Bolton 0-0 Arsenal
February 2nd 2012 21:23
Arsenal fell to 7th in the table following a goalless draw against Bolton on Wednesday night.
The Gunners had a good spell of dominance in the first half, where Robin Van Persie had a header cleared off the line after a great cross by Thomas Vermaelen. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who has been a regular starter in recent weeks, saw a shot of his go wide.
David N'Gog had Bolton's best chance, with his shot also creeping just wide of the post.
Chamberlain was again involved, as he played in fellow Southampton youth product Theo Walcott, who was clean through on goal, but failed to find the net as Adam Bogdan got the slightest of touches to it. Bogdan's touch doesn't take away the fact that Walcott should have done better with it.
Arsenal continued to put pressure on Bolton in the second half, with Robin Van Persie hitting the post after another good ball in, this time from Bacary Sagna.
Van Persie did his best Dennis Bergkamp impression later in the half, with his exquisite chip grazing the crossbar. It seemed as though whatever Arsenal did, they just couldn't find the net.
Arsenal nearly paid for it near the end, when Mark Davies went down in the penalty area, replays suggested that he should have been awarded a penalty. Arsenal fans will point to an incident in the first half, where Davies dived and Thomas Vermaelen got his name in the book for it. Perhaps justice was served in the end. Defeat would have been harsh on both sides, so in the end a draw may have been a fair result. Quite how we didn't see a goal in the game, I'm not sure. One thing that is for sure is that Arsenal aren't getting it done right now, and the fans are turning against Arsene Wenger. Is he on borrowed time?. He did a lot of things right in his first 10 years at the club, but it's been a tough time since then. Time to go for me.
This Bergkamp goal is very similar to Van Persie's shot that hit the bar last night.
Arsenal are 5 points behind Chelsea, so have a lot of work to do. They were unlucky yesterday, and if they could take their chances, they'd of won it. But it is the lack of finishing that worries me, and at times yesterday, despite the amount of chances created, it was boring. Arsenal needed the passion they showed when they went 2-0 down at half time against Villa last Sunday, they need to do that every day. Worryingly, Liverpool and Newcastle are also ahead of the Gunners, so they could even miss out on any form of European Football next season. If it was any other manager at any other club, I'm pretty sure that Wenger would have been sacked by now. Could you imagine Man Utd putting up with a trophy drought of this length?. Or Real Madrid?. Or Barcelona?. They'd make changes. Arsenal should too. So I'd like to thank Arsene for what he's done at the club, but it really is time to go. The club has been in decline for the last few years now, and ultimately, you have to blame the manager for that. This club should always be competing for major honours, they're big enough to be up there amongst the best. Not boasting about making profits every year. You need to re-invest that money into the squad, something Arsenal haven't done much of in the past few years. This has lead to the departure of players such as Henry, Fabregas and Nasri, and I fear Van Persie will join that list soon enough.
Deadline Day
As mentioned in the previous blog, Arsenal did make one move on transfer deadline day. Thomas Eisfeld joined the club from German club Borussia Dortmund. He is an attacking midfielder and never made a first team appearance for Dortmund, although some say that's because of a bad injury. Eisfeld joins Jens Lehmann and Tomas Rosicky on the list of players that have joined from Borussia Dortmund in recent years, and Rosicky clearly made an impression on Eisfeld, with the youngster idolising Rosicky when the Czech midfielder used to play for Dortmund.
Eisfeld made his debut for the reserves against Swansea last night, and all I've heard are positives. I just hope that Wenger has found another gem, because Arsenal need it.
The Gunners had a good spell of dominance in the first half, where Robin Van Persie had a header cleared off the line after a great cross by Thomas Vermaelen. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who has been a regular starter in recent weeks, saw a shot of his go wide.
David N'Gog had Bolton's best chance, with his shot also creeping just wide of the post.
Chamberlain was again involved, as he played in fellow Southampton youth product Theo Walcott, who was clean through on goal, but failed to find the net as Adam Bogdan got the slightest of touches to it. Bogdan's touch doesn't take away the fact that Walcott should have done better with it.
Walcott missed a golden opportunity to break the deadlock.
Arsenal continued to put pressure on Bolton in the second half, with Robin Van Persie hitting the post after another good ball in, this time from Bacary Sagna.
Van Persie did his best Dennis Bergkamp impression later in the half, with his exquisite chip grazing the crossbar. It seemed as though whatever Arsenal did, they just couldn't find the net.
Van Persie was desperately unlucky not to find the net last night
Arsenal nearly paid for it near the end, when Mark Davies went down in the penalty area, replays suggested that he should have been awarded a penalty. Arsenal fans will point to an incident in the first half, where Davies dived and Thomas Vermaelen got his name in the book for it. Perhaps justice was served in the end. Defeat would have been harsh on both sides, so in the end a draw may have been a fair result. Quite how we didn't see a goal in the game, I'm not sure. One thing that is for sure is that Arsenal aren't getting it done right now, and the fans are turning against Arsene Wenger. Is he on borrowed time?. He did a lot of things right in his first 10 years at the club, but it's been a tough time since then. Time to go for me.
This Bergkamp goal is very similar to Van Persie's shot that hit the bar last night.
Arsenal are 5 points behind Chelsea, so have a lot of work to do. They were unlucky yesterday, and if they could take their chances, they'd of won it. But it is the lack of finishing that worries me, and at times yesterday, despite the amount of chances created, it was boring. Arsenal needed the passion they showed when they went 2-0 down at half time against Villa last Sunday, they need to do that every day. Worryingly, Liverpool and Newcastle are also ahead of the Gunners, so they could even miss out on any form of European Football next season. If it was any other manager at any other club, I'm pretty sure that Wenger would have been sacked by now. Could you imagine Man Utd putting up with a trophy drought of this length?. Or Real Madrid?. Or Barcelona?. They'd make changes. Arsenal should too. So I'd like to thank Arsene for what he's done at the club, but it really is time to go. The club has been in decline for the last few years now, and ultimately, you have to blame the manager for that. This club should always be competing for major honours, they're big enough to be up there amongst the best. Not boasting about making profits every year. You need to re-invest that money into the squad, something Arsenal haven't done much of in the past few years. This has lead to the departure of players such as Henry, Fabregas and Nasri, and I fear Van Persie will join that list soon enough.
Fabregas left for a club that can compete for honours, Van Persie probably will too.
Deadline Day
As mentioned in the previous blog, Arsenal did make one move on transfer deadline day. Thomas Eisfeld joined the club from German club Borussia Dortmund. He is an attacking midfielder and never made a first team appearance for Dortmund, although some say that's because of a bad injury. Eisfeld joins Jens Lehmann and Tomas Rosicky on the list of players that have joined from Borussia Dortmund in recent years, and Rosicky clearly made an impression on Eisfeld, with the youngster idolising Rosicky when the Czech midfielder used to play for Dortmund.
Eisfeld made his debut for the reserves against Swansea last night, and all I've heard are positives. I just hope that Wenger has found another gem, because Arsenal need it.
Eisfeld has already played for the reserve team
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