Sunday's encounter with Spurs at White Hart Lane was always going to be a tough assignment for the Gunners. On top of all the pride at stake, this game could have been significant in defining the course of the remainder of the season for both teams. A defeat for either side had the potential to be a disastrous blow to both confidence and point's totals with ramifications beyond any of the usual post-match banter or gloating.
As it was, a draw was a fair result and, from the Gunners' point of view, arguably represented the best they could have hoped for from a game that they had to play the majority of with ten men. Once again, Emmanuel Eboue let himself, the team and the fans down with two instances of petulance that earned him a brace of yellow cards and, thus, a sending off. What made his dismissal more frustrating was that in the opening stages of the match he had produced some of his most encouraging football of the season so far, even getting as far as putting the ball in the Spurs net only for the goal to be ruled out for a push.
Though Eboue got some sympathy from certain quarters when getting booed off against Wigan at Ashburton Grove, it is hard to continue to feel sorry for a player who does so little to help himself. Arsene Wenger has given him countless chances and he has appeared in the starting line-up many more times than either his form or attitude have deserved. One wonders whether his dismissal on Sunday will see the manager’s patience finally evaporate.
Certainly, with the arrival of Andrey Arshavin and the imminent return to action of both Theo Walcott and Cesc Fabregas, it is hard to imagine how Eboue could possibly expect more than to be warming the bench for the remainder of the season. He is a player that Arsene Wenger has kept faith with for too long. It is now time to give others, even youngsters like Jack Wilshere, a chance.
Another player who might find it hard to regain his place in the starting line-up in a few weeks time is Emmanuel Adebayor. He limped off with a hamstring pull early in the game but, despite that, he has done little in the past few months to both justify his automatic selection or the massive pay rise he extracted from the club during the summer. He has been fortunate that his most obvious replacement, Nicklas Bendtner, has also struggled to find form this season otherwise he might have found himself spending more time on the sidelines. Should the Dane find his touch in the next few weeks though, the Togo man might have a battle on his hands to get his place back.
Certainly, Adebayor's injury and Eboue's sending off somewhat limited any opportunities Arsene Wenger had to make any tactical substitutions to try to win the game against Tottenham. As the game wore on it was a case of seeing whether the ten men could fashion a decisive chance without giving anything away at the other end. It turned out that even one man down the Gunners were still more than a match for Spurs and, though both teams had a couple of opportunities to nick all three points, the game ended in a stalemate with neither team losing facing nor going away pointless. It was hard to be satisfied with the outcome but, under the circumstances, it could have been worse.
The Gunners take a break from the Premier League this weekend and play their postponed FA Cup replay against Cardiff City at Ashburton Grove on Monday night. Last week’s cancellation due to snow means that both teams are in the frustrating position of being a round behind everyone else with the winners having to fit their Fifth Round tie with Burnley on a midweek night. Still, it is an irritation that Arsenal ought to be glad to accept. Should they get through on Monday, the Burnley match would be at Ashburton Grove and would seem to present an opportunity for revenge for the Carling Cup defeat at Turf Moor as well as advancing to the latter stages of the tournament.
Disappointingly, Andrey Arshavin is ineligible to take part in Monday's replay against Cardiff because he was not signed at the time of the first meeting. Arsenal supporters will have to wait one more week to get their first glimpse of him when he makes his likely debut against Sunderland on Saturday week. The squad are desperate for some fresh input and all eyes will be on the Russian to see if he can be the catalyst for the re-ignition of Arsenal’s season.
Komen:
Bagi aku apa yang digambarkannya benar belaka, Eboue dah terlalu banyak peluang diberikan tetapi disia-siakannya dan mengapa tidak memberikan peluang kepada Jack Wilshere, Adebayor seperti kembali kepada zaman awal kehadirannya di Arsenal dan mampukah Bendtner melakukan tugas partnership van Persie?
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