January 6, 2011
by dannywirth
A frustrated Sagna saw red
It was a frustrating night for Arsenal. City were playing for the draw from the first whistle which meant that for a large part of the game they had ten blue shirts behind the ball.
That said, we started very brightly. We had two or three glorious chances in the first couple of minutes; namely when Wilshere’s pass presented RVP with a tap-in, but missed the latter’s outstretched leg by a few inches. Both RVP and Fabregas also hit the post in the first half. Undoubtedly we dominated the play. City did manage to break into our half a couple of times with some good runs from Tevez and Yaya Toure. However they were handled well and did not really pose much of a threat. In the second half we continued to threaten Hart‘s goal and forced him to make a number of fine saves. We had 61% possession and 8 more shots than Mancini’s side, 13 to City’s 5 (none of which were on target for City). On another night we would have taken all three points. Lady luck was not on our side.
“We had the performance and not the result” said Wenger. In my opinion this has been the case too often this season.
I am not too sure what more the team could have done to break down a very strong City defence, but I feel that we should have put away the chances that we made.
The game ended on a rather sour note with two red cards for Zabaleta and Sagna. The former fowled the latter before our right back faced up to Zabaleta. The referee deemed this worthy of sending both of the players off. It seems that Sagna was the one who squared up to City’s defender, so I can see why our Frenchman was given his marching orders. However, I understand Mancini’s frustration about Zabaleta’s red card, which was certainly harsh.
City’s tactics could not have been more boring. They went for the draw and I have no doubt that they were happy with the result. It was a very dull display lacking any adventure. To be cautious is one thing, but City were more than cautious, they played negatively. They were more interested in stopping our play than playing themselves. They used time wasting tactics from the first whistle, with Hart taking plenty of time for each goal kick, and City players taking advantages of fouls to stay on the ground and waste more time.
On where this leaves us in the league
By no means does this rule us out of the title race. Mathematically, Manchester United are in a very good position but as Chelsea have shown, nothing is set in stone in this league. Hopefully we can turn our frustration into a streak of wins. Here at Straightalkingooners, we said at the start of the Christmas period that if we managed 8 points from our 4 games, that would be good. We did just that and so I feel we are on track to continue our title challenge.
Player ratings
Fabianski – 7 A spectator for most of the game. On the rare occasion when he was required to collect a loose ball in the box, he did so with ease.
Clichy – 7.5 Largely untroubled defensively. Provided a good attacking outlet on the left but to no avail.
Djourou and Koscielny – 7 Almost nothing for them to do. Tevez and Yaya Toure did trouble them a bit but they dealt with the threats without too many problems.
Sagna – 7 A mixed night for the Frenchman. Was impressive with his control and defensive duties. Perhaps he was unlucky to receive a red for his episode with Zabaleta. He will be missed when he serves his 3 match ban.
Wilshere – 7.5 Another strong performance from Jack. His final ball was not quite there though. Wasted a glorious chance to score/set RVP with up with a tap-in in the first few minutes. Replaced by Bendtner late in the second half.
Song – 7.5 Whilst he was not required to do too much defending, when called upon, he broke up the City attacks well. Jinked his way into a scoring position in the second half only to waste his chance. Nevertheless, a solid performance from him.
Fabregas – 8 (MOTM) Very unlucky not to score. Combined well with Nasri again and was inches away from putting us 1-0 up in the first half when his shot flew past a beaten Hart only to be denied by the woodwork. Was involved in most of the attacks and on another day could have had a goal and an assist.
Nasri – 7.5 Supported the attack well and had a few moments of brilliance that opened up a resilient City back line.
RVP – 8 He is starting to look more like his former self. Like Cesc, he was very unlucky not to have a goal to his name. Two efforts are worth noting. In the first half he managed to take it past two City defenders only to be denied by the same post Fabregas was denied by. In the second half, he struck a stunning long distance shot which was heading for the top left corner of Hart’s goal. The England international made an outstanding save to deny our Dutchman.
Walcott – 7 It was a night of ‘almost there’ for Theo. Provided a good outlet to exploit City’s back line and on occasions he looked threatening. Lacked the final ball tonight. Looked upset to be taken off for Arshavin.
Substitutes
Arshavin – 6 Replaced Theo in the second half. He lost the ball three times when he tried fancy flicks. It was a frustrating night for the Russian.
Bendtner – 6 I would have chosen Chamakh ahead of Bendtner tonight. He was almost anonymous during his short time on the pitch.
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