Kevin Whitcher
First up, in case you missed it, the campaign to keep The Gooner going beyond the end of this season was launched yesterday. Please check it out if you did not see it then. Now down to the business of last night at the stadium…
At the conclusion of this match, Arsenal ended up with the same as they did against Liverpool in their previous home fixture. A point. And as with the game before Christmas, we witnessed another rollercoaster.
It was a kind of mirror image of the 22nd December draw. Then, the visitors went ahead, Arsenal fought back and took the lead, before being pulled back themselves. It was the other way around v Chelsea, although in both games, there were gilt-edged chances for the opposition to take all three points before the final whistle.
Arsène Wenger’s vision of football is that the fans should be entertained, and there is no doubt that, when faced with a team prepared to play their own game rather than simply try to deny Arsenal, more often than not, it’s showtime. Last night’s game was fast and furious, astonishingly open at times, especially when Chelsea had the ball, although there were good opportunities for Arsenal on the break as well.
Fundamentally though, defensively, the team is not consistent enough to challenge for the league and has not been for a long time. It’s a side of the game the manager chooses not to address, when it is obvious that they are gifting too many goals.
There were good chances enjoyed by both sides before the interval. Morata missed a golden opportunuty, as Arsenal’s high and hopeless back line was beaten with a simple ball over the top, and Sanchez almost scored after Courtois tipped his shot onto the post, for the ball to bounce over to the other post and out into the Chelsea keeper’s arms. It was astonishingly 0-0 at half-time in spite of all the close shaves.
Arsenal took the lead shortly after the hour thanks to the rarity of a goal from Jack Wilshere. And it was a cracker, in off the post from the angle. The lead didn’t last long as a controversial penalty was awarded against Bellerin by Anthony Taylor. The Spaniard, going for the ball, kicked Eden Hazard’s foot and the Belgian went down. Is kicking another player’s foot, without intent, a foul? Someone can look that one up in the refereeing handbook and there you will find the answer as to whether or not the penalty should have been awarded. As Hazard stepped up to take it, I thought it would be fitting if Petr Cech finally saved a penalty for Arsenal, given the opposition. It was not to be. Someone told me that the keeper has not saved a Premier League spot kick since 2011. Certainly, the two Chelsea penalties not converted in the Community Shield shoot-out missed the target rather than Cech getting his hands on them. In fairness to the keeper, he can be a good one-on-one shot stopper and he displayed this at times during the game.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles had a generally decent game, but the lapse he had to allow Zappacosta to set up Alonso for Chelsea’s second was one he will want to forget. With six minutes left, it cued a rush for the exits amongst the home support, which meant they missed Hector Bellerin’s cracking equaliser in injury time. Fair play to Arsenal for rallying and salvaging a point. Not such good marks for their allowing Chelsea to almost nick it in the remaining seconds, as Cech was forced to save from Morata and Zappacosta hit the bar from the follow up.
It was another case of entertaining the neutrals, and frankly, having given up on Arsenal doing anything in the league this season, it was entertaining for yours truly. I had a chat with an old friend after the game who said that nowadays, as fans we look too much at the bigger picture. When we were younger, we used to enjoy matches individually without worrying too much about anything outside of the 90 minutes. Maybe it’s our age, and that when you are young you can get excited about things more easily. Who knows? There does seem to be a pervasive gloom around Arsenal these days, and my take on it is that there is not really too much of an element of surprise these days. Seasons are generally predictable, and sometimes matches themselves seem to be. Last night’s was an exception. It was a cracking game, with plenty of excitement and errors (Morata and Arsenal’s defenders the main culprits). But a game like West Brom away, which was horrible to watch, has become too frequent in recent seasons. West Ham away less than a month ago was another.
Anyway, what is obvious is that the notion Arsenal would be able to challenge better for the title because the first team would not have the distraction of the Champions League has proved a nonsense. They have won less points in the Premier League than they had at this stage last season. One reason why was pointed out to me by contributor Ian Henry. He emailed –
Against the bottom five Arsenal have won 1, drawn 3 and lost 1. Convert the draws against the lower teams into wins and defeats into draws and we would be fourth. Stirring performances against Chelsea and Liverpool (in parts) are fine, but it is the failure to put away the worst teams that is the real failure of the Wenger regime. What will be very interesting to see is the team he sends out at Chelsea next week; will he throw the game?
With two cup matches in four days, my prediction is that we will see a Europa League-style line-up against Forest, and a far stronger one – probably the first choice eleven – at Stamford Bridge. The next Premier League game is away to Bournemouth the Sunday after, giving plenty of chance for recovery. My thought on the two legged-semi is that Conte is due a win against Wenger, however strong an Arsenal team is fielded. Law of averages and all that.
As for last night, a cracking 90 minutes, but a point is not much help at this stage to Arsenal’s hopes of getting back into the Champions League. In four home matches against the other top teams so far this season, the record is won 1, drawn 2 and lost 1. Five points from 12. Manchester City are the only top side not played at home and that game is scheduled for the weekend of the League Cup Final. One imagines Pep Guardiola’s side might be playing at Wembley rather than the Emirates.
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