Again Arsenal have begun the season as they mean to go on, but again there must be doubts about their means of maintaining a sufficiently serious challenge to win prizes at home or abroad.
The ultimately decisive win against Bolton Wanderers on Saturday was not always as straightforward as the result might suggest, for while Arsène Wenger's side offered further evidence of their readiness to toughen up against more physical opponents, his defence still needs to tighten up and stop giving away cheap goals.
On Wednesday, Arsenal start another Champions League quest when Braga visit London, having finished second in the Portuguese league. So efficient were Braga at the back, conceding 20 goals in 30 matches, that their supporters dubbed them "The Arsenal", presumably more from memory than recent first-hand experience. Arsenal fans must still wince when they recall the way Lionel Messi and Barcelona took their team apart in last season's quarter-finals.
Still, while there is Cesc Fábregas there is always a chance of glory, and on Saturday the Spaniard's performance left the Arsenal fans even more thankful for Wenger's powers of persuasion in continuing to keep the player beyond the reach of Barcelona. Fábregas set up three of Arsenal's four goals and from the start punished Bolton's readiness to push up with a series of through passes which caught Owen Coyle's team square at the back. But for some agile goalkeeping by Adam Bogdan, the 22-year-old Hungarian standing in for the suspended Jussi Jaaskelainen, Arsenal might have led 4-1 at half-time.
Wenger believes Fábregas will continue to resist the siren calls from his native Camp Nou. "I was always convinced that he loves Arsenal and that he loves to play football," he said. "When he is on the pitch he enjoys it. We play the game he loves to play, and the game turns around him as well. He grew up with this team."
Bolton were unbeaten in the league before Saturday and began to show why when, having been overrun for much of the first half while conceding just the goal forced in by Laurent Koscielny from Fábregas's pass, they drew level with a close-range header from Johan Elmander following a misplaced header by Koscielny which left Arsenal's defence, lacking the injured Thomas Vermaelen, exposed. And even though Bolton fell behind again just before the hour, Marouane Chamakh nodding in Fábregas's cross, they were still very much in the game.
They were swiftly undone, however, by what can only be described as a 30-second demonstration from Stuart Attwell on how not to referee. A clear foul on Lee Chung-yong by Alex Song on the edge of the Arsenal penalty area having been ignored, Attwell then sent off Gary Cahill for upending Chamakh in a manner that demanded a yellow card at most, compounding the misjudgment by stopping play as Andrey Arshavin was breaking clear into an empty Bolton half.
Coyle's gesticulations to the official after the game suggested he felt the match would have been better refereed by Winifred Atwell. "All of a sudden we were playing Arsenal with 10 men," he said, "and it is difficult at the best of times with 11." Against that Kevin Davies, having already received his 10th booking against Arsenal, might have gone for a dodgy challenge on Koscielny a few minutes earlier and the tackle by Paul Robinson on Abou Diaby a little later looked worse than Cahill's clumsy lunge at Chamakh yet did not even bring the Bolton left-back a booking.
Although he is often quick to condemn rough opponents, Wenger was more inclined this time to take pleasure in the way his players had dealt with Bolton's muscular approach.
"We've had two games, the one against Blackburn and today's match, from which we certainly would not have taken six points two years ago," he said. "The players can handle these situations. Bolton marked us very tight which produced a very physical game. It was a good test for our two centre-backs."
Song increased Arsenal's lead with a skilful piece of close control before scoring their 1000th league goal under Wenger. The 1001st was a space odyssey, Arsenal putting together 24 passes, the last of which saw Fábregas lob through Carlos Vela, who had just come off the bench, with Bolton's defence now looking like the one Coyle had left behind at Burnley. The win leaves Arsenal as Chelsea's closest pursuers in the Premier League for the moment, having scored 10 times in their first two home fixtures. Yet on Saturday they still looked vulnerable. Curiouser and curiouser.
Source: David Lacey, The Guardian on 13 Sep 10
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