Blackburn Rovers
Diouf(27)
1 - 2
Arsenal FC
Walcott(20), Arshavin(51)
You know it’s been a good weekend when, not only you get a good win up north, but you get to laugh at Fat Sam, the cockerels, and that 500 million pound team. A professional win at Blackburn led by the rejuvenated Theo Walcott removed that disgusting smirk on jabber-the-hut and his so called hoodoo over Arsenal.
A confident Theo Walcott scored the opening goal in a measured win over Blackburn
Did Arsène mind games work?
All talk before the match was all about the “rugby” tactics employed by some clubs against more cultured teams. Wenger was accused of either making pre-emptive excuses or influencing the referee.
The “mind games” employed by Wenger seemed to have not only worked on the referee but also, maybe more so, on Blackburn. Determined to prove their detractors wrong, Blackburn played a clean game of football. They used their strengths, but at no time did they go overboard in using their physicality.
Rovers tactic of pumping long balls into the opposition’s area was used and abused, and to an extent it did trouble the Arsenal’s defence. The few times the long ball did present danger it was well dealt with by our defence. Blackburn´s best opportunity came from a corner which Samba failed to convert.
A quick glance at the guardian chalkboards shows the amount of those long balls that the defence had to repell. I know everyone feels that’s the best way to beat us, but last season’s stats showed that more teams scored against us by passing it through our defence rather than over. It’s telling that Blackburn´s goal came through decent passing play rather than their preferred tactic.
Ratings?
Almunia — Dealt with aerial balls quite well, clearly Diouf´s challenge last season was not forgotten. I wouldn’t mind seeing that kind of fire from the Spaniard more often. Other than that he only had one shot to save.
Clichy — His positioning was questioned for the goal, but not at fault. He was left with to much area to cover, any decent striker would have taken advantage.
Vermaelen — Prone to being caught to far up field or let down by cover when venturing up field? Made one mistake that could have been disastrous, otherwise did his job.
Koscienly — Another encouraging display, taught a harsh lesson by Diouf. Blackburn provided a good test of his physical ability. He did enough to pass that test but it’s obvious that he needs to increase his physical strength.
Sagna — Improved crossing, but was nowhere to be seen for the goal. Needs to be more tactically aware, still a great defender.
Song — WTF? Someone said Eboue swapped his shampoo for Sagna’s. Still the hair didn’t prevent him from putting in a typically strong display in the middle of the park.
Diaby — I just cannot believe the bias of some fans. Still getting stick in some parts for poor passing, keeping the ball too long, not winning tackles. That’s all just emotional judgements, the facts show that he was easily our best midfielder.
Cesc — Had a poor game. Previously when Cesc was poor we had to endure it as we couldn’t replace him properly, now we have the luxury of sending in a fit again Rosický.
Arshavin — Better from the little Russian, still largely anonymous but less so than previous games. Scored the winner and once up to peak condition I’m sure he tear up the league.
van Persie — A classy as ever, as brittle as ever. Thankfully his injury is just enough to keep him away from Dick van Toorn —why would you want to be treated by a man named van Torn is beyond me— and back in time for the next game.
Walcott — MoM? Certainly he is full of confidence, as long as he comes back injury free from the accursed national team I’ll be happy. Nothing better to see a maligned player fit a ready to prove his detractors wrong.
More good news
An Arsenal win is always made sweeter when those up the road falls flat on their face. Full of exuberance from the demolition of the poor young boys of Bern, the self appointed champions league winners elect could get past Wigan. We were told that they are so strong at shite hart lane that their UCL opponents will be brushed aside with a plumb.
Wigan —a team that has let in 18 goals in their last 3 games— obviously did not read the srcipt, and brought a nice smile to the Gooner Nation.
All in all a nice weekend for us. Thanks for stopping by, please add your thoughts in the comments section, and follow @wengerball for more Arsenal stuff.
