This is the kind of review that I've wanted to write for a long long time - a review of a victory where it counted most, against one of the top teams, when a defeat would've been an unthinkable option. We started the game in 6th - behind not just Man U, but even Spurs and West Brom. Lose, and we'd have finished the weekend just above Sunderland and Bolton.
To say I had my trepidations would be understating it.
But hey, just as we'd flopped in games with the big boys, so too would Manciti on the day. Less than 5 minutes in, and they did what we've been prone to ourselves. Self destruct. Yes, Mancini's gone and said that if it was 11 v 11, they'd have won; Cesc has said that even if they had 15, we'd have won.
Who bloody cares. We won. 3-0. Can't get as obvious as that. Could've beens, should've beens. Hey, if Lehmann hadn't been sent off early one night in Paris in 2006, we might've been European Champions, and we probably won't even be talking about this as a key game.
So. Anyways. The game.
Manciti started like a house on fire, and we had (surprise!) Fabianski to thank for a great early safe after a minute or so from Silva. Then the sending off. But even then, Manciti pressed, and didn't at that stage play like they had 11. They still played to win...to their credit, and to our benefit.
Just as we'd been guilty of not being efficient enough with our chances, tonight it was Manciti. And tonight, we would make them pay. Excellent move, Nasri-Arsh-Nasri, and emphatic finish to make it 1-0. The man's on fire, and would continue to blaze for the rest of the game.
Then a gift. But we never really like gifts in the Premier League. We took them pretty well with Shakhtar, bur spurned the gift horse this time round. Silly challenge, up stepped Cesc, and he telegraphed the penalty just as Hart had predicted. Just great. The shit looked like it would hit the fan. "Just get it in to half time at 1-0" was my cry, and once we did, it looked increasingly safe.
Second half - We begin to exert ourselves, and once Tevez limped off, so too did Manciti's energy. Sure they hade Adebayor, but it's Adebayor after all. Another nice move, and Song finishes with aplomb. Nice one that. Even nicer was Wayne Bridge's assist.
What would put the icing on the cake than for Bent Nick to finish off a cool move from yet another sublime assist from Nasri. That's the way you do it. One chance, one goal. Oh yeah, throw in a couple of great saves from Fabianski, and we've got our first away clean sheet since...forgot when.
All in all, our best win of the season. No doubt. The pressure was on, the game was big, but after a nervy start, we all stepped up. Yes 10 v 11 changed the game. But nobody's ever sympathised with us, so why start? Winning the big games is as much about scoring goals than it is about not doing anything stupid. With the yellows piling up for us in the first half, it was also a very composed performance that saw no chance of a sending off for a player in red.
Sweet it was. Much as West Brom taught us one lesson, so too did Chelski teach us another. Bring on Newcastle next, and West Ham next week. The Arsewiper will be at the Emirates for that one, so goddamn, gimme a goal fest man!
Player ratings? Why not?
Fabianski 7.5 - Never put a foot or finger wrong. You can just see him getting more and more confident with every game. It started with Partizan. It continued today. We may see WS (that's what I'll call him) start on Wednesday, so I'm betting on another clean sheet Saturday.
Sagna 7 - Solid performance too. Some nice runs, but in honesty, some suspect crosses and decisions. Should've put Chamakh clean through on one occasion, but dawdled.
Squillaci 6.5 - Probably the better of the two in the middle. Not the most convincing, but did enough.
Djourou 6 - Not good enough, really. Got the run around too often by Tevez, and was caught too slow too.
Clichy 7 - No hint of his usual suspect-ness, so I'll be glad for that.
Song 6.5 - He's been off it of late, I'll say. Let a few get by him too easily, and when he didn't, it was plainly and simply, a clumsy foul. But, like he is prone to do these days, he scores...
Cesc 6.5 - An off day by his standards. A few slide rule passes, but a few off as well. Granted, he's still off the pace, but by his own high standards... Even that penalty miss. Woeful.
Nasri 8.5 - Man on fire indeed. Did little wrong. One goal, one assist, involved in everything good. Goals galore too, so let's pray he keeps fit. Unlike a few of his team-mates, though, prone to get fit faster than expected.
Arsh 6.5 - Not his best (as usual), but still managed a sublime assist. We did look tons better with Rosicky on the pitch.
Denilson 7 - Ain't a Wilshere, but did little wrong on the day. Efficient without the frills.
Chamakh 7 - Did his best holding up play, didn't have too many clear cut chances, and when he did, he skied one over. Put in a good shift for the team though.
Highly satisfying, to say the least. Springboard going forward? Why not? We've got a decent run of games through November, and it's not until 13 December that we face Man U. Let's get to it then. West Brom and Chelski lessons learnt; no more excuses.
1 comment:
Thanks for the review Arsewiper.
I actually thought Squillaci has looked, particularly in recent games, like a better version of Silvestre. The man is a little slow and although his reading is top notch, I don't think he can cut it in the EPL for Arsenal.
I'd have to disagree with your rating on Clichy. Man City were clearly focussed on making use of our left flank and were very effective slicing through time and again in the first half. Partly Djourou and Arshavin's fault, but also Clichy needs to take a major portion of the blame.
Also Denilson is plain awful and I still say Wenger should sell him and Diaby off in exchange for a decent Englishman.
Arsenal got off with the better share of the luck, and even with 10 men City looked dangerous at points. Mainly because without Vermalen our defence isn't solid.
But all in all, a very satisfying game and a much needed victory. Plus you cld see how impt it was as a confidence boost for our players. Last night's mauling of Newcastle's second team demonstrated that we've got some awesome talent (Walcott, Rosicky and Bendtner) yet to be fully utilised.
Final word on Bendtner. I've been a very harsh critic of the boy. But his finish agst Man City was good, something he wouldn't have been able to pull off last year. And to top it off, his goal agst Newcastle was seriously awesome. I never thought I'd say this, but I look forward to watching Bendtner play more often.
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