Good afternoon everyone,
Well what a way to start the weekend eh? We've been slated my the press and even our own fans over the last few weeks so it was crucial we put in a display of courage and determination today. That was exactly what we got. In my preview I spoke of how this is the type of game the players would be pumped for and I was right (Blushing). Not everyone was as optimistic as me however. Sky Sports.com predicted we would lose 2-1, pah! What do they know? A defeat would have had unthinkable consequences but I wasn't even preparing myself for that, I knew we would take some beating today.
I had an early heart scare when I saw Nasri struggling in the warm up. He was clutching his groin and I was praying we wouldn't be forced into an early substitution but he started. Maybe it was just a case of getting the muscles warmed up. Some were surprised to see Koscielny start ahead of Djourou. I mentioned yesterday in my blog that Johan deserved a start after his recent good form and I also thought he would be better equipped to deal with big John Carew. Clearly Arsene felt the Frenchman could do just as good a job. Clichy was also welcomed back after he overcame a back problem so we were near enough to a full strenght back four bar Vermaelen of course. In midfield Wilshere got teh nod ahead of Denilson, again I felt the Brazilian would be the better option in this sort of game but Jack proved just why Wenger has so much faith in him. Rosicky started ahead of Walcott, you can understand the tactical reasons behind that and the usual suspects lined up as expected.
We came out of the traps straight from tip off and could have been ahead inside 30 seconds when Warnock's sloppy pass was picked up by Arshavin who played in Chamakh, his shot was somehow found it's way past Friedel but Collins was on the line to clear. The players took heart from this and kicked on from there. Rosicky wasted a chance soon after when Nasri created the opening for him but his shot flashed wide. The Czech was presented with another opportunity when he brought down Chamakh's flick on but his shot was tame and easy for Friedel. The chances continued to come our way, we were absolutely dominating this game, you just wanted the goal to come incase Villa went down the other end and punished us. They so nearly did when a Downing cross went past everyone and Ashley Young somehow flashed it over the bar. He looked offside in the replay but the flag never went up. The inevitable came about 6 minutes before half-time. A long ball was missed by the Villa defence, Arshavin picked it up, ran at them before cutting inside and firing into the bottom right hand corner. Friedel got a hand to it but it wasn't enough. The lead was well deserved and a minute or so later it should have been 2-0. Another poor back pass was picked up by Nasri, he rounded the keeper but couldn't finish from a tight angle. Shortly after a bullet header from Chamakh was pawed away by Friedel. I couldn't believe it was still 1-0. However, from the resulting corner, Nasri smashed a volley home. 2-0. It took a slight deflection but take nothing away from super Sammy, he met it perfectly. What a fantastic first-half display but we should know all too well what can happen when you take your foot off the pedal.
At half-time Delfouneso came on for the ineffective Pires, he wasn't as sharp as he'd like, I felt sorry for him but he will have better days. We now had two strikers to deal with, one with strenght and height, the other was fresh and pacy. This time Villa came flying out the traps putting us under pressure straight away. We had to scrap for a while but we were beaten some what controversially. It was a magnificent finish from young Clark but Fabianski wasn't helped by Carew standing right in front of him. He had no view of the ball until it was practically in the net, no chance. Carew was clearly interfering with play but the goal stood and you feared the players would begin to get edgy again. They say the best form of defence is attack and that is exactly what we did. After all Villa's pressure, we broke and Rosicky played a sublime ball through to Chamakh who poked home. It was just the response we needed and we could breath, for a while at least.
Our resistance was broke once again 20 minutes from time as Richard Dunne leaped and headed in towards Clark who knocked in his second despite the efforts Clichy on the line. Hearts were in mouths once more. The boss responded by bringing on Gibbs and Denilson for the superb Nasri and Arshavin. It was strange to see Arsene make a defence minded substitution. I thought he might have brought on Walcott to run at tired legs and kill the game. Villa hoofed balls into our box but we dealt with everything. Into stoppage time, we broke in numbers again. Chamakh found himself in the box with several options, he layed it off for Denilson who's shot was blocked, the ball fell back to Chamakh, he chipped it to teh back post for Wilshere to head in. Game over and I almost roared the house down with relief. We had just earned ourselves 3 crucial points. It was thoroughly deserved too, we didn't make life easier with the poor marking from set-pieces but at least it didn't cost us. Still though, that dosen't mean the problem shouldn't be addressed.
A spectacular gamr from the neutrals point of view, heart stopping from an Arsenal fan's point of view. We got the win we needed though. What frustrates me is that we can't do this on a weekly basis. I've been saying let's kick on from here for weeks now. Is this the time we actually do it? It has to be, we cannot afford anymore silly slip ups. Each player gave their all today, you can't question their committment and effort, it was first class but it would mean nothing if we drop points back at the Emirates against Fulham next week.
Here are the player ratings:
Fabianski: 6 - Didn't have a whole pile to do besides the goal to be honest.
Sagna: 7 - Assured and as comfortable as you like.
Squillaci: 7 - Wore his heart on his sleeve, love defenders like this guy.
Koscielny: 7 - As solid as you like but struggles against big defenders.
Clichy: 7 - Improved performance, didn't give Young much space.
Song: 7 - Broke up the play well and kept the ball flowing.
Wilshere: 8 - Lively, passed well and did everything you'd expect from a midfielder. He's learning so fast it gives me goosebumps and got his first goal.
Nasri: 8 - Superb once again. Took his goal well and tormented Warnock.
Rosicky: 8 - Captain for the day and led by example. Committed and tireless. Incredible pass to set up Chamakh's goal.
Arshavin: 8 - At the heart of everything. Scored a fantastic goal and surprisingly worked his socks off.
Chamakh: 7 - Great team player, love watching this guy. Took his goal well.
Subs:
Gibbs: 6 - Held the ball up well, exactly what the boss wanted.
Denilson: 6 - Did his job, helped see out the game.
Djourou : 5 - On the pitch for a matter of seconds, would be unfair to give him a low rating so halfway.
It's been a good day, United won so we weren't at the top of the league for long. We've got Wigan in the Carling Cup Tuesday night, attentions turned to that now. Well done Arsenal but there is plenty of work to be done yet to convince some people we are genuine title contenders. Till next time people, enjoy your weekend!
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