Written by Mean Lean on Monday, 04 April 2011 14:40

I am late to the party and as the party is pretty depressing, I will show my face say hello to a few people and get out as soon as possible.

It is Monday afternoon and it is the first time that I have had the chance to write anything about the weekend, the weekend that may have closed the book on our season in 2010/2011.

Something has gone wrong at Arsenal in the last few weeks, something is broken that needs fixing but the broken part is very difficult to find. Diaby, Denilson, Almunia, Squillaci, Bendtner or any of the other scapegoats cannot be blamed for Arsenal not finding the breakthrough against a team fighting to stay in the league.

Earlier in the afternoon, West Ham had taken a two goal lead at Upton Park, they have gone on a good run of late and Manchester United's poor away record was under threat once again. Whenever Manchester United go behind in that way, something in the back of my mind reminds me that they have an annoying habit of coming back to win but the main part of my mind tells me that it won't happen this time, they will slip up and give us the much needed advantage.

As soon as I heard that Wayne Rooney had pulled one back with plenty of time on the clock then you just knew what was coming. The feeling of excitement at the prospect that our rivals are on course to drop points had come crashing down due to one Wayne Rooney goal.

As expected with a little help from their friends, Manchester United had completed their turnaround as they have done so many times in the past.

The pressure was now on us but with so many important players returning to Arsenal, I couldn't see anything other than a victory for the home side who were chasing the Premier League. The signs were positive after the first 2-5 minutes, often the microcosm window where you can usually tell what type of performance will be on show for the remainder of the game. We were sharp and looked hungry.

Blackburn Rovers had defended pretty well but around the penalty box our decisions and execution of pass was not sharp enough. Passes were continuously cut out or passes being over hit at the critical time.

Jack Wilshere should have scored on the half hour but he miscued from close range. That was as good as the chances were going to get for the rest of the game. At half time I wondered if we would see Cesc come on but I wondered who he would replace. We hadn't created many chances and were not at our best but no outfield player was overly poor.

Van Persie struggled to get into the game, Arshavin looked bright on the left and made one lung busting run back to make a last ditch tackle on a Blackburn player. Yet it was Arshavin to be replaced on the hour for the skipper.

No doubt that Arshavin's international minutes contributed to the managers thinking but Arshavin looked our best bet in cracking a stubborn Blackburn defence.

Nzonzi was red carded for a late lunge on Koscielny and it only gave the visitors the excuse to drop everyone behind the ball. As the minutes ticked on and Robinson's goal was being less and less tested, Arsene threw on strikers Chamakh and Bendtner but without Nasri and Walcott on the pitch we then started to use Sagna to cross balls into the box and that only seems to be our game when we are desperate for a goal. Blackburn being the hoof it merchants that they are deal with crosses and long balls continuously in training and it is meat and drink to the likes of Christopher Samba.

We couldn't find a goal and the game finished scoreless. That is three league draws in a row against teams we should be beating and beating well if we are to win the league.

Conclusion

I was convinced that we needed not only a victory but we needed to play well to set us up for the remaining games, we got neither.

Wenger has said that the team were flat and that he has no idea as to why they were flat. It is the only question that I have today. We had almost our strongest attacking line up at home against a team who have been in decline, yet Paul Robinson has probably been tested more from teams in the bottom three than he was at the Emirates.

When we have collapsed in the past, we have usually had a collection of injuries to key players, this cannot be said of the team that took to the field on the weekend. We have no excuses to turn to, the players must look hard at themselves and ask serious questions.

Could they have given more, did they have anything left? If so why did they not squeeze anything else out?

The title is now in the hands of Manchester United. They will almost certainly concede points at some stage but if we continue to feel sorry for ourselves and go through the motions then undoubtedly this team will also drop plenty more.

We know these players are capable of more but it is certainly time to prove it on the pitch where it really matters.

Almunia (4)
Sagna (6)
Squillaci (6)
Koscielny (6)
Clichy (5)
Song (5)
Wilshere (6)
Nasri (5)
Walcott (5.5)
Van Persie (5)
Arshavin (5.5)

Please note that ratings are only my interpretations of the game and that others will have differing opinions

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Comments (20)

• 04-Apr-2011 15:15 | | Mighty Manchester United.  - You're playing for second place.
  

  Another trophyless season for English's football most over-rated club. Your clueless manager will "give it up" on May 1st when you suffer a comprehensive 4-1 hammering at home to the greatest club on the planet- We are mighty Manchester United.

• 04-Apr-2011 15:22 | | Anonymous
  

  What the fuck is an idiot manure fan doin reading an Arsenal blog u cock!

• 04-Apr-2011 15:33 | | weedonald  - It isn't over til the fat lady sings
  

  The season ends when we beat Manure at the emirates 4-1 and go on to win the EPL while they, like the above faceless twat, slink back home to cry in their Mancunian unemployment lines!

• 04-Apr-2011 15:43 | | Anonymous
  

  Mighty manure suck dick!

• 04-Apr-2011 16:01 | | dan
  

  we need to see out the season and then major overhaul required with management and players, but sadly never going to happen. you might as well copy and paste this summary and put next years date on it. all so predictable. really thought we were going to see a performance on saturday and what we got really was the worst of the worst. as has been said everywhere, really no one or nothing to blame this time other than the manager and the players.

• 04-Apr-2011 17:03 | | Northbanksy
  

  It's no mystery why the team was "flat" at the week-end...no inquest is needed. Look no further than our best players were either returning from injury or International duty. They were either lacking in match fitness or knackered mentally & physically.
  Where we could use an inquest is ...why our wing backs are so poor at delivering crosses: why the entire team is reluctant to shoot & generally poor when they do & why there is never any sign of a plan B against teams that park the bus ???

• 04-Apr-2011 17:08 | | Sobin the indian gooner
  

  Iam very much disappointed.But as a gooner we have to stick together and stay positive.As an Indian cricket team fan iam happy,as we lift the cricket world
  cup.I hope Arsenal can also lift the trophy at the end of the season.

• 04-Apr-2011 18:13 | | richie
  

  I know why you've been missing ML since the game the disappointment around Highbury is tangible. The atmoshere is now almost as flat as our performance. For once I've taken the opposite tact I've replied to all and sundry.

• 04-Apr-2011 19:29 | | richie  - NB'ksy
  

  Its obvious why there's no plan B when a team parks the bus, because the only way round it is, either Nasri or Arshavin has to dribble past a player or two to score or else either of the above plus Cesc (who has this ability in spades) has to play through a defence spliting pass for one of our strikers to run on to. Or any combo of the above.
  Of course the fowards still have to score. As far as I know only dribbling and speed will beat a team who parks the bus,

• 04-Apr-2011 19:39 | | Man United Killa  - favorite quotes
  

  Wait for three classic statements in the summer from AW. 1st: I don't need to sign a CB because Vermaelen coming back from injury will be like a new signing. 2nd: I don't need to sign a goalkeeper because that will only slow down Chesneys progress.3. This is a young team with a lot of potential and mental strength.Wait and judge us in May.
  
  Where did it go Boss????????

• 04-Apr-2011 20:17 | | dkgooner
  

  Know how you feel ML.
  I'm speechless. Title not mathematically impossible but mentally unlikely.
  And I can understand the ManU guy coming on here to crow. Time and again, when the chips are down, his team produces the goods.
  Ours does occasionally, but not often enough.

• 05-Apr-2011 11:26 | | CHGooner
  

  The best thing about saturday was the Rocky tribute at the beginning. Whilst I didn't join in, the booing at the end told it's own story. As I've asked before on many occasions, how many more seasons does he need or deserve? My answer as you know is NONE. It ain't going to improve, because the problems are fundamental and inherent. Looking at individual games and performances is pointless. It will always be thus whilst AW is in charge I'm afraid, because he cannot accept that he has made errors, or that he needs to change his philosophy. I ask one furher question ML et al. It is well documented that following a similar dire performance against the same opponents in 1997, Adams and the rest of the back four held a major inquest and bollocked the midfield for not covering or doing their jobs properly. Heated exchanges ensued. A double followed with a magnificent overhauling of Man U showing guts, character and fight in abundance. What do you think has happened/will happen following saturday?

• 05-Apr-2011 12:22 | | dkgooner
  

  Oh dear, some people have such short memories.
  Gone is the memory of the tonking of Chelsea.
  Gone is the glorious memory of the first half against Newcastle.
  Gone is the memory of the recovery against Barca at home.
  Gone is the memory of every moment of brilliance - and there have been many of them.
  All that some people focus on is the bad days.
  So what if we go another season without a trophy. It's not the end of the world. People who have a life of their own don't need other people's achievements to prop up their self-esteem (or lack thereof).
  I want to see my team play good football. I get disappointed when the standard drops and the results are poor but I get over it and accept that they won't be able to do it every game and that there will be off days and periods when it looks like the wheels have fallen off.
  I've been supporting Arsenal since the 1960's and this is the best football I've seen. George Graham won trophies but he lost me - I wasn't prepared to pay money to watch that crap week in week out. Wenger's team on a bad day is miles better than George's was on a good one.
  Now I live abroad so I watch on the net.
  Arsene Wenger is the best manager we have had in my time and people want him to go.
  God give me strength.

• 05-Apr-2011 15:21 | | CHGooner
  

  DKGooner, that is absoluite and utter tosh quite frankly. George Graham's Arsenal teams at their best were exhilirating, dynamic and were fighters. They were a collection of guys who would bleed for the cause. That is the sides from 87 - 91. What he left us with was a great defence, a great striker and nothing else. That's why he had to go. He'd lost his way, and was stuck in the past. He'd lost credibility.
  
  You claim we play great football as if that is the constant standard. Sorry I don't see it. Sometimes we play 'attractive football', but sometimes it's downright awful when we pass and pass and pass to no effect, defend comically and have no idea how to change a game that is slipping away from us, or start at a pedestrian pace that only encouragers the opposition. As for citing 'the first half against Newcastle'. We threw away a 4-0 lead FFS!! How can that be something we should remember with pleasure?? We lost to Barcelona remember. We're out. They are through. It's all getting a bit desperate on the AKB front now.
  
  Finally, I care about Arsenal but that doesn't mean I don't have a life, and I'm sure that goes for most people on this site.
  
  People who questioned the regime in Soviet Times were deemed insane. Similar arguments from you I see DK...

• 05-Apr-2011 16:58 | | richie
  

  I loved the fact that under GG we won game we had no buisness winning, we all did back then. "One nil to the Ars-en-al" was our way of rubbing the oppositions noses in it. The "in it" being that we could nick a game against better footballing sides. So many of our goals we from set pieces. Our opponents hated giving away corners and free kicks against us because they knew what was coming. We were the best team at winning ugly.
  
  But thrilling? Come on! Most of the seasons under GG we were dire. Thrilling football under George? Even for a die hard Gooner like me who always talks up my team thats a bridge to far. We were strong of mind and purpose short of technical skills and creativity. Yes we had one or two creative individuals like the Merc who could ping a full length cross field ball. Or like rocky who had class but mostly we had a team of work horses.
  
  Summed up by Adams and Keown not the two most technically gifted of players, but the two most difficult players in the league to play against, becuase they overcame whatever they didn't have with the will to win, they hated losing and had more determination than anyone else.
  Don't get me wrong I loved mugging other teams back then but we have only really become a footballing team since AW took over.
  Like DKG I was on the terrace's in the 60's and we've never played better, than under Wenger. That ain't hero worship thats a fact!

• 05-Apr-2011 19:03 | | dkgooner
  

  Well CHG - we clearly have different priorities.
  I want to see good football.
  You want to win a trophy, no matter how.
  If you think GG's teams played good football then there's little hope of us ever agreeing on anything. They played pragmatic football. But it never made the blood tingle, not my blood anyway - apart maybe from the Championship win at Anfield, but that was more due to the importance of the occasion than the quality of the football. I can appreciate some of the attributes of some of the players but I was bored stiff most of the time.
  Yes I remember the first half of the game against Newcastle with pleasure. Enormous pleasure. We were sublime. Then an injury and a moment's madness and we imploded. I choose to remember the good moments, you choose to remember the bad. I think that just about sums it up.
  If I was Wenger, I'd show them the video of that first half. Instill some confidence in them. Remind them what they're capable of. You'd show them the Blackburn game and berate them.
  You expressed an opinion and I replied. If you can't take the heat, stay out of the kitchen.

• 06-Apr-2011 07:23 | | CHGooner
  

  Richie and DK, you don't remember the team who beat Tottenham 2-1 at The Lane three times in a few weeks, who beat Liverpool at Wembley after Rush scored, who murdered Forest 4-1 away, smashed title rivals Norwich 6-1 , hammered Man U and Liverpool regularly then? Don't remember our midfield of Rocky, Davis, Mickey T with the likes of Marwood and later Limpar tearing down the wings getting in early crosses then? The 1-0 to the Arsenal song came about during the CWC run of 94 by the way, NOT during the 87-91 period I referred to. In terms if 'I'd rather play pretty football and win nothing' argument that is pathetic. Used to laugh at the poor Trotts who made similar laughable statements, but the truth is as we all know, is that our football is quite often pass for pass sake. It's over boys and girls, hard for some of you to accept I know, but the Wenger era will sadly end like GG's 'he WAS great, but in the end he couldn't change'

• 06-Apr-2011 23:49 | | richie  - Nonsence
  

  We didn't hammer the pool regularly back then check the stats, they were the force in the league and we broke their monopoly. I know ManU weren't a major force under Taggart in those days until after they won the league in title 92-93 but I remember his team tanking us at Highbury in 91(I think) 2-6
  
  I know we nicked the song from PsG (N'oublie pas moi aussi J'francophone) Nevertheless I never said we were singing it in the 87-91period. I said the song summed up our style of play in the GG years. If you remember us playing exhilarating football in those days then you must've been easily pleased. Most of our opponents back then called us borring. I knew we weren't playing great football but GG didn't have bundles to spend so he made us hard to beat.
  
  Of course we laughed at the Tiny Tots because they tried to cling on to the idea that they were entertainers and we played boring ugly football. But now we are on an entirely different level. Now we entertain and we have the players in our squad that every body wants to steal.
  we have talent in our squad that every team in

• 06-Apr-2011 23:51 | | richie
  

  Europe would love to have.

• 08-Apr-2011 21:01 | | Mighty Manchester Manure  - Why?
  

  @MightyManchesterUnited just so you know, going on an ARSENAL site and writing provocative comments about ARSENAL is not only very rude, but does not reflect well on your class and is bound to cause anger on this forum.
  PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE use your head and do NOT be a GIT.
  

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