Regression

God said, “Let there be light”, and a flame flickered, wavered, and was conveniently put out. That has been the story this past week for Arsenal FC. When the new look squad took the field against Swansea, one could glimpse of sliver of hope begin to regenerate among fans. There was hope that the new signings would bed in and Arsenal would quickly regain the lost confidence after the infamous defeat at Old Trafford. They scraped what can only be called a lucky win, although it was always going to be difficult after what had happened in the last few days of the transfer window.

Their confidence restored a little, the players then headed to Borussia Dortmund for what was definitely the toughest game in the Champions League group stage. Dortmund were very impressive, but a goal from van Persie pegged them back, only for Perisic to steal a point in the last five minutes with a spectacular effort. Arsenal had defended like lions, and had only gone down to a wonder goal. That game did a lot towards regaining that lost confidence. It was a good away point and the team looked strong.

Going into the Blackburn game, there was a positive buzz about the team probably for the first time in months. All the new players (bar Park) had been given a run and there was genuine excitement surrounding the game. Arsenal would finally be able to play their own slick, passing game. Blackburn were a side that had little confidence going into this fixture – three losses and a draw isn’t a record that anyone can be proud of, and surely this was on their minds. One would have thought this was the perfect opportunity for Arsenal to pounce and further deepen the gloom at Ewood Park, while furthering their own rehabilitation.

Arsenal looked as though they were on course to do just that. In the first half, they had a massive 66% of possession, and the crowd were treated to some vintage flowing moves. Mikel Arteta contributed with his technical skills in central midfield, and Ramsay had a solid half as well, keeping it relatively simple. The attacking was very easy on the eye and finally one caught a glimpse of the Arsenal of old. The goal came as a result of an amazing through ball from Alex Song that Gervinho latched onto, swiveled, and shot right into the bottom left corner. It was a fantastic finish from an unlikely angle.

Arsenal were completely dominating in all parts of the field when Blackburn, out of nowhere, found an equalizer. The goal was typical of Arsenal too – new left back Andre Santos, handed his first start, was playing Yakubu onside (remember how Clichy used to play the exact same game), and Yakubu finished well before Szczesny could react. It must be said though that this was Santos’ first full game, and so communication was always going to be a problem. However, this was a problem in the Dortmund game as well, when countless through balls were threaded through the central defense. More on the defense later.

The goal, meanwhile, did little to stem the flow of the game. Arsenal still continued to attack and dominate play, and it was little surprise they scored the next goal.

Song was once again involved as he released Ramsay on the right, who spotted Mikel Arteta’s run into the box and cut back for him. The Spaniard scored with an emphatic finish, his first goal in the red and white. The first of many, I hope. We finished the half on a high, and this looked the perfect game to get our confidence back. Everyone had played their part, and we looked coherent in attack, a first this season. Everyone had set roles and the communication between midfield and attack was great. Things were on the up.

At half time, though, something happened. Maybe they replaced the drinks with something else. As we took the pitch in the second half, we looked a different team. Back came the uncertainties that were so visible in the Dortmund game. We were still enjoying majority of the possession, but somehow seemed less confident on the ball.

Arshavin was in the mood to show off his defensive skills, and soon conceded a free kick outside the box on the right. The zonal marking we have deployed was in place. The ball came in and two players missed the subsequent header a little way off the near post. The second ball then hit the unsuspecting and surprised Alex Song, who had no time to react. The ball bounced off him into the net. 2-2 Blackburn. They had equalized once more. The goal was entirely down to rotten luck, and there was really little Song could have done about it.

Out we went in search of a goal again. Somewhere along that quest, we lost Bacary Sagna – probably one of the players of the season so far. He has been a rock defensively and that had been the case in this game as well. To replace him we had Johan Djourou, a player completely lacking in confidence, being played out of position as right back.