Arsenal 6 Blackburn 2
Nzonzi 4, Vermaelen 17, Dunn 31, Van Persie 32, Arshavin 37, Fabregas 57, Walcott 75, Bendtner 89
It’s great to go into an international break after a 6-2 victory which showcased everything that’s good about Arsene Wenger’s style of play.
Cesc Fabregas had four assists and a goal. He didn’t make the final goal because it was scored after Aaron Ramsey replaced him.
Rosicky started his first EPL game in 21 months sloppily with a flick which left his mate Fabregas having to make a lunge for a 50-50 ball. A foul was given, Paul Robinson hoisted the free-kick 70 yards into the box, and Nonzi got above Vermaelen to dink a header over Mannone for 1-0. Shock horror, one nil to Blackburn Rovers.
Thirteen minutes later Vermaelen stormed up the field, got tackled, fell over, got up, stormed forward again, took a pass from Fabregas and slammed in a thunderbolt for 1-1. The man who was beaten for the first goal came back and scored the equaliser. We have seen players do that for as long as we have been watching football.
Then Blackburn broke away with three against three and David Dunn’s shot deflected in off Gallas for 1-1. Bacary Sagna didn’t bother to race back to help Gallas. He was on the halfway line when Blackburn scored. I hope he’s proud of that.
Fabregas played in Van Persie for his 9th goal in 8 games against Blackburn, so it was 2-2, and when Fabregas played in Arshavin, the little man didn’t even take a touch, just sweetly beat Robinson with a low shot to make it 3-2 at half-time.
Vermaelen got away with a very risky tackle in the box in 48 minutes. David Dunn beat Gallas and Vermaelen stuck out his left leg and sent him flying. Replays showed it was a stonewall penalty and once again a Big Four team was given the benefit of the doubt by a referee.
The big teams don’t need help from refs! It spoils the game and spoils the league !
Big Sam said it was the turning point of the game. He would say that. If that clear penalty had been given, and scored, Arsenal would still have won 6-3 or 8-3.
Vito Mannone made a superb diving save at 3-2 , tipping an Olsen shot round the post, just after the penalty shout.
Second half, Rosicky hooked a ball across for Fabregas, who chested the ball and slammed a left foot shot in for 4-2 and kissed his badge. Cesc says he is more committed to Arsenal than ever.
When Hoilett had a shot,Vermaelen threw himself across and headed the ball onto the post. Good defending. But also lucky, like the penalty that wasn’t given.
Arshavin led a breakaway on the left, passed inside to Fabregas, who nudged it square for sub Walcott to score with a sidefoot shot from 15 yards.
Ramsey came on for Fabregas and crossed to give Song an open goal. He showed his quality by heading straight at Robinson.
Bendtner, another sub, blasted in off the post from 22 yards for 6-2.
VERDICT ? Arsenal murder weak teams.
They will always annihilate weak teams, especially at home. Six different goalscorers today and 15 different scorers this season.
Total Football? Maybe. Let’s see what they do against Spurs. Let’s see what Man City do at Aston Villa tonight. That’s more of a test for Citeh than this was for Arsenal. Blackburn had no centrebacks. Their defence was four full backs.
What did this game tell us? Only what we knew already : Cesc Fabregas has a great football brain. Wenger’s so-called 4-3-3 system uses Fabregas in a different way. When he had a superfast striker, Fabregas could release Adebayor with a 35-yard pass. Without a superfast striker, Wenger is having to re-train Robin van Persie to operate in a narrower zone and play people in, which he has started to do quite well at times.
If RVP can do that, Fabregas can play much further up the field and conduct the orchestra from the front third rather than the middle third. That’s what’s happening and that’s why Arsenal had 15 shots on target and could have scored 10 goals.
It’s quite simple. The game where Fabregas made four goals and and scored one was a game where Fabregas was playing further up the field. He can still see openings early and make decisions very quickly but he now sees them from different places and new angles. He’s always been an productive footballer. In this team he is being efficient in a new way.
ARSENAL (4-1-4-1): Mannone; Sagna, Gallas, Vermaelen, Clichy; Song; Rosicky (Walcott, 69), Fabregas (Ramsey, 76), Diaby, Arshavin (Bendtner, 76); Van Persie. Subs not used: Szczesny (gk), Silvestre, Eboué, Gibbs
BLACKBURN (4-4-1-1): Robinson; Jacobsen, Chimbonda, Givet, Olsson; Emerton (Pedersen, 55), Nzonzi, Andrews, Diouf; Dunn (McCarthy, 62; Hoilett, 70); Di Santo. Subs not used: Brown (gk), Kalinic, Salgado, Jones.
Booked: Van Persie, Di Santo.