The Emirates Stadium is no happy hunting ground for Blackburn Rovers. In the previous 3 Premiership seasons they have conceded 12 goals and taken 0 points. So when Sam Allardyce’s men stepped out onto the carpet pitch in North London with a back four made entirely of full backs, an upset was perhaps out of the question.
However, 4 minutes into the game, Vito Manone failed to collect Paul Robinson’s free kick and N’Zonzi looped the ball into the back of the net, giving the away side an unlikely 1-0 lead. Arsenal responded with new boy Vermaelen, who fired home from the edge of the area, after being set up by Cesc Fabregas.
Arsenal began to settle and dictate terms, but once again found themselves trailing when David Dunn’s deflected shot found its way into the goal. This was a classic example of the good and the bad with Arsenal – relying primarily on Sagna and Clichy to provide width during possession, but ultimately leaving themselves open during counterattacks.
Van Persie levelled on 33 minutes, with Arshavin sending the home team into the lead 4 minutes later. Both times, Fabregas was the provider, who then took it upon himself to settle the 3 points on the hour mark. However, prior to this, Blackburn were denied a clear penalty when Dunn was fouled in the area by Vermaelen.
Naturally, Allardyce referred to the penalty shout as a turning point in the game and in doing so seemed to forego his team’s lack of invention and endeavour during the match. Rovers achieved 35% ball possession and managed a 58% pass succession rate, compared to Arsenal’s 83%.
Fabregas (who else) found substitute Theo Walcott in the 75 minute, taking his statistics in the game to 4 assists and 1 goal. Blackburn can be forgiven for not nullifying the threat of the Arsenal captain, who causes a major headache for opponents by operating from deep where there is inevitably more time and space.
Danish international, Nicklas Bendtner completed the rout, giving his team a 6-2 victory and a perfect afternoon for the Gunners fans.
