Google
 

Monday, March 17, 2008

 

Not another bloody draw!

It had been a rare week for the Arsenal. One that had not seen them play in the middle of it. Instead, fresh after five days inaction, they stumbled and passed themselves into dead end after dead end against a Middlesbrough team that played for a draw and ended up just four minutes away from a surprise three points.

It’s been a common tale of late as Arsenal have now dropped eight points in their last four games that has seen them slip from the peak of their Premier League.

Arsene Wenger is a stubborn old coot. Genius but stubborn. With Boro defending so deep and in numbers and his side becoming more frustrated with each pass that went awry you would hope for a change of tack. A Jose type ploy of thinking out the box, a snap substitution. But we got the same ad infinitum and Alex Ferguson, watching on TV, will be looking forward to having the likes of Nani and Anderson working in concert with Carrick and Hargreaves in choking the Arsenal midfield.

European clubs are generous in the space they allow other teams to play in, witness the way we tore AC Milan apart. But English clubs lack that generosity. Indeed some don’t bother with playing football. Rather, they pack the defence and pray.

It’s something Arsenal have got to get used to. There’s no point whining at the post match press conference after another three points goes begging saying the other team ‘wouldn’t let us play football.’ We have to earn the right to play.

I haven’t seen any post match comments yet but while there is no doubt the match officials dropped a few bollocks during the game the fact remains too many playes didn’t perform in the cramped conditions. We can’t blame the pitch at Wigan then blame the ref at ours when the likes of Adebayor and Eboue go missing for lengthy periods of the game.

Four points from 12 in a title run in ain’t pretty. We didn’t lose but then does it matter. A win and a draw in the same sequence would net the same number of points. However we get the points, four just isn’t good enough.

Next week is Chelsea away and as everyone never tires of telling us Chelsea are unbeaten at home since Joan of Arc went to her first barbecue. All their players are back and they haven’t lost in the league since god knows when. But records of course are meant to be broken and we, the Arsenal, have an uncanny knack of being party poopers. Juventus, Inter, Real Madrid, AC Milan, Liverpool, Nottingham Forest.

Comments: Post a Comment



<< Home

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?