Aston Villa outmanoeuvred as Arsenal hit their peak

Arsenal stayed at the top of the Premier League on Saturday long enough to admire the view but with no time to set up camp. Their main satisfaction lay in proving that they could, after all, hold a two-goal lead at half-time and win by a similar margin in spite of doubts about their ability to do so after Tottenham Hotspur had come from 2-0 down to win 3-2 at the Emirates a week earlier.

True, it did look like Groundhog Day for Arsène Wenger's team when Aston Villa, outmanoeuvred and outwitted in the first half, got a goal back at roughly the same time early in the second half that Spurs had begun their comeback. But the feeling only lasted for the four minutes it took Arsenal to score a third goal and even after Villa's second, 20 minutes from the end, Wenger's players retained their composure and completed a 4-2 victory in stoppage time.

"At half-time you could feel among the players that what happened last week had had an impact in their heads," said Wenger. "When Villa came back to 2-1 it was an interesting test for my team. We could have crumbled or we could score again – and we did the latter. We got a good mental response. This team is very interesting because they are on the same wavelength the way they want to play. But they also fight for each other."

"Very interesting ..." Wenger is starting to sound like the joke German spy who kept cropping up on Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In. In fact the principal point of interest of the performance at Villa Park was that Arsenal played some of their best football of the season so far without Cesc Fábregas, who continues to be hampered by a hamstring problem that could keep him out until after Christmas.

With Fábregas there is no question of replacing like with like but in terms of influencing a match Samir Nasri is proving a highly acceptable alternative. Whereas Fabregas is a master strategist, Nasri is an inspired improviser, more inclined to play it off the walls and sometimes literally so as he exchanges quick wall passes in the crowded areas near goal. With Andrey Arshavin full of pace and penetration and Marouane Chamakh showing the swift reflexes and close control that bode ill for the future of Nicklas Bendtner at the Emirates, especially when Robin van Persie is playing regularly again, Arsenal could and should have won by more.

Villa have now won only once in nine Premier League games and Saturday showed why. After a poor first half, when they stood off Arsenal and were punished for it, they made a better fist of things in the second but in the end were left to rue a long casualty list that has left Gérard Houllier short of fit bodies. John Carew's strength in the air badly needed to be complemented by another experienced striker, although Ciaran Clark took his two goals smartly enough and might have had a hat-trick.

The only surprising thing about Arsenal's opening goal was that it took them 39 minutes to score it, Arshavin seizing on a cock‑up between Luke Young and James Collins to cut in from the left and squeeze a shot past Brad Friedel. The Villa goalkeeper made the save of the game at the end of the half, turning Chamakh's sharp downward header behind, only to be beaten by the goal of the game when Nasri met Arshavin's corner with a superb volley inside the near post. Chamakh answered Clark's first reply for Villa after being sent through by Tomas Rosicky and Jack Wilshere's diving header provided the final word, following his second, from Chamakh's carefully aimed ball to the far post.

"It's just a shame that when the score got to 2-1 we couldn't keep it like that for 10 minutes because after what happened to Arsenal last week they would have been shaky," said Houllier. "Overall we were beaten by a better team than ourselves – simple as that." For Arsenal things are never that simple.

Source: David Lacey, The Guardian on 29 Nov 10

Win at Villa Steadies the Ship

Arsenal bounced back from their defeats against Spurs and Braga to claim a vital away victory at Villa Park yesterday. It was a match that they largely dominated and yet they still seemed to make hard work of dispatching a very average-looking Aston Villa side.

It seems a little ridiculous that the Gunners had to score four goals to truly put this match to bed when, again, leading 2-0 at the break, the game should have been shut down in the second half with Villa never getting anywhere near any sort of result.

The problem seems to be that this Arsenal’s idea of “shutting a game down” is to slow the tempo of their play and make their passing movements even more elaborate and lacking in any real purpose. This doesn’t work as a tactic as the team loses its momentum and possession is given away as the endless passages of passing dry up.

This was perfectly exemplified when, having conceded an early goal in the second half, Marouane Chamakh quickly restored the two-goal cushion. At this point, everything slowed down and Villa were allowed back into a match that they had no right to take anything from. Though the Ciaran Clark’s first goal should have been ruled out for offside against John Carew, his second saw him given plenty of time by the Arsenal defence to pick his spot.

Last week, I complained that they played too high up the pitch against Spurs in the second half and invited their visitors to hit them on the break. Against Villa, they tried to be more conservative but it seems they don’t really know how to contain opponents and strangle the life out of games. They got away with it at Everton, Wolves and yesterday at Villa but when they come up against better sides – and it begrudges me to say that Spurs are one of those – this factor is going to be a recurring problem.

The remainder of the match saw Villa give the Arsenal fans a few heart-attack moments and it was only when Jack Wilshere’s diving header hit the net in stoppage time that the victory could genuinely be celebrated.

The result and three points aside, Wilshere’s individual display was one of the real highlights of yesterday’s performance. In the absence of Cesc Fabregas, he took the role of anchoring the midfield completely in his stride. His passing was crisp and accurate and he rarely seems to put a foot wrong. He shows a confidence far beyond his years. It really is quite incredible considering his youth and lack of experience.

His goal - the first he has scored in the Premier League - was a perfect and deserved finale to a thoroughly accomplished performance and, hopefully, it will fire him with more confidence to chance his arm going forward a little more in future.

Elsewhere, Marouane Chamakh and Samir Nasri once again turned in good displays. These two are emerging as some of the most reliable performers in the squad this season. It was good to see Andrey Arshavin get on the scoresheet too but he still resides in the category of promising much but delivering not enough.

So, even with its flaws, the win at Villa was a tonic after the recent defeats and will hopefully help get the team back on track. It was a definite boost ahead of Tuesday’s Carling Cup quarter-final against Wigan. Many see this tournament as the Gunners’ most obvious route to silverware this season and a home draw in the quarter-finals is most welcome after having to negotiate trips to Spurs and Newcastle in the earlier rounds.

Much will depend on the strength of the team that Arsene Wenger decides to field. However, the manager has not held back in this competition this year and it seems unlikely that he will change tack now with a semi-final at stake. Though he will probably ring the changes from Saturday’s starting line-up, one can’t imagine him digging too far into the youth squad for this game.

Source: David Young, ESPN Soccernet on 29 Nov 10

Jack Wilshere off the mark to secure victory for nervy Arsenal

It is the time of year for giving, but Arsenal's generosity knows no bounds. For the second time in eight days Arsène Wenger's side conspired to make a two‑goal lead at half-time look like the most vulnerable position to be in. This time there was to be no repeat of the humiliating collapse against Tottenham Hotspur, yet it was still impossible to ignore the defensive shortcomings that allowed Aston Villa back into a match that should have been well beyond them.

Coasting thanks to first-half goals from Andrey Arshavin and Samir Nasri, Arsenal were forced to endure a nervous finale after Ciaran Clark struck either side of Marouane Chamakh's 10th goal of the season to give Aston Villa supporters hope of producing the most unlikely of comebacks. Arsenal ultimately prevailed as Jack Wilshere registered his first Premier League goal for the club with a close-range header in injury time, but it was ridiculous that the visitors were forced to wait until the closing seconds to kill off the game.

Wenger could be forgiven for wondering whether his players take some sort of pleasure from seeing him looking like a tortured soul on the touchline. Arsenal had 18 shots on goal and were so dominant in the first half that the match resembled one of those training sessions in which the defenders have to keep giving the ball back to the attackers to encourage them to have another go at breaking them down. Villa departed to boos and the suspicion was that this could turn into a rout.

Yet instead of continuing in the same vein in the second half, Arsenal emerged seemingly weighed down by events at the Emirates Stadium last Saturday, when Tottenham triumphed 3-2 after trailing 2-0. Villa, looking much more purposeful without the hugely disappointing Robert Pires – who was withdrawn at the interval and, on this evidence, would have been better off retiring when he failed to find a club in the summer – pulled a goal back through Clark's left-footed volley as the Arsenal defence unwisely chose to retreat rather than close the midfielder down.

Gérard Houllier, the Villa manager, reflected how interesting the game would have been had the scoreline remained at 2-1 for a period, but, within four minutes, Arsenal scored again. Chamakh, who had earlier drawn a brilliant point-blank save from Brad Friedel with a towering header, toe-poked Tomas Rosicky's slide-rule pass beyond the Villa keeper.

Clark pegged Arsenal back again in the 70th minute, when he nodded the ball in off the underside of the bar, but Wilshere's diving header – from Chamakh's unselfish centre – allowed Wenger to breathe more easily. "You do not always lose when you dominate the game," Wenger, casting his mind back to the Tottenham fixture, said. "We were very dominant in the first half. The only regret you have at that stage is that you do not score enough goals. And then, at 2-0 at half-time, you feel among the players that what happened last week had an impact in their heads. When Villa came back to 2-1 it was an interesting test for my team. We could have crumbled or scored again, and we scored again."

With Cesc Fábregas missing because of injury, the onus was on Arsenal's more experienced players to deliver and Arshavin answered the call. The Russian has flattered to deceive on too many occasions, but he shimmered with menace here. It was Arshavin's goal – drilled low into the bottom corner after Luke Young and James Collins challenged for the same ball – that put Arsenal in front and he also created their second with a perfectly weighted corner that Nasri volleyed inside Friedel's near post just before half-time.

Villa's second-half revival enabled them to recover some self-respect, but these are worrying times for a club that has spent the past three seasons ensconced in the top six. Houllier has a dreadful injury list, but he refused to cite that as an excuse for their anaemic first-half performance. "We never got started," the Villa manager said. "In the second half it was a different team. We showed more energy, took more risks and were more daring in what we wanted to achieve. But we have to be honest – we were beaten by the better team."

Source: Stuart James, The Guardian on 27 Nov 10

Arsenal paper over the cracks

Thrilling, kamikaze football is all part of the Arsenal make-up, but it may just be camouflaging the inherent failings that will stunt their title ambitions all over again.

In a week when Arsene Wenger's men had lost two games that they could and should have won with plenty to spare, nothing less than a victory would have done against a Villa side whose current plight was highlighted by the presence of a 37-year-old Robert Pires making his return to the Premier League against his former employer.

It was always asking a little too much of the former great to spark into life straight away and so it proved as Pires looked a long way off the pace of this league before he was substituted by Villa boss Gerard Houllier at half-time.

By then, Arsenal had already established what they now consider to be a perilous 2-0 advantage, with their doubts implanted after Tottenham responded to a similarly grim position to secure a famous 3-2 win at Emirates Stadium last weekend.

In truth, Arsenal could have been five or six goals ahead by half-time in this game as the brilliantly taken goals from Andrei Arshavin and Samir Nasri were nearly complemented by efforts from Marouane Chamakh and Tomas Rosicky, with the gulf in class between the two sides somewhat alarming from a Villa perspective.

You don't have to dip back too long into the memory banks to recall the days when Villa were competing in cup finals and winning at venues as illustrious as Old Trafford and Arsenal's Emirates Stadium, yet the Holt End fans who were frustrated by the progress made during the Martin O'Neill era must now be pining for such glories.

Even though Villa are troubled by injury woes, Houllier's 4-5-1 formation was the more negative version of the formation and it left John Carew isolated up front while his ten team-mates did little more than defend for their lives.

Inviting Arsenal to attack them at will, it was only a matter of time before the Villa defence was breached and, while it took Arsenal 39 minutes to make their dominance pay, the two-goal buffer they had at the break meant Villa's hopes in this game should have been forlorn.

However, if the first half exposed the gaping holes in Villa's game-plan right now, the second period was an example of why Arsenal are unlikely to challenge for anything other than the honour of being the side who complete the most passes over the course of a Premier League season.

Most top teams would consider a two-goal lead after almost 45 minutes of total dominance to be a decent platform to push for a victory, yet the Arsenal alarm bells started chiming all over again when Ciaran Clark blasted a fine response for Villa six minutes into the second half.

Houllier's decision to replace the ineffective Pires with striker Nathan Delfouneso gave Villa more of an attacking threat and the rising noise levels around Villa Park confirmed that the home fans sensed Arsenal's mental fragility may see them crack for a second week running.

That optimism should have been shattered when Chamakh restored Arsenal's two-goal advantage after 56 minutes, but it seems as if no game is ever won for Wenger's side and the old tensions returned as Clark pulled Villa close again after some typically shoddy defending from the visitors.

With Richard Dunne re-employed as an emergency centre-forward for the final ten minutes, Arsenal's nerves were jangling until Jack Wilshere scored their fourth in injury time. "To lose a 2-0 lead once again would have been very damaging, so hopefully we have put it behind us now," a relieved Wenger said.

"Unfortunately, we had a little of the syndrome in our minds that we were vulnerable after scoring twice in this game and it stems back to the Tottenham game. Thankfully, we found the resources to keep scoring goals, so the result was positive this time and this win shows that we are not doing too much wrong at Arsenal this season."

Houllier offered little defence of his side's lamentable first-half offering as he tried to find some solace in their response after the break. "They were a bit scared at 3-2, but the overall picture has to be that Arsenal are better than us," he said.

"Being hit by so many absentees made this a tough day for us and this seems to be the way week after week at the moment. People ask me about signings in January, but I'm more interested in trying to get back some of the important players who are not available for us at the moment. That's my priority."

Even though a handful of Arsenal fans were chanting Wenger's name during the second half, it was hardly a unanimous vote of confidence in a manager and a team who had made what could have been a comprehensive victory more complicated than it needed to be.

"We always let our opponents score to easily and that makes things too difficult for us," goal-scorer Arshavin said after the game, and it was hard to argue with the Russian. His honesty may be just what Arsenal need to hear at a time when their manager seems content to hide behind his side's lofty position in the league table.

The declining standards in this season's Premier League may well offer this unconvincing Arsenal side a chance to challenge for the title, but you cannot help but feel another shock defeat is just around the corner for them.

Brilliant and frustrating in equal measure, the time will tell whether the critics of this team or their belligerent manager have accurately summed up Arsenal's latest title challenge.

MAN OF THE MATCH: Samir Nasri
His goal was a touch of real class and his link-up play was also impressive. In what has been an inconsistent season for Arsenal, this Frenchman has maintained a high level week after week.

PIRES WATCH
It was hardly surprising that this Arsenal legend looked off the pace on his return to the Premier League and the jury is out over whether he can still cut it at the highest level at the age of 37. He only lasted 45 minutes of this game and though he rolled back the years with one pacy, penetrative run, it was his only contribution of note.

ASTON VILLA VERDICT
Houllier is quick to point out that his side are depleted by injuries, but the negative tactical plan he put in place for the first half was doomed to failure. He should start with two strikers in home games, with the introduction of Delfouneso so nearly reviving Villa.

ARSENAL VERDICT
Maybe it's impossible to play the open, inventive football Wenger promotes and still have a solidity that is the hallmark of a championship-winning side, but Arsenal only appear to have one of the qualities required to clinch a title right now. Brilliant going forward, Arsenal look desperately exposed when pressure is applied at the other end.

Source: Kevin Palmer, ESPN Soccernet on 27 Nov 10

Gunners hold their nerve

Arsenal survived a second-half onslaught from Aston Villa to regain - at least temporarily - the leadership of the Barclays Premier League.

The Gunners looked to be cruising to victory after dominating the opening 45 minutes and netting through Andrey Arshavin and Samir Nasri.

But Villa were transformed in the second period and Ciaran Clark struck twice either side of Marouane Chamakh's 10th goal of the campaign before Jack Wilshere's injury-time clincher.

It enabled Arsene Wenger's side to end an unhappy week on a high note after the derby defeat by Tottenham and the Champions League setback away to Braga.

Arsenal played some superb flowing football with Arshavin and Nasri a constant threat.

But their soft under belly, which had seen them throw away a two-goal lead against Spurs, was almost exposed again.

Ashley Young posed more of a threat in the second period while Clark showed his potential.

Arsenal were almost gifted the lead in the opening 30 seconds after sloppy play by Stephen Warnock.

He played the ball straight into the path of Arshavin who released Chamakh inside the box.

Villa keeper Brad Friedel partially blocked the shot but it needed James Collins to make a goal-line clearance.

The Gunners were first to settle and Tomas Rosicky squandered a clearcut opening.

Nasri was the creator with a perfectly weighted pass to leave Rosicky with only Friedel to beat but he drilled his shot across the face of goal.

The Villa midfield was being by-passed by the quality passing and movement of Wenger's side.

Arsenal continued to dominate and Friedel saved from Rosicky away to his right although he did not make full contact on his shot.

Villa were being pulled apart almost at will and Arshavin had a shot deflected for a corner after exchanging passes with Chamakh.

Nasri dragged a shot just past the post as the home side hung on desperately.

It was 26 minutes before Villa created a worthwhile chance - and Ashley Young should have given them the lead.

Stewart Downing's dangerous, inswinging centre found it's way to Young unmarked inside the six yard box at the post but he sent his shot over the bar.

Vill tried to get a foothold in the game and Laurent Koscielny had to be alert to cut out a dangerous cross from the overlapping Warnock after good play by Bannan.

But it was no surprise when Arshavin put the Gunners ahead after 39 minutes.

Arshavin picked the ball up on the left and cut inside and past the challenge of Richard Dunne before firing a low shot into the far corner of the net.

Nasri could have made it 2-0 a minute later when he slipped the ball wide of Friedel but drilled his effort into the side netting.

Friedel made a superb save to keep out Chamakh's header from Bacary Sagna's cross.

But a minute before half-time Nasri made it 2-0 with a superb volley direct from Arshavin 's corner.

Houllier opted for a half-time change with Nathan Delfouneso replacing Robert Pires and giving support up front to John Carew.

After 52 minutes Clark reduced the arrears with his first senior goal for the club.

Bannan's cross was only half cleared by Sebastien Squillaci to Clark on the edge of the box and his left-footed drive flew past Lukasz Fabianski into the roof of the net.

Villa were transformed after their ineffective first half performance but in the 56th minute Chamakh restored Arsenal's two goal advantage.

Rosicky played the ball into the path of the striker who managed to flick the ball under Friedel's body.

Houllier brought on Stephen Ireland for Carew after 66 minutes.

Clark had a golden chance to net a second goal but screwed his shot wide from 10 yards out.

But after 71 minutes the youngster did strike again.

Ashley Young's corner was flicked on by Dunne and Clark forced the ball over the line.

Chamakh was yellow carded for a challenge on Dunne. Friedel denied Chamakh on the edge of the box after being freed by Arshavin.

But the Gunners looked nervy when Villa ventured forward in a tense finish.

Wilshere made it 4-2 from Chamakh's cross in injury-time.

Midfielder Jack Wilshere admitted Arsenal were relieved to run out 4-2 winners at Aston Villa after they had let arch rivals Tottenham come back to win last weekend.

Wilshere told Sky Sports 2: ''I think there's always going to be that (uncertainty) especially after last week. It was a good ball from Chamakh and I'm happy to get my first goal.''

Wilshere praised the way his team-mates had applied themselves this season. He said: ''I think it's down to hard work.''

Arsenal boss Wenger was satisfied to see his side go top, temporarily or otherwise.

''It's a good weekend because we can relax now a bit and look at the other results,'' he said. ''You can only do your job and that's what we did today. It was a strong performance against a Villa side that's dangerous.''

Wenger admitted he was slightly concerned after leading 2-0 at the break and conceding, just a week after being stung by a Tottenham comeback.

''With 2-0 at half-time it happened again, it was quickly back to 2-1, but this time we managed to find the resources to keep scoring goals. At the end of the day overall it was a good game and a good performance from us.''

Villa manager Gerard Houllier admitted his side were always playing catch up after a poor first half performance.

He said: ''We were poor in the first half. Whether it was because we showed them too much respect, or lacked experience, I don't know. We never got started. We were a different team in the second half, showed more energy and took more risks.

''It's just a shame that when we got to 2-1 that we couldn't keep the score like that for 10 minutes because, after what happened to Arsenal last week, they would have been shaky.

''Their third goal was the pivotal moment of the game but overall we were beaten by a better team than ourselves, simple as that. The best thing to do as a team is to learn from that and the good thing is we did get a positive reaction in the second half.''

Source: ESPN Soccernet on 27 Nov 10

Wenger's reaction to the Aston Villa 2-4 Arsenal match

On a good win to end a disappointing week…
I believe we had three good performances and for me against Tottenham we played well. We had a lot of possession in a difficult game in Braga and we responded well today. Overall you focus on the performance – you do not always lose when you dominate games and that’s what happened today. We played well, Villa had a good response in the second half but we managed to find the resources to win the game.

On whether it was a surprising that it took so long to get the first goal…
We were very dominant and the only regret you have at that stage is that you do not score enough goals. At 2-0 at half time you feel among the players that what happened last week had an impact in their head. When it came back to 2-1 it was an interesting test for my team. We could crumble or we could score again and we scored again. Villa are a good side with good strikers and a solid defence but overall I think we dominated the game.

On the mental strength shown by his team…
This team is very interesting because they are on the same wavelength in the way they want to play and [the way] they fight for each other. It’s very interesting to see and I think there is a lot more to come from this team.

On Andrey Arshavin’s performance…
He has been very sharp today I feel. I felt he was always dangerous. A good test is when you like a player to have the ball and you always like him to have the ball because you feet he could make the difference.

On whether players had to step up in the absence of Cesc Fabregas…
No, not really. I feel we want ideally Cesc to be there but I was confident before the game. We have a way we want to play football. Of course Cesc has his special talent but I still feel that no matter who plays we can have good team play.

On going top of the Premier League…
That’s the modern world of football, it changes quickly. What you do is focus on the quality of what you want to do and let people judge. I feel we played very well against Tottenham and they created less chances than Villa did today but we lost the game.

On Arsenal’s poor home form…
I don’t believe we have [a problem]. I prefer to have the problem this way around than the other way around. At home at some stage you will get things right. There is no fear from the players. Maybe we want a bit more urgency at home and feel at the start a bit too confident.

Source: Arsenal.com on 27 Nov 10

27 November 2010: Aston Villa 2-4 Arsenal, Villa Park

Arsenal went top of the table early on Saturday afternoon thanks to a nail-biting 4-2 win at Aston Villa.

After a tough, tough week, Arsène Wenger’s side needed a win of any kind to restore their confidence. They made heavy weather of the three points here today but it was still thoroughly deserved.

Results later on Saturday will probably see them knocked off the summit of the Premier League. But the ability to be there suggests Arsenal’s problems are being overplayed right now.

The visitors bossed the first half but had to wait until 39 minutes until Andrey Arshavin fired home. On the whistle a corner from the Russian, excellent on the day, was volleyed in by Samir Nasri.

Ciaran Clark fired Villa a lifeline six minutes after the restart but Marouane Chamakh replied almost immediately to restore the visitors' two-goal cushion.

Clark headed home with 20 minutes to go but, despite the odd scare, Arsenal were untroubled.

In the final seconds, Chamakh set up Jack Wilshere to head home at the far post.

This win does not answer all the questions posed at Arsenal this week. But it is a blessed relief in current circumstances.

Wenger’s men have had a hard seven days but they are still capable of having a great season.

The Frenchman made seven changes from the side beaten 2-0 at Braga in midweek.

From the back four only Sebastien Squillaci survived. Kieran Gibbs and Johan Djourou dropped to the bench. Emmanuel Eboue (knee) was injured. Bacary Sagna, Laurent Koscielny and Gael Clichy came in.

Alex Song, Tomas Rosicky and Andrey Arshavin came into midfield. Denilson and Theo Walcott started as substitutes while Cesc Fabregas (hamstring) was sidelined. Chamakh came in for Nicklas Bendtner up front.

Villa had John Carew and James Collins back from injury. Meanwhile Robert Pires was making his first start in English football since Arsenal’s 4-2 win over Wigan in May 2006 – the ‘final salute’ to Highbury.

It was a bitterly cold November afternoon and both sides needed a victory. Arsenal’s travails had been headlines all week but Villa were struggling too. They were used to being a top eight side but they went into this game in the bottom eight. Their side were laudably young but they had been paying for it with points.

And, as it turned out, this afternoon would be expensive.

The visitors might have been ahead within seconds. Arshavin angled a pass to Chamakh eight yards out. Brad Friedel half-blocked his shot, Richard Dunne deflected the ball goalwards and Collins booted the ball of the line.

The Moroccan had scored after 38 seconds at Wolves. This would have been even quicker.

A couple of minutes later Wilshere fed Rosicky and the midfielder drove a snap shot wide of the far post.

In the 14th minute, Chamakh’s back-header fell to the feet of the Czech midfielder just inside the area. He elected to shoot with the outside of his right foot and his effort rolled weakly in to the hands of Friedel.

It was all Arsenal. The visitors had taken the game to Villa and were completely on top. They simply needed a goal.

Chamakh, Arshavin and Nasri all had efforts blocked as Arsenal lined up to shoot.

But there was always the nagging of a breakaway chance.

It came in the 25th minute.

Stewart Downing crossed from the right, Clark flicked it on and Ashley Young popped up at the far post to steer a shot over the bar. In the context of this game, it was a massive miss.

However, it did nothing to turn the tide. Just after the half-hour, Nasri crossed low into the six-yard area and Dunne sliced the ball over his own bar.

Then Arshavin’s trickery left Pires on his backside. The Russian’s cross eventually found Nasri just outside the area. His fierce goal-bound drive hit Chamakh.

To this point, Villa had been pretty abject and the goal they conceded in the 39th minute had as much to do with them as Arsenal.

Two defenders attacked, and then left, a lofted clearance. Arshavin raced on to the ball, cut in from the left and fired into the far corner. The Russian had been afforded too much space and Friedel got a hand on the ball. But it did not matter.

It was Arshavin’s first goal since the trip to Partizan Belgrade on September 28 and utterly deserved.

Seconds later, it should have been 2-0. Arshavin fed Nasri who skipped past Friedel but could only flick the ball into the sidenetting.

In injury time, Friedel produced a stunning save to deny Chamakh’s bullet header. Arshavin thumped the corner to Nasri on the far post and the Frenchman fired home on the volley from the edge of the area.

The goal meant the score finally reflected the game.

Villa mustered a response at the start of the second half. Sagna cleared hurriedly from Ashley Young’s cross and Nathan Delfouneso had a shot charged down.

In the 53rd minute, Squillaci’s clearing header flew high to Clark just outside the area. He was given too much space and thumped a shot into the top left-hand corner of the net. Replays suggested that Carew, who was standing in an offside position, had impaired the view of Fabianski.

It was all horribly reminiscent of last Saturday. But then, three minutes later, Arsenal veered from the script.

Rosicky fed a perceptive pass to the sliding Chamakh, who beat Friedel to the ball and poked home.

That should have killed the game but Arsenal kept on going forward. Chamakh and Arshavin had half-chances for a fourth but the visitors attacking intent allowed space for Villa to exploit.

In the 70th minute, Sagna’s clearance fell to the feet of Clark, who thumped his snap-shot into the sidenetting.

Two minutes later the Villa midfielder did find the net once more. Squillaci nodded the ball out for a corner, Ashley Young fired it to the near post and Clark’s header hit the underside of the bar and bounced down over the line.

The game was in the balance once again – and Villa had now got their game together after a poor first half.

Wenger brought on Denilson and Gibbs to shore up the result. Their introduction came just after Arshavin sent Chamakh through only for a combination of Collins and Friedel to clear the danger.

Arsenal shut up shop in the final stages and Wilshere’s goal finally killed the game.

Some of the players threw their shirts into the visiting fans at the end.

The supporters deserved that as much as their team deserved three points this afternoon.

Source: Richard Clarke, Arsenal.com on 27 Nov 10

Is there method in Arsène Wenger's mad, mad world?

There is a sense that we have never quite forgiven him for turning up and making us all look so dim and retrograde all those years back, parading his oversized spectacles and inventing pasta.

Something important seems to be happening at Arsenal and, like everything else there, it seems to be happening around the towering centrepiece of the manager, Arsène Wenger. Wenger has been emitting puffs of cautionary smoke for some time now and fresh tremors appeared again this week after the unfortunate – but also strangely unsurprising – Champions League defeat by the Portuguese third‑raters Braga.

There was a sharpness to reports of Wenger's testiness afterwards. Among some Arsenal fans there is even the same sense of bunched and tearful frustration you might feel with an increasingly stubborn and militant aged parent who inexplicably refuses to understand about the internet or mobile phones or to be twinkly and unflappable and discreet like the aged parents in daytime TV adverts for low-interest loans that can consolidate all your debts into one low monthly payment. The phrase "lost the plot" has even been cautiously trotted out. So far we have danced around this, but I might as well be the first to say it openly. There seems to be a feeling abroad that Wenger may have gone – or may be on the verge of going – a bit mad.

This must be introduced with the obvious caveat that all football managers need a bit of madness in them. After his retirement as Liverpool manager, Bill Shankly would leave his matchday seat in the stands 10 minutes early and take up a raised position near one of the empty stairwells, perhaps on a ledge or a set of railings, in order to declaim and wave and gesture in pious fashion more effectively when everybody else came filing out. This was considered entirely normal. Alf Ramsey celebrated Ipswich's league title by sitting in furrowed silence until everybody else had left and then performing a solo late-night air-punching lap of honour around a darkened Portman Road. Don Howe would train Arsenal's 1971 Double winners by repeatedly shouting the word "Explode!" at them while they ran up the steps of the Highbury stands – and yet he remains a porkpie-hatted emblem of sobriety.

These days it isn't so much managing that brings out the madness. It is going on television. Roy Hodgson was once notable for his air of calm. Greater exposure at Liverpool has left him looking strangely wild-eyed and haunted, prone to leaping about wearing an oversized padded sports coat with teeth clenched and hair flapping, like some habitually-imploding rogue 1970s detective in a Granada TV series called Roy's Game or Hodgson!

Every manager reacts to these pressures differently. Before this season Ian Holloway would often pretend to be mad for tactical reasons, an affectation that has now dissolved into something more rabidly convincing. At Wolves Mick McCarthy flaunts a certain telegenic madness, affecting the thrillingly windblown hairstyle of a quixotic New York tug-boat captain.

It is different with Wenger. There has always been a suspicion, even during his early flush of success, that madness would one day claim him, that this would be his flaw. It is partly a physical thing. Wenger has peculiarly long arms and legs. Aloof in his touchline rectangle, cloaked in his floor-length quilted gown, he seems to be always on the verge of some burst of frighteningly angular expressiveness. There is also a sense that we have never quite forgiven him for turning up and making us all look so dim and retrograde all those years back, parading his oversized spectacles, inventing pasta, and suggesting a single glass of sparkling mineral water as an alternative form of recreation to leaping up and down in a lager-fuelled circle inside a wine bar called Facez.

The thing about Wenger's low-level madness is that it is very specific. This is the madness of the ascetic and the idealist, one that narrows with age. Wenger has only one way, interpreting all he sees through the prism of frictionless, nimble-footed, free-market Euro-Wengerball. Life has become very simple. If his team loses this is now due to some imperfection in the footballing universe, a failing in his opposition or in the game's administrators that has allowed this ideological catastrophe to occur. Such all-consuming zeal can be deeply seductive. There is a sense that his opinions on everything – on whimsical west coast acoustic coffee shop music, or supermarket own-brand yoghurts – will all be robustly, even angrily infused with this galvanising belief in supra-national sideways-pinging soft-shoe spreadsheet football.

There is a beauty, as well as robust economic good sense, in his absolute one-note convictions. Wenger has gambled all on being right, on refusing, for example, to spend jarring sums of money on an essentially unexciting, non-shirtsleeved, unspiky-haired goalkeeper with a tedious expertise in catching footballs. He remains convinced that the world will ultimately bend his way. And perhaps it already has a little. Wenger will take the journey into the promised new world of Fifa fair-play rules and revenue-based austerity with an ideology in hand and a set of self-drawn maps. He may or may not be allowed to get madder from here. But for the mad-curious neutral it would fascinating if he could be proved right just one more time.

Source: Barney Ronay, The Guardian on 27 Nov 10

Pires return to haunt Arsenal?

Players often return to play against their former clubs, but Arsenal fans could certainly be forgiven for looking twice when they see Robert Pires running out against them at Villa Park. The 37-year-old has recently signed a deal until the end of the season at Villa and will almost certainly play some part against the Gunners as Gerard Houllier looks to bring some creativity to his midfield, writes Jon Carter.

It is much needed, as Villa have won just one of their last eight games and have slipped to some very disappointing results of late: a 1-0 defeat to Sunderland and a 2-2 draw (after going up 2-0 with ten minutes to go) against Man Utd to name but two.

However, Villa can take solace from the fact that Arsenal are also a team in the midst of a crisis. Three defeats on the bounce - including a morale-sapping second half capitulation to Tottenham in the North London derby - and Arsene Wenger faces a tough task to get his side firing again.

The return of Robin van Persie could be a major boost as he returns from injury, but Cesc Fabregas' hamstring injury leaves the Gunners short in midfield. Now, more than ever, they need an inspirational player to get their title tilt back on track.

Aston Villa player to watch: Robert Pires. A hero at Arsenal, Pires returns to play against his former side after spending a few seasons in Spain with Villarreal. At his peak, his vision and dribbling skill was among the best in the world, but his powers have waned with age. Bought for his creativity, Pires will not get a full 90 minutes but can still thread a killer pass or deliver a telling cross that could very well turn the game. His intimate knowledge of Wenger's tactical plans could also come in handy.

Arsenal player to watch: Andrei Arshavin
The Russian has not fulfilled his potential since joining the Gunners last year and often drifts in and out of games. Plying his trade on the wings, Arshavin's goal threat has been missing this season as he has picked up just two Premier League goals, but he has the skills to turn a game and will be charged with providing the creativity alongside Samir Nasri in the Arsenal midfield. If he manages to get free, Arshavin will always be a danger, but the mental side of his game is a weakness at the moment and he could prove to be more of a hindrance than a help.

Key battle: Stewart Downing vs Bacary Sagna
Unlucky to have been left out of the England squad, Downing has been one of the star performers for Villa this season. His crossing ability creates countless chances, while he has also chipped in with more than his fair share of goals - both right- and left-footed - this season, with four so far. Fast and tricky, the fact that he is left-footed gives Villa balance, but he faces one of the best right backs in the business in Sagna. The Frenchman is robust in the tackle and will be well rested after Emmanuel Eboue filled in for him midweek, but his major strength is his pace and commitment. One side of the pitch will certainly be worth watching.
 
Source: ESPN Soccernet on 27 Nov 10

Match Preview: Aston Villa vs Arsenal

“You can call it naivety,” said Arsène Wenger discussing Arsenal’s problems. “But that’s a harsh word.”

His side have been called worse this week.

The manager was trying to explain the problems Arsenal are trying to overcome at the moment.

Defeats to Tottenham and Braga in the past week have left some hair-trigger lips uttering the word “crisis”. But while the disappointment is deep and undeniable, the situation is in serious danger of being overstated.

If Arsenal win at Villa on Saturday they go top of the Premier League.

That’s top, first, head of the pile.

OK it should be temporary but then it was expected to be that way last weekend. Back then the Premier League predictor confidently proclaimed Arsenal would beat Spurs then Chelsea would win at Birmingham.

However this is not a normal campaign for everyone, including Wenger’s men. Arsenal were hounded after the losing at home to Newcastle, then lauded for coming back with wins at Wolves and Everton. Make no mistake the nature of that derby defeat will linger for a long, long time but it did not change too much in the table.

The facts say Arsenal are third. The critics say the past week had proved they are ill-equipped to win the title.

But then you could argue that so are the two teams above them.

In short, Arsenal have their problems - as do everyone else. It may only take a little consistency to win this mish-mash of a title race so let’s roll with the punches and get on with it.

“The Premier League overall has become stronger because of the lower teams,” said Wenger at Friday’s press conference. “That explains it."

“If you look at the fixtures, all the big teams have played a huge number of games in the last month if you are counting the Carling Cup, the Champions League and the internationals. They suffer because of that."

“I feel there is no complacency among the top teams. It’s just that the games are difficult for everybody."

“There is a mental aspect too. The lower teams have lost fear because one result added to the other makes a difference. Birmingham think ‘look at what Sunderland have done, why should we not do it?’ This leading by example certainly has an effect."

“It tests us all but, at the end of the day, the League is a marathon. I think the difference of quality - when you have less Champions League games and other teams involved in the FA Cup as well - will level it out and the big teams will come through. I hope so.”

History would say the Frenchman is right. The ‘Big Four’ got their name by being in the top spot in May not November. But all the top sides need to improve in order to be certain of renewing their membership.

That includes Arsenal and Wenger knows he may have to curb the more cavalier impulses in his side to make certain.

“In some circumstances, we are not cautious enough,” he said. “For example against Spurs there's a free-kick for us and then a goal for them. At Braga it was exactly the same."

“I think this team has a fantastic attitude and spirit. They want so much to deliver. But sometimes they forget the basic cautiousness."

"You can call it naivety - but that’s a harsh word.”

Still, Wenger does feel a little hard done by this week. In both games, his side put themselves in a highly creditable position only to hand over the initiative. That re-kindled an old-criticism – the one about the lack of ruthlessness and a clinched-fist kind of leader in midfield.

“When you don't win your games people always find problems with the team,” responded Wenger when the issue put in front of him. “But is it the main problem we have? I'm not convinced."

“If you look at the number of shots we've had and chances opponents have created you don't come to that conclusion."

"We should have beaten Tottenham five or six and the turning point was the penalty."

"We lost in Braga also in special circumstances. I agree we didn't create enough but we were unlucky. After 79 minutes maybe we wanted to win too much and then, when we went down to 10 men, we got caught on the counter-attack. But if we win the penalty we win the game.”

In Portugal, Arsenal lost Cesc Fabregas (hamstring) for at least two weeks and Emmanuel Eboue (knee ligaments) for at least four weeks.

Robin van Persie and Andrey Arshavin may be back in the squad after being rested in midweek. Manuel Almunia is now fit but lacks match sharpness.

Number crunching on this game has an interesting symmetry to it. Arsenal begin the day in third place but have taken the most points away from home in the top flight. They have the best record in the Premier League against sides in the bottom half of the table.

As for Villa, they are 13th but have the fourth best home form. They have won once in eight games and possess the worst record in the Premier League against teams in the top half of the table.

Wenger’s side are unbeaten in their last 11 Premier League fixtures at Villa Park. In fact they have only lost once in 23 games against the Midlanders – that 2-0 defeat at Emirates in November 2008.

Everything points to an Arsenal win but then it did at half time against Spurs last weekend. This is just not a form-book friendly Premier League.

“Villa Park is always a very entertaining game and always a difficult place to go,” said Wenger.

“Aston Villa are a good side but you don’t have to say that anymore. When you go away in the Premier League the only advantage you have now is that you do not need to warn your team that the opponent is quality."

“Everywhere you go there is quality.”

All Arsenal really need to do is put theirs on display on Saturday.

Source: Richard Clarke, Arsenal.com on 27 Nov 10

A Dismal Week

The theory, (or was it just a hope?), that Arsenal had finally found some collective resilience was blown to pieces by back-to-back defeats at the hands of Spurs in the North London Derby on Saturday and Braga last night in the Champions League. As weeks go, this one couldn’t have been much worse.

Saturday’s capitulation to Spurs was the first home league loss to our North London enemies since 1993. And anyone who was at that match 17 years ago will remember that it was a game staged a week before Arsenal’s appearance in the FA Cup Final and George Graham fielded a very much weakened team in the days when “squad rotation” didn’t happen and the FA routinely fined anyone who didn’t put out what was perceived to be their strongest team. The Spurs victory that night was a hollow one - Arsenal fans mocked their visitors for the length of time it took them to break down a near youth team.

The meeting at the weekend couldn’t have been more different and the fact that it was a match that had a genuine bearing on both team’s aspirations at the top of the table made it all the more important. To say it was a game of two halves was an understatement. The bottom line, however, was that a team like Arsenal should not be surrendering a two-goal lead to anyone at home, especially in a game as important as this.

After the match Arsene Wenger suggested that the second half performance came down to a mental problem rather than a football problem. He is partly right. Anyone with half a brain would have known that Harry Redknapp would lay into his team at half-time and they would come out a different side in the second period. It was imperative that the Gunners did not concede a quick goal after the break - but that is exactly what they did. From there, they began to wobble and just couldn’t seem to recover.

So, Wenger is right that there was a mental problem. However, he also needs to concede that there was a football problem too. Arsenal showed a lack of tactical acumen in shutting the game down at half-time. They only know how to play one way and that is passing and attacking. This was a time though when less idealism was required and they needed to keep their opponents contained. Spurs had offered so little in the first half and yet Arsenal maintained such a high defensive line in the second half it almost invited their visitors to hit them on the break- particularly after Jermaine Defoe’s introduction. It was all so unnecessary.

Criticisms can be made of the defensive work for all the Spurs goals, but the blame for Saturday’s defeat has to fall squarely with Arsene Wenger. If the players weren’t sufficiently focussed in the second half and if they were tactically naïve - that is down to the manager.

The Gunners had the chance to bounce back last night in the Champions League away to Braga but matters went from bad to worse when the Portuguese team conjured up two late goals to leave Arsenal needing a win in their final group to ensure qualification to the knock out phase.

It was a game in which Wenger’s team had the lion’s share of possession and yet they failed to muster a sufficient cutting edge to put their hosts to the sword. They were hard done by when Carlos Vela was denied a penalty decision but to focus on that would be to ignore that, again, this was a match that Arsenal should have won but couldn’t find the resources to do so. Worse still, again, they got hit on the break and lost the match. Add to that Cesc Fabregas aggravating his hamstring injury and it all adds up to worrying times for Arsenal supporters.

The first thing that needs to be sorted out is their home form. The last five Premier League games at Ashburton Grove have seen Arsenal lose to West Brom, Newcastle and Spurs, scrape a last-gasp victory over West Ham and beat Birmingham 2-1. That is a very long way from being the form of Champions.

Arsene Wenger has built this team and it is he that has put his faith in these players. He may "not understand" how it is that Arsenal contrived to lose to Spurs and Braga but it is he that has to find a way of re-instilling confidence and a winning mentality into players who look bereft of both at the moment.

Source: David Young, ESPN Soccernet on 25 Nov 10

It will be a disaster if we don't qualify

Johan Djourou admits it will be “a disaster” if Arsenal fail to qualify for the Knockout Stages of the Champions League.

After their 2-0 defeat at Braga on Tuesday night, Arsène Wenger’s side know that only a win over Partizan Belgrade on the final night of Group H will guarantee safe passage for the 11th straight season.

The articulate Swiss centre back is not unduly concerned by Arsenal’s chances of going through but he did suggest that missing out on the last 16 is simply inconceivable.

“If Arsenal do not go to the next stage of the Champions League then it is a disaster,” he said. “That should not happen. I won’t even think that is not going to happen. We have to think positively. The Braga game was a negative but we have to think we’ll qualify."

“I don’t think we are in trouble because we have Partizan at home but we know it is going to be a tough game and we have a job to do.”

Arsenal looked in control for most of the match at Braga. Although they rarely troubled keeper Felipe, they dominated possession. The home side’s tactics were to get men behind the ball and catch the visitors on the break. Unfortunately it worked twice in the final seven minutes.

“They were silly goals and we should have avoided them,” said Djourou. “We could have killed the game before."

“Still there are some positives. We kept our team shape well and we did not do things too quickly because they were behind the ball waiting for us. We played the Arsenal way but it did not pay this time.”

Source: Richard Clarke, Arsenal.com on 24 Nov 10

Braga's late goals mean Arsenal must go to final Champions League game

Arsène Wenger was prepared to conceded he "took a gamble that backfired" regarding selection. But beyond this rare moment of candour he had anger for everyone other than his own players after a disastrous evening in northern Portugal ended in defeat and the loss of Cesc Fábregas.

The captain is certain to miss the weekend visit to Aston Villa and could be absent for up to three weeks, while Emmanuel Eboué is potentially ruled out for longer due to a knee injury.

In Wenger's sights were Uefa for its system of locating an extra official behind each goal, which he stated still failed to award a penalty on 78 minutes for a challenge on Carlos Vela, and Braga for what the Frenchman claimed were underhand tactics that included Eboué being "kicked off the park".

Yet when Matheus twice ran through and finished beyond Lukasz Fabianski seven minutes and then seconds from the end, all the concerns regarding his side's frailties were shown up once more.

Wenger's analysis, though, was a little myopic. He said: "We played a team that camped in their own half and we've somehow lost. We could play 10 matches like that and win eight or nine times but tonight was the one we didn't. They refused to play and tried to catch us on the counter attack. They used every single trick in the book to slow the game down. Eboué has been kicked off the park without any punishment and we have been denied a certain penalty. What is the fifth official doing if he can't see that? It's an absolutely useless system.

"The turning point was the penalty. I still cannot understand how Carlos Vela got a yellow card. It remains a mystery."

Regarding Matheus's opener Wenger grudgingly accepted his team were at fault. "We were caught when Eboué was just down on a bad tackle which went unpunished," he said. "We made a mistake, a lack of concentration and communication, and were punished for it. And we were not sharp enough to create clear-cut chances.

"As for Cesc, it's a hamstring injury on the other leg [to that which has troubled him this season]. It's hard to say how long he'll be out for. He'll definitely miss the weekend – we will have to assess [him] tomorrow. It could be two to three weeks. Eboué has a medial ligament strain, so he's out for a few weeks."

Beyond this defeat and the implications it has for Arsenal's qualification for the knockout stages of the Champions League – they must beat Partizan, who have no points, in the final group game to be certain of progression – is the serious question over whether after five years they can finally end their trophy drought.

On this showing and the display in the 3-2 defeat by Tottenham on Saturday, the answer is surely no. Against opponents routed 6-0 in the reverse of this fixture in September Arsenal needed to prove they could permanently eradicate the complacency that caused a two-goal lead to become a demoralising defeat to Spurs at the weekend.

Yet, again, Wenger was in denial mode when asked about any potential hangover. "Saturday's result had no knock-on effect," he said, "because I had seven players who did not play, and I had to rest some players."

Among those on the bench were Marouane Chamakh, who was replaced by Nicklas Bendtner, and Samir Nasri, outstanding so far this season, was replaced by Tomas Rosicky.

Some of the Arsenal supporters who had made the trip to Portugal, despite the country's general strike that was due to start at midnight, had again expressed frustration before kick-off at what they described as their team's commitment to "tip-tap near the goal but no shot".

On 18 minutes Kieran Gibbs offered a prime example of what can be a major failing of Wenger's team when slick work from colleagues allowed the left-back to collect possession inside the Braga area. But Gibbs, making a first start for nearly a month for his club, passed backwards and straight to an opponent.

When they were more direct, Arsenal's pace caused problems and they created enough chances from this method to take the lead. On 40 minutes Bendtner looped the ball over the defence and Theo Walcott hit a shot that nearly beat the Braga goalkeeper Felipe.

A further complaint from the travelling fans had been that Wenger is too protective of this current Arsenal side and needs to hand out a few more rollickings. Well, if the Frenchman tore strips off them at half-time his fury proved impotent as they delivered an even worse performance in the second half.

"It is hard to swallow but now we have to win our last game," said Wenger. "The most important thing for us now is to qualify. It is good that Shakhtar play against Braga but they are the super favourites to win the group."

Arsenal had been favourites but consecutive defeats now means it will be squeaky posterior time in a fortnight when they face Partizan at the Emirates Stadium. If they win, a Shakhtar defeat would allow them to top the group on the head-to-head basis.

Source: Jamie Jackson, The Guardian on 23 Nov 10

Matheus grabs brace as Gunners suffer

Arsenal suffered a shock 2-0 Champions League defeat to Braga at Estadio Municipal.

The Gunners, beaten by rivals Tottenham on Saturday, had been top of Group H and thrashed the Portuguese side 6-0 in their opening fixture.

However, a much-changed side never hit top gear and were denied a cast-iron penalty by Hungarian referee Viktor Kassai before Braga scored two late breakaway goals from Brazilian striker Matheus, leaving Arsene Wenger's men not yet assured of their place in the last 16.

Wenger had made seven changes from the team which threw away a 2-0 lead at home to Spurs, including a return for Denmark striker Nicklas Bendtner, who had previously hit out at a lack of opportunities.

The Estadio Municipal was carved out of the Monte Castro quarry ahead of Euro 2004, making for a stunning setting.

However, the stadium was well below its 30,000 capacity and hardly produced a hostile atmosphere for the Gunners, who won in Belgrade earlier this season but were beaten in their last away European tie at Shakhtar Donetsk.

Braga took inspiration from Arsenal to change their kit to red and white in 1921, but it was the men in yellow who started brightly as Theo Walcott looked dangerous down the right.

The home side had a free-kick when Eboue blocked Matheus, with centre-back Moises heading over when the ball was swung into the area.

After 18 minutes, Walcott flicked the ball on to Bendtner, who played Cesc Fabregas into the right side of the area, but the Arsenal captain was off balance and fired his angled shot over.

The visitors continued to enjoy plenty of possession, but were not creative enough in the final third.

As the half-hour mark approached, Walcott again scampered away down the right before cutting the ball back across the six-yard box, but Bendtner was unable to make up the ground.

Emmanuel Eboue was tripped by Leandro Salino to concede a free-kick 20 yards out, just right of centre. Fabregas beat the wall with a placed effort, but goalkeeper Felipe was alert to tip it over the bar.

On 34 minutes, Fabregas delayed his pass on the counter-attack to release Walcott into the Braga box, but Felipe was out quickly to make the block.

At the other end Lima flashed a 20-yard drive wide before Bendtner went down 25 yards out, only for Fabregas to drill the free-kick wide.

Braga gave away possession with some stray passes at the start of the second half, but Arsenal were unable to capitalise from promising positions around the penalty area.

Salino tugged back Wilshere to concede a free-kick in a central position, some 28 yards out, but Walcott whipped a curling effort just over the crossbar.

As the hour mark approached, Fabregas turned on the edge of the penalty area to make space for a shot, which drifted wide. At the other end, Matheus dragged his low strike across goal after cutting in from the left.

Luis Aguiar then profited from Sebastien Squillaci's half-clearance as the ball dropped to him on the edge of the box, but the Uruguayan fired wide.

Fabregas' run into the Braga box was picked out by Wilshere, but the Arsenal captain just could not bring the ball down.

On 69 minutes, Wenger made a change when Nasri replaced Fabregas, who had been troubled by a hamstring complaint and went straight to the changing room.

Tomas Rosicky's cross was put behind as Bendtner looked set for a tap-in from two yards, and on 72 minutes the Dane was replaced by Marouane Chamakh.

Mexico winger Carlos Vela was sent on for Walcott and immediately found himself booked for diving by the referee when it seemed a clear trip by Alberto Rodriguez in the area.

And Braga rubbed salt into Arsenal's wounds with seven minutes remaining as they snatched a goal on the break.

While Emmanuel Eboue was off the pitch needing treatment on an ankle injury, Matheus scampered clear to beat Lukasz Fabianski.

Arsenal were forced to play on with ten men, but despite throwing everything forward they could not find a way back and were again hit on the break in stoppage time.

Source: ESPN Soccernet on 23 Nov 10

Wenger's reaction to the Sporting Braga 2-0 Arsenal match

On a disappointing defeat...
We had a lot of possession but were not sharp enough to create clear-cut chances. They defended well and slowed the game down. Saturday's result had no knock-on effect because I had seven players who did not play [in that game] and I had to rest some players. I think we had enough on the pitch to win the game or at least make a draw.

On a frustrating night...
We could play ten matches like that and win eight or nine times but tonight was the one we didn't [win]. Football is like that sometimes when a team focuses not to play and looks to use breaks or set-pieces.

On Carlos Vela's penalty claim...
It is difficult to understand how we did not get a penalty. That shows that the five referees is not an answer to the problem. The turning point was the penalty - I still cannot understand how Carlos Vela got a yellow card. It remains a complete mystery for me.

On needing a point against Partizan to secure qualification from Group H...
It is hard to swallow, but now we have to win our last game. The most important thing for us now is to qualify. It is good because Shakhtar plays against Braga but they [Shakhtar] are the super favourites to win the group.

Source: Arsenal.com on 23 Nov 10

23 November 2010: Sporting Braga 2-0 Arsenal, Estadio Municipal de Braga

Arsenal must now beat Partizan Belgrade in the final game of Group H in order to be sure of qualification to the Knockout Stages of the Champions League.

Arsène Wenger's side are left playing brinkmanship after they slipped to defeat at Braga on Tuesday night.

Matheus sealed Arsenal's fate. With seven minutes remaining, the Brazilan broke through and kept his nerve to steer a shot beyond Lukasz Fabianski. With the final kick of the game, he held off two challenges to add a second.

The visitors were down to 10 men at the time - Emmanuel Eboue had been stretchered off and Wenger had used all his substitutes. In addition they had just been denied a seemingly clear penalty when Carlos Vela was tripped in the area.

After that thought-provoking defeat to Tottenham on Saturday, this was the last thing Arsenal needed.

There is comfort in the fact Belgrade have lost all their Group H games but it would appear that top spot is now gone given that Shakhtar only need a point at home to Braga.

It was another tough, tough night for Wenger's men.

The manager's team selection tapped into the slate-wiping mood that had followed the weekend defeat. He made seven changes in all.

Only Fabianski, Denilson, Sebastien Squillaci and Cesc Fabregas remained from Saturday's side. Five of the seven omitted went to the bench meanwhile Gael Clichy (back) and Andrey Arshavin (rested) missed out entirely. Robin van Persie was left in London to work on his fitness.

The scene inside the Estadio Municipal de Braga was slightly surreal. This two-sided ground is carved into a quarry with a sheer rock face behind one goal and a grassy hill behind the other.

Coupled with that, the home side were playing in red shirts and white sleeves - a look taken from a former President's trip to Highbury in the 1920s. Meanwhile Arsenal were in yellow.

All very odd.

Kieran Gibbs was the main attacking threat for the visitors in the first 15 minutes. In the opening seconds he reached the left-hand byline before crossing in the hope of finding Nicklas Bendtner at the far post. Moises cleared the danger.

In the eighth minute the Braga defender would head over the bar from Luis Aguiar's free-kick.

However Gibbs was still the focus. Aguiar headed another of his crosses clear and the full back forced Braga to scramble the ball away on a number of other occasions.

In the 18th minute Bendtner and Walcott set up Fabregas, who fired a shot over the bar.

On the half-hour, the captain saw his free-kick tipped over the bar by Felipe after Leandro Salino had fouled Eboue just outside the area. From the corner, Johan Djourou steered a shot wide at the far post.

To be honest, in the first 30 minutes there had been little pace or pattern about the game. But Arsenal had owned all the urgency and invention on display.

The game would pick up as half-time approached.

There was the merest sniff of a spark when Fabregas fed the scampering Walcott with a defence-splitting pass. The England winger beat Felipe to the ball but the keeper's sliding challenge cleared the danger.

Play switched to the other end and Lima's long-range snapshot forced Fabianski to dive full-length even though the ball went wide.

Eboue fouled Matheus on the left-hand touchline and Aguiar's free-kick was headed into the side-netting by Bendtner.

Five minutes before the break, Walcott broke clear and fired a shot beyond Felipe and the far post.

Suddenly, it seemed we had a game on our hands.

In the dying seconds, Bendtner was fouled 25 yards out and Fabregas thumped the free-kick wide. It was the final act of a largely forgettable first half but one in which Arsenal had been clearly the better side.

The second period started the same way, only this time Walcott missed the target with his free-kick.

Matheus dragged a shot wide for Braga in response but, once again, the game was settling into its altogether lethargic first-half groove.

It seemed that only a piece of individual skill or, more likely, a mistake, could provide the opening goal.

On the hour, the latter scenario nearly came to pass. Alan curled in a cross from the right and Squillaci could only nod his clearance to Aguiar, who fired a low shot inches wide of Fabianski's left-hand post. In the context of this tight game it was a massive moment.

Wenger sensed the need for change and brought on Samir Nasri for Fabregas, whose hamstring injury had made him touch-and-go to start. Chamakh replaced Bendtner soon afterwards.

Arsenal were still lively. Wilshere nearly dribbled his way through the entire Braga defence and Moises slid in to stop Rosicky's right-wing cross finding Bendtner at the near post.

But as the game went into the final 15 minutes, neither keeper had made a serious save.

That should have changed in the 78th minute when substitute Vela appeared to be tripped by Alberto Rodriguez in the area. But referee Viktor Kassai booked the Arsenal striker for simulation.

It got worse for Arsenal when Eboue was carried off with an injury and Arsenal were left a man short.

And then it got worse again.

The visitors pushed for the equaliser but were caught on the break with seven minutes left when Matheus broke through and steered his shot beyond Fabianski and into the far corner.

Wenger's men looked to find a way back but Matheus added a sparkling second on the break.

It was not a fair reflection on the game but matters are conspiring against Arsenal right now.

They need to turn the tide and quickly.

Source: Richard Clarke, Arsenal.com on 23 Nov 10

Sporting Braga vs Arsenal

Arsenal will rest Robin van Persie and Andrey Arshavin for Tuesday's Champions League trip to Braga, while Gael Clichy is also out because of a back problem.

England left-back Kieran Gibbs looks set to start, while Denmark striker Nicklas Bendtner is in contention for a starting place after his groin injury.

Manager Arsene Wenger is unlikely to risk captain Cesc Fabregas, who has hamstring problems.

Arsenal beat Braga 6-0 in September and could seal a last-16 spot in Portugal.

However, Wenger has warned his team not to be complacent against the Portuguese side, who beat Celtic and Sevilla in the tournament's qualifiers.

The Gunners let their lead slip in their 2-1 Champions League defeat at Shakhtar Donetsk a fortnight ago and lost 3-2 at home to north London rivals Tottenham on Saturday, having been 2-0 up.

"Braga has a good side that in the first 20 minutes of the home game impressed me," said Wenger.

"With what happened to us against Spurs everyone will be focused and want to perform at our best.

"We know we have an opportunity to qualify and people expect us also to bounce back."

Wenger said the injury to Fabregas, who played in Saturday's home defeat against Tottenham, was improving but he did not want to risk him against Braga.

"We cannot afford to lose him, so I check every morning of the game how he is and we monitor him quite well, but it [the injury] is on the way up," he stated.

"Sometimes after the game he has a little recurrence, but at the moment I do not want to take a massive gamble."

The Arsenal manager also believes Fabregas's hamstring troubles, which kept him out for nearly a month between September and October, have affected the Spaniard's state of mind.

"He was out for a while and had a recurrence of his hamstring problem, then it gets in your head," said Wenger.

"When it gets in your head, it is difficult to play free of your mind.

"I feel it is getting better in every match, from game to game he becomes stronger."

If Fabregas does not play, Wenger may decide to to play Denilson alongside Alex Song, pushing Jack Wilshere further forward.

Wenger also said striker Van Persie was not yet back to full fitness after injuring his ankle in August but was being put through his paces in training.

"He is not in a condition physically to fight in the top-level games, so I take advantage of that to make him work very hard," he explained.

"If I go to Braga with him and put him on when he is not 100% on the bench and does not come on, it is a waste of time for three days."

Arsenal will also be without Manuel Almunia (elbow) and Abou Diaby (ankle) for the trip to Portugal.

Thomas Vermaelen (Achilles) is another on the casualty list, while Aaron Ramsey is continuing his rehabilitation from a broken leg.

Source: BBC Sport on 22 Nov 10

Match Preview: Sporting Braga vs Arsenal

Arsenal must dig deep to find their rhythm again at Braga on Tuesday night.

The record-ending 3-2 defeat to Tottenham on Saturday will not be erased by victory - and qualification to the Knockout Stages of the Champions League - in Portugal this evening.

But, although he admits the difficulty of the past few days, Arsène Wenger is past the navel-gazing stage. The manager knows the mentality of his side is under scrutiny after shipping three goals in the second-half of Saturday. Hence the unusual surroundings of Braga's AXA Stadium - a former quarry with a sheer rock face at one end and a grass bank at the other - is kind of apt.

However the Frenchman is not prepared to go overboard.

"Is this game important?" he asked himself. "Of course. We need to bounce back as quickly as possible.

"We don't deny what happened on Saturday in terms of facts. We could not take our chance to go top.

"But if you look overall at our position, we are third, two points behind the leaders. Also we are top of our Champions League Group, we are in the Quarter Final of the Carling Cup and we haven't started the FA Cup. So the season will be what we make of it.

"Even if we have regrets about not doing much better, maybe Chelsea and Manchester United can feel the same."

The 2-1 defeat at Shakhtar three weeks ago, like to loss to Tottenham on Saturday, did not influence Arsenal's ability to finish on top of the relevant table that much.

Victory at Braga on Tuesday and then at home to bottom-side Partizan Belgrade will see them through to the Knockout Stage as winners of Group H. That is not always significant but Wenger argues it will be this season.

"Of course we want to qualify and be top," he said. "But the priority is to qualify.

"I am convinced as well it is important to win the game this time because it gives us a good opportunity to finish in a very strong position. That is what our target has to be. We are a very ambitious team and you cannot say we want to finish second.

"When you look at the teams that are top in the other groups it's better to be there this year. We wasted a good opportunity at Shakhtar Donetsk and we have to make sure that is not repeated."

As in Ukraine, Arsenal travelled to the oldest city in Portugal with a few omissions from their regular squad. Gael Clichy has a back problem, Andrey Arshavin is rested entirely and Robin van Persie has been left in London to work on his fitness.

Wenger intimated Marouane Chamakh may be a substitute on Tuesday to give him a breather. The manager was going to make a late call on captain Cesc Fabregas, who is still feeling his hamstring injury.

Braga were battered 6-0 at Emirates Stadium on the opening night of Group H - their first experience of the Champions League proper.

They ‘doubled' Partizan Belgrade in their last two games to retain a chance of making the Knockout Stages but their form in the Portuguese League is distinctly average. They have lost their last three games and have dipped below halfway in the table.

Still, like Shakhtar, there is strength at home. Under coach Domingos Paciencia they have won 18 out of 20 games at a ground the locals still call "The Quarry".

"In the first match against Braga, everything went for us and we had a very good game," said Wenger. "Now we have to forget that because it was a big score under a bit special circumstances.

"We feel it will be a completely new game but we have played in every difficult place in Europe and we know, if we turn up with a good performance, we have a chance to win anywhere. That is how we will approach the game.

"We will not feel any superiority. We know that to win any away game in the Champions League you need to turn up.

"Paciencia has done an exceptional job to get a club of this size into the Champions League and we have to give him credit for that.

"We come here to qualify but Braga are a good team. The two top teams in the Group are in a strong position and we have the final game at home so we certainly feel we are in a strong position but it is not over for them."

Likewise it is nothing near over for Arsenal this season. It is a campaign in which all the major sides have continually taken two paces forward and one back.

OK, for many Saturday was more than that. It was the end of an era.

A bubble had burst but, it should be remembered, that it was Wenger who inflated it in the first place. Those of us who sank a few sullen pints on Saturday night should also raise glass to the past 17 years in which results like that did just not occur.

Funnily enough, the last time Arsenal lost back-to-back Premier League games at home was December, 1997. The second of those was a 3-1 defeat to Blackburn - an angry, finger-pointing affair that, history showed, galvanised the first great Wenger side. At Christmas that year, Arsenal were 13 points behind leaders Manchester United but they did not lose another game until they had lifted the Premier League trophy.

That was not so much a hole and deep-cast mine but Arsenal clambered their way out.

On Tuesday at Braga, Wenger's side must dig-in like they did at Everton and Wolves just last week.

Reaching the Knockout Stages of the Champions League for the 11th straight season is worth a little pat on the back.

It is box ticked in a season that, despite Saturday, can still go a long way.

Source: Richard Clarke, Arsenal.com on 23 Nov 10

Arsène Wenger fears Arsenal could make a habit of surrendering leads

Arsène Wenger has admitted there is a danger that Arsenal could establish a habit of throwing away victory in games after Tottenham Hotspur beat them 3-2 at the Emirates on Saturday.

Goals from Samir Nasri and Marouane Chamakh gave Arsenal control of the north London derby before Wenger saw his team crumble after the break, with a Spurs fightback culminating in Younes Kaboul's winner in the 85th minute.

Arsenal play Braga tomorrow at the Estádio Axa in their penultimate Champions League group game knowing a point will secure them qualification to the knockout stages. Yet they lost their previous game against Shakhtar Donesk 2-1 having taken the lead, and in the league earlier in the season also allowed Sunderland a 90th-minute equaliser.

Asked if this inability to close out matches could develop into a mental problem Wenger said: "That is the danger. Mentality can become an issue. I don't think it will be but that's the fear. If it's repeated then it can become something that can block the team."

"It is down certainly to sometimes easing up in games because maybe subconsciously we feel the need to go through the motions. And sometimes a more subtle subconscious feeling that we have not won yet and get a bit nervous when we have to become really concrete."

But Wenger stated that he would not yet employ a specialist to help his players. "No. Unless you have one specific problem which [a] psychologist can help to sort out then [I do not believe in this]. We are not at that point at the moment," he said.

Instead the Frenchman believes concentration on performance is the best way of overcoming the problem. "You focus on the technical side of your play and not on the expected result," he said. "I want this team to win so much, that I am giving every drop of my blood to make sure this team wins."

Wenger will be without Gaël Clichy due to a back problem and, despite the importance of the game, he has decided to rest Andrey Arshavin and leave Robin van Persie behind to work on fitness. While Wenger would only confirm that Kieran Gibbs definitely starts at left-back in place of Clichy, the manager said there was no issue with Nicklas Bendtner following his recent comments that he needed to start regularly. He also hinted that the Dane may play ahead of Chamakh as the striker "has played a lot of games" recently.

Cesc Fábregas, the Arsenal captain, has travelled despite Wenger admitting he is still carrying a hamstring injury. "Sometimes after the game he has a little recurrence, but at the moment I do not want to take a massive gamble. We cannot afford to lose him, so I check every morning of the game how he is and we monitor him quite well, but it is on the way up," he said.

Wenger added that the problem may be mental. "He was out for a while and had a reoccurrence of his problem. Then it gets in your head. When it gets in your head, it is difficult to play free of your mind," he said.

Arsenal routed Braga 6-0 in the reverse fixture in September but Wenger believes the manner of Spurs' first league victory at their home since 1993 will sharpen focus.

"With what happened to us against Spurs everyone will be focused and want to perform at our best," he said.

"It was difficult yesterday more than today because now we are in front of [another] game. We have a healthy spirit and a very ambitious spirit. The players were very, very down. They know that they basically threw the game away that was in our hands."

Despite the defeat to Spurs Arsenal are still only two points from the top of the league due to Chelsea's faltering form. Wenger stated this is the most open title race since he can recall. "At this stage of the season, I have never seen a league as compact as it is at the moment," he said. "You cannot deny that mathematically it is [also] possible for Spurs and Manchester City to become champions."

Source: Jamie Jackson, The Guardian on 22 Nov 10

Rafael van der Vaart's second-half role for Tottenham unhinges Arsenal

Spurs' Dutch midfielder, playing in a withdrawn right-sided position after half-time, helped to turn the game around.

Arsenal lost this game because, after a scintillating first-half display of slick, early passing where they enjoyed midfield space and superiority, they lacked the leadership to counter Spurs' resurgence. Tottenham Hotspur won it because they played with great spirit in the second half but, more importantly, Harry Redknapp made a subtle half‑time change which unhinged their opponents' defensive shape.

Playing with two wide men on the chalk in that first period, Tottenham had hoped Aaron Lennon's and Gareth Bale's wing play would pin Bacary Sagna and Gaël Clichy back and develop goal-scoring chances. But wide men cannot flourish if they do not get a regular supply of ball. The opening game-plan would have centred on Rafael van der Vaart commanding the ball, passing wide and, when possession changed hands, tracking into his four-man midfield to lend support. After all, Tottenham's was an attacking line-up.

Possession was key. Yet, critically, Spurs could not recover the ball sufficiently at any point in that first half to find wingers who had been rendered almost redundant. The delightful Cesc Fábregas, combining with the sharp Samir Nasri, Andrey Arshavin and the supportive Alex Song, ran the first period and kept the ball. In this phase of play Younes Kaboul and William Gallas looked like back-up centre-backs while Benoît Assou-Ekotto allowed Nasri through on his inside for the Frenchman, showing more determination than Heurelho Gomes, to score. Marouane Chamakh completed an electric move to put the game seemingly beyond Spurs.

The situation demanded a reaction. Cleverly Redknapp dispatched Lennon and parked Van der Vaart wider in a right-sided, semi-forward position. Jeramain Defoe joined Roman Pavlyuchenko and positivity followed.

Tottenham now had two front options – the willing, pacey Defoe pulling off Laurent Koscielny and dragging him out wide, and Pavlyuchenko occupying Sébastien Squillaci. It was the Dutchman who caused the problems for Arsenal.

In the first half Clichy had known where his orthodox wide opponent, Lennon, was positioned. Now Van der Vaart was cunningly placed in a pocket of space. When Clichy closed him down, Defoe pulled into the area behind the full-back threatening Arsenal down that flank. The Arsenal left-back now thought twice about raiding into the space wide, aware that Spurs were looking to counter in the area he had vacated.

Arsenal steadily lost their belief even if they stuck to their philosophy. Tottenham used Bale to great effect. His speedy strides induced several mistimed challenges and a flow of free-kicks.

The home side had their share of possession on the day but failed to nail the visitors, whose win was down to morale and a timely half-time decision from an experienced, wise old manager and his coaching staff.

Source: David Pleat, The Guardian on 22 Nov 10