Robin van Persie was not having a good game, he was uncharacteristically losing possession and he was not able to influence the game as he usually does. Well that was the case until 70 minutes when Song who had played a number of over hit passes in the final third, played a perfectly floated pass to van Persie who spun off his man and volleyed first time past Howard and in off the post. A world class strike from a world class
Yossi Benayoun was our best player on the night, he never stopped working for the team and tried to keep the ball moving for us. He needed another similar player. He needed Tomas Rosicky or Mikel Arteta so we could keep the ball. His goal was very well executed and he deserved it.
Al Habsi denied van Persie after great work from Gervinho. Gervinho had another influential game, he is getting increasingly important to this Arsenal team. He has an upright running style almost like a Gazelle. Willing to twist and turn away from full backs time after time. He is a flair player who you almost expect to throw his arms up when he loses the ball and ignore his defensive responsibilities yet he works harder than most in the red and white. He is continuously on the move, chasing wingers, trying to close down the pass and make the interception. That mixture has instantly made him a favourite of mine in this Arsenal team and I can excuse his profligacy at times. He deserved his goal just after the hour but
Emmanuel Frimpong was fantastic in midfield. He was tenacious and determined and did not give his opponents a seconds rest. He dominated a midfield which contained Nigel de Jong and Owen Hargreaves. He must be an absolute nightmare to play against. Francis Coquelin was also superb, his
You want Arshavin to be in Gervinho's positions but Arshavin doesn't get into Gervinho's positions. Theo Walcott on the other side started slowly but got much better as the first half went on. When he found his stride, he was the most dangerous player on the pitch. Direct, aggressive and purposeful
Walcott was not finished there as minutes later he received Gervinho's pass and dummied his right foot shot much in the way his idol Thierry Henry did on so many occasions, his left footed curler look destined for the back of the net but for an amazing last ditch flying clearance from Russell Martin
It was Aaron Ramsey that made the decisive killer pass. Reading Walcott's inwards movement, the young Welsh captain pinged a fizzing pass inside the full back into Walcott's path. With the goalkeeper coming out to close down Walcott's angles, I thought the better option would have been the cut back but as it turned out his shot rebounded into the path of van Persie to stab in from close
Robin van Persie came off the bench in the second half for Park who will have better games and he had a chance to win the game. Substitute Tomas Rosicky played a great through pass to van Persie to run onto with the goalkeeper advancing off his line, Robin did not get the purchase needed to lift the ball over the goalkeeper and into the unguarded net, instead landing comfortably in the keeper's hands. I think it was the correct choice of finish from that position but just the wrong
I have been saying for a while now that we are waiting to see a group of our team playing at the top of their game at the same time. Gervinho, Walcott, Ramsey and a few others have yet to show their best together in the same game and we finally witnessed that yesterday. Ramsey was exceptional, he was everywhere and held his own against the experience of the Chelsea team. Theo Walcott was
His goal was absolutely wonderful, little steps at pace into the box a quick shimmy one way and a zipped low shot across the keeper and into the corner. I cannot think of many Arsenal players today who would have scored a goal like that. Theo Walcott