Bolton 2-1 Arsenal (+ player ratings)

Title challenge over after loss to Bolton Wanderers.

It was inevitable that this would happen at some point. If I’m honest, I thought that our title hopes would end with a loss to Manchester United next week – not to Owen Coyle’s Bolton.

Bolton led at half-time thanks to a Daniel Sturridge header. Cesc Fabregas had several long-range efforts – one which was saved by Jaaskelainen and one which hit the post – along with chances for Walcott which were repeatedly blocked. Arsenal were mainly restricted to their usual intricate passes outside the box, which was often followed by a cross which seemed to be aimed at Bolton’s centre backs, not our strikers.

Wojeich Szczesny saved a dubious penalty at the beginning of the second half, and Robin Van Persie scored at the other end only minutes later (his 7^th in 7 consecutive away games). With the clock slowly ticking away, Wenger threw on Andrei Arshavin and Marouane Chamakh in desperation. However, the team rarely looked like scoring a second goal, and Bolton capitalised on poor defending when Tamir Cohen scored in the last minute.

Yesterday’s performance provides some of the best examples of our recent defensive frailties, as well as our profligacy in front of goal:

• Alex Song was just one of the players guilty of giving the ball away too easily.
• Marking from set pieces was pretty poor – both Bolton goals came from corners.
• Johan Djourou gave away yet another unnecessary penalty early in the second half – the 3^rd penalty we have conceded in 3 games.
• Golden chances were missed by key players, but otherwise Arsenal delivered pointless crosses into the box, which were rarely attacked by our players.

United are now clear favorites for the title. They are 6 points clear of Chelsea, 9 ahead of Arsenal. The bookies are giving odds of 66/1 against Arsenal winning the Premier League. Worth a punt?  No. Don’t waste your money. Manchester City are 8 points behind us with 2 games in hand. We have more chance of finishing 4^th.

2 wins in our last 10 games in all competitions is simply not good enough. The fact that we were unbeaten in 16 Premier League games (until yesterday) is irrelevant, because we drew eight of them. 7 points from our last 6 games (we currently sit 14^th in the form table) is not the form of a team fighting for the title, but the form of a team that looks lackluster going forward and extremely weak at the back.

Wenger is now unable to defend our recent poor performances by saying “but we are on a 17 game unbeaten run.” Although, it must be said that the media focussed on his quote about our unbeaten run following recent draws against Spurs and Liverpool, when the manager was completely open about our inability to hold a lead. Unfortunately, a manager who should go down as one of the greatest managers to ever grace English football, could instead be remembered as the manager who lead Arsenal to 6 (maybe more?) seasons without silverware.

In his post-match press conference, Wenger finally conceded that the team is unable to cope with high levels of pressure and lacks the “mental strength” required to win the league.

“If anybody is to blame it is me. I pick the team, I choose the players.

“I feel the players have had an outstanding attitude for the whole season but they are not to blame.

“Yes, it is very unsatisfactory not to win anything. It was one of the easiest run-ins we have had for a long, long time.

“We still lack maturity, experience and calm in important situations.”

Maybe it’s a good thing that we are not going into next week’s game with such high expectations. In all honestly, the match against Manchester United is almost inconsequential. Although it is still mathematically possible for us to win the league, we just have to accept that, yet again, Arsenal have fallen at the final hurdle.

Player Ratings

Szczesny 7.5 – A decent performance from our young Polish keeper. He saved a penalty and made some important saves in the first half.

Clichy 6 – Not his best performance. Clichy needs to work on his crossing, as most of the balls he pumped into the box were ineffective. It is probably a combination of his crossing and not enough players making strong runs into the box.

Djourou 5 – Djourou did not have a good game. Bad marking during set pieces and poor passing further illustrates the need for Wenger to go our and buy a top-class centre back.

Koscielny 6 – Marginally better than Djourou. Both had difficulties dealing with set pieces, but Koscielny dealt with the pressure better than his partner.

Sagna 6.5 – Good game defensively, but wasted opportunities going forward. Like Clichy, needs to work on his crosses.

Song 6 – Gave away the ball on too many occasions and did not have his usual strong influence on the game. Wenger was right to substitute him at half time.

Wilshere 7 – Made some good runs, and kept possession of the ball where others would have given it away. Jack was one of the only players who actively tried to win back the ball after he gave it away.

Fabregas 7.5 MOTM– Fabregas offered our best attacking threat. Forced into long-range shots because players were not making their usual runs into the box, he tested the keeper on several occasions.

Nasri 6 – Nowhere near the performances expected from out talented Frenchman this season. Although his runs were good, his first touch was poor and he wasted two decent opportunities.

Walcott 6.5 – Started the game brightly by making strong runs, and tested the keeper at the beginning of the game, but was not particularly effective as the game wore on.

Van Persie 7 – Scored yet another goal and improved on recent poor performances (despite still scoring against Liverpool and Spurs). However, he dropped deep far too often when we needed a player in the box, and rarely tested the keeper.

Substitutes

Chamakh 5.5 – Didn’t offer much during his half an hour on the pitch.

Arshavin 6 – Made some strong runs into the box and challenged defenders, but was unable to find anybody with his crosses.

Ramsey n/a – Didn’t have much time to influence the game.

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Bolton vs Arsenal – Match Preview

Neither Arsenal nor Bolton are in particularly strong form going into this game, with both teams looking to bounce back from disappointing results this week (in Bolton’s case a 5-0 defeat to Stoke in the FA Cup semi final). The draw against Spurs has seen Arsenal lose further ground on Manchester United, and the club has even overtaken by Chelsea. The Gunners have only won 2 of their last 10 games – the only wins coming against Leyton Orient in the FA Cup, and 2 weeks ago against Blackpool. Nevertheless, Arsenal have won 14 of the 23 games against Bolton in the Premier League, with wins in all of the last 8, so the chances of a win for Owen Coyle’s team are very slim.

Today, Manchester United extended their lead at the top of the table to 9 points. A late Hernandez goal secured yet another home victory for the Red Devils. Fergie’s team have turned Old Trafford into a fortress (winning 16 of their 17 games this season), whereas the Emirates is far from the safe haven that it has been in previous seasons. We have already lost to Newcastle, West Brom and Spurs. The good news is that we head to the Reebok Stadium with the knowledge that we have by far the best away record in the league.

Chelsea also have a superior home record this season, and Fernando Torres helped them to a victory over West Ham which moves them three points above us. Yes – I have double-checked, and Torres has scored a legitimate goal. However, £50 million still looks ridiculously stupid when you consider that Maxi Rodriguez scored a hat-trick today.

Interviewed after the Spurs game Wenger said:

“We have to get ready for the next game and fight as we do. This team has a remarkable attitude. We are on a 16-game unbeaten run [in the league], but recently we haven’t got enough points because of too many draws.”

Recent league form:

Arsenal-DDDWDD      Bolton-WDWLLW

Team News:

The chances are that there will only be one change from the team that played against Spurs. Abou Diaby is injured, so Jack Wilshere, who started on the bench on Wednesday, will probably return to the starting line-up.

I have named the team for tomorrow, and therein lies the problem. I already know the team, and Owen Coyle knows the team. The team never changes. The line-up is almost always the same and Wenger is not flexible with the formation. Occasionally Wenger is forced to make changes if we have injuries or suspensions.

Since Robin Van Persie returned from injury, Nicklas Bendtner and Marouane Chamakh haven’t had many opportunities in the starting line-up. In fact, Chamakh wasn’t even on the bench against Tottenham. Bendtner and Arshavin normally feature towards the end of the game – introduced at around 80 minutes – and have little or no effect.

 

Prediction 1-1

The team is just a bit too predictable. We aren’t anywhere near as difficult to play against this season as we have been in previous years. All it takes is a scrappy goal against our less-than-satisfactory defence and teams feel that they can get a point (or maybe more). The side has not been particularly strong in recent weeks and will be low on confidence  following the draw at White Heart Lane. Hopefully, they will go out tomorrow and prove me wrong.