Written by Mean Lean
on
Thursday, 09 December 2010 12:38
Qualification has been achieved for the eleventh season in a row, something we were surprisingly credited for last night on ITV yet the way we have managed it leaves a slight frown on the brow. As expected Shakhtar put Braga to the sword and finished the table as group winners, leaving Arsenal to borrow through in second place.
It was a rather nervy performance on the night and not the fluent, confident display that Arsene would have wanted ahead of some very tough games in this month of December.
We started with a pretty strong and attacking team from the outset. Robin Van Persie started in place of Tomas Rosicky which gave the Dutchman his first start with Chamakh. Denilson came in for Wilshere which gave the youngster a rest and probably also to compensate for having another forward in the set up.
Partizan defended in numbers and passed the ball well when they had the ball but most of their football was in their own half so they hardly threatened us. You could sense the nerves from the cold Gooner faithful in the crowd to the players on the pitch. Even with the attacking threat of Van Persie, Nasri, Arshavin and Chamakh on the pitch we lacked sharpness and imagination.
The poor unlucky Kieran Gibbs who was given a chance at left back went down under no challenge and had to be replaced half way through the first half. He seems to come back from an injury and break down again shortly after his return. The cycle will have to continue for him as he sits out for the next few weeks. Emmanuel Eboue replaced him at fullback for his 60th European appearance.
The breakthrough came on the half hour mark. Alex Song played a ball in between the Belgrade players to Van Persie in the box and Van Persie shifted the ball to one side and played for a penalty. The referee pointed to the spot. If it had been at the other end of the pitch then I would have been furious as not much contact was involved but needless to say, I was thrilled.
Even with the goalkeeper talking away in Van Persie's ear, he still dusted himself down and smashed the ball into the corner of the net. I miss that confidence I have before a kick is taken with Van Persie on the pitch.
I was hoping that our opener would open the floodgates and remove the Arsenal handbrake that was clearly raised, but credit to the away side who stuck to their game plan and moved the ball around well.
As usual we had the chances to double our lead and did not take them. Early in the second half Nasri lashed a shot over the bar, which brought Arsene to take out his frustrations once again on his water bottle.
I had that feeling that I had seen this film before when we were punished for not taking our chances and the opposition scoring with pretty much their first attempt on goal.
Koscielny was correct to go for the ball but he should have tracked his man, instead Squillaci was left with the decision to close down the man or follow the runner who had just left Koscielny, it gave Cléo the space and time to line up his shot via a deflection from the boot of Squillaci and over the diving Fabianski.
Andrey Arshavin had a total nightmare of a game, giving away the ball almost as much as he received it. I take the blame for that, and shall never jinx him with the pre match title of one to watch again. He jogged off the pitch with only a 56% pass completion rate which tells its own story. He actually worked hard whilst he was on the pitch, closing down the opposition and pressing from the front. Theo Walcott replaced him so Nasri moved over to the left to accommodate the arrival of our flying goal scoring wide man.
It was Theo who came up with the goods and put Arsenal back in front with a sumptuous finish. A Belgrade player headed the ball as far as Theo who was lurking in the box, he took one touch on his chest to control and another to execute the tidiest of dipping controlled volleys into the corner of the goalkeepers net.
A few minutes later the game was wrapped up with a third Arsenal goal and the best goal of the game. Alex Song ended up with the ball at his feet outside of the box, a drive forward and quick shift of feet took him past two defenders and his quick release to Nasri was wonderful. Nasri playing with the golden glow at the moment, dummied the return to Song and fired low into the bottom corner.
I love the Nasri finish because it is often a position where we attempt one pass too many, instead of working the keeper and perhaps Nasri of last season may have tried a return to Song but with his form sky high, the goals are flowing for him and it was a lovely finish from a player who is currently the most influential player on the pitch.
Bacary Sagna was sent off in the last 7 minutes of the game which now means he will miss the first leg of the next round which is a massive blow as arguably he is our best defender. There was a mix up at the back and Sagna lost the race to get goal side after a one-two. Squillaci stepped out leaving us exposed. It was a similar situation to the Cléo goal, leaving us short on cover and we were caught out.
It could well be an issue with communication and knowing when to stay and when the press the ball. During the 90 minutes our central defenders nipped in and won the ball countless times but when they got it wrong we were punished. In the end Fabianski was hardly tested and could have brought his sleeping blanket in the back of the net during the first half such was his involvement. In the second he made a save from a free kick and that was just about it apart from the deflected goal so we were hardly giving away chances to the opposition, yet we still conceded a goal which seems to be the story of this season.
We had a few half chances to score a late fourth but we squandered the chances and the game was over with.
Conclusion
We should have walked the group as winners but it wasn't to be. Two poor away performances in Donetsk and Braga has dropped us back to second which means that one of Barca, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich or Schalke await the Gunners.
Where as we would have to beat the best to win the competition, I would rather we had a better chance of progressing to the next stage, however a big victory against the cream of Europe could be just what is needed to push this team on.
On the Alex Song defensive watch, I thought he had a much improved game from his Fulham showing. Won many battles in the middle of the pitch and also played the pass for the Van Persie penalty and weaved his magic for Nasri's snapshot. He will be important against Manchester United.
Clearly not at our creative best on the night but we did enough to progress and that was the main objective before the game. Wenger has until Monday to prepare the squad for one of the biggest games of the season.
The Champions League resumes in February so it is impossible to know what the games will be like against our opponents, even when we find out who they are on Friday week. Hopefully Van Persie will have found his stride by then. Cesc will hopefully be back in tip top shape. Lets shove the CL to one side and concentrate on domestic matters.
Fabianski (7)
Sagna (6.5)
Koscielny (6.5)
Squillaci (6.5)
Gibbs (7)
Song (7.5)
Denilson (7)
Van Persie (6)
Arshavin (5)
Chamakh (6)
Nasri (7.5)
Arsenal News 24/7
Why doesn't anyone else remember that Arsene put together by himself the most successful defense ever assembled in the prem?
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