Puzzle. 26 Down, Five Ahead, Is it Enough?
Feb 11th, 2008 by 'holic
Watching games on Setanta should carry a public health warning. Apart from the adverts for THAT channel, which most of us cannot get, you also have to put up with some of the most absurd expert analysis you could ever suffer the misfortune to hear.
Blackburn apparently arrived without three suspended key players and were ‘down to the bare bones’. OK, I will accept we do have greater strength in depth as our victory at Ewood Park with a shadow squad in the Carling Cup demonstrated, but that depth was tested fully in the absence of Almunia, Toure, Eboue, Diaby, Rosicky, Walcott, and van Persie. Injuries in the second string also meant that Kerrea Gilbert found himself on the bench. Frustrated during loan spells at Cardiff and Southend he must have been astonished to be given the opportunity. Good man-management I think.
Four minutes in and a corner provided Philippe Senderos, unmarked after a cute move, with the opportunity to power a header home. One-nil to the Arsenal, but according to the experts it was a mismatch. ‘Why was McCarthy with Senderos?’
Funnily enough it wasn’t to be one of the big man’s better performances, but Blackburn showed a lack of ambition, and strangely a lack of steel, which meant a few of the hosts could afford a less than perfect display. For over an hour we would be treated to ‘while it’s only one goal Blackburn have a chance’.
After a sparkling twenty minutes it was evident that Arsenal took their foot off the gas again. I doubt that was pre-planned, more a sub-conscious reaction to the lack of opposition. That’s not intended to ridicule Blackburn. It was probably a bad night for them. They certainly worked but lacked any bite or inspiration on the night.
Can you believe it, I don’t feel the urge to rip into Mark Hughes’ side? The truth is that without the odious Savage, Dunn, and Todd they were a bunch of pussy-cats. What was to hate? The home crowd booed Bentley for a while. He produced one cross and one free-kick of any note, and the rest of the night gave a perfect demonstration of why he was shown the exit door at Highbury. Does anybody seriously believe he would be anything other than Alex Hleb’s boot cleaner if he were still on the payroll?
If Mathieu Flamini had the best chance to add another goal in the first period, then it was Alexander Hleb who came closest to doubling the lead after the break, his snapshot finding the foot of the post. The time had come for Emmanuel Adebayor to live up to the lavish praise heaped on him by the home fans. ‘Give him the ball, and he will score’.
Twice Brad Friedel, so often at his best against Arsenal, denied the Premiership’s best striker. Just when it looked as though it was one of those nights Hleb weaved a path in from the right and fed Adebayor. Not for the first time this season he teed it up with his first touch and finished impressively with his second.
To be honest the crowd had appeared more on edge than the players, but any nerves were at last dispelled. ‘We are top of the league’ replaced the all too audible groans, and at the final whistle Hleb and Adebayor took their double act into the interview area.
Is five points enough? Don’t be daft. There are still twelve games to go, including trips to Old Trafford and Stamford Bridge, but we can afford to lose one game more than our closest rivals, and that could be important as we get to the pointed end.
One thing is for certain, pre-season reports of our impending demise were most certainly premature!
20 Responses to “Puzzle. 26 Down, Five Ahead, Is it Enough?”
Spot on Goonerholic – This team means business!
top pf the table !!!bye ….manu~~
For Heavens sake, ‘holic you must know by now that it’s ‘Arsenal started brightly’ followed by 20 minutes of jolly play then we forget what we were meant to be doing and go off and read a book in the corner or ring Mum for a chat or have a go at macrame (AYOA).
That said it all worked out in the end and that certainly wasn’t the sort of performance I was expecting from Blackburn. They seemed to have taken their clogs off.
What delightful post match badinage between Ade and Hleb.
Bless.
If you really want a rise, you should read Henry Winter’s post match column. Old Henry stated that for a good portion of the game Bentley was “raining crosses” from the touchline. I da.. near fell out of my chair LMAO. Even better, you should listen to Hughes’ post match comments who felt his side “deserved something “out of the match .
what a game, to be honest as a gunner fan it was never self untill when ade put it to sleep,bi thought there were certain moment in the game that we allow BFC to ahve too much of a touch on the ball, it seems as they the tryin ti beat us at our passin game,
I’m enjoying this season so much. Thanks for the write-up ‘holic.
http://www.wickeddeflection.com
Wenger has stuck to his own formular in the face of almost total disregard for our chances this season. We have seen Wenger proving that their has never been another manager like him in Britain maybe the world.
It’s been said that Utd, Cheski even Liverpool have more depth in their reserves. Thing is at Arsenal there are no reserves. They are all up for it and rightly so. All our players know our style intimately and can be slipped into the team with little or no loss of cohesion to the side.
Our under 15’s through to the Prems and not discounting the ladies, seem to play the same exciting, clever brand of football.
Wengers way.
Thanks I suppose to David Dein, the one good legacy he left. What happened to him I wonder? Not in the news much these days.
Long way to go in the league but it’s a nice position to be in.
Ain’t it great to be great?
5 points ahead is still not enough. Don’t forget in 1995 when Kevin Keegan’s Newcastle surrendered 20 points leads to MU… But If Arsenal beat the hell out of MU this Saturday and AC Milan next 3 days, it will be a huge momentum for the Gunners to gun down the Premiership to The Emirates Stadium. If MU & Chelsea keep on losing or draw, Arsenal will stand a chance. Gun Em’All Gunners!
Isn’t it time Backary Sagna got a song?
How about a version of
“aye, ya ya ya
si, si signora”…………….
sung as:
“aye, ya ya yaaaaa,
Backary Sagna,
We love you, we love you, we love you, we do
Backary Sagna”
You’re saying go for more brevity then mrs?
😉
Can you believe it, I don’t feel the urge to rip into Mark Hughes’ side? The truth is that without the odious Savage, Dunn, and Todd they were a bunch of pussy-cats. What was to hate?
Indeed, it felt very bizarre to have so little shit-kicking there.
It WAS strange, but this is actually how Blackburn play their games against non top4 opposition, when they feel they have a footballing chance to compete. Arsenal perform once again under pressure, and pass one more ‘test’. A 5 pt lead is nice, but Wenger was right – they are no fools, and they know the lead can disappear over 2 average games.
I thought Hleb deserved a goal for his performance last night. Gilberto was poor.
Franklin, thanks for the link to Henry Winter’s report. I’ve left a comment there. It really does beggar belief.
[…] did not take Arsenal too long to take the lead when Philippe Senderos send a towering header from a Eduardo corner in the 4th […]
‘holic, nice one. I agreed that i didn’t detest those buggers as much without Robbie (cunt) Savage around. Though Brett Emerton came pretty close to being a big asswipe the last time we played them.
However, i thought it was amusing that Hleb had Emerton in his pocket the whole game last night. Ah well.
Mike, there is a song for Sagna already.
“Sagna, Sagna….Bacary Sagna,
He’s got dodgy hair but we don’t care,
Bacary Sagna!
spot on Steve-O re: Sagna’s song. I love it! lol
Emerton had nothing on our skinny Alex and I was telling Steve-O during the match, Alex won every battle against him and NEVER lost the ball. What a marvel our Belarusian is.
Just wanted to report that the phone in on Arsenal TV with Tom Watt, Stewart Robson and Shovel was inspirational after the match last night.
Regards
JSW
1st time visiting here..i dig it
Thank you gunnergirl,
For you and the other first timers I should point out that Jackster is available for weddings, birthdays , and barmitzvahs at reasonable rates!
Cheers everybody for your comments.
I am a first time commenter and \i dare say, You write well. Keep in up. Quite frank and hit the nail on the head!