Fancy footy KO’d by two Stamford sucker punches

I STRUGGLED to muster the enthusiasm to drag myself off the couch on Sunday afternoon. I’d been feeling decidedly ropy and the last thing I fancied was freezing my cods off on my motorbike traversing the capital to Stamford Bridge.

However, I couldn’t bear the prospect of not being present had the Gunners engineered an unlikely victory.

I wasn’t particularly optimistic but I certainly expected a less frustrating encounter than the previous week’s feeble 1-3 defeat to Fergie’s mob. I assumed that as the home side, the Blues would be forced to show sufficient ambition, thereby affording us the sort of space necessary for us to profit from our passing game.

I should’ve known better — Arsenal’s encounters with the top two have become thoroughly predictable.

Self-discipline might not be a character trait present in the Chelsea captain’s private life, but on the pitch Terry & Co. executed Ancelotti’s game plan to perfection. Let’s face it, it’s hardly rocket science.! If the opposition gets enough bodies between us and their goal, the chances are that our efforts to weave a mazy path through the midst of their massed ranks will flounder time and again. The home side didn’t even have to exercise much patience. Once we were forced to chase the game, after gifting them the opening goal, the Arsenal were always at risk of being undone on the counter, by such an incisive and clinical goal-getter as Drogba.

The truth of the matter is Arsène Wenger’s side have always been susceptible to a sucker punch, but this has become a much bigger problem because our one-dimensional modus operandi makes it far too easy to thwart us at the other end of the pitch. Perhaps Wenger was hoping Walcott’s pace might stretch Chelsea’s defence, offering us the alternative of the ball over the top. Theo seems to have regressed to a point where he’s unrecognisable as the same confident player who curried favour with Fabio Capello with a hat-trick against Croatia. However when it’s patently obvious to everyone on the planet that Shava isn’t suited to leading the Arsenal line, it’s hardly credible that a manager as astute as Wenger can obstinately continue to plough on, regardless.

!There’s no guarantee of us taking more than a point from the last three matches, if Arsène had chanced upon a stop-gap striking solution during the transfer window.

Even at his best, I’m still some way from being convinced Bendtner can provide a sufficiently consistent solution. But with the Dane still short on match fitness, not only would the arrival of an alternative option up front have placated the clamour from all those who are beginning to believe Wenger has lost the plot, but more importantly it might offer a psychological boost to a side that is starting to appear no less frustrated than us fans.

There came a point during Sunday’s debacle where it appeared frustration had got the better of Fabregas. & Despite (or due to) the Spaniard’s manful efforts, he appeared to visibly wilt as the clock ticked towards defeat. Without an upturn in the Arsenal’s fortunes and this campaign ending on a far more optimistic note, you have to wonder how much longer Cesc can be persuaded to resist the lure of a return to Spain, playing for a Barca side surrounded by experienced winners.

Fabregas’s talent deserves more tangible gratification than merely grafting his socks off every season, for the fiscal benefits of Champions League qualification. If we don’t stop the rot against the Scousers, this could come under serious threat if we get dragged back into a fourth place dogfight.

Personally I only ever harboured feint hopes of a serious title challenge, but after a taste of being back in contention, it would be a disaster to end up in the ignominious position of all the pundit’s pre-season predictions. With a resurgent Liverpool turning up buoyed by the triumph of their derby battle, tonight’s game could prove a telling test of our mettle. We can but pray the Gunners bounce back with a steely performance, gun-metal grey, instead of powder-puff pastel pink.