Aston Villa (0) – (0) Arsenal
Villa Park, Birmingham

I was going to post this afternoon that the Villa game was going to be a draw, but decided not to in fear of ridicule if that didn’t end up happening.

But after the Stoke game I knew we’d have problems.

In seasons gone by, throwing an FA Cup game has ruined our late January and February. A couple of seasons ago we were flying high in the league and then got battered 4-0 by Manchester United at Old Trafford. Then we lost momentum with a string of draws (sound familiar?) and we lost our grip on the title race.

And with games against Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool we face a big test.

Not least because the worst possible news has finally happened – Thomas Vermaelen has been seriously injured.

Arsene said after the game:

“Thomas Vermaelen we don’t know [the extent of the injury].

“There will be an x-ray. He is on crutches and it is a fibula injury. We have to check tomorrow morning if it is just a nerve or a broken bone.”

And our backup, after sending Senderos on loan is Sol Campbell. Things could turn out disastrous as he will have to face an in-form Wayne Rooney, Nicolas Anelka, Didier Drogba and Dirk Kuyt. Okay, he might be able to cope with the last one.

No doubt about it, losing Vermaelen is huge. It’s massive and I realise there’s 4 days left of January but I cannot see Arsene signing a top quality centre back to replace him, nevermind someone in Vermaelen’s league.

Up front, we look toothless.

The only real goal threat is Cesc Fabregas, and while he had a good game tonight the attacking support was no existent. Eduardo is struggling, Rosicky is still finding his form and Arshavin is playing as if he’s disillusioned at the club. He has small spells of inspirational moments but for the majority of games recently he has been ineffective.

Will too many draws ruin our season again?

The positive news going into the killer run in is that they are not must win games. If we can beat United and Chelsea and take points of them then fantastic, but the most important thing is that we don’t lose and have an insurmountable gap after the Liverpool game.

Manchester United will be on a massive high after smashing Hull 4-0 and getting past Manchester City in the intense Carling Cup Semi Final.

But as we’ve seen in the past, we tend to do well when everyone is writing us off so here’s hoping…

Stoke City (3) – (1) Arsenal
Denilson (42′)
The Britannia Stadium, Stoke

What can you say about that?

Arsene only played 2 first team players (Fabregas and Denilson) and we lost 3-1. Stoke scored in the first 70 seconds from a trademark throw-in we didn’t deal with, and although Arsenal played their reserves Fabregas added that bit of quality which made Arsenal tick.

I did wonder why of all the players, Fabregas was picked in the starting line-up – surely he is the one player you would want to protect going into massive league games against Villa, United, Chelsea and Liverpool?

Ramsey would have been an adequate replacement, and one he was introduced in the second half Arsenal looked more lively.

The game could have gone either way in fairness, and as the scores were level in the second half and we were controlling all the possession, Stoke hit us with a sucker punch and from then on the game was over.

I can’t be bothered doing individual player ratings, but Walcott in particular was awful. I joke that he’s just a sprinter but today he didn’t help his cause. All that pace, no control or composure on the ball – you wonder if they kid has actually progressed since he arrived. I’m not expecting Maradona-esque control after returning from injury but I would expect one or two signs of quality. And he’s not a kid anymore, he’s 21 now.

Sol Campbell on the other hand, and Silvestre, both had decent games. Both made some last ditch tackles and overall did well. Fabianski was hit and miss, and wouldn’t have Almunia losing any sleep about the number one jersey.

Traore was his usual self – shaky at the back but offers that something in the attacking third, and Eastmond, Coquelin and Thomas were reserve players thrown in at the deep end. Vela was on the periphery as usual and couldn’t impose himself on the game.

Substitutes Arshavin and Eduardo couldn’t get into the game when they were introduced but Ramsey added something to Arsenal’s attacking play.

In the end, Stoke were in our faces, never gave us any time on the ball and were very physical. I did think their tackling was over the top at times but the referee wasn’t interested in protecting our players.

Summary?

Well Arsene rested his first team players, played his reserves and tried to nick a passage into the next round of the FA Cup. If we won, then fine but if we didn’t then it would hardly make much of a difference on our season. The fact is a lot of supporters weren’t too bothered about today’s game because Arsene hasn’t had the FA Cup as a priority for about four seasons now. The fact that Liverpool, United and now Arsenal are out shows how (sadly) the FA Cup has been devalued over the years.

I do have to mention the ITV coverage was hugely biased, and the whole incident where Arsenal won a free-kick from a handball was hilarious. For a solid 5 minutes, the commentator was moaning about how it didn’t hit his arm and there wasn’t any intent so it shouldn’t have been a free-kick. Then they showed the reverse angle (where it clearly hit his arm) and he soon shut up. How ridiculous.

I understand they’re all for shocks in the cup, but to w*nk over Stoke like they were Real Madrid for 90 minutes was uncomfortable to watch.

Bolton Wanderers (0) – (2) Arsenal
Fabregas (28′), Merida (78′)
The Reebok Stadium Bolton

After the disappointing performance against Everton, today’s game was massive in terms of keeping up the pressure at the top of the table, and Arsenal didn’t disappoint and took all three points.

The return of Cesc Fabregas made all the difference, and with Song away on African Cup of Nations duty Arsene gave 19 year old Craig Eastmond his first start in the holding midfielders role.

With Owen Coyle managing his first game since arriving from Burnley it was clear that Bolton had that extra edge as the match kicked off. Within the first couple of minutes, they carved out a few decent openings and could, on another day, nicked the opening goal. After that though, Arsenal settled and managed to dominate possession.

But the game wasn’t without its fair share of scares.

With the home crowd behind them, Bolton were direct and really attacked Arsenal throughout the game. Our left hand side was particularly targeted and time after time Armand Traore struggled to cope with Lee and Steinson who managed to send in cross after cross. Fortunately, Vermaelen was in excellent form and Gallas coped with most things thrown at him.

It has to be said though that Traore had an awful game today. His positioning is woeful and for the majority of the game he looked lost. And the number of times he needlessly gave away the ball – in dangerous positions – was frightening. Even Craig Eastmond, who started his very first game in the Premier League only made a handful of mistakes. He can be proud of a solid performance today.

The main difference from last weeks game against Everton was the creativity Fabregas brings to the team and he was at the centre of things time and time again. He had a shot which was dragged wide after 5 minutes, and after 12 minutes he should of had a penalty. Eduardo played in a nice ball into the box and Cesc managed to dink the ball over Jaaskelianen who didn’t touch the ball and caught our captain. It was a stone wall penalty for me, and Fabregas had a simple tap in if he wasn’t brought down.

But on 28 minutes Arsenal got what they deserved.

In a ridiculously crowded penalty area, Cesc managed to play a beautiful one-two with Eduardo and finish the move by slotting the ball into the far corner. It was a fantastic goal, and Eduardo’s little flick to make the chance was sublime. Both players deserve great credit in keeping their composure in such a tight area but I suppose it’s this kind of intelligent play we come to expect from Fabregas these days. This guy is worth his weight in Gold.

A few minutes later Eastmond almost gave himself the perfect debut by volleying a corner towards goal but his shot was straight at the keeper. Then Fabregas was denied yet another penalty when Zack Knight clumsily clipped the Arsenal captain. Replays showed he was caught but after that the game got slightly out of hand and Cesc was targeted for some ‘special’ treatment from Matt Taylor and Paul Robinson.

Tomas Rosicky, clearly not appreciating the treatment his mate was receiving lashed out at Klasnic, but quite frankly that’s what I thought their players deserved. Owen Coyle may appreciate the beautiful game but he’s got his work cut out if he wants to completely remove the dirty aspect of Bolton’s game left by the Walrus, Sam Allardyce.

Then just before half-time, Fabregas had a glorious chance to really stick the knife in and double Arsenal’s lead. Arshavin did well on the right hand side and sent in a low cross which Eduardo dummied. Fabregas was lurking behind but didn’t expect the ball to come to him and he could only drag his lame shot wide with the goal gaping.

The second half started, and Arsenal were dreadful in the opening 15 minutes.

Lee, Steinson, Matt Taylor and Klasnic were dominating the game and really had Arsenal under real pressure. Only a combination of profligacy and last ditch defending kept Bolton from scoring themselves. Lee in particular was dangerous from the right as Traore was having a complete nightmare. Fortunately Almunia, Vermaelen, Gallas and Sagna managed to defend all of the crosses coming in.

With Bolton really controlling the match, Arsenal made a substitution on 63 minutes, bringing on Fran Merida for Craig Eastmond. On the whole Eastmond was composed and did well in front of the back four. But with Bolton overrunning the midfield Arsene decided to play the more physical Diaby back their and play Merida alongside Fabregas.

The change was almost instant as Arsenal’s ball retention improved tenfold. Merida was comfortable on the ball and kept possession well, at a time when it seemed like Arsenal couldn’t keep hold of it. Clichy then replaced Rosicky, who had just come back from injury. He came on and played in front of Traore, which was a good move because he was desperate for some cover.

Then on 78 minutes, Arsenal finally managed to kill of the game. Eduardo again turned provider and clipped in a nice cross from the left hand side. Knight managed to get his head to it but the ball fell to Merida who coolly controled the ball with his left foot and passed the ball into the corner of the net with his right – a fantastically taken goal!

After that it was a case of Arsenal keeping a clean sheet to top off the performance and they managed to keep Bolton at bay. On another day, Arsenal may have struggled but fortunately the did just about enough to take home all three points, and valuable ones at that.

Arsenal weren’t at their best, but they managed to pull out the win and were decisive in the important moments of the game. In times gone by, Arsenal would have strolled to a 0-0 draw but they did well to grind out a result. Fabregas makes all the difference in the final third and let’s hope this is a sign of things to come. When things aren’t going all your own way, it’s vital you still nick the points.

Player Ratings

Manuel Almunia: 7/10
Made a couple of really vital saves when we were 1-0 up and overall looked solid today. Expected some kind of mistake throughout the match but it never came.

Bacary Sagna: 7/10
Coped well defensively although let Matt Taylor get the better of him a few times, which on another day could have proved costly. Crossing wasn’t his best either today but supported the attack whenever he could.

William Gallas: 7/10
Did well on the whole but looked shaky at times. Uncharacteristically gave the ball away and one clearance gifted Bolton’s Lee with a scoring opportunity. Struggled with Klasnic at times.

Thomas Vermaelen: 8/10
Very solid and cut out a lot of dangerous crosses with diving headers and by throwing himself at the ball. Kept Kevin Davies extremely quiet and for the most part won most of the aerial battles with him.

Armand Traore: 4/10
Absolutely woeful. Struggled against Everton and really struggled today. His positioning is extremely suspect a but worse was his determination to give the ball away (in dangerous areas) again and again. Very, very fortunate that one of his mistakes didn’t lead to a Bolton goal. Seems to lack concentration.

Craig Eastmond: 7/10
Very good debut for the youngster and linked up well with the midfield. Kept things simple and showed maturity in his performance. Arsene will be happy with his 60 minute shift.

Abou Diaby: 8/10
Battled hard and is becoming one of Arsenal’s main players now. Linked up play well and hardly mis-placed a pass. His presence was important against a physical side like Bolton and yet again put in a very solid performance.

Cesc Fabregas: 8/10
Gives Arsenal that special bit of creativity and didn’t disappoint. Controlled things in the final third and scored a wonderfully created goal. Was unlucky not to score a couple more, as well as have a couple of penalties awarded for clear fouls. Made some excellent defensive tackles as well and his injury hasn’t seemed to effect his form.

Tomas Rosicky: 7/10
Looked lively for the most part and created a couple of good chances. Still needs a few more games under his belt you feel but his return from injury is a welcome one.

Andrei Arshavin: 5/10
Had glimpses of class but not enough and was for the most part anonymous. Back into his favoured position on the left he didn’t have as much of an impact as you would have liked. Uncharacteristically gave the ball away numerous times and nothing he tried really came off.

Eduardo: 7/10
Hasn’t quite got his shooting boots back yet and could have done better with a few through balls that were sent his way. But kept his head up and managed to create both goals, the first with a deft touch and the second with a nice floated cross. Looks to be improving game on game as his confidence grows.

Fran Merida: 8/10 (Replaced Eastmond 63′)
Excellent cameo and took his goal extremely well. Kept the ball well and rarely lost possession. Wasn’t afraid to get stuck in a few times as well.

Gael Clichy: 7/10 (Replaced Rosicky 74′)
Did well considering he’s been out for a while. Helped up Traore on the left and Bolton’s threat reduced significantly once he came on.

Carlos Vela: 6/10 (Replaced Eduardo 83′)
Not really enough time to make an impact.