Arsenal 2 – Wolves 0: Dominant But Wasteful Gunners Back on Track (UPDATED with Player Ratings)

Well, we certainly could have done better converting the chances we created, but all in all, we have every reason to be happy with that performance.

We were dominant throughout, and we really could have won by a lot more. van Persie opened the scoring in the 16th minute with an absolutely fantastic goal. Cesc had the ball and did well to cut back and find a bit of time/space, and then floated a ball into van Persie in the middle of the box. Showing a great striker’s instinct, van Persie had drifted into a few yards of space (Wolves defenders got caught ball-watching) and took the ball out of mid-air with a super first time shot with his “chocolate” leg. Goalkeeper Hennessey got a hand to it, but RvP took the shot too hard and too fast for him to do anything but parry it just inside the far post. 1-0 Arsenal.

We had several other very good chances in the first-half. A floating corner went through Hennessey’s hands and fell directly to Arshavin, who must have been so shocked that the ball came to him that he wasted an easy finish into an open net. Not too long after that, a beautiful ball was played to Theo Walcott, who had pretty close to an open goal to shoot into, but his shot into the center of the goal was just too tame, and Hennessey made a very good save. The rebound fell to Cesc, whose side-footed shot inside the far post was cleared off the line by a defender. It was definitely one of those “how in the world did we not score there?” van Persie also had a very good shot right before the half-time whistle blew. Easily could have been 3 or 4, but somehow we went in leading only 1-0, and given recent events, you just didn’t feel comfortable at all.

We started out the second-half very brightly, and probably should have doubled our lead right after the break. Theo and van Persie both had great looks from the center of the box, but both missed the target. Theo’s in particular was a very bad miss.

But in the 56th minute, we finally broke through and doubled our lead. It was a picture perfect counterattack. Possession was recovered deep in our own end, and played to Cesc Fabregas, who played an absolutely beautiful long ball to Theo Walcott in the center-right of the pitch. van Persie was a bit offside but slowed his run down exactly right to get back onside when Walcott played a ball across the pitch in to him. He got it a perfect position, one-on-one with the keeper, and slotted the ball in cool as you like for a 2-0 lead.

We had several other chances to make it 3-0, but just couldn’t get the ball into the back of the net. We subbed off van Persie and Arshavin for Bendtner and Chamakh, and partly due to that, partly due to an increased sense of urgency on their part, Wolves really seemed to crank up the pressure for about a 10 minute spell from the 75th to 85th minute. But even then, though they got the ball in and around the box, our defense stayed organized and disciplined, and they never truly threatened. We then managed to take back control of the match for the last 10 minutes, controlling possession and killing off the match. 2-0 Arsenal, final.

Final Stats:

Possession: Arsenal 51% – Wolves 49%
Shots(on Target): 21(7) – Wolves 4(0)
Corners: Arsenal 3 – Wolves 6

It was a dominating performance, we always looked comfortable, we kept a clean sheet, and it will be a good confidence booster for us after last week’s capitulation and ahead of the mid-week first leg match against Barcelona. We created a ton of chances, and Wolves didn’t manage a single shot on goal. Obviously that lack of finishing touch could prove critical to any chances we may have of beating Barcelona, but I hope and expect we’ll be more focused and cutting edge on Wednesday than we were today.

Also, I just point this out because, as anyone who has followed me on Twitter the last week or so know, I am at my wit’s end with paranoid Arsenal fans who are always looking to blame everything on someone else, and think the entire world is out to get us. But in the first half Wolves got the ball on the edge of the box, their player cut in and ran along just inside the top of the box, when Djourou lunged in, missed the ball (which was played away a split second before Djourou got there), and definitely appeared to get the leg of the Wolves player, who went down. I think if it had happened anywhere else on the pitch, it was a foul, and therefore should have been a penalty against Arsenal.

Again, normally I just say “these things happen,” because they do. But Arsenal fans lately, in the wake of the Newcastle game, have completely lost their minds and think that the referees have banded together to get back at us for some perceived slight. So there’s one call that should have gone against us, that went our way. It was a lucky break. Next time you hear Arsenal fans bitching and moaning about the injustices of the world, remember that one, because that would have put it at 1-1 and could have completely changed the complexion of the match. To be clear, I’m not defending the competence of the referees — they can be pretty bad. But I don’t think they’ve done anything that merit questioning their integrity — they are just guys trying to do a job, who aren’t very good at it sometimes. Just like the rest of us, I suppose. But I suspect the “everyone is out to get us” brigade will conveniently forget this break Arsenal got next time they start talking about how all the referees’ decisions go against is, as is their wont.

But it’s a good result. We stay 4 points behind United, and solidify our hold on 2nd place, as we’re now 4 points ahead of Manchester City with a match in hand. We go to 9 points clear of Spurs and Chelsea, although both those teams have a match in hand on us so could close it back to 6. We’ve got a very advantageous run of matches coming up, one in which we’ll need to keep taking 3 points to close the gap on United going into the last couple of months of the season. This is a good start.

On to the player ratings:

Szczesny 6.5 Pretty much had the day off. A couple of decent punches on set pieces, and generally looked assured, but didn’t have a single save to make all afternoon.

Sagna 6 He was still decent, but I thought Sagna had one of his poorer games in recent memory. A couple of absolutely atrocious crosses, not very much support of the attack, etc. He covered his area generally pretty well. He is suspended for the midweek, so we’ll have Eboue playing anyway in case fatigue is to be blame. I expect this to be nothing more than a blip.

Clichy 6.5 Had some crossing issues of his own, but did his job pretty well otherwise. I expect he will keep his place on Wednesday.

Djourou 8 Didn’t miss a beat, and showed no ill effects from his bruised knee. Barcelona will be a massive test for Johan, but I sure feel much better with him in the lineup than I would have without him.

Koscielny 7.5 Very assured. Dealt with several balls into the box well and looked good in the air. Another one who is looking a massive test on Wednesday.

Song 7 He wasn’t at his absolute best today, but he did his job. The difference between Arsenal with him in the lineup and Arsenal without him is as apparent as it is large. He takes the ball off people so well, and has really improved his judgment — he now makes clean tackles where he used to concede stupid fouls. Wilshere also feels free to edge up a bit more when he knows he has Song before him. I actually think Song might be our single most important player in the Barcelona tie — he will have the primary responsibility for getting in the pocket of Barca’s midfielders and keep them from getting too far forward.

Wilshere 8 He just seems to keep getting better and better. Superb at making long passes and runs from deep, supporting the attack, all without getting caught too far upfield. But for God’s sake, Jack, shoot the ball — several times he had the ball facing the goal in the box but opted for a pass instead. It’s nice that he’s a team player and deferential, but he’s got to start shooting more. Cesc had the same issue his first couple of seasons, so I have no doubts he’ll get it figured out. In so many ways, he has become the engine that drives this team — crazy to think that many if not most Arsenal fans wanted to send him away on a season long loan just 6 months ago, a notion that seems unthinkable now.

Cesc 8 Excellent performance from the rudder of the Arsenal. Pulled the strings well — assisted on the first goal, and was really the architect of the second, as his perfect long ball to Theo was what really set the events in motion. Had several chances he probably could have converted, but all in all, he’s in top form heading into a game he must certainly be extremely excited about.

Theo 7.5 Was wasteful a couple of times, and his finishing let us down. But his deep runs troubled Wolves all day long, and he assisted well on van Persie’s second goal. He played the entire match, but I would be stunned if he weren’t in the first XI on Wednesday.

Arshavin 7.5 Is really rediscovering his form. Had one shocking miss, and there wasn’t really any end product to what he did today, but he looked bright and motivated, skilled and energetic all match long. I have to say I had a lot of doubt as to how he would respond to fans doubting him and being dropped, but he’s put his head down and done everything that we could have asked of him — an impressive show of character.

van Persie 8.5 Man of the Match. Is there any striker in the world in as good a form as van Persie at the moment? The first goal was an absolutely sublime strike, and the second was a cool bit of finishing as well. It may sound ridiculous, but when he’s healthy, I’m not sure there’s another striker in the world you’d rather have.

Bendtner 5.5 Pretty putrid, giving the ball away and stumbling around like Frankenstein’s striker. He can talk all he wants about how he should be playing, but surely even he has to realize that performances like this aren’t going to see him move up the depth chart.

Chamakh 6 Only slightly better, working hard and trying to hold up the ball so we could keep possession. But tried a few too many tricky passes when a simple back pass would have been better, and I’m still not convinced he’s out of his run of bad form.

Denilson 5.5 Brought on solely to help keep possession. Almost immediately, Wolves embarked on their best spell of possession and aggression of the entire match. That just about says all you know about it, doesn’t it?

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Category: Arsenal News, Fixtures, Match Review, Premiership, Wolves