Fabregas shoots, scores and leaves

Results

Date	Time	C	Opponent	F	A	R	S
26 Dec	3:00 PM	P	Aston Villa (H)	3	0	Win

I spoke last week about how today's game was crucial. Wenger spoke about it in the week, and Arsenal fans have been talking about it all week. It's credit to the way Aston Villa have played this season that this was such a hugely anticipated match.

We saw why Villa went into the game with the best defensive record in the league as they made the likes of Nasri and Denilson play a lot faster than they often like to. We probed them a lot in the first half but we couldn't get much of a grip on the game.

As well as Villa's hard-working defence and midfield, we were clearly missing Fabregas, who can speed up and slow down the game at will.

To be honest, when it was 0-0 at the break, I thought it would probably stay that way.

But the captain needed just 21 minutes of playing time to change the match. It would be tempting to say it could change our season, but we mustn't get ahead of ourselves.

First, a beauty of a free kick, which I believe is the first he has ever scored for us. Surprising, as he seems like the type of player who should be a real threat from those positions. When you watch the swerve of the ball as it beat Friedel, you can see the superb technique he possesses. We've seen him execute stunning passes with that technique, so hopefully he can contribute from this area as well while van Persie is out.

And secondly, an excellent counter attack. Traore, who had an impressive game, intercepted and played an excellent diagonal ball to Walcott, who slid Fabregas in to beat the keeper, and sadly, get himself injured in the process.

What a hero our Cesc is! We weren't sure if we'd see him today. He was perhaps lucky to make the bench, and he came on for a brief spell to win us the game, and injured himself in the process. A real captain's performance. Let's just hope the 3 points will prove valuable, and the injury not too costly.

Diaby then went and added a classy third. There was a lot of hype over him after the Hull game, which seemed a bit OTT for my liking, but he was a dominant figure yet again today. Still, two good games in a row from an Arsenal player should not be too much to ask, so I will wait to see how consistent he can be before I praise him too much.

So...the big picture? Why was this such a big game? Personally, I feared Villa in their current form, and I feared that Arsenal would, as they so often do, fail to capitalise on the mistakes of their rivals. As it is, we are up to 2nd place for a couple of hours at least, but more importantly, we are 4 points behind Chelsea with a game in hand. I don't need to do the maths for you, we are in a strong position and we need to be able to win games like this one.

Once again though, I fear for Arsenal. After we beat Liverpool we drew at Burnley. We can't draw at Portsmouth on Wednesday. More on that later.

User Comments

User Comments

• Got something to say?
• Read comments

Vs chelsea