Arsenal and Chelsea played out a
drab 0-0 draw on Saturday, with only the home side creating the few note-worthy
chances as the visitors replicated their mid-week performance against
Barcelona, by defending deep and in numbers, in the hope of catching the Gunners
on the break. Although Roberto di Matteo did make eight changes to the team
that had defeated Barcelona, it was a surprise to see Chelsea employ such
tactics, given that victory would have propelled them right back into the fight
for third place. Despite the negative tactics, it was still extremely
disappointing for the Gunners faithful, to witness their team unable to break
the deadlock against a side which had rested so many of their first team
regulars.
Many would have expected to see a
great reaction from the Gunners following their poor display in the defeat to
Wigan, as had happened against Manchester City following defeat to QPR. However
for most of the first half, they did not impose themselves on the game, as they
did not place any pressure on the Chelsea defence when they had possession. The
Arsenal players instead stood off them, allowing the visitor’s back line time
and space to pass the ball among themselves and effectively slow the game down.
Whenever the Gunners did have possession they struggled to create anything of
note, greatly missing the injured Arteta, as they lacked the vision and speed
of thought to play the right pass at the right time to dissect the Chelsea
defence. Aaron Ramsey, who many observers have indicated, looks jaded,
continually passed the ball square or back to the defence, negating any
potential momentum and allowing Chelsea to get back in numbers and defend. On
one of the few occasions he did play the ball forward, in the second half, his
perfectly placed cross field ball landed perfectly for Van Persie’s lethal left
foot, but the Dutchman did not catch it as he would have wished and sliced his
shot harmlessly wide.
This miss epitomised the
captain’s day as Arsenal’s best chances seemed to all fall to him, only for Van
Persie to miss each and every one. In the first half in particular, Walcott’s
inviting cross from a free kick, saw the Dutchman arrive unmarked at the far
post. It seemed all he had to do to give the Gunners the lead, was make contact
with the ball, but his effort somehow managed to hit the outside of the post.
Towards the end of the first half, Alex Song chipped a ball into the path of
Van Persie, whose movement away from the Chelsea defence was magnificent. The
Dutchman controlled the ball on his chest, but could only fire his shot
straight at Cech. In the second half, Song’s wonderful
arched forward ball, took John Terry out of the game and found Van Persie
bearing down on goal, but for some strange reason, the Dutchman, usually so
calm in front of goal, seemed to panic and rushed his effort when he had time
to take a more measured approach. His rushed shot did not even force Cech into
a save as it sailed harmlessly and disappointingly wide. Before the end of the
game, Arsenal’s talisman for so much of the season would squander another
golden opportunity. This time played in by Gervinho on the left hand side of
the box, Van Persie feigned to shoot and turned inside Jose Bosingwa. With the
goal at his mercy the Emirates crowd were expecting him to shoot, but he
instead turned back onto his left foot, subsequently narrowing the angle and
allowing Cech to make the save. Maybe it
is a sign that Arsenal rely far too much on their captain to provide the goals,
as with the Dutchman seemingly off-form, it is hard to see where the goals will
come from. Theo Walcott, who had yet another quiet game, is now injured for the
rest of the season while Ramsey has not been able to chip in with his fair
share of goals this season despite numerous opportunities. Then there is the
fact that Arsenal do not have any back up options for Van Persie, as we all
know Chamakh and Park no longer have the confidence of the manager, to produce
at this level.
Ultimately, Arsenal’s best chance
of the game fell to a central defender. Before the end of the first half, Van
Persie’s wonderfully lofted free kick found Koscielny in acres of space in the
box. The French international probably had time to bring the ball down and fire
home, but he elected to attempt a looped header over Cech. With the Chelsea
goalkeeper rooted to the spot, it seemed the ball would sail over him and into
the goal, but unfortunately, it hit the crossbar instead. At the final whistle, the Arsenal players were
clearly disappointed and frustrated, as Chelsea had shown no ambition and had
been there for the taking. If only the home side and pilled on more pressure
then maybe the away side’s stubborn defence would have been breached.
As it is, with Tottenham losing
to Queen’s Park Rangers, Arsenal are six points ahead of their North London
rivals, although Spurs do have a game in hand. Newcastle are now only three
points behind the Gunners, also with a game in hand, although they still have
to face Manchester City and Chelsea before the end of the season. The Gunners
cannot look for the other teams to drop points in the race for fourth place as
there are far too many permutations. All Arsenal can do is regroup and try to
win their remaining fixtures which will not be an easy task by any stretch of
the imagination, unlike at the end of Saturday’s game, come the end of the
season the Gunners must not have any regrets.
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