English Premier League - Match Recap: Arsenal reinforce title credentials at St. Andrew's
Arsenal this week needed to stay in touch with Manchester United and Manchester City at the helm of the Premier League summit, and the only way to do that was to win away at St. Andrew's. Birmingham City where http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Chelsea-c38786, Manchester United, Manchester City
and Tottenham have all faltered. So, it was never going to be easy pickings for the Gunners who just seem to drift in and out of form at the moment.
Birmingham City are a team who are water tight at the back. They do not concede many goals at home and if they do then it’s rarely more than once. The last time Birmingham conceded three goals at home was back in 2005 against Middlesbrough.
Arsenal's last game saw them go to The DW Stadium to take on Wigan Athletic, and that time around Arsenal let slip a 2-1 lead to 10 men Wigan in the dying embers of the game to draw 2-2. But, before that they struck the jackpot in decimating a tame Chelsea
side at The Emirates stadium in grand style. That was a performance where magnificent possession combined with ruthless finishing disposed off of Chelsea to see Arsenal keep within reach of the top and compound the misery on the West London club. Chelsea are
a team in turmoil, and Arsenal weren’t afraid to take advantage.
Birmingham though played the pace setters, Manchester United, on Tuesday night. United were looking to extend their lead at the top but ultimately succumbed to a late http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Lee-Bowyer-c21864 leveller that deprived United of two valuable points.
The match’s first meaningful event was the rash tackle by http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Roger-Johnson-c31524 on Cesc Fabregas. It was reminiscent of the tackle by Martin Taylor two and a half years ago at the same venue that broke Eduardo’s leg. This time though Fabregas was lucky to escape
unscathed and Johnson lucky to escape with only a flash of yellow and not red. Then in the 10th minute, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Robin-van-Persie-c31380 won a free kick just outside the area, albeit dubiously due to the minimal contact actually made. And he successfully converted
the set piece via a Lee Bowyer deflection.
Birmingham then started pushing the Arsenal backline, but nothing threatening came of it. And Robin Van Persie spurned two glorious chances in the first half that could’ve seen Arsenal secure victory before the half time whistle. Birmingham though did have
their own moments; a http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Sebastian-Larsson-c32733 free kick was just parried wide by a flying Fabianski, and Johnson missed an absolute sitter from 8 yards out after Jerome Thomas nodded on a Larsson free kick. And to be fair to Birmingham, they had a legitimate claim
for a penalty after the ball struck Van Persie’s arm in the box.
But, Arsenal rode their luck a bit and came out for the second half in more determined fashion. Fabregas and Nasri combined time and time again to make life harder for the Birmingham defenders. In the 58th minute, Nasri and Fabregas exchanged
passes before the mercurial Frenchman let fly from outside the box and finished neatly inside the near post. It was nothing less than what you’d expect from someone of Nasri’s class, and it continued his fine goal scoring exploits this season.
In the 66th minute, Fabregas found Nasri who raced into the box and waited for Fabregas to continue his run. As Fabregas went past, Nasri released the ball to the Spaniard and Fabregas shot first time, the shot was saved by Foster but it took
a nasty double deflection first off of Scott Dan and then off of Johnson en route to the back of the net. That third goal killed the game off and even so Arsenal could’ve scored three more near the end.
This was a brilliant performance by a team who insist on having a bittersweet season. Nasri and Fabregas proved their class once again and showed critics that they can play together to great effect. If Arsenal can keep these two midfield maestros fit and
firing, then whose to set any limits on this team's achievements.
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