Weak-end

Results

Date	Time	C	Opponent	F	A	R	S
29 Nov	4:00 PM	P	Chelsea (H)	0	3	Lost

Sometimes when a team loses a game, a manager can take some positives out of it. David Moyes will be able to take some positives out of Sunday's other big derby game when his Everton side unluckily lost to Liverpool, as for Arsenal manager, Arsène Wenger, I can only think of the single positive from the 3-0 defeat at home to title rivals Chelsea.

That positive being the mentality of Chelsea, who took to putting 9 or sometimes 10 men behind the ball and blocking the route through for passes from Fabregas and Denilson, a mentality similar to that of a team at the bottom of the table. Of course the difference between Chelsea and a side at the bottom of the division is that they can hurt you on the break and that was unfortunately what happened.

So I'm afraid this isn't going to be a positive article. After the defeat, apart from feeling very frustrated, I couldn't help but think of the consequences of this defeat, what would Fabregas think of his side being so totally outclassed, does this Arsenal side really rely that heavily on van Persie and could this defeat be the catalyst for Wenger to spend some money in January. The big difference between the two London sides on Sunday was the final ball, as much as it pains me to say it, Ashley Cole delivered the two best crosses of the match and they both led to goals, as for Arsenal it's a struggle to remember a single killer ball through the whole match.

Now you could put this down to Arsenal not being at the races as much as Chelsea's stifling defence, but something wasn't right and the passing didn't flow, chances didn't come and goals were once again missing. I can't help but agree with Arsène Wenger's post match thoughts, everything seemed to be going against us, the referee wasn't decidedly not a homer, a fine goal was disallowed, then injuries continue to go against us and we concede another own goal.

Two interesting questions were asked of Arsène Wenger post-match, first off, are Arsenal out of the title race, answer no, I would agree but it looks a very tough task now, effectively 8 points behind after the game in hand means Chelsea need to really feel the effects of Drogba and Essien leaving in January but of course we lose Alex Song but it is not unthinkable that 8 points can be closed. The second question was about spending in January, as usual Arsène was less than committal but I would have thought at the very least a striker, probably Chamakh or apparently Gignac is being looked at would arrive and hopefully this would kick start things.

Drogba once again was unmarkable, if only Chelsea had made the mistake of selling him when it appeared close a couple of seasons ago. It only served to back up my opinion that Drogba is the best striker in the world, sure Torres probably gets more goals but Drogba has power, speed, goals, heading ability and can easily play up front on his own, he is something we have to overcome if we want to win a title again. It got me thinking what Arsenal would be like with a Drogba or Torres up front, I guess that's what dreams are for.

Finally, I also wanted to give a quick mention to Arshavin, I was not happy to read that he didn't really want to be playing after missing out on the World Cup Finals with Russia. At a time when van Persie had just been injured and would probably give anything to get back playing and also when we need him the most, it was neither very good nor a well timed interview. To his credit in the second half of Sunday's game it was encouraging to see him chasing down and working a lot harder than usual.

The defeat was not the end of the road in terms of the title race, but it certainly makes that road look a lot longer, on the brightside it could spark some transfer activity and a review into our progress this season, along with maybe as another blog has said a serious attempt at winning the Carling Cup or FA Cup, just to ensure a trophy is secured this season and a taste for success is founded, but keep the faith, Sunday was not the be all and end all of the season.

User Comments

User Comments

• Got something to say?
• Read comments

Vs chelsea