Ipswich deserve a huge amount of credit and praise for the way they played last night. In the face of an almost constant onslaught they had an awful lot of defending to do but for an hour they held firm and, for the most part, looked reasonably comfortable. Though the Gunners held the upper hand in terms of possession throughout, they seemed to find it difficult to plough their way through the Tractor Boys’ massed defences. Robin Van Persie and Cesc Fabregas both came close in the first half but, at the interval, it was the visiting fans who were the happier.
In the end, it took a special goal to break the deadlock and Nicklas Bendtner was the man who provided it in the 61st minute. He controlled a fabulous pass from Jack Wilshere. Deceiving his marker with a flick of his heel, he cut inside and bent the ball into the far corner of the net. It was a gorgeous strike and, after a difficult and injury-ridden first half of the season, it was great to see him scoring such a magnificent and important goal.
Even though Bendtner has done much to quieten dissenting voices amongst the crowd over the past couple of seasons, he still has his detractors. However, his goal last night showed that he does have something to offer. We know he can often look awkward on the ball and Arsene Wenger’s reasons for regularly playing him as a wide-man are sometimes hard to fathom but underneath the Dane’s blustering over-confidence there is a decent footballer there. He might have got off on the wrong foot with many supporters a few years ago but he has not let it bother him. He has kept plugging away and has won the majority over.
Laurent Koscielny’s headed goal moments later knocked the stuffing out of Ipswich and Cesc Fabregas made the game safe with a breakaway effort in the 77th minute. So, whilst it took a while to make the break-through, all’s well that ended well. Semi-finals are for winning and the Gunners stuck to their task and saw it through.
Looking at individuals, Cesc Fabregas and Jack Wilshere both turned in tenacious performances and are forming a formidable partnership in the centre of the midfield. Arsenal’s defence didn’t have much to do but dealt with what they had to efficiently enough. Up front, Robin Van Persie looked lively but didn’t get the breaks on this occasion.
If there had to be one criticism it would be of the second-string players that were given a game last night. Many fans are still trying to work out what the purpose of Denilson actually is and Andrey Arshavin, despite getting two assists last night, still looks bereft of all confidence and struggled his way through the match. At least we know he does have ability and once he finds his game again he will be alright. However, you wonder whether the same can really say the same about the Brazilian. Elsewhere, Emmanuel Eboue showed why he is Bacary Sagna’s understudy rather than a player who is genuinely pushing for a starting line-up place. He looked a little too casual at times when coming on to replace the injured Frenchman.
Such quibbles aside, it was a fantastic night at the Grove. Even though Arsenal were expected to overturn the first-leg deficit, Ipswich made it very hard for them and it took concentration, patience and spirit to break the visitors down. A trip to Wembley next month now awaits and that, as always, will be something to look forward to.
Ipswich certainly provided stiffer opposition than Wigan did on Saturday. The Latics were firmly on the back-foot from the first minute and only a string of saves from goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi kept the score down to a respectable level.
From an Arsenal perspective, whilst the three points were the most important thing, it was actually little disappointing that they did not rack up a bigger score. This was a real opportunity to boost their goal difference. It was a match where the Gunners could have quite easily knocked in seven or eight. Though Al Habsi did well, many of the saves he made came from shots straight at him or at a manageable height. Had Arsenal’s finishing been more clinical, the Wigan man might have had a tougher day.
Still, this was a minor gripe and the three points sees the Gunners tucked in behind United in second place. There is still an awful lot of football to be played in the Premier League this season but Arsenal supporters ought be satisfied with where the team stand right now.
The FA Cup comes around again this coming Sunday with a visit from League One side Huddersfield Town. The Gunners will always share a connection with the Yorkshire club through a mutual history with Herbert Chapman but, on Sunday, any misty-eyed recollections of the past need to be put aside and a job needs to be done. It seems likely that Arsene Wenger will rest some of his key players and it will yet again be an opportunity for some of the second-stringers to find some form and make a case for themselves. Let’s hope they do just that.
Source: David Young, ESPN Soccernet on 26 Jan 11
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