A goal and two assists from Cesc Fabregas led Arsenal to a dramatic victory at the Brittania. (Photo: ZumaPress)
For much of the match the play carried the same themes that we’ve seen from Arsenal since the sale of Thierry Henry: utter dominance of possession with beautiful play leading to few opportunities as the young Gunners searched for the perfect pass that would break down the opposition before they would acquiesce to a shot.
But a match that looked like a re-run where Arsenal’s will was test by another heart-wrenching injury, the Gunners would get two late goals, turning a match that seemed ordained to end even, leaving the Brittania Saturday with their first win at the venue: 3-1.
An early goal off a Roy Delap throw-in by Danny Pugh – making his first ever start – had Stoke up within eight minutes, but Nicklas Bendtner headed Arsenal even before half. As the final whistle approached, Arsenal got a penalty kick goal from Cesc Fabregas and another tally from defender Thomas Vermaelen – his seventh in league – both against ten men.
The reason why Stoke was at a numerical disadvantage has been the headline story coming out of this match. Ryan Shawcross was given a straight red card in the game’s 66th minute. BBC Radio was reporting that Ramsey had damage to both the fibula and tibia of his right leg.
Aaron Ramsey, whose leg is being treated in this picture, left in the 66th minute after a tackle from Ryan Shawcross. The Stoke City defender was given a straight red card by referee Peter Walcott. The challenge appeared all accident, no maliciousness. Ramsey was administered oxygen on the pitch and was taken by ambulance directly to a local hospital. Players on both sides were seen with heads in their hands, distraught over the injury. Shawcross left the pitch on the edge of tears. The injury came two years and four days after Arsenal forward Eduardo suffered a similarly traumatic injury at St. Andrew's against Birmingham City. (Photo: ZumaPress)
The 19-year-old Ramsey, in his second season with Arsenal after being brought-in from Cardiff City last season, was given oxygen on the pitch and was stretched into an ambulance, which had been pulled-up to the field’s edge. He was taken to a local hospital to stabilize the injury.
At the time, Arsenal was dominating play. Stoke was rarely seeing the ball, pinned deep in their end by Arsenal play that saw Cesc Fabregas continuously threading passes through the Potters’ stalwart if immobile defense.
But despite being able to find the gaps in Stoke’s back line, Arsenal showed their customary reticent to test Thomas Sorensen – their unwillingness to shoot continuously allowing the Stoke defenders to recover from the disadvantage passed from Fabregas and Samir Nasri constantly created.
It was the embodiment of the common description of Arsenal football: beautiful, fluid, but ultimately, they want to dribble the ball over the line.
All this came with the score 1-1, with Arsenal having responded to Stoke’s early goal with a decidedly non-Arsenal goal.
A short throw-in to Fabregas on the right flank saw the Spaniard pick out Nicklas Bendtner at the far post. Tasked with winning a battle against Ryan Shawcross and Andy Wilkinson, the tall Dane headed home the first of two Fabregas assists equalizing in the 32nd minute.
Bendtner’s physical presence was a constant force in the match, and although he won few battles against a stout Stoke defense, his willingness to content balls cast a stark contrast to the last two months of Arsenal football where, with the Gunners missing both Bendtner and Robin van Persie, Arsène Wenger’s crew was forced to be even more one dimensional that usually. Whereas before Arsenal did not have the option of trying to win aerial battles, the club’s first goal on Saturday came because they could vary their attack.
Bendtner’s header equalizer Danny Pugh’s, with the Stoke midfielder heading home the Potter’s first goal in the eighth minute.
Pugh found himself with a golden chance after Roy Delap’s long throw-in was won by Ryan Shawcross, and while the central defender did a poor job on his attempt on goal, his miss-hit sent a bouncing ball to the far post, where Shawcross lunged at and found his first league goal with Stoke.
That goal threatened to hold-up for Stoke, as the minutes after Ramsey’s injury saw a momentum-less Arsenal unable to break through the Potter defense. Suddenly, all of Arsenal’s runs were less ambitious, and the passes that attempted to find them were clubbed through the channels into touch. Arsenal looked out-on-their-feet.
Around the 86th minute, things started to change. With Eduardo inserted for Samir Nasri, Bendtner started to come off the line for the ball, his physicality allowing Arsenal to hold possession in at the edge of the Stoke back line and play in-and-out of the defense.
This further (if slightly) opened up the back line, and with Gunner runs finding new space to move into, Arsenal began to look like they had a goal in them.
It was Bendtner that ultimately created that match-winning goal, with the help of Pugh.
At the end of the box with the ball at his feet, Bendtner attempted to flick a pass into the space between the line and Thomas Sørensen. The pass was lifted about four feet off the ground and onto Pugh’s extended right arm, with a penalty kick immediately whistled.
Fabregas, who had a spot kick saved by Sørensen earlier this season, hit a confident strike low and to within 18 inches of the ‘keeper’s left post. Sørensen got a hand on it, but the shot had enough power to give Arsenal their match-winner in the ninetieth minute.
In the Arsenal celebration you saw this match had come to be something special. Fabregas, after the ball crossed the line, ran across goal to the Arsenal supporter’s section, his jersey folded up over his face. Then, realizing why the match had become important, Fabregas became reverential. In front of the supporters. he slapped his lower left leg twice, a clear reference to Ramsey.
When Thomas Vermaelen put home a Fabregas pass three minutes into stoppage time, the elated celebrations of three points won confirmed that the players had seen the same themes in the match as the viewers. With their 3-1 result, Arsenal was not going to be derailed by the same dominate-but-don’t-convert story, and in the face of the type of heart-breaking injury that had derailed their season two years ago against Birmingham City.
It is the type of clichéd parallel that feels like a reach in most sports commentary, but on Saturday, the story felt real, and in the celebrations from the young Gunners who were reliving St. Andrew’s, you saw the reality of the correlation.
If the match of February 2008 was seen as a turning point in that Arsenal title pursuit, Saturday’s match could prove the same. The early evidence is this year’s table. With Chelsea’s loss the Manchester City, Arsenal is only three points off the league lead.
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