Back from the brink

Arsenal 3-2 Aston Villa

Arsenal’s impressive second half comeback against Aston Villa sent the Gunners through to the fifth round of the FA Cup and may just have galvanised their season. The response to going two-nil down on the stroke of half time showed that this team does possess the heart, passion and fight demanded by the Arsenal faithful.

It was a real Jekyll and Hyde performance as in the first half Arsenal could not convert their ample possession into goal scoring opportunities. The Gunners’ attacking play was often slow and cumbersome, as they moved the ball from side to side without any real penetration. As a result, it was far too easy for Villa to sit back and defend, restricting Arsenal to tame and feeble long range attempts. The only real highlight of the first half was the performance of Oxlade-Chamberlain. His supreme confidence was plain for all to see, his first touch was sublime and his direct, incisive runs were a joy to behold. The most impressive aspect of Chamberlain’s performance however was his desire to fulfil his defensive duties, with one particular thunderous challenge drawing great applause from the stands.

Although Arsenal seemed in control of the game as Villa offered little in attack, the hesitancy of Fabianski in goal along with yet another patched up defence meant the Gunners were essentially always under threat. This was highlighted perfectly in the 33^rd minute as Villa took the lead with their very first corner of the game. The Arsenal players fell asleep as Villa took a short corner, allowing Robbie Keane time to turn and cross the ball for Richard Dunne to rise above the Gunner’s defence and head the visitor’s into the lead. Worse was to come just before half time as Darren Bent doubled their lead following a swift Villa counter attack. As the half time whistle sounded and boos echoed around the Emirates Stadium once more, there seemed no way back for Arsenal.

No one will ever know what was said at half-time, but whatever it was it worked a treat. The response from the players was simply exceptional. Arsenal’s play was now vibrant and energetic as they passed the ball quickly and chased and harried Villa whenever they lost possession. As a result the Gunners were now getting in behind the Villa backline, forcing them to panic and make mistakes. Mertesacker could have reduced the deficit straight away, from a Van Persie corner, but Stephen Ireland’s goal line clearance prevented the German from opening his Gunner’s account. Shortly after this Aaron Ramsey was hacked down, when through on goal, by Dunne who was lucky to remain on the pitch as the referee awarded a penalty. Up stepped Van Persie to reduce the arrears to one goal.  Two minutes later and Arsenal were level. Theo Walcott’s mazy run on the right flank took him past several Villa players and into the box where his prodded shot hit the advancing Shay Given and ran through to Alan Hutton, whose rash attempted clearance hit Walcott and flew into the back of the net. The Gunners were now clearly in the ascendancy and pressed home their superiority five minutes later thanks to another Van Persie penalty.

Van Persie scores the first of his two penalties

Laurent Koscielny’s powerful run from centre back, down the left flank and into the penalty area was only halted when he was upended by Darren Bent, leaving the referee with no option but to award a second penalty, which Van Persie despatched expertly, sending Given the wrong way again to equal Dennis Bergkamp’s record of 120 goals for the club. It was a fantastic comeback by the Gunners, all accomplished within the space of seven glorious minutes. From this point on Arsenal took their foot off the pedal and controlled the game until the final whistle, when the half time boos were replaced with rapturous applause. The players had shown tremendous character, spirit and sheer determination to win this game. A win which will hopefully lead to increased belief and an improvement in performances and results.