Arsenal Fail To Impress Yet Again

We made the trip to Blackburn yesterday knowing that a win would guarantee third place and St. Totteringham's day all at once. After telling us that Gibbs and Djourou would be too short of match fitness to feature this season the boss pulled a fast one and put them both on the bench. 

We were also without Clichy, Song, Rosicky, and Bendtner after they picked up injuries. It meant that Traore, Eboue, and Vela started in a team that had a very end-of-season look about it.

Arsenal had the better of the early exchanges and Vela missed a sitter early on before RVP put us 1-0 up after Sagna had flicked on a Nasri corner to him. It looked very good, then but gradually Blackburn started to exert more pressure on us as they continually targeted Fabianski, knowing how error-prone he is.

Their equaliser came just before half time when we didn't clear a corner and it came back across the goalmouth for Dunn to prod in at the far post. It was so predictable that they would score just before half-time and that it would come from a set piece. I have no doubt that Fabianski was fouled as he went for the corner, but we expected no more from a bunch of thugs and cheats with Big Fat Sam as their manager.

Blackburn's winning goal came from another corner as Fabianski missed it altogether and Samba scored from very close range. Again I have no doubt that Fabianski was fouled as Dunn backed into an Arsenal defender who then hit Fabianski and as a result he couldn't get to the ball.

Toward the end of the game, Arshavin had a glorious chance to get the equaliser but he shot straight at the keeper from 10 yards out. He had come on for the ineffectual Vela after 67 minutes with Eduardo coming on for Eboue 10 minutes later.

For us Arsenal fans to complain about Blackburn's tactics would be hiding the true reason for our defeat and that was yet another terrible display from our players. With so many changes in the team there was a chance for some players to show the boss what they could do but they failed miserably to do so.

Vela looked lost, Traore wasn't at the races at all, and Eboue was very average as well. All of those players should have been looking to make an impression and show that they deserve more time in the first team. Instead they only showed that too many of our players haven't got the bottle when it comes to a fight.

They weren't alone in their poor performances, and despite the boss saying that he felt Fabianski played well, I cannot agree with that as he was bullied in his own six-yard box. 

We need players in our team he will stand up to Blackburn's tactics, push them back, and get nasty if the need arises. Our players seem almost frightened to stand up for themselves and there is a lack of leadership on the pitch.

Where is the shouting and demanding that players are marked in the box and not allowed to intimidate our goalkeeper? How can we allow a limited team like Blackburn to beat us despite all the players we were missing and their good home record?

They used the same tactics at our ground and we kept playing our football until we beat them 6-2. That football was sadly missing yesterday and the result was that Blackburn had more chances than us and deserved their win. 

From a situation a few weeks ago where we were challenging for the title, our season has descended into a farce. We are hoping that the Spuds don't win at Man City tomorrow night so that we will finish third, because at this stage I have no confidence in our ability to beat Fulham next Sunday despite the fact that they will field their reserve team ahead of their Europa League final three days later.

The complete inability of the players on the pitch in the last four league games to show anything like the level of commitment required is a disgrace and something that has to be addressed. We are missing leadership and experience on the pitch and we will struggle against teams who use Blackburn's tactics until we learn to stand up for ourselves and kick and push them back.

If those players aren't at the club at the moment they have to be brought in and any players who find the going too tough should be sold to play in a league where there are not so many physical demands on them. 

Our ladies played very well yesterday but lost out by a 3-2 scoreline after extra time in the FA Cup final, and will now have to concentrate on the league—which they should wrap up in the next week or so for the seventh season in a row. 

In transfer news, we are again linked with Buffon, who would be a great acquisition but I have my doubts about our ability to sign him. We are also linked with West Ham's Upson, and he could do a job for us. Along with another signing at centre back, he would offer us a bit of competition in a position where we have struggled in recent games.

I'm sure, hopefully, that Silvestre will be gone this summer and it looks like Gallas will follow him too, so we will need at least two center backs to replace them.

Bolton want to keep Wilshere for another six months at least and have said that if he isn't in our immediate plans it would be better for him to stay there and keep playing in the Premier league. When you look at the performances of some of the players who have been drafted into the team recently it's a shame that he hasn't been at the club to get his chance since January. That's it for today. 

Here's the highlights of yesterday's game.

See you tomorrow.