Arsenal moved within 1 point at the top with a win over Stoke: a much needed win, but at what cost? If you asked Arsene Wenger after this game if he would take a fit Walcott and Fabregas with a point in exchange for the win, I reckon he would say yes.
The build-up to this game has not been very pretty.There had been a few exchanges between the managers from both the clubs and it was expected to be a rough game... and that was exactly what it turned out to be.
The first half was, well, pretty straight-forward.We dominated play in the opening minutes of the game.We kept the ball and Walcott almost scored in the 2nd minute when Fabregas picked him out, but his shot hit the left post and came back into the grateful hands of Begovic. The goal came in the 8th minute from a corner; Wilshire's ball came into the box, bounced off a Stoke head and landed for Bendtner in the left side of the box who, showing good composure, lofted the ball back near the face of the goal for Squillaci who headed it with some power. At that distance, Begovic stood no chance. Great start by the home team.
Unfortunately, that momentum didn't last very long as Fabregas started looking uncomfortable walking and before long he signalled for a substitution. Arshavin came on for him and he got a chance, and another one after that.He missed them both, but showed some hunger- something he seemingly lacked in previous weeks.The only clear cut chance Stoke had was from John Carew whose powerful half volley forced a really good save from Wojciech. For the rest of the half we kept possession, but struggled to cope with them physically.
Stoke emerged the stronger team in the 2nd half, playing a lot more physically and creating some pretty good chances. The team took their time but started to find their pace and rhythm again, but before long, another setback.Walcott went down awkwardly under a mis-timed tackle from Whitehead and had to be stretcher-ed off; Denilson came on as his replacement.The game didn't have much in it from then on except for a little excitement in the last 5 minutes, but we still kept our cool to see it through.
Among the players, Djourou stood out with another dominant display. He stood up to the physicality of the Stoke front-line and along with Squillaci (who also had a good game), made sure that a clean sheet was maintained going into the League Cup final in Wembley.Wilshire was impressive as well, deputizing in Fabregas's position when Nasri moved to cover Walcott. Another player who had a good game was Szczesny. It was yet another strong performance from the young Polish keeper, in place of Almunia at the bench, and he showed maturity beyond his years, coming up with the goods when it was needed and also keeping his cool towards the end of the match, holding on to those loose balls thrown into the box by Delap.
The win was good, but it left us with 2 more additions to the injury list. It has been confirmed that Walcott is out for Sunday.When asked about the situation Wenger said "Definitely out for Sunday. Cesc has a hamstring problem,will be assessed tomorrow." He went on to say "If you can take 3 points on a night like this and be closer to the top, you know your team is hungry....it's a positive sign. We have matured,certainly,because we can win the game when we are less creative,less fluent and that is what have changed."
Win the game when we are less creative and fluent: it's true, we did manage to win the game with less creativity and a more crude way of defending, keeping hold of the ball until the end of the game... this was not how Arsenal played football and it was a welcome change. It was good to see the team close out a match with some confidence. For more from the post match press conference go here
Cesc was pretty much disappointed with his injury and it showed all over his face when he called for the substitute. He later tweeted "I dont know if ill make sunday or no, but all i know is that from this moment to sunday 16'30 i wont sleep if its necessary. Ive waited too long to captain a final for arsenal and i wont give up till the last second." That shows just how commited he is to the club and its goals.
In other news, Robin Van Persie has been shortlisted for the PFA Fan's Player of the Month for February. I urge all you readers to vote for him. And for people interested in Aaron Ramsey's interview after he scored a goal in Cardiff's win over Leicester, I have found a video online.
That's all for today folks. Have a good day!!!!
P.S: I urge all readers to follow me on twitter so I can notify each and every one of you whenever a new post comes up.
©goonerburgh
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