Well there's really not much to say regarding our performance at Aston Villa on Friday other than it was awful. For a while I thought we might just have rode our luck and won the game, but again we showed some poor defending through our former captain William Gallas, and his idiotic tackle cost us the game by turning the tide of the match.Cursed as we later were with the ultimately bad luck of Villa's centre back Knight rocketing a shot into the back of our net like a seasoned striker, the goal should never have mattered. When Agbonlahor got free into some space on the right side of the box just past the sixtieth minute, it really wasn't any major threat. There was no support in t he box, and the arriving ones were being covered quite adequately by our own defenders, but for some reason Gallas decided that he should chop down the Aston Villa striker.
A penalty ensued and after that we had to defend for the rest of the match. I somehow knew we weren't going to hold it after that, but the terrific defending against Liverpool at the Emirates gave me a bit of hope. But it was unmerited and we just lost out on all three points in stoppage time.
The one bright spot, if one can ignore Gallas's stupid tackle and our midfield's lack of ideas, was Bacary Sanga. He was everywhere, and even bicycle-kicked a shot off the line to prevent a goal in the first half. He kept Ashley Young out of the match and was constantly clearing away the ball when others in the defense were unwilling or unable. He was the man-of-the-match by far for us, and I'm hoping he can put in an equally good performance against Portsmouth tomorrow.
And speaking of that match Sunday, whose brilliant idea was it to put two matches within two days of each other? This will be a true test of stamina for the lads, but luckily there will be some respite with the F.A. Cup tie against Plymouth to follow this weekend. Still though, I'm really worried that our already jaded team will have no energy, no creativity, and no class tomorrow. I'm hoping I'm wrong.
To aid matters is the fact that we're facing the team in probably the worst form and confidence in the league. Portsmouth will of course bring with them their manager, who I hope will receive a rousing applause Sunday: Tony Adams. Yes, Mr. Arsenal is back to try to beat us, but with any luck (which we probably used up all of it when Aston Villa hit the post three times Friday) we can come away with a win.
A match between two dispirited and understrength sides awaits our eyes tomorrow, and here's hoping we can come out the better of the two tomorrow. Finally, don't forget that you can now get all the Fab 4 Arsenal news and views sent direct to your mobile phone for free! Click Here for details on how to try out this great service! Till next time,
Fab 4
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ur fuckin an asshole, william played well and i dont think that was a foul either on Gaby. so leave william out of this he did nuthing wrong you fucking moaner. go and support cheski or manu instead
ReplyDeleteExcuse your French sir. Gallas had a great first half but whether or not the tackle was genuinely worthy of a penalty or not, you can't deny that it was stupid of him to even make the tackle there and in that situation.
ReplyDeleteGooner 'till I die! -Fab 4