West Brom 2 Arsenal 2 - The Character Shouldn't Have Been Necessary

The Dutchman's finest goal for Arsenal.

     Alright. This post should be fairly quick.

     I was unable to watch the match on Saturday, so my review won't exactly be in depth or too revealing. I'll just focus on the goals.

     We started out with this lineup:

                        van Persie

     Arshavin                             Nasri

                         Wilshere

               Ramsey       Denilson

Clichy     Koscielny      Squillaci     Sagna

                           Almunia

     Again disappointed to see Denilson, but his inclusion was a given. What wasn't a given was Ramsey starting. To be completely honest, when I wrote my preview for the match, I completely forgot he was back in the squad. Strange, I know, but I'll remember once I see him some more.
     I was also disappointed with Nasri on the left and Wilshere in Cesc's position. Nasri is much better than Jack there, and it is such a waste to have Nasri on the flank. But once again, Wenger proves me wrong. Sigh.

     Their first goal was disappointing on our part. Ramsey could've done better with his marking, but more blame should go to Almunia. His windmill impression didn't fool me: I can see he really is a shit keeper. 
The goal came so early that it really damaged our confidence. None the less, the goal coming so early was a good thing: more time to find an equalizer and winner, surely?

     Ramsey had a chance after van Persie hit the bar, where the ball fell for him and Ramsey's shot from six yards out was straight at Carson.
     Most people are saying that he's rusty, he isn't back to best, or that he isn't sharp yet. This is true, but not a valid excuse for missing a sitter. He's been back for a couple months now, and whether he just came back or not, he should be capable of putting the ball one yard to the right.

     Then half time came and from what I've heard, Denilson was terrible (what a surprise), and Wenger made one of the best decisions of his reign at Arsenal. He replaced Denilson for Chamakh. At half time. Quite the blue moon. He should learn to do this more often. Foreshadowing hopefully?

     Just a couple of minutes after the break West Brom struck again to make the scoreline 2-0. A long ball was made for Odemwingie, and Squillaci didn't clear the ball immediately. Either way, it looked as if he would be able to deal with the danger effectively.
     Then as you watch the goal, you notice a black figure appear; a figure that is out of place. You are confused. Is it the devil? Is it death?
     No, its Manuel Almunia.
     In the confusion of Almunia coming out of his area, Squillaci struggled and Odemwingie simply had to get his simple shot on target to score.
     Should Squillaci have done better? Yes, he should have cleared the ball immediately. But when Almunia came out, you can't blame Squillaci anymore. Defenders aren't often presented with a situation where they have to defend a man outside their penalty area WITH their keeper and an open goal. 
     And what did Almunia do to save the situation? Push Squillaci in the back. Tactics! Lovely.

"Hmmm... That'll show Jens what I'm made of."

     But Arsenal fought back. In the 70th, Arshavin and Chamakh had a give and go and the little Russian fired in his first time volley into the far post and scored. It was a brilliant goal and brought Arsenal back into the match.

     In the 78th Arshavin turned provider. His cross found Bendtner at the far post who sent the ball back into the mixer. The ball was caught under the feet of Meite, and RvP slid and stabbed the ball to make it 2-2. Was a miraculous-revenge comeback on?

     Sadly, no. Despite our best efforts,  we couldn't find the winner.

     Now there is a real problem. There are only nine matches left, and our fixture list is tougher than United's. West Brom was supposed to be our easiest fixture for our final ten matches and we could only manage a draw against them.
     While coming back from two goals down was a brilliant display of character, there is no excuse for going down two goals to a side just promoted back to the Premier League.
     Surprisingly enough, we are still just five points behind United with a game in hand. Now EVERY match from now until the end of the season is a must win. 

     I want to focus on the second goal they scored, because the first goal was a predictable one for us to concede.
     It must be evident now: Alumina is shit, and should not play another match for Arsenal. He must leave this summer. He has cost the club too many points, with all the blunders he has made.
     But didn't we say the same about Fabianski? Fabianski made more errors, and we never wanted to see him again. Then Fabianski came in this season and his confidence seemed to be restored. Wenger was right all along: Fabianski is a world class keeper.
     The difference to me is this: Wenger has not come out to defend Almunia. Wenger consistently defended Fabianski, but it seems the Gaffer doesn't have the same faith in the Spaniard.
     On top of that, in his post match interview, Wenger didn't rule out a return for Lehmann. Interesting...

     Well I think I'll leave it at that. I'd say more but since I only have goal highlights at my disposal my review could hardly be in-depth.
  
     In other news Bendtner is injured via a shit training pitch while with the Danish national team. Lovely! No news has come out yet about how long Nik will be out for, so we can only hope for the best.

     More about the dull International Break in another post.
     Check back soon.