ESPN Soccernet - Correspondents - Arsenal

Posted by David Young on 02/08/2011

Since Arsenal's calamitous second-half capitulation at Newcastle, the last few days have felt like walking around with the worst sort of hangover. The kind that gives you flashbacks to the whatever appalling antics you were up to in your stupor and leaves you questioning: did that really happen?

Well, it did and it is still hard to believe. A family member texted me after the game to ask how on earth the Gunners could allow a four-nil half-time lead to be canceled out? The only response I could offer was “gross incompetence and lack of bottle?”

Turning Point: Diaby Asks To Get Sent Off©Getty Images

Certainly, the referee didn’t help matters - both penalties were ridiculously soft - and yes, for the larger portion of the second half the Gunners were reduced to ten-men thanks to Abou Diaby stupidly getting himself sent off. Added to this, they had also lost Johan Djourou, their most influential central defender, to a knock. But none of these are adequate excuses for what happened.

It would be nice to be able to dismiss the performance as a “freak event” but we have been here a couple of times before this season. Added to Saturday’s debacle are the draw away at Wigan and, most notably, the defeat to Spurs at home. On all three occasions the Gunners were in winning positions and when required to see the job through they failed to hold their nerve. It is a worrying aspect of this team.

On the whole they seem to have toughened-up mentally this season, but the fact that they are still prone to occasional lapses and, indeed, collapses is troubling and does raise the question as to whether this flaw in their psychological strength will mean they ultimately fail to truly fulfill their undoubted potential. Let’s face it, sitting in the stands most weeks, you never feel entirely confident that they have matches won until they are either three goals ahead or the final whistle sounds.

After the match, Arsene Wenger conceded that, when the match went to 1-4, the team “panicked”. Really? Why? Considering that Joey Barton didn’t convert his first penalty until the 68th minute, that is a pretty shocking admission. Leading 4-1 with 22 minutes to go, you might have expected the Newcastle goal to sharpen Arsenal’s focus for the closing stages but, in actual fact, they did more than panic. They totally went to pieces. The only player to emerge from the second half with any real credit was Wojciech Szczesny who had little chance with the goals but pulled off several good saves to ensure that Arsenal’s embarrassment was restricted to drawing the match rather than losing it.

The team’s second half display defies analysis beyond that which I offered in my text response above. However, the one thing that manager, players and supporters are all agreed on is the need to move on from this as quickly as possible. In the longer term, it is for Arsene Wenger to sort out the psychological glitches in the team’s make up. In the shorter term, the players have to get back to winning ways immediately.

On Saturday, Wolves visit Ashburton Grove. Mick McCarthy’s men will be in buoyant mood after ending Manchester United’s unbeaten run last Saturday and they are a team that have proved they can dish out a bloody nose to the big boys when they want to, having also scalped Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City this season.

Though Arsenal won 2-0 at Molineux back in November, it was hardly a cakewalk; and Wolves are not going to be a pushover in the return either. With the Gunners sweating on injuries to two of their more-physical players - Alex Song and Johan Djourou - Saturday will is going to be a very big test.

For once, this week’s international break might actually be a welcome interruption to the real business of the Premier League. For many of the Arsenal players it will be a good distraction from Saturday’s meltdown and will stop them from dwelling too much on what happened. It will also direct the media’s attention elsewhere - the last thing the team needed was a slow news week. Fingers crossed, those who have gone away with their national sides will come back injury-free and those who have swung the lead and cried off with “flu” will have a good rest.

Everyone needs to return mentally fresh and ready to deliver a very big performance against Wolves on Saturday.

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Comments

Posted by Soon-to-be-Ex-Gunner on 02/08/2011

David, I've been waiting for your thoughts since Saturday night. I am devastated. I don't think I can follow this team any longer. There is no pride and absolutely no leadership. Can we sell Cesc already, please? Let him leave right now. He is having a torrid season; can't shoot accurately, has become incredibly slow, and generally disengaged from the team. I'm afraid that holding on to him might prove a double mistake -- we lose him anyway, and also lose Nasri in the process. I say let Cesc go for a lot of money; make Nasri the highest paid Gunner and move him to the "10" position, and buy two defenders and a defensive mid in the Summer.

Posted by Dave on 02/08/2011

After watching the Arsenal vs. Newcastle match, I have the following questions :-

- Where was the leadership ?

- Do we ever practise as a team in how to defend in situation like this? Do we have a set of instruction or plan for players to follow ?

- Why was Rosicky keep giving the ball away when he gets the ball and keep giving free kicks away in our own half ( which lead to Newcastle's 4th goal) ? Also, it was him who pushed the Newcastle player which lead to the 2nd penalty. I am very suspicious of Rosicky ??? !!!

- What is the Psychological impact to the players in the future ? Next time, we will still feel unsafe even if we are leading 3 to 4 nil. It will be even worse when the opponent get a goal back and the player will start to think Spurs and Newcastle once again. ( we need to change this. We need to have a plan to defend, so the players can have a psychologic believe to reast upon )

Finally, no comment on the ref. It's something that can't be changed !

Posted by Gettingbalderbythematch on 02/08/2011

David, you are spot on although I would have used much harsher language. When Newcastle scored their second I knew we were going to concede more. The only reason we didn't lose was because Newcastle ran out of time. They just lost their best striker to L'pool and were able to put four past us. It's a disgrace how so many international players can capitulate like that. They should refuse to take their wages. The sadest part is this lack of toughness has been going on since 2005 and I don't see us having the personnel to stop it happening again. Barcelona will be coming soon, God help us.

Posted by Philip on 02/08/2011

Final lesson in maturity. Forget the ref, forget the dubious tackle(s). Be the first EPL team to surrender a 4 goal lead and win the league! Count it as a blessing that that the lesson was learned, a point was picked up and then move on and stay focused.

Posted by Dj Alex on 02/08/2011

Yes it looks really bad to lose a four-goal lead, but it still does come down to a couple of invididual performances by the referee. Two penalties is such an effect to the outcome of a football match that if they are given very softly, I don't think the Gunners players cannot have been expected to expect such a pair of soft penalty decisions. I didn't take much to bring Best down and the other one was even more ludicrous...

They can put this behind them as, like you said, a freak accident and take all three points at Molineux.

Posted by Tom on 02/08/2011

David, you are spot on with your commentary.

As an additional note, it is clear that while he possesses sublime skills, Cesc Fabregas leaves something to be desired in on-field leadership. In general I would not place any more blame on him than his teammates, only Cesc is the captain. Perhaps he should try a tad harder to be an influential one.

As great a manager as he is, it is past time for Wenger to admit that the team needs an infusion of steel and determination to go with the focus on skills.

Perhaps this summer then...

Oh, who am I kidding, Wenger is out to prove that his way will work... eventually...

Maybe...

Posted by CYQ on 02/08/2011

Ridiculous refereeing, big reason for the introduction of video technology into this game. The bad decisions are really killing Arsenal's game in particular. The foul on Wojciech Szczesny was so apparent after Diaby had gotten a red card for an almost identical foul. What do you think David was the main reasoning for the loss and how well do you think Arsenal will fare against Wolves?

Posted by Norman Phillips on 02/08/2011

Wenger needs to take some of the blame for the "meltdown" as he failed to tactically limit Newcastle's numerical advantage. Instead of insisting the team play attacking football, dropping the ball over the Toon back four, where Walcott and van Persie were creating panic. Instead he decided to play defense. He took of Walcott who was terrorising the Toon defense and put on a defensive player and caused the midfield to be domionated by a numerical advantaged Toon.
What really caused the problem was allowing Newcastle to crowd the midfield and pressure the Gunners defense.
Big mistake.

Posted by adeniyi gunners on 02/08/2011

to round it off, That's the worst officiating I've seen since I've been supporting Arsenal for the past 15years... If I'm wrong, please tell me the worst officiating in your opinion... Please that goes out to everyone who has read this Blog and who has seen this comment.. Please what was your worst offciatong since you have been supporting Arsenal..

Posted by Adeniyi Gunners on 02/08/2011

Well, the Ref didn't help matters like you said and believe me, that's the end of discussion...You can't just come here and start faulting Diaby(though he was wrong to a fault) but you try to answer these questions: Do you think Joey Barton should be on the field after the tackle on Diaby? If you were in the shoes of a guy whose leg had once broken(2005), how would you react to a career threatening tackle?? Just shake the guy or what?? I'm sure you will do more than this guy... Its pretty unfortunate he reacted that way because somehow it affected the team but don't forget the refree didn't even blow a free kick not to tallk of giving him a yellow card or sending him off. That aside, the two free kicks are joke and at 4-2 and getting such free kick awarded against you, certainly anything can happen as its a morale killing penalty for the third... Most notably, after Diaby's red card, there's no one to mark for us from the midfield because Tiote is too strong for Fab n Wilshere 2 handle

Posted by Patrik on 02/08/2011

It it´s still quite hard to grasp. Guess that the loss of Djouru was a keyfactor. It actually comes close to one of the worst collective mental performances I´ve seen. The whole team just folded.

I imagine that 10 men normally would defend quite well. This however was something different.

Patrik

Posted by lockdown12 on 02/08/2011

Agreed. Well said, David.

Posted by D. Devil's Advocate. Esq. on 02/08/2011

If Nolan is sent off like he should have been, it's a completely different game. Nevertheless and irregardless, even a man down it shouldn't be that difficult to contain Newcastle. I mean, Joey Barton ain't no Xavi, and the rest of the squad is a bunch of earnest plodders.

And the Arsenal STILL can't defend set pieces consistently. How many years are going to go by before Arsene figures out how to fix this?

Posted by Phil on 02/08/2011

I'm utterly impressed you were able to find this many words for that performance. It still just boggles the mind.

Good work as always.

Posted by David Fitch on 02/08/2011

I agree with you watching at4am could not believe what i was seeing i thought i was dreaming or rather a nightmare there is no explanation for what happened. My concern now is what this has done to the team they have to come back strong and win well if not this could be the moment when there title hopes have gone.

Posted by mckenzie on 02/08/2011

NOT TO MENTION THE NEWCASTLE OFFSIDE GOAL THAT WASNT

Posted by James the youngGun on 02/08/2011

i couldn't agree more David.. horrible ref calls but performance in the second half was poor in itself. However i think arsenal well turn around versus wolves. Hopefully players return and no more injuries, maybe city will do us a favor too!!! LETS GO GUNNERS!!!!

Posted by CK on 02/09/2011

Referee standard, is a joke for a long long long time in Premier League. Too bad team managers have to bite the bullet of poor refereeing

It was a test for Wenger last Sat how to solve the downturn after 10 men, and it failed as:

1. Too late to field in Eboue as the defensive midfielder. ( Wilshere is in the mold of Fabregas rather than Song); replacement - right after the send off of stupid Diaby, should not choose Rosicky, who is tame and forward-mind midfielder and his weak clearance caused the team to lose the 4th goal.

2. As situation getting worse, a 5th goal is a must to brake the flame onto Newcastle, so the final replacement shall be either Brendter or Chamakh to lead the attack, making space for v Persie to do the damage

Wenger yet unable to lead the team out of 'trouble' this time

Posted by d chow on 02/09/2011

If A Wenger sensed that his team 'panicked' when the match went to 4-1, what had he done to re-inspire his squad and to forewarn the defence not to commit further penalty-prone tackles. Furthermore, what has Rosicky contributed to the game after his substitution?

Posted by TopGooner on 02/09/2011

I guess I felt the same way as you David. Was it real? It almost seem like it was scripted.

What happened to the Arsenal that time after time played so well when they were down to 10 men? This time they couldn't even string 3 consecutive passes together and were pinned in their own half for the last half hour.

Rosicky was poor (what else is news!), conceding both the penalty and free-kick that led up to the equaliser.

To make matters worse is that it was a great chance to close the gap on Man United...

Posted by WRENNY M on 02/09/2011

I THINK DIABY, WOULD HAVE BEEN FINED BY HIS TEAM FOR WHAT HE CAUSED TO THE TEAM.BSE IT WAS ACHILDISH RETARIATION.

Posted by ifeanyi udemezue on 02/09/2011

Dave, you omitted the Sunderland game from the list of surrendered games. It was disgraceful, to say the least. The other point you did not clearly state is the increasing importance of JD. LK was playing well and doing good with JD.His performance went down when Squillaci entered the scene. This is really sad. And Arsene Wenger refused to buy a central defender. He should take the blame for these defensive lapses and collapses. Imagine where we would have been on the table if we did not drop points against New Castle. Add the Spurs, Sunderland and Wigan games!!! Very sad indeed!!!

Posted by Deven on 02/09/2011

Our dear Arsene did pertinently know that he should have recruited a seasoned defender during the transfer window. He could not have been unaware that the pressure on Arsenal was on its defence. With Vermaelen and Squilacci out it was unsafe to count on only Jourou and the others. Arsenal is the only club which is on a good note financially. That was evident that he could have brought a new defender. But again nothing happened and it is just natural that the pressure to defend will bring injuries to other players. And a fact not to eliminate is that all teams which cannot play that highly technical and flambuoyant football as Arsenal will try to bring anti- game tactics to stop them and of course with the help of some illinspired refeereeing. Arsenal fans are there to further bear the torture of other matches like the one against Newcastle.

Its time to think seriously for a very strong defence for Arsenal. Tha's all that we need. And we can do that.

Posted by anderson on 02/09/2011

i think is enough for DIABYs unprofesional play,is time he is sent parcking from arsenal because he is a calamity to arsenal success ever since.Whenever he is injured there will be no problem in the midfild.but if he is then unnessesary trible,weak and inacurate pass and red card. thank you.

Posted by WC on 02/09/2011

I think the turning point was the red card to diaby. Eboue was the best replacement just after the red card. the defence was exposed so much especially after losing djourou who looks more comfortable on the ball than squilaci. anyway wolves will pay for that.

Posted by hillary mapo on 02/09/2011

I think Arsenal will bounce back.I could sense the danger the moment Diaby got sent off.I hope that song and johan recover quickly for the Wolves tie.It just was not our day.

Posted by Ramakrishnan on 02/09/2011

Its disgracefull. This not the first time. It happened against Spurs and now Newcastle. Maybe Wenger has not the right tactics. The Arsenal players melt when they are being attacked. They dont seem composed under attck. Only Wenger knows because as he says quote "I believe in my players". What does he mean by that only God knows. Its time he got rid of some of them instead of stubbornly sticking to them. He shoudnt be so stingy to spent and get some new players.

Posted by NixonUkanwa on 02/09/2011

Thanks David for bringing this up. Y'all we have to understand that this happens to the best of teams(keeping in mind the current crop of barca gave up three points to lowly levante), at least we held onto our single point, thanks to our rookie goalie. But I suggest we do not peg it all on Fabrigas who had absolutely nothing to do with both penalties and Diaby's juvenile tendencies.
My verdict: Rosicky had no business in that game.
A game with that sort of twist needed swift aggressive attacks from the likes of Walcott and Arshavin, but we do n ot seem to give Wenger his blames too sometimes.
I kinda hope we learnt from this blunder because we CANNOT contain 45mins of barca with this character.

Posted by JH on 02/09/2011

Lets not all be quick to discredit Newcastle for their effort shall we?

True the refs might have made several bad decisions in their games, but lets not forget that some of them went against Newcastle as well. For example the goal Best scored which was clearly onside.

What I am trying to point out is not to give Newcastle some credit. Its not easy to climb back up from a 4 goal lead. Its psychologically crippling and demoralising to be down 4 goals by half-time. If i were in their shoes, I would not be even looking forward to playing the second half for fear of further embarrassment. Give the lads in black and white some credit for their effort and spirit pls.

Posted by Anonymous on 02/09/2011

I blame the ref. Very poor judgements!

Posted by delvin on 02/09/2011

club pays million of dollars for players but sad to said winning and losing are decide by referee and not the players. why is there no video referee when rugby, tennis and other sports have?

Posted by peter on 02/09/2011

the referee was terrible,squilacci is useless,abou diaby is so immature and this is all wengers fault 4 not buyin a defender in january!

Posted by Ovie on 02/09/2011

With this sort of refereeing in this match the english league is indirectly telling the rest of the world that they don't need the likes on Arsenal and their free flowing football......
Its a real shame, no mention is ever made of what happens to the refs, imagin the clear offside goal that was given to everton the other week...No purnishment for the tackle on diaby, No purnishment for the rough handling of our goolie, its really amazing

Posted by Filip on 02/09/2011

Knowing Diaby's history of injuries, I can completely understand his reaction.It happens.He is not a dirty player and this will not happen again.Barton has changed his style this season but this is what he's been known for all of his career - careless tackles.Anyway, I watched the first half and then let my son watch cartoons for like 25 minutes.I turned on the game just to see what was going on and whether RVP has scored another hat trick;well, what can you say?EVERYTHING that possibly could have gone wrong did go wrong.Sure, the officiating sucked but the performance and body language was just horrible to watch-the last goal just seemed so imminent, it was ridiculous.Last night I watched the second Shakhtar game and I noticed that Rosicky just does not have a touch for the pass anymore.The last few games I watched him play, everything about his game screams injury.He is slow and indecisive, his midrange passes are just aweful. Anyway, MANU lost and we picked up a point.Move on...

Posted by immanuel on 02/10/2011

Mr Arsene wenger is to blame for what happened against newcastle,wrong and late subs cost arsenal the 3points,Squilacci is a nonsense player that should not be for a team like Arsenal i sensed his lack of confidence when Diaby was sent off by throwing up his hands in the air instead of clapping those hands to instil confidence at the back,1.Rocisky has no business in a game that turned physical,2. Eboue should have replaced theo as defensive midfield immediately Newcastle scored their fist goal then Arsenal play one man van up front, that is crowding the midfield, which is doing everything to stop Newcastle playing in the middle. i dont care about the refereeing,i wish some rugby soccer player breaks Barton's both legs maybe then he would understand what he did against Diaby, RMADRID lost to BARCA but we all understood that the manager did his best to contain the situation, that is what we want from Mr Arsene Wenger, its high time Mr Wenger wakes up and give up some players

Posted by Todd on 02/10/2011

Both penalties were soft and van Persie wasn't off at the end. I don't know what Arsene said after the game but it was probably similar.

I hate to say that the official played a large part in this game, but he did.

That being said, there is no excuse for losing a 4 goal halftime lead. They showed absolutely no character.

Posted by Dan on 02/10/2011

Hi David,

I cannot believe that no one has mentioned the specific role that Sebastien Squillaci played in this turnaround. While under no pressure from the opposition, his careless touch at the back set up a 50-50 challenge between Joey Barton and Abou Diaby. Squillaci basically set up his teammate to get killed by Joey Barton. Part of the maturation process for Diaby will be to control his emotions in that situation, but if I were Diaby and it was AFTER the game I would thank Squillaci for his contribution with a punch to the face.

Also, I have to agree with everyone in saying that bringing on Rosicky with 10 men made absolutely no sense.

And how did Joey Barton end that game without at least a yellow card? [For the answer, see the Sports Illustrated article on "home field advantage".]

Posted by adrian on 02/10/2011

i woke up with my friend in fiji around 4am on sunday morning, and the first 45 minutes we were seeing the best game of our lives, 4 goals, a goal flood, of whcih some times dream of and then the second half was the worst ever, disappointments , rosicky...needs to be dropped...he missed penalty in a game, which i cnt recall and they drew or lost!!, every time he came on he is horrible...and against new castle he was a major set-back...squalacci..is no good of a defender..!!...lagging...we need vamealen back!!.....we need steel in the middle of the field.....like viera!!....

i only hope arsenal can win it....i am so excited...of their hopes...plse wenger..we have waited for so long........plse dnt let us down!!!

when arsenal was losing....i wander why didnt the players talk to each other and encourged them to fight..they seemed lost...and disjointed!!...

Posted by dzie chimbga on 02/10/2011

its funny, David you dont mention the real culprit for this loss. After watching the highlights again,it's shocking how ultimately Rosiscky was responsible for virtually all the goals. Watch him, including the one incorrectly ruled offside where he was walking like a girl when he could see the whole line was pushing out. Atrocious.

Posted by Maran on 02/10/2011

It is rather embarassing, but this is not new for Arsenal fans. Arsenal always break records when it comes to the crunch, and the record often happens on the negative side. One can never imagine the capitulation after watching the first half. It was like free falling after a brief flight. What a mess it was in the second half. What can we say. Only Arsene will know what Rosicky is still there for. He has grown to be calamitous. Diaby was selfish and unprofessional. So what if he had suffered injuries. But I was amazed how Arsene protected the villain. For what? There are bad apples in the team. Arsene will have to decide what he wants. TO build a winning team, or run a Boys Institute. What a shame. It will take years to heal

Posted by t. elsden on 02/10/2011

i'm a gooner for life and also realistic, you dont concede 4 goals in a half 10 or 11 players and think that you are a contender,the only reason we are 2nd is that the other teams have dropped off in form more than us. There was a lack of leadership on the field the defence we have said it all season is weak.The only reason we dont concede more goals is because we have the majority of the ball when we lose a player there goes your ball possession.

Posted by Jorge on 02/11/2011

I agree with David but all the errors made are pointing to AW. I say he was unable to make a tactical adjusment not once but 5 times .
First when started the second half knowing that newcastle was going to start the second half trying to attack. Second after we lost JD third after lossing AD after the first goal after the second goal. Where was AW ? he did not react to any of those events. The same thing by not reacting to the fact that arsenal was short of Center Back. What on earth is he doing with the team

Posted by diddy khumalo on 02/11/2011

I was not watching the game against newcastle but i watched the re-run . first and foremost no matter what the ref did there is no excuse for loosing a for goal lead. i believe the team of 2001 would have kept that lead even with 9 men on the pitch. we now have too move on and win against wolves and barca . though this result will always play on the back of the players mind .

Posted by JY on 02/11/2011

Not to mention about the 2 soft penalty given by the referee, Squillaci is awful.. what the hell squillaci is doing when the ball come? he stand there like a status.. he is one of the worse signings of all years.. he should be sell at the end of the season.. if arsenal continue using him, we can kiss goodbye to our tittle!!!

Posted by Uchenna Agwu on 02/11/2011

Honestly the comeback of Newcastle defies logic! Arsenal collapsed totally though there were some questionable decisions against them, if Diaby had held his nerve Barton may have been sent off for that tackle but then this is a lad who has been through series of injuries and that kind of tackle just gets to you. We were done great favors by Wolves & Liverpool but make no mistakes we will not falter at the Emirates on Saturday, the lads wanna make up for the glitch at St James and I feel sorry for Wolves already.

Posted by CYQ on 02/11/2011

I agree with what most people say, Rosicky just ain't playing a good game right now. If at the end of the season he continues to play like this, i vote that Arsenal sell him and buy another player in the same mould as him, but able to track back and defend as well.

Posted by Glenn Irwin on 02/13/2011

I agree with most comments, it was a game we had won at half time, but alas we seem to go to sleep after half time,when will they remember they still have 45 mins to play, we should have scored at least 7. i think barton should have at least been yellow carded for his tackle, if Diaby had gone down and stayed down in the tackle it would have been a free to us and a yellow for barton, he is and always has been a dirty player, and as for nolan and his headlock throw, thats a yellow everyday, what was the ref thinking, or not thinking, he had a big hand in the draw, shame on you ref.
We definatley need another defender, and yes Rosicky needs to be let go, he is too flamboyant and loses possession to often.
I am a Gunner to the end, we can still win the Premiership, Lets show Barca we arent to be messed with.

Posted by Skydog on 02/14/2011

It was never Arsenal strength to play defensive. Arsenal players were not matured enough. They were naive to think that by scoring 4:0, there is no chance for oponnent to come back. I think that if Arsenal play their normal passing game, there was really no chance for newcastle to come back. However Arsenal players mentality start to be defensive and players refuse to move forward to attack. Without moving around and forward, arsenal midfield can't create space to pass and therefore they can't hold on to the possession. Arsenal players start to panic when oponnent pressured them. They give away the ball unnecessarily. I hope that Arsenal players have learnt a lesson. The best defense is to attack. Always remember to play your own game plan and to your own strength. So what if you lose the ball at the oponnent half? Just ensure your players don't go all out to attack and come back to defend when you lost the ball. Be matured, Gunners.

Posted by fendyoasis on 02/17/2011

There you go, i just browse around the intrnet maybe wanting to read something about my team NEWCASTLE and then i see this rubbish. You guys are sore losers.

The refereee was bad? Newcastle had a goal that was incorrectly called offside. And the penalties was justified..and so was the sending off, what the hell are you guys talking bout?

Oh yeah somebody commented that Van Persies goal was not offside, i watch the match 4 times on re runs, Van Persie was offside. Arsenal was just bad, yeah they beat Barcelona this morning, but they were bad against newcastle in the 2nd half on that day.

Posted by Sumit Gangwani on 03/04/2011

Hi David,
We are missing the point here, the point is not the way we lose,we lost the match by accident. My point here is why the match was dragged till 89th minute, when Arsenal had may chances to score, Rosicky missing target from the edge of the box. Given the quality these players have, they should have wrapped up the match ard 70th minute. I did not understand Arsene Wenger's susbs on the night, taking off Arshavin instead of Rosicky. When it was clearly evident that rosicky was unable to drive the midfield, why wasn't Nasri moved to midfield , we have seen how imp he was in the absence of Fabregas during start of the season.Every one is talking about the second goal, doesnt first goal again expose our deficiencies to defend set pieces. These questions are long term questions, which bother me more than a defeat. I understand accidents happen, but this wasn't an accident. It exposed that we are not able hold our nerves, when it comes to expectations. Everyone was expecting...

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