Kevin Whitcher
Regular contributor Ian Henry emailed me after the game and although I try to avoid reading the views of others’ until I have typed out my own, it’s a decent summary of the win at Leeds.
He wrote – ‘Denilson’s sloppy passes apart, that was a very, very good performance indeed. I thought Arshavin and Bendtner actually worked their socks off; AA23 will come good again. Djourou immense, Koscielny calmness personified. Great performances by Nasri and Sagna. Just makes you wonder why they can’t do that every week!’
What I did notice about the replay performance, in contrast to the previous game against Leeds and the visit to Ipswich, was that the players seemed to work that little bit harder to ensure they were in space to receive a pass. The end effect was that Leeds found it that much harder to get the ball. And if the opposition do not have the ball, it becomes very difficult for them to score.
At times the first half was exhibition stuff, but the game was always going to be kept alive as long as the margin wasn’t conclusive, and although Arsenal came close to being about six up before Leeds scored, it’s goals that count. Arshavin may have been fouled in the build up to the home side’s goal, but it’s difficult to find fault with the defence aside from a belief that maybe the Russian should have battled a bit harder as the referee was obviously allowing a physical game.
Even if Arsenal’s dominance did drop a little after the interval, they restricted Leeds to very few chances, and controlled the game against technically inferior opposition through a mix of skill, concentration and effort. Characteristics that should have been more evident in the first match. It was doubtless significant that Samir Nasri started in the hole behind Chamakh instead of Tomas Rosicky. If Cesc Fabregas does depart in the summer, the manager will feel he already has his replacement on the books. It was interesting to see Nasri given the captain’s armband too, given that there were longer serving players in the line-up. Certainly, he led by example.
When I first saw Kasper Schmeichel play for Manchester City, I thought there was a keeper that would be worth investing in. I was surprised City let him go, but his display last night – both in terms of his saving ability and commitment – definitely kept his team in the game. He might have felt he could have saved Sagna’s goal, but the speed of the ball was astonishing. I’m not sure any keeper could have got more on it than he managed, as he did well just to reach it. Mind you in the keeping department, although Szczesny did not have as much to do, the way he dominated his area had me hoping that he keeps his place once Fabianski recovers. The guy is simply not afraid of clattering into a thicket of players in his determination to get a clearing fist on the ball and it’s something we’ve not seen at the club for too long, as even Mad Jens never seemed keen on the physical stuff at times.
So an excellent performance at a difficult venue. Momentum from last weekend maintained and a series of winnable matches on the immediate horizon. Let’s hope that complacency does not set in and that the team continue to work hard for each other. That is a recipe for success as the football ability is there, at least if we can keep enough key players fit. How the team perform against Wigan this weekend will tell us a lot about whether the fans are going to enjoy the latter stages of the season. Come on Arsenal!
* In the sub-head, I posit the possibility of going to Wembley twice. I haven’t forgotten about the Champions League Final, I am just being realistic! More chance of making it in the two domestic cups as things stand really. Let’s not contemplate going to Wembley thrice until after the visit to the Nou Camp, eh? By the way, Gooner issue 211 with a free 2011 ‘cult kits’ calendar can be bought online here.
