The Game

Ten goals conceded in four games against Manchester United and Chelsea, make that fourteen if we are to count the Manchester City defeat as well and we are officially out of the title race. Only a second gift from both United and Chelsea would see us get back in the title race but based on the last two games, we don’t deserve to be gifted a second chance.

To put it in simple terms, we will maybe never learn from past mistakes: plenty of possession but simply not good enough to infiltrate the Chelsea defense and when we did, we didn’t shoot. Also, it’s time for Wenger to question the decisions of some of his players because what happened in that first goal, with Clichy walking along the goalline letting Drogba score with ease, believe me, is very serious.

All-in-all, this one hurts more than last week because the players showed the right determination and fighting spirit right from the start but seriously, when you make the mistakes we made at the back and go out there with no pure striker, it’s impossible to get away with it.

Instead, we are yet again left bemoaning the fact that we are so bloody close to be a force in the English Premiership if not for two or three small tweaks which Wenger, I’m afraid, doesn’t want to address.

Match Video Highlights

Match video highlights are available in the Videos section of our website. If not there yet, rest assured they will be up in a matter of hours.

Player Ratings

Almunia: 5 – Made no saves, but still made sure to miskick a couple of balls just to put the back four under some pressure.

Gallas: 5 – Not comfortable in marking Drogba.

Vermaelen: 5 – Completely lost Drogba who went on to score the second goal though he did recover well after that.

Clichy: 2 – Again, can someone please help me understand why he left the post he was defending, walking towards the other end, leaving Drogba all alone in the corner which led to the first goal?

Sagna: 5,5 – Not good enough when going forward, he has to understand that crosses are a fundamental part of his game, which he has to improve.

Diaby: 6,5 – Back from injury and one of the best players on the field. Having him back is one of the few positives of the games

Fabregas: 6 – His midfield distribution was very good and did well in finding spaces in the Chelsea half but struggled when delivering the final ball or shooting from range.

Song: 4 – Uncharacteristic poor game from the Cameroon man who started brightly but lost his concentration and head as the game progressed.

Walcott: 3 – Same old Theo, I’m afraid.

Nasri: 4 – Very predictable with his touches and no end product. I don’t think he ever beat his man and had a glorious opportunity to give us some hope in the second half but wasted it.

Arshavin: 5 – A similar game to last week’s for the Russian who worked hard up front to make things happen but unfortunately, failed to make an impact.

(Subs)
Eboue: 6,5 – Brilliant game, caused all sorts of trouble when pushing forward and if he can keep this up, then he has to play in place of Sagna against Liverpool.

Bendtner: 5,5 – Came on and started like a train, winning balls in the air and an important free-kick, clearly showing what we’ve missed during his injury. He faded a little towards the last part of the game though.

Rosicky: 6 – Not much on the field for Tomas but did well with the first touch and bringing the ball forward.