A great performance by the team and a comfortable win in the end - I can't remember many more relaxing games to watch recently. I know people will put a lot of it down to the early red card but we were already 1 - 0 up and threatening more at that point. I thought the red card and penalty decision was harsh, it didn't look like the defender knew Chamakh just nipped in front of him and was caught. By the letter of the law it should be a red card but I think a yellow would have been punishment enough. It was also debatable whether it was inside the area or not.
But even so it was an accomplished performance. I think the main difference yesterday was the penetration in the final third, not only did we control the game with lots of possession (like usual), we made the possession count by turning it into chances. Walcott was the main threat early on and gave the Blackpool left back a torrid time, and ended up with a hat-trick, and it could have been more. I think Walcott gets a lot of criticism (even on Match of the Day last night after scoring a hat-trick!) and didn't have a good season last time round but I really think he can be a big threat for us this season. He's such an exicting player and even makes watching England bearable sometimes....
Good to see Arshavin have a good game as well. He has come in for a bit of criticism recently and there have been doubts about his fitness but I think he showed some of the quality we know he possesses. More of the same please Andrey. Also a word for Tomas Rosicky who has been in top form in the two games so far this season. He has had terrible injury problems in the past but seems to be coming back to his best and was at the fulcrum of much of the play yesterday. He's been out for so long to have him back on form is almost like an unexpected bonus - he could prove very valuable this season if he can stay fit.
Finally onto Chamakh, who had a mixed game. I blame that mainly on the fact that I put him in my fantasy football team.... but despite some suspect finishing I think he looks very promising. It takes time for new players to settle in but I think he looks a threat up front, and was very pleased to see him get his goal after those misses, to ensure his confidence is not affected. It was nice to see crosses coming in with someone trying to get on the end of them rather than fizzing across an empty box as was the case too often last season...
So overall a good performance, but lets not get carried away, we have a tough trip to Blackburn next week and that is likely to be a much stiffer test. No disrespect meant to Blackpool, who I am looking forward to seeing more of this season, they look to attack and play good football which is not always the case with newly promoted teams. I expect there will be some transfer activity this week so keep your eye on here and we'll update with any activity involving Arsenal (and Chelsea).
Have a good week,
Mr F
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