Fulham v. Arsenal 1-0 23/Aug/08

Today misery surrounded Craven Cottage for Arsenal supporters. Certainly the train trip will not be as cheering as it should be from the last couple decades due to the miserable loss. Surely pundits will be applauding themselves after such early overcome in Arsenal's season, showing in the past two games the worst of their worst. Despite this unpromising start many believe that the Gunners should rise to earn their "common" fourth place in the title contention, but the truth is that by the way the side has been playing a fourth place would be rather welcome. Player's ratings are available here, which I agree in some.

One of the questions was how can Wenger's side cope without the presence of EURO champion Cesc? This question was solved within the first minutes of the match; Ebou'e still had his ominous deeds of complaining as well has his Disappearance in the pitch. Manu Adebayor shot wide at 11' on a set by van Persie. The visiting side indeed came out of the tunnel very confused but in the first fifteen minutes the team could not grasp a loose ball neither progress in possession. The absence of midfield work was utterly balanced by the full-backs, who delivered a decorous role in the remaining part of the game. An interesting opportunity arrived at 20' with a tandem by Sagna and Walcott, finishing in a van Persie shot just wide.



The misery began when the Arsenal conceded a corner which was well taken by the home side. Hageland managed pretty easily to get rid off Gallas' marking, thus earning the lead at 21'. Gallas showed no future and if it were for him the score could have broaden to the Whites. The lack of a midfield in the Arsenal prevailed through the first half and resided only in the hands of the overwhelmed Brazilian Denilson. The mistakes in the clearances nearly had the Fulham going two up, but still the home side did not managed to grasp any play. The first half ended with the horrific picture of a fractured team that retained the possession for two seconds without any idea of playing.

The issue concerning the summer market bring us to a good discussion issue. Names such as Torsten Frings or Loric Cana were mentioned in the storm of the transfer window. But the inclusion of Mikael Silvestre in the London side was more of a surprise rather than relief. I really did not consider him a good buy, since that place is "covered". Traore has been recently put on loan so Wenger may not foresee what is coming.



The second half was an array of pull, disposition and desperation for the visiting side. With open plays in wide spaces, Clichy and Nasri managed to keep some idea of how it should be played a match in such difficult conditions. Bobby Zamora'a shot went over the bar when a Gallas (weird isn't it?) bad marking gave him plenty of time to finish. By the 60' the Gunners created three chances; all from wide shots. The attempts to equalize by the Arsenal became futile and a substitution would be a relief in terms of offering another possibility. But through Bendtner this possibility did not arrived. A good point was the runs of Eboué on the right flank. He looked as in his old days and managed to make at least three of the four free-kicks in the match. These free-kicks, all taken by the Dutchman, were well over the bar keeping home fans more entertained.

The final minutes saw a desperate and idle Arsenal seek the equalizer in the most horrible ways possible. The loss against a side that the previous season was struggling to keep the category is a shock, not for title contendency, but for the things to come, that at first hand look more than horrible.