Match Reaction: Arsenal 3-0 Villarreal
By Karl M. Tinsley
MY 3 STARS
Now that's how to progress!
#1. ROBIN VAN PERSIE: Started the game off a little slowly as the ball was coming down the right flank for most of the early action. But he gradually worked himself into the match and had some nice touches and passes to Cesc and Nasri. He dropped a BOMB on the Villarreal ‘keeper with his FK and forced him to spill a huge greasy rebound that really should have been stuck in the back of the net by Adebayor. Second half found Robin much more influential as our wing play dried up and the ball was being pushed down the middle by our midfield. Robin was serving up delicious passes and was getting stuck in and battling hard for the 50/50 balls. His pass that sprang Adebayor of the critical second goal was alert and intelligent. Nice to see Robin playing the style that made him our top performer during the months of January and February. His PK that was crushed into the back of the net showed Robin at his clinical best.
#2. THEO WALCOTT: Can’t underestimate the importance of his goal…not only was it a class and cheeky finish…but it took the pressure off the side…allowed them to relax and express their talents. He used his pace much more intelligently this match and was giving fits to the Villarreal back 4. I disgree with those that say the PK he won was bogus…the defender clearly scythed him to the ground as he swept away Theo’s plant foot as he slid through in the tackle. On the down side…he still needs to improve his crosses (too many hit flat and short) and mix up his attacks with some dribbles or by dropping his shoulder and taking it strong into the 18 yard box.
#3. EMMANUEL EBOUE: For a guy who was thrown into the match very late in the day…he really stepped up and delivered an exquisite performance. His passing, running, defending, tackling was impeccable. His takeover for Sagna was absolutely seamless. We couldn’t have asked for a better performance from the Ivorian. His ball distribution was spot on, I counted only two loose balls from him all match (1 under hit cross and 1 over hit cross), his 1-2’s with Cesc and Walcott were things of beauty and brought back warm memories of The Invincibles and their intricate passing. Finally Eboue drove the ball with purpose and his forays into the Villarreal box looked menacing. Proud of my boy today!
Honorable Mention
ALEXANDRE SONG: Amazing transformation in the young Cameroon man’s game recently. I always felt he had it in him and as such felt confident last summer that he would be able to step into the breach left by the departing Flamini and make the CDM his position. While he has struggled to find his game for much of this season and hurt himself with foolish penalties…it is really nice to see him put it all together at the business end of the season. His physicality and battling spirit have never been in question but now he has really ramped up his work rate and the new found skills over the ball that he is displaying is amazing!!. It is fair to say Song is now playing with supreme confidence. Props to Song.
LUKASZ FABIANSKI: The young Pole turned in another commanding effort…even if he was rarely tested. Very confident display on the aerial balls into his box and did a good job marshalling the wall and defending the FK’s. Showed a real veteran head with his great reads on the probing long balls that Villarreal were playing behind the lumbering Silvestre…Lukasz bailed out Silvestre on at least 2 occasions.
KIERAN GIBBS: Great bounce back game…the kid did an awesome job getting forward and supporting the attack. He delivered some dangerous crosses and worked several lovely 1-2’s with Nasri. Defensively, he played it smart and kept his nose clean in the tackle so as to avoid hurting the club with silly fouls in and around our 18 yard box.
FRANCESC FABREGAS: Showed a lot of passion and and courage challenging for the 50/50 balls and played another high tempo 90 minutes. I think it is safe to say that he has gotten back to 100% fitness and the injured knee is not bothering him. He delivered a sublime flick on to find/release Walcott in behind the Villarreal backline. Cesc held the ball well and was able to set the tempo for the squad with his great distribution to his teammates.
Lemon(s)
MIKAEL SILVESTRE: Delivered 2 clumsy challenges on the edge of our box that gave up 2 free kicks and 1 yellow card. In fact he was very lucky to escape a 2nd yellow and a subsequent red when he hacked down the Villarreal attacker near our box. He was beaten with pace several times with Fabianski bailing him out. Depressing that we are stuck with him for the time being…i shudder to think what the likes of Anelka and Drogba will do to him on Saturday 
SAMIR NASRI: Not sure what is going on but that is his second consecutive invisible performance for the club. He needs to buck-up, take the ball strong into the box and/or work himself into space and unleash his heavy shot on net. Love what this guy has done in his rookie campaign for the Gunners…but we need him to rediscover his form in time for the CL Semi-Final tie with Man Utd.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
The club showed great poise and patience in getting themselves a lead over Villarreal. The defense (Silvestre excluded) was rock solid and answered a lot of questions. Fabianski looks to be the real deal and must be giving a huge boost of confidence to the defense as they watch him vacuum up any aerial balls and charge down any over hit long balls into the box. Obviously, Villarreal were not 100% but we focused on the task at hand…avoided costly mistakes or yellow cards to our core players and got our reward…entry into the CL Semi-Finals. Porto would have been a kinder draw for us but that is academic now. Man Utd are on tap and I feel like that now is a good time to meet them as current form has dipped noticeably. We can beat them…we just need our backline, holding defenders and ‘keeper to stand tall and play at the peak of their capabilities. Now is the time to savour our victory. Looking forward to Saturday and wish the best of luck to the lads against Chelsea.
As always,
GUNS IN GUNS OUT!!
Karlos
Let’s no to carried awy with his 18 game unbeaten streak. During that period here are the results:
Liverpool 1-1
Villa 2-2
Spurs 0-0
Sunderland 0-0
Fulham 0-0
Cardiff 0-0
Wins:
HULL twice
WBA
Plymouth
Bolton
Blackburn
Newcastle
Man City at home
Wigan
Villareal 1-1
and won 4-1
Roma (won and lost by 1 goal)
Let’s talk after Chelsea, Liverpool and United games
Let’s no to carried awy with his 18 game unbeaten streak. During that period here are the results:
Liverpool 1-1
Villa 2-2
Spurs 0-0
Sunderland 0-0
Fulham 0-0
Cardiff 0-0
Wins:
HULL twice
WBA
Plymouth
Bolton
Blackburn
Newcastle
Man City at home
Wigan
Villareal 1-1
and won 4-1
Roma (won and lost by 1 goal)
Let’s talk after Chelsea, Liverpool and United games
RVP man of the night? Song is honarable mention? RVP played well, but not outstanding. Song was energetic and didn’t let the Villareal midfield have a breath all night.
I agree with Walcott, but I thought Eboue really really could have touched up those passes. His tackling was good however.
Replace RVP with Song and Eboue with gibbs.
RVP man of the night? Song is honarable mention? RVP played well, but not outstanding. Song was energetic and didn’t let the Villareal midfield have a breath all night.
I agree with Walcott, but I thought Eboue really really could have touched up those passes. His tackling was good however.
Replace RVP with Song and Eboue with gibbs.
The big games are coming thick and fast. Let’s hope our key players are fit and ready.
The big games are coming thick and fast. Let’s hope our key players are fit and ready.
Hey Kidz and everyone else!
GO GUNNERS!!
Hey Kidz and everyone else!
GO GUNNERS!!
Fabianski is making a serious case for Arsenal’s number 1. Coming off his line to clean up balls Silvestre could not catch up to kept Villareal from mounting any real attack. I like Eboue at the back rather than in midfield, but his passes need to be more accurate. Gibbs was better Wednesday than on the weekend, he showed spark late in the game. Walcott ran roughshod over the right side, perhaps that’s why we didn’t hear from Nasri much? I agree, TW needs to drive towards goal more.
All the Arsenal strikers could use some Thierry Henry killer instinct in front of goal. Many times there is one pass too many and it all comes to nothing.
Walcott, Fabianski, Cesc top 3 for me.
If we keep up this play we can beat anyone. Go Gunners!
Fabianski is making a serious case for Arsenal’s number 1. Coming off his line to clean up balls Silvestre could not catch up to kept Villareal from mounting any real attack. I like Eboue at the back rather than in midfield, but his passes need to be more accurate. Gibbs was better Wednesday than on the weekend, he showed spark late in the game. Walcott ran roughshod over the right side, perhaps that’s why we didn’t hear from Nasri much? I agree, TW needs to drive towards goal more.
All the Arsenal strikers could use some Thierry Henry killer instinct in front of goal. Many times there is one pass too many and it all comes to nothing.
Walcott, Fabianski, Cesc top 3 for me.
If we keep up this play we can beat anyone. Go Gunners!
Good summary karlos. between me and you, I dont know who likes eboue better. Sad that some of our fans dont recognize his capabilities and what he has to offer to this team.
I slightly disagree with you on nasri because I believe he did more of a defensive job that attack in this game which was good to see him drop deep the way he did.Cesc walcott,and gibbs took care of the offense in midfield which more than overshadowed nasri’s role the whole game. However, I must say his game has been on and off which I attribute to him not starting regularly. I think we will see a different him come next season when competition for places hots up with arshavin and fit rosicky all vying for the same spot.
This is the typed of depth we have craved for all season long.There are still question marks in the back for now but next season will be a different story.
Gibbs and traore will compete with clichy for lb position which is good while eboue will keep sagna and walcott on their toes.
Djourou song and possibly senderos will be in contention at the back with the pair oc toure and gallas except the professor decides to sell senderos or sees song as more of a dcm than cd. Cant predict wenger though.
Song has been sensational to say the least in the last two games and if he continues that way, denilson might never smell the starting 11 anytime soon except to maintain freshness of players and team balance. I just cant explain how he turned from a sluggish cdm to a monster which is actually what the doctor ordered. I was one of his harsh critics though.
Denilson will see less playing time next year as he continues to understudy cesc while diaby will be making a claim for a midfield spot as well.
We got an array of forwards in ade, rvp,eduardo,bendtner(no matter what people say) and understudy vela.
I might be ahead of myself here but I think fabianski is seriously staking a claim to the #1 spot in the brief absence of almunia which migh not be brief in the end. He’s young, promising and has better reflexes than almunia. He somewhat reminds me of jens only that he’s not yet in that mould but might be very soon. I just love his swagger and tenacity on the ball which I cant say of almunia even though he’s older and more experienced.
Depending on how well fabianski handles the pressure, he might hold unto that spot until the end of the season and I wont be suprised if we see another jens/almunia fight round 2
All in all, next season is looking more promising and assured but I pray that we lift some silverware this season to give our young side more confidence going into next season.
Good summary karlos. between me and you, I dont know who likes eboue better. Sad that some of our fans dont recognize his capabilities and what he has to offer to this team.
I slightly disagree with you on nasri because I believe he did more of a defensive job that attack in this game which was good to see him drop deep the way he did.Cesc walcott,and gibbs took care of the offense in midfield which more than overshadowed nasri’s role the whole game. However, I must say his game has been on and off which I attribute to him not starting regularly. I think we will see a different him come next season when competition for places hots up with arshavin and fit rosicky all vying for the same spot.
This is the typed of depth we have craved for all season long.There are still question marks in the back for now but next season will be a different story.
Gibbs and traore will compete with clichy for lb position which is good while eboue will keep sagna and walcott on their toes.
Djourou song and possibly senderos will be in contention at the back with the pair oc toure and gallas except the professor decides to sell senderos or sees song as more of a dcm than cd. Cant predict wenger though.
Song has been sensational to say the least in the last two games and if he continues that way, denilson might never smell the starting 11 anytime soon except to maintain freshness of players and team balance. I just cant explain how he turned from a sluggish cdm to a monster which is actually what the doctor ordered. I was one of his harsh critics though.
Denilson will see less playing time next year as he continues to understudy cesc while diaby will be making a claim for a midfield spot as well.
We got an array of forwards in ade, rvp,eduardo,bendtner(no matter what people say) and understudy vela.
I might be ahead of myself here but I think fabianski is seriously staking a claim to the #1 spot in the brief absence of almunia which migh not be brief in the end. He’s young, promising and has better reflexes than almunia. He somewhat reminds me of jens only that he’s not yet in that mould but might be very soon. I just love his swagger and tenacity on the ball which I cant say of almunia even though he’s older and more experienced.
Depending on how well fabianski handles the pressure, he might hold unto that spot until the end of the season and I wont be suprised if we see another jens/almunia fight round 2
All in all, next season is looking more promising and assured but I pray that we lift some silverware this season to give our young side more confidence going into next season.
Richard…
I agree there are no signature wins in that 18 unbeaten run…but if you look at it as a “body of work” it is respectable and something Wenger and the players can use to grow their swagger as we come into the crunch time of the season.
Richard…
I agree there are no signature wins in that 18 unbeaten run…but if you look at it as a “body of work” it is respectable and something Wenger and the players can use to grow their swagger as we come into the crunch time of the season.
Gunner Tom…
Robin did end the match with a goal and an assist and his FK was superb and the massive rebound should have been not left begging by Adebayor.
Song was close to breaking into the top 3. I felt Walcott’s goal and first half work was really influential to the way the match unfolded so I tipped him over Song.
Eboue stays…the guy was phenomenal. The 1-2’s with Cesc and Walcott were sublime…nothing from Villarrela came down Eboue’s side all match.
Gunner Tom…
Robin did end the match with a goal and an assist and his FK was superb and the massive rebound should have been not left begging by Adebayor.
Song was close to breaking into the top 3. I felt Walcott’s goal and first half work was really influential to the way the match unfolded so I tipped him over Song.
Eboue stays…the guy was phenomenal. The 1-2’s with Cesc and Walcott were sublime…nothing from Villarrela came down Eboue’s side all match.
Jameson…
I feel it too with Fabianski. The “kid” really looks the real deal!. He’s only 23…its just sick to think how good he is already and what lies in store for him in his football future. A couple of big performances against Chelsea and Liverpool in the next 5 days could nail Almunia’s ahzz to the bench for the rest of the season and going forward into next year.
Jameson…
I feel it too with Fabianski. The “kid” really looks the real deal!. He’s only 23…its just sick to think how good he is already and what lies in store for him in his football future. A couple of big performances against Chelsea and Liverpool in the next 5 days could nail Almunia’s ahzz to the bench for the rest of the season and going forward into next year.
City “G”…
Thanks for the kind words.
You could be right about Nasri being given defensive orders with Clichy out and Gibbs needing more protection against counter-attacks. Good point.
I always feel Nasri is at his best when he gets off 2-3 shot on net a game. He has a heavy stroke and it is normally very accurate. I am really high on his game…just want to see him unloading a few bombs on net against Man Utd the way he did a few months back.
Like i said to Jameson…i feel you on Fabianski…the kid just oozes confidence and yes he does remind a bit of a young and more subdued “Crazy Jens” Lehman. We are going to need him to stand on his head this weekend against Chelsea if we hope to move on to the final.
Yes…you, Gunner12thman and myself have had Eboue’s back for the last couple years. He is just one of those type of players who because of his cockiness, rude-boy history early in his Arsenal career and his penchant to always be involved in the drama on the pitch…he becomes a lightning rod for the supporters.
Love him or hate him one thing is for sure…you cannot ignore him!!
I posted something similar to what you said about the impact of the emergence of Song on Denilson’s minutes. I can’t see Denilson keeping Song out of the starting 11 at this point. Song has really put a headlock on the CDM spot now…IF Wenger drops him back to CB for Chelsea…i’d prefer Denilson to Diaby.
Next season is next season and hopefully Wenger adds a quality and experienced CB to the mix this summer. The depth of the team at striker, winger and CAM is just awesome. I’d give up on acquiring a veteran CDM if it meant Wenger would throw down the long dollars and sign a quality CB.
I still want a trophy for this season…4 years is too long to wait…and we have such golden opportunities staring us in the face this season to get our hands on some silverware…I don’t care if we win with dirty smash and grab football or lucky PK’s…i just want silverware to settle some of the top players and to use as a foundation to build on for next season.
City “G”…
Thanks for the kind words.
You could be right about Nasri being given defensive orders with Clichy out and Gibbs needing more protection against counter-attacks. Good point.
I always feel Nasri is at his best when he gets off 2-3 shot on net a game. He has a heavy stroke and it is normally very accurate. I am really high on his game…just want to see him unloading a few bombs on net against Man Utd the way he did a few months back.
Like i said to Jameson…i feel you on Fabianski…the kid just oozes confidence and yes he does remind a bit of a young and more subdued “Crazy Jens” Lehman. We are going to need him to stand on his head this weekend against Chelsea if we hope to move on to the final.
Yes…you, Gunner12thman and myself have had Eboue’s back for the last couple years. He is just one of those type of players who because of his cockiness, rude-boy history early in his Arsenal career and his penchant to always be involved in the drama on the pitch…he becomes a lightning rod for the supporters.
Love him or hate him one thing is for sure…you cannot ignore him!!
I posted something similar to what you said about the impact of the emergence of Song on Denilson’s minutes. I can’t see Denilson keeping Song out of the starting 11 at this point. Song has really put a headlock on the CDM spot now…IF Wenger drops him back to CB for Chelsea…i’d prefer Denilson to Diaby.
Next season is next season and hopefully Wenger adds a quality and experienced CB to the mix this summer. The depth of the team at striker, winger and CAM is just awesome. I’d give up on acquiring a veteran CDM if it meant Wenger would throw down the long dollars and sign a quality CB.
I still want a trophy for this season…4 years is too long to wait…and we have such golden opportunities staring us in the face this season to get our hands on some silverware…I don’t care if we win with dirty smash and grab football or lucky PK’s…i just want silverware to settle some of the top players and to use as a foundation to build on for next season.
nice post karlos,well kepping our fingers crossed for tommorow,the defenders still not back….
nice post karlos,well kepping our fingers crossed for tommorow,the defenders still not back….
Many may have not noticed but if it wasn’t for van Perise’s quick thinking we may have not scored the first goal and if it wasn’t for fabregas desire to win the ball we wouldn’t have scored the second goal either.
Many may have not noticed but if it wasn’t for van Perise’s quick thinking we may have not scored the first goal and if it wasn’t for fabregas desire to win the ball we wouldn’t have scored the second goal either.