If the doomsayers were to be believed, at the time of the departures of Cesc Fàbregas and Samir Nasri, the obvious next stellar name to pine for the Arsenal exit door was Robin van Persie. Named club captain when the vacancy for the armband came up (usually a clear sign that a player is not long for these parts) it was understandable that he has suffered over the past few weeks as the team have crumbled around him.
The role of carrying a side high on vulnerability and low on cohesion has involved considerable soul searching, but Van Persie has not shirked responsibility. For 45 minutes against Bolton Arsenal had been purring like a stringy, stray cat who had fallen off one too many walls. They needed somebody to pick them up. Van Persie it was who stepped forward to get them back on their feet. In scoring twice, he was rewarded by reaching his century of goals for Arsenal. The feelgood factor around the Emirates has been hard to summon, but the Dutchman looked genuinely elated.
His scoring record this calendar year, during a dark spell in which his team have been out of sorts, is outstanding. He has struck 21 goals from 23 league games. "He is one of these guys who develops with responsibility," said Wenger, adding that in the great traditions of Dutch football, "he speaks his mind".
Oddly, Arsenal have been in fine fettle at the very front and back of the team all season, with Van Persie and Wojciech Szczesny producing strong individual performances even when the nine players in between capitulated.
Both made vital contributions to the points. Szczesny provided the platform with a second-minute save that prevented another haphazard start. Surprise, surprise, the chance arrived courtesy of a set piece and anxiety-ridden defending, and when Darren Pratley nipped in to hook in a shot another accident was averted thanks to the reflexes of Arsenal's Polish goalkeeper – admirably robust at the moment in spite of the wobbly jelly in front of him.
David Wheater was the next to smell blood, only to see his close-range header deflected behind. Owen Coyle was encouraged by his team's opening, which not only gave Arsenal a fright but also stifled them to the point that Jussi Jaaskelainen had been largely untroubled as he trotted off for a half-time breather.
With confidence battered by recent beatings, Arsenal found it heavy going to find any attacking rhythm. But seconds into the restart Van Persie raised the tempo with a moment of imagination, a spark of inspiration. He latched on to Aaron Ramsey's pass and drove left, surging past Fabrice Muamba's half-hearted challenge, to find a narrow angle through which to lash his shot. Jaaskelainen was slow at his near post and the Arsenal crowd could breathe a little easier.
But with Bolton's form being only fractionally worse than Arsenal's, any aspirations of a recovery were hindered when Wheater was sent off by Mark Clattenburg for a gentle if clumsy tug at Theo Walcott's shoulder. Coyle accepted the decision.
"If David pulled him back and it was a clear goalscoring opportunity, we all know the rules," he said. "I am more disappointed in the goals we lost … Avoidable." All the more so as Gary Cahill had missed the trip having been unwell since Thursday.
There was a thin ray of hope when Chris Eagles scampered off towards Szczesny at one point, but the Pole held comfortably. Most of the traffic by now was headed in the other direction. As Arsenal searched to ease away from Bolton and the visiting defence suffered the shakes, Jaaskelainen was under increasing pressure to keep his team in with a chance. Van Persie was his tormentor in chief and the Dutchman relished the chance to collect his 100th goal when he steered in Walcott's cross with the shin of a balletically outstretched leg.
A more convincing scoreline should have been delivered by Walcott, but he squandered a one against one against Jaaskelainen before hobbling off with a sore knee. It came from Alex Song, who clipped sweetly into the top corner in the 89th minute.
Wenger was understandably pleased with a straightforward victory. "It was a question of nerves at the start, and then of patience and intelligence. A deserved win is welcome for us. We cannot drop too many points any more."
Coyle endeavoured to be philosophical. He was never expecting a flurry of points from a fixture list that unkindly threw Bolton together with both Manchester clubs, Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea in their first seven matches. He will be relieved to get the last of them out of the way next Sunday against André Villas-Boas's side. A fresh start is very much in order.
And so, it finished with the second consecutive clean sheet here. Fortress Emirates? Who'd have thought it.
Source: Amy Lawrence, The Guardian on 24 Sep 11
No comments:
Post a Comment