Blckburn 1 - 1 Arsenal

August 20, 2007 on 7:56 am | In Arsenal FC, Matches Reviews 2007/2008 | posted by Block19er |

I am sick and tired of football matches being ruined by teams like Blackburn and Bolton under Alladyce, they make no attempt to get the ball down and play the beautiful game. Blackburns sole purpose today was to lay into our players and grab a 0-0 draw at home. I could not support a team like that, and even with reduced tickets prices, that is why Blackburn will not fill their ground this season.

From minute one tackles were flying in and Robbie Savage was at the refs’ ear. I would love to see the stats on Savage from this game but I honestly can’t imagine he played more than 2 passes and successfully won the ball in a tackle. He made one run which he made a terrible dive from as he got to the edge of the box. I’m not sure why the ref put up with him in constant contact and also let some many things go when he sent off a Rovers player with 5 minutes to go, he’d only made 3 or 4 fouls compared to Savage’s 10 or 12. 

Blackburn is dull on most days, but with the drizzle, and lack of atmosphere from the home fans it looked very grey inside the ground until Van Persie put the ball in the back of the net after a scramble inside the box. It lit up the game for a moment. As a football match this was ruined though, and Arsenal took the baight and fought back. Flamini was booked for the first Arsenal foul of the game but Alan Wiley (aka shit ref) let Rovers get away with 5 or 6. It seemed to me that he knew Rovers would play like this and let them get away with it whereas he expects more from Arsenal. The frustrations you feel as a fan are unbelievable and I wouldn’t be surprised if a player on the Arsenal side Laid out the ref.

Wenger said after the game,
“I felt there was a desire for violence more than commitment in some of the challenges.”

Rovers got what they wanted when Gallas was forced off with injury and the Arsenal players were starting to put in poor challenges in frustration, when will the authorities stop games like this happening, I am all for a tough match. You can challenge with force but not constant tripping and pushing. Some of the tackles were over the top and inevitably Robin put in a dodgy tackle from behind which saw him booked, the same punishment Savage received for loads of them, it makes no sense. This game was played in a poor spirit which we now accept from Rovers, but why do we have to? Perhaps all team should adopt this style of playing to create a level playing field, perhaps the people running football would like to see more empty ground like Ewood Park? Maybe they’ll catch on the Arsenal, Manure, and Scouse fill their grounds because football matches are played there, not the dross that Mark Hughes and Robbie Savage like the churn out in Blackburn. Wenger was clearly annoyed by the game too, 

“We were very resilient against a team that was over-physical. We dealt well with the problem we had.”

“My team showed the correct attitude and we are frustrated because we should be going home with the three points.” 

Rovers did have a spell of attacking and in that spell they shot at goal. It was such a shock to Lehmann that he let the ball slip and squirm over his shoulder. It will lead to a lot of Gooners calling for his head. That’s two mistakes in two matches and Arsenal do have back up in the squad. On a more positive note the right side of Arsenal looked good. Sagna has settled well and Walcott was full of invention, if Theo can get a run in the team he showed today he will be a dangerous player and has the pace to beat defences. Twice in the first half Rovers players had to take Walcott out because the could not get the ball from him.There’s no excuses here, Arsenal did not play well in the second half, and Lehmann made a cock up, but my argument is that this game of football was ruined from the outset by constant fouling and the ref letting Rovers players make his decisions. The football we all went to see was not allowed to be produced. They did not bully us but we took the bait, in frustration, and fear of injury.

As we left the car park one of the cars had it’s windows caved in, and then as we turned the corner some local kids were lobbing missiles at cars, nice town Blackburn!! No wonder some people do actually bother to turn up to see their team, it suits the town. Congratulations on getting a point in your Cup Final.

Arsenal: Lehmann, Sagna, Toure, Gallas (Senderos 24), Clichy, Walcott (Bendtner 73), Flamini, Fabregas, Hleb, Eduardo (Denilson 65), Van Persie. Subs Not Used: Almunia, Song. 

Booked: Flamini, Eduardo, Clichy, Van Persie.

Goals: Van Persie 18. 

Att: 24,917.