Arsenal Vs Aston Villa | Premiership 01/03/08

[StLGooner]

Also I know people don't really like 4-5-1 but until RVP comes back, we really don't have a choice. I still think Theo and Nick are best used as subs, particularly Theo's pace against tiring defences.

I personally thought Theo looked more dangerous up front than on the wing, not saying he had a good game, but once Nick came on it kinda took theo out, he was worse on the wing.

Anyway we need to get back to winning ways badly. Lets start with Milan.

[rodney]

That is the worst performance I've seen from us at home since we have moved to the Emirates. The passing today was so poor and not just from a few players, but everyone. Cesc and Hleb were really poor today and we lacked creativity with both of them playing so bad. Wenger got his tactics wrong in the second half and Diaby was clearly unfit and his lack of a left foot was such a problem today, as Villa showed him onto his left foot everytime and he lost the ball or was simply forced to go back. A point is not a great result, but after that performance and being behind to grab a point I'm happy with.

When I saw the line up I was suprised Wenger had gone with Theo up front, but he was our best player in the first half. He ran at the Villa defence and caused them problems. He had the first effort of the game after turning Laursen I think it was and forcing Carson into a decent save. We nearly conceded at the other end however when Senderos just let Agbonlahor run away from him he broke clear, but Gallas made a superb tackle to save the day. From a corner we had the best chance so far though when the ball fell to Senderos six yards out and he sliced wide. The last person you would have wanted the ball to fall to was Senderos. Was a great chance and really should have seen us go one up.

We were made to pay for that, because Agbonlahor broke on the left hand side and put a low ball into the box and Senderos guided it past Almunia. What he was attempting to I don't know, as surely he should have been attempting to clear the ball with his right foot and not his left. He could have even just put the ball out for a corner, but instead gave Villa the lead. Maloney had a pop from 30 yards out that hit the bar, which was a decent effort, but I'd have expected Almunia to save it anyway.

We nearly caught Villa on the broke when Senderos cleared to Theo who gave Laursen all sorts of problems, Theo gave it to Ade, who gave it to Cesc and all he had to do was put it in the back of the net, but instead he hit it wide and high. Was an awful effort and the goal would have been such a boost going into the break. We were definitely not out of the game and we've come back from a goal down plenty of times at the Emirates so I still thought we would have enough to come back into the match.

We came out in the second half and Arsene had moved Theo to the right and Hleb in the hole. Theo had been playing really well up front so why Wenger chose to move him to the right I don't know. He should have brought Diaby off, moved Hleb to the left and brought Denilson on imo, or even put Bendtner up front.

We nearly got straight back into the match when Theo tested Carson again. Cesc wasted the corner, as he did with nearly every corner he had on the day. With Rosicky and Robin both out of the team we're so lacking at set peices and with that also being one of Villa's main strengths we didn't cause them enough problems from plenty of set peice opportunities.

Ashley Young forced a good save from Almunia on the break. I'd expected him to have saved it, but it was a reminder that another goal and we would be in a lot of trouble. The game seemed to go by with us just having a lot of possession and doing nothing with it. We brought Bendtner on and as soon as he was on we improved. Bendtner sent a header over and Hleb forced Carson into another save, Clichy also worked Carson. Adebayor had a great chance to equalise when Theo crossed and very much like Milan he sent the ball over. Ade then set up Flamini who fired over and to be honest I thought that was it.

Then in the 93rd minute Clichy crossed and Ade headed down superbly and Bendtner put it in the net. We deserved at least a point out of the game, despite the fact we played so bad, the least we deserved out of the match was a point. We were missing big players today and we felt that today. Wenger got his tactics wrong in the second half and we really lacked something today.

We're still top, but by only one point. The fact we scored a last minute equaliser is a lot better than conceding one though as we know from last week. Hopefully this will improve the confidence and allow us to get back on track next week at Wigan. We've got Milan to look forward to and getting through to the next round is the most important thing right now.

[Windass10]

Bad result but still a point gained, doesnt matter next game now.

[Cheese]

doesnt matter next game now.

What does that mean?

[Inchpräctice]

I want to know - WTF has happened to Cesc? A shadow of the player he was at the start of the season today. And I wish he would just put his foot through the ball rather than try to dink it (that chance at the end of the first half)

Me too.
Not sure what's going on there.
For the first half of the season (before his injury) he was absolutely on fire and could NOT stop scoring.
Everything he touched turned to goals, but since then he's never come close to regaining that form I can't understand why.
He's missed several tap-ins lately and that's not like him.
Very frustrating because when he's on form we can't lose. When he's not we have to rely on a moment of magic from someone else.

[arseman]

I want to know - WTF has happened to Cesc? A shadow of the player he was at the start of the season today. And I wish he would just put his foot through the ball rather than try to dink it (that chance at the end of the first half)

Me too.
Not sure what's going on there.
For the first half of the season (before his injury) he was absolutely on fire and could NOT stop scoring.
Everything he touched turned to goals, but since then he's never come close to regaining that form I can't understand why.
He's missed several tap-ins lately and that's not like him.
Very frustrating because when he's on form we can't lose. When he's not we have to rely on a moment of magic from someone else.

I guess it's a confidence thing, early in the season because he was in such fine goalscoring form, he was prepared to just thwack the ball towards the goal, now that the goals have dried up, he's a bit more unsure about himself, I mentioned the chance at the end of the 1st half, where he tried a delicate chip, had we been 1-0 in front or had it been earlier in the season, I think we could safely say that he'd just thumped it into the net, even from that close.

[She_Gunner_Wales]

I didnt get to watch the match nor have i managed to see any highlights yet but from what your all saying dont sound like i missed much.

If you look over our last 5 matches in all competitions, we have lost 1 & drawn 4, this must be our 'blip', lets hope we shake this off before Milan on Tuesday, although saying that right now i would happily take 1-1 at the San Siro & go through on the away goal ruling.

[SE13]

Dear Supporter,

You could see in the first half against Aston Villa that we definitely had a bit of a hangover from the events of the Birmingham game.

We needed to dig deep to find the pace of the game and in the second half we were a little bit better, although we still lacked our usual spark. The reason we got a point was our desire and our refusal to accept defeat.

I must say that I was impressed by Aston Villa. Until the last minute they didn't give us any space or time on the ball. They are a team who are very difficult to beat. Villa defended well and were sharp on the break. They have very robust players they exposed our defenders to a physical challenge but in a fair way.

Villa are a dangerous side - they take advantage of every mistake and they are a real handful up front.

With that in mind I believe the point we gained right at the end will have a big impact on the Premier League. Staying top of the table helps so that point could have vital importance.

For many observers we will not be favourites for the title now and Manchester United will be. But we must remember that we have lost just once in the Premier League all season and I am confident we will bounce back. The momentum is with United but, for me, Arsenal are favourites.

Emmanuel Adebayor has not scored for a few games but that doesn't worry me. We want to be successful and it is important the goalscoring responsibility is shared by all the players. On Saturday it was Nicklas Bendtner who scored from Adebayor's header.

We leave for Milan on Monday for the second leg of our Champions League tie. Robin van Persie might be in the squad. However, if he is in the squad, he probably will not start. At the moment we need to get our injured players back. Tomas Rosicky and Van Persie have been out injured and in the context of Saturday's game it would be good to have them available.

Thanks for your support.

[ken day]

I have said it all along, you have got a great team but no squad, i said months ago you would blow up, you will be lucky to be in the top 2 at the end of the season.