Chance Encounters

Batten down the hatches. Stand by for the onslaught. The critics who were silenced by Arsenal’s triumph in Madrid are about to have a field day again. Out come puerile predictable headlines like “Pedersen Guns Down Arsenal” and “Gunners Shot Down” and, just to prove how awful journalism can be at its very worst, the appalling “Ped and Buried”.

There are, to use that fashionable word, ‘issues’ here and they need to be addressed, even if they don’t always make good copy. To begin with, the principal reason why Arsenal did not beat Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park is that they failed to convert even 25% of the chances they created. That would have been enough and it could have been accomplished in the last 10 minutes alone.

Overall, Arsenal dominated possession (over 60% of it in the second half when most of the game was enacted in Blackburn’s half) and had, according to the statistics published in one prominent Sunday paper, 8 goal attempts – twice the number attributed to their opponents. Blackburn deployed at least two banks of four to protect Friedel when they defended and committed 23 fouls, some of which could most charitably be described as over-physical. Fortunately for them, control of this game was entrusted to Uriah Rennie, a man who some feel has more expertise in martial arts than refereeing, so when Fabregas was tripped in the box there was little chance of Arsenal being awarded a penalty.

There was nothing surprising about Blackburn Rovers approach to this game. They played to their strengths and manager Mark Hughes had announced in advance that they would not ‘stand off’ Arsenal as Real Madrid had done. At times, they pushed Rennie’s generous interpretation of the laws to the very limits, demonstrating that they are not top of the so-called ‘foul play league’ for nothing. And they created a small number of chances, one of which, through a combination of Bellamy’s talent and Arsenal’s momentary inattention, gave them the points.

So the point is worth repeating, if only in the forlorn hope of educating some of the self-styled ‘experts’ who have misinterpreted not only this game, but Arsenal’s season. Arsenal did not lose the match because they were bullied out of it. They lost because although they dominated possession and created a hatful of chances, they did not convert any of them. And that, very largely, is the story of their season - as anyone who takes the trouble to review the tapes will discover.