Arsenal 1 – Wolves 1: I Have No Idea How We Just Dropped Two Points

By: Homey | December 27th, 2011

Arsenal Wolves
Honestly, despite my reputation as the Negative Nancy blogger, I thought we’d snatch a winner all the way up to the final whistle. Not only did we control possession, chances, corner kicks, free kicks, etc, but we also played the final 20-ish minutes (including added time) with a man advantage. I really don’t know how we dropped points today, other than the fact we have to give a big round of applause to the Wolves keeper, Wayne Hennessey. It’s weird that so often, the lower teams get great efforts from their goalies. Maybe it’s due to the increased experience they get from facing so many shots. But anyway, it’s still a big disappointment on our end, as we had a chance to vault Chelsea into fourth place.

In the first half, things started pretty well for Arsenal. Gervinho earned a corner about one minute in, and we continued to hold most of the possession until our breakthrough goal in the 8th minute. Rosicky did well to chase down the ball on the wing, and his cross to Benayoun was sent ahead to Gervinho, who was left all alone with Hennessey. It was a situation where I could have easily seen Gervinho make a mess of things. Instead, he rather calmly cut it across to his left foot and fired into a mostly empty net. From there, we continued to enjoy most of the possession, and I thought it would be an easy stroll today. However, some warning signs went up as the first half went on, and we were unable to fire home a second goal. RvP had one saved in the 30th, and then he earned a free kick about a minute later. Replays showed he probably should have passed it to a wide open Song. We got nothing from the resulting free kick, and then we were made to pay for that a few minutes later. Wolves got their equalizer in the 38th off a corner. It was extremely unlucky from our point of view, as a shot from Hunt deflected into the path of Steven Fletcher, who was just onside, and able to nod it past a helpless Wojo. If there was any blame to go around on that one, it would probably fall to Mertesacker, who was pretty much ball watching as Fletcher was alone to the right side of the goal. After the goal, we again had a few chances. RvP had possession after Wolves were dispossessed, and instead of taking an opening to the right, he crossed to Rosicky, and the chance was wasted from there.
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Entering the second half, I still felt extremely confident of a second goal at some point. We had a few half chances in the early parts of the half, and RvP forced a nice save in the 66th on a free kick that Gervinho earned. Wenger made a couple of attack-minded substitutions, bringing on Arshavin for Benayoun in the 63rd, and Ramsey for Song in the 71st. Chances seemed to keep piling up, Rosicky fired wide in the 73rd, and then Milijas was sent off for Wolves in the 75th minute for a nasty challenge on Arteta just outside the box. Fortunately, Arteta bounced back from that, and even took the resulting free kick. After that, I'll have a hard time recounting every chance we had, because there were many. RvP was alone on goal after a nice ball over the top by Ramsey in the 78th, but he wasted his chance. Arshavin was very close two minutes later from the edge of the box. Mertesacker and RvP also had chances from close range that were well-saved by Hennessey. Chamakh went on in the 85th for Djourou, but did little except for clashing heads with RvP. Vermaelen and van Persie had chances late, but were also unable to finish.

And so it ended, a disappointing draw at home against one of the bottom feeders in the league. No matter how the campaign ends, this will be one we look back on and wonder why we didn't get all three points. For me, it also highlights something I've been harping about lately. And that is, there just aren't enough quality attacking options. Walcott was out with an illness today, which was a definite setback. And I was pleasantly surprised with the efforts of Benayoun and Rosicky. But still, AOC and Park aren't really trusted in key situations, and Chamakh has offered nothing in quite some time. Arshavin had his moments today, but still has been poor all season. Anyway, we'll see what the January transfer window has in store in that regard, as we continue to try to play catch-up behind Chelsea and Spurs.

Full time stats:
Arsenal ……. Wolves
27(11) Shots (on Goal) 6(1)
5 Fouls 12
13 Corner Kicks 3
2 Offsides 2
73% Time of Possession 27%
2 Yellow Cards 3
0 Red Cards 1
0 Saves 10

Before I do my ratings, I want to issue a pretty important disclaimer. And that is, I had to moderate the live blog today while watching on an online stream. Plus I had to take a couple of phone calls for work. So my attention was not 100% on this one, and I’m sure I missed some things. Please be gentle with your disagreements.

Wojo – 6.5. I think the result would have been the same if I’d been in goal today for Arsenal. The goal wasn’t his fault at all, and he had almost nothing to to other than that. Wolves only recorded one shot on goal, and that was the one that went in.
Djourou – 6.5. He was generally pretty good today, and got forward well a few times. But he also was wasteful at times as well.
Koscielny – 7.5. MOTM. In a day where it’s difficult to sort out the man of the match, I guess I’ll go with Kos here. The Wolves goal was deflected off him, but I can hardly blame him there. Other than that, he was both strong in defense and able to get forward a few times and help in the attack.
Mertesacker – 6.5. Nearly had the winning goal, but he also was partly to blame for the Wolves equalizer. Other than that, he was solid in defense, even though there wasn’t a ton to do today.
Vermaelen – 6.5. I don’t really understand the feisty mindset at times. If I were carrying a yellow card for dissent, I wouldn’t be getting in the ref’s face and throwing my hands in the air after a call goes the other way. Maybe that’s just me. Other than that, he was pretty solid playing somewhat out of position.
Song – 7. Perhaps that’s too generous for someone who got a yellow and was taken off before possibly getting a red card. But I thought he was good in supporting the attack, as well as doing his usual things in midfield.
Arteta – 6. Mostly anonymous, except for taking a few free kicks and corners that didn’t amount to anything.
Benayoun – 7. While he was wasteful a couple of times, I also liked how he pushed forward and really looked to open up the Wolves defense. His assist was key to Gervinho’s goal.
Rosicky – 7. It’s about what we come to expect – lots of hard work, but little final product when it’s really needed. He was a little better than I expected, especially early in the game. But he’s just not a true threat to score goals anymore, and we need more goal scorers other than van Persie.
Gervinho – 7. His goal was well taken, and he was active throughout. Still, there continue to be so many errant crosses and missed opportunities.
RvP – 6. On the one hand, he could have had a goal or two against most other goalies today. However, I have to also blame him for not being more clinical on a number of occasions, and making poor choices twice in the first half.

Subs:
Ramsey – 7. I thought he did well in his passing and contributions in the limited time he was on the field. I expect him to start against QPR.
Arshavin – 6.5. He wasn’t as brutal as he’s been at times this season, and he nearly had a glorious left-footed goal that came from almost nothing. But that was the story of our day – too much “almost” and not enough goal celebrations.
Chamakh – No rating. As usual, he didn’t do much, but I won’t rank him since he was only on for a short time.

Well that’s all for today. Hope everyone has a good week. I need to get to work myself though. Keep checking back this week for some midseason review stuff, including something I would consider a special treat.

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And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory. John 1:14a.

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Category: Arsenal News

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Rico

Missed this game, but I did check my phone to see the score being 1-0 at 8 minutes. I thought I'd be fine to continue my night out without worrying. Aww bad!!
Thanks for the recap, sounds like our usual luck, we get a slight break and then the gods of luck notice this and smite us! BAD ARSENAL!! NO!!!

Disappointed about the finishing, would of been nice to end the year with Chelsea at our heals and in the top four since we suffered a terrible start and a somewhat of a player exodus. Also disappointing is that it leaves 1 game and RVP a hat-trick to take the most goals scored in a calendar year trophy. I really thought he would of got several during this game.
DJ

As a Wolves supporter I have to say it was a great rearguard action by our team and I am sure there are Arsenal fans as well as Wolves fans who feel that if Van Persie doesn't score then Arsenal will not score many. The tackle by Milijas was a yellow card at most but the way Song hacked down Fletcher surely deserved red and if it was only a yellow then he ccommitted another yellow card offence 15 seconds later. Arsenal play good build up play but if a team defends its area well then they look short of the very top teams. There were plenty of opportunities to get shots in from outside the box but they always went for the extra pass and that suited Wolves fine with the area so crowded. I suspect Wolves will finish 4 or 5 places from the bottom and Arsenal 4 or 5 places from the top.
Gunner4lf

If we played Wolves 10 games, Arsenal would win 9 of those games by 4 goals big and tie 1. 27 shots on goal, hit the keeper how many times? Wenger will never let us finish lower than 4th. The loss of $30 mil CL revenues would confine Kroenke to an insane asylum and Arsene would still have to take his calls.
Kas123

If i'm hearing right about bringing Henry back, I don't think thats the solution. His presence will be a great addition to the dressing room, but if the spirit is already good why do we need Henry back? We got a stubborn manager, but I trust him. Overall he hasn't steered us too far off wrong. Lets win the damn thing.
Patoux21

If according to Wenger the solution for our lack offensive options and RVP dependency is getting Henry on loan the Homey train will be back on track... seriously he bought Park and Chamberlain and both haven't played much. Buy top players and surely they would have the quality to play... where is the ambition?
Darren_V

How on earth is Mertesacker to blame for the Wolves' goal? A wicked deflection to Fletcher who was incredibly lucky to be standing right were it went and played onside by Song being slow to push up with the rest of the line.
Homey_Mills

Well again, Fletcher was all alone in a pretty dangerous area, and I thought Mert could have decided to keep an eye on him, given that Mert didn't have anyone else to mark at that point.
Darren_V

Yes. Mertesacker should be closer than 2 feet from a player who would've been offside had Song moved up with the rest of the defensive line.
Mert also should've accounted for a massive deflection that was extremely lucky to go right onto Fletcher's head.

The reality is, Mertesacker was in the exact correct position and there was litterally nothing he could've done to prevent the goal.

Except have the power to forsee the future of course.
brenton

Someone's a little testy today...

I agree, not much he could have done. And he was the quickest out to try and leave the Wolves players offside.
Darren_V

I haven't been sleeping well and got to work to more bs.

Sorry Homey
Gigi_man

RvP 82th minute, how come you guys didnt have a heart attack?? Henessy became hero, ut still, I think we should have another one, for these situations, cause Chamakh and RvP its not like we had, say Higuain and RvP (no I am not dreaming dont worry, it was just an example).......Oh my God Kos at the 86th.....
Gigi_man

Arsha for 2 inches...really...a striker for Xmas, cause if Chamkh doesnt do it an AOC DC snt for the task we need one to come and kill the game.
Gigi_man

man...78th minute, thk God I didnt watch it live...its frustrating.
Gigi_man

well, just like that 8-2, a draw vs Wolves at home should put Wenger to think, and it comes at the same time: when the mercato opens (well in that case it was closing, but hopefully AW learned the lesson).
NEED. MORE. SCORERS.
Few words, lot of meaning.
I am watching the re run of the game, and while we are all over their box (I am at the 60th or so minute), there is clearly a lack of fox-in-the box natural attitude, and no (a true no, never I would dare to do so) putting down our Fantastic RvP, but if we want to lift a trophy we cant understand this game as a one-man even in one position.

I feel a déjà vu...a great opportunity passed by.

AW said himself in the official site, but I am worried. He says he cant say no wrong about the teams attitude and spirit...and its true, we didnt have this spirit, but we need the goal to cro3wn that spirit.
LachlanS

We need another attacking option definitely. Walcott also needs to stop fucking around and score some goals. He is really getting on my nerves at the moment, and I'm probably being a bit unreasonable. Sell him and bring in Ayew!
Darren_V

You do know that Theo was sick today and wasn't in the lineup right?
Kas123

LachlanS, I think you're being unreasonable, Walcott didn't even play today.
LachlanS

I am aware, but my point is that he hasn't made enough of a contribution this season. And also, to be fair, I've never been much of a fan to be honest.
Will

I'm surprised you dislike him so.. He's really been our brightest spark on the wings this season; not quite as lively as Gervinho (though today Gerv proved he can finish). If Theo was at any other club right now at just 22 years old, we'd be begging to bring him in. And the price would be up there with Goetze's, and higher than Gourcuff's and Ayew's.
LachlanS

If he signs a new contract sometime soon, then I may change my mind somewhat. But we are dealing with a player who is just one in a team, and has a lot to work on still. I think Gervinho is a much more effective player on average.

I will give it to Walcott in that he has matches where he is amazing and can tear the defense to shreds, but these matches aren't too common, and they are generally only when the LB is not of high quality. The only exception I can think of this season is the Chelsea match, and even that was borderline.

I highly doubt he would be worth anything near as much as Goetze, but it is hard to argue about that until Goetze moves because it is all speculation.
Kas123

Will, you're right on the money. Theo is where he needs to be in his development. 80% of the time he's effective at what he does and is brought in to do. You never appreciate what you have until its gone. Big up to Theo.
Homey_Mills

If anything, I think the lack of finishing today highlighted the need for Walcott in the lineup.
ian

walcott's finishing isnt that great is it? i dont recall him scoring many goals
Homey_Mills

Last season he had 13 goals and 9 assists in all competitions. This season, 2 goals and 4 assists in all competitions. I think in terms of creating and finishing, he's not the greatest, but he's certainly ahead of pretty much anyone else on the current team, except RvP.
Will

*not quite as lively as Gerv but also not as raw
bloggerwolf

Nasty tackle by Milijas? Is that some kind of sick joke?
Homey_Mills

Well the ref who was standing right there gave him a straight red card. So I dunno.
bloggerwolf

He got the ball, one footed slide tackle, then catches Arteta (who rolls around like he has been shot, but can miraculously take the freekick a minute later). Possibly a foul, a yellow harsh, a red is just outrageous.
brenton

It wasn't a nice tackle; it could have hurt Arteta. But I would agree, it wasn't particularly nasty.
Gooner G

Even Nasty would agree it wasn't nasty. It was a joke of a red card. No other ref in the league would have given it. He didn't even raise his studs or follow thru aggressively. The ref must be related to Wenger. It's the only possible explanation.
brenton

Yah, not a red, though it looked bad in gameplay. Replays showed it was a hard tackle that could have hurt Arteta, but certainly not a red.
Patoux21

You may not have heard of ref P Dowd this guy is a joke every time Arsenal is on the pitch and not only... you should look at the red card he gave to a Wigan player against ManU this one is the real joke
Gooner G

Phil Dowd and Howard Webb are related to Fergie through marriage. At least Andre Marriner hates that Scottish prick with a vengeance.

Wenger has lost his ambition. At best, we are fighting for 3rd or 4th, so why spend money now. Impossible to justify to Kroenke. We'll be lucky to get through the next CL knockout games. We need to kick Ibrahimovich's ass at the very least. TV5 should flatten him like a wet noodle. If they get Tevez, at least he's cup tied for CL.
Bumblefock

gotta say that was an exciting game to watch, especially the last 30-35mins. true cliffhanger (though we fell of the cliff eventually). i remember somebody once called walcott a headless chicken. that's the impression i had from gervs today. great pace. no dribbling. decision-making speed of a pentium I running Vista OS. getting the ball from point A to point B really quick, then freezing there for good few seconds.
King Kong

I didn't watch the game, but I am disappointed. This was definitely a winnable game and our opportunity to slip into the top 4 and we wasted it. Spurs won today and convincingly so, which makes today's draw for use even harder to accept. Even though Chelsea don't look good, its certain they'll make a few additions in January to sure up their shortcomings, Spurs is going strong, the two Manchester clubs are riding high, and Castle and Liverpool are snapping at our heals. We need to improve our performances ASAP. Stop the Bullshitting, win some damn games, qualify for the CL, finish ahead of Spurs. C'mon Arsenal.
Darren_V

Arsenal were desperately unlucky to lose this match. They played as well as could be expected, and was just denied by an unreal keeper's performance.
Kas123

I'm sure we were unlucky Darren, as could be said for the most of the games we've lost or drew this season, but to be honest you make your own luck. If we want to win games we have to take that shit like we did against Villa. Bottom line is, we lack cutting edge, the ability to finish games and finish them convincingly. The keeper may have had the game of his life today, but thats no excuse. I know no team in the league is a given, but Wolves at Home should be the equivalent of a sure thing. This is a very critical time of the season, we can't keep dropping sure points.
Darren_V

If you had watched the match, you would have realized that it was more of a silly error to concede a goal that was the problem.
Arsenal had 20 shots in the 2nd half.
This game isn't the problem. The problem is we dropped far too many points at the start of the season.
Gigi_man

I agree 100%.
Kas123

*drawn*
Georgedb1

Disappointing loss. No excuses, great goal keeper performance or not; not being able to take 3 points from the likes of Wolves at home is always cause for concern.

The good news is that every top team (except Manure) dropped points this week and the leadership spot only advanced by 1 pt.; not a total loss, but a disappointing missed opportunity to maximize our advantage and dislodge Chelsea from 4th.

More good news is that we have scorers if RvP is not performing, but the other side of that is that RvP is still pretty much 80% (if not more) of our offense.

Lets see what January brings (and the exciting rumors of Henry being signed on short term).

GOONS FO LYF.
Gunnerson

Though its nice that you aren't counting Spurs among the top teams, St. Totteringham's Day seems a long long way...
Georgedb1

LMAO, Id never count he Scum... they're just one hard loss away from a second half of the season collapse, which is usually what happens
Homey_Mills

I'm not excited about the Henry rumors one bit. If it weren't for his Arsenal legacy, nobody would be happy about bringing in an aging 34 year old from MLS. Furthermore, while a short term deal is needed at left back, I think we have a long term problem in the attack. Bendtner isn't coming back. Wilshere is a midfielder. I think we need a legit transfer at either the wing or forward position, and not just a guy to carry us during the African Cup of Nations.
LachlanS

I do agree somewhat, but I think the Henry loan would work quite well. It would create such a buzz, and assist in the short term problem created by the ACN.

I back you 100% for the long term fix also though. We desperately need to bring someone in, however, I don't think January is the easiest time to do it.
Carson Jenga

Well I think we should consider that quality January signings are relatively hard to come by and come at an unnecessary premium. Players of the quality that we require long term would likely be cup tied and moreover their teams would be highly reluctant to sell a quality player in the middle of the season. Plus Henry's arsenal legacy aside he is not just any ageing MLS player he has been one of the leagues better players( in the best XI I believe)with a good goal return and some of them absolutely gorgeous. In addition, he also knows the squad has trained with them and knows our playing style plus he has EPL experience so an adjustment peRiod is unnecessary another important factor when considering a January buying and hoping for instant impact. I know there is the Arshavin example but that is certainly an exception, at least in Arsenal terms.
Homey_Mills

Well, it's all about being willing to spend money in January. I'll admit up front that the Torres signing at Chelsea hasn't paid off for them yet. However, the point remains that teams WILL sell major players if the price is right. If Liverpool could sell Torres to Chelsea, I'm quite sure Gladbach could sell Reus for the right price, just like they could in the summer as well. I don't think the premiums are necessarily that much higher. And for cup-tied players, perhaps the prices are lower.
brenton

Reus has a release clause of 15m pounds.
Carson Jenga

silly amounts of*
Carson Jenga

I am not sure if I agree because I feel teams are usually only willing to sell a major quality player in the January window if that player has been agitating for a move in the first place. Think of all the recent big winter signings, they have all been unsettled players and the exception, Carrol, was ridiculously overpriced. I am not necessarily sure what is Gladbach's profile but I feel we would be surprised how much they would resist a Jan move as it disrupts the team and there is little time to get a replacement. Unless Reus demands an immediate move I doubt they would sell unless it was silly money.
Gigi_man

Yes indeed. I would even say a true 9, class9. RvP himself has said it, that he grew in this position, Theo wants to be there but isnt quite ready yet I think. Then we should bring at least one true 9 (and one defender while we are at it)
Kas123

Agreed Big Homey, I said the same thing a few minutes ago.
Gunner4lf

It's great news the leadership spot only advanced by one point. We have 33 points after 18 games which puts us on pace to achieve 70 points. If BOTH City and United win only 5 games and tie 15 over the next 20 games, they will have 75 points. Not a snowball's chance in Hell to compete for the title at Christmas is great news indeed.

RVP is basically the whole season and he had a terrible game today. Two gifts dropped onto his foot 15 yards from goal with only the keeper to beat and he miscontrols the damn ball. He should have had 5 goals. The fans booing at the end of the game got it right. 12 against 10 at home, relegation fodder, and we tie. Arshavin and Chamakh are both terrible. We should package them and move them to Siberia. Mert is slower than my pet lizard and TV5 only cares about making a point with the ref who we owned anyway. Happy Holidays.
Georgedb1

What a negative character you are. With you it seems that even if we win the treble there would be a bad side to it all. Of course we are off pace behind the leaders. We had a crisis in the beginning of the season (whoever is to blame doesn't matter). The fact that we've climbed back the way we did is amazing. Look at Liverpool, they had their crisis 2 years ago and still they haven't been able to break into the CL.

After oru start, this year's battle has always been for a top 4 spot, anything else will be bonus. You forget we're one of 2 English teams in the CL of course. Why would you point that out though, an 'optimist' like you probably counted us out of that one a long time ago. I stay positive because its a privilege to be able to watch the Arsenal every week. I don't care if we don't win the league again this year. Why? Because even if we go on the Scum's drought streak (God forbid), I know I'd still be in at the bar or at home watching the Arsenal every week.So, I don't care about your 'witty' negative view of the boys, as long as I can keep watching the them take the field every week, the Holidays WILL be Happy ;)GOONS FO LYF, win, lose, or draw.
Homey_Mills

While these comments are a tad more extreme than my views, I think they pretty fairly sum things up.