Arsenal v Rovers - Match Report

Michael Schumacher once said about a Grand Prix event: "I was in second gear for most of the race and still managed to win." That was rather the case with Arsenal last night. The Gunners weren't by any means at their imperious best - in the first half, they looked as ordinary as I've seen them for a long time. If they were playing against another top class team, they could have been a couple of goals down at half time. Rovers did give a reasonably good account of themselves in the first 45 minutes. Short was excellent in the first half, leading by example, and nearly scoring from an Emerton cross. I just wish Craig was 5 years younger - his legs did tire in the 2nd half (along with quite a few Rovers players it has to be said.) On the half-hour, we carved out another chance. Lucas Neill blasted the ball towards goal, but Dickov couldn't manage to get on the end of it. Playing for Leicester on the final day of last season, Dickov opened the scoring at Highbury against his former club - initially giving Gunners fans a bit of a scare before they came back to win 2-1 and preserve their long unbeaten record. Dickov is like one of those little Blackpool ponies that travels up and down the beach all day. He'll work all day, and you can't knock Paul for effort - but in terms of overall quality, he's not a thoroughbred stallion. Unfortunately, the solid Rovers display in the first half didn't continue in the second period. We were sloppy after the break - and you can't afford to be careless against a team like Arsenal, even if they appear to be in 2nd gear. Poor defending for the Gunners' first goal. Bergkamp was allowed time and space to cross the ball. From my position at Highbury behind the goal on the other side, I wasn't sure of the identity of the Rovers culprit guilty of allowing the Bergkamp cross to come in - but it was obviously bad defending. Henry was then allowed to squeeze in between our central defence and volley the cross into the net. From that point, we seemed to fall apart. We didn't once look capable of scoring in the 2nd half. It was boys against men - we simply don't have enough quality in our side. There's a chronic lack of width down our flanks, which means we are too one-dimensional in our play and don't open up the opposisition defence. For Arsenal's second goal, it was yet more bad defending from us. When will we ever learn? From a set-piece, Gilberto was allowed to rise unchallenged against a static Rovers defence, to head the corner into the back of the net. Fabregas may have got the final touch. Ten minutes later - a shocking pass from us led to a third Arsenal goal from their sub, the young Spaniard Reyes. Our subs, De Pedro and Yorke, it's fair to say, weren't quite so effective. Dwight moved around the pitch with all the speed of a Caribbean slug. There could have been more goals. Pires wasted a good opportunity to make it 4-0, and an Henry cross came close to going past Friedel. Match report written by Anti Euro Smiths Fan

Arsenal: Lehmann, Lauren, Toure, Cygan, Cole, Pennant (Ljungberg 77), Silva, Fabregas Soler (Flamini 86), Pires, Bergkamp (Reyes 77), Henry. Subs Not Used: Hoyte, Almunia. Booked: Henry, Fabregas Soler. Goals: Henry 50, Silva 58, Reyes 79. Blackburn: Friedel, Neill, Short, Gray, Gresko, Emerton, Tugay (De Pedro 77), Johansson, Matteo, Dickov, Stead (Yorke 63). Subs Not Used: Amoruso, Flitcroft, Enckelman. Booked: Emerton, Neill, Short, Matteo. Att: 37,496 Ref: N Barry (N Lincolnshire).

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