A Much Needed Tonic

Manchester United were at home to Fulham, and they stood a chance to further increase the gap between themselves and Arsenal to a whopping 10 points, though it would leave the Gunners with 2 games in hand. With Wayne Rooney suspended with his more than colourful celebration/rant, though that was already been dealt with by the FA. United in the end, ran out more than comfortable winners largely thanks to Nani. The Portuguese winger was magical against the Cottagers, having a hand in both the goals to increase his number of assists this season, though he would be disappointed of having missed out on the PFA Player of the Year Awards' list.


Arsenal, on the other hand, had the task of going to Bloomfield Road to face a Blackpool side, who were in real danger of being sucked into the relegation zone, though the teams below them all lost on the weekend. That aside, both teams needed the points, but for very different reasons. The Arsenal line up was largely similar to the one that started against Blackburn, with the exception of Fabregas, Diaby and most surprisingly, Jens Lehmann in goal. The trio replaced Song, Walcott and Almunia respectively.

Blackpool started well, though were unable to convert their pressure to a much-needed goal. Arsenal managed to score 2 quickfire goals in the 19th and 20th minutes. The first courtesy of Abou Diaby benefiting from a good cross by Van Persie. The second was thumped in by replacement right back, Emmanuel Eboue. Other than that, Arsenal were very much average for most of the half, their defending suspect at times, though the back four were more confident in the German shot stopper behind them. Arsenal were also guilty of missing a chances, which is always expected of them. The Tangerines came out fighting in the second period, and scored via Gary Taylor-Fletcher. There were a couple of fouls in the buildup by Arsenal, and Lehmann was lucky to be on the field after bringing down DJ Campbell. Arsenal managed to sort of wrap up the game when Van Persie added a third, though there were still a couple of moments of madness, particularly one from Gael Clichy, who was guilty of playing like Tom & Jerry.

From an Arsenal point of view, they really needed a game like this to somewhat increase their currently grounded confidence. They weren't great on the day, far from it rather. The defence was suspect, and their finishing was left wanting at times. I was disappointed that Arsene Wenger decided not to do anything when Blackpool were on the up in the beginning of the second half, and they conceded. The substitution of Arshavin in favour of Theo Walcott reduced the pressure slightly, as Blackpool were a bit cautious of going all-out. It would've been better to bring on Maroune Chamack for Wilshere or Fabregas and play 4-4-2 in the second half to prevent Blackpool from going forward. Chamack and Van Persie would've troubled the Blackpool central defense more and with Walcott and Nasri on the wings, they would definitely have scored more.

Ian Holloway's men played well on the day, and could have got a point if Manuel Almunia was in goal, though some may say it is harsh. One player who was good on the night, but has come under much criticism and deservedly so, is Abou Diaby. The Frenchman was very good in the holding role, and has a better pass out compared to Alex Song. Another advantage is that he can get forward and score goals. The only problem is consistency. Most Arsenal players fail to put this sort of form in play for 5 games running, and this is how the team suffers.

The most disappointing thing this season is they have not been able to replicate this sort of form at the Emirates. In contrast, United have been breathtaking at home and slightly wasteful away. Arsenal have the best away record in the league, and if their home form has been anywhere near as good, they would be runaway leaders now, but that isn't the case. The win today somewhat kept the candle lit, though anymore mishaps after this would hand the title to men from Old Trafford. In order to win the title, Arsenal would have to be perfect from now till the end, and also hope Chelsea beat United at Old Trafford, though that at the moment is a long shot. Whatever happens, it promises to be an exciting end to an already topsy-turvy season.

Till next time,
Goodbye