Stalemate at the Emirates

Arsenal 0-0 Everton

Arsenal and Everton played out a goalless draw last night which could well mean the fight for a top four finish will once again go right down to the last game of the season. This was a tense encounter played with great intensity from both sides but with so much riding on the outcome ultimately ended in a stalemate. A victory for the Gunners would have virtually ended Everton’s hopes of Champions League qualification while also placing added pressure on both Tottenham and Chelsea. Yet had the visitors secured the valuable three points, they would have moved to within a point of Arsenal.

The Gunners, as has occurred so often in the big games this season, started the match in sluggish fashion, failing to pick up where they had left off against Norwich on Saturday. The home side were almost punished for their lethargy as early as the seventh minute as Seamus Coleman’s low and curved forward ball was allowed to travel right across the box by the static Arsenal defence. The pass was met by Steven Pienaar but fortunately the South African could only slice his effort over the bar.

Arsenal’s passing, especially in midfield, was often awry as the home side struggled to come to terms with Everton’s pressing game. Fellaini, Pienaar and Gibson seemed to dominate much of the early exchanges, with strong and robust challenges flying in time and time again. In fact Darren Gibson could consider himself extremely fortunate not to have been dismissed during the first half following two cynical body checks on Theo Walcott. Such a decision would have surely transformed the outcome of this match, but the referee, having already booked Gibson, was not strong enough to make such a call, a decision which was further confounded when Pienaar received a yellow card moments later for an identical foul. Surely David Moyes’ appearance on Saturday night’s Match of the Day, in which he lambasted the officials for awarding Arsenal the penalty against Norwich, which helped change the outcome of that match, had nothing to do with Neil Swarbrick’s inept performance last night?  

With Wilshere and Cazorla suffering the effects of Everton’s rough house tactics, Arsenal could have easily been overcome and simply surrendered all three points. At times such as these the Gunners lack of a dominant physical presence in central midfield, in the mould of Fellaini, is really brought to the fore. Come the end of the season, Arsene Wenger may well regret not signing an adequate replacement for Alex Song in either the summer or January transfer window and effectively gambling on the injury prone Diaby lasting an entire season. Yet last night the home side dug deep and as the first half wore on, began to come to terms with the aggressive nature of the game and started to grow into the match.

Although it did take until the 24^th minute for Arsenal to register their first shot on goal, which Kieran Gibbs blazed over the bar, following Fellaini’s poor attempted clearance; this was a game of few clear cut chances with both defences largely winning their personal duels. It was much to their credit that the Gunners did not become frustrated and continued to play their own game. In fact despite Everton’s positive start to the game, it was Wenger’s men who created the best chance of the first half. Aaron Ramsey’s excellent low cross was met by Olivier Giroud, who slid onto the ball, but with Tim Howard rushing off his line applying pressure on the Arsenal striker’s finish, the Frenchman could only divert his effort wide of the goal.

This was not Giroud’s best game in an Arsenal shirt, as he was constantly outmuscled and outfought in the aerial battles and struggled to exert his presence on the game. The former Montpellier striker was not able to hold the ball up or link the play well with his teammates and it was somewhat surprising to see him complete the full 90 minutes. Lukas Podolski has apparently been deployed up front during recent training sessions and Wenger could have moved the German into this position during last night’s game. While Podolski does not have the same physical presence as Giroud, he is more mobile than the Frenchman, makes better runs in and around the penalty area and has a powerful, clinical finish when presented with an opportunity.  

Unfortunately Giroud just does not make the runs expected of a striker. One incident during the second half yesterday, highlighted this perfectly. As Kieran Gibbs raced into the Everton penalty area and towards the by-line, the young Englishman played the ball back towards the edge of the six yard box where he was expecting his striker to be. Yet Giroud was still standing on the edge of the penalty area, looking on and seemingly caught on his heels. Surely a ruthless goal scorer would have burst forward, in an attempt to get on the end of Gibbs’ cut back? Giroud just seems to lack the movement and pure ruthlessness associated with the game’s top strikers and last night missed the best chance of the match as a result. As the Gunners hit Everton on the counter attack, following a blocked Leighton Baines free kick, Cazorla surged forward, before feeding Oxlade-Chamberlain, whose low cross left Giroud with the goal at his mercy. Yet rather than putting his foot through the ball, the Frenchman was denied by an excellent last ditch tackle from Coleman, which the Everton defender really should not have been allowed to make.

At the end of the game, Arsenal could reflect on an opportunity missed. From the moment Santi Cazorla had been moved from the left flank and into the middle of the park, the Gunners had dominated the second half and created enough chances to have won the game, but just could not apply the finishing touch. While deploying Cazorla on the wing is understandable, as in theory he should have more space out wide in which to weave his magic, than in the often congested midfield, the Spaniard always appears more effective when at the heart of the Arsenal attack. Cazorla is at his best when he is pulling the strings, zipping passes across the pitch and seeking to unlock the opposition’s defence with a delightful through ball. With Walcott, Gervinho, Oxlade-Chamberlain and even Podolski all available and better suited to playing on the wing than Cazorla, it is difficult to understand why Wenger continues to select the Spaniard in this position.

With the game ending in frustrating stalemate, several pundits were quick to point out that last night’s result handed the initiative back to Tottenham and Chelsea. However Wenger chose to stress the fact that with tough fixtures remaining for all three teams, they will all drop points during the end of season run-in. Therefore, rather than being pessimistic, Gunners fans should consider that last night’s point takes Arsenal a step closer to securing a top four finish whilst also keeping Everton at bay. Wenger’s side must now focus all their efforts on trying to win their remaining games as we all prepare ourselves for an extremely tense finish to the season.