Posts tagged udinese

A team that is ridden with injuries, surrounded by vocally unhappy fans, and has just lost their captain is not a team that will fill many with confidence, but despite all of this, Arsenal’s prospects of advancing from their Champions League qualifier against Italy’s Udinese looked quite promising. It was always going to be close, but just how close would it prove to be?

After only four minutes of play, Theo Walcott put Arsenal fans’ minds at ease when he neatly connected with a fantastic Aaron Ramsey cross to put the hosts ahead. But despite countless Gervinho runs and a great attacking partnership between the Ivorian and Walcott, the Gunners just couldn’t seem to convert their chances and go further ahead. As the first half wore on, Arsenal’s initial fire and speed seemed to die down, replaced with a sort of unsure tiredness that their visitors took advantage of, Armero forcing his way through the weak Arsenal defence on countless occasions, last minute tackles and forced Szczęsny stops being the only thing to keep the Colombian from making it level once again. Star striker, and Serie A’s top goalscorer for the last two seasons, Di Natale also looked incredibly dangerous when given the chance to attack. If anyone was going to score, it was certainly going to be this guy.

But, Arsenal managed to hold on and went into the break with their 1-0 lead intact, only to find themselves emerging the other side with another injured player for Wenger to add to his ever-increasing list, this time Gibbs being forced to retire due to a hamstring problem, Johan Djourou replacing the youngster with Vermaelen moving to left-back to fill the gap. And if things weren’t already worrying enough for Wenger, Djourou only managed to last nine minutes of play before a hamstring injury also saw him being forced off for newcomer and former Charlton Atheletic youngster Carl Jenkinson. At a time when Arsenal’s defence desperately needed to be strong, the gods seemed to be against them.

The entire second half was dominated by Udinese, a clearly tired and disorientated Arsenal side trying their hardest to keep them at bay, hoping that they could run the clock down before the Italians had the opportunity to grab and equaliser, or worse. Di Natale looked hungry, firing shots in from all angles, forcing the vulnerable Arsenal defence into overdrive and at one point, from a free-kick, causing Szczęsny to stretch to turn behind a well-placed free-kick.

It was an evening of pure endurance and patience, and it paid off as the match entered stoppage time, Gervinho embarking on a fantastic run through the heart of the Udinese defence to set up Walcott to seal the victory for the home side, only to be denied by a top-class save by Handanovič. The Slovenian had been kept so quiet during the second half but managed to rise to the challenge perfectly when most needed. Moments later Armero replied with a majestic shot from outside the box that flew just wide of the right post, but it was just too late for the visitors.

Wenger will be pleased that his men managed to keep an obviously strong Udinese side at bay despite their injuries and losses, and they will go into the second leg next Wednesday evening with a very important one goal lead. But their main worry will be the two injuries sustained tonight, adding to their previous pile of casualties. The Gunners face an important test at Liverpool on Saturday in the Premiership, but the possible addition of both Gibbs and Djourou to their list of  unusable players for that tie and the missing of a strong and suitable left-back will cause alarm bells to ring throughout the Arsenal camp. After a poor start to the season with a lacklustre 0-0 draw against Newcastle, the need for a win at Liverpool is massive, but with the team looking as shaky and vulnerable as they do at the moment, is there any chance of them pulling it off?

This piece was featured on The Elastico.