. Playing for our pride might seem a bit hackneyed but thousands of Arsenal fans will travel to Wigan this weekend, pay their money and support their team – there’s no time for wallowing from any of these players.
Title over, yes. Season over, not just yet. Arsenal over, never.
