Arsenal vs. Sunderland - The silver lining (Part 2)
It was expected that after the break, the manager needed to give a strong team talk and lift his team back to what it does best - passing the opponent to death and dictating play. The resultant performance saw acting captain Tomas Rosicky take the initiative
in a Fabregas-like-way as the Czech Republic international sidestepped a couple of Sunderland ‘landmines’ and passed the ball in an advance position to Alexander Song.
The holding midfielder’s deft touch was able to set up an oncoming Arshavin to finish. Despite taking it from his less favoured foot, or the ‘chocolate leg’ as Robin van Persie calls it, the dual footed, former Zenit Saint Petersburg player had enough confidence
on his left foot but narrowly missed. For a player that plays on a wide position to be reasonably good with either foot, offers a lot of options for the team. That is one of the reasons why Arshavin is so hard to defend against. He could either cut in and
shoot or stay on the outside and drive the ball in with his left foot.
Secondly, for a defensive midfielder to be as adventurous and to have the creative ability to set up other players further adds to Arsenal’s midfield versatility. It’s handy in a time when Fabregas’ future looks heavily clouded at North London as the soap
opera in the summer with Barcelona looks set for another episode in this June.
The away team was set with another blow when it was handicapped to 10 men after Alex Song received his second yellow and was subsequently sent off in the 57th min. The card was rather harsh as the Cameroon international appeared to have minimal
contact with the Sunderland player and the fact that he was already cautioned, the referee could have been a little lenient. This sending off resulted in Arsenal manager gesturing sarcastically to the referee for his lack of judgment. Some might call it immature
and unprofessional. But there is no doubting the Frenchman’s commitment to the Gunners. The ‘rational’ approach might have been to be as impassive as possible but Wenger obviously stood by his men by making his feelings public.
The effective disadvantage greatly tipped the balance in Sunderland’s favour. The Black Caps began to dominate possession and subjected the Arsenal backline under immense pressure.
The result saw two major positives from the Arsenal camp.
The manager had enough depth on bench to bring in another competitive midfielder in the form of Denilson. The Brazilian is regarded as basically a cross between Tomas Rosicky and Arsenal old timer Gilberto Silva according to Wenger – A tribute to his creative
side and defensive instincts.
The Frenchman’s spontaneous, yet correct decision was complimented by the Arsenal players as all ten Gunners stepped up their game a couple of notches, taking the added responsibility to cover for a man down. It felt almost as a repeat of the 2006 Champions
League final against Barcelona that saw the team in a similar predicament – to perform with such vigour in a regular Premier League game as if it were an International Cup final reflected the hunger and maturity of one of the youngest team in England.
The defence looked rock solid. Since the left sided midfielder Andrei Arshavin was sacrificed to bring in Denilson, left-back Gael Clichy took the role of acting like a wing back. The number 22 constantly made wide runs to support play and give Arsenal the
much needed width to enable Chamakh retain his aerial threat. More importantly, the defender was also quick to get back and effectively fulfil his defensive duties.
Bacary Sagna perhaps recognized Clichy’s added responsibility and was quick to adopt a more conservative approach. The 27-year-old was quick to tuck in whenever Clichy went ahead which meant Arsenal effectively had three centre backs with Denilson mopping
in front in case of a quick counter from Sunderland. Obviously, the number 3 had enough presence of mind to sense a good opportunity to bomb on the right flank whenever needed – the exploits also gave Clichy a much needed breather at the back.
To be continued…
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