Canaries signal danger for Arsenal

Norwich are a club whose profile matches that of their geographically peripheral location. In my lifetime they've always been in the background but just when you start to forget them or take them for granted you can guarantee they'll send a reminder. So it was at Arsenal this weekend when the Canaries poor recent form suggested they would be suitably supplicant and allow the Gunners to secure third spot. Two minutes into the game Yossi Benayoun's exquisite opening goal was the ideal opening to this fait accompli, instead it was the prelude to a storming Norwich performance which was well worth a point and could even have secured all three by half time.

How times change. The last Norwich away game I attended came at the end of the 1997/98 season when they were the last team to visit Elm Park, comfortably beating Tommy Burns' woeful Reading outfit already doomed to relegation and a few days later to defeat against Maidenhead United in the Berks & Bucks Senior Cup Final. After the Elm Park game I ended up in a pub in Reading town centre where I watched Arsenal secure the first leg of their double with a legendary win over Everton at Highbury, capped by an iconic goal by Tony Adams. The confident pose that Adams struck after scoring that goal left Arsenal's performance this weekend looking pale in comparison.

A goal up, the Gunners seemed to lose all defensive shape and discipline as Norwich tore into them, Wes Hoolahan scoring courtesy of a Wojciech Szczesny slip, and Grant Holt giving the City the lead when his deflected shot looped over the hapless Pole in the goal. Once again this prompted more memories, this time of a visit to Dagenham at the end of the 2009 season when Holt led the line for Shrewsbury, not exactly looking like a striker cut out for the Premier League.

The second half offered little respite for Arsenal as they struggled to stay in the game but slowly captain Robin Van Persie inspired a comeback and eventually the Gunners attacking strength provided the Dutchman with the chances to restore Arsenal's lead with ten minutes left. All this pointed to Arsenal seeing out the game, relieved at recovering the three points but yet again chaos reigned in the red ranks in the face of renewed Norwich attacking purpose, this time Steve Morison, who I last saw facing the Magpies for Bishops Stortford, applying a deft finish to equalise once more. Cue one last Arsenal push for the win but they were unable to emulate Maidenhead's 4-3 victory of the previous Saturday. Perhaps Van Persie should have been given an opportunity for a hat trick from the penalty shot, but there was an element of justice in the referee's decision to wave play on, with a missed offside in the build up to the incident, and Norwich also having a good penalty shout turned down in the first half.

So the game ended in frustration for Arsenal meaning few stayed for the end of season lap of honour. This was a shame for regardless of the team's shortcomings it presented an opportunity to salute Pat Rice, on duty in a home game for the final time before stepping down as Arsene Wenger's assistant. For an Arsenal fan of my vintage Rice represents a virtually ever present symbol at the club. He was part of the first line up I ever learnt by heart which I can still recite to this day, his surname providing a nice rhyming couplet: Jennings, Rice, Nelson, Price...

He was the only Arsenal captain to lift a trophy in a sixteen year period which seems a world away from the Graham/Wenger years which have given rise to a feeling of virtual entitlement amongst Arsenal supporters and subsequent angst about a failure to deliver in recent seasons, hence the annoying hyperbolic spectacle of the battle for third spot which goes on thanks to the refusal of any of the contenders to take the readily available points on offer.

Still a good game to close the season on, a useful reminder that the older I get the more complex the connections between the games I watch become (e.g. I last saw Paul Lambert managing Wycombe in pre season friendly at York Road a few years back, whilst Sian Massey was a more recent visitor, refereeing a game at Maidenhead in March), and therefore the deeper the impression that football is a more unified game than might appear at first glance.

Yossi reunites the sunshine band

The far from Christmassy sound of KC and the Sunshine band rang round Villa Park at the final whistle hailing the late goal from Yossi Benayoun which gave Arsenal a hard fought win which had looked unlikely til the latter stages when the Gunners extra desire drove them on to victory.

The 2-1 win neatly reversed the scoreline from my first and hitherto only trip to Villa Park way back in April 1983 when despite going into half time ahead, Arsenal succumbed to a rampant Manchester United en route to winning their first trophy under Ron Atkinson. That day I had sat in what was then called the Witton Lane Stand next to two kindly old ladies who spent the afternoon eating sweets and cooing every time Norman Whiteside touched the ball. Last night I was sat in the same part of the ground which had been rebuilt as the Doug Ellis stand in a seat with a view so restricted it merited a £1 discount! Handily placed at the end of the row in front of a gangway the only obstacle to seeing the night's entertainment was fortunately just the odd passing steward.

I'd travelled up to Birmingham the scenic way from London Marylebone, taking advantage of a superb £5 one way offer on that bizarre British paradox the privatised nationalised railway. Privatised by the British government but owned by the nationalised German railway who proved the efficacy of their operation with a smooth journey on a full train, accommodating everyone in roomy, clean carriages by dispensing with first class.

Alighting at Birmingham's most attractive terminus, Moor Street, I met up with a Villa supporting friend who was to be my guide to pre match hospitality. After negotiating the bustling crowds around New Street we headed up to Aston and after one false start settled down in the faded glory of the Swan & Mitre, an impressive facade clothing a dingy old fashioned boozer which had clearly seen better days. Still it provided a quiet corner to catch up, the only noise being the clink of dominoes at an adjacent table. As the football crowd started to filter in we moved onto the New Adventurers a virtual Aston Villa theme pub, £1 giving you access through their claret and blue portal. Full of fans steeling themselves for the match, talk centred on the prospects for play which were generally downbeat following the weekend's surrender to Liverpool, the mood only lifted by a badge seller touting "McLeish out" pins.

The short walk to the ground felt subdued and notably short on expectation, not uncommon at this time of the year when football takes second place to festive preparations. The kick off shook the cobwebs off though, the first half seeing Aston Villa the better team only denied an early lead by a splendid save by the Pole in the goal from Gabriel Agbonlahor. With injuries and suspensions hitting Arsenal hard it was not surprising that they lacked the fluidity of Sunday's draining defeat at Middle Eastlands but a steely resolve was characterised by the way they hung on in the opening stages then grabbed their chance with both hands when it came.

A quicksilver dash into the penalty area by Theo Walcott induced Ciaran Clark to throw out a grabbing arm in panic giving the referee no choice but to point to the spot, a really soft penalty both in terms of the threat that caused it and the foul that led to it. With Robin Van Persie eager to break the much talked about, if statistically meaningless, record for goals scored in calendar year, the kick was a formality. The goal changed little in term of the pattern of play though, Arsenal's awfully inappropriate away kit reflecting an uncharacteristically workmanlike first half performance.

Villa regrouped at half time and deservedly equalised with the goal of the game when Marc Albrighton capitalised on Arsenal defensive hesitancy to run clear and score. This turned out to be an ultimately abstract 20,000th goal scored  at the top level of English football since 1992, unless you buy into the hubristic insistence that Rupert Murdoch invented the game.

Attacking substitutions by Arsene Wenger were reflected by a growing intensity from Arsenal going forward as they forced a succession of corners which ultimately brought about the late winner when Van Persie inswinging kick was met by the head of Benayoun three minutes from time. The inevitable eruption of joy in the Arsenal end really rattled the Villa players Alan Hutton taking his leave early for a couple of needless misdemeanours.

The final whistle soon arrived to the backing of Jingle Bells, the euphoria sending me bouncing back to Witton station and home through the night sustained by a splendid Thai Yellow curry from Wok Your Way which meant I was still talking football with the black cab driver in the small hours.

The Taming of the Shrews

Could Arsenal's start to the season get any worse? It would cost just £10 to find out as they took on Shrewsbury Town in the League Cup.Taking my seat thirteen rows behind the Town dugout, the aura of excitement, usually so prevalent on these cut price evenings which allow many a rare opportunity to watch an Arsenal game live, was in short supply save from the massed ranks of the Shrewsbury fans behind one goal who needed little prompting to remind everyone of the strange name of their region, Salop.

With the ground little more than two thirds full, an early goal was required to lift the atmosphere. In the opening ten minutes Arsenal scarcely went into their own half as Marouane Chamakh was twice denied by goalkeeper Ben Smith. Having survived the early onslaught though Shrewsbury took the game to their hosts, serving notice of their intent by hitting the post before Jamie Collins opened the scoring with a header. Cue much celebration at the Town end and a smidgen of congratulation all round for their manager Graham Turner, a great unsung hero of the lower divisions with a managerial career spanning over twenty years.

Naturally the goal also sparked a few boos and panic from the Arsenal ranks, with Shrewsbury continuing to dominate. In particular Town defender Reuben Hazell looked like a chip of his old uncle Bob. The tide turned when Francis Coquelin ran half the length of the pitch to make a great tackle in his own area, and thanks to Smith fumble Arsenal drew level when Kieran Gibbs' header crept in at the near post.

In the second half a powerful strike from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain completed the comeback before Yossi Benayoun capped a good night's work with a third.

Game over and the post mortem in Che Guevara's produced the consensus of a good night for Ignasi Miquel, Benayoun and Coquelin. However Johann Djourou despite being captain looked a man broken by his Old Trafford experience, as did Carl Jenkinson, whilst Ju Young Park gave little cause for optimism. Still job done and the chance of another cheap night out in the next round.