I was wrong...barely

I did something Saturday morning that I haven't done for a long time. I stopped watching the Arsenal game at half-time because I couldn't bare to watch the humiliating collapse that was occuring on that rain-soaked pitch at the Reebok. Reduced to 10 men after Diaby's idotic tackle and playing like a gang of school boys, I decided I'd best walk away from the television and went to our gym to get rid of some frustration (where a decidely entertaining Fulham-Derby match was on the television). Upon my return, I was pleasantly surprised to see Arsenal had fought back 2-2 and then was even more delighted when we scored in the 90th to win!! A comeback for the ages! My mood changed and it turned out to be a nice day.

However, lets look at this game for what it was - another average effort from Arsenal and quite frankly, a result they were very fortunate to get. Bolton are headed for the Championship next season and were on a run of form that was making Derby look good. In short, Arsenal caught them at a great time. But, on two chances and some horrific defending, Arsenal was down 2-0 and a man after Diaby's brain-cramp. Playing uninspired football and once again missing opportunities that most good teams take (I'm talking to you Van Persie), it was a very bleak view by the half-time whistle. Had Arsenal been playing a team with any sort of quality, this would not have been a close game.

So where does this leave the Gunner's going into this week's massive CL and league fixtures with Liverpool? Well, in the league, we lost ground as United predictably hammered Villa 4-0 keeping their lead in points and growing the goal differential while continuing to play the best football in England. Chelsea also won, narrowly, and perhaps undeservadly, beating an in-form Middlesborough 1-0 after the tee-siders missed many good chances and hit 3-4 posts. Chelsea, like Arsenal, dodged a bullet. Arsenal did good to come back and keep pace with the leaders but I'm not so sure what this means for their form.

Coming back on the road like this has the makings of inspiring the team to greater heights and re-instilling their confidence by just getting the three points they had not gotten in so long. Secondly, RVP also scored (albeit from the spot) and for him this could get him rolling for the upcoming fixtures. Gallas and Fabregas each contributed with goals that should help them-particularly Gallas whose leadership has been under fire (personally, I'm more concerned about his heading ability on defense). Overall, though, the win and the nature of it, can build much needed character coming into the Liverpool games. The team clearly has the ability to beat anyone on their day but ,as happens with young teams, consistency has been a problem. Perhaps getting that winning feeling again can lead the team to positive results this week.

However, the performance Saturday is also full of many negatives. The team once again conceded first, and conceded easily against an offensively challenged team. Diaby took a flagrant red that highlights the lack of discipline evident in the team. In the first half, no one looked good and Fabregas was virtually invisible. Confidence gained from this victory can only go so far. Their form as a whole is still sub-par and Liverpool are playing quite well lately (although narrowly escaped with 3 points in the Merseyside derby). I don't feel any better about Arsenal's prospects now then I did before the Bolton match but I do feel better then I did at half-time at Bolton.

As for predictions, it's difficult to know what Arsenal team will show up. They have been quite good in Europe this year but will the tie against Liverpool feel more like Europe or EPL? Liverpool also seems to find a way in Europe as we've seen over the past few years and Gerrard and Torres are really heating it up. Torres was hurt the last time the teams met so my confidence in our defenders in shutting him down is not exactly solid. Juding by history, I see us pulling out a win in the league game on Sunday (2-1) but dropping the CL tie unfortunately (lets say 2-1 on aggregate). Coming through on all three matches is just too unrealistic at this juncture for this young and wounded Arsenal team.

Northwest Passage.....to Bolton

The Gunners visit the Reebok stadium tomorrow for that always challenging fixture with Bolton. In the past few years I always dread this fixture - generally because in the past few years Bolton, under Sam Allardyce, was a top 8 team and difficult to beat on most days but also because Arsenal just seems to suffer in the Northwest. It doesn't help that Man United are there but Blackburn are usually a challenge and City certainly can have their days. The trip to Greater Manchester rarely yields a result the likes of trips to say, Craven Cottage or White Hart Lane, for example.

I'm not sure precisely why Arsenal struggles so much navigating through the city that spawned the industrial revolution but there are some commonalities of the teams that have played there in recent years. One of the reasons is the physicality of teams that play ther3e. Bolton and Blackburn often kick the crap out of Arsenal leaving they many softer Gunner's less effective. These teams also just air the ball down the field and hope for a flick-on more often they some of the southern English teams and this obviously reveals Arsenal's vital weakness - balls in the air. Finally, it almost always seems to be absolutely terrible weather when the Gunner's visit the Northwest. These are poor excuses on their own ,but taken collectively it helps to explain some of the reason for Arsenal's struggles.

Tomorrow's game is as critical as they come for Arsenal this season. As my previous post indicates, I do think Arsenal's title aspirations are all but finished after last week's heart-breaker at Stamford Bridge, but it's important for this club to find it's form in the run-up to the massive tilt with Liverpool in the CL this week. Arsenal's recent form is really nothing short of abysmal. In the league, they have taken just four of 15 possible points that brought them from a 5 point lead to a 6 point deficit atop the EPL in that time. Now, I'd be less harsh if this five game run had been against the likes of United, Liverpool, etc but short of Chelsea last week Arsenal have dropped the remaining points against teams in the bottom quarter of the EPL. Furthermore, the 4-0 thrashing at the hands of United in the FA cup which was just a couple weeks after the 5-1 humiliation at White Hart Lane in the League Cup have left this team with basically one good result in the past two months - a 2-0 win at Milan in the CL. This is the kind of run that you would expect to see from Newcastle or Derby - not a big club like Arsenal. So, getting a solid, confident win tomorrow will do loads for the team in preparation for Wednesday's game with Liverpool.

As for a prediction for tomorrow's match, well my confidence is so rattled right now as a fan I can't bring myself to predict a win. I see a 1-1 draw tomorrow with Arsenal falling a further behind United and Chelsea and very little confidence being restored. For what it's worth I also predict a 3-0 victory for United over Villa.

Bad day at Stamford Bridge

Today was a difficult day to be an Arsenal supporter. The 2-1 loss to Chelsea was as difficult a loss as I've experienced as an Arsenal supporter in a long time. It hurt for a lot of reasons beyond simply losing. It knocked us out of 2nd place in the table and basically put the cap on our chances for the EPL title. It also came after taking the lead in the 63rd minute and essentially controlling the game until some very bad fortune swung the game in Chelsea's favour. The reality is, on the run of play this should have been at worst a draw between the two teams. Arsenal weren't great but neither were Chelsea. Furthermore, Liverpool once again lying down like a dead dog to Man United didn't help our cause.

Lets start with Arsenal's current form. Outside of a couple of decent games against AC Milan in the champions league they have been quite bad for about 2 months now. I fear that the lack of depth that Wenger has failed to address is catching up with this team. In addition to 4 straight draws against very inferior EPL opponents (Birmingham, Middlesborough, Wigan, Aston Villa) we took a 4-0 thumping from Man United in the FA Cup and a 5-1 loss to Spurs in the league Cup. A club that has serious aspirations about winning the league does not go on a run like that. What's clear is this; Arsenal's offense looks tired and much like they did the previous two seasons when they just couldn't finish. Defensively, we've been average at best and just continue to get dominated in the air, as you seen on the two goals today. I do think fatigue is a factor and because nothing was done in the transfer season to add depth, the team is reeling right now. With the revenue windfall that the Emirates Stadium brings in, Wenger really has no excuse for this (as he might have had in years past). I hope we can spend on some depth players for next season.

Today at the Bridge, Arsenal had pretty good control of the game for about 70 minutes. Then, Sagna turns his ankle, Eboue and Toure run into each other and all of the delay with all this totally takes the flow out of the game and momentum swings to Chelsea. This combined with a lucky bounce on Drogba's first goal (when our defender slipped and the ball bounced our of a crown and right to him) allowed them to get on the board. Then more sloppy heading from Arsenal allow Drogba to push another one past. Up to that point, Drogba actually looked old and slow but after two goals, the commentator is calling him the best striker in England. I will give him his props, as he did what Arsenal has trouble doing and finished on his only two real chances of the game. Also disappointing today was Arsenal's inability to really create much against a Chelsea defense that was very porous against Spurs on Wednesday. I haven't read all the reports on this game but I'm sure some will suggest the title was lost today. I disagree, the title was lost in the collective draws to the four clubs aforementioned above. A neutral will still have the exciting race to the finish as Chelsea went from pretenders to contenders in about 5 minutes today at the Bridge. Arsenal, though, need to focus on finishing strong and hopefully finding some sort of form against Liverpool in the Champions league next month.

There is still much season to be played but for Arsenal it looks like all the hope that existed throughout the first half of this season in all competitions could result in only a slight improvement over the past two seasons. And if so, Wenger needs to reconsider how committed he will be to this collective group of youngsters he's been grooming for the past few years.