Arsene Wenger has found the ability to win ugly. It's a new character trait in this Arsenal team, which in recent seasons might have slipped up against Fulham at home.
Carzola Phhoto: Getty Images
When the going got tough against a team they were expected to beat, they might have conceded and then been chasing an equaliser rather than the three points.
Arsenal were held at home by Fulham in the past two seasons, as Rene Meulensteen's men were big outsiders against in-form Arsenal, and yet the first half on Saturday didn't pan out like that.
Arsenal were slow, didn't get going and barely created a chance until after halftime. Fulham had opportunities; Wojciech Szczesny produced two brave one-on-one saves and kept out a screamer from Steve Sidwell.
But not only did Arsenal stay patient and keep their nerve, their fans also remained supportive, whereas in the past the ripples of dissatisfaction sometimes turned into jeers.
Arsenal's squad is being tested by injuries to Theo Walcott -- the absence of his pace and threat a huge factor against Fulham -- and Aaron Ramsey and Mikel Arteta are missed in midfield. But they stayed strong and kept going. They came out in the second half and simply wore down Fulham.
There is no better example than Santi Cazorla. Rarely do you find a player so talented who also has such a great work rate, desire and determination.
Cazorla, on song, never stops working, looking for passes and angles. He's terrific, always trying to force the issue and find a way through.
His quick-fire double turned the game and won it for Arsenal. They didn't play anywhere near their best, and yet that should not been seen as a criticism. It's a quality.
Manchester United won titles on winning ugly, the ability to grind down opponents and find some magic from somewhere when it was needed.
Wenger summed it up perfectly through the performance of Cazorla. “He was like the team -- good in the first half, excellent in the second half,” the Arsenal manager said.
As the fixtures tick by and the run-in begins with the nerves becoming frayed, there will be more games like it.
Forget Crystal Palace in a couple of weeks being easy. They will come to the Emirates with their survival on the line and be desperate for a result. Palace, rather like Fulham and a few others, may sit back. When you win titles, you lose count of the number of games like it -- rather tedious home games where opponents sit deep and defend. It takes one moment, one chance to turn the game.
Sometimes the breakthrough will not come until the closing minutes. It's already happened against Cardiff on New Year's Day. Arsenal had to wait until the bitter end.
But they got there and won without being anywhere near their best. It's a great quality to have. Arsenal had it in their previous title-winning teams under Wenger.
The fact that they have done it on a few occasions recently is a positive rather than a negative. And no Arsenal fan should complain about winning ugly.
Courtesy: ESPN
No comments:
Post a Comment