Kevin Whitcher
This was a hugely enjoyable football match for the neutral, on the level that a West End Theatreland Farce would be. And there were comparisons between the two for much of the time yesterday evening. Where to begin? Well, let’s say one man who would have enjoyed this thoroughly would have been Alex Ferguson, because if Arsenal play like this on Saturday, we could see another 12 goals going in, although I fear Gooners might not be celebrating so many of them as at Reading.
Granted, this was a second string Arsenal, but that also gave us the opportunity to gauge the strength in depth of the squad. After 40 minutes, the results were not encouraging. Laurent Koscielny’s performance put him on a par with other legendary Wenger centre backs such as Igors Stepanovs, Pascal Cygan and Philippe Senderos. It was hide behind the sofa stuff. Worst of all was that, even if the players were unfamiliar playing together, there was nothing in the way of spirit or desire to win a football match, or their individual battles. I won’t bother listing the guilty players, but no-one came out of the first 45 minutes with any credit, including some notable experienced names. “We want our Arsenal back,” sang the travelling support loudly.
Having said that, I could actually see Arsenal pulling four goals back if only because they had enough time, and Reading have such a poor record this season, indicating fragility. Theo Walcott’s goal before the interval made this notion seem a little more plausible.
So the second half began and something very strange happened after a few minutes. The amount of space on the pitch was more akin to the 80th minute than the 55th, and it played right into the visitors’ hands. Chances aplenty were created and spurned, but there was no lack of encouragement going forward. Arsenal were effectively given the freedom of the Thames Valley, and although they left it late, they clawed back the equalizer at the death.
Some of Kevin Friend’s officiating does not stand up to scrutiny, and Arsene Wenger can only be grateful for his decision to play almost six minutes injury time before Arsenal leveled. A minimum of four minutes had been decreed, which meant he could legitimately play just short of five before blowing up. Reading did make a substitution in injury time, and Arsenal did score, so he presumably got the extra time from those two breaks in play. Thank the stars the fourth goal, which should have been awarded to Walcott, did not result in the goal-line technology debate, due to Carl Jenkinson’s determination and playing to the whistle.
No-one had explained the rules regarding the lack of replays in this competition to the players, some of whom threw their shirts into the crowd thinking their work was done for the evening. What this says about how the team is prepared for individual matches is something you can draw your own conclusions from.
Given what had gone on in the second half, you had to fancy Arsenal to take the tie, assuming retrieving their kit from the crowd didn’t take too much out of them. Then, a phenomenon which seemed about as frequent as sightings of Haley’s Comet – an actual Marouane Chamakh goal. It was that kind of evening. The Gunners still conspired to almost give it away by allowing Reading to equalize, but in the end superior fitness and quality told. A Walcott hat-trick and a second Chamakh goal, thus changing the analogy from space matter to London buses.
Was this the greatest match you have ever seen? Sky Sports would have you believe it. Me, I just saw incompetence and two poor teams. It really didn’t make sense at times. Yes, to win in this manner was definitely a great comeback, but to go 4-0 down to a team in the relegation zone when your own line-up features five international players tempered things a bit. It was certainly dramatic, but I am not sure I really want to watch matches like this when Arsenal are involved in them. I still struggle to come to terms with that 5-4 win at the Lane in 2004-05. There was something about that game that just did not make sense.
The optimist might believe this could provide some kind of psychological springboard for the season, and I would certainly listen to the ‘our name’s on the cup’ theory after the two injury time goals that took it to 4-4. However, the disorganization and lack of determination as the first half goals were sailing past Martinez was alarming. That this was a second string line-up is no mitigation for the lack of conviction and focus. Let’s hope for a serious improvement on that front when Arsenal go to Old Trafford on Saturday, because if they go four goals behind there, they won’t be throwing shirts into the away section at the end (even if they’d need a cannon to reach it).
The 25th anniversary edition of The Gooner will still be on sale at the away games v Man Utd and Schalke. It can also be bought online here. There is 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
