Match Review: WBA 1 Arsenal 1 (3-4p) - Capital One Cup 25.9.13

Well, what fun that was. 120 minutes of quite dire, turgid football, rounded off with a flourish of penalty madness. Arsenal squeaked through, despite all the odds being against us and West Brom having arguably the best chances. The youngsters stepped up and did a really solid job, considering they were up against a good, if not full strength, premier league side. West Brom had the more experienced players and the home advantage, but a  mix of youth and experience, plus Bendtner, managed to pull through. It was no fun to watch, but a win is a win and the momentum and positivity continues into a very difficult game at the weekend.

Arsenal’s team saw nine changes from the weekend, the only surviving players being Gnabry and Mertesacker. West Brom also rotated, bringing in some fringe players and youth players and to be honest I thought the sides looked very even on paper, with West Brom having a tad more experience than Arsenal. It led to one of the most dreary first halves I’ve seen in a while. It was an absolute snorefest, the passing was slow and nervy and there was pretty much nothing of note. Bendtner managed to hit the post, with his body, not the ball and Reid’s free kick clipped the bar for West Brom. That was literally it. Myaichi struggled to make an impact, whilst Hayden should arguably have been sent off for a late, high tackle that scythed down Yossuf Mulumbu. At the back, Mertesacker and Vermaelen were largely untroubled, apart from the Reid freekick which Vermaelen gave away in worryingly familiar fashion. Jenkinson and Monreal were probably the best two players, solid defensively and getting forward with a bit of pace and purpose. Arteta was feeling his way back into things, whilst Eisfeld and Bendtner were anonymous and ineffective. At half time I was practically nodding off and neither team looked like scoring.

The torment continued in the second half, neither team looked very familiar with each other and both attacked with a sort of disjointed awkwardness. Mulumbu's effort from the edge of the area made Fabianski work, but it was a simple enough save for the Polish keeper. Despite the even nature of the game, we took the lead and it was the two anonymous players from the first half who suddenly provided the break through. It was almost as if they suddenly deactivated their cloaking devices and surprised everyone, Bendtner receiving the ball in the middle of the West Brom half and playing a perfectly weighted through ball for Thomas Eisfeld to cooly collect and finish. It was a brief moment of quality in the midst of the sluggishness and our lead only lasted ten minutes. West Brom earned a corner which was swung in and Arsenal failed to clear, before it was chipped back in and headed in by Berahino. The goal was probably fair enough, West Brom had played just as well as us and probably had a few more chances. Bendtner, instrumental in our goal, should have got his head to the second cross and left the West Brom man with a free header. A pity really, as we could probably have held on for a 1-0, such was the lack of attacking drive from both sides. As full time approached, West Brom were a little bit sharper and looked more likely as some of our players started to wilt a bit. Kris Olsson and Chuba Akpom were introduced before the final whistle, but neither side could force a winner.

So the match, to my dismay, went to extra time. It was unwelcome, considering we had a few players, including Mertesacker, who we may need to call upon on Saturday. The 120 plus minutes that the BFG had to play may mean that we see Sagna at centre back and Jenkinson, who was excellent, at right back. From the look of it, Jenkinson seemed to come through it in the best condition and I would be surprised if Vermaelen started so soon into his injury comeback.
Extra time was a little more open, owing to some tired legs across both teams. The one big chance of the first half of extra-time fell to the one and only Nicklas Bendtner. The Dane made a good, powerful run between the centre backs and was picked out superbly. He was clean through on goal, but inexplicably slowed up and took an age to attempt a shot. When he finally decided the time was right, it was too late and the defender nipped in with a good tackle to leave Bendtner chewing grass. It was the perfect chance for him to mark his return to the first team, but like he's done so many times, he passed it up. Mikel Arteta went off with cramp early in extra time, perhaps showing he still a little way off fitness. He was replaced by young right back Hector Bellerin, who impressed....in the centre of midfield.

By the second half of extra time, we were clearly struggling, Miyaichi and Gnabry looked absolutely dead on their feet and other than the substitutes, most of the others were suffering a bit too. The exceptions were Monreal and Jenkinson, who were phenomenal, showing magnificent energy to still be getting forward, but also keeping things solid at the back. It was only towards the very end that we looked in trouble and West Brom had three huge chances to win. First, Morgan Amalfitano hit the bar from inside our penalty box, after which Markus Rosenberg somehow managed to get the ball over the onrushing Fabianski, but not into the net, getting himself in an almighty tangle as he tried to finish. Scott Sinclair rounded off the hat-trick, meeting a cross from the right, but volleying miles wide with just a couple of minutes left. Penalties.

I quite like penalties, but only as long as Arsenal aren't involved. When Arsenal are involved, shootouts go from exciting to petrifying. You could tell me that the 2003/4 model of Thierry Henry gets to take all our penalties, with no goalkeeper and a double sized goal and I'd still be bricking it. So the fact that it would be a set of tired youngsters, plus Bendtner, taking the penalties in front of the West Brom fans for 'safety reasons', didn't help my nerves. What's with the 'safety reasons' too? Out of all the fans in England there is hardly going to be trouble between West Brom and Arsenal. Maybe there's another, more reasonable explanation for it, but it does seem a bit baffling.

The West Brom captain opened things up, Fabianski went the right way, but the penalty was right in the top corner. 1-0. The first Arsenal penalty was taken by the prodigal son (he's not the prodigal son by the way), Nicklas Bendtner. He and his ridiculous beard and hair combo stepped up and sent the keeper the wrong way. 1-1. West Brom sent Scott Parker's Swedish cousin, Markus Rosenberg, to take their second and he put it straight down the middle as Fabianski dived to his right. 2-1. Serge Gnabry stepped up for our second penalty and perhaps the two hours, plus the weekend, took its toll as his penalty was saved by Daniels, who got up and celebrated as if it was the cup final. Still 2-1. James Morrison smashed his penalty into the top corner and things weren't looking good at 3-1 to the home side. Kris Olsson just got his spot kick past the West Brom keeper to make it 3-2. Then West Brom ran out of penalty takers. Craig Dawson looked calm enough until the whistle went, at which point he hared forward in panic and sliced his penalty well wide. Chuba Akpom looked petrified as he stepped up, put the 17 year-old sent the keeper the wrong way and made it 3-3 after four penalties each. Amalfitano gave Arsenal the chance to win it, as he also missed the target and Nacho Monreal stepped up put Arsenal through 4-3 on penalties.

You could see it meant a lot to the younger players as they raced over to Monreal to celebrate. It looked as if the West Brom keeper had a few, less than pleasant, words for them as he sulked off the pitch. After his rather Sp*rs like celebration far too early in the shootout, I'm glad he's sour about it and I hope his dreams are filled with jubilant Arsenal players for weeks. Muppet. Our reward for pulling through is a nice easy tie at home to Chelsea. The same Chelsea who's second string team seems to include Mata, Willian, Torres, Essien, De Bruyne, Ba and other expensive talents. They fielded around £150mil worth of players against Swindon. Meanwhile we were forced into playing a right back in the centre of midfield. It's a very tough tie considering our injury problems and the other fixtures around it, which see us play the likes of Liverpool, Dortmund and Man Utd. We might have a few players back by then, but it'll be a really tough ask. If we can get through, it'll be a magnificent achievement and I think we can do it, but I won't be doom and gloom if we don't. But that's a way off and attentions turn to Swansea away on Saturday.

Teams

West Brom (4-2-3-1)
Daniels, Reid■, Popov■, Lugano■, Dawson, Sinclair, Dorrans, Mulumbu (Morrison 91'), Berahino (Amalfitano 101'), Long (Rosenberg 91'), Sessegnon
Subs
Camp, Olsson, McAuley, Jones, Morrison, Amalfitano, Rosenberg

Arsenal (4-2-3-1)
Fabianski, Jenkinson, Mertesacker, Vermaelen■, Monreal■, Hayden■ (Olsson 84), Arteta■(Bellerin 95'), Miyaichi, Eisfeld (Akpom 82'), Gnabry, Bendtner
Subs
Viviano, Bellerin, Flamini, Olsson, Iwobi, Park Chu-Young, Akpom

Player Ratings

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