Bolton Again

How Arsenal must detest their annual trip to the Reebok Stadium. The uncomfortable clash of the beautiful game with the brutish game. And what makes it all so painful for Arsene Wenger is that in recent seasons, it is Sam Allardyce’s pragmatic and unlovely brand of football which has triumphed – one way or another.

At its worst it is football as Fred Flintstone might have played it. Unashamedly physical and aggressive. Powerful and direct. And, for the most part, without finesse. The contrast to Arsenal could hardly be more stark, but it would be unjust to imply that Bolton Wanderers are entirely devoid of sophistication. Indeed, their victory over Arsenal owes much to Diouf who, for all his pneumatic lips, his spitting and his diving, is a very good player technically, and Nicolas Anelka, a genuinely class act who appears to wear Bolton’s colours with the faintly distasteful air of a gourmet in a greasy spoon café.

But the manner of that victory indicates that it could not have been achieved without outside assistance. To begin with, there was Arsenal’s finishing, which apart from Gilberto’s headed goal continued to disappoint and exasperate – especially in view of their wonderful approach work. In the first minute, Theo Walcott’s cross presented Adebayor with a chance from 6 yards, which he spurned. Five minutes later, Eboue’s dangerous cross nearly panicked two Bolton defenders into an own goal. On the stroke of half time, Freddie Ljungberg missed from 3 yards and in a second half dominated by the visitors, he was one of three Arsenal players to hit the woodwork.

Add to that the Gunners’ defensive errors. Bolton’s first goal, Faye’s header from a corner, was made easier by the fact that Lehmann was blocked and for some reason it was Fabregas who was trying to mark Nolan – as unequal a contest physically as you are likely to see. Their second was vintage Anelka, rolling back the years as he cut in from the left and unleashed a terrific shot into the far corner – but he was able to do so courtesy of Kolo Toure’s failure to close down quickly enough. And Anelka’s second was created by Hleb losing possession and allowed because the linesman failed through incompetence to signal offside.

The idea that Arsenal were the architects of their own defeat is, however, an interpretation which is less than just to Bolton and far too lenient towards the referee. Mike Dean should certainly have red carded Davies for violently pushing Eboue in the chest in the 20th minute and many referees would have also dismissed Fortune for his challenge on Walcott 17 minutes later. But Mr Dean, like Uriah Rennie, seems sometimes to operate according to a set of laws of his own invention.

So, a saga of missed chances, mistakes and official ineptitude combined to produce a defeat which is popularly regarded as fatal to Arsenal’s championship aspirations. We shall see.