Well, Wednesday came and went . . . silently at best. We attempted to storm the gates of Turf Moore, and were repelled without as much as a whimper. Our valiant knight, Cesc Fabregas, provided us with some scintillating football in the first 30 minutes, and put us ahead 1-0 with a lovely touch in the box. Sadly a questionable call went Burnley’s way, as they were awarded a penalty in the box. They capitalized, and the rest they say was history. We never really troubled them after our first goal. We had a few chances here and there, but overall, the pace and control came from Burnley. Chris Eagles was causing us all kinds of problems on the right, while Silvestre, who was covering for the injured Armand Traore on the left, was found exposed on several occasions.
All in all, this was not our best performance . . . not by a country mile. In the end, Burnley played good organized football, and exposed very few cracks to the Arsenal offense. What I saw as the most glaring criticism of our young Guns was a lack of authority. We seemed content to kick the ball about the pitch. Our two most aggressive players were Vermaelen and Song, who were clearly more interested in winning than the rest of the squad. Theo looked like a player who had just been given his second start in as many weeks. Eduardo did not do much to impress, and in the end we were only good enough for a draw.
With Villa, Chelsea, Man U. and Tottenham winning, it puts a significant amount of pressure on us through the end of the year. Our schedule does not lighten up, and we can either pull into a great spot going into January, or we could end up playing catch up for the rest of the season. I for one think that this is our moment to shine, and that our lads will find a way to get the job done.
Our run in to the end of the year looks like this:
Obviously the big test will come against Villa on December 27th. Last season Arsenal lost 0-2 with two quick goals from Gabriel Agbonlahor. So here’s to a fine finish to 2009, and a great start to the second half of the season.
Up next . . . Phil Brow’s tan and Hull. More to come on that.
IN OTHER NEWS . . .
The Arsenal America Road Trip will commence on Sunday, December 27th at the Aston Villa match. We are doing something different this year, and will provide you with a daily update as to the events, pictures, and happenings at this years Road Trip. There will be over 30 Arsenal Americans at this event, which will set the stage for the April 2010 Road Trip! Get excited, as you too can join us in the spring.
Last but certainly not least . . . Roman Abramovich loves Arsenal . . . he really does . . .
COME ON YOU GUNNERS!