By Boris Mellor
April 15 2007

Just when you think your bus will never turn up two turn up at all once, and so it is with Arsenal midfield goal scorers.I won’t claim a premonition, but on walking into the stadium I bumped into an old acquaintance who was bemoaning the lack of midfield goals.

I was feeling confident, I had dismissed the idea of a Bolton bogey, after all they haven’t beaten Arsenal at home for 45 years, I wish we had more bogey teams like that. Anyway I did remark that you never know today might be the day that a midfielder scores.

 

Not very profound was it? Hardly a prediction, except that as Wenger says confidence is hard to gain and easy to lose, and that applies to football fans as well. My view is that most things come to an end and last a shorter time than anticipated. After all nobody expected the end of the Roman Empire, or the Spanish Inquisition, and bad runs in football are no different, just look at Sunderland. Mind you getting relegated is not the best method of ending a bad run; it’s a bit like using leeches to cure anaemia.

 

Suddenly Arsenal’s winter of discontent ended in glorious summer, of course not without all the usual twists and turns nothing is ever that simple with the Gunners. But from what was all doom and gloom only 24 hours before (Big Sam’s mind games that Arsenal can’t afford not to be in Europe, I bet Arsene posted that on dressing room wall.) came the realisation that two wins will probably see us back in the CL. However lets not get ahead of ourselves, one game at a time sweet Arsene, as the song goes.

 

Groundhog Day

 

Arsenal started brightly enough, but within eleven minutes they did the usual and lost concentration on a free kick, Lehmann could only parry the header and Anelka was there to put it away. Please can we stop booing him? Every season we boo him, and every season he scores, that is Groundhog Day. I am convinced if we just ignore him he won’t be able to score, crazy theory I know, but it’s like a bloody pantomime, rather than boo we should shout “behind you” in the slim hope of alerting the Gunners defence (wouldn’t that be even more like a pantomime? Editor).

 

Heads dropped, fortunately the players are made of sterner stuff than the fans and they got stuck in, unleashing attack after attack. The crowd eventually got its confidence back and began to urge the team on. Within 20 minutes, thanks to Rosicky, the Gunners were back on level terms, he battled for the ball, beating the Bolton defence and finished from a few yards out.

 

Not often that the team goes in equal at half time.

 

I’d rather have a burger than a goal

Where were you when Fabregas scored his first goal of the 2006-7 Premiership campaign? Boris had a great laugh singing “I’d rather have a burger than a goal” at the sheepishly returning punters in the upper tier. There were less than you might think, but still far too many, that will learn em.

 

And what a great goal it was, the young magician made time stand still as he carefully took all the time he needed to tee up the perfect shot. I didn’t even hear one idiot shout “shoot”, mind you my hearing is not what it was. I kept thinking surely they will get the ball off him, he is taking too long, but no he took just long enough. The cheer was as loud as that for the winning goal against Man U, Cesc ran three times around the whole stadium and then jumped onto Wenger’s back who piggy backed him into the centre circle. That’s how important the goal was (sorry I made that last bit up, but boy did he, and the crowd, celebrate).

 

Groundhog Day returns

 

After that Arsenal had loads of chances and missed them. Bolton also gave us the usual squeaky bum time, but with only two shots on target there wasn’t that much squeaking. I really enjoyed Bolton complaining about time wasting, pot and kettle eh? After all who can forget Stelios’s imitation of an old man with a Zimmer frame, on being substituted last year?

Goal Attempts:
Arsenal	19
Bolton	6
On Target:
Arsenal	9
Bolton	2

Big Whinging Sam

Sam says he loves it when Wenger moans, it shows they are doing their job and winning. And you know I love it when you moan Sam, bogey team my arse.

 

 

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