Gunners move five clear of Spurs

Wolves 0-3 Arsenal

Arsenal yesterday moved five points clear of Tottenham in the race for third place with a comfortable 3-0 victory away to relegation threatened Wolves.  Following Spurs’ defeat to Norwich on Monday, it was imperative for Arsenal to start the game well and take full advantage of their North London rival’s slip up and the game was effectively over as early as the eleventh minute as the Gunners raced into a two goal lead, while Sebastien Bassong was dismissed for his clumsy tackle on Theo Walcott.

Yossi Benayoun was rewarded for his excellent performance against Manchester City as he retained his place in the starting line-up, while Aaron Ramsey replaced Rosicky, who was rested. Wenger was also forced into making changes to the defence which has served the team so well in recent weeks as Koscielny’s suspension for receiving his tenth yellow card of the season, saw Djourou return to first team action and at left back, Andre Santos replaced Kieran Gibbs, following the young Englishman’s groin injury. Although this would be a very comfortable night for the Gunners, the defence did not appear as solid as it has lately, with Santos in particular, prone to defensive lapses.

However with only nine minutes of the match played, Arsenal were already one goal ahead and Wolves down to ten men. Fantastic interplay between Van Persie and Walcott saw the Dutchman loft the ball over the Wolves backline and into the path of the Englishman, who was then brought down by Bassong, just as he was about to soot. The referee had no option but to award a penalty and as the man on loan from Tottenham was the last defender and had denied a clear goal scoring opportunity, he had to be shown a red card. Up stepped Robin Van Persie to despatch a cheeky penalty past Wayne Hennessey, delicately dinking the ball over the Welsh international to give Arsenal the lead. The Gunners did not rest on their laurels at this point and within two minutes doubled their advantage. Van Persie and Walcott were again the main protagonists in the move, Walcott laying the ball off to the Dutchman, before timing his forward run perfectly to receive Van Persie’s return pass and calmly guide the ball past Hennessey.

At this point it appeared the Gunners would really go for the jugular and look to significantly increase their goal difference advantage over their rivals for third place. However they instead decided to take their foot off the pedal and began to pass the ball amongst themselves, often at walking pace. As a result of the sending off Wolves had decided to sit very deep, with two banks of four in an attempt to stifle Arsenal’s attacking play, but the Gunners did not really attempt to breach the Wolves defence, clearly believing the game had already been won at this early stage. This was in fact a very risky approach to take, as Arsenal became sloppy in their play, especially in midfield with a succession of stray passes giving the home side hope they could latch onto a mistake and get themselves back in the game. Wolves could well have reduced the deficit through Christophe Berra’s header which hit Djourou and was deflected narrowly wide, before Ronald Zubar’s excellent forward run and dangerous low ball across the face of goal.

Although Arsenal did strive to create more opportunities in the second half, as Ramsey took too long to shoot when sent clear through on goal and Vermaelen was denied a free header by Zubar, before Van Persie inexplicably fired wide when set up by Arteta;  at 2-0 Wolves were still in the game. On the hour mark, Matt Jarvis found space on the left and his cross to the far post found Doyle, who had easily escaped his marker. The Irishman’s header, back across goal, seemed destined for the back of the net, only for Szczesny to pull off an excellent save. With Wolves pressing forward in search of a way back into the game, Arsenal finally killed off any hopes of a remarkable comeback. Van Persie lost the ball, but then showed great desire to win it back, before releasing it to Song on the edge of the box. The Cameroonian international, who has set up so many goals this season, laid the ball back to Benayoun who shot low and hard into the bottom corner for Arsenal’s third. I would like to see Benayoun offered a permanent deal in the summer as he provides the team with another option in midfield with his ability to play out wide and also cut inside to help out in the centre of the park. He also has an eye for goal and his great experience at this level must be extremely beneficial in the dressing room.

With Arsenal now enjoying a three goal advantage, many would have expected Wenger to rest Van Persie and replace him with the likes of Park or Chamakh, both of whom were on the bench. This would have been the perfect opportunity to introduce the two strikers, with the game won and absolutely no pressure whatsoever, they may well have scored a goal, increasing their confidence should the time come when they are called upon in the last few weeks of the season. The fact Wenger declined this opportunity I believe tells us all we need to know about the manger’s opinion of both players and their respective future at the club.

As Tottenham are involved in the FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea this weekend, Arsenal will have the chance to further increase their lead over their North London rivals to eight points when the Gunners host Wigan on Monday. Following their great win against Manchester United, Wigan will definitely prove to be very tough encounter and Arsenal must be at their very best if they are to press home their advantage and further increase the pressure on Spurs.