Aston Villa 0 – 0 Arsenal: There’s Something About These Claret & Blue Teams

Arsenal return from Villa Park with a point. As we’d discussed a couple of days ago, it’s not a bad result by any means, except perhaps from the point of view of those people who actively seek out reasons to be negative.

Curiously enough, this is our third away draw of the season and all have come away to teams playing in Claret and Blue colors. First a 2 goal stalemate at Upton Park, then we shared a goal at Burnley and finally this nil-all result against Villa. What comes next could be a good IQ question, eh! Maybe Wenger should research the influence of colors on the players’ performance.

Jokes aside, there isn’t much to talk about from this game. Arsenal struggled once again as the passing game never clicked into gear. It’s another game which showed that in the absence of Song and to some extent Diaby, all the onus in the midfield falls on El Capitan. Cesc has to drop deep to collect the ball, he has to press opponents all over the field, help out in defense, he has to find the creative passes and make the lung bursting runs into the final third.

Villa came out with a simple game plan. Long balls down the wings and players moving forward in support. Cross and press at every opportunity. Hope someone gets a good connection inside the box. Unfortunately for them, the last part hasn’t worked in the last four games. I am not sure how O’Neill found Arsene’s comments “an appalling insult.” I thought they were quite matter of fact.

Defensively Villa were solid and their game plan worked for most parts. Most of our good attacks came through the middle and they did well to push the game wide and negate our movement. I was hoping we will shift play a little more to the center and the left but we never got into any sort of a rhythm.

In spite of our problems we created the best chances but apart from the couple of shots hitting the woodwork, Freidel didn’t have much to do. The first attempt from Fabregas was pure genius as he ran with the ball from the halfway line right into the Villa box skipping past challenges as if playing with a bunch of kids in a park. If he’d scored, it would have been a contender for the goal of the season ( at least in the eyes of those who can see beyond the long range strikes.)

Similarly, the second chance was created by a mesmerizing run by Arshavin. His attempt was saved by the keeper and Fabregas did well to set up Rosicky with a first time pass from an awkward height. The Czech captain’s effort was a little disappointing as he smashed it against the bar from ten yards.

I feel these are the games which are won by individual skills and we should have created space for the likes of Cesc and Arshavin. The problem was that Ramsey and Denilson weren’t really great in the defensive roles and too many players had to drop deep to help out leaving us short up front. Villa deserve some credit for working hard and moving the ball from flank to flank.

The worst part of the game was not the result but the injuries to Vermaelen and Eduardo. Hopefully, they won’t be long term but to be honest, I was expecting some casualties in this game. It’s not that Villa were dirty, they weren’t, but we are getting some players back from injury and given our luck it was only a matter of time before some others hit the treatment table.

At the end of the day, it’s not an ideal result but it’s not a disaster either. Our unbeaten run in the league continues and we can build on it against United.

Individual Performances

Almunia: Made a big save early on. Was decent with crosses and set pieces but not perfect. Another solid performance and he seems to be regaining confidence with every game.

Sagna: Solid defensively but didn’t offer enough going forward. To be fair Villa made it difficult for him.

Gallas: Managed Agbonlahor’s runs adequately. Was quite good while dealing with balls into the box as well.

Vermaelen: Was caught out early on by Heskey and picked up a yellow card but the injury is a far bigger concern. We will really struggle if he is out for the season!

Clichy: Still looks a bit rusty. We need to do better down the left and he needs to get forward. It might have been a team strategy to hold him back as Villa are strong down the wings.

Denilson: Another really poor game. The link between defense and midfield is just not working. He looks like a liability in the defensive third and on counter attacks.

Ramsey: Looked good on the ball at times but lost possession quite often. I guess it’s down to inexperience and these are the times when you appreciate the importance of simple sideways passing.

Cesc: By far the best player on the pitch. Right now he is having to do too much as his partners in midfield have been passengers.

Rosicky: I thought he was a touch too casual. Lost the ball a few times when you expect someone of his experience to do better. To an extent a victim of our game not working.

Eduardo: Doesn’t have the pace to play the lone front man when the rest of the team has to drop deep. Picked up another disappointing injury.

Arshavin: Didn’t get into the game for large parts. For a man of his quality, I expect him to take responsibility when the going gets tough but somehow he doesn’t seem to have that mentality.

Subs: Campbell had a decent game, Bendtner was clearly out of touch but it’s good to see him back and Nasri didn’t get much time