Big Sigh of Relief

Miserable conditions up in the North West and Arsenal are fortunate to earn the three points.

The team were flat in the first half; there was no energy, no urgency, and the heavy downpour added to the lethargy - of the ball as well as the players. Arsenal offered no cutting edge on offense. Everyone just stood around, content to pass the ball laterally or backwards. In contrast, Bolton were industrious; they needed it to get out of the relegation zone. They clearly had a game plan, harrying the Arsenal midfield and striking on the break. The plan almost worked, and brilliantly too.

A momentary lapse on the left, between Clichy and Diaby, gifted Bolton and ball down the flank. An excellent cross near the by-line by Steinsson was headed in by Matthew Taylor; Almunia could have done better. The goal did not wake the Arsenal players. Instead, a few minutes later, Diaby was sent off for a missed tackle that saw his studs on Steinsson's left ankle. I thought "Great, the FA is starting to give out red cards on dangerous tackles and they start on an Arsenal foul."

Things went from bad to worse; a couple of clumsy short passes near the left edge of the area saw Bolton intercepting the ball and it was Taylor again who shot and the ball went in off Gallas' leg; there was nothing Almunia could do. 2-0 down with 10 men; how much tougher can the Arsenal players make it for themselves and the fans?

They still couldn't generate threat. Van Persie had a couple chances but he kept missing it high. Toure tried a couple of 20-yard shots and made Bolton nervous but couldn't get through the defense. The saving grace was that there was still half a game left to play after all these had happened.

The situation continued to be grim after the restart. Bolton actually were stroking the ball around and threatened to score more. Arsene had enough and he took off Bendtner and Senderos and sent on Adebayor and Walcott and the formation became 333. It was very obvious that the Arsenal players perked up when they saw Adebayor was on. The level of energy visibly increased.

The first Arsenal goal was scored by William Gallas, unmarked at the far post, off a corner kick by Fabregas in the 62nd minute. This was the first time in a long time that this play was successful, and it gave the players a little more belief. They started to keep better possession of the ball and surrounded the Bolton box. Four minutes after the first Arsenal goal went in, Arsenal got their second. The move started from another corner from the left, Bolton couldn't clear the ball, and it made its way to Adebayor who gave Flamini a neat back-heel. Flamini shot but the Bolton keeper palmed it out about 15 yards from goal; Hleb got to the ball and was tripped up by Gary Cahill. The ref awarded a penalty and Van Persie sent the keeper the wrong way to equalize.

The lucky winning goal was scored by Fabregas in the 90th minute. Clichy sent Hleb down the left; he cut back to Cesc who managed to send a shot towards the far post before a tackle got in. The ball deflected off two Bolton defenders and went in. Bolton's hope for a win was dashed.

No doubt Arsene will praise the "mental strength" of the team but it was a torture to see them struggle in the rain; not knowing what to do with the ball once it gets near the opposition's box. I say Arsene must issue a "shoot on sight" order: anyone with the ball within 25 yards of the opposition's goal must shoot if he can see the goal. That's how scoring opportunities can be created and that's how you tell your opponents that packing their own half won't help them.

I'll leave the player ratings to my colleague 433 who is much better and more balanced than I am in that matter but I must say I am impressed by Walcott who created panic in the defense every time he got the ball down the right. He set up Van Persie who skied his shot which could have been the winning goal. Overall everyone worked hard. The midfield were stellar and the defense were solid in the second half. Senderos deserves a lot of credit for playing well. Here is hoping that this fortunate win will spark more confidence in the matches to come.

Euro 2008 - Sort of like the World Cup, but no Brazil

Early Thoughts on Bolton - Arsenal Mar. 29

The midweek international friendlies have not been played so player status for this weekend's game with Bolton are not certain but I have been sampling opinions around the blogosphere and from some sports journalists and I can't wait to join in the cacophony about the dire strait that Arsenal are in and what to do about it.

The consensus out there is roughly:

1) Arsenal have too small and too thin a squad with no depth
2) Because of the small squad, the first XI have to play every week so they have tired in the home stretch of the PL season
3) Injuries to key attacking players have limited Arsenal's firepower
4) Midfielders are not contributing enough goals
5) There's fragility in the center of defense
6) Arsenal don't know how to play and defend long balls

I have listed some of the quasi-technical items and left out the more outrageous ones regarding the captaincy and such. Seeing that it was Didier Drogba and Chelsea who scored two against Arsenal using long balls, I would be somewhat sanguine about item number 6, but I must say that I sense that the players are fatigued, and that has affected their creativity on the pitch, thus leading to the dip in form.

Given this situation, and knowing that Bolton will try playing long balls against us, I thought about if I were the manager, how I would handle those long balls, the fatigue factor, and the upcoming important CL and PL matches. The key I think is to rest the players who have played the most games and at the same time give other players a game to keep them fit and motivated. So for the game this weekend, I think we should play a 4-2-3-1 formation:

Almunia

Sagna(Eboue) Toure Senderos Clichy

Gilberto Flamini

Van Persie Hleb(Cesc) Diaby

Adebayor (Bendtner)


This team will give Gallas and Cesc (optionally Hleb, Sagna and Adebayor) a week off. It utilizes Gilberto's tendency to stay back so he can help out with long balls. It gives Van Persie his favored position on the right to cut inside and use his left foot while using the full backs to provide crosses into the center. If we want to add more attacking potency, replace Eboue with Walcott; push Van Persie up front and play 3-5-2. For this game, all we need is a clean sheet and one goal so shoring up the back is essential even though Bolton has little to threaten us.

The players must not look past this game even though we all know that the subsequent 4 games are huge. Bolton is fighting relegation so they are going to work hard. If we are to keep our pursuit of the league championship alive, we need to win all the remaining games then let fate decide the rest.

Many have said that our hope of winning the league is gone but I think that talk is premature. Sure, the odds are stacked against us but we can all be proud of what this young and cheaply assembled squad has achieved and can achieve. Because of Arsene's policies, the club is on very sound financial footings, has little debt, is profitable, and is loved by many for our attractive brand of football. Sure, we don't have the best players in the world but when this bunch of "not-the-best" players win either the CL or PL, the victory will be that much more sweet!

Up the Gunners!

Instinctive Ingenuity

The major talking points were Javier Mascherano acting like a daft punk and Wes Brown flawlessly executing a 180 Reverse Blind Salmon to score a massive goal using his back, but perhaps the most striking aspect of United's victory over Liverpool was Wayne Rooney's incredible footballing acumen.

As David Pleat pointed out, Rooney terrorized Carragher and Skrtel with his instinctive, incisive movement. He showed his remarkable strength and determination early on when he refused to go down under the weight of a desperate Carragher challenge after Anderson threaded a gorgeous through ball into his path. And his unselfishness and awareness were on display once again, as he set up the third goal with a beautiful one-two with Nani.

Though Paul Doyle criticized Rooney last week for what he deemed poor finishing, it was a shallow smear piece that laughably proposed that Rooney has a "grubby lust to inflate the hype around him, to soup up his image."

Armed with immense skill and creativity, Rooney has been a bit unlucky recently but look for him to bag some more goals before the season draws to a close.


Honorable Mention: Paul Scholes and Michael Carrick, who combined for an incredible 254 touches and controlled the midfield with style, spraying passes about with ease.

Arsenal can't live with Drogba

After going up a goal from a Bacary Sagna glancing header, Arsenal turned sixes and sevens at the back and were undone by a Didier Drogba double. Reminiscent of the 5-1 loss to Tottenham in the Carling Cup and the 4-0 loss to Manchester United in the FA Cup, the result left Arsenal Supporters wondering if their side is good enough.

Arsenal Supporters want to win the league, and after taking 4 points from their last 5 games, it looks unlikely. Chelsea and Manchester United would both need to lose the plot, and Arsenal would have to improve their form dramatically.

Losing to Chelsea from Drogba goals is a painful experience Arsenal Supporters are getting used to. The 2005 Community Shield the 2007 Carling Cup Final were eerily similar.

Two good things have happened for Arsenal this season; a side, mind you, that hasn't won anything since the 2005 FA Cup during the Vieira era, although they did make it to the Champions League final in 2006: they have been competitive in the league, after doing well to hold onto 4th the 2 previous seasons, and they had a great victory in the Champions League away to AC Milan. Depending on your point of view, it might not sound like much, but it has been an improvement over last season, and a consolation to supporters who haven't had overly-high expectations.

Arsene Wenger's experiment of playing with a small, young, inexpensively-assembled squad is stuttering. Eboue doesn't look good enough to be a starter at this level. Walcott and Diaby, who came on as substitutes, made regrettably little impact. Van Persie didn't look fit. Adebayor wasn't having one of his best games, and then faded.

Clichy was probably Arsenal's best player.

With 7 games left in the league, and everything to play for in the Champions League, Arsenal Supporters can't discount the possibility of winning something, although it looks unlikely at this point, with the side in such a fragile state.

Sunday's Games: United-Liverpool, Chelsea-Arsenal

A look ahead to the big weekend action via the innovative Wicked Deflection Blog Chat:

433: Your Red Devils pulled off a result against Bolton. At 2-0 up within 20 minutes, were you confident of the 3 points?

The Red Scare: I was. Bolton didn't look too potent.

433: And Ronaldo scoring a double, including one his freekicks.

The Red Scare: Got some great swerve on that one...beautiful. What's your opinion - do you think he is the best in the world?

433: Yeah, there's a lot of talk about Messi, who's out injured right now, but Ronaldo, from what I've seen, is the world's best player on current form.

The Red Scare: I agree. I don't want to jinx it, but I think he's working on staying his feet as well - he shrugged off more than one tackle on Wednesday.

433: Big games this weekend.

The Red Scare: huge. (though two draws wouldn't shock me)

433: Now you are jinxing it.

The Red Scare: ha

433: I'd like to see emphatic wins for Liverpool over United and Arsenal over Chelsea. A Liverpool side in top form should have what it takes to depose United, no?

The Red Scare: They have been impressive, no doubt about it, but I have a feeling it will be more of a grind, midfield battle will be key. I want Anderson (shocker) and Hargreaves in there. Look for Rooney to nick one...he's due.

Sixes and Sevens has joined.

The Red Scare: I said no Scousers!

433: So no Carrick?

The Red Scare: Carrick is great

433: But surplus to requirements.

The Red Scare: Not surplus to requirements at all.

433: An 18 million pound substitute!

Sixes and Sevens: That is Chelsea money.

The Red Scare: I just want the defensive-minded Hargreaves and Anderson in there for the grind against Liverpool.

433: Arsenal doesn't have a starter they paid that much for.

Sixes and Sevens: Arsenal are a small club... in a big stadium.

The Red Scare: I do like the fancy stadium.

Sixes and Sevens: I'm anxious to see all three clubs in action. Players I need to see more of: Nani, Hargreaves, Adebayor, Clichy; these are players I've heard so much buzz about, but need to confirm it for myself.

433: Clichy just got a call up for the France-England friendly.

Sixes and Sevens: Nani is the biggest question mark for me. He looked pretty good for the first half against Bolton, but he hasn't contributed to the scoresheet. 2 goals on the season, I believe? Come to think if it, I'm also not sure about Saha.

The Red Scare: I would say Nani is far ahead of the curve for an extremely young player [21] in his first year in the premiership, ahead of a young Cristiano even. As long as he keeps working on those dangerous crosses from the wing that he's capable of, he'll continue to improve.

433: Nani has scored a couple screamers.

Sixes and Sevens: And what about Saha? Isn't he a player better suited as third-choice striker at a side like Blackburn?

The Red Scare: I think he's hurt again. Saha has lost his confidence, I think.

Sixes and Sevens: Will he go the way of Ole Gunnar?

The Red Scare: Perhaps. The chronic injuries are becoming an embarrassment.

433: Let's have predictions then. What are you Reds up to Sunday?

Sixes and Sevens: My Reds will probably draw 1-1. Torres or Gerrard will score our goal. Chelsea 2-Arsenal 1. Lampard and Drogba. Big players score big goals in big games.

The Red Scare: 1-0 United (Rooney). Chelsea 1-Arsenal 1 (Drogba, Van Persie). You think you can pull the full three points against the Blues?

433: I do. Something has to give. Either Arsenal are a strong side who can handle a pesky cross-town rival, or they're not. I'm inclined to think that they can put together a good performance and win by 2 goals. I can't see past what I want to happen: Liverpool 1-0 from a Gerrard goal, and Arsenal 3-1 (Adebayor (2), Hleb, and Anelka).

Sixes and Sevens: I'd love to see that result at OT. Torres is bound to miss out on scoring in at least one game. It's going to be a glorious day of football.

433: Unless it's two 0-0 draws.

Liverpool 2 - 1 Reading

Javier Masherano opened his Liverpool scoring account Saturday. This came after Marek Matejovski opened his Reading account with an unstoppable blast from a set piece in the 5th minute. Matejovski's goal was out of the very top drawer; the result of a free kick directed laterally from left to right, where Matejovski took the ball on the volley as it crossed his body. Masherano replied with a net-tearer shortly thereafter. The game winning goal came from the second highest scorer in the league, Fernando Torres. Torres has made a bright start to his Liverpool career, and is on track for 25 league goals in his debut season. His goal was headed in from a Gerrard free kick.

Other events of note: Alonso is finding his form back, having made the sorts of passes we got used to in previous years. Rafa has also noted that he's got a contract written up for Xabi's new son, who he believes will be carrying on the Alonso tradition of fine footballing. We're building a dynasty. Alonso also got did well as a ballwinner, combining with Masherano to allow Gerrard to concentrate on attack. Finally, Alonso wasn't far off this season's goal from his own half after the American Hahnemann came forward for a set piece. More of that, please.

Arbeloa looked comfortable on the right, keeping a cool head against the hotheaded and ill-tempered Stephen Hunt. Babel was again useful on the left but couldn't take his chances. This player will develop to be fantastic. Kuyt had a typical Kuyt match: run ragged but ultimately brought little to the side. The combination of Gerrard roaming about the park and Torres lurking up front is lethal. Liverpool played at 50% and never looked like anything less but winning.

Extended highlights at:
http://www.footytube.com/2008/03/15/liverpool-2-1-reading/

Arsenal's title hopes slipping as they draw 4th game on the trot

Arsenal have conceded the lead in the Premier League to a team that has played fewer games, after dropping 8 points in their last 4 games.

As I can't predict the future, I can't discount the possibility that they'll win the league, and if they win the rest of their games, they just might, but over the last 4 league games, they haven't looked like a title-winning side.

For me, Cesc was the standout player for Arsenal. He attributes his dip in form of a few weeks ago to an injury from which he was recovering. His form is back.

Flamini has become a great player. I always liked the player, but he's become a great player, and would not be out of place starting for France this summer.

Hleb only showed his brilliance in patches today. Arsenal have relied on him heavily this season, and need him to be brilliant all the time if they hope to get back their lead in the league.

Rosicky is missing in action (MIA).

Van Persie was not at his best, but almost looked like he might score anyway.

Adebayor wasn't at his best, and Arsenal relied on him so much to get the lead in the league that they've now lost. He's had an epic season, but did not have an epic day. He did have a goal wrongly disallowed.

Clichy took a boot to the head. I'll be sick if he's not ok.

Sagna got subbed off. He was only a little bit below par. I don't think I'd ever take him off.

Toure and Gallas lost out on Aliadiere's goal. Kolo didn't block the cross and Gallas didn't stop Aliadiere. It was a great goal from Boro. Arsenal need to score more goals.

Eboue played better than he usually does, but even on a good day, he's not as useful as Hleb and Adebayor having off days.

Alumina couldn't do anything about the goal. Concerns about Almunia have mostly subsided, as far as I know.

Walcott is player I really like. I'd play him all the time.

Bendtner is more of a question mark for me.

The game was riveting. Arsenal had all 10 outfield players in the offensive half for long passages in the second half.

Gunners facing European Specialists Liverpool

The draw is done. Fixtures are set.

United play Roma, who will be out for revenge. One columnist for Wicked Deflection fears them, as they're likely to behave like cornered, injured animals.

Chelsea will face Fenerbahce, who haven't made it this far in their history.

Barcelona will be taking on Schalke 04.

Finally, the belle of the ball, Arsenal's worst nightmare is confirmed in having to face our massive European Liverpool.

We're set up for a United v Liverpool final.

See the bracket here.

Refinement and Never-Say-Die Commitment - An Irresistible Blend

With English sides occupying 4 of the final 8 spots in the UEFA Champions League, David Hytner wrote a piece in the Guardian with a series of quotes from Italy and Spain about how great English Football is, but the best quote in the piece looks like it's one of his own:

The wave of highly skilled imports has helped to raise the levels of technique and the arrival of forward-thinking continental coaches has refined tactical approaches. Yet the traditional virtues of strength, tempo and a never-say-die commitment - as illustrated by the Champions League final triumphs of United and Liverpool - have not been lost. Indeed, the old and the new make for an irresistible blend.

I'd 2nd that.

Wigan 0, Arsenal 0

Arsenal couldn't find a goal. They looked like coming close a few times, but Wigan did enough to earn the draw. Arsenal looked like fairly-typical Arsenal, although Gilberto and Bendtner, who started, and were subbed off early, were anonymous. Kolo Toure looks like a promising right midfielder. Van Persie hardly got involved in the time he was on.

LFC 3 - 0 Newcastle

Fernando Torres had a quiet game on Saturday, only scoring one goal and assisting another. Coming off a hat-trick on Wednesday, fans were hoping for a least a brace, but Rafa gave him 72 minutes and ran out of patience. He's now tied for second in league scoring, alongside Adebayor. Mascherano was rested entirely. Meanwhile, Inter Milan is preparing for another English reversal on Wednesday.

For reasons that remain unclear, Liverpool played West Ham on Wednesday, when they should have been beating Inter Milan at the Guiseppe Meazza. The first leg saw Kuyt and Gerrard net, so we're going into Italy up 2-0, and an early goal will ensure the fourth English side will qualify for the round of eight.

Fernando Torres is in blinding form. He's scored three hat tricks this season, and we've had to pay out again to Athletico Madrid. (A clause in his contract means Liverpool periodically writes checks to his old club for the boatloads of goals he scores- a sweet check to write.) Inter Milan has to be nervous. Catch the match on the Deuce from 3:30PM Tuesday.

At ten points shy of the faultering league leaders, and going into Tuesday's cup tie in a good position, Liverpool fans are feeling bullish. Massive games on track for the rest of the season, including Manchester United, Arsenal, and Everton.

In other news, a brilliant Barnsley defeated Chelsea in the FA Cup. It was thrilling to watch the team that knocked Liverpool out stick it to General Grant's Army. This is the best time of the year.

Looking into March

After the euphoria on Tuesday, it's time for everyone to come down to earth and live in reality again. I want to take a look at the fixture list of the top four in March to see what may lie ahead.

Arsenal have four EPL matches in March. The club is out of the FA cup so there are no other games in the fixture list for this month. The quarter final tie for the Champions League is not until the first or second of April.

March 9 Wigan v. Arsenal
March 15 Arsenal v. 'Boro
March 23 Chelsea v. Arsenal
March 29 Bolton v. Arsenal

Three away matches out of four could be tricky to navigate but all of the opponents are beatable. The players should be relatively well rested with only one match per week. The added bonus is the return of Van Persie. However, with Eboue still having to serve suspension for two more matches and Walcott being injured (in a closed-door game against the Colorado Rapids), the flanks are thin and are a worry; only Hleb, and Diaby, maybe Denilson regularly play there.

Walcott also plays on the right flank but he may be used more up front while RvP works his way back to match fitness. The manager will have a little bit of a headache regarding center halves when Kolo Toure regains fitness (he's supposed to be out only two weeks about two weeks ago). Senderos is in form right now and it'll be difficult to drop him. Except for the Chelsea game, the other tree games might see a little squad rotation to give the second string players some match time to keep them sharp and keep the first-teamers fresh for the European encounters in early April.

Man. U., Liverpool, and Chelsea all play more matches in March than Arsenal. MU and Chelsea are still in contention for the FA cup while 'Pool play the second leg of their round-of-16 tie against Inter on the 11th.

While Arsenal has a top-four encounter against Chelsea this month, the other top four sides each have two potentially tough games. MU meet Liverpool on super Sunday 3/23 then host Aston Villa one week later. Liverpool visit MU on the 23rd then must lock horns at home with Everton in the local derby. Chelsea visit White Hart Lane on the 19th before hosting Arsenal on the 23rd. Arsenal play three away matches in March but the other top four sides all have three home matches. Out of those, MU are in the best position to take advantage because the only away game for them is to Derby County.

The main task at hand for Arsenal is to maintain focus to keep the momentum in both EPL and CL. If injures are avoided and we get players back fit again, the team will be in good shape to contend for glory.

Sing When You're Winning

As resident wind-up merchant and Anderson admirer, I was delighted when I stumbled upon this creative new chant recently "developed" by United supporters.

But in all seriousness, it's that actual development of chants that truly fascinates me. Hooliganism may be the the most immediately intriguing aspect of terrace culture with its violence and gang mentality, but the creation of songs that ring from the stands is quite literally an art form.

It's a cheeky craft that lies somewhere between the traditional poem and the remix. Between the limerick and the mash-up. Between the pun, parody and the campfire sing-along. It's vocal interpolation at its finest. It's remotely possible that football chants inspired Weird Al Yankovic, and vice versa.

Someone, somewhere, concocted this mad ode to Anderson. All we can really glean from the chant is that the composer has been impressed with young Brazilian's displays thus far and that they love the track "Agadoo" by Black Lace, essentially a British "Macarena" that stormed the UK charts in 1984. I have a feeling alcohol may have been involved as well.

The next step is even more incredible. Somehow it travels from the mind of one zany fan to the mouths of many, who emphatically chant the song in unison. Is it simply a matter of teaching it to a few of your mates and belting it out at a match, hoping that it will infect others in your section, and spread from there? What makes a "successful" chant? How long does it typically take for one to take hold? Anyone remember the South Korean fans when they played France in the last World Cup? They were so organized it was simultaneously frightening and awe-inspiring.

If anyone out there has any insight or suggested reading on the subject, I'd be really interested. I didn't look around too much, but I did come across this piece from BBC News on England's first Chant Laureate.

The ultimate moral of the story? American sports fans are incredibly lame.

Bipolar Arsenal play Milan off the park

On the balance of the two legs, an aggregate score of 2-0 flatters AC Milan. A typical line of inquiry goes, "If Aston Villa outplay Arsenal, and Arsenal outplay AC Milan, are Aston Villa better than the European Champions?" There's an argument to be made.

The Villans aside, Arsenal really put it Milan on the night and over the 2 legs. Senderos seemed to know exactly how he wanted to defend against Pato, and Flamini repeatedly mugged Kaka.

Is it my imagination, or does Walcott create more in 5 minutes than Eboue does in an hour?

How reliable is Sagna? The guy is a rock.

Cesc found his form.

Adebayor could still pip him for man of the match, especially given his first half performance.

Hleb and Flamini added fabled chapters to their great seasons.

Clichy was everywhere, fairly typical for him.

Gallas made a few of his fiercely determined interventions.

Almunia was barely tested, but was mistake-free.

Diaby looked much more fit than he did against Aston Villa, and showed some signs of pace in the first half.

Who said anything about missing Rosicky and Van Persie?

Milan, Here We Come!

AC Milan vs. Arsenal - ESPN2 March 4, 230PM (EST) 1130AM (PST)

Away goals count double (almost). That's the thing to remember.

Milan has shown that they can play defense. They did not show their offensive capabilities in the 0-0 draw at Emirates two weeks ago and that's a dangerous sign. Arsenal's defense really need to step up; Flamini probably has to do 13Km in this match even with Emerson out and Seedorf a doubt because I think Kaka is going to play regardless of what the press says. He has been rested from their Serie A matches; this is too big a match for him to miss.

I believe Arsene will go with a 4-5-1. The back line is the same as the one facing Villa on the weekend: Clichy, Senderos, Gallas, Sagna. Midfield is a bit difficult as I think Eboue will be playing on the right flank; the question will come down to whether to start Diaby or Walcott. On recent form, I would expect Walcott to be selected but will Arsene play him on the left? It's a shame Rosicky is still not fit because we really need him in this kind of big matches.

A big addition to the squad is Robin Van Persie. If he plays, it will be his first match in more than four months. How sharp is he? I am guessing that Bendtner will come on before he does but RvP loves to play on the right side and taking off Eboue after an hour is what Arsene usually does so it'll be interesting to see what kind of impact RvP can bring. Obviously, if Arsenal can score, the away goal rule will put a lot of pressure on the host. And Milan have to come out and attack at home so that should give a little more passing space for Arsenal to do their things. Gallas and Senderos must work better than they have in the Villa match. If Agbonlahor can cause problems then Pato is going to be even more troublesome.

I think Flamini will be the key in this match because if he can push Arsenal forward at a high tempo, Milan will not be able to keep up. If Milan can dictate the pace of the game, then Arsenal will be in trouble because the slow-fast style of football played in Italy can be very tough on the defense - any slight lapse will lead to goals conceded.

A Tuesday match followed by a Sunday EPL match is good for the players who get a little extra time to recover from their exertion.

Let's cheer on our Gunners!

Bendtner scores late, late equalizer to keep Arsenal top

There was little joy for Arsenal today as they hosted Aston Villa, a late equalizer to stay top, notwithstanding.

Gallas - He played fairly well, and had some strong tackles, but Agbonlahor got in positions to cause Arsenal trouble over and over again. It was an Agbonlahor cross that got by Gallas that Senderos slotted in at the near post. Gallas came forward a few times, but the organization of the team going forward mostly looked like a mess (7).

Senderos - Even before scoring his own goal, he lost out terribly making a hopeless attempt to mark a player, and tripping himself as the player broke free to play a ball across the face of goal. His own goal was a real howler: under very little pressure and in a great position, he dealt with a fairly tame cross by beating Almunia at the near post. Clumsy. After that, he played fairly well, and was surprisingly good on the ball pushing forward. But the defensive organization was a bit of a mess, and Aston Villa had several chances to score. When Harewood came on, he looked like he relished the chance to play against Big Phil, and looked like he might get a goal. Senderos was replaced by Gilberto in the 78th minute (5).

Almunia - Had no chance on the Senderos goal. But made several saves to keep Arsenal in it (7).

Clichy - It was hard to tell on television, but Clichy might have been the weak link in the Arsenal offside trap. He didn't have one of his best games, but as the game wore down, he was finally able to put in a couple good crosses, including the one to Adebayor to set up the equalizer (7).

Adebayor - Couldn't get anything to come off, losing out on several chances to make a useful header, until the 93rd minute when he set up Bendtner (6).

Walcott - Played well in patches. He creates chances with his pace. It would be great to see him have a run of games to work on his end product. For periods of the game, he was the only bright spot (7).

Hleb - Along with Walcott, he looked like Arsenal's best hopes to create a goal. He set up Flamini, who blasted over. Hleb looked better after Bendtner replaced Diaby, and he started playing wide left (7).

Cesc - Had a great chance to score near the end of the first half and blasted horribly over. He doesn't look sharp going forward; never looked like finding the key pass to unlock the defense (6).

Flamini - Mostly played his normal game, but Arsenal were second best at home, and central midfield is the perfect position to make sure that doesn't happen. Never offered much going forward, and blasted over when he was ummarked at the edge of the box. Arsene Wenger replaced him with Denilson in the 78th minute (6).

Sagna - Steady performance. In some games this season, he's been able to push forward and get behind the opposition defense, but he didn't get forward a lot today (7).

Diaby - Didn't look up for it (5).

Bendtner - Did well to slot in the equalizer, but that was just about the only contribution he was able to make after replacing Diaby at the hour-mark (7).

It was nice to see Denilson play, but he and Gilberto weren't able to make a big impression in the short time they were on.

Arsenal looked jaded, and after taking 2 points from 2 games, their lead in the league has gone from 5 points to 1 point. Aston Villa gave Arsenal so much trouble at home, it's surprising to see Arsenal still top of the table. With more performances like that, their shrinking lead will disappear completely.