Birmingham v. Arsenal 1-1 27/Mar/10

Sol Campbell rambles as the Gunners concede.
[Photo: Mirror Football]


Arsenal's last trip to St. Andrews was fatality personified. One needs not to remember the events that were produced that evening and the posterior developments in the Gunners' season. The point dropped may not be relevant since nearly all sights were in the next match at the Emirates. Barcelona beat Tenerife as Iniesta was ruled out for the vital clash.



Theo battling in the air
[Photo: Mirror Football]


Within two minutes Rosicky penetrated Hart's defence to cross; evidently the early domininance executed by Wenger's men led to some approaches although the vast majority of them were blanks. McFadden and Jerome managed to alter the London defence as they created space in the tight pitch. By the 16th minute Song was booked after a light tackle cheaply bought by Webb. Even when the Londoners made certain progress with the ball the Blues made ferocious efforts to retain possession in the opposite half.

Arsenal's Spanish keeper held Jerome as he shot in the 31st minute. The match was quickly drawn from a slow stand-off to a dynamic end-to-end crash. In the last ten minutes Arsenal's influence diluted as Cesc struggled with an ankle problem. An alleged regular position by McFadden was discussed by McLeish as if it was a decisive World Cup penalty. The first half ended with a handful of defensive misjudgements that allowed each team certain free movements.



The other side of the coin; Phillips enjoys the late equaliser.
[Photo: Telegraph via Getty Images]


Immediately in the opening, Rosicky shot without much luck since Hart was in an accurate position. As the visitors became more and more involved in their offensive side of the game the Blues regrouped and attacked. One example of this was some sloppy keeping from Almunia which nearly permitted Dann to score. Arsenal's retaliation was in the form of a wide deviated Rosicky shot.

If there was a reason for the match turning into a harsh battle of equals, it was mainly due to the pressure that both teams had to produce the maximum of points. It was time for Rosicky and Walcott to come off: Arshavin and Nasri substituted them respectively. With twenty minutes to go, the Gunners needed an accurate cross or a fierce shot to beat Hart; that only arrived in the 73th when the fresh substitutions combined forces and the Frenchman shot. Again Hart's positioning save the home side.

The final fifteen minutes were crucial: two goals -and particularly the second- appeared both in sudden fashion.
Nasri pulled a cracker as he shot crossed to the opposite post; the only way Hart's goal could be pierced. Even when the Frenchman's influence made an immediate impact in the Gunners' game, the score fell apart when Birmingham equalised in such a deceptive manner. In the dying moments of the game, specifically in the 92nd, the Blues got a step ahead as Manuel Almunia again proved to be worth a penny when he let Kevin Phillips put the ball in the back of the net for 250th time in his career. The previous three chances that Fábregas, Nasri and Arshavin scrapped had were greatly missed.