Arsenal swept to a 2-0 victory over Bolton in Owen Coyle’s first match as Wanderers manager. He should be proud of their fighting spirit however as they had plenty of chances to overcome the Gunners. It will remain to be seen whether he’s just swapped one relegation battle (Burnley) for another.
Cesc Fabregas and Tomas Rosicky returned to the starting line-up and Craig Eastmond made his first Premier League start of his career.
Bolton came out fighting in the first minutes of the game but those were the only minutes that it looked like they could prevail. Kevin Davies almost got on the scoresheet in the first minute but his first touch let him down. Arsenal would then take over and impose their game after the five minute mark.
Of course, it was Cesc Fabregas who would find the back of the goal for Arsenal. He’s had a tremendous season so far, and when he’s not injured, he’s the heart of everything we do. In the 28th minute, a quick exchange with Eduardo resulted in the Spaniard slotting a low shot past Jussi Jaaskelainen.
Two times there were clear penalties in the box by Bolton. The referee seem to think that our players were making big deals over nothing but replays showed that this referee needs to re-evaluate his judgement on such calls. Just because a player embelishes his fall does not mean its a non-penalty. In fact, for some referees, its required for them to call.
Arsenal’s 19-year-old midfielder Craig Eastmond, making his first league start, almost doubled the lead with a first-time shot from Fabregas’ corner. It was great to see him get some time in the first team but as the game went on, you could tell his mental stamina was waning. Its a tall order for a 19-year-old, no matter how talented, to be asked to play a defensive mid role for 90 minutes in a game of this magnitude.
One of the biggest problems for Arsenal, with this lineup, was that Armand Traore was left stranded on the left hand side. The Korean Lee Chung-Yong was a menace and played havoc for Traore until Gael Clichy made his triumphant return in the 74th minute. Only then was the left side more secure. Clichy came on for Rosicky but slotted in for Arshavin on the left. He played the model winger and tackler for Traore to watch.
Fran Merida was actually the first substitution in the 63rd minute. He came on for Eastmond and scored our second goal in the 78th minute. Arsenal swarmed the box as a cross from Eduardo came back across the goal mouth. Arshavin wasn’t able to get a hold of it but an onrushing Merida defly controlled and slotted to the opposite corner.
Overall, Bolton resorted to their patterns of the past. Its what Arsene’s called anti-Football: lots of dirty fouling and a team effort that concentrates more on disrupting the other team than actually moving the ball toward goal. Teams with a history of being managed by Sam Allardyce can show it. Owen Coyle may want to impose an Arsenal-like style of play on his new team, but when things go bad for them, this group of players will most likely fall back to what we saw against Arsenal today.
With this win, we move within 3 points of Chelsea at the top of the table. Arsene Wenger has told his team to start thinking about taking the Premiership title. Its exactly these types of games that we were not winning last season that makes Wenger and all Arsenal supporters optimistic. We overcame a fighting team at their home and we didn’t wilt in the pressure.
