Now that really hurt
The Frenchman probably wanted the ground to swallow him up, but there was no hiding place and their chances of finishing ahead of Manchester United and Chelsea this season now seem slimmer.
To make matters worse, Spanish midfielder Cesc Fabregas is a doubt for Wednesday’s Champions League encounter with Barcelona. He suffered a bang to the knee after a challenge with Craig Gardner, the Birmingham midfield player.
His absence would prove critical, yet you can be fairly sure the Arsenal captain will let nothing stand in his way as the Gunners prepare for the European encounter.
It could prove to be the game that decides which way their season swings. Victory will spark a resurgence and belief that the North London outfit do still have the ability to clinch silverware this season, yet a defeat will leave them with a hangover and a whole lot of “what if’s”.
At Birmingham, the game should have been tied up. After Samir Nasri was sprung from the substitutes bench to drill home an 81st minute goal, Arsenal had the perfect opportunity to put the game beyond doubt.
Andrei Arshavin could not take advantage of a clear sight of goal with two minutes left on the clock though, and as his effort sliced wide, Arsenal crumbled.
Birmingham switched play to the other end of the field and eventually found the leveller, as goalkeeper Manuel Almunia shovelled another goal-keeping error into his own net after Sagna’s clearance had freakishly ricocheted off Kevin Phillips.
Wenger looked distraught, almost lost for words.
“We were not killer enough in front of goal and the free kick against us is the last thing you want with a minute to go. Unfortunately we were punished. Of course this is a blow to us in the title race, but we will continue to fight.
“We felt we were never under threat, and I have to say they defended well. But the pitch was impossible to play football on. We tried to pass as well as we could, but the grass was a massive handicap. But why should we not continue to chase for the title? From the result here, of course we are frustrated and disappointed. But we must keep going.”
Away from the matters of a torn up pitch, Wenger also went on to question Gardner’s challenge on Fabregas. You could not help but think he was clutching at straws and attempting mind games ahead of the Barcelona game though, given that the midfielder went on to complete the whole game.
“Gardner’s tackle on Fabregas was a bad one – one more,” stated Wenger. “He was caught just below the knee and if that is not a foul then I don’t know what a foul is. Am I suggesting there were a lot of bad tackles? Don’t try and start drawing me in to make this another controversy.
“Will Cesc be fit for our Champions League game against Barcelona on Wednesday? I don’t know.”
Arsenal will not go down without a fight, you can be sure of that. After all, this is a side that were written off at the start of 2010 and have proved that – if nothing else – they are no longer the pushover they could have been accused of last term.
One man that needs to stand up and be counted in the coming weeks is Theo Walcott. He has been criticised on a number of occasions this season, and on this evidence it was easy to see why. Potential can only last so long, and now aged 21, Walcott must mature. He was missing for large periods of the game, and struggled to find a path past Liam Ridgewell.
Then, when he did, the England forward failed to find the clinical finish that is required to win championship races.
On 18 minutes he found a route around the back of the Birmingham defence, yet his finish was unconvincing as he poked an effort into the midriff of onrushing goalkeeper Joe Hart. Walcott was eventually substituted, along with Tomas Rosicky, and it was only in those final 20 minutes that Arsenal came to life thanks to the invention of Nasri and Arshavin.
Birmingham’s Ridgewell said: “I thought I did well against Walcott this time and I saw him off. But then Nasri came on and you are posed with a new problem altogether. We deserved the point though, I thought. Super Kev was in the right place at the right time and that’s why he has been so good over the years.”
The late goal was a 250th career strike for Phillips, and Ridgewell went on: “I think people who come here know what they are going to get, and hopefully we can take that into our away games now. We have Liverpool next, but there is no reason why we can not get a result against them.”
MATCH RATING: *** – This game took 75 minutes to liven up, but when it did the excitement was incredible. The impact of Phillips’ late goal could have a long lasting effect on the title race.
REFEREE: Howard Webb (S Yorkshire) 6 – Wenger was frustrated with his display because he felt Craig Gardner’s first-half tackle on Cesc Fabregas was unfair, but Webb seemed to have a pretty consistent afternoon.
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