Carroll leap forces Gunners to reassess

SOME defeats during a long season are gone and forgotten in an instant, others are quickly dismissed as ‘just one of those days’; but Arsenal’s set-back against Newcastle United yesterday is the kind of defeat that requires a complete and total reassessment of how the campaign is being approached.

Without doubt the result was a disappointment for a team aiming to peg back Chelsea at the top of the Premier League, but it was the nature of the performance – and ease with which Newcastle stifled the home side – that left the even bigger mark on Arsenal’s psyche.

And Arsene Wenger knows it.

His pre-match assessment of his team’s campaign so far was that it had been ‘very encouraging’ and that he was ‘very confident for the future’.

But after Andy Carroll’s 45th-minute goal earned Newcastle a well-deserved victory at the Emirates, becoming the second team to win there in the league already this season after West Brom won 3-2, Wenger admitted that assessment has to be changed.

“Directly after the game we change it, yes,” he said. “We had an opportunity to come back to two points behind Chelsea and we didn’t take the chance. It’s disappointing; it’s a big disappointment for us today.

“We did not look sharp from the start. We wanted it but we never found a second gear.

“Our home form is a concern because we have now lost two games and also against Birmingham and West Ham it was only struggling wins. Play is very tight here and when you are not in full form we have problems to play through the lines. When we score the first goal it’s all right but as long the opponents can sit deep we have a problem.”

That problem may be more complicated than expected because Newcastle did not arrive in north London and put 11 men behind the ball.

In fact they played two up front and, astonishingly, statistics show they enjoyed 51 per cent of possession – a claim that very few away sides have been able to make at the Emirates in recent history.

All the old issues that have led to Arsenal’s lack of trophies were there for all to see; over-fussy in attack, out-tackled in midfield, out-muscled in the air and defeated, in the end, by a goalkeeping error – Lucasz Fabianski failing to collect a long free-kick from Joey Barton and allowing Carroll to head past him into an empty net.

“I believe today we were never in full flow but we played against a good team who are a team of men, strong physically and mature,” insisted Wenger.

“We put ourselves in a bad position with the goal we conceded just before half-time. I think Fabianski had not a lot to do and was maybe too confident to take this ball. It was not a technical mistake, it was a problem of timing. Maybe he thought he would not be challenged.”

Whatever Fabianski’s excuse it would be unfair to suggest his error was the reason Arsenal lost because Newcastle defended excellently, grew increasingly confident in midfield and thoroughly deserved their victory, which comes hot on the heels of a 5-1 thrashing of Sunderland last week.

Both teams entered the match under the cloud of tabloid stings that dominated talk on the terraces but probably had little impact on the game itself.

Newcastle manager Chris Hughton, who awoke to lurid stories about an alcohol-fuelled night on the town for his star players Kevin Nolan and Carroll, was even more dismissive, refusing to comment at all other than to admit Carroll had been “mentally strong” to withstand the tabloid intrusion and still produce an outstanding performance on the pitch.

In fact, Carroll was the key man for Newcastle, battling admirably for every ball and causing Arsenal serious problems in defence on a day when nothing really went right for Wenger’s men.

With Fabricio Coloccini a man-mountain at the back and Cheik Tiote equally good in midfield Newcastle survived an early scare when the otherwise-quiet Cesc Fabregas hit the bar with a free-kick to earn a real footing in the match.

Their winner came from a long, diagonal free-kick by Barton from the half-way line, met by a stupendous leap from Carroll and an indecisive flap from Fabianski.

Wenger responded by bringing on Andriy Arshavin and van Persie – who has been out with an ankle injury since August – and in a brief purple patch after the break Arsenal saw a corner bounce onto the crossbar and Theo Walcott hit the same spot after bursting on to a Jack Wilshere through-ball.

But Mike Williamson also went close for Newcastle at the other end as the visitors, excellent in defence and midfield, retained a grip on the game before Arsenal eventually had Laurent Koscielny sent off for a professional foul on Nile Ranger – a decision which Wenger says he will appeal.

But the headlines really should be about Newcastle.

“I thought it was a magnificent team effort. It’s a very, very difficult place to come and get a result, let alone a victory,” said Hughton.

“It is an achievement to have 51% possession here because the way they play there won’t be many teams who come here and have more possession. I think once we gained possession we were able to keep it very well. I’m very pleased.

“And in Carroll we have a player who is developing. Apart from having a prowess in the air there are other areas he’s developing. He’s given us a mobility that can stretch defenders. He’s working hard on his game and is going in the right direction.’’

The big question Gunners fans will be asking today is can the same be said for Arsenal?

This could be the time to re-assess.