QPR 2-1 Arsenal
Arsenal produced a completely lacklustre and insipid display at Loftus Road to essentially undo all the good work they have done over the past few weeks. The feel good factor which has swept through the Emirates stadium in recent weeks, leading many to dream of what may be next season, was quickly dismantled by a defeat to relegation threatened Queens Park Rangers which leaves the door open for Tottenham to move level on points with the Gunners.
The tone was set before the game with Joey Barton claiming the QPR players were essentially playing for their livelihoods and Arsene Wenger simply played into their hands. Even before Barton’s comments, it was obvious how Mark Hughes would set out his side. They would pack the midfield; drop deep and put immense pressure on the ball as soon as Arsenal passed it into their midfield. Yet Wenger decided to start the game with Aaron Ramsey rather than Gervinho, which effectively removed any width and pace from the Gunners left hand side and therefore forced Arsenal to play through the middle of the park, which was extremely congested and so easier for QPR to defend against. As a result, the Gunners could not gain any momentum or place the opposition under any sustained pressure. The exact same tactics had also been employed away at Everton and had the same effect; the only difference being that on that occasion Arsenal scored an early goal and somehow managed to hold onto it for the rest of the game.
Against teams who flood the midfield and sit deep, with ten men behind the ball, it is essential to make the pitch as wide as possible and spread the ball as often as possible to move the opposition around the park, creating space. The threat of pace from a player such as Gervinho or Oxlade-Chamberlain would also have this effect as defenders instinctively fall back to counter this threat, thus enabling the midfield, through incisive forward runs, to enjoy more time on the ball. Yet Wenger got his tactics all wrong, with Arsenal continually passing the ball extremely slowly, sloppy in possession and lacking any real fight, as they were second to every ball. When attacking, the Gunners’ forward players never really made any forward runs to get in behind the QPR defence and so failed to stretch them. In truth, it was too easy for the home side as they showed far more hunger than the Gunners and thoroughly deserved their victory, with Arsenal only troubling Paddy Kenny once in each half, throughout the entire 90 minutes.
Bobby Zamora had a fantastic game as he absolutely dominated both Arsenal centre backs from the very first minute. In contrast to Robin Van Persie, who did not have one of his best games, the England international was simply outstanding as he won every ball in the air and persistently outmuscled Koscielny and Vermaelen. Although he was isolated up front, Zamora was able to consume the entire Arsenal back line, causing the defenders to become extremely nervous which inevitably led to mistakes. In the 22nd minute Adel Taarabt seized on one such error, receiving a long ball from Clint Hill, having evaded Vermaelen. The Belgian centre back had completely lost the former Tottenham man and was completely helpless once the Moroccan had turned away from his marker, before steering the ball past Szczesney to give the home side the lead. Alongside Zamora, Taarabt produced an equally impressive performance. At times it appeared the Arsenal midfield could not get close to him as he was allowed to control the game. Where was the hunger, passion and desire of the last few weeks? Time and time again the ball would squirm loose and fall to a QPR player, not because of sheer luck, but because they wanted it more.
Although Arsenal appeared to be in serious trouble, they somehow hauled themselves back into the game seven minutes before half-time when Van Persie prodded the ball to Walcott, whose shot flew past Kenny, hit the post and fortunately fell straight back to him to score the equaliser. The goal did actually appear to give the Gunners a real lift as they created two great chances to take the lead in the early stages of the second half. First Kieran Gibbs narrowly headed wide, before Van Persie was sent through on goal, but with Arsenal fans expecting to see the net bulge, the Dutchman’s powerful shot was well saved by Kenny.
Despite the away side appearing to be in the ascendency they did not create any more chances, enjoying a large amount of possession but due to their lack of urgency, they weren’t actually doing anything with it and then in the 69th minute disaster struck. Vermaelen’s slip allowed Jamie Mackie time to pick out Diakite who was inexcusably left unmarked, on the edge of the box, to guide the ball into the back of the net and give the home side the lead once more. As so often happens in such circumstances, Wenger had mirrored his side’s sluggish approach to the game by only deciding to finally replace Ramsey with Gervinho once the Gunners had fallen behind and then with only ten minutes remaining, introduced Oxlade-Chamberlain and Chamakh both of whom had been given too little time to have any real effect on the game. Ultimately, the Arsenal players were all still taking an age to pass the ball to one another, allowing QPR to get back and defend in numbers and as a result, in the last twenty minutes, they did not even create one note worthy goal scoring opportunity.
This was a performance which Wenger himself has admitted, was just not good enough. Not one single player in a red and white shirt produced a display befitting their ability. The most disappointing aspect was the fact we had all believed the team had turned a corner but the insipid displays in Milan and Sunderland in the FA Cup were once again replicated today. This defeat will surely provide Tottenham with great motivation, as they seek to overcome their recent blip and there now simply must be a positive response next week at home to Manchester City, as another defeat could spell the end for any hopes of a top three finish.
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