Kevin Whitcher
I think any Gooner you spoke to before the game with Dortmund would have happily settled for a point. Sure, the German team’s equaliser came during injury time, when the visitors were under pressure, but it would be churlish to criticise Arsenal for conceding a goal of that nature. Sometimes, you just have to take your hat off and say, ‘great strike’. This was no case of Emmanuel Eboue conceding two points by charging around like a rampaging elephant.
It seemed the classic game of two halves. Very open in the first 45 minutes, when it seemed either side could have scored at will were the finishing better. The second half saw things a little tighter, and Arsenal able to control the football and the pace of the match slightly more, all the time in the face of pressure that did create far better chances than the one that did go in. In Europe, sometimes, you just have to think about the result and take what luck you get, although ultimately, I’d say a draw was probably fair. Any away tie in Europe is an obstacle to negotiate. If Arsenal can win their home matches, there seems no reason they should not progress.
It would have been interesting to be in the Arsenal dressing room at half time, to see if it was Pat Rice’s instruction that altered the visitors’ approach. Perhaps, without the manager having an influence, there is a tactician in there struggling to get out. Or maybe some of the more senior voices in the team took the opportunity to fill the Wenger void. Alex Song performed commendably in the second half and throughout the game keeper Szczesny gave those in front of him added confidence. What a contrast to seasons past with Almunia and Fabianski spreading panic through the ranks.
The team are on a slow road to build up momentum and last night will have done them the power of good. The recovery process after the collapse of last season and the start of the current one is no quick fix. New players have to be bedded in whilst the team have to adapt to life without the departed Fabregas and Nasri, and the long term absences of Vermaelen and Wilshere. No-one is of the opinion that we will see either of this pair back before the spring, such is the pattern with Arsenal players out for a month or two at the start of the season. It has been ventured to me that Mertesacker and Arteta were only bought because of the injuries to the above pair. I’d like to think that isn’t true, but whatever the case, it is just as well they were purchased.
Confidence is everything in football. The Gunners, under Wenger, have historically taken a long time to recover from significant blows in recent seasons. Iain Dowie’s concept of ‘bouncebackability’ is something that seems not to apply at London Colney. A friend informed me that Arsenal have taken 16 points from their last 15 Premier League matches. I haven’t checked the stats, but if this is the case, it does indicate just how far the team have to recover. Three points against Swansea and an away draw in Europe are as good a start as can be realistically hoped for. And the performance last night was an improvement on Saturday as well, not least because the opposition were obviously so much better, the environment more hostile. Dare I venture, that, in the last few days, Arsenal have moved ‘Forward’? Let’s hope it continues at the weekend v Blackburn.
The current issue of the Gooner went on sale at the weekend and is available to buy online here
Kevin Whitcher’s newly updated version of the book co-written with Alex Fynn, ‘Arsènal: The Making of a Modern Superclub’ is available in paperback from publishers Vision Sports for a reduced price of £6.99 including postage if you use the promo code ‘Gooner’ on the page that appears after you click ‘buy now’. Click here to order.
