Arsenal were left frustrated last night by their inability to break down Bolton’s stubborn defence, leaving the Gunners languishing in seventh place in the league, as both Newcastle and Liverpool moved above them.
Following Sunday’s great comeback win against Aston Villa, several Arsenal players expressed the need to build upon that result and in particular the second half performance. Yet while the Gunners did start the game brightly and created several chances in the opening twenty minutes, they could not convert any of these into a crucial goal which would have forced Bolton to abandon their defensive tactics. In the end Arsenal simply ran out of ideas. Inevitably Robin Van Persie was at the heart of the Gunners’ attacking play, having a header cleared off the line, before slipping a through ball to the sliding Ramsey who was agonisingly close to connecting with the ball. The Dutchman then played a ball square to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, whose unfortunate slip as he shot, led to his effort flying harmlessly wide of Bogdan’s goal. The best chance of the first half however fell to Theo Walcott. Oxlade-Chamberlain’s impressive vision enabled the young Englishman to pick out his compatriot with a wonderful through ball. Yet with only Bogdan to beat, Walcott inexplicably shot straight at the Hungarian goalkeeper. Had Arsenal taken their chances in this early spell of pressure, all three points would have been heading back to North London, but their lack of composure in front of goal allowed Bolton into the game; with David Ngogg first denied by Szczesny and then firing wide after outmuscling Koscielny on both occasions.
Arsenal began the second half as they had the first, applying pressure to the Bolton goal. The returning Bacary Sagna saw his wonderful cross headed against the post by Van Persie and Bogdan Saved well from Oxlade-Chamberlain. But once again, having failed to score, the Gunners’ attacking threat fizzled out. The midfield just seems to lack that creative edge which has always been synonymous with Arsene Wenger’s teams. As a result the team keeps the ball well, passing from left to right as they seek to move the opposition and create an opening. But we are then unable to exploit it as we do not possess a player who can supply through balls on a regular basis; a player who can create something out of nothing. This is where Jack Wilshere’s presence has been sorely missed. Without such a player, Arsenal are very easy to defend against, as their attacking threat only ever comes from one source. Stop Van Persie scoring and you stop Arsenal from scoring. A player such as Theo Walcott, who talks a good game in the newspapers, needs to help shoulder the goal scoring burden, but once again he was anonymous and on the periphery of the Arsenal’s attacking play. Walcott has simply not developed his game at all and his performances of late have been especially disappointing, considering he is hoping to convince the club he is worth a new and improved contract. As a result it was left to Van Persie to create another opportunity for himself as he turned on the edge of the box and lifted the ball over the helpless Bogdan, but unfortunately saw his wonderful effort hit the bar.
Wenger’s decision to leave Walcott on the pitch and instead replace Oxlade-Chamberlain, who once again had a good game, resulted in the Gunners’ attack becoming increasingly flat. As the game entered into the closing stages it was Bolton who looked most likely to win the game and the Trotters could have had a penalty as Szczesny had to make a last ditch challenge to deny Mark Davies. In the end a draw was simply not good enough as Arsenal’s 2012 league nightmare continues. With every dropped point the fight for fourth place becomes more and more difficult and the fact Wenger has allowed yet another transfer window to pass by without addressing the clear deficiencies in his side, does not bode well for the rest of the season.
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