We need to readjust our expectations. Top spot is NOT a realistic objective anymore. Sure, the optimist can say that we have the quality to go on an unbeaten run

Match Review – Arsenal 0 Aston Villa 2 – Premier League

After the Spurs game a few weeks ago, I began my match review with the following line:

“That headline doesn’t make for nice reading, does it? They say the truth hurts, and this is painful.”

Well the same can be applied here. Except that this isn’t painful. This is just a resigned acceptance. There is no longer a “Top Four”. There is a top three, and then there is the “also-rans”, which we are now firmly part of. Right now, we are in an almighty scrap to finish top of the “also-rans” league. No more talk about being top of the pops, please. We just need to make sure we are the best of the rest come May, and then move forward from there.

First things first, the team selection. In hindsight, it didn’t work. Too many balls were pumped long to Bendtner, who – despite his height – is NOT a target man. He is a second striker; he needs someone in front of him playing on the shoulder of the last defender. He is not very good with his back to goal or even in the aerial challenge, especially against a central defensive duo as cussed as Martin Laursen and Carlos Cuellar.

However, having worked so well against the Mancs last week, you could forgive Arsene for sticking to the same lineup and shape. “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it” – as they say. That said, I have never been a fan of 4-5-1 at home in the league. Whilst the roles of the central midfield trio were clearly defined a week ago, here there seemed to be no cohesion whatsoever.

Villa on the other hand got their tactics spot-on, and executed them perfectly. Their fans too were a credit to their club.

With this Arsenal side, we have learnt that the first ten minutes of a match are vital. Come out of the traps flying, get the home fans onside, and the pressure will eventually tell. More often than not these days, however, it is the opposite. A poor start characterised by misplaced passes is a sure sign of an excruciating 90 minutes of toil and trouble. And apart from one bright moment in the fifth minute where a defence-splitting pass from Fabregas sent Theo racing through on the right, it was all Villa. Had Theo’s first touch been better then it might have been a different story, but his control rather took the ball away from goal before he launched a low cross-shot in hope more than expectancy.

Instead we had to sit through prolonged spells of Villa domination, who were undoubtedly aided by our own tendency to gift possession away cheaply. Villa’s tactics were superb, it must be said. Most teams come to The Emirates and put men behind the ball but don’t have a real outlet. Villa had two: and both were a constant thorn in our sides. In Ashley Young and Gabriel Agbonlahor, Villa had two of their own Theo Walcotts. And both ran us ragged. Young in particular had a few early potshots at goal that Manuel was equal to, whilst Agbonlahor was an ever-willing lone ranger in the absence of John Carew. Just imagine what the score would have been if he had also played???

Brad Friedel, so often outstanding against us in his Blackburn days, was in the Villa goal. And on the quarter-hour he made his only mistake of the game, spilling a low Fabregas shot. We couldn’t quite pounce on the rebound before the referee blew his whistle to well and truly extinguish our momentum as a Villa defender was down “injured”. Call me a cynic, but I can’t help feeling that the “injury” included a healthy dose of gamesmanship.

Either way, referee Mike Riley was on the receiving end of much vitriol from the Arsenal fans as a result of that, and it wasn’t the last time. His next decision to go against us was a massive one as he awarded Villa a penalty, with Walcott clumsily chopping down Young. Was it inside the box? From up in the stands it looked like it may have been outside, but I’m not entirely sure. With the Villains’ usual penalty taker Gareth Barry down injured in the centre circle, Young picked himself up, dusted himself down, and proceeded to have his low spot-kick saved by Almunia. The rebound was cleared behind for a corner, garnering the biggest cheer of the day from the home fans.

Now here is my issue with the penalty. I’m not sure how it looked on the telly, but in the build-up Cesc clattered Gareth Barry on the halfway line and the referee waved play on as Villa had retained possession. But instead of tracking back and helping out his defence, our young Spanish demi-god decided to do the noble thing and offer a hand of apology to his victim. WHAT THE FUCK?! That, in my opinion, was an absolute disgrace. So what if your opponent is lying prone on the ground?! Does he deserve your sympathy, or do your team-mates deserve your help?!

That moment was symptomatic of Cesc’s performance. In short, he was not very good, and hasn’t been for quite some time. I can only remember one game this season where he has lived up to the superlative heights of the last campaign, and that was Fenerbahce away. Even in last week’s stunning win over the Mancs he looked off-colour, but he still managed to produce the magic moment to set up Nasri’s second.

Below-par performances are, of course, forgivable. But one thing disturbs me about Cesc these days. His shoulders seem to have slumped, he is not the little warrior he was last year. Why? I don’t quite know. Is it hangover from the Euros? Is he missing his mates Alex and Mathieu? Or has he got one eye on returning to his homeland in the summer. Deep down, I think it’s a mixture of all three.

We weren’t able to capitalise on the momentum generated by the missed penalty and chances were at a premium. We won many free-kicks and corners but the delivery from Fabregas was severely lacking in quality. The half ended goalless, and we were fortunate to be level.

Speaking to my mate DJ at the break, we felt it was only a matter of time before changes were made up-front, particularly with the returning Adebayor and the on-song Vela kicking their heels on the bench. With Bendtner struggling against the Villa defence, I wanted changes ASAP, but Arsene very rarely works this way. A welcome positional switch was made as Nasri and Walcott swapped wings to try and shake things up.

We began the half altogether more positively, roared on by the expectant Emirates crowd. Theo looked to run at the defence, whilst Bendtner was nearly played in on a few occasions. But just like in the first period, the Villa defence nullified our attacking threat and they looked ever-dangerous on the break. Ashley Young began his career at nearby Watford and it is well-known that Arsene was a fan. Agbonlahor is Villa born and bred. Both were menacing.

I wish the same could be said of Bendtner, who did not have a good game. However, the way some home fans treated him was a disgrace. After yet another Arsenal move broke down at his feet, the fans began chanting for Adebayor. I wonder how the Dane felt to hear that? His confidence shatter, the boy cut a forlorn figure for the rest of his time on the pitch. Don’t forget that he is only twenty years of age; we need to encourage our players and not harangue them.

Adebayor did eventually come on to replace Diaby just after the hour-mark, and he was soon joined by Carlos Vela as the Mexican superstar replaced the much-maligned Bendtner. In the few minutes between the changes, Bendtner looked a lot more comfortable with Adebayor ahead of him. And the Togonator immediately provided a different dimension as he exhibited the pace to get away from his marker. The only problem was that he was never in a dangerous enough position to profit from it.

And he barely got a chance to before Villa deservedly took the lead. With twenty minutes to go and Arsenal expected to push on with two strikers up-front, it was the opposition who broke the deadlock. The build-up to the goal contained a hint of bad luck as Sagna was clutching his ankle halfway up the pitch when Villa attacked. Young exploited the space in the right-back position, forcing Gallas to come out and meet him. This left Agbonlahor alone in the area with Clichy, and Young’s teasing cross was turned home by our unfortunate French left-back under pressure from Agbonlahor. Poor Gael Clichy: such a model of consistency, but when he makes an error it tends to be crucial.

As expected, it took us a goal deficit to finally wake up. Straightaway we nearly equalised, and had it gone in, we could now be discussing a famous fightback as opposed to a tame surrender. Looking to make amends, Clichy got high up the pitch and swung in a cross to Ade at the back-post, but his downward header bounced back off the upright. Our performance hadn’t warranted a goal but we damn sure would have accepted one. Then five minutes later Vela rose high in the box to chest down for Ade, but the Togonator’s shot was blocked by Curtis Davies before it could trouble Brad Friedel.

The final nail in the coffin, for both this game and our title aspirations, came in the 80th minute. Once again it arrived with a smidgen of misfortune. Vela advanced on goal and was clattered by a Villa challenge. As the Arsenal fans and players screamed blue murder, Villa broke down the other and Agbonlahor outpaced Gallas before firing past Almunia. Game over.

Our indignation at the goal stemmed from what looked like a heavy challenge on Vela. My mate DJ was adamant that it was a foul, I was less so because although a very strong tackle, it seemed like he got a fair chunk of the ball. I have yet to see the replay (and don’t intend to) so I’m not placed to make a judgement either way.

Referee Mike Riley awarded us two token free-kicks in similar such positions in the final ten minutes: Fabregas’ driven shot was blocked by the wall, whilst Nasri’s curled effort looked to be heading in but was instead deflected away. Gallas had wisely abandoned his defensive station as we went hell for leather, but even he couldn’t direct his header goalwards from a Clichy cross. And that was that.

So where do we go from this defeat? Well first and foremost, we need to readjust our expectations. Top spot is NOT a realistic objective anymore. Sure, the optimist can say that we have the quality to go on an unbeaten run, but does a team that has lost four games by mid-November have the attitude to do so? NO.

Much blame will undoubtedly be put on the shoulders of our esteemed manager in the aftermath of this result. And while he is far from innocent, especially in terms of tactics, you would have the thought that the same XI which beat the European Champions seven days ago could do a similar job on Aston Villa.

So in that sense, the blame should be shifted to the players on the pitch. How can the same eleven human beings that performed so admirably a week previously produce that shower of shite? That has nothing to do with talent, or even tactics. It has everything to do with motivation.

But right now I can’t be arsed playing the blame game. It’s a massive shame that the feelgood factor of United and Wigan has dissipated in an instant. I hope that Arsene doesn’t come out and complain about Villa being to physical blah blah blah. Well known for not criticising his players in public, this time it wouldn’t go amiss for him to admit that the team were simply second-best. Admitting that we are out of the title race too may also work, in some crazy reverse psychology way. Whatever, just please no empty excuses.

What I would like to say is that with the motivation so obviously lacking away from the so-called “big games”, we have to get used to ups and downs this season. My mate compared it to Liverpool’s consistent inconsistency in 2004/05, where they lost out on 4th place to rivals Everton. That year they were able to raise themselves to Herculean levels in Europe, so we can only hope to repeat that trick. It wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest if our league form continued to falter whilst we advanced deep into the Champions’ League, because that’s the nature of this team. There is no logic to it, no consistent form, no momentum. Just a series of individual matches – and the best we can wish for is that the players bother to turn up for the majority of them from hereon in.