QPR 0-1 Arsenal
In similar fashion to their last Premier League match at
home to Manchester United, Arsenal got off to another perfect start against
Queens Park Rangers on Saturday, thanks to Theo Walcott’s strike after only 20
seconds.
Straight from the kick off, Armand Traore misjudged a header
back, gifting the Gunners possession on the edge of the penalty area. The ball
was played out wide to Thomas Rosicky who crossed the ball back to Podolski.
The German headed down to Mikel Arteta and the Spaniard’s deft through ball was
perfectly weighted for Walcott who, as against Manchester United made no
mistake with the finish, firing low and hard past Robert Green. From this point on the Gunners would have been
expected to dominate proceedings against a turgid QPR side whose relegation had
been sealed the previous weekend. Yet Arsenal just did not push on, even though
it was clear the home side just weren’t interested, particularly in the first
half.
With Harry Redknapp deploying four midfielders against
Arsenal’s five, the Gunners were able to dominate the battle in the middle of
the park and easily reach the final third. However, once there, Arsene Wenger’s
side lacked the creativity required to open up the QPR defence and as a result,
despite dominating possession, Arsenal did not create enough goal scoring
opportunities. Podolski, playing in the lone striker role was once again
largely anonymous and struggled to get into the game and therefore the Gunners
had no real presence up front. It is strange that a team containing the creative talents of Cazorla, Rosicky and Arteta have struggled so much recently to open up opposition defences. It was Theo Walcott who had the best chance to double his
and the Gunners tally after 24 minutes when he swivelled and fired on goal,
only to see his effort bounce back off the post.
QPR also offered little in attack, their main threat coming
from Andros Townsend, who gave Nacho Monreal a torrid time. Although the
Spanish left back must be given time to settle in and adjust to the rigours of
the Premier League, the jury is still out on the man signed from Malaga in
January. Monreal simply had no answer to the direct runs of Townsend on
Saturday and ended up receiving a yellow card for a desperate pull back on the on-loan
Tottenham man. At this stage, a fully fit Kieran Gibbs must surely be Wenger’s
first choice at left back.
The second half continued in the same vein. Arsenal
struggled to create anything of any note, only mustering a couple of shots from
distance which were fired straight at Robert Green. Meanwhile, although QPR did
improve slightly from their dismal showing in the first period, they could only
create one significant opportunity, with Loic Remy forcing Szczesny into a
world class save to maintain the Gunners slender lead.
In the end, Wenger was happy to leave Loftus Road with
another three points in the quest for a top four finish. This is a battle which
may well go down to the final game of the season and with Chelsea winning at
Old Trafford yesterday, it is a battle which is now out of Arsenal’s hands. The
worst possible result this coming Wednesday is for Tottenham to beat Chelsea,
any other result will see the momentum switch back to the Gunners. However, either
way, Arsenal must improve their level of performance. During the last few games
Wenger’s side have produced displays which have been distinctly below par, yet
they have still managed to secure positive results. Much of this has been down
to the improvements in defence but it also owes a lot to lady luck. If the
Gunners do not perform better in their last two games of the season, this luck
may soon just run out.
No comments:
Post a Comment