Arsenal Do It From Behind… Again
11. Feb, 2007 
2 Comments
Well I think I need a stiff drink after that. We can’t make a habit of coming from behind to win… we need to just win outright. Here are the five things that struck me most during that match.
Firstly, thank you Tomas Rosicky. That header was brilliant and it saved the Arsenal from more potential embarassment. Adebayor sent Baptista through on the right and the Brazilian sent in a perfect cross just a yard or so out for Rosicky to smash in. Rosicky is starting to get an eye for the goal and he had a great effort earlier on too.
Second, thank you Fitz Hall. Sure, you may be a Latic cunt, but you scored on your own team for us. I appreciate that, I really do. In any future enncounters with Wigan I’ll surely be cheering for the Arsenal, and you.
Third, Mr. Dowd, you are incompetent. There were too many calls on both sides that were way off. Be it yellow cards, fouls, or offsides, this ref is right up there with Mike Riley as far as I’m concerned.
Fourth, Lehmann is hilarious. Just flat out hilarious. Sitting there bouncing the ball against the back of the advertisement boards to waste time like that, I’m surprised that he was so surprised to get a yellow. Not many goalies suffer the 5 yellow card fate but not our Jens Lehmann.
Fifth, Henry got a bit of that Fabregas fire in him today. After the Wigan own goal Henry pushed the ball into Kirkland’s chest as if to suggest he could waste more time if he wanted. Granted, Kirkland was definitely taking his sweet time with the ball after they went up a goal. Henry was yellow carded for the incident and the spat between the two continued for the rest of the game. I never saw if there was a handshake between them at the end of the match. In all a total of 6 of our players were carded. Ridiculous.
Over-all the match was as exciting as it could be. We went down at the Emirates yet again, only to find the net twice to escape with a win. We remain undefeated at the new stadium, but we’re getting too damn close.
If you haven’t noticed I’ve acquired an assistant blogger in the form of Otto. He’ll be helping me fill the void when I’m unable to keep a constant flow of posts coming. Don’t bother being kind to him, he’s too drunk to care most of the time.
Same old fantastic story. Most invading forces just need to time to break down the castle walls. Some even retire for the winter to come back to re-commence the barrage the following summer. Basically football needs to extend matches by 15 minutes each half to allow Arsenal to play their game to fruition.
It was good to see Baptista, Walcott, Aliadiere, Djourou and Adebayor on the pitch.
I love Jens. His ankle injury against MU in the closing minute was the best parody or satire I have ever scene on any stage. And as you have written he actually tried to hit the back board one more time but failed. Of course, had they got on with it they may have scored a couple more.
Paul Jewel is a funny guy too. Didn’t he know that Arsenal were going to white wash him in the last fifteen minutes of the match? How could he be so angry at full-time? Did he think he could hold out Arsenal? Of course had a Skoko shot or a Heskey chance been converted in the second half then the game takes on a different complexion and Jewel is now defending a two-goal lead. But that hypothetical must also make way for another equally legitimate scenario. Had Henry’s two easy put-away chances in the first half gone in it would have made the game a 4-1 stroll.
While we are on the great artist, I hope there is someone in the club with enough balls to give TH14 a kick up the bum every so often. Had he scored a hat-trick or winner in the World Cup Final against Italy in 2006 or for that matter Barca in last year’s Champions League Final he would be immortalised, cast in bronze and gold and free of any criticism. But he is no Pele or Maradona and a good kick might get him across that line. So it was good to see Flamini and Adebayor drag him away from Kirkland. If they time-wasted what is he going to do against WH, BW and MC who ridiculed Arsenal with cynical time-wasting that was manifest by sheer fear and the exuberance of beating Arsenal.
One final question. I would love to know exactly what type of injury Gallas is suffering? I just hope it is not chronic.
Good entertainment in the Wigan match, but all of Arsenal’s matches against Wigan since their promotion have never been for faint hearts. Given Arsenal’s superiority all round, the Gunners should have wrapped up the match before half time. Instead, its a recurrence of that “Dear Visitors to Emirates, let’s gift you a goal as handicap, and watch us fight back!” scenario that I’ve gotten frankly quite tired of. One day, Arsenal will get caught for its lapses in defence. In fact, Wigan could have been 3-0 up if not for Lehman’s heroics (versus Heskey) and Phil Dowd’s myopia (also versus Heskey).
Bolton Wanderers in the Reebok won’t be such easy meat. Frankly I don’t think Arsenal will get a result against those cloggers. A pity, since Kolo Toure’s diving header would have been in vain. But since, we fought back to snatch a draw, we might as well win the reply. What Arsenal needs is more muscle and grit against the likes of Abdoulaye Faye, Nolan, Stelios, Diouf and Anelka, names we really get sick of hearing. And how not to get riled up… And more guile…
We also need a strong and fair referee too. If its Mike Riley, we might as well throw in the towel.