Normally it is the job of the away side to fuel Arsène Wenger's fury, but yesterday it was just about the only thing his own did particularly well. West Bromwich missed a first-half penalty but were still allowed to canter into a match-winning 3-0 lead in the first 25 minutes of the second, and though a late revival brought the home side two goals it could not disguise the poverty of this sloppy, spiritless display.
"We were not at our usual level, not defensively or offensively," said Wenger. "Everything was difficult for us today – to pass the ball, to win the ball back – and overall we got what we deserved. Today in our performance something was not right. It's very difficult and unusual to see a team as flat as we were today."
Unsurprisingly the Arsenal manager refused to publicly criticise any individual, even though he had plenty to choose from. "You can have question marks about many players today," he said. "I believe many players made massive mistakes defensively. It was a poor team performance, the first really bad performance of the season. It's unexplainable how flat the whole thing looked for the whole game. It's a mystery to me."
West Brom's football lacks the aggression and physicality that so infuriates Wenger, and their approach here relied more on fitness than muscle, with everyone but Peter Odemwingie ordered to help out in a packed defence when Arsenal had possession and combining to clutter Arsenal's path to goal. "We pressed them very high, in their half, all over the pitch," said Roberto Di Matteo. "We managed not to let them play their usual way, and on top of that when we had the ball we passed it very well. It wasn't like we were just lucky - I thought we played some tremendous football and defended well as well. It was a generally good performance."
Arsenal found the Baggies' barrier almost impenetrable, at least until it was fractionally too late for their efforts to make much of a difference. While Andrey Arshavin had earlier hit the post it took until the third minute of first-half stoppage time for them to force Scott Carson into a save, when Bacary Sagna's looping header from Arshavin's free-kick was routinely tipped over. By then West Brom had come considerably closer, Almunia diverting Odemwingie's shot just wide of his near post in the 26th minute and then, 12 minutes later, clasping Chris Brunt's poor penalty after he had clattered haplessly into the onrushing Odemwingie. But if the first half was disappointing for the home side, the first 30 minutes of the second were dismal.
In the 50th minute Jerome Thomas, who had an enjoyable afternoon against the dire Sagna, went past the full-back much too easily, reached the byline and crossed low for Odemwingie to slide the ball home. When West Bromwich next attacked Gonzalo Jara played the ball to Chris Brunt on the right touchline and sprinted past both Arshavin and Alex Song – neither of whom tracked the run – before being released by Brunt's excellent backheel. He carried the ball into the area, was put under no pressure by Laurent Koscielny and finally shot low, straight at Almunia who fumbled the ball into the net. It was a hideous goal to concede, a catalogue of calamity.
West Bromwich continued to attack, and in the 73rd minute Thomas passed to Brunt on the edge of the area. The midfielder's first touch appeared much too heavy but Almunia hesitated, Brunt reached the ball first and when he turned the ball back across goal Thomas thumped the ball into an empty net.
With a three-goal lead to protect even Odemwingie joined what became an 11-man West Bromwich defence and Arsenal were able to exert unrelenting pressure. With 15 minutes to play Samir Nasri cut inside from the right, veered around Pablo Ibáñez's sliding challenge and brought Arsenal back into the game with a confident left-footed finish. For the first time the home side were genuinely dominant, but it took 15 minutes for them to conjure another goal, when Arshavin's pass found Nasri unmarked and played onside by Jara, and the Frenchman's finish was again classy and cocksure, two of the many qualities that his side were too often without.
Source: Simon Burnton, The Guardian on 25 Sep 10
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