Kevin Whitcher
If only Olivier Giroud had displayed such aggression at the Britannia Ground a few games back. However, his moment of indiscipline means he will get the midwinter break he was accustomed to before he came to north London. I trust we won’t be seeing any photos of him enjoying a week in Dubai or similar during his self-enforced absence. Ironically, he is available once again when Stoke visit Arsenal a fortnight tomorrow.
However, if there was one player that was the real headline maker from yesterday it was Alexis Sanchez. Won a penalty, failed to convert it, scored the opening goal with his head, then set up Arsenal’s critical second after Giroud’s dismissal. He looked off colour when his team drew at Liverpool, raising fears he had run out of steam, physically. No sign of that against Harry Redknapp’s men. Another player accustomed to getting a break at this time of year, one wonders if he will play in both of the trips that Wenger’s team undertake before the FA Cup third round match, when surely he will be rested. I imagine he will have to.
Both goals were very well crafted. Kieran Gibbs’ cross for the first showing once more the benefit of working the ball wide, and Alexis ball retention before teeing up Tomas Rosicky for the second the mark of real quality. That both goals came from territory in theory the responsibility of Armand Traore makes one wonder why Harry has pursued with the former Gunner, as this is hardly a new phenomenon. Still, the former knuckle-dusting cult hero is their problem now.
The fact that QPR had lost every single one of their away matches so far this season is the kind of stat that puts fear in the heart, because it can’t go on. It’s just a matter of when the run is broken. It didn’t look at all likely until the red card, and that they scored after Arsenal had gone two up was no great surprise. Certainly, they could have had a draw in a frantic last ten minutes, but Szczesny did well when called upon, and Gibbs got away with what looked like a penalty for a challenge on Austin (although that evened up the spot kick that was given against Debuchy, which looked harsh).
The game felt a bit flat until Giroud’s early bath. The missed penalty dampened things, even Alexis’ goal only picked things up marginally, as much as anything because Rangers did not seem to be making much of a game of it. The difficulty many had in getting to the match due to transport issues meant there were almost certainly at least 10,000 empty seats, whilst the miserable weather made for a damp feeling all round. Ironically, the sending off seemed to spur Arsenal a bit, leading to the second goal. I actually felt more confident of a ten man Gunners holding onto their lead, with the belief they would be forced to display more focus and discipline than if they had the full complement.
So in the end, an expected, but necessary win. The next two matches will tell us far more about whether the team are likely to push on and start easing the pressure that will build if the sacred fourth place starts to appear under threat. That the opposition are two of the teams unexpectedly ahead of them in the table makes the trips highly significant. Can they afford two losses and recover the lost ground that would result? Probably, but the less encouragement they give to West Ham and Southampton, the better. Regardless of Wenger’s words to try and dampen speculation, a centre back will almost certainly arrive in January, and the sooner the better. If it is Mats Hummels, as speculation is suggesting, all the better.
As for Giroud, one has to wonder how much he can get away with when it comes to Arsene Wenger. The girl in his hotel room the night before a match, and now this. For similar idiocy as the number 12’s yesterday (v Middlesbrough on New Year’s Day 1997), John Hartson was moved on fairly quickly early in Wenger’s tenure. Yet, one suspects the French players at Arsenal get preferential treatment…
I am now on Twitter@KevinWhitcher01.
The new issue of The Gooner with free 2015 Art of Arsenal calendar can be bought online here. It will also be on sale outside the stadium for the coming home match v Hull, and the away matches over the festive period.
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Further Reading
A sequel to Arsènal – The Making of a Modern Superclub and entitled Arsène and Arsenal The Quest to Rediscover Past Glories has been written by myself and co-author Alex Fynn. It takes up the story of the club from the last update of the previous book, and can be bought online here. Use the promo code ‘Gooner’ to get 10% off the publisher’s price of £8.99.
