If the title of this blog suggests, I'm gonna launch another attack on Arsene Wenger I have no such intention. In the end, I'm another fan of Arsenal, I have been for nine years and I will never ever wish us to lose games and drop points, only to prove my being right about about something. I'd rather be proven wrong every time.
So, as you may have guessed, we've lost our opener against Villa. The final score was 1-3 and, while being somewhat harsh, I don't think anyone, who've seen the game, will disagree with it, however bitter it feels.
The manager made one change from the squad I guessed yesterday, which saw Sagna (who turned out not to be injured after all) start on the right with Jenkinson on the bench. The other change was of a tactical character, as Wenger opted for a Whilshere-Ramsey duo in central midfield, with Rosicky playing under the striker and the Ox on the left hand side.
The Gunners started very brightly, urged on by the crowd of sixty thousand. Our injured captain Thomas Vermaelen has asked for fans support shortly before the game and the fans listened. The atmosphere they created was absolutely marvellious and their efforts weren't in vain, as Arsenal took the lead six minutes into the game.
A wonderful Rosicky pass down the left created space for Oxlade-Chamberlaine to exploit, the latter ran down the flank and made an accurate pass, which Giroud converted with a sublime touch. A brilliant combination and some clinical finishing saw us take the lead.
We weren't destined to hold onto this lead for long though. In the 21st minute a run from Agbonlahor splitted our defence right down the middle, Szszesny came out to try and claim the ball, mistimed his dive and was punished by a penalty and a yellow card. While I'm not completely certain, as to whether Agbonlahor dived or not, I do know, we should not have allowed him to get into this position in the first place. As it was, Benteke stepped up, took the kick, and while Szszesny saved the initial shot, Benteke was the first man on the rebound to make it 1-1.
The situation got from bad to worse in the 28th minute, as Gibbs dissected his eyebrow in a collision with Benteke (I think) and had to be taken off. Our only remaining fit defender, Jenkinson, came on to play at right-back, while Sagna covered the left. I do hope, Gibbs injury is not as serious as it looked, for the team's sake, but even if it is, I wish him speedy recovery.
Both teams had few chances to go ahead before the break. In fact, each team had only one such chance, which were presented to them because of the keepers' mistakes. The first one occured due to a misunderstanding between Villa's keeper and a defender, which presented Walcott with a chance, but his pass for Giroud went begging. At the heart of the other moment was Szczesny's error, which saw him leave his goal to make an unsuccessful clearance. It would have resulted in a goal, had he not returned quickly enough to come up with a diving save.
In the second half, the Gunners again started excellenty right off the mark, with Rosicky spurninig a glorious oppurtunity to put us into the lead. He played a one-two with Giroud, got the ball back and tried to curl it into the top corner. Villa responded 9 minutes later. Agbonlahor (again) found a lot of space near our box, was brought down (this time by Koscielny) and the referee pointed to the spot for the second time, booking the Franchman in the process. Benteke stepped up again and this time made no mistake. 1-2. Five minutes later Koscielny was dismissed for a foul on Weimann, which saw a dangerous-looking Villa attack break down, and the referee didn't hesitate. We were down to ten men.
The Gunners desperately tried to come up with something, with Rosicky and Cazorla (who substituted Oxlade-Chamberlain at half-time) being the creative hubs. Both saw their respective efforts turned away by Guzman. And when we tried to savour at least a point in the dying minutes, Villa broke again and made it 3-1, courtesy of our badly taken corner. Sagna's injury in added time rounded our opener in style.
A few words must go to the ref, Anthony Taylor. He produced yellow cards left, right and centre for the entire game and, while we were not the only ones at the receiving end of those, some of his decisions were questionable, to say the least. He broke down several of our attacks, when we still had the ball and threatened, gave a very qustionable yellow for the penalty, yet let Whilshere and Sagna fly all over the pitch for the entirety of the game, resulting in a latter sustaining an injury. I know it's common to blame the ref after a lost game, but if you saw it, then you know my allegations are not without basis.
So, as you may have guessed, we've lost our opener against Villa. The final score was 1-3 and, while being somewhat harsh, I don't think anyone, who've seen the game, will disagree with it, however bitter it feels.
The manager made one change from the squad I guessed yesterday, which saw Sagna (who turned out not to be injured after all) start on the right with Jenkinson on the bench. The other change was of a tactical character, as Wenger opted for a Whilshere-Ramsey duo in central midfield, with Rosicky playing under the striker and the Ox on the left hand side.
The Gunners started very brightly, urged on by the crowd of sixty thousand. Our injured captain Thomas Vermaelen has asked for fans support shortly before the game and the fans listened. The atmosphere they created was absolutely marvellious and their efforts weren't in vain, as Arsenal took the lead six minutes into the game.
A wonderful Rosicky pass down the left created space for Oxlade-Chamberlaine to exploit, the latter ran down the flank and made an accurate pass, which Giroud converted with a sublime touch. A brilliant combination and some clinical finishing saw us take the lead.
We weren't destined to hold onto this lead for long though. In the 21st minute a run from Agbonlahor splitted our defence right down the middle, Szszesny came out to try and claim the ball, mistimed his dive and was punished by a penalty and a yellow card. While I'm not completely certain, as to whether Agbonlahor dived or not, I do know, we should not have allowed him to get into this position in the first place. As it was, Benteke stepped up, took the kick, and while Szszesny saved the initial shot, Benteke was the first man on the rebound to make it 1-1.
The situation got from bad to worse in the 28th minute, as Gibbs dissected his eyebrow in a collision with Benteke (I think) and had to be taken off. Our only remaining fit defender, Jenkinson, came on to play at right-back, while Sagna covered the left. I do hope, Gibbs injury is not as serious as it looked, for the team's sake, but even if it is, I wish him speedy recovery.
Both teams had few chances to go ahead before the break. In fact, each team had only one such chance, which were presented to them because of the keepers' mistakes. The first one occured due to a misunderstanding between Villa's keeper and a defender, which presented Walcott with a chance, but his pass for Giroud went begging. At the heart of the other moment was Szczesny's error, which saw him leave his goal to make an unsuccessful clearance. It would have resulted in a goal, had he not returned quickly enough to come up with a diving save.
In the second half, the Gunners again started excellenty right off the mark, with Rosicky spurninig a glorious oppurtunity to put us into the lead. He played a one-two with Giroud, got the ball back and tried to curl it into the top corner. Villa responded 9 minutes later. Agbonlahor (again) found a lot of space near our box, was brought down (this time by Koscielny) and the referee pointed to the spot for the second time, booking the Franchman in the process. Benteke stepped up again and this time made no mistake. 1-2. Five minutes later Koscielny was dismissed for a foul on Weimann, which saw a dangerous-looking Villa attack break down, and the referee didn't hesitate. We were down to ten men.
The Gunners desperately tried to come up with something, with Rosicky and Cazorla (who substituted Oxlade-Chamberlain at half-time) being the creative hubs. Both saw their respective efforts turned away by Guzman. And when we tried to savour at least a point in the dying minutes, Villa broke again and made it 3-1, courtesy of our badly taken corner. Sagna's injury in added time rounded our opener in style.
A few words must go to the ref, Anthony Taylor. He produced yellow cards left, right and centre for the entire game and, while we were not the only ones at the receiving end of those, some of his decisions were questionable, to say the least. He broke down several of our attacks, when we still had the ball and threatened, gave a very qustionable yellow for the penalty, yet let Whilshere and Sagna fly all over the pitch for the entirety of the game, resulting in a latter sustaining an injury. I know it's common to blame the ref after a lost game, but if you saw it, then you know my allegations are not without basis.
And about Rosicky. He was the only bright spot in the entire game, scurrying all over the pitch, making tackles and creating chances. His restless energy compensated for Whilshere`s overall apathy and it's the Czech I feel most sorry for. He was at the heart of the chances he created and the fact that he hadn't
converted them doesn't make his personal achievement less of an achievement.
converted them doesn't make his personal achievement less of an achievement.
So, where does this leave us? The answer isn't pretty at all. Gibbs is definitely injured, Sagna may be, too and Koscielny is suspended for the next league game. Now out need to buy a defender is as acute as it gets and if the manager doesn't address it during the week, another loss is on the cards. We'll have a chance to ponder our options as the week progresses.
More tomorrow
More tomorrow
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