Arsenal are no more unbeaten (Part 2)
As the clock ticked down, Arsene Wenger got more desperate and substituted an attacker on for the defender. Carlos Vela replaced Koscielny as Gunners pushed more and more players forward.
When you keep pushing forward you are always vulnerable on the counter attack and so it proved in the 73rd minute as West Bromwich broke down Arsenal’s right side again. With Bacary Sagna nowhere to be seen, Sebastian Squillaci had to fill in
for him. Thomas played the ball across the box to Brunt who got in behind Gael Clichy.
Gunners’ Spanish goalkeeper, Almunia went forward to halt Baggies’ attack while Chris Brunt went wide in the box. Then Almunia backed off Brunt to leave him with all the time in the world to square the ball for the former Gunner Thomas to smash it into an
empty net.
Arsenal now had just over 15 minutes to go and the Gunners were 3-0 down at Emirates to buoyant Baggies and it looked like Arsenal’s most embarrassing would-be defeat in Premier League history.
Samir Nasri burst forward almost straight from the kick off position but only managed to hit the woodwork with a shot. It looked as if he wanted to single handily get Arsenal back into the game. The talented French midfielder managed to do that within a
minute as he jinxed his way past a few West Bromwich Albion players in the box and followed it with a neat and impressive finish.
Arsenal had fourteen minutes plus injury time left and suddenly there seemed like there might be some hope for the Gunners. As the minutes ticked by, it seemed like Arsenal just wouldn't be able to muster up another goal to put some real pressure on Albion,
but just as the five minutes of time added were shown, that youngster Nasri stepped up yet again.
Andrei Arshavin picked him out with a pass 15 yards out in the middle of the box and he finished well. Unfortunately in the injury time, Arsenal's only real half chance was a volley over the bar from Tomas Rosicky and the game ended. Baggies managed a shocker
and earned the deserved full three points at Emirates.
Meanwhile, Arsenal failed to perform well despite a great midweek performance. In their last two fixtures of Barclays English Premier League, Arsenal only managed to win a single while failed to win the second consecutive weekend’s match. This defeat also
proved that the critics who say Arsenal is inconsistent might well be right.
It was a great chance for Arsenal to retain the second spot and put Chelsea under pressure. A win would have also ensured some space between Gunners and the teams chasing them but Arsenal completely and utterly blew it. Doubtlessly, Arsenal has an enormous
list of injured players but the players which were featuring on the weekend were good enough to get the much needed win.
One of the major problems seemed to be a lack of leadership on the pitch and added to what looked like a great deal of complacency—it was a recipe for disaster. ‘The Professor’ didn’t accuse any Arsenal player afterwards as he said that the whole team played
poorly. The boss wouldn't be drawn on goalkeeper’s mistakes but he did say that many players made mistakes throughout the match, which is absolutely true.
Arsenal fans were booing their number one keeper Almunia in the later stages of the game. Almunia’s position in the team is becoming almost untenable at this moment. Unfortunately, the current second choice goalkeeper is even worse and Arsene Wenger believes
that the two young pretenders are too young to get a chance.
Arsenal now have a UEFA Champions League game in two days. Hopefully, players would take it as an opportunity to gain a little bit of redemption.
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