Arsenal 1-0 Bolton

By: travis | January 11th, 2009

So it was relief from an unlikely source this weekend – Nicklas Bendtner. The young Dane hasn’t had the strongest campaign this time around after putting a few good performances on display last year. Hopefully this goal – a hugely important one at that – provided the difference in a much needed win against Bolton at the Emirates.

This was a dreadfully boring game. As frustrating and grating as they come, especially for an Arsenal fan. I could break down it in to more specifics, but if you didn’t see it, all you need to do, is picture Bolton with ten men behind the ball. Arsenal has it. Players like Diaby and Denilson are kicking it back and forth. They try and swing it out wide, to Clichy or Sagna. One of them floats in a cross. It’s cleared. Now repeat that for 89 minutes.

Ok, maybe that is a bit harsh. But for the majority of Saturday’s game, the men wearing the red-and-white lacked any kind of creative spark and midfield. No mazy runs were to be seen. In their defense, Bolton’s tactics were to simply sit back, defend, and coax Arsenal into a catastrophic mistake, and perhaps steal three points. They were out for a point, no doubt about it. And it is really hard to blame a coach like Gary Megson who played with three subs. Not that I have any interest in going there.

The first half came to a close and there was hardly a chance to speak of. Van Persie had a half-chance go flying over the crossbar, but other than that it was pure doldrums. Arsenal didn’t even come close to testing the keeper, and the second half looked like more of the same. Pure boredom – I flipped the game on and off at some points, knowing that if an equalizer came, it was going to be out of nowhere. As the second half progressed, there was a slight improvement in the movement of the midfielders and holes began to open up. Adebayor had an atrocious miss – Nasri found him alone in the penalty area, and the Togonator took too long to take a shot. The injection of Vela into the game also added more creativity, and he won a freekick that Bendtner almost headed in with his first touch of the game. With the time winding down and Arsenal turning the screws on Bolton, the Dane came through off some nice work by Van Persie, who looped a cross back post to find Bendtner.

You’d think that our back four would then see the game out with a clean sheet. And while that was the final result, Bolton should have scored after play had resumed – but Kevin Davies, left unmarked in the six yard box, hit a weak shot right to Almunia. Thanks for that, Kevin. Hard to call that a deserved three points, but it marks the continuation of a unbeaten run, and a ground out victory.

The most obviously point to deduce from this performance is the need for a creative midfielder. Like Arshavin. News on that front is more of the same, with The Sun reporting a £10m bid was rejected and the Mail saying the bid will be raised to £12m, something that is welcome news after a dud of performance like the one against Bolton. There is also the rumor of City hijacking the move, which in all honesty wouldn’t surprise me in the least – especially if they are money at Zenit in the £20m+ range. It would be a shame to lose out on him with the current state of the first team. We’ll see what develops over the next few weeks. 20 days and counting left in January.

Next on the agenda: Eduardo is fully fit, according to the boss, but there is no timetable set for his Prem return. Hard to say what kind of a player we will get, but here’s to hoping it’s a good one. Depth up front isn’t needed as much as that creative spark in midfield. Or perhaps a solid player at the back.

I know that this has been a lengthy post, but I’d enjoy lots of comments as usual. There has been more and more discussion in recent weeks, and I’m doing my best to try and help this blog grow and expand. Keep up the good work people.

Last but not least, match of the day highlights after the jump. Courtesy of 101greatgoals, as usual.

Watch Arsenal v Bolton in Sports Online | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com