Mustard finish sees off negative Norwich

A funny day at the Grove yesterday which began with a massive sigh of relief when I discovered that the Maidenhead game at Dorchester had been called off at 2.45 pm. But for an early evening engagement, I would have made the pointless trip, but at least those that did could drown their sorrows with £1.50 bottles of Carlsberg.

As for the game in front of me, despite Arsenal's strong Spring league form I was full of worry about the result. I was sat in the North Bank where I rarely see Arsenal win, indeed I can remember watching Chris Hughton's last visit in 2010 when his Newcastle team won a dour game 1-0, shortly before he was sacked. Still at least the prospect of goals were on offer, having sat nearby when almost a year ago Norwich shared six goals in a great game of football, and also earlier this season when a late penalty missed by Mikel Arteta prevented the Fulham game being settled by the odd goal in seven.

The last ten minutes aside though what transpired was an awful game of football to match the miserable weather which even seem to dampen the spirit of the foam finger wearers and split scarfers. With Norwich struggling on the brink of the relegation zone, their approach to the game was entirely understandable putting ten men behind the ball. Arsenal's starting eleven was unable to break them down, with Gervinho lacking guile, Wilshire match fitness and Cazorla stuck out of position on the wing. With Giroud seeming to play in a withdrawn role (false nine? - cue joke), Arsenal offered little promise of scoring whilst the game remained goalless.

As usual it took an opposition goal from a set piece by Michael Turner to spark the Gunners into life, with at least Wenger having the option to bring on some quality attacking players in Walcott, Podolski and Chamberlain. With the first two of the three returning to fitness it was good to see the impact they had on the game and hopefully they will be deemed ready for selection in the crucial game against Everton on Tuesday night.

However Arsenal's salvation was late coming and in the time between the Norwich opener and the equaliser, the Canaries demonstrated some cynical gamesmanship to slow the game down and waste time. I have no problem with the goalkeeper moving the ball across the six yard box or waiting for an attacker to challenge before picking it up but I really detest the antics of Grant Holt who when on several occasions a throw was clearly awarded to Arsenal did everything to obstruct a resumption of play. Norwich were helped by a weak referee who acquiesced with their tactics as the temperature grew in the stadium with the boiling blood of the Gooners.

That the equaliser came from a controversial penalty made it all the sweeter although the controversy was somewhat manufactured as it centred on how far away the linesman was when he made the award rather than the actual foul itself. The game then threatened to descend into pantomime as the Norwich players refused to conclude their heated debate with the officials in the corner, and then goalkeeper Mark Bunn stormed off in a huff to leave an empty net. The referee would have had a lot of sympathy for allowing Arteta to put the ball into the unguarded goal but he waited for Bunn to return before the midfielder delightfully placed the ball just beyond the keepers reach in the far corner.

The last few minutes then made up for the dross that had been on show before with Arsenal taking the lead with what looked like an own goal claimed by Giroud, and Fabianski making a superb save with his feet from Howson in a Norwich move direct from the restart. Podolski then completed the scoring with the goal of the game, a computer style turn and Howitzer shot which gave the goalkeeper no chance.

Job just about done as the Gunners rise to third place in timely fashion, looking good to stay there with a lot of important squad members returning from injury.

Santi the Red decapitates Royals

Off to Reading after a football free weekend to watch an important game for both the Royals and their visitors from North London, with the home team having hit the bottom of the table and the Gunners reeling from their humiliating League Cup defeat at Bradford City.

Despite the fact that the two clubs have spent the majority of their history in different leagues the fixture has a rich history as detailed in the excellent match programme. It even has a place in popular culture as the scene of Nick Hornby's unmasking as fake Londoner when he attended the clubs' FA Cup tie at Elm Park in 1972. Currently though it is Brian McDermott who is the prime link between the two clubs, the programme featuring cuttings from the Arsenal programme when McDermott was still a Gunner. Although too kind to mention it, these cuttings came from the 1983-84 season when Arsenal last suffered a League Cup defeat to a team from the lower reaches of the Football League when Walsall won at Highbury. This bona fide shock led to the demise of manager Terry Neill and the lead up to last night's game was not shy of predicting a similar fate for both managers, though once again the programme was replete with statistics to argue against such a drastic option.

So plenty to ponder on the trip to that most loathsome of locations, the out of town football ground. With Reading station quickly reached, and plenty of help at hand to direct me to the waiting football special buses, a lengthy queue caused by the driver having to deal with cash was followed by a slow half an hour crawl through the rush hour traffic to Small Mead. Fortunately it was quite easy to locate my seat in the unofficial neutral section next to the Arsenal fans, which afforded me a magnificent view of a sold out ground which nevertheless seemed to have plenty of Emirates style paid for but empty seats.

Earlier in the season I had seen Reading do all but beat QPR at Loftus Road as the well organised Royals comfortably dealt with Rangers' attacks, yet this fortitude was mysteriously absent as the home team offered up an odd strategy of sitting back and allowing Mikel Arteta to bring the ball forward from deep in his own half. By the time a challenge arrived the mercurial Santi Cazorla had inevitably moved into a position which allowed him to cause havoc in the Reading defence all night. By the time Arsenal opened the scoring with a great finish by Lukas Podolski, the Spaniard was already giving the best live performance I had seen of his. With Kieran Gibbs also looking good on the left wing the stage seemed set for Theo Walcott to back up his claim that the central attacking role should be his, but he fluffed his lines on several occasions before scoring what proved to be the final goal of the game ten minutes from the end.

In between Arsenal seemed to have won the game before allowing Reading some late hope. Cazorla embodied the Gunners domination for the best part of the game by scoring a hat trick even show boating in the penalty area early in the second half. 

Just in case anyone had forgotten Arsenal's defensive malaise this season, they conceded two quick goals to halve the lead and hint at a repeat of the epic league cup tie here at the end of October. There was no danger of lightning striking twice though and the game ended comfortably enough for Arsenal no matter how frustrating it is that the clean sheet is fast becoming an anachronism in the Premier League.

Reading Buses were on top form to get me back to the station in time for the early train home after a match which was enjoyable in isolation and changed little long term. In a poor Premier League, Arsenal can go third if they win their Saturday lunchtime match at Wigan, but the background noise about Wenger's future will remain for the foreseeable future. In contrast Reading will travel to Eastlands at the weekend with little hope never mind expectation, but surely they must see the long term value in McDermott's management and back him to use what will almost certainly be a budget boosted by a parachute payment next season to build a stronger squad better able to sustain a Premier League place should promotion be won once more.

Here Comes The Car Crash

The all too predictable decline of Arsenal continued apace yesterday with a result and performance which squarely places the Gunners in the growing pack of clubs secure in their Premier League status and chasing the fourth qualifying Champions League spot. 

Since moving to Ashburton Grove Arsenal have regularly lost world class players, with their good but not great replacements seeing a title challenge fade further onto the horizon. The presentation of the dates of trophy wins around the new stadium seems to have frozen the honour roll in aspic, as Arsenal have fallen victim to a modern football malaise, the fetishisation of history and tradition. In this way the club has become a theme park where spectators buy a ticket to bathe in the warm glow of history before watching the men in red destroy the opposition in style.

Unfortunately the latter half of the equation is becoming an increasingly rare occurrence as the current playing staff do not have the ability to work within a formation which puts a premium on attacking play. Thus when the much maligned centre forward Olivier Giroud and Lukas Podolski had propelled Arsenal into an early two goal lead, Fulham had no fear in their capacity for a comeback. With Bryan Ruiz and Dimitar Berbatov mystifying the Arsenal defence with their free running across the Arsenal half, and the painful exposure of the red flanks by Podolski and Walcott's defensive deficiencies when required to protect their respective full backs, Berbatov's swift response was met with a comment from a weary season ticket holder in front of me of "here comes the car crash".

His words were a response to not just the Schalke comeback in midweek but the regular house of cards quality Arsenal now display when they don't have the ball. Sure enough Alex Kacaniklic soon equalised and Fulham almost took the lead before half time.

However when Berbatov completed the fait accompli from the penalty spot Arsenal sparked back into life, equalising straight away when Giroud redeemed himself for hitting the post when well placed by getting on the end of a Walcott cross when the ball was put pack into the box. Yet although Arsenal looked capable of taking the lead the aforementioned defensive frailty and the way in which the central midfield pair Arteta and Ramsey were regularly caught in possession meant Fulham looked equally threatening. All of which might seem to have created an all action environment beloved of the champions of the greatest league in the world theory but left me mourning the domestic death of the art of defending. Then again judging by the criticism of Spain and their perfect game plan of keeping the ball to ensure the opposition do not score, whilst waiting for their opportunity to arise, I guess I'm of a minority view.

Deep into stoppage time it was Arsenal who were provided with the chance to take all three points, somewhat harshly it seems, when they were awarded a penalty for handball. This gave Arteta the perfect opportunity to redeem his sin of giving a spot kick to Fulham earlier, but his spot kick, although well directed into the corner, did not send Schwarzer the wrong way, and with the ball fizzing along the ground the keeper was able to keep it out with the final touch of the game.

This was a match neither team decided to win or lose, with the main conclusion being that they are two very equal elevens, with plenty of attacking flair but no security at the back.