Disappointing Loss

Arsenal's winning streak ended a week earlier than some would have imagined as they fell 2-1 to QPR. It was a largely flat performance that was really inexplicable with Man City and Chelsea coming up on the schedule and a win needed to ensure maintaining our lead over Tottenham and Chelsea (who won 4-2 after Villa had equalized). Unfortunately, two of the most disappointing performances came from our best players, as Van Persie missed a one-on-one with the goalee (though it was a nice save) and Vermaelen was guilty on both QPR goals. It was also hard to understand what Wenger was thinking with the starting front line, as both Gervinho and Chamberlain sat on the bench. While Wenger is trying to be careful with Chamberlain, when we went down 2-1 in the 66th minute, I would have thought Chamberlain would have come on immediately. Walcott did put in another fine performance, though he was lucky to have the rebound of his shot that hit the post come right back to him for the goal. The irony is if Vermaelen didn't make the two mistakes, we might have won this 1-0, but one hopes the squad comes back next week against a reeling Man City.

A few thoughts on the player's performances: Van Persie has seemed to see a slight drop in form since not putting in the fourth goal against AC Milan last month. Luckily others like Walcott have taken on the scoring load, but we need our captain to return to scoring goals as we complete the run in. Ramsey continues to disappoint on the pitch, and I wonder if he is the long term answer for the club. He has good skills and a nice shot, but shoots errant too often, dribbles unnecessarily when he could be pushing forward, give the ball up far too much (particularly today) and seems to have lost the creativity that made him much more dangerous earlier in the year. Vermaelen had an off game, but I assume it was a blip and he will show up against Man City at home next Sunday. Even if we do lose to Man City next Sunday, we have some winnable games thereafter and have to ensure we don't again drop points unnecessarily at the end. 

On the transfer front, it appears we have sealed the deal with Podoloski, which is very good news (though one just can't trust the British press anymore). It also looks like we have a good shot a M'Villa, which I think would be a good move that could shore up the defensive holding position and bring another young quality player to the squad. News on a creative midfielder is less clear at the moment and it is also uncertain whether we will sign Vertohogen, which I think would be a great idea. It appears that Wenger will start unloading the deadweight this summer, according to reports, and that probably explains why Chamakh was even on the pitch at the end. I'd also love to see Almunia, Squillaci, Bendtner, Denilson Arshavin move on to greener pastures. 

Around the league today there were a few other surprises. The biggest was Man City only grabbing a draw with the resurgent Sunderland, who have thrived ever since Martin O'Neill took over. City might have just lost their title bid (assuming Man United beats Blackburn on Monday) and really only have themselves to blame. Yes they were without Aguero, out with a mysterious injury related to a pain killing spray, and Nasri. But this team was built with not only money but depth and should be able to play through a few injuries. Instead they have dropped far too many points this year and look set to win no trophies. I kind of see that as good news, as it might counter the argument that you can merely buy silverware in world football today. Team chemistry is clearly important as well, as is coaching (made clear by the incredible improvement in form of Chelsea since AVB left). Speaking of Chelsea, they dominated a depleted Aston Villa team today, but then disappeared defensively for a few minutes and found themselves level at 2-2, before going on to score two late and win 4-2. The biggest news might be Torres, who has been accruing a ton of assists this year, but finally got off the EPL snide and scored a lovely late goal that reminded of the player he used to be; his first goal since September for those who haven't been following the most reported story this season. In any case, Chelsea's defensive frailty at times could be the difference in qualifying for next years UCL competition, but a newly confident Torres (who also scored two in the FA Cup recently) could prove pivotal -- though I obviously hope not. Back to the Emirates for the big showdown next Sunday ...