Kevin Whitcher
Arsene Wenger’s line-ups in this tournament now are a demonstration that the trophy has become something of a facesaver for the club in recent seasons. There was a time when the likes of Rob Holding and Jeff Reine-Adelaide on the bench would have started this kind of game. As it was, with the exception of Maitland-Niles at right back (with Bellerin apparently injured and Debuchy definitely so) this was a relatively strong line-up. One suspects that Carl Jenkinson would have started were it not for the plan to sell him in the current transfer window.
Anyway, strong team or not, (of the “fit” players, only Sanchez and Cech were left at home), the performance in the first half - all too reminiscent of recent displays against Everton, Manchester City and Bournemouth - seriously threatened Arsene Wenger’s record of never having lost a third round tie in the FA Cup.
In my piece on the 3-3 draw last Tuesday evening, I wrote: "After seeing the defending at Bournemouth, I shall be hiding behind the sofa for some of the away trips still to be negotiated this season. Arsenal do not have the organizational quality and intelligence at the back to get the results they need, and this will also be confirmed, as usual, in Europe."
But this was Preston North End, not the Allianz Arena, as Championship yeomen waltzed their way, unchallenged, through the Arsenal team to take the lead, and really should have been two up before the interval, maybe three. If the strong line-up was a recognition that this trophy now matters a lot more if this is to be Arsene’s farewell season, his players certainly didn’t seem to show it in the opening half.
It was a classic chilly night oop north with fog hanging in the air, and Arsenal going behind in this situation – an away trip to lower league side under the floodlights – is hardly anything new. There was at least, plenty of time to correct things.
However, Arsenal’s offside trap needs a bit of work before they face anyone a bit more clinical than Simon Grayson’s side. What language are they communicating in? One imagines it could be Spanish with three of them having played in La Liga, although whether or not Gabriel heard anything is a moot point. Who exactly was calling the line here? Dixon-Bould-Adams-Winterburn it certainly wasn’t. I am under the impression that Gabriel has not bothered to learn English, in spite of being at the club for two years now, which is a shocking state of affairs. He had a stinker and Mustafi was only marginally better. It didn’t engender hope. Koscielny has his critics, but he is not as bad as this.
In front of them, the team could not keep possession. I noted that when there was an injury the Preston manager took the opportunity to instruct one of his players close up. Arsene did nothing of the sort in spite of the fact that things were obviously not working on the field and needed correcting.
There were some elbows flying around – and not all of them belonged to Preston players. It was physical and it didn’t suit the visitors. Fortunately, getting an equalizer almost immediately after the second half kicked off calmed the nerves. Ramsey’s shot showed the benefits of not always trying to walk the ball into the net and the visitors took control. The ball started to stick to feet, there was more movement and players wanting the ball. Why this couldn’t have been the case before the interval is a mystery, but thank goodness a decent football team had come out for the second half. As my old pal Basti’s better half (a Brazilian girl) would have put it, they were playing in stillettos in the opening 45 minutes. At least they left them in the dressing room before returning after the interval.
Arsenal played like they were already ahead, but the second goal was a long time coming. Preston became frustrated that their more physical approach was now being clamped down on. Perhaps the ref saw some replays of what they were getting away with in his dressing room at half time and decided on a zero tolerance policy. That, at least, allowed for some more football to be played and greater space developed on the pitch for it as the clock ticked down.
The paucity of options on the bench meant that no subs were made until 80 minutes when Danny Welbeck made a welcome return to action. I was watching the game with a nine-year-old who didn’t know what a replay was. I guess there aren’t too many of them these days. I had to explain why there would not be extra time and a penalty shoot-out. It did feel like we might be getting a replay in ten days’ time as injury time neared, but another late goal from Olivier Giroud saved season ticket holders some money on a game that many would have given a miss on a chilly midweek January evening.
The cross from Xhaka was demonstration of the better side of his game, Giroud got a slight flick and Perez took possession of the ball. He backheeled it, which Giroud was prepared for, his shot deflecting past the Preston keeper to break the hearts of the home crowd. A quality goal that Giroud could celebrate for as long as he liked, in contrast to Tuesday evening on the south coast.
Injury time began soon after and Arsene put on two subs. However, in terms of in-game management, why not put one on at a time, and eat an additional 30 seconds of the remaining minutes? The refs rarely add anything on to injury time regardless of the stoppage – witness the game in Bournemouth. A goal was scored in injury time there but no extra time added. Anyway, it didn’t matter last night, Arsenal held out and avoided a replay only Preston would have wanted.
In the post match interview, Aaron Ramsey was asked what was said in the dressing room at half time to create such a different approach. The Welshman gave an answer to a different question that he wasn’t even asked. There’s media training for you. They should get Jeremy Paxman in to do these post match interviews.
Anyway, job done, in the hat for the last 32. Focus now on three points at Swansea next weekend, after Paul Clement’s side were knocked out of the cup at Hull. Ozil will be back from his “flu” along with Sanchez, Cech and one imagines Koscielny and Bellerin.
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