Kevin Whitcher
It was a game very reminiscent of Arsenal’s previous visit to St James’s Park. A narrow 1-0 win, with a goal from a set piece converted just in front of the goalmouth. And surviving the Alamo at the end. Certainly, as in May, it was no great entertainment in terms of the quality of the play. However, Arsenal needed to work hard to grind out a result today, and as on some of the games on the ten match unbeaten run that concluded the 2012-13 campaign, defensive resilience won the day.
This, of course, taking account of the mad Szczesny moment. They don’t happen every day, but they happen often enough for someone at the club, to perhaps work on this aspect of his game. It was a hoof upfield, not an attempted pass to anyone, so why it had to go straight at the incoming Luc Remy is beyond me. After hitting Remy full on in the face, it could as easily have gone in as wide. These Szczesny moments are like the joker in ‘It’s A Knockout’ – a chance for a team to gain an advantage for no good reason whatsoever. Fortunately, the Gunners survived it.
Rotation was the name of the game in midfield when the starting line-ups were announced. Arteta, Ramsey and Ozil out for Flamini, Wilshere and Rosicky. Arsene Wenger said Ozil had a ‘shoulder injury’ and would be out for 2 or 3 games. Winter break anyone? Koscielny returned in place of Thomas Vermaelen, who probably feels a bit hard done by after decent enough displays since his return. However, sentimentalism will not win a title, and Koscielny played his part well enough to justify his return. Podolski remained on the bench in spite of his impact on Boxing Day, as the front three were unchanged.
I reckoned the number of French players on the pitch for both sides at nine, with four Englishmen. Times have changed since Alan Pardew had a pop at Arsenal for not having many Englishmen. His side today started with just one.
It was the type of game Arsenal have to win if they are not going to take many points from their principal rivals. After today it does appear as if Manchester City and Chelsea are lining up behind them, and no cheap points can be dropped. Of course, dropping points away to Newcastle cannot be considered as losing cheap ones, as not every game against a non-title contending team is going to be straightforward. And on such days, Wenger’s team must focus on the result and work hard enough to achieve it, with appropriate discipline. A back-heeled volley in his own half from Mikel Arteta when his side were defending their lead in the second half was not what the doctor ordered.
Giroud was not rested as some thought might be the case, and returned to scoring form. The goal was a deft one, reminiscent of Alan Smith’s opener at Anfield in 1989. It broke the deadlock of what had been a pretty dull affair up to that point, carried on tension rather than action. Some of Arsenal’s passing wasn’t happening. Kieran Gibbs, when he gets forward, tends to just try and pump it in rather than play a ball to anyone in particular, often hitting the first man. Full backs are becoming so important to attacking play in the modern game that this needs to be improved. Granted, someone like Lee Dixon was never a great distributor, but times have changed. Defenders can often be the sole source of width, especially at Arsenal when at 4-2-3-1 formation does not include any real wide men, although Walcott is capable of performing the role on the right hand side. Ironic, in that light, that Sagna is a better crosser than Gibbs.
Santi Cazorla was the nominal marker on Gibbs’ flank when Newcastle right back Debuchy attacked, but defensive cover is something he struggles with. In this sense, one can see an argument for playing the likes of Wilshere and Ramsey wide. At least they are more industrious.
The ref – Lee Probert – impressed me. He was very strong and in no way can be described as a homer. It was a physical game, but he let it flow as much as he could. A goal was desperately needed, but on Arsenal’s side, too many players were passing into space where no-one was making a run for the ball. Perhaps, fatigue is beginning to tell. It was difficult to see where a goal might come from, but fortunately, a set piece converted by Giroud provided the required breakthrough. The subsequent miss when Walcott and then Giroud failed to take advantage of a gilt edged chance meant a nervy ending to the match, and things got spicy with some questionable challenges and the home crowd baying for blood.
But critically, Arsenal stood tall. There was to be no collapse of the type this stadium has seen from the Gunners in the not so distant past. Flamini was moved to left back as Gibbs was removed from the fray (although I am uncertain if he was injured or not) and it felt like the spring of 2006 all over again. The Flanimal earned a yellow card for good measure. This was exactly the kind of game that required his fist-pumping.
In the end, the points were all taken and the onslaught survived. Arsenal returned to the top of the table after Manchester City had overtaken them yesterday and must now focus on continuing the winning sequence that was initiated on Boxing Day. There is very little room for slip-ups, but they have played every team once, and have more points than anyone else. It’s been a good season so far, let us hope that the work the team have done up to this point is carried through and earns them some silverware before the season’s out. But just to put the cat amongst the pidgeons, what price Nicklas Bendtner starting in the FA Cup tie v Spurs?
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