West Ham 2-Arsenal 2

By: Martin | October 25th, 2009

West Ham United v Arsenal
by brandaox

Oof. This one stings. Remember when I said that the midweek draw against AZ would be a good thing because it would teach players a lesson about taking other teams seriously and finishing off games? I guess now it’s fair to say that the team did not learn either of those lessons. We had this game in hand, and then we let up, got sloppy, and dropped 2 points as a consequence. It doesn’t get much more frustrating than this.

We started well early when Sagna put a perfect ball into the box (I know, I was surprised, too), West Ham keeper Green only got fingertips to it, and van Persie just had to put the ball into an open net. We continued to dictate play in the first half, and when Gallas got a firm head on a header in the 37th minute. 2-0 Arsenal, which was the score at halftime. We seemed to be well on our way. We look pretty strong after the break, but couldn’t find a third goal. And then, in the 74th minute, Mannone couldn’t hang onto a free kick into the box, and he parried it directly onto the head of Carlton Cole, who put it into the net. Then, just a few minutes later, the referee awarded a penalty when Song was (harshly, it has to be said) adjudged to have tripped Cole in the box. Diamanti buried the penalty, and suddenly it was 2-2. Despite Scott Parker being sent off and the introduction of Bendtner and Eduardo, Arsenal couldn’t find a way through, and we let two points slip through our fingers.

I don’t want to phrase anything too strongly so soon after the game, but the bottom line is that championship clubs don’t blow 2-0 leads to inferior clubs. This was a problem for us last season, and after the first two games, you’d have to say it appears to be a problem this season as well. We either have a lack of leadership or a lack of mental focus (or both), but we’ve got to develop a little bit more of a killer instinct when we’re in these situations. Instead of getting hungry for the win and finishing off the game, we consistently let our foot off the gas pedal, and it has cost us on numerous occasions now.

On to the ratings:

Mannone 5.5. Bad game for the Godfather–his tenure as #1 keeper may be at an end. Nothing he could have done about the penalty, but should have held the free kick on the first goal–instead, he deflected it directly to Carlton Cole.

Sagna 7.5. Excuse me, waiter? This crow is a little overcooked. As much stick as I’ve given Sagna for how bad his crosses into the box have been, it’s only fair that I give him credit for his perfect ball into the box for the first goal.

Clichy 6.5.Got forward a fair amount, but never really put West Ham in much danger from the left.

Vermaelen 6.5. Pretty quiet game for TV5.

Gallas 7.5. Got up and headed the ball brilliantly for the second goal, and generally defended well, although he was a bit sloppy on a tackle in the box on Scott Parker, which could have been a penalty.

Song 5. Decent performance up until the penalty. You can argue that it shouldn’t have been given (and you’d be right), but the bottom line is that up a goal that late in the game you have to be careful not to even give the appearance of an illegal tackle in the box.

Diaby 5.5. Completely ineffective.

Cesc 6.5. Made a few good passes and had a brilliant shot which just missed, but could have been better.

Eboue 5.5. Reverted to the Eboue of last season. Wasteful in possession, sloppy in defense.

Arshavin 6. Popped up here and there, but didn’t create chances like he should be doing. Has to do better if Arsenal are to compete for trophies.

van Persie 8. Man of the match. Coolly took the first goal, assisted on the second, and could have had another goal late but for a brilliant save by Green.

Bendtner 6. Looked up for it, but couldn’t really make an impact. Also, it was weird to me that he seemed to be playing on the left wing, but maybe he was just coming too far back.

Eduardo came on, but it was too late to fairly rate him.

Wenger’s Tie 6.5 Solid.

Well, that’s it. We should have won, but we didn’t. We’re up to third place, with a game in hand, but this is one of those games where you just get the sinking feeling we’d really like to have those two points late in the season. But what’s done is done, and we’ve got to look forward. The youngsters square off against Liverpool in the Carling Cup on Wednesday, and then the first-team is back in action in the North London derby against Spurs on Saturday. One can only hope we have now finally learned a lesson and will make sure not to blow three late leads in a row.