Arsenal 7-1 Blackburn Rovers : Match Review

40 goals in the last 41 games in the league for the dutchman

If there was one word that could describe the match for arsenal fans, it would be PERFECT! Going into the game, on the back of four games without a win, the tension was there and it showed in the stands with the Emirates not going full house(or was it because of the early kick off? ), which is a rare sight. But people who didn’t visit were sure to be regretting, after a magical 90 minutes performance by the Gunners.

Wenger had said he would consider resting Van Persie in the pre-match conference, however he put out his best squad against the rovers, with the only change being Coquelin in for Sagna at right back. As spectators were just taking their seats, they saw the home team celebrating their first goal. It took just a minute and a half for the dutchman to increase his goal tally for the season, by putting the ball into the back of the net on a beautiful low cross from a Theo Walcott.

After that Wenger’s men were in a commanding position and kept majority of the possession. Little did they know how costly Koscielny’s foul on Nzonzi would be, giving Gamst Pedersen a chance to equalise on the brink of half an hour. He didn’t disappoint the away fans with a picture perfect free kick that Szczesny only managed to get fingertips to.

The game kicked off all square at 1-1. But the gunners were in it to win it. They wanted to get back ahead before the halftime whistle blew and managed to do so. As they pressed ahead, in the 38th minute, Alex Song spotted Walcott run beautifully on the far side as the Blackburn defenders went to sleep. Again Walcott did a replay of the first goal, cutting it across for Persie to put them into the lead. And straight from the restart, a beautiful team goal was on the cards. A perfect turn around from the dutchman, followed by a perfect through ball, was followed by two perfect touches from “The OX”, as he is known, ending the move with a perfect finish. All in all, a perfect goal.

Just when everything looked to be going smoothly for Arsenal, a two footed tackle from Givet on Robin van Persie resulted in a red card for the Blackburn defender, but spectators were more worried than happy because the man down was none other than, Robin Van Persie. Seeing him jog back onto the pitch a few moments later, sent a sigh of relief through the crowd. The halftime whistle blew and the teams walked back to the dressing rooms with the score at 3-1.

If people expected a comeback, they, surely were disappointed, as once again back from the break, it was all Arsenal in front of a low-on-confidence Blackburn side. In the 51st minute, Arteta made it 4-1 by smashing the ball into the bottom corner after a poor clearance from the Blackburn back four. And the goals weren’t over yet. A few deft touches from Walcott making his way into the centre saw Chamberlain get onto the scoresheet again in the 54th minute.

Five goals to one said the scoreline. Then Coquelin, who had an impressive outing, picked out Persie in the centre who, with his weak right foot, got his third of the evening. 6-1 to Arsenal! As Oxlade Chamberlain was substituted, he got a standing ovation from the crowd for yet another fabulous performance. Thierry Henry and Bacary Sagna came on, much to the delight of the gunners. Tomas Rosicky, the unsung hero, too had an excellent game creating a lot of chances and showing complete commitment on the pitch. As spectators cleared the stands in injury time, they made their way back quickly to celebrate, after Henry capitalised on a defensive mistake cutting the ball in for the dutchman, who unselfishly, put it back for him, to end the game at 7-1.

A very fascinating scoreline for Arsenal supporters. Picking a man of the match would be a task in itself, with Persie scoring a hattrick, Chamberlain with a brace and a criticised Walcott with three assists, all particularly standing out. This was Arsenal’s first seven goal haul at the Emirates stadium in the Premier League.

A game to savour, a performance to respect.