Blackburn Rovers 0 – 2 Arsenal

0 – 1 Toure (36)
0 – 2 Henry (70)

Gilberto Sent Off (14)

Following on from the two demolitions of Liverpool last week, Arsenal proved that those wins were not flukes in terms of performance or result. Reduced to ten men within a quarter of an hour, the team defended as one and showed a clincal nature on the counter-attack that had been missing in a large number of visits to the Northwest over the last eighteen months. No doubt commentators will claim that Rovers were poor and lacked the guile necessary to break Arsenal. That is to deny the truth. Rovers had, I think, four clear chances that should have resulted in goals; Pedersen’s shot was well saved by Lehmann, Derbyshire hit his own leg with the goal gaping, Nonda completely messed up a good headed opportunity and Pantomime Cow, Robbie Savage missed the target entirely with a free header.

They were punished by two superb goals. Toure’s opener was the sort of set-play that has been missing from Arsenal’s game for much of the season. Henry’s freekick was excellently flighted, Toure’s run timed to perfection and his header put the ball where Friedel could not get to it. Indeed, the Rovers keeper did not move as the ball hit the foot of the post on its route to the other side of the goal.

What is worth noting is the sensibilities shown by the rest of the team in that move; only three other Arsenal players were within in spitting distance of the area from memory, the remainder were cautiously placed from level with Henry midway through the Rovers half back to the Halfway line. Whilst the objective was to score, they were determined not to concede as well. OK, Henry taking the kick quickly had something to do with it as well but that stands out as an indicator of the professionalism shown throughout the performance.

The second was a lesson in Counter-Attacking that should become an example in every coaching manual. Rovers had a freekick on their right blocked by Rosicky out towards the corner flag; Clichy picked it up and passed to Rosicky parallel with the left edge of the area. He fed Henry on the left wing who was surrounded by Blue and White shirts. His run took him into the Rovers half where he exchanged passes with Fabregas, Le Captain hit his shot early with Freidel grasping at air as the ball travelled on its path to the back of the net. 2 – 0, game over with twenty minutes to go.

There are several things that impressed me about the performance yesterday. The first cap is doffed in Arsene’s direction. I think it fair to say that most of us expected him to replace van Persie or Rosicky with Flamini when Gilberto received his marching orders. He did not, credit to him for refusing to follow a defensive attitude with seventy five minutes to go. Whilst that no doubt reflected how he perceived his opponents, it showed tremendous faith in Rosicky, Hleb and Fabregas to maintain a wall to protect the defence. It is harsh on the other two to single one player out but Fabregas dealt with his defensive duties extremely well. Henry and van Persie deserve praise as well for the intelligent way that they rotated into midfield, making a foursome whilst leaving one player to occupy the Rovers defence. Had it been one static player, I think Rovers may have coped better but because they were never sure which one would be staying up front, it forced them to think more cautiously than their superior numbers ought to have had to. The team though as a whole deserve considerable praise. The effort that they put into containing and defending was entirely commendable. Rovers obviously had a lot of possession but the stats I have seen this morning put it at 52% – 48%. For a team playing with eleven against ten, surely they should have been looking at having fifteen to twenty more than that?

And so to the incident that sparked this thoroughly professional performance?

The first thing that I will say is that I thought Rob Styles’ punishments were absolutely spot on, no matter how painful that was to the team. Savage’s tackle warranted the yellow it received; Gilberto’s kick was violent conduct and Styles had little option to dismiss him; the reaction can be understood but I feel disappointed that such an experienced pro was drawn in by Savage’s crudeness and lack of guile.

Obviously the Welshman’s reaction had much to do with the dismissal, having dropped to the ground the instant that kick was lashed out, it was no surprise to see him dancing around behind Styles as the card was produced. Savage is very much a Premiership player of his time. A “hard man” who is not; a theatric of the worst type, the sort that had he been a “foreigner” would have brought forward xenophobic chastisement from the media. As it was, he is “one of us” and has escaped the wrath of Fleet Street. That Gilberto will be suspended for the next three games is not lost on Arsene, who has confirmed that the punishment will not be appealed. The three, Manchester United, Tottenham and Bolton are games where the Brazilian’s abilities will be sorely missed.

However, that is for future debate; as it is this was an entirely commendable performance by the remainder of the team and one that proves, you do not need to be British to have resolve. And that is something that they made abundantly clear yesterday.