Our FA Cup campaign got off to a very limp start when the visitors from Elland Road almost knocked us out in the third round – something that would have blighted our proud FA Cup history.
Robert Snodgrass almost became an instant hero when he scored in the 58th minute to put us to the sword. We huffed and puffed for the rest of the game and it was only the intervention of Cesc Fabregas and Theo Walcott that saved us from huge, huge embarrassment. Both of them rose from the bench and combined to win a late, late penalty and bury it, thus earning us a face-saving replay.
Arsene Wenger summed up the game in his uniquely Wengersque manner:
“It was a good warning what we got today. We knew before the game, Leeds went to Old Trafford last year, won and had a draw at Tottenham. We had problems passing through their lines…we were not sharp in our decision making. The rest was credit to Leeds”
I’m not too sure about the credit to Leeds bit, because it was us who simply made life difficult for ourselves. There was absolutely no need for Denilson to trip Max Gradel in the box, that led to their penalty. What on earth was he thinking? How clueless can you be? Wenger keeps indulging players like him who are simply average, but they never seem to up their game.
Anyway, we got ourselves out of jail and get a second bite at the cherry in a replay in a fortnight.
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| Clueless...Denilson upends Leeds' Max Gradel to gift the visitors a penalty |
• Szczesny (7/10) – Did his case a great favour with excellent goalkeeping. He got a hand to the penalty but the power behind it from Snodgrass was too much for him to stop it. He also saved a goalbound header after the penalty that would surely have left us with a bigger mountain to climb. His kicking wasn’t initially up to scratch, but he improved as the game wore on. Will be around for a long time, now that Almunia is effectively on the way out.
• Eboue (6/10) – Started his first game since the Wigan draw. Was very effective initiating overlapping runs throughout the game as Leeds were not prominent in attack all through the first half. Has to share a blame for their goal, because he allowed Leeds’ Gradel to go past him so easily before he was fouled by Denilson. Was very visible in the second half as he bombed forward at very opportunity.
• Squillaci (5/10) – Very poor indeed all game. He is clearly the weakest link in our central defence and if he gets run around by the likes of Leeds, then he simply cannot cut it at this level. I don’t expect to see him used quite often as the season progresses especially with the imminent return of Thomas Vermaelen.
• Djourou (8/10) – He just keeps getting better and better. Tough in the air and on the ground. He stood up to everything Leeds threw at us and shackled both Alex Bruce, Sanchez Watts and David Someil, later on in the game. He is truly immense and his form is now key at the back if we are to win anything this season. I’m rubbing my hands in anticipation at he partnership he could forge with the returning TV. Formidable, if I may say.
• Gibbs (7/10) – He returned from injury to play his first game in almost two months. Was good and effective at the leftback and overlapped with ease. He has a good left peg which produces fine crosses, except that there was no one at the end of those crosses. Still too lightweight though for my liking and will take at least a couple of years before really pushing Gael Clichy.
• Song (7/10) – He was his usual busy self in the middle of the midfield and did his normal harrying duties. There seems to be no flaw in his game now as he has matured admirably and developed into a fine, all-round midfielder. Was surprised to see him substituted after the Leeds goal because he was really pivotal for us and was much more influential than a couple of other Arsenal players on the pitch.
• Denilson (5/10) – I will never understand why Wenger thinks this bloke can ever cut it as a defensive midfielder. To start with, he lacks the toughness to do the job and is often clueless in tight situations. He was plodding along until he gave away the penalty by upending the Leeds player inside the box. Managed to pick up himself for the rest of the game and actually could have won it for us with a fine, 25-yarder that Kasper Schmeichel did well to push away in the 90th minute. All in all, Denilson will always be a squad player at Arsenal.
• Rosicky (5/10) – Yet another clueless player on the day for us. To add insult to injury, he captained the side for this game but made as little contribution as possible. He has obviously lost any confidence in his game as I lost count of the number of times he lost the ball. Got himself a caution for needlessly pushing a Leeds player for a ball going to throwing and could have got himself sent off for a meaningless tackle from behind in the second half. I for one, believe this will be his last season at the club because he adds absolutely zero to the team.
• Arshavin (5/10) – Is he suffering a crisis of confidence or he doesn’t just care about the club anymore? Had to decipher which is the case with the enigmatic Russian. Found himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper early in the game but was thwarted by the alert Schmeichel. His game consisted thereon of misplaced passes, misplaced runs, headless-chicken-running and general frustration. No wonder so many in the crowd were openly baying for his replacement.
• Bendtner (5/10) – I’ve never rated him and the more he turns out for us, the more he confirms how ineffective and pedestrian he is. Couldn’t hang onto balls; sluggish; slow; can’t read passes and generally a waste of space. The earlier he buggers off as he always threatens to do, the better for us Gunners.
• Chamakh (6/10) – He hasn’t found his groove for a couple of months now after starting the season like a runaway fire engine. Tried his hardest but you could see he wasn’t making a dent in their defence. Will bounce back though for sure as the season unfolds.
Substitutes
• Fabregas (6/10) – Rose from the bench to save his mates from ignominy and he delivered as expected by burying the all-important penalty that earned us a draw and a replay in two weeks. At least in times of trouble, we have Cesc to count on.
• Walcott (7/10) – His trademark pace troubled the Leeds defence and ultimately won us the penalty that got the draw. You can see he is always determined in all games he plays, which is not something you could say about most of his mates.
• Vela (5/10) – For someone who is rumoured to be on his way out via a loan move, he confirmed very much why he is out of favour here. Hardly made a ripple when he came on in the 85th minute.
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