Arsenal hopes of winning the premier league this season is now over. The defeat against Bolton today was the final nail in our coffin. We are now 9 points behind United with 4 games left. Chelsea is now in 2nd spot following their 3 nil victory against West ham yesterday. The gunners, who were challenging for four trophies in February, will now end the season trophy less.
Today’s match against Bolton was a must win game for Arsenal in order to maintain their challenge for the premier league title. Arsenal made only one change to the team that played against Tottenham on Wednesday night, Jack wilshere replacing the injured Diaby in midfield. Arsenal came into this game unbeaten in the last 16 premier league matches. Arsenals are also unbeaten against Bolton in the previous 10 games.
First Half
Arsenal started the match strongly and attacked Bolton from the start. Fabregas played Walcott through in the 3rd minute, but his shot was saved by Jussi and Nasri’s follow up was blocked. Bolton were under pressure from the start and a minute later, Robinson brought Walcott down in the penalty area, Mike Jones gave a corner instead of a clear penalty. Bolton were very fortunate at that instance. 3 minutes later, Fabregas had a shot off target. The first minutes were full of incidence. On the 7th minute mark, the first yellow card of the match was issued to fabric Muamba for a bad challenge on Jack Wilshere. In the 11th minute, Kevin Davies showed the whole world what he is best at; very late challenge on Song, Mike Jones just gave a free kick and a warning. How on earth he was not booked there Mr. Jones? Fabregas then had a very good shot saved fantastically by Jussi who was having a good day so far. Arsenal were in control of the game at that time, in the 19th minute the second yellow card was issued against Taylor for a very late tackle on koscielny .
The game then became more balanced and Bolton started playing a little bit, Bolton had their first chance in the 25th minute mark when Danny Sturridge played Lee through, fortunately for the gunners, Song was there to clear. Arsenal then became very sloppy in possession and gave the ball away too easily. Danny Sturridge was having a good day and he played lee through again, but the Korean shot was saved by Szczesny and that resulted in a corner kick. The resulted corner ended up being the first goal for Bolton in the match. Gary Cahill out jumped Clichy in the air, the ball hits Nasri on the line and guess who was there to nod in the first goal, Danny Sturridge capping his good first half performance with a goal. Five minutes later, Fabregas went on a solo run and saw his shot hit the post. That was Arsenal’s final attempt in the first half. Mike Jones then whistled for the end of the first half. A half dominated by the gunners but Bolton had the most important goal.
SECOND HALF
After just few seconds from kick off, Danny Sturridge was brought by Djourou. Mike Jones pointed to the spot. From the replay, it looked a very soft penalty. If Mike Jones judged that to be a penalty, then what on earth was he thinking when he didn’t award Walcott a penalty in the first few minutes in the first half? Taylor stepped up and had his shot saved by Szczesny . The young keeper has kept us in the game for sure. Just 2 minutes later, Fabregas and Van Persie combined beautifully and the Dutchman scored to make it 1-1. Van Persie became the first player in the premier league history to score for the seventh successive away games. Fabregas assist was his 80th in the premier league. After the equalizer, the game was tensed and had some tough tackles; as a result, Alex song received the 3rd yellow card of the match in the 52nd minutes. Jack Wilshere was also booked for a tackle on Lee, the game was a ding don affair, Arsenal were slightly ahead in terms of possession. Arsene Wenger then had to make changes and he brought on Chamackh in place of the booked Alex Song. Arsenal had a wonderful chance when Van Persie played Nasri through, the Frenchman was one on one with the keeper but failed to score on two different occasions, his first shot was saved by Jussi and his follow up was blocked brilliantly by Cahill.
Arsenals were in total control and Arshavin replaced Walcott in the 72nd minute. The pressure on Bolton was immense but the gunners failed to create good chances. Jack wilshere’s return to the Reebok Stadium lasted only 82 minutes; he was replaced by Aaron Ramsey. The gunners kept piling the pressure; but Elmander pounced on a mistake from the defence and was one on one with Szczesny but failed to score. The polish keeper pointed the ball for a corner kick. Arsenal problems from set pieces were evidence in the match; from the resulting corner kick, Cohen headed in the winner for Bolton. The referee added 5mins but to no avail. Arsenal lost the game and our hopes of silverware this season is now over.
Our dream of ending the 6 year drought is now over, the years keep passing so fast and we are still without a trophy. The question on all Arsenal fans minds is when will we win our next trophy? The answer for that question is not unknown. All we can hope for is Arsene preparing the team well next season, make some changes and restore some confidence back to the team and the fans.
Player Ratings
Szczesny – The polish keeper was solid during the game. He made some good saves and saved a penalty. 7/10
Sagna - Arsenal’s Mr. Consistent was solid at the back but disappointing in attack. 6/10
Djourou – The defender caused a penalty that looked soft to be fair. He also was responsible for the second goal letting cohen slip away to nod in the winner. 5/10
Koscielny- He was also indecisive in his marking and struggled with the pace of sturridge and Lee. 5.5/10
Clichy – the Frenchman has been the weak link in our defence this season. His constant Failure in crossing is also a big issue. 5/10
Song – Alex was a bit heavy on the ball, made some good challenges but also struggled to impose himself. He was subbed early in the second half. 5.5/10
Wilshere – Jack was very bright in the first 20 minutes but faded a little bit after. He had a decent game. 6.5
Fabregas – The captian was my man of the match. He threatened Bolton and was unlucky not to score a goal. Almost all our attacks went through him. 8/10
Walcott – Theo pace was clear to see at the beginning, he also faded a little. To be fair, I expected more from the Englishman. 6/10
Nasri – samir was lively in attack, his movement was brilliant and caused Bolton a lot of problems. His finishing let him down today; he missed our best chance in the second half. 6.5/10
RVP – Robin was also very lively, scored a goal and his movement was fantastic. 7.5/10
SUBS
Chamakh – with Niclas missing due to injury, the Moroccan had a chance to impress the boss, but his performance was average. 6/10
Arshavin – The Russian who said earlier that he was struggling with his weight did not affect the game. His movement generally was good. 6/10
Aaron – the Welsh captain didn’t have the time to impose himself on the game.
