A tale of 9 minutes and an act of stubbornness

Sunday, January 22, 2011 was just another day for the humans all around the world. But for the crazy passionate EPL fans, it was much more than that. It was SUPER SUNDAY. Two back to back football matches, as pulsating as it could get. The first one was between two rising clubs, one fuelled by money from the East and other by the sheer tactical brilliance of its manager, who always get the best out of his talented pool of players. The second was more mouth watering – one of the most awaited fixtures everywhere with a history of its own. A match that is decided more by off-field tactics than the on-field display, the game between two hugely successful Premier League managers of the current batch. Everyone expected an electric 180 minutes that wouldn’t allow them to leave their seat, even for a loo break. These are the matches where you would love to listen to the half time analysis and the possible tactics. Alas, what we got was this – a frantic 9 minutes and an act of stubbornness.

Match 1- Manchester City vs Tottenham Hotspurs

This match was touted to be more exciting than the Gunners vs Reds clash, and why not? Two teams, one leading the pack and the other silently contesting for the title. Mancini’s men were depleted, agreed, but the Italian can’t make excuses with the money he has at his disposal. On the other hand, Harry Redknapp has done exceptionally well with his players. I personally like the free flow game his side play and although being a hard core supporter of Arsenal, I appreciate our biggest rival’s game.

The game started on a slow note and ended on a much faster one. The final scoreline was 3-2 in favor of the Blues. For those who have not witnessed the game, it is easy to imagine that it was an exciting, nail biting contest and will be worth watching again. Let me break your heart, fellas. Trust me, it was not even near that. If you really want to see the match, log on to YouTube and just search for the goals. It will be a 9 minute video that has it all. Yes, a frantic, crazy nine minutes that witnessed four goals. Two goals of the highest quality and two because of opposition mistakes. While the goals by Nasri and Bale (best of the lot) were a treat to watch, Lescott’s goal should be credited more to the Spurs defense. I won’t take credit from Defoe, but he should thank Savic for nicely laying the ball in his path with a very wrongly intercepted header.

The match ended with Mario Balotelli (WHY ALWAYS HIM?) winning and converting a penalty, thus keeping City at the top. But it was those 9 minutes which made the match. I was just appreciating the first goal when the second happened; and then the third and then the fourth. And then there was a lull. I do not remember Friedel and Hart making some super saves after that. The game was the tale of 9 minutes. Do watch it when you access YouTube and what you will witness is that no team is unbreakable. It all depends on your perseverance.

Match 2- Arsenal vs Manchester United

After the 8-2 defeat against the same opposition at Old Trafford in August, the Gunners fan remained in the stadium singing “We Love Arsenal” showing his faith in the Frenchman. But the boos he received in the 72^nd minute after substituting Chamberlain with Arshavin was evident of the fact that the fans have now started to lose patience. Six years without a trophy is unacceptable to most of the clubs of the stature of Arsenal. Of every Gunner present on the field, Chamberlain was the only one who looked threatening and created chances. Things could not have been worse for Arsene and unfortunately, Arsenal.

This was pretty much about the revenge. I geared up for this match and left my friends in between a booze party. The game started slowly and Oxelade Chamberlain was a surprising but appreciated addition to the first team in expense of Arshavin, who like Torres, has forgotten the basics of football. Theo Walcott is also going down a similar path and must be spending sleepless nights.

Arsene Wenger has always believed in grooming young players and Chamberlain is surely a good find. While he deserved applause for selecting him in such a crunch game, he himself chose to become the villain in the 72^nd minute.

After a slow start, the experience and flair in the Man United team started to show which resulted in a goal just before half time. They were creating chances and troubling our most vulnerable player, Djourou on the right side. I read somewhere a year ago that Djourou is not a footballer, leave alone a full back. I hate to admit but I have started agreeing. Wenger rightly substituted him with Nico Yennaris and he looked much more solid than the one whom Djourou, even though he is not a natural right back.

I believe it was an open game after the first half. We were creating chances and deservedly got the equalizer. Scorer was, yes you guessed it right, Robin Van Persie and assisted by Chamberlain. After a long time, we were matching Man United in every aspect. Even Mertersacker had his best game in the Arsenal shirt but then it happened. Arsene Wenger chose to exhibit his stubbornness.

If you ask my opinion, I have always had mixed feelings about Wenger. Sometimes, he outclasses everybody with his ability to sign the best of names for less moolah. And then he signs players like Denilson, Squilacci and Eboue that puts his scouting ability into question. The moment he made that substitution, you could feel he was acting stubbornly. Yes, that was what I felt immediately. I bet any manager would have not replaced Chamberlain. Replacing Walcott would have been a better option. But the stubbornness of Mr. Wenger got the better of him. His mentality, that young players do not have enough to play full 90 minutes, forced that change. His look was defiant and he wanted to prove to the world that he was right. I am not sure whether he saw the skipper’s reaction to the substitution. Van Persie was devastated when he saw Ox’s name on the sidelines, not the best sight from the man who has less than 18 months remaining on his contract and has not committed his future to the club. Well, after what happened in that 72^nd minute at the Emirates, if RVP does not sign a new contract, I will not blame him.

After the match, Wenger said that he does not need to justify every substitution but deep down inside, he knew he had made one of the worst substitutions of his career.

For me, these 10 minutes, 9 from the first and 1 from the second, defined that Sunday. In 180 minutes, 10 minutes made the game. And still, we care so much for the numbers!!