Written by George Sezer Sunday, 10 April 2011 18:15

GunnerTalk Blog

By George Sezer

After the turbulent last few weeks we desperately needed a win today to get the wheels back on track. We did get the win but I am not so sure if the wheels are fully back on track as some of our usual frailties were there for all too see.

I really do not want to dwell on the negatives after such an important win that kept us in the title race so I will put our defensive shortcomings down to the missing some of our first team defenders and goalkeepers through injuries.  Almunia getting injured just before the game did not help… or it probably did but it meant that we had no sub GK on the bench with Lehmann starting; at that point I feared the worst and had horrible visions of Van Persie keeping the goal at the end of the game.

As expected Blackpool, in need of points desperately their selves came after us straight from the kick off but we stood reasonably firm and after riding their initial charge we started to threaten their goal with Fabregas spreading lovely balls around.  From one of his ‘off side trap buster’ balls Van Persie untypically failed to control the ball on this chest which would have given him a clear shooting chance at goal.

Our captain was at it again in the 17^th minute when he found the Dutchman breaking on the left and the forward made amends for his earlier miss by producing a perfect low cross for impressive Diaby to tap in our first goal.

Arsenal had settled down now and started to play their trademark pass and move football. It was one of those moves that brought our second goal in the 21^st minute; Eboue who was playing in place of rested Sagna played a lovely 1-2 with Wilshere; the return slide ball by the midfielder was so good the right back didn’t have to break his stride as he passed a defender with a drop of a shoulder before unleashing an unstoppable left foot drive high into the net from 10 yards. No, it’s not a typing error, it was his left foot.

We should have put the game to bed (is that even possible?) within the first half with many clear openings we had; Nasri was unlucky to see his volley hitting to post after a delicious chip by who else but Fabregas found him in the 18 yard box and Diaby vas very wasteful when he decided to take on a defender instead of having a go at goal when he was put through.

Blackpool started the second half like they did in the first half but this time our defending was almost shambolic. Varney fired wide from an Adam free kick before we conceded; when DJ Campbell was fouled by Lehmann inside our area I thought that horrible vision of mine was going to be materialized but fortunately ref played the advantage and Taylor-Fletcher scored from the loose ball in the 51^st minute. Still, it was comical to listen to Sky presenters hoping and saying that referee might send our keeper off.

We had a massive scare shortly afterwards when their goal scorer was fouled by a customary rash challenge by Koscielny, luckily the referee missed it. We were rocking and only a woeful miss by their centre back kept the score line at 2-1.

As the game reached three-quarter stage they started to fizzle out and we got back on top and finished any hope they had of a comeback with a brilliantly worked goal. Diaby defending deep inside our right back position, after a great block by Squilacci, somehow found Fabregas in the centre midfield, Arsenal captain first time flick to Walcott, who’d replaced ineffective Arshavin earlier, was world class. The flying winger had all the time and space on the right to measure a perfect cross for Van Persie to tap in our killer third goal in the 75^th minute. It’s worth mentioning that this was Walcott’s 7^th assists of the season; that’s 6 more than the so called World class Bale has managed so far this season.

That was that, apart from another lapse of concentration by Clichy when he got caught in position facing back to his goal which Lehmann saved his arse with a brilliant block from the resulting danger, we cruised to a very welcomed victory.

Before I go, a shout for our El Capitan Cesc Fabregas: Age 23, 300 Appearances, 57 goals, 96 assists for Arsenal, already a legend!