Arsenal matches are becoming an exercise in delayed gratification. Pic via BBC.
Arsenal 1: Bendtner 90+4
Wolves 0
If you enjoy the pleasure of experiencing the subtle beauties of each and every part of the process while realizing that just scoring in the end is not the ultimate goal, then this match was ecstasy for you. For 93 minutes and 55 seconds, Arsenal kept us waiting. It was pretty at times, the passing was there, the pace was there, and the chances were there, but the big ending was always just out of reach. And then, just when you thought there would be no happy ending, as the seconds ticked away, our heroes scored. And we all jumped up and down in sheer delight. Credit to Gloria for the metaphor, by the way; I'm not that clever.
We knew coming into this match that the side would be depleted. Arsene Wenger fielded a side that saw seven changes from the team that started against Barcelona on Wednesday. Cesc Fabregas (leg), Andrei Arshavin (calf), and William Gallas (calf) sadly won't be starting any time soon. But in addition to those three known absences, Gael Clichy, Abou Diaby, Nicklas Bendtner, and Samir Nasri were all placed on the bench in the name of rest. As such, Sol Campbell, Mikael Silvestre, Tomas Rosicky, Denilson, Emmanuel Eboue, Theo Walcott, and Eduardo started along with the unchanged Manuel Almunia, Bacary Sagna, Thomas Vermaelen, and Alex Song.
Arsenal's plan seemed obvious the entire time as well, and it was merely a question of whether Wolves could contain it for 90 minutes. Tomas Rosicky filled in the playmaker role in place of the injured Fabregas and rested Nasri and the goal was to get the ball to Walcott, have him speed past the defense, cross the ball into the box, and hope for a goal. Best case scenario, Arsenal gets on the board early, scores another one a bit later, and coasts to three points without having to use their substitutes who were resting on the bench. Ah, but as you know by now, Arsenal never gets three points the easy way.
Six minutes in, Eduardo takes a great shot that brings about an even better reflex save from Wolves' Seattle-born goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann. Eduardo has an absolute sitter a few minutes later but instead of taking a shot at an open net on the first touch, he traps it first, thereby working his body into an awkward, off-balance position, then knocking a very lame attempt at goal well wide. Then a minute later even Sagna gave it a chance, but his shot was right at Hahnemann. The entire first half felt like a Carling Cup tie to me; a string of non-regulars in the side struggling to find the net.
As the second half played out, concern was setting in. Chances were there and a goal was vital to keep the season and the title hopes mathematically plausible. But would it come? By 64 minutes, the resting Nicklas Bendtner was called upon to take the field, replacing the barely noticable Eboue.
Two minutes later, the match turned on its head as Wolves captain Karl Henry was sent off with a straight red card for a bad challenge from behind on Tomas Rosicky. On replay, it looked worse than it was, and there is now a ton of controversy around Andre Marriner's decision to send Henry off. Opponents are complaining that Arsenal are working the officials over to be more protected in the wake of Aaron Ramsey's horrific leg break (and Kieran Gibbs's foot break... and Eduardo's leg break... and Abou Diaby's leg break... it just goes on...) It was certainly a bookable offense from Henry; it should not have been red. Wolves then had to hold onto their nil-nil draw for the final 25 minutes plus stoppage time on ten men.
Samir Nasri and Carlos Vela (remember him?) made appearances as the remaining Arsenal subs as the Gunners streamed forward looking for the all-important goal. It just never seemed to be coming. Rosicky missed a brilliant chances seconds after returning to the pitch. Bendtner's header was saved under the bar. Rosicky missed another chance, then saved a potential Wolves goal on the line after a corner kick.
As the clock struck 90 minutes, a Vermaelen kick went completely off course and into touch for a Wolves throw-in; it looked symbolic of the afternoon, a signal that a death knell for Arsenal's title hopes would be heard soon. Walcott missed a lovely chance with three minutes of five added already gone. It looked all over.
Then a Nasri pass found Rosicky, to Walcott, back to Sagna with one minute to play. Sagna crossed into the box as Nicklas Bendtner won positioning in front of Wolves defender Ronald Zubar. Bendtner's header curled to the left of Hahnemann, who had no chance. With seconds to play, Arsenal had scored to take a 1-0 lead, and every Arsenal pub in the world, just like the Emirates, went nuts. The big ending had finally happened.
Both teams ended up trading chances in the remaining minute afterward, but that was it. Arsenal is still three points off the pace with five games to play. Can they win all five and get the help they need to take the title? Who knows? What I do know is that it's probably going to follow much of the same pattern of beauty and frustration.
No comments:
Post a Comment