Apologies for not releasing a post in over a month, the Christmas festivities and more notably school work have taken priority up till now. But I've found an ounce of time to go over a very important match that has taken place as part of an incredible day of football - Arsenal vs. Manchester United. Oh boy.
I was lucky enough to get a ticket for this one, albeit I sub-consciously feared another rout similar to the 8-2 massacre the Gunners suffered in August. But as I made my way to the ground, I decided to be logical about the prospect of this game; we may lose, but it can never be as bad as it was in August. We had some defensive issues cope with, but Wenger managed to sign a 10ft tall CB on transfer deadline day, so I reasoned it would be more solid than the defensive that took to the pitch during the event which can only be titled "Trafford-gate".
Then came the team line-ups. Man United looked much stronger in truth, but the fact that Arsenal were missing all of their full-backs and a few others was more than an excuse for playing some of the team we fielded. Wenger stuck with the trusted 4 CBs, 2 covering as full-backs, and already when the game kicked off at 16:00, I knew we were in a for a shaky one. In the ground I was feeling disappointed with the efforts of Arsenal RB Johan Djourou, who constantly allowed Man Utd danger man Luis Nani time and space to pick crosses towards Arsenal's shaky defensive set up. As time went on I began to believe we needed a RB with more pace and stability, and soon enough, Nani crossed unmarked to Antonio Valencia, who nodded home also unmarked coincidentally. A training ground goal, Sir Alex Ferguson could only be pleased. Luckily Wenger, as if answering a prayer, sent on Yennaris at half time, a young player who certainly added some reassurance to our failing back 4.
But in all honesty, the one player who really played well was Arsenal's 18-year old starlet, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. He had so much confidence playing against one of the best teams in England, if not Europe. Continually making challenging runs and exchanging good passes between the midfield and RVP, it was clear this player is a huge prospect for the future. As the fans rallied the team, the Gunners pressed for an equaliser, and quickly from the restart, Arsenal were gifted a golden chance to level up when Smalling slipped. Van Persie, however, inexplicably missed from all of about 7 yards on his strongest foot. This could have proved costly had Oxlade-Chamberlain not played a brilliant, defence-splitting pass to Van Persie, who struck fiercely below Lindegaard to make it 1-1 with just under 20 minutes to go.
"He scores when he wants, he scores when he wants. Robin van Persie, he scores when he wants" Was the chant from the Arsenal faithful, whose gloomy spirits, mine included, had been lifted by the goal, and a real sense of belief was lifted around the Emirates.
Sadly, this goal did not convince Arsene Wenger from substituting "wonder-kid" Oxlade-Chamberlain, with Arshavin replacing him. This was greeted by booing in no uncertain terms, as it was a decision that would cost the Gunners, who had looked very capable of stealing the game after the equaliser. Never-the-less, Arsenal tried to strive for a winner with the dispassionate Arshavin, and as A leads to B, United scored again, Danny Welbeck netting from close range with 9 minutes on the clock left. A devastating blow for the Gunners, who for much of the second half had looked the better team. What really rubbed salt into the wounds was that it was a defensive mishap from Arshavin, mainly failing to deal with Antonio Valencia in the run-up towards the goal, that gave United an opportunity they simply wouldn't pass up. Any last efforts by the Gunners were flattened by United's able, solid defence, who saw the game out. A degree of time wasting was to be had, but this can be expected, and in all honesty it would not have changed the result significantly.
I travelled home filled with disappointment, a game we really could have snatched at the death, but a silly decision once again cost us. However, as I thought about the game on Monday morning, I reasoned that although this result is disappointing, there are positives. Firstly, Arsenal put up a good fight against title-challenging opposition, losing narrowly, but even then, the team still looked capable of winning, which is only good considering the teams we still have to play. Secondly, and this is the main reason for optimism, Oxlade-Chamberlain is really starting to emerge as a class footballer, and Arsenal simply cannot afford to let go of him. So, my message to Arsenal fans is this - chin-up, at least we're not on channel 5 on Thursday nights in the Europa league!
Next up for me is Spurs in about a months time, god I hate all this school work.
Adiós
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