Not only does Sagna police his own patch effectively, but he has time to shield the right hand side of the centre back zone. He is far better in the air than most spectators care to notice, quite often he will clear the arial threat on that side. Now Toure isn’t tall, but he must be at least as tall as Sagna, yet in defence his headers are a matter of hit or miss, usually the latter. How many times do opposition players get a free header against the Gunners?

The Logic of Wenger

I can understand Wenger’s logic in placing Toure at right back, after all Eboue hardly coped with Sagna’s departure at the Bridge, and who would trust Hoyte after the Man U cup game.  So the defence did not get fully organised until halfway through the second half of this game, still making errors, but perhaps with only 10 men that was understandable enough.

I hate to be such a killjoy, for it was a great comeback, and at 2-0 down and with only ten men, I doubt if many Arsenal fans gave the team a cat in hell’s chance. I know I didn’t, and I know the several Gooners I was sharing text messages with had also given up hope, indeed Alex and me set up the official “No Hope Club”, by giving up any hope we felt so much better, and by resolutely refusing to be tricked into false hope at 2-2 felt we had contributed to the ultimate comeback.

Yes a great comeback, but still no reason for false hope, for if the poorest Bolton side in years can score two against Arsenal then just imagine what Man U will be able to do, if the defence doesn’t sort itself out very quickly.

Wenger and the Myth of Substitutes, and Adebayor

One myth doing the rounds  is that Wenger doesn’t substitute early, and when he does it isn’t effective, the mere fact that several times this season he has substituted between 60 and 70 minutes does little to change this conventional wisdom. A few years back I remember him substituting Upson with Keown on 45 minutes, and Upson was not injured, and of course his infamous half time subbing of Sol Campbell.

Of course how effective subs are also depends on who they are.  One problem Wenger has had, due to injuries, is that the bench has held little threat at times, but now if Walcott can keep fit there is an added menace. Adebayor knockers should note how much he contributes to the game even when he is not scoring. The combination of Walcott and Ade ripped the Bolton team apart far more effectively than the eleven man Arsenal had managed up to 60 minutes.  Ade played a key role in the build up to the Hleb penalty; and if RvP had not been rusty I suspect the Gunners would have won earlier and by a larger margin.

Yes a great comeback, and the lads showed spirit. However Wenger knows there is quite a lot of work to be done between now and Wednesday; but at least he has something to build on.

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