Club Focus – Arsenal – Wenger’s Nasri gamble backfires as the Gunners see off Huddersfield
Arsenal survived a scare on Sunday to overcome Huddersfield Town and book their place in the fifth round of the FA Cup. Again the Gunners have been drawn against lower-league opposition in the cup as Leyton Orient lie in wait in the last-16.
For the second time in a week Nicklas Bendtner broke the deadlock and the 1-0 lead did justice to the sheer domination of the home side in the first half. Yet, as has been seen so often this season, the Gunners would later rue their profligacy as they surrendered the lead at a set piece. Sebastien Squillaci’s dismissal prior to the break precluded the same level of comfort in the second half and the Terriers’ dogged determination drew them level. As in the last home FA Cup tie, Cesc Fabregas was introduced late on and slotted a crucial penalty to continue the cup run.
With no Johan Djourou on the bench, Wenger stayed true to his word and used Alex Song in a defensive role, sacrificing the unfortunate Marouane Chamakh in the process. Song’s deployment in the centre of defence highlighted the dearth of defensive options at present, yet the Cameroonian’s accomplished performance hardly caused alarm. It is his absence from the heart of the midfield that will be the biggest concern. With Abou Diaby understandably looking rusty following his return to action, and Denilson enduring a torrid afternoon, Song’s dynamism will be missed against stronger teams.
Having been the prime reason for Wenger’s reluctance to reinforce during the transfer window, Squillaci’s return was over by half time. His suspension will ensure the defensive shortfall continues, but there is some consolation in the fact he avoided injury. The same cannot be said of Samir Nasri who suffered at the hands of irony. The Frenchman was due to be rested for the weekend’s tie, but stood in for Tomas Rosicky amidst fitness concerns. As it was, Nasri’s injury meant the Czech took to the field and Arsenal look set to be without one of their most influential players for the Champions League clash with Barcelona. The manager summarised the lamentable position: “I have now regrets because the plan was to play Rosicky, but he was still too weak, so I took the gamble on Nasri… It backfired.”
The main positive from the weekend was that Arsenal continued their involvement in the FA Cup, and crucially avoided a replay in doing so. In the wake of the Nasri’s injury this will be of some comfort to Wenger who identified: “We are at the stage of the season where we play so many games that to lose bodies is very difficult for us.” The burden now appears to fall on the diminutive frame of Andrey Arshavin to occupy Nasri’s customary role. Having stressed: “We need to remind him how good he is,” Wenger will hope the Russian can remind him what he is capable of.
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