Date: Sun 9 May 2010
Teams: Arsenal v Fulham
Venue: Emirates

Arsenal: Fabianski, Sagna, Campbell, Silvestre, Clichy, Eboue, Diaby, Nasri, Walcott, Arshavin, Van Persie

Fulham: Schwarzer, Pantsil, Baird, Smalling, Shorey, Dempsey, Dikgacoi, Greening, Riise, Okaka, Nevland

Match Review:
The final match of the season saw Arsenal welcome Fulham to the Emirates. Arsenal knew that they needed at least a point to secure the third place finish and avoid the play-in match associated with the final Champions League spot. Fulham entered the match with their minds unquestionably on Wednesday’s match against Athletico in the Europa League Final. As a result, Fulham fielded a much weakened side where as Arsene put out his strongest side possible. Arsenal welcomed back Clichy and Arshavin in to the starting line-up and on the bench were Johan Djourou, who hadn’t played all season, and Kieran Gibbs, who hadn’t played since being injured in November.

It was clear from the opening kick-off that Arsenal were in no mood to make this a tense match as these looked hungry to put their noses in front. It was Fulham who threatened first though when Shorey floated in a free-kick and Fabianski missed the punch which led to a bit of a scramble in front of goal which was finally cleared. Van Persie thought he had given Arsenal a few moments later when his free kick was brilliantly saved by Schwarzer. The opening goal came after about 20 minutes courtesy of a Schwarzer mistake following a back pass. Arshavin chased down Schwarzer and retrieved the ball and managed to skip by the keeper on the byline before then cutting it back to the middle before firing home. Van Persie had been waiting in the middle and would have been quite upset if Arshavin had not scored.

Arsenal were 2-0 up moments later when Sagna played Walcott through and Theo crossed to van Persie who saw his first shot deflected on to the crossbar but the rebound fell kindly to him and he finished it off. The goal left many supporters wondering whether things would have been different if van Persie had not been injured for such a long period this season. The third Arsenal goal came via slightly fortuitous circumstances when Walcott fired in a cross from the right which Eboue flicked on and the ball eventually hit Fulham defender Baird and went in for an own goal. It should have been four before halftime when a beautiful Eboue back heel set Walcott free but the England winger’s shot was pulled wide when a chip looked the better option as Schwarzer had come out early.

Arsenal came out for the second half firing on all cylinders and were nearly rewarded when Sagna’s cross was met by van Persie, forcing a good save by Schwarzer first and then Fulham were saved by the post on the follow-up. It was pretty clear that with the result no longer in question, both sides took their foot off the gas a little bit in the second half. Both Dempsey and Eboue had penalty shouts turned down before Vela put the icing on the cake with one of his trademark chip finishes. The game finished 4-0 Arsenal and almost all of the crowd stayed around for the players’ lap of appreciation.

21′ [1 - 0] A. Arshavin
26′ [2 - 0] R.v. Persie
37′ [3 - 0] C. Baird (o.g.)
84′ [4 - 0] C. Vela

Player Ratings:
Fabianski – 6
Poor Lukasz. A straightforward game against Fulham reserves and such is the level of his confidence that he still managed to cause several heart-in-mouth moments, mainly on crosses. After so many high profile mistakes, its probably best for all concerned that he moves on, most likely to a good career at the top level. I am sure he must have been disheartened to hear a large number of supporters sarcastically cheer every successful kick and catch. I think Wenger will look hard at strengthening this area in the summer.

Sagna – 6.5
A typically solid performance from Sagna. Had little to do all afternoon but defended strongly and joined in the attack effectively. Great through-ball to Walcott to set up van Persie. Hasn’t quite hit the heights of his first season but is reliable and has rarely put a foot wrong.

Silvestre – 6
Thankfully he was rarely tested and so had a decent enough game, even playing some sweeping cross field passes. Most likely his last season at the Emirates – or at least the last season when he sees any playing time outside the Carling Cup.

Campbell – 6.5
Dealt effectively with the strength of Okaka. Strong in the air and apart from getting caught for pace a couple of times, he rarely put a foot wrong. Sol was presented with the Arsenal.com player of the month award before the match and will probably get another 1 year contract on a pay-as-you-play basis. If not, Wenger should consider keeping him around as a defensive coach and someone with the winning attitude we need more of. The supporters have really been behind Campbell since he returned to Arsenal and I think his attitude and performances have justified that support.

Clichy – 7
Solid performance defensively and attacked effectively with Arshavin and later Vela to heap misery on Baird. Clichy may get caught out of position and make errors that seem to be punished with bizarre frequency, but he is a 100% committed Gunner who plays with more passion than most.

Diaby – 7.5
Deputised for Song and Denilson in the holding role and did a good job. He was more disciplined positionally than usual so was less of an attacking threat but kept the ball well and was a strong shield in front of the defence. Diaby has done enough this season to prove he has a big future in the Arsenal midfield, if he can stay fit for longer.

Nasri – 7
Somewhat quieter than usual, Nasri drifted in and out of the game, struggling a little to find space in an often congested midfield. Showed his quality on more than one occasion, particularly the through-ball for Vela’s goal. Has undoubtedly demonstrated quality and improved work ethic and strength this season but consistency (across the season and within games) is the key for Nasri next season.

Eboue – 8 (Man of the Match)
Clearly enjoyed the freedom of a more attacking role with less defensive responsibility. Eboue had an excellent match overall – he used his pace effectively both through the middle and on the flanks. Demonstrated an excellent work rate throughout was strong in the tackle when needed. As Wenger mentioned previously, he’s an excellent example to others who want to regain the trust and opinion of the crowd. Proved this season he is a key squad utility player.

Walcott – 7.5
Faded in and out of the game somewhat but caused Fulham some real damage down the right flank and delivered several deadly crosses. Unlucky not to finish what would have been a fantastic move involving an Eboue flick in the first half, although some would have suggested he should have shown the skill to chip it over Schwarzer.

Arshavin – 6.5
A nicely taken goal after some industrious work chasing down a back pass. Van Persie would have no doubt been furious if he hadn’t scored as a pass to him seemed like the better option before he fired home. A few deft touches but apart from that, another trademark indifferent performance to sum up a rather mediocre season.

Van Persie – 7.5
An encouraging 90 minute performance, Robin looked sharper than in previous games as he linked the midfield and attack as only he can. Could have done better with a few other half chances inside the box. What a different end to the season it could have been had he stayed fit.

Substitutes:
Djourou – 6.5
Came on for Silvestre. Nice to see him back from a career threatening injury. Had little to do but looked more assured on the ball than Silvestre. Hopefully he can push on and force his way into the team next to Vermaelen over the next few seasons (assuming Gallas leaves).

Lansbury – 6.5
Came on for Walcott. His spell at Scarborough seems to have toughened him up. Lansbury has certainly bulked up physically and was neat on the ball in his cameo 15 minute appearance. Perhaps this was Wenger putting him in the shop window…

Vela – 7
Came on for Arshavin. Playing like he had a point to prove, Vela was aggressive, direct and strong. Linked up well with Clichy down the left and scored a well deserved, trademark chip. Such an effective finish. On this form, Vela has a future at Arsenal next season.

Supporter’s Review:
A somewhat quiet crowd for most of the match. No doubt a reflection of the low key opposition, amount of injuries to big players and frustrating end to the season. Most of the crowd stayed for the ‘lap of appreciation’ led by Cesc, which lasted a full 7 minutes. Eboue was the crowd favourite all afternoon, especially at the end as he stayed behind the pack of players with his 3 children, milking the applause and flashing that trademark smile. Cesc also had a stadium wide song dedicated solely to him. The Emirates has seen over 1.7 million supporters this season – very impressive, and, while so many Arsenal fans are disappointed, a reminder of just how far the club has come.

Manager’s Review:
The amount of injuries meant no surprises in the starting line-up. Hard to believe our luck when considering the following were all unavailable through injury: Gallas, Vermaelen, Fabregas, Song, Rosicky, Bendtner, Ramsey, Denilson, and of course, Almunia. The bench was filled with youth – a little surprising Wenger waited so long before putting on Lansbury and Vela. I still have confidence in Wenger – it’s now 13 straight seasons in the Champions League whilst overseeing a major stadium move and the ‘monification’ of many rivals, which has significantly raised the bar in the Premier League. The League table may not reflect it, but we came close this season. I’m confident that the 0 points from 4 league games against Manchester United and Chelsea combined with the chasm between our team and Barcelona highlighted in the Quarter final of the Champions League will convince Wenger to spend some money in the summer.

Conclusion/Final Thoughts:
Now that the season is over, I think I can finally find some time to properly reflect. It was one of the strangest seasons I think I can remember for quite some time. I think many supporters entered the season with a sense of cautious optimism. Most of the pundits were writing off this side and many people were even questioning whether Arsenal would be able to finish in the top four considering that many of the chasing pack teams had significantly strengthened their squads. After wining the opening match of the season 6-1 away to Everton and following that up with 3 more victories, I think people started to believe that maybe this could be the season for Arsenal to prove the critics wrong. However, the next two matches saw us drop points at both Manchester United and Manchester City and the pundits then quickly reversed their views on Arsenal’s prospects for the season. This trend of ups and downs was symbolic of this season for Arsenal; every time it looked like Arsenal were dead and buried this season we managed to rally with a few good performances to get ourselves back within reach. Unfortunately by the end of the season this trend of playing catch-up finally caught up to Arsenal and it was another trophyless season for the players and supporters to endure.

In terms of conclusions for the year, I think I will stick to two main positives and two main negatives.

Positive 1: Growing talent- there are a number of reasons to be excited about the future prospects of this Arsenal side. Cesc had another fantastic season and once again proved that he is one of the best players in the Premier League; Vermealen made an instant impact in a position that many supporters have worried about for the last few seasons; a number of the younger players showed continued signs of development including Walcott, Bendtner, Song and Diaby. If we can keep this core together and add a few more pieces, the signs are all pointing in the right direction.

Positive 2: Stability of the club- in a season that seems to have been dominated by so much negativity around so many other clubs (financial instability, ownership struggles, player indiscretions, etc) Arsenal has continued to be run in an exemplary fashion. While many people will say that this counts for nothing if the trophies don’t follow, there is something to be said for 13 straight seasons of Champions League qualification and the club looks to be well positioned now financially to support any summer moves that Wenger believes are appropriate. I truly do feel that there is a sense of team spirit and belief at this club which makes the players enjoy playing for this club and with and for each other.

Negative 1: Injuries- I know a lot has been said about the injury situation at Arsenal this season but the reality is that this seems to be too familiar of a picture in recent seasons. There are some people that want to try and question the medical staff or training methods but I think some of it must come down to the depth of the squad. I think if we added a few more bodies during the summer then we could afford to rest a few players more often and preserve them for the duration of the season. I also think a couple more strong bodies in the centre of the park might help to protect some of our more creative players from the sorts of strong tackles that Wenger often complained about during the season.

Negative 2: Maturity / mentality- a lot has been made about the growing maturity of this Arsenal side but I am slightly worried that we seemed to lose many of the big games this season. We lost both our matches to Manchester United and Chelsea and were comprehensively outplayed by Barcelona in the Champions League, which was particularly concerning as we were so badly beaten by our own game. There were times this season when you had to question the desire of the players to step up during the big matches and play for the name on the front of their shirts. Drawing at West Ham when going 2-0 up and losing to Wigan when also going 2-0 up are the sorts of results you just cannot afford if you want to challenge for the title. The one other thing I would question this season is whether we took the right approach to the Carling Cup and FA Cup when it was clear that these were both chances for us to challenge for silverware.

Here’s to a summer of World Cup football, watching the new signings being unveiled and Spurs losing their Champions League qualifier.

Date: Mon 3 May 2010
Teams: Blackburn v Arsenal
Venue: Ewood Park

Arsenal: Fabianski, Sagna, Campbell, Silvestre, Traore, Eboue, Diaby, Nasri, Walcott, Vela, Van Persie

Blackburn: Robinson, Samba, Givet, Nelsen, Olsson, Salgado, Dunn, Grella, Pedersen, Andrews, Roberts

Due to an overseas trip and local television restrictions (with no alternative this time to watch through Slingbox), this was the second Arsenal match that we have been unable to watch, and therefore we did not feel it would be fair or appropriate to do a full report as our observations would only have been based on what we had read and the television highlights. We have, however, provided our usual conclusion / final thoughts below.

Conclusion/Final Thoughts:

1) 1 point from a possible 12 has seen Arsenal drop a full 10 points behind Manchester United and 11 behind Chelsea. From winning positions, we have lost to Wigan and Blackburn, not to mention Spurs. I realise the squad is ravaged with injury and many of the goals conceded can be directly attributed to the loss of Vermaelen, Gallas and Almunia. However, that does not excuse the recent run of results. I know a lot has been mentioned about the growing maturity of this side, but I think recent results have proven that there is still some way to go. I sense that some of the players have decided to hang up the boots early after a long season and while there may not be a lot to play for there is something to be said to finishing the season strong and playing for pride and in respect of the travelling supporters.
Blackburn adopted their usual tactics and targeted Fabianski aerially, which is what most teams would have done. We were sadly unable to deal with it, which reflects how shallow our squad is.

2) Wenger said before the match that we should trust his judgment in the transfer market. I still do. He has a good record, making only a handful of bad moves which are far outweighed by a consistent record of excellent business. I just hope the manager has seen enough this season to convince him that to be competitive with the best, the squad needs considerable investment.

3) Arsenal are 5 points clear of Spurs with one match to play. Our goal difference is so superior that even a point at home to a distracted Fulham on the final day should guarantee third place. It shouldn’t come to this given that Spurs are likely to drop points to Manchester City on Wednesday evening. So whilst this awful run has seen us drop even further behind the “top 2”, third place should be safe. Let’s hope Toure and co. give Spurs a true mauling.

4) Nice to see RvP back in the starting eleven, although clearly some way from full fitness. Fingers crossed he makes it through the World Cup unscathed.

The final game of the season is Fulham at the Emirates on Sunday at 3pm. This season has been the most up and down in our 26 years supporting Arsenal and given the performances in the last few games, its one I’m glad to see the back of.

Date: Sat 24 April 2010
Teams: Arsenal v Manchester City
Venue: Emirates

Arsenal: Fabianski, Sagna, Campbell, Silvestre, Clichy, Song, Diaby, Walcott, Nasri, Rosicky, van Persie

Manchester City: Given, Zabaleta, Toure, Kompany, Bridge, De Jong, Vieira, Barry, Adam Johnson, Bellamy, Tevez

Match Review:
The late kickoff on Saturday pitted Arsenal against Manchester City. For Arsenal, the question was around how they would respond to their shock late defeat against Wigan the previous weekend. For Manchester City, they were still very much in the hunt for the final Champions League spot. The match was also the return to the Emirates for Adebayor after he upset so many Arsenal supporters in both the manner in which he left Arsenal and his reaction following his goal against Arsenal at the Eastlands.

While Arsenal controlled much of the early play, they rarely looked like threatening. Manchester City had clearly come to the Emirates hoping to at least secure a point and maybe get something more on the counter attack. The only real chances off the half fell to Arsenal, with van Persie and Walcott both failing to really test Given.

Shortly after the restart the match livened up when Adebayor came on for Vieira. The biggest talking point on the pitch was probably midway through the second half when Diaby darted inside and fired a low shot which Given was able to keep out with a diving save but in the process he appeared to pop his shoulder and was taken from the field in obvious pain. Van Persie had a free kick also fly agonizingly wide but it was clear as the clock ticked towards the end of the match that there just wasn’t a goal in the match on the day.

With the result, Arsenal edged closer to confirming their third place finish.

Player Ratings:
Fabianski – 7
I don’t think Fabianski had any real saves to make on the afternoon. He generally commanded the box well on corners and set pieces and his distribution was good. You could still sense the nervousness between supporters and some of the players though after his recent performances. The cleansheet should hopefully do his confidence good though.

Sagna – 7
With Manchester parking ten men behind the ball for much of the match, Sagna had a lot of space to go forward. He also looked sharp on the other end and generally won all the foot races with Bellamy.

Campbell – 7.5
I thought about giving him man of the match again. I hope to see Sol back in an Arsenal shirt again next year. He was strong and put in a number of great tackles. He also pushed forward quite a bit today and showed that he still has a lot of fight left in him.

Silvestre – 7.5
I know we have historically been quite hard on Silvestre but I actually thought he had a good match today. He won all the battles in the air and on the ground and was alert and first to the ball all afternoon.

Clichy – 7
Clichy had Adam Johnson to deal with on the afternoon and thought he kept the dynamic Manchester City winger quiet all afternoon. He didn’t push forward as much today as he has in the past couple of weeks and his crosses were slightly off today.

Walcott– 7
This wasn’t Walcott’s greatest performance but in fairness he never really had the space to run into with Manchester City parking their defence so deep. I still think he needs to add a little more versatility to his game.

Diaby – 7
This was a chance for Diaby to go up against the player many people often compare him to, Vieira. For the second straight week I thought Diaby was slightly off the pace. He seemed to drift in and out of the game too much today.

Song – 7.5
Great to have Song back after injury. He adds a real strength and stability in the heart of the midfield. I think his emergence has really quieted down the talk about Arsenal’s need to go out and get a strong holding midfielder.

Nasri – 7.5
Nasri offered some creativity today but it is clear that he doesn’t offer the same sort of threat as Cesc does. After missing the first half of the season through injury, I think Nasri has had a pretty good end to the campaign.

Rosicky – 7
I am really not sure about Rosicky. He is definitely technically very strong but I just don’t think he is enough of a threat at times.

van Persie– 8 (Man of the Match)
As with in the Spurs match, I thought van Persie’s presence today showed what we have been missing whilst he has been out. He was a handful for the Spurs defender and his presence on corners and set pieces is an added bonus. You could see him getting tired a bit at the end and he was pushed off the ball a little bit too easy at times as well.

Substitutes:
Eboue – 7
Came on for Rosicky. Eboue offered a little more defensive protection and had a couple good runs going forward too.

Bendtner– 7.5
Came on for Walcott. As he has all season, I thought he offered something different when he came on. We were able to attack more through the air and he was first to many long balls.

Supporter’s Review:
It was always going to be a vibrant atmosphere at the Emirates with the return of three former Arsenal players. The first two, Vieira and Toure, both received great receptions as they left Arsenal as legends in all Gunner supporters’ minds. The third, Adebayor, was subjected to large amounts of hatred which have only been shared with Ashley Cole in recent years. It was funny to see during Adebayor’s warm-up that the supporters booed him every time he reached the end of his run and then cheered the Arsenal players every time they reached the same spot. Despite all the build-up it was a pretty subdued atmosphere at the Emirates, at least until Adebayor came on, which probably reflected the lack of real chances for most of the match.

Manager’s Review:
Arsene must have known that it was going to be slightly difficult to motivate his players today following the defeat at Wigan last weekend. He opted to bring in some fresh legs and some more offensive threats, with van Persie receiving his first start since returning from injury. As Arsene described it was a slightly unusual match and neither side really threatened all match. “It was an afternoon I am not used to because we created very few chances and Man City didn’t create anything. They were highly focussed on defending well. They didn’t give us any space and we could not find the opener. For as long as we couldn’t do that it was a locked game basically. There were very few chances. It was two teams who played well defensively, had very good discipline but created very few chances.” While I thought we looked the more adventuresome of the two sides I still think you could see that the players were tired from a long season and that they realised there wasn’t a whole lot to play for.

Conclusion/Final Thoughts:
It was interesting afternoon. While Manchester City arguably had more to play for in their race for the final Champions League spot, I thought they lacked ambition going forward on the afternoon and never really threatened at all. I was somewhat surprised considering all the offensive threats that Manchester City possess that they set up so defensively but I guess they realised a point would still be a good result for them at this point in the season. It is difficult to know who I want to finish fourth this year. As a true Arsenal supporter I can’t ever cheer for Spurs but I do feel Manchester City would potentially be more dangerous if they could offer players the prospect of Champions League football alongside the ridiculous amounts of money that they can spend.

Arsenal’s remaining two matches see them travel away to Blackburn before hosting Fulham in the final match of the season. A point from either of those matches will pretty much guarantee third, but it would be good to finish the season strong with two victories.

Date: Sun 18 April 2010
Teams: Wigan v Arsenal
Venue: DW Stadium

Arsenal: Fabianski, Sagna, Campbell, Silvestre, Clichy, Walcott, Eastmond, Diaby, Nasri, Rosicky, Bendtner

Wigan: Kirkland, Melchiot, Gohouri, Bramble, Figueroa, Rodallega, Diame, Watson, McCarthy, N’Zogbia, Moreno

Match Review:
Wigan hosted Arsenal at the DW Stadium in the early kick-off on Sunday in a match that would see Arsenal looking to keep their outside title chances alive and Wigan looking to gain any points which could help them on their quest to separate themselves from the relegation battle. After Chelsea lost to Tottenham on Saturday, Arsenal supporters would have realised that a victory against Wigan would have seen them narrow the gap with the leaders to just three points. Arsenal made four changes from the side that lost to Spurs midweek, with Fabianski replacing the injured Almunia, Silvestre coming in for the injured Vermaelen, Eastmond starting for the injured Denilson and Walcott being preferred to Eboue.

Early on in the match, it was evident that Arsenal still had heavy legs and probably a few bad memories still from the recent losses to Barcelona and Tottenham, as Wigan very much started on the front foot. Moreno and Rodallega were causing problems for the back four of Arsenal and they didn’t look very confident with Fabianski deputising in net either. Arsenal’s first real chance came about midway through the first half when Campbell connected with a Theo free kick but his header went just wide. Shortly after Diaby played through Walcott but when it looked like a shot would have been the better option, Theo decided to play the ball back into a crowded box instead and it was cleared. Just before half, however, Bendtner was able to steal the ball away from Bramble and played the ball over to Walcott who danced his way into the box and slid the ball past Kirkland to give Arsenal the lead going into the break.

The second half started with immediate action as Ben Watson was clipped by Nasri in the Arsenal box with only a few minutes gone by but referee Lee Mason waved away the penalty shouts. At the other end, a Nasri corner was met by an unmarked Silvestre and the Frenchman headed past a diving Kirkland to give Arsenal a two goal advantage. Following that goal the pace dropped a bit and both sides looked to be cruising towards the expected result on the afternoon, an Arsenal victory. With about ten minutes left, however, substitute Victor Moses beat Sagna on the right and drive a ball into the box which was slammed home by Watson to give Wigan a chance to get back into the match.

The goal seemed to give the Wigan players and supporters a big lift and all the pressure was being applied by Wigan following that. Wigan thought they were level a few minutes later when Watson headed goalwards from a corner but Nasri was on the line to clear. A few minutes later Wigan were level though when Fabianski failed to catch a corner and the ball dropped on Titus Bramble’s head and trickled into the net. It was a poor mistake by the Arsenal keeper.

Shocked by his side’s inability to hold on to a two goal advantage, Arsene Wenger brought on van Persie in search of a late winner but much to everyone’s surprise the winner that did come minutes later was at the other end of the pitch. After some good footwork and some poor Arsenal defending on the edge of the box, Charles N’Zogbia unleashed a rocket into the top corner to gain Wigan the unlikeliest three points after being 2-0 down after 80 minutes.

41′ [0 - 1] T. Walcott
48′ [0 - 2] M. Silvestre
80′ [1 - 2] B. Watson
89′ [2 - 2] T. Bramble
90′ [3 - 2] C. N´Zogbia

Player Ratings:
Fabianski – 5
With the disastrous performance at Porto still likely in the back of his mind, Fabianski had an opportunity to put those memories behind him with a solid performance this afternoon in replace of the injured Almunia. While Fabianski didn’t have much to do for the first 80 minutes, he had to pluck the ball out of his net three times in the last ten minutes. While there really wasn’t anything he could have done for the first and third goals, the second goal clearly has to be marked down as a keeper error, as he should have at least punched the ball clear if he had any doubts about catching it.

Sagna – 6.5
I guess the one thing you can say about Sagna is that his performances are consistent. I don’t think he really ever stands out as a star player but also rarely can be excused as the one making any mistakes. I still think with a team like Arsenal that relies so much on keeping the ball on the ground and using the width of the pitch, a player like Eboue sometimes offers more at the right back position.

Campbell – 7
After putting in a star performance at White Hart Lane midweek, you had to worry whether Campbell’s legs would be up for this match. I thought he played well again and tried to lead by example as Arsenal’s stand-in captain. I was surprised by his pace a couple times this afternoon. I wonder what sort of role Campbell will play next season at Arsenal?

Silvestre – 6
Well, Silvestre scored a goal but he was also at the heart of a defence that conceded three in the final ten minutes. I really don’t want to harp on about the merits of Silvestre being one of the centre backs that we have come to rely on so I will just say let’s hope Arsene will be looking to strengthen at this position in the summer.

Clichy – 7
Another relatively good performance from Clichy. It is hard to know who to point fingers at when you concede three in the final ten minutes but I don’t Clichy did much wrong on the afternoon. He continues to look more comfortable going forward and was sharp at the back most of the afternoon.

Walcott– 7.5 (Man of the Match)
Theo’s pace caused problems for the Wigan back four at times today. After a bit of a shaky start, he settled down a bit and made a few lovely runs in behind the Wigan defense, with one of them leading to the opening goal. I think the last couple weeks will have helped his England causes. The one thing I would like to see more of though is Walcott getting back on defense as well to help the backs.

Diaby – 7
A bit of a mixed bag from Diaby. While he made his usual strong runs through the middle of the park and played a few great through balls to Theo, I still think he needs to pose more of a threat around goal.

Eastmond – 7.5
I thought Eastmond looked strong in the centre of the park considering it has been a while since we last saw him in the side. He is strong in the challenge and looks comfortable with the ball at his feet. He is definitely one for the future.

Nasri – 7
Not the greatest performance from Nasri. I think he looked a little tired and possibly a little deflated as well after what Arsenal has had to endure over the past couple of weeks. You can definitely see that he misses the space that Fabregas creates for him when the pair play together.

Rosicky – 7
Better from Rosicky today. He was creative and looked to drop back to retrieve the ball in leading Arsenal forward. As with Diaby, I think we need to see more goals from Rosicky.

Bendtner – 6.5
Another off day for Bendtner this afternoon. I think he struggles at times with being the lone striker and he too easily gets isolated upfront. While he offers an option in the air going forward, with the ball at his feet Bendtner is definitely not the most clinical.

Substitutes:
Eboue – 7
Came on for Rosicky. I thought he was positive with his runs but he should have also been supporting the back four more when we had a lead to protect.

Merida – 7
Came on for Walcott. Looked sharp when he came on and played a few nice passing plays with Nasri. I wonder whether we will see Merida in an Arsenal shirt next year?

van Persie – n/a
Came on for Eastmond. After warming up most of the second half, you have to question why van Persie wasn’t brought on earlier to help shore up the lead.

Supporter’s Review:
There was good support from the travelling Gooners. Despite a difficult last ten days, the away section seemed to be full and the Arsenal supporters were definitely the louder for the first 80 minutes. The looks on some of the Arsenal supporters’ faces after Wigan scored the third really told the story though as there was a real mix of disappointment and surprise but also acceptance. There have been a number of ups and downs this season for Arsenal supporters but this was the match when I think all Arsenal supporters finally admitted that this season would again yield no silverware.

Manager’s Review:
Arsene was understandably very upset after the match. It was telling that he was now starting to talk about the team below us that can catch us versus the teams above us that only a few weeks ago we were in a position to catch. “I believe that we were not focussed and were not disciplined and we got caught. We were a bit unlucky as well but overall, in football you have to keep focussed for 90 minutes or you risk or a bit much, especially against a team who has nothing to lose and fights not to go down. They will not give up and in the end we were punished.”

I think a result like this will only further Wenger’s acceptance that Arsenal need to strengthen this summer. While he would not be drawn to pointing fingers following the match, he clearly must be worried about the number of mistakes he has seen in goal and in defence this year and the lack of ability to kill off games upfront when Arsenal jumped out to a lead. While I know van Persie is just coming back from injury, I think Wenger did the wrong thing by not bringing him on earlier to help hold onto possession upfront and potentially really kill off the match with a third goal.

Conclusion/Final Thoughts:
This was one of the most disappointing results of the season for Arsenal. While excuses could be made about tired legs after a disappointing midweek match against Tottenham or the current injury situation, the reality is that we were 2-0 up and we somehow managed to throw it all away in the final ten minutes. This was not the first time we had blown a 2-0 lead after a similar slip earlier in the season at Upton Park so as draw at 2-2 after taking a 2 goal lead. The lack of ability to kill off matches is really worrying. I don’t know if this is due to a lack of maturity or leadership or focus but there is always a sense when Arsenal take a lead that they are vulnerable. To be perfectly honest, when Wigan scored the first I was almost dead certain they would score another, although I couldn’t have imagined three unanswered. The worrying thing is that Arsenal always seem to play better when they are chasing a match and that really is a danger game to play too often.

Arsenal’s next match sees them welcome Manchester City to the Emirates. While Arsenal don’t really have much to play for this season, pride will be at stake and the Arsenal faithful will surely want to see a result against the side that will bring back Adebayor to the Emirates.

Date: Wed 14 April 2010
Teams: Tottenham v Arsenal
Venue: White Hart Lane

Arsenal: Almunia, Sagna, Campbell, Vermaelen, Clichy, Eboue, Diaby, Denilson, Rosicky, Bendtner, Nasri

Tottenham: Gomes, Assou-Ekotto, Dawson, King, Bale, Kaboul, Huddlestone, Modric, Rose, Pavlyuchenko, Defoe

Match Review:
While the north London derbies always seem to be highly contested matches, this match-up was undoubtedly seen as a must-win game for both sides, with Arsenal looking to keep their title challenge alive and Tottenham looking to keep pace with Manchester City in the race for the final Champions League spot. Both sides would also be keen to put their latest results behind them as well, with Arsenal being knocked out of the Champions League by Barcelona and Tottenham being humbled by already relegated Portsmouth during their semi-final match-up at Wembley. Arsenal would likely enter the match-up the more confident of the two sides, with the chance to set a club record of 21 consecutive top-flight matches without defeat against another team, and the return of striker Robin van Persie would also unquestionably provide the side with a big lift. At the other end, there were worries about how the Spurs team would respond after playing 120 minutes on the terrible Wembley pitch and whether they would be able to lift themselves after the disappointment of slipping out (pun intended) of the FA Cup.

Clearly trying to capitalise on the potential fatigue of some of the Tottenham players, Arsenal started very much on the front foot. The Tottenham supporters ferociously booed every Arsenal touch, with the particularly loud taunts directed at Sol Campbell. It was that man, Campbell, who had the first chance of the match after he redirected an Arsenal corner goalwards but Assou-Ekotto was there to chest it off the line. After some back and forth interplay in the middle of the park, Spurs won a corner after about ten minutes. From the in swinging corner, Almunia punched the ball about 30 yards clear before falling to his feet but the ball fell to 19-year old debutant Danny Rose who attempted an audacious volley that screamed past over the awestruck Almunia and into the back of net. Cue absolute jubilation around White Hart Lane and why not; it was a fantastic strike and one worthy of goal of the season.

Arsenal looked shell shocked after that goal and things got much worse moments later when Vermaelen suffered a mysterious injury to his calf and had to be replaced by Silvestre. While Arsenal dominated possession for much of the remainder of the half they failed to ever really test Gomes and the Spurs back four remained resilient. Just before halftime Arsenal had a couple half chances from Rosicky and Clichy but at halftime the score stood at 1-0 thanks to a magically goal from Rose.

After what was sure to have been a stirring halftime talk from Wenger, Arsenal couldn’t have started off much worse than they did. After only a couple of minutes after the restart, Defoe played a beautiful through ball to Bale, who was being played onside by Sagna on the other side of the pitch, and the Welshman coolly slotted his first league goal this year past Almunia. Sensing the season was slipping away Wenger brought on Walcott for Sagna and started warming up van Persie, who was brought on for Denilson shortly after. The introduction of these two clearly changed the dynamic of the match and Arsenal started creating much more going forward. Only a few minutes after coming on, Diaby floated a ball into the box and van Persie chested it down with his back to goal and then turned and unleashed a volley goalwards which would have found the back of the next if not for a spectacular save from Gomes. A few minutes later these two were involved again after a well taken free kick from just outside the box by van Persie curled around the wall and again was stopped by a world class save from Gomes. To complete the hattrick, from the ensuing corner Gomes somehow managed to get a hand to Campbell’s header and deflect it off the bar. After having almost nothing to do for the first quarter of the match, Gomes had somehow made three world class saves within a couple of minutes.

The Arsenal goal which had seemed to have been coming finally did come with five minutes to go as van Persie showed some nice footwork at the top of the box to slide through Walcott on the right who then crossed to Bendtner in the middle who somehow managed to bundle the ball into the back of the net. While it set up a tense final few minutes for Spurs supporters, including another Gomes save from a long range van Persie effort, the final whistle blew and Arsenal supporters and players were left dismayed as White Hart Lane rejoiced.

Player Ratings:
Almunia – 7
With many people questioning all season whether Arsenal should be in the market for a world class keeper in the summer, Almunia would be keen to finish the season on a strong note. The first goal was a wonder strike, and I am not sure there is much Almunia could have done about it. I think it is also difficult to point fingers on the second goal but maybe Almunia could have done something special. He did make a couple of good stops, including one on Modric.

Sagna – 7
Following the defeat against Barcelona, Sagna has been quoted this week about the need for Arsenal to sometimes sacrifice style for results, and I think most Arsenal supporters would agree with that to some extent. Poor positioning by Sagna played Bale onside in the build-up to the second goal.

Vermaelen – 6.5
Arsene Wenger had nothing but praise for the Belgian defender in his pre-match comments talking about both his technical abilities but also his mental and physical toughness that he has demonstrated this season. Unfortunately Wenger’s comments seem to come back to haunt us as the Belgian defender was taken off after about fifteen minutes with a calf injury.

Campbell – 8 (Man of the Match)
The former Spurs defender must have known that he would have been welcomed by a hostile reception this evening. Campbell was immense this evening. He rolled back the clock a few years and provided strength and stability at the back. He was also unlucky not to have scored when his first effort was cleared off the line and his header in the second half was well saved by Gomes.

Clichy – 8
After a bit of a mid-season blip, the Arsenal left back has been back to his best in recent weeks. While Clichy may have been slightly guilty of momentarily losing concentration before the Bale goal, he had a solid performance this evening. He was all over the pitch at both ends and helped to provide options down the left all evening, while generally keeping the Spurs forward men at bay all match at the other end.

Eboue – 7
I don’t think this was one of Eboue’s best matches, although he didn’t do a whole lot wrong either. I am not sure whether he was tired but he failed to make the usual cutting runs that we have expected from him so far this season, which would have been particularly useful this evening as we failed to break down the Spurs defence.

Diaby – 7.5
After a slow start to the season, Diaby has had a very strong second half to the season. I thought Diaby had a fairly good match but like so many of the Arsenal players failed to ever really find that cutting final ball. Diaby still probably needs to get more goals for us if he is to have the impact we require.

Denilson – 7
With Song failing to recover from his knee problem, Denilson was again called upon to bolster the holding midfield position. I think Denilson struggles to find the right balance in the midfield sometimes as he provided the necessary support for the back four but offered little going forward.

Nasri – 7
Nasri has become central to our success with the absence of Cesc. Unfortunately since playing a staring role against Porto, Nasri has failed to have the sort of impact we have needed from him. He showed signs of the creativity we so dearly required but failed to really find that final ball this evening.

Rosicky – 6.5
While Rosicky always shows signs of brilliance, I think he has failed to have the sort of impact on matches that we have to come to expect from him in recent years this season. I thought Rosicky struggled again tonight. It would have been nice to see some leadership from one of our more senior players, and he failed to create much going forward when we needed some creativity without Cesc in the centre of midfield.

Bendtner – 6.5
In the build-up to the match, the big Dane said he was happy to see van Persie back in the side but also hinted that he hoped he could retain his position upfront as he has believes his recent goal tally can be linked to his move from a winger position to a more central striker role. Despite scoring the lone Arsenal goal, I thought Bendtner was poor this evening. He never really troubled the Tottenham defence and was sloppy in possession on too many occasions.

Substitutes:
Silvestre – 6.5
Came on for Vermaelen. I was very nervous when Silvestre came on to replace the injured Vermaelen but in fairness Silvestre didn’t do too much wrong at the back. I would be surprised if we see as many performances from Silvestre next year when Djourou is back and Arsene Wenger is almost sure to strengthen there in the off season.

Walcott – 7.5
Came on for Sagna. As with van Persie, Walcott made a big difference to the side when he came on and stretched the Tottenham back four. He assisted the Bendtner goal, and he does seem to be more direct with his final ball in recent weeks. I think next season will be a big one for Walcott if he really wants to break into this side.

van Persie – 8
Came on for Denilson. Exactly five months after rupturing ankle ligaments in an international friendly, Arsenal welcomed back van Persie to the side. Robin made an instant impact when he came on and showed sharpness and decisiveness in front of goal. Could have had a couple goals if not for fantastic Gomes saves. You have to wonder where Arsenal would be in the table if they had had their prolific striker for the whole season?

Supporter’s Review:
When the fixture list comes out each year, you can be certain that all Gooner and Spurs supporters look for the north London derby matches first. There is always a great deal of hostility between the supporters in these matches and the atmosphere can be extremely tense, particularly with so much at stake this year. The Arsenal supporters were in strong voice early on as Arsenal controlled much of the early play but you could see they were as shocked as all the Arsenal players after the early wonder goal. Once Tottenham scored the second you could sense that the Arsenal supporters were finally starting to lose their belief that they could still make a push for the title this season. It is almost certainly a fifth consecutive season without silverware, and you know that the Arsenal supporters are finding it increasingly difficult to take with each season that passes.

Manager’s Review:
Arsene Wenger stated before the match that he thought that Arsenal would need to take full points from their remaining fixtures if they wanted a chance at lifting the Premier League trophy at the end of the season. Arsenal has had a challenging season in terms of injuries but Arsene knew that there was no time to feel sorry for themselves and that nothing but three points but do against Arsenal’s biggest rivals. While Arsene refused to give him hope, he did recognise that the loss meant it was very unlikely that Arsenal would again fail to get silverware this season. “It will be difficult, yes, now of course. We’ll continue to fight but it makes it very difficult. As long as it’s not mathematically impossible it is not impossible. Our job is to fight and we will do that. But even if they drop points we are far (behind).”

Wenger’s first substitution was forced due to the Vermaelen injury. His next two substitutes were in attempt to try and get back into the match when Walcott and van Persie came on. Both of these substitutions had an instant impact on the match and left Arsenal supporters wondering whether the result would have been different if they had been on all match.

Conclusion/Final Thoughts:
There have been some thrilling matches in recent years between Arsenal and Tottenham, but thankfully for Arsenal supporters the only loss in the last decade to Spurs was in the Carling Cup. I think I had three major thoughts following the final whistle, and I think they are all connected in some manner:

1) Why do we seem to suffer so many injuries each year? While you can put to one side the injuries we have suffered due to bad tackles (Diaby, Eduardo and Ramsey), I think there needs to be serious questions asked about why we seem to suffer so many niggling little injuries to so many of our other players. Is it because we sign injury prone players? Is there something wrong with our training methods? Do we need a new physio staff? Or are we just not protected enough by referees?

2) What-if? This has been a real season of what ifs. Chelsea and Manchester United presented us with enough chances to really challenge this season and it looks like we have fallen just short. But what if we hadn’t suffered long-term injuries to Vermaelen, Cesc, Gallas, Clichy, Ramsey, etc.? I also question whether we had the right approach to the Carling Cup and FA Cup this year when it was clear that those were likely our best chance at silverware and would have provided the club and its supporters with a big boast?

3) What’s next? There is no questioning there is a lot of talent in this side and the potential is there but how long will the supporters put up with no trophies. I think this summer may really be the first time that Wenger plays in the transfer market, and he must realise that he can strengthen in a number of positions, even if just to add some depth to counter the injury problems commented about above. While this seems to be said following each trophyless season, next season is going to be very important for this era of Arsenal players and the manager.

Next up is Wigan away and the Arsenal players need to pick themselves up from this match and be ready for that one; at least the pitch at the DW Stadium has been relayed so we don’t need to worry this year about playing on a pitch with more mud than grass!

Date: Tues 6 April 2010
Teams: Barcelona v Arsenal
Venue: Camp Nou

Arsenal: Almunial, Sagna, Clichy, Silvestre, Vermaelen, Diaby, Denilson, Nasri, Rosicky, Walcott, Bendtner

Barcelona: Valdes, Dani Alves, Abidal, Marquez, Milito, Busquets, Keita, Xavi, Pedro, Messi, Bojan

Match Review:
Following the excitement of last week’s 2-2 thriller at the Emirates, the return leg at Camp Nou was highly anticipated. Both teams came into the match with injury and suspension worries with Arsenal missing long-term absentees van Persie, Gallas, Fabregas and Arshavin, as well as a fresh blow from the weekend with Song missing out now too. At the other end, Barcelona would be without centre-back duo Carlos Puyol and Gerald Pique, and injuries to key players Ibrahimovic and Iniesta meant that Barcelona would be far from full strength as well. While Arsenal came into the match as the real underdogs, it was not the first time that they had been in this position. In 2006, Arsenal won away to Real Madrid, courtesy of a Henry strike and they also defied the odds by winning away in recent years to Inter Milan and AC Milan. Barcelona would also have one eye on their weekend match coming up, as they are playing host to Real Madrid in an important top of the table match-up.

Arsenal started the match looking much calmer than they did at the Emirates but the first real chance fell Barcelona’s way when Lionel Messi let fly from just outside the 18 yard box and his shot was tipped behind by Almunia. Was this a sign of things to come? Moments later Messi tried his luck again but this time his shot dipped just over the cross bar. While Arsenal were enjoying a little more of the possession than when in London they weren’t really threatening going forward. That changed after about 18 minutes when Diaby managed to steal the ball at midfield, despite the Barcelona players claiming a foul was committed, and he set Walcott free down the right. Walcott squared the ball for Bendtner, who saw his first shot saved by Valdes, but the big Dane managed to get up ad slot the rebound home to give Arsenal the lead.

While Arsenal supporters and players alike were still trying to come to terms with the fact that they had gone 1-0 up, Barcelona were level. While you could say that it was Silvestre’s fault for a poor clearance, it was a wonderful piece of skill from Messi to gather the ball and unleash a rocket into the top left corner that even a brick wall wouldn’t have stopped. After a period of play which saw Wenger enraged by Walcott being cynically fouled with no yellow and Denilson getting a yellow for a clean tackle, things got much worse for Arsenal when Barcelona capitalised on a piece of fortune when a half clearance by Vermaelen fell to Abidal who slid the ball to Messi who blew past both Silvestre and Clichy and then lifted the ball over Almunia into the back of the net. It didn’t take long after that for the Argentine master to complete his hat-trick. This time Keita headed the ball through from the halfway line and Messi was first on to it before running through to the box to then brilliantly chip over a despairing Almunia. Halftime and it was 3-1 Barcelona and I am not sure what Wenger could have said to his troops to try and lift them from this one.

In the second half, Guardiola clearly showed he didn’t want a repeat of what happened at the Emirates and he set-up a more defensive formation and brought on Toure to replace Bojan. Arsenal saw more of the possession as a result but still failed to really challenge Valdes in the Barcelona goal. There were a couple of half chances for Bendtner and Rosicky before Messi capped off a memorable performance by scoring his fourth goal of the evening. After receiving a long pass from Xavi, the brilliant Argentine raced into the box and fired a low shot at Almunia which was saved but the rebound fell back to Messi who then coolly slotted it home. Game, set, match and Barcelona were through to the semi-finals to face Inter Milan and Arsenal were left wondering what they could have done differently.

18′ [0 - 1] N. Bendtner
21′ [1 - 1] L. Messi
37′ [2 - 1] L. Messi
42′ [3 - 1] L. Messi
88′ [4 - 1] L. Messi

Player Ratings:
Almunia – 6.5
After almost single-handedly keeping Arsenal in the match at the Emirates, I don’t really think there was much that Almunia could have done about any of the goals this evening. Maybe a world class save could have kept out one of them but it unfortunately still wouldn’t have been enough. He actually didn’t have nearly as much to do this evening as he did at the Emirates but still somehow had to pick the ball out of his net 4 times.

Sagna – 7
I thought Eboue may have started at right back this evening because of his offensive abilities going forward but Sagna played relatively well at the back. He definitely doesn’t provide the same sort of width or quality going forward as Alves does for Barcelona but he is generally reliable at the back and does get forward when opportunities present themselves.

Vermaelen – 7
Vermaelen did his best to lead by example this evening and thank goodness he was at the back to at least keep the score respectable. I really do hope we can find him a strong partner next year. I know that Gallas and him combined well at times this season but that is not the long-term solution. I would like to think that Djourou may be a good partner but only time will tell.

Silvestre – 5
Despite the fantastic finish, Silvestre’s poor clearance directly led to the first goal. While I am not sure whether Campbell would have been much better this evening considering his lack of pace, a club like Arsenal needs to have a better back up option than this. He was also left flat footed for the second goal as well. I don’t want to sound too one sided but one or one between Messi and Silvestre and I would bet that Messi takes him 99 times out of 100. That just won’t get it done if you want to challenge for the biggest honours.

Clichy – 8 (Man of the Match)
Clichy really impressed me this evening. Despite making a few too many ambitious forward runs that left us slightly exposed at the back, he really showed a desire and heart that I think lacked from some of the other Arsenal players. He was always first to 50:50 balls and seemed to be the last man back on more than one occasion. It is good to see Clichy back to his best.

Diaby – 6.5
I said before the match that Diaby was going to be important if we wanted to get anything out of this match and unfortunately he disappointed this evening. He didn’t seem to have his usual strength and composure on the ball and he failed to really threaten going forward. After a promising period during the middle of the season, I am afraid that Diaby has returned to his trend of drifting in and out of matches.

Denilson – 6.5
After shining against Barcelona at the Emirates as a substitute, I was also disappointed by Denilson’s performance this evening. Barcelona seemed to have so much space and time in the middle of the field and some of this was a result of Denilson’s inability to close down the space or show a willingness to track back. It really is frustrating to see Denilson chasing back at about 60% pace when everyone else is sprinting as fast as they can.

Nasri – 7
Difficult to know what to say about Nasri this evening. I think he did all that he could but Barcelona just close down on the man and the open space so quickly that Nasri had very little time to do what he does best. He think he also struggles a bit when playing with only one front man as it doesn’t give him very many options to play off of going forward.

Rosicky – 5.5
Really, really disappointing. Rosicky seemed to be well off the pace this evening and that isn’t what you need from one of your more experienced players. I lost count of the number of times he lost the ball and he also spurned a couple of good shooting chances. As sad as it is to say, he really hasn’t been the same player since coming back from injury. He is still a quality player and strong on the ball but he lacks that composure and creativity which really used to differentiate him.

Walcott – 7
Theo had a very promising start creating the run and pass that led to the goal and causing Barcelona all sorts of problems down the right. I think once Barcelona realised that Theo isn’t as good with the ball at his feet as he is running into space though things changed a little bit. There is no doubt that Theo’s pace causes real challenges for defenders but he can be very one dimensional at times. I only wonder what could have happened if Bendtner had set him free again on the break when Arsenal were 1-0 up?

Bendtner – 6.5
Yes, Bendtner scored the opening goal and credit to him for his perseverance but he had a couple other golden chances and he didn’t take them. First, shortly after going 1-0 up he led a break and chose the wrong option by not playing through Walcott. In the second chance he was too slow to get the ball out from under his feet when he was set through on goal and he saw an open header smash off the post, although I think he was offside anyway. Bendtner does offer us something different but when is that last time he really created a goal by himself with his own skill or creativity?

Substitutes:
Eboue – 6.5
Came on for Silvestre. I was surprised he didn’t start this evening. He showed some desire going forward but was penalized a couple times for silly fouls when he really didn’t need to be.

Eduardo– 6
Came on for Rosicky. He only had about 15 minutes on the pitch but I can’t really remember him making any real impact. It has been a disappointing season for Eduardo and I only hope that he can regain some of his form this summer.

Supporter’s Review:
The travelling away supporters were confined to a section quite high up in the huge Camp Nou stadium, but they could still be heard throughout the evening. While there was no doubting the magnitude of the match, I think the supporters were somewhat comforted by the fact that Arsenal entered the match very much the underdogs. When Bendtner scored the opening goal after about 18 minutes there was cheer jubilation, but every supporter was brought back down to Earth only moments later when Messi equalised. Like most Arsenal supporters, I am not sure how to describe how I feel right now. I am obviously disappointed that we lost, but I realise that we lost to the better team over two legs and that helps to ease the pain somewhat. I guess it really just leaves me more in thought about what we need to add to be able to complete with the likes of Barcelona, Manchester United and Chelsea, after failing to win a single game in six matches against these three clubs. The reality is that I feel we have really good players in most positions, but we lack world class players.

Manager’s Review:
Wenger stole some of the headlines in the build-up to the match talking about his own future. “My own personal future will depend on the capacity to win trophies, but as well to feel that this team is improving year after year because we are still very, very young.” This was obviously an important game for him to judge this.

While Arsene Wenger admitted that Barcelona was the better side for much of the match at the Emirates, he also commented that he saw a few weaknesses in Barcelona which he believed Arsenal could “exploit”. Following the much, however, he very much echoed the voices of everyone else when he conceded that Barcelona was the better side over the two legs and deserved to go through. “We had chances, but when you have players like Lionel Messi you pay for any mistakes you make. He’s the best player in the world by a large distance. He’s not always in the game, but when he gets on the ball he’s unstoppable. When he changes direction at such pace no-one can stay with him. Congratulations to Barcelona, they are better than us.”

Conclusion/Final Thoughts:
There are times in life when you just have to stand-up and admit that you were beaten by the better team and tonight was one of those nights. I don’t want to go on about what if’s in terms of injuries or missed chances because over the two legs Barcelona showed real class and they deserve to be going through. I think most of the Arsenal players put up real gutsy performances this evening but unfortunately that wasn’t enough. I would like to hope that we can bounce back from this and do our utmost to challenge for the league title, but I am sure this will have been quite a humbling experience for the players. You would like to think that this will be a learning experience for most of the young players, but you have to worry about whether this will have put certain realities into perspective for people like Wenger, who said his future at the club depends on the ability to challenge for trophies, and Cesc, who has constantly been courted by Barcelona to join their ranks.

Arsenal now have over a week until their next match, which should allow them to rest some tired legs and hopefully get a few players back from injury. Next up is Tottenham at White Heart Lane. Spurs have the FA Cup this weekend so we should definitely come in the fresher of the two sides.

Date: Sat 3 April 2010
Teams: Arsenal v Wolves
Venue: Emirates

Arsenal: Almunia, Sagna, Campbell, Vermaelen, Silvestre, Eboue, Song, Denilson, Walcott, Eduardo, Rosicky

Wolverhampton: Hahnemann, Zubar, Craddock, Berra, Elokobi, Foley, Henry, Mancienne, David Jones, Jarvis, Doyle

Match Review:
After a difficult midweek Champions League match against Barcelona, it was always going to be interesting to see how Arsenal performed this afternoon. The Barcelona match would have resulted in a number of heavy legs and it also claimed three victims, with Gallas and Fabregas out for the season and fears that Arshavin will also be joining them on the sidelines for the remainder of the campaign. With one eye on the return leg at the Nou Camp in a few days time, Wenger also elected to rest a few players with Denilson, Campbell, Rosicky, Walcott, Eduardo, Silvestre and Eboue all coming in to the side.

Arsenal started much the brighter of the two sides, and it was clear that Walcott was causing the Wolves all sorts of problems down the right. After only five minutes, Walcott cut down the right and squared to Eduardo, who saw his shot saved by a diving Hahnemann. A few minutes later Eduardo had another chance after a great piece of overlapping play between Rosicky and Walcott, with the former finding Eduardo unmarked in the middle of the box, but the Croatian fluffed his shot when he really should have scored.

Walcott again played the role of provider a few minutes later when he ran at the Wolves defence which opened up space for Sagna who collected the ball from Walcott but was denied by Hahnemann’s feet. From an Arsenal corner, Walcott then tried his luck at shooting when the ball fell to him, and he struck it well on the volley but Hahnemann held on to the ball well.

Arsenal continued to pour on the pressure in the second half and their first real chance fell to Eduardo. Sagna crossed from the right and Wolves defender Zubar headed the ball up in the air and Eduardo was first to the rebound but he could only manage to volley just wide. One of the turning points came about midway through the second half when Karl Hendry slid through the back of Rosicky and was shown a straight red card. It was a tough challenge but a red may have been a bit harsh. After shaking off the effects of the challenge, it was Rosicky that almost gave Arsenal the lead after a miss hit Walcott shot feel to Rosicky but again Hahnemann managed to keep it out.
Realising the importance of the match, Wenger made three offensive substitutions bringing on Bendtner, Nasri and Vela. As Arsenal continued to press forward it looked increasingly like it just wasn’t going to be Arsenal’s day. While the fourth official lifted 5 minutes of stoppage time, I think most people thought we had missed our big chance when Nasri put Walcott through but the speedy winger wasn’t able to set his feet and he pulled his shot wide. Then, in the fourth minute of stoppage time, Nasri passed the ball to Walcott on the right who then laid the ball back to Sagna who tossed in a fantastic cross and Bendtner was first to the ball to power a header into the back of the net. Cue mayhem at the Emirates. The next minute saw a couple half chances for Wolves, with Rosicky clearing off the line, and Arsenal blow a four on one, but the final whistle blew and Arsenal’s title hopes lived another day.

90′ [1 - 0] N. Bendtner

Player Ratings:
Almunia – 7
Not a lot for Almunia to do on the day, which I am sure he would have been happy about after his busy evening against Barcelona. He did have a few shaky passes, which frustrated the supporters. He will play a big role again at the Nou Camp.

Sagna – 7.5
I thought Sagna was very positive going forward today. He had a couple chances to get only his second goal in an Arsenal jersey and it was his fantastic cross to Bendtner which led to the winner. I think he is learning to play effectively with Walcott as the two of them linked up well all afternoon.

Vermaelen – 7.5
I think Vermaelen will become the real leader in the squad now that Fabregas is out. He performed his usual perfection on the defensive end and contributed to the pressure going forward as well.

Campbell – 7
Wolves clearly tried to isolate Campbell on a couple occasions to take advantage of his slower pace but Campbell did well. Overall he had a solid game and I suspect we may see him against Barcelona on Tuesday. It was great to see his passion after the Bendtner goal.

Silvestre – 7
Silvestre gave Clichy a rest on the left. He wasn’t really put under much pressure all afternoon. Showed a real piece of skill in the second half on the offensive end.

Eboue – 7.5
Eboue’s versatility really is a great asset for Arsenal. He slotted in the midfield today and his driving runs helped to open up space in the Wolves midfield. I think we will definitely see him start on Tuesday as we can use his defensive presence as well as his offensive creativity.

Song – 7
Strong and decisive as usual. He wasn’t required to do as much in a defensive midfield role as usual as Wolves only threatened on occasion.

Denilson – 7
A relatively efficient but quiet match from the Brazilian today. I think he knows that he will have to step up in the absence of Fabregas. His goal scoring threat can also be a big plus.

Walcott – 8 (Man of the Match)
Although it was probably a Man of the Match performance, it was a bit of a mixed bag from Walcott today. His pace and movement caused problems all afternoon. I only wish that Walcott could learn to be more effective with his final ball. A couple times this afternoon he made weaving and darting runs and then looked up to try and find a teammate cutting in but on too many occasions he just put his head down and ran towards the touchline before firing in an aimless cross towards nobody.

Rosicky – 7.5
I thought Rosicky was creative and lively today. He is so strong on the ball and holds off defenders well. He was subject to a couple heavy challenges so hopefully he is okay to play against Barcelona if called upon.

Eduardo – 6.5
Eduardo has really struggled so far this season. It is not for lack of heart but he had a couple really good chances today and just failed to really threaten. I unfortunately think he is lacking a bit of confidence right now but hopefully the goals will come.

Substitutes:
Bendtner – 8
Came on for Eboue. What a big goal by the big Dane. As frustrating as he can be at times, he does manage to score big goals for us and gives us an option in the air that we sorely do miss at times.

Nasri – 7.5
Came on for Song. Made a big difference when he came on and added some creativity. Should have had an assist when he found Walcott in extra time and his run helped to start the play that led to the Bendtner goal. I think he will need to have a big match against Barcelona.

Vela – 7
Came on for Eduardo. Vela looked sharp when he came on and he always looks to do something positive with the ball at his feet. Hopefully he will get more chances coming up with Arshavin likely out for a while.

Supporter’s Review:
There seemed to still be some exhaustion amongst the supporters following the rollercoaster ride against Barcelona, and I think most supporters were expecting Arsenal to easily deal with Wolves, even with a few changes in the squad. As the match progressed, the tension grew as it looked increasingly unlikely that Arsenal would find the back of the net. The big change this year is that supporters seem to try and rally the side rather than get on the backs of individual mistakes. When Bendtner’s header found the back of the net there was a mighty roar at the Emirates, which I think was among the loudest I have heard.

Manager’s Review:
Not for the first time this season, Arsene again had to change his squad both due to injuries and to rest some tired legs against the important match against Barcelona coming up midweek. I thought Arsene shuffled the team around today well and he used his substitutes well to bring in more offensive power when we were searching for that all important goal.

Even though Arsene would admit to the Barcelona match being very important, he also knew that anything but a win would almost definitely end Arsenal’s title hopes this year. “It keeps us in the title race, yes. First it was important to forget Barcelona for 24 hours and focus on today’s game, and that was not easy. But we did it well – I think we had a good focus. We were a bit jaded physically but we kept going and we were serious, we didn’t make a mistake at the back. In the end we got a deserved victory against a resilient Wolves team who had a great goalkeeper. At the end of the day we kept it late as with many times but overall we deserved to win the game.”

Conclusion/Final Thoughts:
It was another gritty performance by the side today which shows how much these players enjoy playing for the club and for each other. The passion on the bench and from the players on the pitch when Bendtner scored the late goal was fantastic to see. Despite the victory, the effects of the absence of Fabregas and Arshavin were clearly on show today in terms of the lack of composure and creativity around the box at times. The one advantage is that some of the other players, such as Walcott and Nasri, will now have a chance to step-up but they will all have to do their part if we continue to push this season.

While a draw in the Chelsea and Manchester United game would have been the ideal result, a Chelsea victory, which was what happened, was clearly the second best option because Arsenal are now a point back of United and three back of Chelsea, although Chelsea have a much better goal difference. There are some tough matches remaining for all the clubs so anything can still happen. The spirit is definitely there with the players but you have to worry about all the injuries.

Next up is the return leg of the Champions League at the Nou Camp. Arsenal definitely goes into the match as underdogs, but I think the players can respond. Come on you Gooners; we believe!

Date: Wed 31 March 2010
Teams: Arsenal v Barcelona
Venue: Emirates

Arsenal: Almunia, Clichy, Vermaelen, Gallas, Sagna, Diaby, Song, Fabregas, Arshavin, Bendtner, Nasri

Barcelona: Valdes, Maxwell, Puyol, Pique, Alves, Xavi, Busquets, Keita, Pedro, Ibrahimovic, Messi

Match Review:
It was the draw that every neutral wanted to see and Wednesday evening was the first of the two legs of this potentially epic Champions League match-up. The subplots alone could fill a page- the return of Arsenal legend Thierry Henry to the Emirates, Cesc playing against the club where he learned his trade before coming to Arsenal, a rematch of the 2006 Champions League final in Paris and a match-up between what most people consider to be the two most entertaining teams in terms of how they play the game, just to name a few of them. In addition to these subplots, much of the build-up to the match was dominated by question marks around the fitness of a few of the key players for each team. For Barcelona, influential playmaker Andres Iniesta, who Rooney described as the best player in the world after his performance in last year’s final, was forced off with a hamstring injury during Barcelona’s match on Saturday against Real Mallorca and therefore was unable to line-up against Arsenal.

As seems to have been the case during much of this season, Arsenal also came into the match with injury concerns of their own. Their primary concern centered around captain Cesc Fabregas, who suffered severe bruising to his knee and leg following a strong tackle from Craig Gardner on Saturday against Birmingham. To everyone’s relief Cesc was included in the starting line-up although it was evident in the warm-up that he didn’t look his best. While there were also concerns around Diaby, Arshavin and Nasri, all three managed to recover enough to start and Arsenal were also lifted by the return of William Gallas at the heart of defence.

It didn’t take long after the kick off for Barcelona to assert themselves and show the class which led them to European success last year. After a dancing run through the heart of the Arsenal midfield, Messi passed the ball to Ibrahimovic on the right who drove a low cross across the box but Vermaelen managed to just nip in front of Xavi to hit the ball out for a corner. From the corner, the ball was passed to Sergio Basquets who found himself unmarked at the edge of the 18 yard box but his side footed shot was well saved by Almunia. Moments later Xavi played the role of provider when he set Alves free down the right and the right back crossed to an unmarked Ibrahimovic who somehow managed to blaze over from just a few yards out, although the Swede was judged to have been in an offside position anyway. The big Swedish striker had another chance a few minutes later when Vermaelen’s gamble allowed Ibrahimovic to be set free from the halfway line but as he sprinted towards the Arsenal goal the striker slammed the ball into the side netting instead of squaring the Messi, which looked like the better option.

While Arsenal tried to settle down into their usual passing game it was all Barcelona and about midway through the half Arsenal players and supporters alike must have been wondering how it was still even, particularly following a thirty second period where Almunia first saved brilliantly from a Zlatan shot from the left and then produced his save of the night when he somehow kept out Xavi, who found himself unmarked and looking to pick his spot before a diving Almunia managed to stop the influential Barcelona midfielder. At this point, it was 9 shots for Barcelona to 0 for Arsenal. In what would have been a cruel twist of fate for Barcelona players, Arsenal were almost first on the score sheet when Nasri cut in from the left and curled in a well struck shot from about 18 yards out that had Valdes beat but just flew wide in the end.

Just as Arsene Wenger must have been praying for Arsenal to make it into half level, things got much worse. First Arshavin limped off to be replaced by Eboue and then Denilson was forced to come on for an injured Gallas, which pushed Song back into the centre of defence again. Just to add insult to injury, Arsenal’s night got even worse just before the halftime whistle when Cesc Fabregas was booked for a challenge of Busquets which meant that he would miss the return leg at the Nou Camp, even though replays clearly showed that he got the ball. You could see Cesc was gutted by the referee’s decision.

Within seconds of the restart, Barcelona finally managed to beat Almunia, and I don’t think there would be anyone that would say that they didn’t deserve the lead. After a curling run into space, Ibrahimovic received a long ball from Pique and on the bounce expertly lobbed the ball over Almunia into the Arsenal goal. There were question marks over Almunia’s positioning but it was a good finish by the Barcelona forward. Arsenal responded well and should have been level after a great cross by Clichy on the left found an unmarked Bendtner in the center of the box but the big Arsenal forward only managed to head the ball straight at Valdes. As is often the case after a missed chance, Barcelona then punished Arsenal and it was Ibrahimovic again who doubled Barcelona’s lead. It was a very similar run to the first goal but this time Almunia remained on his line and the Swede smashed the ball into the top corner.

I think most people thought the tie was over at this point and Wenger responded by trying to salvage something by bringing on Walcott for Sagna, his last substitute. Almost immediately after coming on, a great slide through pass from Bendtner set Walcott free and the England winger managed to side foot a shot past Valdes. It was a small lifeline for Arsenal. A few minutes later a late tackle by Pique on Fabregas resulted in yellow being shown to the Barcelona defender, which means that he will also miss the return leg.

With about fifteen minutes to go another one of the subplots came to the surface when Ibrahimovic was substituted and on came Henry to take his place. He was greeted with a rousing ovation from the Arsenal supporters. It was clear that Barcelona had lost some of their forward ambition and would be happy to take their 2-1 lead back to the Nou Camp, but things took a dramatic turn with about five minutes left to play. After a ball was lobbed into the box Bendtner realised that he wouldn’t be able to get enough power on a header goalwards so instead elected to head down to Cesc how was then bundled over by Carlos Puyol. The Barcelona skipper was sent off for the challenge and the Arsenal captain stepped up and hammered the penalty past Valdes. After putting everything into the penalty Cesc limped away and could barely walk for the rest of the match but Arsenal had already used all three of their substitutions.

The game ended 2-2 and it was a truly remarkable night at the Emirates and I think everyone is now eagerly awaiting the return at the Nou Camp.

46′ [0 - 1] Z. Ibrahimovic
59′ [0 - 2] Z. Ibrahimovic
69′ [1 - 2] T. Walcott
85′ [2 - 2] C. Fabregas (pen.)

Player Ratings:
Almunia – 8
After his big mistake against Birmingham, all eyes were on Almunia to step up with a big performance. Produced a series of first class saves in the first half and was single-handedly responsible for not only keeping us in the tie but also preventing a humiliating defeat. However, his erratic form continued as the charge from his line 30 minutes after the restart left Ibrahimovic with a straight forward lobbed finish. He’ll be incredibly frustrated with the error as it took the gloss off an otherwise excellent performance.

Sagna – 6
Solid enough as most of the attacks came down the other flank in the first half, but offered little offensively. Given the pattern of the match, he was just pinned back for the majority.

Vermaelen – 7
After being suspended for the match against Birmingham, I think everyone was incredibly relieved to see the return of Vermaelen against arguably one of the most potent offensive teams in the world. Decent performance, but not given his usual time on the ball at the back. Also out-muscled several times by the immensely powerful Ibrahimovic. Needs better communication with Song when the two are paired in the centre of defence – after surviving a first half barrage, the two goals could have been prevented with better defending.

Gallas – 6
Stood up reasonably well to the first half onslaught from Barcelona – this was the kind of performance that would have benefited from some leadership/organisation given his experience. Disappointing to see a recurrence of the injury given he had been training all week – he will be sorely missed in the second leg and run-in if, as most fear, the injury ends his season.

Clichy – 7.5
The task confronting Clichy tonight was not one that many defenders would have relished, find some way to slow down arguably the best player in the world right now, Messi. A decent performance considering a) how isolated he was and b) how excellently Alves played in the first half. Had some superb forward bursts, excellent crosses and showed the level of commitment other dazed members of the team in the first half failed to replicate.

Diaby – 6
It just didn’t happen for Diaby all evening. He was run ragged in the first half and looked totally exhausted and a yard slow in the second half. Several promising positions frustratingly broke down due to his wastefulness. To his credit his work rate was exceptional.

Song – 7
After spending a couple matches dropping back to support in the center of defence, Song was restored to his usual place in the heart of the Arsenal midfield this evening. Fought hard whilst he was in midfield and snuffed out several attacks with excellent last ditch tackles. Had a decent game at centre back apart from the two goals which, whilst harsh to blame him, he must take some responsibility for the defence being so flat and failing to track simple arc runs by Ibrahimovic.

Fabregas – 7.5
There were a lot of questions being asked before the match about whether Cesc would be fit to play in this match, but I think the Arsenal captain would have done just about anything to be able to play this evening. Although he passed a late fitness test, Cesc did not look to be moving freely all evening. He saw none of the ball early on so dropped back to try and influence proceedings, gradually breaking into the game. He looked heartbroken to get booked (harshly) which means he will miss the return to the Nou Camp which would have meant so much. Excellent movement to win the penalty and courage to score. The injury looked more serious than mere bruising meaning Cesc is unlikely to feature on Saturday.

Nasri – 7
With Barcelona clearly focusing on shutting down Cesc, a lot of the midfield creativity responsibilities fell on his shoulders this evening. Produced some of our brightest attacking moments of the first half with an excellent shot that just missed the far corner and several dangerous crosses down the right flank. Also guilty of going to sleep defensively several times as Barca players ghosted past him untracked.

Arshavin – 5
It was always going to be interesting to see how Arshavin performed this evening considering at one point he had publicly said that he wanted to go to Barcelona before ending up at Arsenal. Pulled up injured after a disastrous opening 10 minutes. Some questioned his desire to continue given how dominant Barca were in the early stages and its hard to blame them. He is one of the most senior players that the rest of the team look to on occasions such as these. In all honesty, I’m not sure we could afford to carry him anyway given his lack of defensive contribution. Hopefully he is fit for the second leg as his guile will be needed in Cesc’s absence.

Bendtner – 7
Held the ball up well on occasion but failed to compete other times. Should have scored the header on 53 minutes that was directed far too close to Valdes. It was a difficult evening at times given Nik was the lone striker chasing the ball as it zipped between Barca defenders. He did set-up both goals though and both were excellent passes.

Substitutes:
Eboue – 7.5
Came on for Arshavin. His defensive contribution in midfield was key but he also pushed forward into some dangerous positions in the second half, causing Barca problems in the final third. Arguably should be in the team ahead of Arshavin on current form.

Denilson – 8 (Man of the Match)
Came on for Gallas. Excellent performance – assertive in the tackle, strong on the ball and efficient with the ball. Also was a major reason that Messi was so quiet in the second half.

Walcott – 8
Came on for Sagna. Barca couldn’t handle his pace and he produced the classic impact sub performance. Well taken goal, aggressive dribbling and a huge reason we are still in this tie. Has a big role to play on the huge Nou Camp pitch.

Supporter’s Review:
Every Arsenal supporter had been looking forward to this evening’s match-up ever since the draw was made, and it was evident with the atmosphere inside the Emirates this evening. There was a real sense of nervousness as the match kicked-off and as Barcelona asserted their dominance and there was an all too familiar feeling that Arsenal supporters had seen this before in the shape of Manchester United in the Champions League last year. After the two Barcelona goals the Emirates was unsurprisingly flat but in fairness to the Arsenal supporters they remained positive and were fantastic in inspiring the Arsenal comeback. There was the much expected love for Henry both when he came on and following the match. There was a slightly odd feeling around the Emirates when the final whistle blew, which I guess I could only describe as a mix of shock, excitement and exhaustion. There was a real range of emotions this evening!

Manager’s Review:
When Arsene Wenger was asked a number of questions in his pre-match interviews around whether he thought this was a chance to banish some of the ghosts that he has admitted to haunting him since their loss to Barcelona in the finals in 2006, he said that he thought this time it would be different because tactics would play a more important role over two legs than in a one off match such as the Champions League final. Arsene’s first major decision was around which of his not fully fit players to start, with question marks around Cesc, Gallas, Nasri, Arshavin and Diaby before the match. Wenger’s first two substitutions were forced through injury but his third substitution really changed the dynamic of the match when he brought on Walcott for Sagna.

Following the match Wenger was quick to point out his side’s character but he was also full of praise for Barcelona, who were undeniably full of class this evening. “It is not easy, believe me, but you respect it more than when you are kicked. I respect what Barcelona did tonight and you have to say they are a great side. They won the European Cup, the Spanish championship, the Spanish Cup, and you can see why. I still believe that a part of their superiority was down to their inhibition at the start of the game. We gave them too much room in the first part of the game.”

Conclusion/Final Thoughts:
There was a lot of anticipation in the build-up to the match this evening from supporters of both of these clubs and neutrals alike and surprisingly this match lived up to all of it and probably exceed expectations in all honesty. It was a great game for the neutral and was a real illustration of how beauty football can be. While Barcelona always looked dangerous when they had the ball, when Arsenal managed to get the ball back, particularly in the second half, they showed signs that they could create problems for the back four of Barcelona as well.

There is no doubt that the Gunners face an uphill battle at the Nou Camp in a week’s time but they have put themselves in a position where they have a chance to get a result and both teams will be missing a few influential players now through suspension. I think the Arsenal players started to find some weaknesses to exploit in the second half and hopefully they can carry those over to the next match. I am gutted that Cesc won’t be able to play at the Nou Camp due to his suspension but we will also be waiting with crossed fingers for the results of the x-ray he had after the match. In his post match comments Fabregas feared the worst when he said “We have to wait for tomorrow, but I hope I can wear the Arsenal shirt again this season. I do not think it is going to be good news, but still I hope there will be.”

Arsenal now need to put this result to one side and focus again on the Premier League with Wolves up next at the Emirates.

Date: Sat 27 March 2010
Teams: Birmingham v Arsenal
Venue: St Andrew’s

Arsenal: Almunia, Sagna, Campbell, Diaby, Clichy, Denilson, Song, Walcott, Fabregas, Rosicky, Bendtner

Birmingham: Hart, Carr, Johnson, Dann, Ridgewell, Gardner, Ferguson, Bowyer, Fahey, Jerome, McFadden

Match Review:
The last time Arsenal visited St. Andrew’s in February 2008 many people felt that it was the turning point in the Gunners’ season. Arsenal would have gone 8 points clear with a victory but an eventful afternoon saw Eduardo suffer a shock injury, Gallas throw a temper tantrum that would ultimately lead him to being stripped of the captaincy and a 90th minute Birmingham equaliser which deprived Arsenal of the three points. All of the headlines before the match were around whether Arsenal could lay to rest the ghosts of that campaign by getting the right result at St. Andrew’s this year. Despite a recent dip in form, Birmingham have had a good season and were difficult to beat at home. Arsenal brought in Walcott and Rosicky to replace Nasri and Arshavin, who were both suffering with small injuries. In the centre of defense, Wenger opted to bring Song back from his usual midfield position to partner Campbell in the absence of the suspended Vermaelen.

Arsenal nearly took an early lead in the opening stages when Rosicky’s cross was met by Diaby but the Lee Bowyer managed to get in the way as the ball deflected goalwards. Alex McLeish had spoken before the match about the importance of playing strong football against Arsenal, and it was clear that Arsenal were in for a tough match as they were subject to a number of strong tackles early on. Walcott had a half shout for a penalty when he was bundled over by Ridgewell in the box but the England winger should have done better shortly after when out muscled Dann to find himself clear through but Joe Hart in the Birmingham goal came out to cut down the angle well.

Birmingham did eventually settle down into the match and had a good chance to score when Bowyer managed to steal the ball from Denilson and the ball ended up at Jerome’s feet, but his strong shot was well saved by Almunia. All Arsenal supporters were left holding their breath near the end of the first half when Cesc Fabregas appeared to pick up an injury after a collision with Craig Gardner. As the half ended, there were strong words between Wenger and McLeish as they disappeared down the tunnel, with the former clearer upset about some of the strong tackles that the Arsenal players were subjected to.

The second half started with the tension of the match clearly increasing. The first real chance went Arsenal’s way when Rosicky made a good run through the middle of the Birmingham midfield and fed Diaby, who should have done much better but could only manage to fire hit shot straight at Hart. Moments later Birmingham almost found themselves in front when Barry Ferguson’s free kick from the centre circle found Roger Johnson and Johnson’s volley across the box flew over Almunia’s head and hit the post and Scott Dann followed up and somehow managed to knee the ball over the bar from a few yards out.

Following that chance, Arsenal started to turn up the pressure and the introduction of Nasri and Arshavin really seemed to change the dynamic of the match. Arsenal had the ball in the back of the net midway through the second half but Diaby’s challenge was deemed too strong in the lead-up to his short past Hart. Moments later Arsenal were in front when Nasri received the ball on the right and then cut in towards the middle and took a few dribbled before driving a strong low shot past Hart into the corner of the goal. Arsenal had a few chances to double their lead but Hart saved well from a Fabregas free kick, Arshavin missed cued on an open chance from close in and Nasri for some reason tried to square the ball instead of shooting when he was one on one with Hart.

As the clock hit 90 minutes it looked Arsenal were going to hold on for tough earned 3 points, but in the second minute of injury time Craig Gardner floated the ball into the box and as Sagna tried to clear the ball it smashed into Kevin Phillips and lobbed up into the air. Manuel Almunia was only able to parry the ball into the air and then watched as it floated over his head and into the goal. The final whistle blew a few minutes later and it looked like the ghosts of St. Andrew’s had some back to haunt Arsenal once again.

81′ [0 - 1] S. Nasri
90′ [1 - 1] K. Phillips

Player Ratings:
Almunia – 5
Goalkeepers for the big sides generally aren’t required to make a huge number of saves during each match as they are typically protected by strong defences but they are usually judged by the one or two times that they are called into action to make a big save. Unfortunately for Arsenal, Almunia just doesn’t seem to tick this box frequently enough. While the build-up to the Birmingham goal was slightly unlucky, there is no question that Almunia should have done much, much better. In a title race as close as this one, I am not surprised that some supporters are starting to question whether we would be at the top looking down if we had a world class keeper between the posts.

Sagna – 7
I don’t think Sagna really did that much wrong in the lead-up to the goal, even though it was his failed clearance that hit Kevin Phillips. Sagna had a pretty productive match and wasn’t really tested much at right back. I do wonder whether Eboue’s creativity from right back would have made a difference today?

Campbell – 7
There was additional pressure on Campbell this afternoon with both of the regular starting centre backs out. Campbell had an efficient match, although in fairness the Arsenal defense was never really put under too much pressure by Birmingham on the afternoon. He has been a good signing by Arsene but I know there are quite a few supporters that are a little worried about whether he can keep up with some of the quick and creative Barcelona players on Wednesday if he plays.

Song – 7.5 (Man of the Match)
As most people had expected, Song slotted in beside Campbell at the heart of the Arsenal defense to replace the suspended Vermaelen. I thought he played well but we also did miss his presence in the centre of the midfield today. I fully expect to see him back in the middle of the park on Wednesday.

Clichy – 7
Clichy linked up well going forward today but some of his old poor crossing habits seemed to have crept back in to his game today. I do think we are seeing Clichy back to his best though after he struggled a bit earlier in the year after coming back from injury.

Denilson – 6.5
Denilson was forced to step into the holding midfield role to cover for Song. While he will score the occasional goal outside of the box, I think the challenge with Denilson sometimes is that he lacks creativity going forward and doesn’t always link up well with Cesc.

Diaby – 7
I thought he was unlucky not to have his name on the score sheet when he had the ball in the back of the net but it was called back for a foul which I thought was just a strong play. I don’t think this was Diaby’s best match but he didn’t really do much wrong either.

Fabregas – 7
Cesc failed to really stamp his authority on the match but I think this was partly due to the efforts of Birmingham’s concentrated effort to almost man mark the Arsenal captain most of the match. He was also subject to a number of strong challenges and there were concerns that Cesc wouldn’t be able to continue after the first half. After the match Wenger commented about his injury. “I don’t know medically. We will have to assess that tomorrow. He got tackled at the knee. We tried to take him of at first but after he said he was alright.”

Walcott – 6.5
Arsene Wenger would have been hoping for the same sort of performance from Walcott when he scored two goals at St. Andrew’s in 2008 in the match where Eduardo was injured. Unfortunately this was not the case and Walcott struggled to really get into the game as the Birmingham defense was generally set-up deep and didn’t give Theo any chances to stretch his legs. Theo did waste one golden chance in the first half when he was set free and his weak shot was easily stopped by Hart.

Rosicky – 7
I thought Rosicky had a good match today. He was strong in possession and looked to press forward and make things happen when he had the ball at his feet. He linked up well a couple of times with Diaby but the French midfielder was unable to finish either chance.

Bendtner – 6.5
Bendtner failed to add to his strong string of recent strong performances. He wasn’t given much to work with today but he also didn’t take his chances when they presented themselves. For example, in the second half Sagna crossed to him and he wasn’t aggressive enough in expecting the ball to come to him which resulted in him missing a good chance to make contact a few yards from goal. I also feel that the big striker should be getting his head on more set pieces and corners than he seems to be this year.

Substitutes:
Nasri – 7
Came on for Rosicky. Nasri added some creativity when he came on which helped us to open up the midfield. His goal was well taken. He was guilty of failing to capitalise on a one on one with Hart after the first goal which could have wrapped it up for us.

Arshavin – 6
Came on for Walcott. Wenger mentioned after the match that Arshavin had a groin problem but he was disappointing when he came on. Not for the first time in recent weeks, he completely bundled an open shot in the 18 yard box and he seemed slightly disinterested at times when he came on.

Supporter’s Review:
A large contingent of Arsenal supporters made the journey northward to St. Andrews for the afternoon kick-off. They could be heard all match and helped to rally the Gunners in their quest to break down the stubborn Birmingham defence. There was plenty of support for Eduardo, who didn’t play on the afternoon, in his first return the ground where he suffered his horrific injury. I know a lot of Arsenal supporters will be angry about the nature of the draw this afternoon but we need to all rally behind the team and make sure that the Emirates is absolutely rocking on Wednesday. There is still a lot to play for this season and hopefully this was just a small bump.

Manager’s Review:
There were a few big decisions for Arsene Wenger to make before the match today. First, in the absence of Vermaelen who missed the match through suspension, Wenger opted to move Song into the centre of defence to partner Campbell. Second, while he would never admit to it, Wenger must have had a thought in the back of his mind on Wednesday’s big match against Barcelona at the Emirates. Arsene decided to start with Walcott and Denilson in the midfield, with Nasri and Arshavin starting on the bench. Although Wenger said after the match that both Nasri and Arshavin had started on the bench due to injuries, it was clear throughout the match that we lacked creativity with two of our more imaginative players off the pitch. I thought Wenger brought them both on at the right time in the match as there was a clear change in our style of play when they were on the pitch.

Wenger was clearly disappointed after the match and I am not surprised as he knows how damaging this result could be for Arsenal’s ambitions this season. “It is a disappointment because we had the game won and we had the chance to score the second goal. I believe the pitch was very difficult to play on and it was a scrappy game. We got slowly on top and played the second half in their half but they defended well and made the game difficult. In the end we got caught.”

Conclusion/Final Thoughts:
Stealing Wenger’s words, today was a “big blow to our chances”, particularly as both Chelsea and Manchester put together dominating performances to give them both the all important 3 points but also a boost to their goal differences. While I wouldn’t say Arsenal are definitely out of the title race, I think this means that we really can’t slip up again for the rest of the season now if we realistically want a chance of being in contention at the end of the season.

I think the most disappointing thing about today was that we knew this was always going to be a difficult match and while Birmingham were difficult to break down, we finally managed to put ourselves in front, only to throw it away in the end. This is not the first time Arsenal have done this in recent years. While we can all talk about Almunia’s poor keeping, the reality is that we shouldn’t have put ourselves in that position. We had chances through Nasri and Arshavin to put the game out of reach, and we were careless with possession in the minutes leading up to the Birmingham equaliser when we should have just held on to the ball and seen out the remaining minutes. Some will say that this is due to a lack of experience with some of the younger players but I don’t buy that. I think we lose focus sometimes when we take the lead and it is frustrating that most of our losses and draws this year have been as a result of errors or lapses instead of being beaten by a piece of individual brilliance. I am not sure who to point the finger at for this problem to be honest. Some of the blame may be Wenger’s inability to ever place fault on his own side, typically pointing to other factors such as the pitch or referee. Some blame has to fall on the players’ shoulders for not learning from previous mistakes and having the will and desire to see out matches when in front.

Whatever the reason, Arsenal have a big match at the Emirates on Wednesday against Barcelona. Hopefully all the players will be fit (Fabregas in particular) and up for this match. The supporters will be right behind the team so let’s make sure that we have a night to remember for the right reasons this year!

Date: Sat 20 March 2010
Teams: Arsenal v West Ham
Venue: Emirates Stadium

Arsenal: Almunia, Eboue, Vermaelen, Campbell, Clichy, Song, Denilson, Fabregas, Nasri, Arshavin, Bendtner

West Ham: Green, Spector, Tomkins, Upson, Daprela, Behrami, Kovac, Stanislas, Franco, Diamanti, Mido

Match Review:
Arsenal hosted West Ham in the Saturday’s late kick-off, although the fixture on every fan’s mind was the first leg of the Champions League Quarter Final against FC Barcelona. Arsenal were drawn against the holders and favourites on Friday morning – if that wasn’t difficult enough, the first leg was at the Emirates and Inter lay in wait in the semi-finals. There is no doubting the magnitude of the task – however:

1) Barcelona plays the same open, attacking football as Arsenal which gives us a chance to hurt them at the back.
2) This is not the Barcelona of last season.
3) It is a chance to see some of the best players in the world (in their prime) at the Emirates in a true “glamour tie”.
4) The return of King Henry and Cesc’s constant transfer link to Barcelona adds extra spice.
5) It is preferable to playing Manchester United.

Back to the race for the Premiership and a victory today would propel Arsenal a point clear at the top of the league, given that Manchester United and Chelsea both play tomorrow. Mark Lawrenson had forecast a routine 2-0 win for Arsenal on the BBC website – it was hard to disagree with him as Fabregas returned to the starting eleven, replacing Diaby in an otherwise unchanged midfield from the last-gasp victory at Hull. Eboue stepped into the right back slot ahead of Sagna in what is becoming a familiar pattern for home matches. West Ham lost the influential Scott Parker to injury, Carlton Cole was only fit enough for a spot on the bench although Franco managed to recover.

Surprisingly Denilson kept his place ahead of Diaby, however, no-one was complaining when gave Arsenal the lead after 4 minutes. The Brazilian played a neat one-two with Bendtner on the edge of the area and drilled low into the corner past Green’s outstretched arm. It was a scarcely deserved lead after a rather sluggish start, considering the team hadn’t played for a week. The remainder of the half was rather subdued – West Ham were disciplined but offered little going forward and Arsenal played some excellent free-flowing passing in patches, with Nasri and Fabregas both failing to convert chances.

However, the significant incident of the match came 1 minute before half time. Franco chased a long Diamanti pass and clashed with Vermaelen in the box. There was minimal contact – challenges of this nature seem to result in a penalty half the time and go unpunished the other half. The referee was fast to brandish a red card for the Belgian centre back, which was all the more frustrating given the lack of punishment for West Ham’s consistent niggling fouls. A straight red card was very harsh, although the nature of the challenge meant Vermaelen would miss one match, not the feared three. Franco struck the resulting penalty well but Almunia made a superb save to the delight of the Emirates, keeping Arsenal’s lead intact at half time.

West Ham had a good spell of possession in the first 10 minutes of the second half but failed to penetrate the Arsenal backline which now contained the excellent Song. Arsenal adapted well to the changes and made a surge for the crucial second goal midway through the second half. Eboue was causing problems down the right and almost set up Arshavin for the second. The introduction of Diaby gave the Arsenal midfield a lift although Cole’s introduction had the same effect for West Ham. The strong centre forward was causing problems and almost equalised as his low effort cannoned off the post. However, with 5 minutes remaining, Arsenal made the points safe. Fabregas’s chip into the box struck Upson’s arm and the captain showed Diamanti how it should be done by calmly converting the spot kick.

2-0 it finished. A perfect prediction from Lawrenson – although the victory did not come about in the routine manner he expected.

5′ [1 - 0] Denilson
83′ [2 - 0] C. Fabregas (pen.)

Player Ratings:
Almunia – 7.5
Didn’t have many saves to make on the night but saved the big penalty and that could yet turn out to be a huge moment for us this season. There will some people that commented that he was a couple yards off his line for the penalty but it was a well struck penalty by Diamanti and an even better save. Almunia has put a number of good performances in recently and you can see his confidence growing.

Eboue – 7.5
As often seems to be the case this season, Wenger opted to start Eboue over Sagna on the right. There is no question that Eboue offers something a little different going forward and his defensive presence seems to be getting even better as well. He drew a number of fouls in the second half to help us relieve the pressure of being a man down.

Campbell – 7
Campbell had a much better match today after a couple nervy performances recently. While his lack of pace can be worrying, his strength and positioning help to get him out of trouble at times. He was strong against Cole in the second half and is calm with the ball at his feet. He is also a useful target on free kicks and corners and nearly had a goal today with a crashing header that was saved by Green.

Vermaelen – 7
The Arsenal centreback was having another good match before seeing red just before the end of the first half. After a long ball came into the box, Vermaelen slightly misjudged the bounce and Franco slipped behind and as the two came together the West Ham player went down. It was a soft penalty and most people thought it was a tough red card. The only plus is that it looks like Vermaelen will only miss one match as it was a professional foul for preventing a goal scoring chance and not a dangerous play, which would have led to a three match ban.

Clichy – 7.5
Another great performance on both ends of the pitch from Clichy, who seems to be back to his best now. He had a couple fantastic individual runs going forward and kept his positioning well at left back.

Denilson – 6.5
Denilson does provide a threat with his ability to shoot outside the box but he continues to raise a lot of questions with his defense and frequent comprimising turnovers. I thought he was a really important player for us last year and at the beginning of this year but something is missing from him recently. His goal was timely and well taken though to give him credit.

Song Billong – 8.5 (Man of the Match)
One of the best performances I have seen from Song in an Arsenal jersey. In the first half he commanded the middle of the park well and was very tidy with his passing and as always was strong in the tackle. In the second half, he showed his versality by shifting to the back to cover for Vermaelen. His presence there was reassuring and he deputised very well. A well deserved man of the match performance today.

Fabregas – 8
Excellent to see the Arsenal captain back on the pitch today. He had a pretty indifferent first half performance for the high standards he sets himself but was pure class in the second half. He really has become an outstanding captain leading by example and through communication. A well struck penalty to put the game beyond doubt and you can see how much it meant to him in his celebration.

Nasri – 7.5
His game does change when Cesc is on the pitch but he still provided his usual spark and creativity. He was at the wrong end of a couple strong challenges and I was fearful that his match would end early today from a couple of them. I think he will be an important player for us for the rest of the season.

Arshavin – 7
Arshavin failed to really stamp his mark on the match today. He seems to have lost a little bit of the pace he displayed last year as he had a couple one on ones that he didn’t really take advantage of. He is still a threat at any time and that keeps defender honest. He struggled a bit in the second half when he was the lone man upfront when Bendtner went off.

Bendtner – 7.5
A great pass back to Denilson to set up the first goal. You can see that Bendtner is more confident now after his recent performances. He does hold the ball up well but he didn’t really threaten to score today. He also doesn’t track back as well as some of the other forwards in the league, such as Rooney, and this was probably one of the reasons he came off when we were a man down.

Substitutes:
Diaby – 8.5
Came on for Bendtner. Diaby was immense today and really put in a good shift when he came on. He was very strong on the ball and really helped to open up the middle of the park with his streaking runs. I was surprised that he didn’t start today, but he was a very important reason to why we were able to get three points today.

Sagna – 7
Came on for Nasri. Provided some much needed defensive support on the right and pushed Eboue forward.

Eduardo – n/a
Came on for Arshavin. Didn’t have much time on the pitch but had a couple chances to test Green and wasn’t able to get his shot off. He still doesn’t seem to be back to his former self yet.

Supporter’s Review:
It was sort of a tale of two halves for the Arsenal supporters at the Emirates today. Following the early Arsenal goal, there was a sense of inevitability and there was a very relaxed feeling around the Emirates, and this seemed to transfer to the players on the pitch as well. This changed quickly when Vermaelen was shown red and Franco stepped up to take the penalty. I think a lot of supporters started to wonder whether this was going to be the match when it all came undone for Arsenal this year. When Almunia saved the penalty there was an all-mighty roar around the Emirates but the sense of urgency and nervousness was evident in the second half until the Fabregas penalty. After that second goal, however, the Emirates was absolutely rocking and the familiar chants of “we are top of the league” rang around the stadium. I think a lot of supporters are hoping to see that same atmosphere as there was against Manchester last year in the Champions League when we host Barca in a couple weeks, although let’s also hope for a different result this time.

Manager’s Review:
I was a little surprised by some of the choices today in the starting line-up, mainly Denilson over Diaby. I do think Arsene helped to reshape the squad well after the Vermealen sending off and credit to the players for adapting so well.

As has been the case a couple times so far this season when we scored first, I felt we lacked a little bit of urgency when we scored early. As Wenger said after the match, “I must say we lost our urgency. I think they were a bit distracted by all the fuss about the draw yesterday. We had not the right urgency. When we were down to 10 men we became more urgent in the second half.”

Wenger was also quick to heap praise on his side for their gritty performance after the match. “I believe we had an outstanding game. We played with class and spirit and we kept our nerve when the situation became difficult. So overall we have shown a good attitude, good maturity, and in the important moments in any department we were decisive. I think about the goalkeeper, I think about when we had to move Alex Song to centre back, everybody adapted very well to the situation and technically I believe we were outstanding today.”

Conclusion/Final Thoughts:
A very satisfactory win, all things considered. The match turned on two penalties and justice, in the end, prevailed. Arsenal were made to work hard in the second half given their one man disadvantage but showed admirable character and resolve to keep a clean sheet and restrict West Ham to a handful of half chances. Once again, Captain Cesc stepped forward and made the victory safe. Thankfully Vermaelen’s challenge will only be punished with a one match ban – he will probably benefit from a rest before the Barcelona game anyway given the number of minutes he has played this season.

It’s very difficult not to start thinking of the Barcelona match but next up is a tough trip to St Andrew’s to face this season’s overachievers – Birmingham City. Birmingham are one of the few teams who are safe from relegation yet unable to realistically challenge for a European place – fingers crossed this results in a slightly easier ride, particularly without the suspended Vermaelen.

Here’s hoping for resounding Blackburn and Liverpool victories tomorrow.