Today's lesson
By Paul Williams on Thursday, December 4, 2008
| Date | Time | C | Opponent | F | A | R |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec, 02 | 7:45 PM | LC | Burnley (A) | 0 | 2 | Lost |
I don't think there's a football team on the planet that makes losing look as sexy as Arsenal do.
Honestly, last night, some of the football last night was the ultimate in seduction, the tricks and flicks and through balls dazzling the Burnley players as a wannabe WAG might do in the local nightclub, all suntanned thigh and heaving cleavage. Only the finishing... well, it was like the lights going up and suddenly you realise the mini skirted sort you previously thought was gorgeous, actually looks like Nicklas Bendtner!
I've said it before and I'll say it again: I'm a fan of his, but he does himself no favours with his lackadaisical attitude and, more importantly, some truly poor finishing. If he'd still been playing now, he probably wouldn't have scored. Even if he was on his own on the pitch... To be fair to him, I guess the difference in the game could bottom lined as the bounce of the ball after a keeper block, and anyway he will have better nights.
He wasn't the only culprit either, a player I've come to think of as pretty reliable in front of goal, Señor Carlos Vela, could and should have had a couple of goals. Mark Randall (whose night would get worse), clean through, hit the keeper just before half-time, when a pass to Vela would surely have seen a goal and Fran Merida danced through the Burnley defence before beating the keeper (the only time we managed it?) but seeing his shot curl just wide.
I've seen today the idea that estranged from the comfort zone of N5, the boys were simply outfought and outplayed. Whilst Burnley played very well, and really took control after their second goal, I think that idea is borne more of people taking pleasure in our much vaunted kids coming a cropper to a lower league side, it's not really based on what happened on the pitch. We played well enough to have won by two or three, but if you defend as we did in key areas and, as Arsène admitted, you miss 6 one on one chances, then you have to take your medicine. You could call it today's lesson, I guess.
I have no problem with giving Burnely credit where it's due. McDonald took his goals, particularly the second one, well and Eagles and Paterson were very good. Whilst once the second goal had been scored the life sagged from our players, who had up until that point had suggested that if they could get one, more could follow. Burnley then defended very well indeed, whilst the keeper... well, if he was that good all the time, he'd surely be playing in the Premier League. What a performance.
The real shame of it, for us all, is that this is the last we'll see of this team's effervescent displays for the season, perhaps we won't see this team again. There is certainly reason to think the likes of Vela and Aaron Ramsey will be on a higher stage next season. I wouldn't be adverse to seeing the boys take the field in the 3rd Round of the FA Cup, but I suppose some of them will now be earmarked for half season loan deals. It's a shame there will no semi-final night for them, I think they probably deserved one, but at least there's no danger of a 3-hour emotional rollercoaster against the Shite Hart Lane crew...
User Comments
2Ian Jagger
Posted on 4 Dec, 2008 at 01:49 PM - Reply
Burnley fan here. Arsene Wenger was impressed enough with our club after last year's FA Cup game to send Mark Randall here on loan
This team is a significant improvement on last year's, and full of our own youngsters. I read with interest your comment about half season loan deals. Would you, and more importantly do you think Wenger would consider Burnley a good destination for some of his crop?
1erapanther@gmail.com
Posted on 4 Dec, 2008 at 12:28 PM - Reply
What a joke of a comment. Totally ignorant. So there's no club on the planet who can play sexy football like arsenal? How about a tiny catalan club called barcelona who have been doing for the last 100 years what we have been doing only for the past 5 years or so.
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