Kevin Whitcher
I had no intention of attending yesterday’s match at Loftus Road, due to the price Rangers charge away fans for a poor view in poor conditions. However, I was offered a pitchside upper tier freebie (thanks to Liam and Michael) amongst the home fans and having survived watching Arsenal beat Spurs at Highbury in 1990 in the away end (the North Bank was a lockout by the time I arrived for the match), I felt few qualms about my ability to merge with the regulars.
Actually, it was more a case of the back of the seat in front merging with my kneecaps. If you are six feet tall, watching a game at Loftus Road sitting down is akin to Chinese Water Torture, and I am not talking about the action on the pitch. I was fortunate in that my neighbour on one side decided against returning after the interval, meaning I could park my legs in his space.
As for the match itself, for Arsenal it is a matter of what they achieve rather than how right now. There will be few complaints at an extremely average display because the key aim – three points – was achieved. There were hopes that Spurs might drop key points, failing to score against Southampton for so much of their home game, but it wasn’t to be. So a win was critical in the chase for a top four berth and nerves were settled within 30 seconds thanks to Theo Walcott’s taking advantage of poor defending to open the scoring. He hit the post later in the half, but that chance aside, the Gunners were anonymous between the goal and the 65th minute.
Then they put pressure on Rangers again, but were unable to make life more comfortable with an extra goal cushion. Credit to Wenger’s team defensively. Harry Redknapp’s side were largely restricted to long range efforts, although Szczesny did have to pull off a couple of decent saves to ensure the clean sheet.
I wonder how Arsene Wenger feels about many of the displays on this recent run of wins and draws. Creatively, his team has gone to pot, the style of the football he likes them to play largely abandoned. Whether this is deliberate or simply down to a lack of quality is one to debate. However, Arsenal have turned into a more efficient machine. Games have been won when the team has not been easy on the eye. These games would be a lot more satisfying if there was a genuine trophy at stake, as happened in 1993 and 1994 under George Graham, when much of Arsenal’s football was anathema to how Wenger believes the game should be played.
Initially, the fixture list looked like it might be kind to Arsenal in the run-in. Lots of winnable games. However, Wigan and probably Newcastle will need results against Arsenal to retain their Premier League status. The Gunners will have to play better than they did at Loftus Road if they are to remain in the top four, unless Chelsea and Spurs drop points of their own. It’s going to be tight.
I don’t have anything else to say about the match yesterday. It was a beautiful afternoon until the sun went in early in the second half, but as a spectacle, largely forgettable. Neither team offered very much, but the Gunners got what they came for. It will be a tough sell getting people to buy this at Arsenal on a continued regular basis, a significant amount of the football this season has been distinctly average. It will be interesting to see how this is addressed in the summer.
This season’s final issue of The Gooner can be bought outside the stadium before the matches against Wigan and Newcastle. It is a £3, 64 page end of season bumper special which can also be bought online here.
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