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I can’t believe I came on here yesterday writing with optimism about our new defensive tactics. I really should have known better to expect Wenger to be able to pull it off, however a good idea it may be.
The guy can’t coach defence. Time and time again we see decent players come to the club and immediately look like clowns. Per Mertesacker arrived as a solid experienced centre-back but looks as good as Senderos or Cygan for Arsenal. It would be the same if we signed Vidic, Terry, Maldini or whoever. Under this manager, defenders will never look good.
It’s a real shame, as in the first half we were well on top and scored two excellent goals. First, Alex Song continued his fine form, using a nice bit of skill to beat a defender before sliding a great through-ball for Gervinho, who found the far corner Ian Wright-style.
Then inevitably we became profligate with our attacking, overplaying as though we were 3-0 up and missed some decent chances. Only once Yakubu had equalised for Blackburn did we start playing again. And once that happened, a good move led to a fine finish from Mikel Arteta arriving in the box. I hoped, stupidly, that we would now take the game seriously and finish off the home side, who were low on confidence and offering nothing in front of their quiet, demoralised home fans.
But it’s Arsenal, and we offer hope to struggling managers with gift-wrapped goals. First, a silly foul by Arshavin (where was Santos?) in a dangerous position led to a Blackburn free kick, and an own goal by Alex Song. Might be worth bringing back man marking so we can mark our own players! In an otherwise good display I don’t know what happened to Song here, his reactions were incredibly slow and he just let the ball dribble in off him. I’m sure he, or someone, could have done better to clear it quickly.
Minutes later, 3-2 to Blackburn. Another poorly defended set-piece, although arguably a bit of bad luck with Yakubu slightly offside. Still, I don’t know the rules as they change them all the time, but isn’t there meant to be daylight between the players for it to really be offside? I think it was close and we have ourselves to blame more than the officials on this occasion.
And for the fourth, once again, I’d have to say it was incredibly poor from Koscielny, who just looked resigned to the ball going in off him. I know I wasn’t out there on the pitch but it didn’t look like the ball was moving that fast and I really think he could have re-adjusted his position to clear it. But by this point we were demoralised and there was never going to be any way back. Ever since the Carling Cup final this team has had no faith that they can get results from games, and that has led to even more ridiculous results, which dents the confidence even further.
Chamakh’s first league goal for nearly a year, a fine header from a fine van Persie cross, although five minutes from time, was never going to be more than a consolation. We huffed and puffed in the final few minutes and missed some chances in typical style. And so it finished 4-3, in a game in which we led twice and mostly dominated; in a game in which four of our players scored; in a game which more than doubled Blackburn’s goal tally for the season; in a game that sees Steve Kean’s side go above us in the table; in a game that sees our goals against tally go up to 14, the worst in the league. I won’t go on.
This is arguably sadder than the 8-2 at Old Trafford. At least after that game there was hope that things would be really looked at by the club, and players would be brought in to solve the crisis. Now that’s happened, but we know that nothing’s changed.
The next step is to change the manager. Pure and simple. I at least hope this latest embarassment is another small step towards that happening.
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