Arsenal outgunned in wild west London shoot-out

It was hard to decide which was the most surprising aspect of Arsenal’s capitulation at QPR — the fact that Arsene Wenger’s men failed to show up, or the way Mark Hughes’ mixed bunch of desperados drove the shot-shy gunslingers out of town.

Because this showdown in west London was like something out of a Hollywood western — part High Noon, part Magnificent Seven, with a touch of Rio Bravo thrown in.

The stakes were high, no doubt. An eighth successive victory for the all-conquering Gunners would have taken then six points clear of Tottenham in the race for third place and pretty well guaranteed Champions League football. Another defeat for Rangers would have left them looking down the barrel at an immediate return to the championship, especially with other teams around them in the relegation zone winning.

So for QPR to walk away with not only three points but plaudits from Wenger was an outcome even a Hollywood scriptwriter might have thought too implausible.

But the ingredients were all there in this enigmatic Rangers side who combine the Good, the Bad and the Ugly at times. Joey Barton, for example, was more good than bad or ugly on Saturday. The QPR captain had been booed by his team’s supporters 10 days earlier and then dropped against Sunderland last week. He used his programme notes to talk of his anguish, and call for supporters to get behind him and the rest of the team to make Loftus Road a fortress, and the local townsfolk responded by cheering their team to the rafters as they drove the bad guys out of town.

If Barton was the man in black, Shaun Derry was the grizzled old pro, putting in another age-defying shift that made it all the more remarkable that he was only brought in by former manager Neil Warnock as a temporary measure when QPR were at the wrong end of the Championship three years ago.

While Derry was the anchor man in midfield, his supporting cast provided the bullets, with Adel Taarabt and Samba Diakite scoring either side of Theo Walcott’s equaliser for Arsenal to see off the Reds.

Barton decided to play a supporting role rather than take centre stage, going about his business quietly but effectively, although he couldn’t resist one madcap moment — quite literally — when he picked up a red fez thrown from the crowd and put it on Taarabt’s head as the Moroccan celebrated his first goal in the Premier League.

Without irony Derry said: “You have to take your hat off to Joey. He put his heart into his words today.”

It was a similar story for Taarabt, who in western terms would be billed “The Kid” — headstrong, brilliant, but in need of paternal guidance, provided in this instance by Hughes. Taarabt was asked to play a more disciplined role, helping to negate the threat of Bacary Sagna and Walcott on Arsenal’s right flank, and he did so superbly while also opening the scoring with a beauty, leaving Thomas Vermaelen for dead before curling a cracker past Wojiciech Szczesny from 20 yards. “Adel has been a free spirit in the past, playing off the cuff, which is fine at a lower level,” said Hughes.

“But in the Premier League you need to have discipline in your play. He understood he needed to do the defensive work, not flit in and out. “If he listens to what we tell him he will be a top Premier League player.”

QPR have the toughest run-in of the relegation-threatened sides, but they have seen of Liverpool and Arsenal in successive home games and Hughes added: “If we can win all our remaining home games and pick up something on our travels, then I feel we will have enough.”

Wenger lived up to his reputation as a whinger once again. This time the Arsenal manager was scathing in his criticism of his players, who looked well below their best. “The focus was missing,” he said, hinting at complacency from a side that perhaps believed they needed merely to turn up and collect three points.

After Walcott equalised by shooting against the post and then putting the rebound past Paddy Kenny in the 37th minute, Robin van Persie had two chances to put Arsenal ahead. But the Dutch striker was below par and Kenny saved both efforts, the second one spectacularly. Shortly afterwards Jamie Mackie took advantage of a slip by Vermaelen, who had a shocker, and set up Diakite to fire home the winner with his first goal since joining on loan from Nancy in January. Arsenal never looked like recovering.