This wasn't as awesome as that other Eduardo goal. Pic via Guardian.
Shakhtar Donetsk 2: Chygrynskiy 28, Eduardo 45
Arsenal 1: Walcott 10
I am going to inevitably keep this recap short, because if I don't, I run the risk of going off on tangents and having the whole thing turn into a profanity laced tirade about Arsenal's performance yesterday. On Monday, I outlined why it was crucial for Arsenal to pick up three points in this fixture, since it would clear their path to the knockout phase, and allow Arsene Wenger to rotate the squad in the remaining two group fixtures. Instead, injuries forced Wenger to make a number of changes anyway, and it was costly. Those two remaining fixtures now look like must-wins for Arsenal to finish top of the group.
Arsenal made a whopping seven changes from the side that beat West Ham United on Saturday. But, only four of those changes were necessitated by injuries, as Cesc Fabregas, Alex Song, Denilson, and Andrei Arshavin dropped out. I'm under the impression that most of these were precautions and three could play Sunday (one hopes, though Denilson will drop for Jack Wilshere back from suspension.) In came Wilshere, Theo Walcott, Tomas Rosicky, and Craig Eastmond.
Three changes were the case of rotation in the squad, the use of which in this match, a must-win as I've outlined before, bothered me significantly. Bacary Sagna and Laurent Koscielny dropped to the bench for Emmanuel Eboue and Johan Djourou. Nicklas Bendtner started up front in the place of Marouane Chamakh.
Why rotate so much now when winning this match allows you to rotate during a more difficult stretch of fixtures in the future? Arsenal plays Newcastle at home on Sunday. After their next group stage match, one on which there is now more pressure to win, they play Aston Villa away. It just doesn't make sense to me.
Sure, it started off well enough. Arsenal took a lead within ten minutes thanks to the pace of Theo Walcott. In clearing a corner, Jack Wilshere's ball out of danger sprang Walcott, whose lightning quickness meant that nobody was going to catch him. He slotted a neat little ball under the diving keeper and Arsenal looked like they'd win comfortably. Which, apparently, set them up perfectly to be complacent for the oncoming Shakhtar onslaught.
The Ukrainian side dominated the rest of the first half, essentially, and they drew level just before the half hour mark, after a bizarre run-up. Wilshere was fouled but the referee played the advantage to Arsenal, who after a pass or two, lost possession. Suddenly, Shakhtar was racing the other way against ten defenders, and a caught out of position Eboue was forced to commit a foul and pick up a booking to prevent further damage on the counter. The damage would come on the resulting free kick anyway, as a perfectly taken strike found the head of Dmytro Chygrynskiy, then glanced off Craig Eastmond and into the net. Originally an own goal to the young Gunner, the deflection was of a shot going on goal anyway, and Chygrynskiy eventually got credit.
Arsenal played about five solid minutes of time in the first half after their opening goal, but it all came crashing down just before halftime. On the break, Gael Clichy was absolutely skinned alive by Darijo Srna, who then slotted a perfect cross for Eduardo to one-time past a diving Fabianski. To his credit, the Crozilian again did not celebrate him goal. But the stadium certainly did, and it's a goal that can never happen at this level. Clichy's error was inexcusable. He had briefly won back possession, only to try to dribble his way around Srna instead of clearing. He paid the price and looked foolish in the process.
There were a few chances for Arsenal to equalize in the second half with Wilshere coming closest in the early going, but after a while, all of Arsenal's efforts were coming from 20 yards out with very little to challenge Shakhtar's defense. Another sign of rotation appeared when Carlos Vela was the first substitution, with Marouane Chamakh coming on with only about 17 minutes to play at most. Then, Jay Emmanuel-Thomas came on with only nine minutes with which to work. It looked at certain times like Arsenal had no intention of winning this match; they lacked spark in their play for about 70 minutes in total.
Bright spots existed, of course. Lukasz Fabianski was stellar again; let's hope the fact that he was on the losing end doesn't shatter his confidence. Johan Djourou is improving game-by-game, though he still has one too many adventures at center back for my liking. Jack Wilshere did not lose a beat during his suspension and Theo Walcott looks just as fired up as he did before his injury.
On the negative side, after a positive run of games, Nicklas Bendtner was largely useless yesterday. For all of the great work we've seen from them in the past, Samir Nasri and Tomas Rosicky had off nights in terms of their creativity. Gael Clichy needs someone to challenge him for his starting job since Kieran Gibbs seems perma-hurt. I don't think Craig Eastmond is quite ready for the European stage; Henri Lansbury, who was left on the bench, is arguably more ready. Everyone else was fairly mediocre (that apparently means Eboue, Squillaci, and Vela), while Chamakh and JET didn't get enough time to warrant much judgment.
Disappointing match, all in all. One in which Arsenal saw their future fixtures get a little more difficult. I think that's what makes it worse.
Hipster Gooner Man of the Match: Darijo Srna
