St James’s Park was easy to explain.
Without Nasri and Fabregas, the team is not creative.
Also, no Wilshere.
Udinese is the big match, not Newcastle, so Saturday was a day where you don\’t want to be injured before the big game.
These five factors loomed over that game. Nasri absence, Fabregas absence, depression about departures of Fabregas and Nasri, no spinal construction from Jack, and a £25m CLQ game coming up three days later
That\’s why I knew Arsenal would be powderpuff on Saturday evening.
My mate Kelvin phoned and said, of Gervinho : “Typical Wenger player: won’t shoot !”
Kelvin’s comment was an echo of what my son Michael said about Gervinho early in the second half: “Four touches too many, you can tell why Wenger bought him.”
Michael came round to watch the 5.30pm kick-off and have dinner with us,
Koscielny was very good against the clumsiest strikers ever to play in the Premier League, Demba Ba and Shola Ameobi.
Rosicky was half-decent and Szczesny made two good punches. But Van Persie lumbered around like a carthorse and failed to control a tasty little Arshavin lob which played him in.
How can RVP be captain?
He’s not a leader. Van Persie not a leader!
Make Thomas Vermaelen captain today !
After Barton kicked the back of Song’s leg rather roughly, Song trod sneakily on Barton\’s ankle.
Then Gervinho was tripped in the box when the ball was yards from him. The ref, Peter Walton, had waved play on and didn\’t see it. Gervinho didn\’t dive and didn\’t appeal. And he didn\’t roll around on the ground.
Barton dragged Gervinho to his feet and accused him of diving, a brawl broke out, and Gervinho managed to reach round some bodies to land a slap on Barton\’s face. Whereupon Barton collapsed as if he’d been punched on the jaw by Tommy Hearns.
So the 0-0 draw was Arsenal\’s first clean sheet of the season.
The fact that their attack kept a clean sheet too was no big surprise.
Indeed, the away fans were chanting what they chanted at Fulham on the last day of last season: “Spend some fu*king money!”
It was as if the summer never happened.
Alan Pardew knows how one-dimensional Arsenal style is. He\’s only lost one of his last the six against Wenger.
At half-time Jack Wilshere was tweeting, saying Theo Walcott should be brought on to stretch the Newcastle defence. Walcott came on and was hopeless. His worst 25 minutes ever. He lost almost every ball!
On Sunday I heard that Match of the Day was highlighting Arsenal\’s lack of a final pass. I had taped MotD but then deleted those six matches in the morning without watching.
Until the defence is sorted out, Arsenal will win nothing. And Wenger will never sort it out. So his team will get found out again and again.
Having said all that, this 0-0 was a better result than Liverpool\’s draw with Sunderland at Anfield, since they led 1-0 before Seb Larsson scored with a Denis Law volley.
How much mileage do Liverpool want out of the ancient Jamie Carragher? The old geezer was past it two years ago. Very special character, wonderful servant. But… come on!
Chelsea drew 0-0 at Stoke because their midfield was constipated against a team who used four centrebacks in defence.
AVB looked at the tapes of Chelsea\’s games last season and concluded that their play is too slow. He wants to speed it up in every game, I think. That will not be easy, so that area is one to watch.
Villas-Boas started Torres and benched Drogba. Torres was good, Chelsea were average.
Ashley Young looks like he\’s been at Manchester United for three years.
He\’ll help Wayne Rooney to have his biggest season ever. If Rooney stays fit, this will be the biggest season of his career. He\’s the best British player of his generation by 100 miles.
Ashley Young will become be the most marked man in English football. He\’s gonna be blocked and kicked and he\’ll have his shirt pulled and the shorts ripped off his backside, all day long, if they can get near enough to him. The return of the overlapping Evra will give Young more space in which to operate. He looks for Wayne and Wayne looks for him.
West Brom 1 Man United 2 was more impressive-looking EPL result than many United had on the road last year.
Skipper Vidic and ex-skipper Rio Ferdinand were injured, so it\’s a good job Sir Alex has Jonny Evans, Chris Smalling and Phil Jones. Rio is out for six weeks with a hamstring.
Newly-promoted Queens Park Rangers got their arses kicked and that was a shame, as I have a soft spot for QPR. Bolton beat them 4-0 at Loftus Road.
Bolton, like West Brom, play good football.