Nulified by Adams' Pompey

There’s bound to be days like this. This is the first match that Arsenal has failed to score well, since the last Pompey match at the same venue anyway. The match was dour, uninventive and scrappy. Neither keeper was really tested on Boxing Day, a day Arsenal lost their lead to Manure for the first time this season.

The weekend match at in-form Everton must have been playing in the minds of the players. That would surely be a tougher test than a sorry looking Portsmouth who have not scored in the last 7 home games. If anything, it’s the resilience of the team that shone through this game. Not playing well doesn’t warrant losing a game. That is the mark of champions. They grind out result on their worst performance.

You surely need to question the effectiveness of Adebayor up on his own. Bendtner will make a better job out of the same position. There is no need to drift out wide when you’re playing 5 across the midfield. Doing that would leave the wide players no space to run into. It would also mean that once he had the ball out wide, there is no option in the box. That is unless he’s fast enough to cross the side and run into the center to score. No answer needed for that one.

Rosicky is another conundrum for me. As talented as he is, I honestly feel that Wenger is playing him out of position and not getting the most out of the Czech. He is by no mean a natural playmaker but I’ve seen him controlling a European Championship semifinal all on his own. What’s more incredible is that he played as a holding midfielder in that match. I guess that’s why he is quite good at tackling back from attacking positions. Perhaps his versatility is his greatest downfall. For me he should be in the center of the 5-man midfield alongside Fabregas.