The Game

In my preview I said how Ewood Park was going to provide some answers and in a way, it did. Brilliant win which saw the beautiful game prevail on the ugly one.

Even if I was certain we would concede, there was never a moment where I thought we would draw or lose. Allow me to start with Manuel Almunia’s brilliant performance in goal. His task today was not to block shots from distance – as he did against Liverpool – or to be a virtual spectator like he was against Blackpool. No, his job was to be the boss of the penalty area and he did that to perfection, clearly demonstrating that he is still our number one.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of the two in front of him, Thomas Vermaelen and Laurent Koscielny. At the age of 24, these two need to sometimes understand the right decisions to take. The way El Hadji Diouf turned the Frenchman was embarrassing to see as any experienced defender would have surely taken a different route: use his body to win the ball or, why not, foul and get a yellow. Better a card than a goal, no?

The Belgian was rock solid but was also guilty of some poor defending especially when he tried to pass it to Laurent late in the game instead of clearing the danger. See, these are the things which come with experience but which we have to see more from our centre backs. Leave the beautiful football, the passing and the nice touches to the other areas of the pitch. At the back, you have to clear the ball, make dirty fouls, get yellow cards, anything to prevent conceding.

Up front things looked brighter. Abou Diaby was a beast and I just love watching him when he means business. One comment, if I may, is that he should believe more in his passing and shooting skills. Cesc Fabregas had a poor game, stepped it up a gear in the second half but still not enough from our best player.

And then Theo Walcott. He’s on fire and it seems he finally understood what his job is out there: to shoot. One of the problems with Theo in the past was that he would put himself in a great position thanks to his pace or dribbling technique but then … nothing. And that was because you could see how so many options were going through his mind: pass it short, pass it long, cross it, shield the ball, shoot, that’s too much and it was leading to the wrong decision.

But now he’s more confident. He gets the ball, he knows he can hit the target and he shoots. That simply. If he’s however – let’s say – near the corner flag, then cross it. Two options, nothing complex and we’re finally seeing the results coming from Theo.

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Match Video Highlights

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Player Ratings

Almunia: 7,5 – Didn’t allow Blackburn to run the show in the penalty area. This will surely give confidence to the Spaniard who will hopefully keep it up.

Koscielny: 5,5 – The way El Hadji Diouf turned him was amateurish stuff and he made more mistakes in the second half. 30-year old Sebastien Squillaci will hopefully bring experience in the side, just as Wenger said.

Vermaelen: 7 – Much better than the Frenchman but lapse in concentration such as how he gifted the ball to Blackburn in the second half could have easily led to the equaliser.

Sagna: 8,5 – My Man of the match. Simply amazing and his contribution to the second goal was just what he has to do when he surges forward.

Clichy: 6 – Again disappointing. The home side identified his wing as the weakest link to attack from, especially in the first half and I was under the impression he simply didn’t know what was going on behind him when they took the lead.

Fabregas: 5,5 – You feel he will be back at his best after the break. He was better in the second half but still gave away possession cheaply.

Song: 6,5 – Very solid game from the Cameroon International as our midfield is slowly taking shape. He should however keep it simple as some of his passes were very sloppy.

Diaby: 7,5 – Guilty of giving away the ball sometimes but an overall good game from the Frenchman who showed good strength. Again, needs to believe more in himself and go for goal rather than slow things down by trying to pick a team mate.

Arshavin: 7 – A very good game from the Russian who finally looked determined to impress. Nice movement, lots of running and a very good finish.

Walcott: 8 – A headless chicken? Not anymore. It seems Theo has finally understood to keep it simple and we are finally seeing the results. As I said in the introduction he is finally shooting more and that’s great to see as his finishing is top class. He also finished brilliantly the one which was ruled out for off-side.

van Persie: 6 – Why start if not fit? For yet another time, we were forced to see Robin leave the pitch due to an injury which from what I heard is not a serious one. Luckily. Having said that, he still managed to be involved in Theo’s goal showing how important he can be for us.

(Subs)
Chamakh: 7 – Worked very hard and some nice movement off the ball, creating the space either for himself or others.

Rosicky: 5,5 – Failed to make an impact the Czech although I still feel he should have started in place of Cesc.

Wilshere: No Vote – Less than 10 minutes for Jack, who should have scored late in the game.