Less than a month ago, Arsene Wenger was facing tough questions over his future as Arsenal manager.
His side were ten points adrift of their north London rivals, recovering from a humiliating night in Milan, and were staring at a sixth-consecutive trophyless season after being knocked out of the FA Cup by Sunderland. What a difference four games make.
“Are you watching, Tottenham?” the home fans roared as the final whistle blew at the Emirates on Monday night and Arsenal moved to within a point of third-placed Spurs. Thomas Vermaelen’s last-minute winner secured a 2-1 victory against Newcastle United, and the bitter cries of the black and white fans were lost in the red frenzy.
On this tense night in North London, Wenger’s team made Premier League history. Vermaelen’s goal in the fifth minute of injury time meant a fourth-consecutive win from behind for the Gunners, following their successes against Sunderland, Liverpool and Tottenham, a league record.
Newcastle took the lead within the first 15 minutes, when Hatem Ben Arfa sent the ball flying past Wojciech Szczesny. A delighted Pardew was still congratulating his players when Robin Van Persie received a cross from Walcott and fired the ball into the back of the net, equalising the game within 50 seconds of the restart. The crowd leapt to their feet, and the voices of thousands cheered: “Robin Van Persie, he scores when he wants.” The captain’s goal was his 33rd of the season.
Pardew’s team went on the defensive, holding out for a 1-1 draw while Wenger’s men maintained possession of the ball. It was only in the last minute of the second half that their exhaustion took over, and Vermaelen raced down the pitch, latching onto a loose ball from Theo Walcott to tuck it low past Tim Krul. The Emirates exploded as Vermaelen disappeared under a sea of teammates.
Arsenal’s euphoria was slightly marred by Van Persie, who was held back by his team mates as he hurled abuse at Krul. The crowd had accused the goalkeeper of time-wasting throughout the match, with Newcastle clearly aiming to leave London with only a draw. Van Persie reflected the taunts of his fans as he accused Krul of deliberately wasting precious match time. The two Dutchmen were booked for their spat.
However, the incident did little to temper Arsenal’s joy after a series of failed chances to score. There were three big misses in the second half. 66 minutes in, Walcott cut the right back for Rosicky, whose shot flew wide, squandering a good chance. After an Arsenal free-kick for Ben Arfa’s foul on Van Persie, the substitute Gervinho scuffed a low ball from Walcott, and missed a clear chance to score. In the last few minutes, Song swung in a ball from the left that Vermaelen met with a header, which Krul saved brilliantly.
The last-gasp win for Arsenal was a remarkable recovery and a relief for Wenger after the criticism he has suffered this season. Last month’s chants of “no more Wenger” were replaced last night by “We love you Arsenal.”
Player ratings:
Arsenal
Wojciech Szczesny 6
Could do nothing about Ben Arfa’s goal, and had little else to do in the game. He kept his concentration well on the few occasions he was called upon.
Bacary Sagna 7
An assured performance behind Walcott, Sagna gave the winger options by overlapping well, and putting a number of troublesome crosses into Tim Krul’s area.
Thomas Vermaelen 8
Marshalled the slippery Demba Ba with little difficulty, and popped up at the right time by slotting home Arsenal’s winner with almost the last kick of the game.
Laurent Koscielny 7 (Booked 77 min)
Although Demba Ba rarely worried Arsenal’s back line, when he did, Koscielny and co were on hand to crowd him out.
Kieran Gibbs 6
Displayed flashes of the flair seen in previous Arsenal left-backs Ashley Cole and Gael Clichy when going forward, but was caught too narrow and allowed Ben Arfa to cut across him for the goal.
Alexander Song 7
Was a cool head in the centre of the park, and helped to nip most of Newcastle’s attacks in the bud before they could begin.
Tomas Rosicky 6
On fire in recent weeks, but the midfielder struggled to dictate the pace of the game, and couldn’t free himself from the dogged Tiote in the centre of the park.
Mikel Arteta 6
Had a quiet game, but was clever enough to see where Arsenal were most dangerous and shifted the ball out to Walcott as often as he could.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain 5
Rarely had the beating of Danny Simpson. Disappointing considering the way he teased Patrice Evra in the game against Manchester United last month.
Theo Walcott 8
Davide Santon was replaced at half time by James Perch presumably because he was tormented by Walcott throughout the first period. Perch didn’t have any better luck, and could not prevent Walcott crossing for Arsenal’s winner at the death.
Robin van Persie 7 (Booked 95 min)
Showed his technical prowess in the first half by bringing Walcott’s cross under control, and firing past Krul for his 26th Premier League goal this season.
Subs:
Lukasz Fabianski
Andre Santos
