Blackpool 1 Arsenal 3:IT IS not a disaster to reside second in the Premier League on relatively modest resources, Arsene Wenger told the Arsenal Supporters Trust on Friday, but nor is it the definitive verdict on their season.
Blackpool witnessed the return of penetration, belief and Jens Lehmann to the Arsenal team. If the German goalkeeper has also brought back the invincible spirit of 2003-04 then maybe, just maybe, it will not be a procession towards a 19th league title for Manchester United after all.
Seven points behind with a game in hand constitutes an outside chance of catching the leaders but, with Alex Ferguson’s side still to visit the Emirates Stadium and none of the Champions League or FA Cup commitments that could yet impact on United, it is a chance Arsenal refused to relinquish at Bloomfield Road.
This could so easily have been another of the damaging stalemates that have punctured Arsenal’s momentum in recent weeks. Had the referee Lee Mason dismissed Lehmann for tripping DJ Campbell in the build-up to Gary Taylor-Fletcher’s 52nd-minute goal and awarded a penalty when Laurent Koscielny felled the Blackpool midfielder moments later, a different story could have emerged. Arsenal would not have had a replacement goalkeeper to face the spot-kick, for a start.
Instead, the visitors capitalised on their fortune, held their nerve and rediscovered the authority that helped them cruise to a two-goal lead before the break. A first win in six games in all competitions duly followed, and though Blackpool’s relegation-inviting defending was a contributory factor, the outstanding telepathy between Cesc Fabregas and Robin van Persie, plus the desire of Abou Diaby and Jack Wilshere to protect an uncertain defence, must increase Wenger’s confidence for the run-in.
A knee injury sustained by Manuel Almunia in the warm-up gave Lehmann his first Arsenal appearance since May 2008. It seemed as though the 41-year-old, a week shy of becoming the oldest player to appear for the club, had never been away as he delivered an abridged version of his entire Arsenal career inside his 200th game for Wenger’s side. Key saves, that icy stare, a quiet word with any opponent who dared leave a foot in and even his contribution to the 2006 Champions League final were all reprised as the visitors made unnecessarily hard work of a contest they should have ended before half-time.
Blackpool’s commitment to attack continues to be undermined by a porous defence and, once Fabregas found his range with the lofted chip over the top to Van Persie, Arsenal assumed complete control.
Ian Holloway’s side found no solution to the Fabregas-Van Persie supply chain, although they had all afternoon to practise, and two goals in three first-half minutes appeared to put the game out of their reach.
The influential Diaby made and finished the first when he dispossessed Jason Puncheon in the Arsenal half before embarking on a determined run to side-foot home van Persie’s pass. Moments later, and with Blackpool contesting a throw-in awarded against them, Emmanuel Eboue broke down the right, exchanged passes with Wilshere and sent an emphatic finish over Richard Kingson. Blackpool were in disarray at this point and seemingly out.
However, a stroll developed into a tense affair for Arsenal in the second half as Blackpool rallied and reduced the arrears when Taylor-Fletcher converted from close range. Mason played two excellent advantages in the build-up, when Wilshere caught Luke Varney and then when Lehmann caught Campbell. But despite booking the Arsenal midfielder after the goal, the referee failed to take any action against the last man, Lehmann, although Holloway’s ire was fixed on the next controversy.
Arsenal had deservedly escaped two previous Blackpool appeals for a penalty when Taylor-Fletcher danced into the box and was clearly taken out by Koscielny as he switched the ball to Campbell. Bloomfield Road erupted to acclaim a remarkable comeback. Instead, Mason played on.
The visitors were rattled only briefly, and remembered how to prise apart the Blackpool defence on the counterattack when the substitute Theo Walcott broke down the right and crossed for van Persie to add Arsenal’s third from close range.
Guardian Service
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