By Ian Grant
Blackburn 1 Arsenal 0
Depressing, although Arsenal tried harder than the Liverpool game.
In the last quarter Arsenal pressed and had several chances, including a possible penalty, which might have been given at Highbury, but Rennie ignored Gray’s contact on Fabregas.
Arsenal started 4-4-2 and executed a multiple passing move in the first ten minutes. Blackburn were on the defensive. Toure hit a hard free kick from 30 yards which went out for a corner.
Senderos slipped ominously.
Fabregas was body checked by Nelsen – and got a shoulder in face. Henry took a free kick just outside the D, but it went straight into the wall.
Toure got a yellow for kicking the ball away from the blocked free kick.
Adebayor was in a threatening position but made the wrong choice, passing to Henry.
Blackburn were near to breaking the Arsenal offside trap several times. They, like a lot of Premiership sides let Arsenal play in front of them, play on the break, isolating the individual and inexperienced defenders. Lo and behold….
…on 18 Bellamy cleverly beats Senderos on the right, cutting inside and cutting the ball back where Pedersen running in finishes off the pull back. Toure and Eboue were not marking the Norwegian.
It was the first Blackburn goal against Arsenal since 2003.
The goal was like pulling the plug on a golden week. The rest of the half you could feel the golden confidence draining down the plug-hole.
Pedersen went off injuring a hamstring after scoring the goal. Peter came on, on the right.
Blackburn began to get on top and could have scored again through Savage, firing over from close range. Arsenal were pretty, but pretty ineffective. Blackburn hunted in packs, with Savage and Reid snapping into tackles, giving teh London team no time or space, and breaking down their fast passing moves.
Senderos got himself in trouble defensively again, although nudged by Bellamy. He was having a torrid time.
Todd was booked for a deliberate foul on the ineffectual Reyes.
Blackburn become more physical evidenced by Tugay’s cynical foul on Eboue.
The north west team had a chance from a corner when Tugay set up Todd, but his header went over.
Lehmann missed an attempted cross (Savage had his arms all round him) and Reid shot over.
Henry has the first direct Arsenal attempt with ten minutes to half-time.
Toure cleared from a Pongolle cross.
Reyes broke clear but Todd cleared with Adebayor free and waiting.
Pires came on at half-time for Reyes. And linked up with Henry straight away.
Arsenal appeared more determined.
Lehmann was up to his old tricks – and pushed over Reid, who was deliberately blocking his goal kick – getting a yellow.
Eboue performed a good tackle on Pongolle.
Adebayor made good break and won a corner.
Senderos had a free header, but put it just over bar from a Fabregas corner.
Hleb came on for Diaby on 66 minutes and Fabregas switched inside. And Arsenal looked more balanced and threatening.
Adebayor was given offside when he clearly wasn’t.
Fabregas shot straight at Friedel, set up by Henry.
Eboue hit it over the crossbar. Pires didn’t shoot from a good position, Henry passes it to the Ivorian.
Hleb dribbled in on a rebound – Gray clears.
Fabregas went down in the area, clipped by Gray, but he went down late, and nothing was given.
Blackburn sat back and let Arsenal attack.
Fabregas passed to Pires who fired over the crossbar.
Adebayor had a great close range chance, from a Fabregas cross but Friedel saved the scuffed shot.
Lupoli, on for Gilberto, for his Premiership debut had a good run but a bad pass at the end of it. And half a chance from an Adebayor header, but he couldn’t reach it.
Bellamy broke away at the end, but Lehmann saved low down.
So Arsenal went to their tenth defeat and eighth away loss, with Europe receding as fast as the Greenland ice sheets, as Blackburn rise above Arsenal into a UEFA Cup position.
That perimeter ad for Northern Rock was prominent again – acting as a sort of symbol that the Arsenal ship keeps running aground on [Note – Everton, Newcastle, Liverpool, Everton and Bolton].
Away goals have dried up – and with the young defenders, like Senderos, likely to make at least one mistake a game, Arsenal are on thin-ice indeed. Again, it begs the question as to why Wenger didn’t buy experience in the window.
Arsene Wenger said: “It is very sad. We didn’t deserve to lose. Apart from five or six minutes in the first half we were always on top but couldn’t score. We gave everything. We lacked a bit of mental sharpness, but we gave everything physcially.
“Blackburn kicked it long behind out defenders for Bellamy and Pongolle to chase after ball. Every team plays like they want. I’m not responsible for the way they play. It is down to us face every problem and handle it. We couldn’t do it today, but we were unfortunate. We were on top in the second half, but it took us a while to get into it.”
Blackburn: Friedel, Neill, Nelsen, Todd, Gray, Reid, Savage,Tugay (68), Pedersen (20), Bellamy, Sinama-Pongolle (74) Subs:Enckelman, Mokoena (74), Bentley (68), Peter (20),Kuqi
Arsenal: Lehmann, Eboue, Toure, Senderos, Flamini, Fabregas, Diaby (63), Gilberto (82), Reyes (45), Henry, Adebayor Subs: Almunia, Djourou, Pires (45), Hleb (63), Lupoli (82)