Gunners Choke Again

Arsenal looked poised to sew up third place a few weeks ago. Then there was a shock defeat to QPR, a loss to Wigan, draws with a seriously depleted Chelsea side and Stoke. With two games left, however, our destiny was still in our hands. No longer. After pulling back from 2-1 down to take a 3-2 lead less than seven minutes from full time, the Gunners gave one back and now have to root for Man City and Aston Villa. It was an impressive game at times, but our defensive breakdowns could very well have just cost us Champions League football next year.

We started slow and lethargic, as we have in far too many games of late, even as Benayoun put us on the board early with a lovely goal. But defensive lapses soon found us behind. The first was terrible defending, but really has to fall on bizarre goalkeeping by Szczezny, who let it dribble past him on a rather weak shot right at him. The second was a bit of bad luck, as the ball careened off Gibbs foot and over Szczezny, but was set up by the defenders not getting back again. The rest of the first half, we looked average at best, with a particularly poor game for Ramsey yet again not helping things. The second half started brightly, though we missed a number of chances. Then RVP got hot and scored two within a few minutes to give us the lead and one would think the points. But rather than sit back and play on the counter, the team inexplicably let the ball past them and the equalizer followed. Tactically, it was a nightmare and continues what I consider a drop in form from Vermaelen, who seems more interested in playing as a forward then ensuring the defense is solid. Koscielny might have saved a couple and one has to wonder why a penalty wasn't given at the end of the game when the defender careened into RvP from behind, right as he was about to put the ball into an open net. 

But it was one of several clear opportunities that went wanting for RvP and the Gunners. Yes he had a brace and we scored three goals, but we could have easily had six. As he found himself one on one with the Norwich goalkeeper, he sent it right at him and then Chamakh missed a header by a hair that would have given us the points. RvP had another chance and Koscielny could have given us the points with a header, but as the whistle blew twice, the team must have realized they had blown another huge game that was ours for the taking. 

The reality tonight is that after all the good work we put in to get back into third we could easily find ourselves out in the cold, if Newcastle and Tottenham win their final two games, or even if Newcastle doesn't and Chelsea wins the Champions League final, to add to the FA Cup they won 2-1 today (as Liverpool's late charge fell a goal short). One would think if that happens then RVP will leave and it will be harder to sign players like Vertoenghen and M'villa. This loss could, in fact, be the beginning of the end for Wenger and the start of a rebuilding process that could mean a much longer silverware drought. For much of the year, Arsenal impressed me with their will to win and series of late comebacks. But something changed when they didn't quite pull out the comeback against AC Milan and we are again mired in an end of year drop in form. Yes we have had injury after injury, and have learned just how important Arteta is to the club this year, but a team that can't see out the last 10 minutes (with stoppage time) of a game at home that all but guarantees the UCL for next year maybe deserves to find themselves out in the hinterland. Let's hope Bayern Munich keep to the dream script and win the final at home (it should be noted Chelsea will be without four starters including John Terry) and that Newcastle loses at home to Man City tomorrow -- which I would have been rooting for anyway. But it has certainly been a disappointing runin for a team that a few short weeks ago looked like one of the best in the league.