Little Mozart downs Baggies

West Brom 1-2 Arsenal

 

 

Arsenal extended their recent run of fine form, with a hard earned away win at West Brom on Saturday. In similar fashion to the recent victory away to Sunderland, the Gunners once again displayed the great spirit and character possessed within the squad to dig deep and grind out a result, having been reduced to 10 men.

Arsene Wenger’s side, although not at their best, had appeared to be in complete control of proceedings, especially when the impressive Thomas Rosicky fired home early in the second half to give his side a seemingly unassailable two goal lead. From this moment on, the Gunners should have been able to see out the game with consummate ease. Yet Arsenal have a tendency for shooting themselves in the foot and forcing their supporters to live on their nerves. Saturday’s game was no different.

Despite enjoying a two goal lead, the introduction of on-loan Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku in the 63^rd minute, prompted the previously resolute and composed Arsenal defence to suddenly descend into old habits, becoming extremely nervous, leading to poor decisions and increased pressure on the Gunners goal. Per Mertesacker was the main culprit, with the German international committing a series of errors, which ultimately culminated in his sending off in the 70^th minute. Mertesacker didn’t seem to recover from a poor square pass to Kosielny which was easily seized upon by Shane Long, leaving the Frenchman with no option but to bring down the West Brom striker, earning himself a yellow card. From this moment on, the German’s composure simply appeared to have deserted him. Mertesacker is not blessed with pace and so positioning is everything to his game, but the German suddenly lost his positional awareness and began to get caught out time and time again.

This rapid loss of form was to prove costly with twenty minutes of the game still to play. James Morrison’s clipped ball over the top of the Arsenal defence found Shane Long, who had all too easily escaped the clutches of Mertesacker. As the ball flew over him, the German international turned his head to see where Long was, but did not move to towards him. This enabled the West Brom man to control the ball and get in front of Mertesacker, who in desperation lunged into a tackle he was never going to win, bringing Long down to concede a penalty and earn himself an early bath.

Morrison converted the spot kick to reduce the deficit, the ball just squirming under Fabianski’s legs, and Arsenal were set for an extremely nervous last twenty minutes. The Gunners didn’t help themselves at all during this period of the game, as they tended to drop deeper and deeper, conceding far too much territory to the home side and failing to put any pressure on the ball. Subsequently, West Brom’s players had plenty of time to get their heads up and pick out a pass as they bombarded the Arsenal penalty area with lofted balls. Although the Gunners coped with the aerial bombardment extremely well, on several occasions, they couldn’t get to the second ball and this is where the danger lay. Lukaku in particular had a golden opportunity to restore parity in the 85^th minute, the ball falling to him following a low cross which the Gunners failed to clear. Fortunately for the away side, the Belgian skewed his shot just wide of goal when he seemed destined to score.   

Another negative aspect of Arsenal defending so deep was the fact that when they did win possession, they could not hold onto the ball. With Giroud completely isolated upfront, the Gunners were constantly attempting to hit long passes up to the Frenchman, only to see him unable to win the aerial challenge and the ball quickly returning to the home side. Had the Gunners held a slightly higher defensive line, they wouldn’t have come under such intense pressure as they would have been able to meet the West Brom midfield higher up the pitch, enabling them to exert pressure on the man in possession, restricting the home side from launching constant aerial attacks on the Arsenal penalty area. In addition, upon winning possession, the Gunners would have also had more options when looking for a forward pass, enabling them to keep the ball and alleviate the pressure they were under.

Nevertheless, Arsene Wenger’s side stood firm and held on for a crucial victory, despite five minutes of injury time and the ridiculous decision by Howard Webb to add on a further minute following an injury to Olivier Giroud. While the team’s resilience in the face of adversity and under extreme pressure would have greatly pleased the manager, Thomas Rosicky’s excellent performance would have also brought a smile to Wenger’s face. With Jack Wilshere out injured, the Czech international’s return to full-fitness and fine form is extremely welcome at this stage of the season. Rosicky was excellent on Saturday, playing just behind Giroud, orchestrating Arsenal’s attacking play. His great desire and hunger were evident in both of the goals he scored.

The first highlighted the importance of having midfielders who are prepared to gamble and support the attack with runs into the box. Had Rosicky not made his way into the West Brom penalty area, Gervinho’s cross would have probably been harmless and easy to defend against. But Rosicky was in the right place at the right time to meet the cross with an instinctive header, which wrong-footed Ben Foster, to give Arsenal the lead. The Czech international’s second goal of the afternoon owed much to his never say die attitude. Having collected a low ball from Aaron Ramsey Rosicky took one touch before firing a thunderous shot on goal which Foster could only parry back into the middle of his penalty area. However Rosicky would not be foiled and instead of standing still admiring his initial shot; Arsenal’s number 7 surged forward into the box and fired the rebound into the bottom corner of the goal, his celebration indicating a passion which still burns brightly.

For most of his Arsenal career, Rosicky has been a frustrated figure, hampered by an unfortunate succession of injuries and stuck on the side-lines. But each and every time he has suffered a setback, Rosicky has simply refused to give up, recovering from his injury nightmare and ensuring his inclusion in first team affairs. The fact he has not only returned to full fitness but seems to have lost nothing of his ability at the highest level is extremely commendable. In fact, in similar fashion to last season, the man nicknamed little Mozart seems to be finding form at just the right time and with Ramsey and Gervinho doing likewise the Gunners must surely be optimistic for the end of season run-in.