Kevin Whitcher
Goodison Park is often a difficult place to get a result, for any team, and it seems astonishing that Arsenal have managed to avoid defeat there for a number of seasons. There are exceptions, but the norm is for the games to be tight, niggly, scrappy and on occasion dull. Arsenal started last night’s looking like this might not be the case, spraying the ball around and slicing the Toffees open in the style we saw in the August 2009 6-1 victory at Goodison Park.
Aaron Ramsey’s re-introduction to the starting line-up at the expense of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain hinted towards the manager’s preferred pecking order. He’d also point to Jack Wilshere’s injury as evidence that overplaying teenage talent has its costs. However, the Ox does look as strong as one, and Rosicky’s good form in the advanced midfield position did have me wondering about the wisdom of the Welshman’s return. Fortunately, his early characteristic blaze over the bar with the goal gaping did not ultimately cost the team.
Before long, a goal came. A good old header from a corner. Remember the days when Arsenal used the score from such situations more often? Vermaelen has become a huge player in recent games, as if he felt the need to make up for the poor display in the San Siro that effectively killed the team’s European ambitions this season. There is no doubt that the central defence is stronger with him in it, and he seems to be rediscovering his ability to find the net which was a feature of his earlier days at the club. To think there were once rumours at that time that Vincent Kompany might join him at Arsenal from Ajax.
It was a pleasure to see good positive movement of players and the ball going forward rather than sideways. Some of the recent good performances have been marked by this more aggressive approach, and the wins have followed. It’s obvious this is more effective, which makes one question the ponderous nature of so many displays earlier on. It has been pointed out more than once that the injuries to the full backs badly affected the balance of the team, and perhaps this was a contributory factor. Still, it’s good to see the players demonstrating more attacking intent, whatever the reason behind it.
What I don’t like to see is the ball being given away carelessly in Arsenal’s own half. Everton’s wrongly disallowed equalizer was a direct consequence of Song playing a lame ball from the edge of his own penalty box, and there is an argument that the linesman who flagged it was the Gunners’ man of the match. The side have suffered from bad decisions more than once in recent seasons in significant matches, so it was nice the dice fell their way on this occasion. Everton will rightly feel robbed.
However, sympathy must be tempered by their consistent cynical fouling, with Tim Cahill the number one culprit. I am not even convinced he received a yellow card all night, although he earned at least three in my book. Everton certainly came back into the game as the first half wore on, and it was one of those nights when the defence had to seriously earn their corn. When the ‘first choice’ back five of Szczesny, Sagna, Vermaelen, Koscielny and Gibbs have lined up this season the team have remained undefeated, although given the amount of injuries the two full backs have had, I can’t imagine they have chalked up that many games in tandem.
Ultimately, it was an example of winning ugly, once the first 20 minutes were done and dusted. But I love scrappy 1-0 wins. These are exactly the kind of results Arsenal need to get more of away from home if they are to once again make a fist of a title challenge. After six wins in a row, and overtaking Spurs to make third, the huge danger now is the relative ease of the immediate fixtures. Villa at home and QPR away are – on paper – six points there for the taking. Yet, it’s the ‘easier’ matches where Wenger’s teams have fallen short at this time of year ever since 2008. Let’s hope they have learned that complacency and any shortage of switched-on commitment invariably costs points.
It’s been a wonderful and creditable run to turn things around. There has been some great football, a little good fortune and some genuine spirit. Let’s hope that continues and we can enjoy what’s left of this season.
On a different note, a quick word for Saturday evening if you’ve no plans after the Villa game. The Riders of the Night, along with the Bollock Brothers and Kindred Shins will be playing live upstairs at the Boston Arms, Tufnell Park (opposite tube), from 8pm. Advance tickets can be bought online here, or from Binsy or Monkey if you know those fine fellas. I imagine if you turn up on the night, you should be able to pay on the door too.
And to finish, a mention for those of you following the saga of my recent arrest outside the stadium for selling a spare at face value. There have been some developments, and I may officially be able to attend matches once again after this weekend’s fixture. I will update fully on all of that next week.
The current issue of the Gooner can also be bought online here. A new issue goes on sale at the Villa game on Saturday. There is also an e-version of the issue available to read on your ipad/tablet/iphone/android. The app is free and you can download the first few pages of each issue as a taster before deciding whether or not to purchase the whole thing
