Kevin Whitcher
At half-time, an “In Arsene We Trust” banner was removed from display by its owner. In truth, Villa did not deserve to be two up at the interval, but at the same time, the home team had done relatively little to demonstrate they had any right to be leading either. There were chances, the best a decent attempt by Thomas Vermaelen from a free kick, but the team appeared slightly lacklustre.
The Sunday Times carried a story about Jose Mourinho planning to leave Real Madrid at the end of the season, with the desire to return to the Premier League and specifically London. Detailing the situations at clubs that might employ him, it stated that Real still covet Arsene Wenger. It would be a return to the latter years of the Galacticos for them. All fancy footwork but little in the way of silverware or defence. But boy, could the Gunners use Mourinho to steer the good ship Arsenal away from dangerous shores.
Perhaps then we would see the kind of committed, motivated performances we finally witnessed in the second half. Perhaps, whatever happened in the dressing room before that needs to be attempted a little more often, maybe even before the game. The team came out and played with the kind of drive and determination not seen often enough in recent seasons, and reaped the reward. Two penalties and Theo’s freak goal. The number 14 may be a waste of space for most of the time, but his run created the goal, however fortuitous the finish.
It was interesting to see Tomas Rosicky have a pretty decent match in the advanced midfield position, especially when the team started to show a bit more serious intent to breach the Villa ranks. He has been inconsistent of late, but at least there have been some decent displays amongst the mediocre. He’s a player Arsenal have not had value for money from over the length of his two contracts, although he was part of a decent midfield with Fabregas, Flamini and Hleb until he got injured in January 2008. He was given a contract extension after his return from injury, but has not done enough to justify what the perception is that he is being paid. An example of the tremendous amount of fat in Arsenal’s playing wage bill. If he played as he did in the second half before being substituted on a more regular basis, perhaps Arsenal might have achieved more in recent times.
Funnily enough, 3-2 up, Arsene Wenger made a game changing substitution for the second weekend in a row. And as against Manchester United, it was one that seemed to suck the momentum out of the team. Rosicky, although playing well, was subbed, doubtless for physical reasons. I thought Ramsey would have benefitted more from taking a break, and then Arteta could have slotted into Ramsey’s position instead of Ramsey needing to move forward. The team seemed to lose a bit of fluency, but fortunately Villa were unable to take advantage and the win was mercifully seen through. After three defeats in the League, Arsenal needed this win badly. I think most fans will be rooting for Middlesbrough in the replay to determine where the Gunners will play in the fifth round. The importance of winning something, anything, was demonstrated by the team selection for this match in spite of the Premier League game on Wednesday night, except for the daft decision to give Fabianski game time. With the two Manchester sides out, the chances of success are certainly higher.
Now, a difficult trip to a resurgent Bolton in the hope of preventing the slide in the league continuing any further. The team will need to defend a lot better at the Reebok than they did yesterday to take anything from the game, although at least Szczesny will return.
The current issue of the Gooner can also be bought outside the stadium at the game v Blackburn next weekend. It will also be available outside the away end v Bolton on Wednesday. It is available to buy online here. You can also get an e-version of the issue to read on your ipad/tablet/iphone/android. The app is free and you can download the first few pages of each issue to decide whether or not to purchase the whole thing
