Arsenal 4 Blackburn 0: WHEN EL-HADJI Diouf very deliberately leaves the pitch last and, as he does, blows theatrical kisses at the gallery, opposing supporters normally react in one way. That Arsenal's fans could afford to smile at Blackburn's pantomime villain spoke volumes about the comfort of their afternoon.
They had also given Nicklas Bendtner a rousing ovation when he was substituted, despite the striker’s continued testing of their patience with his profligacy, while they revelled in the stadium announcer’s description of Emmanuel Eboue as a “goal machine” after he had scored the first of his late double.
The sight of Eboue demanding the ball after Danny Simpson was adjudged to have fouled Carlos Vela and dispatching his second from the penalty spot was one for sore eyes.
“If he had not scored the first goal and not scored last week (against Burnley in the FA Cup), he would not have taken the penalty,” said Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger. “That shows the importance of confidence. Before, he never looked like scoring, so it’s more in the head sometimes of the players than in the potential.”
On as an 83rd-minute substitute, Eboue’s cameo was from the mould patented by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and, if the Ivorian’s confidence is back then so too is that of his team. This was like the old Arsenal, pouring forward from all angles.
Wenger argued his team had been threatening this result for several weeks, but their liberation was down in large part to the Champions League penalty shoot-out triumph over Roma last Wednesday. It has galvanised the squad and they now believe they will finish above Aston Villa in the race for fourth place.
It was ironic then that the catalyst for the victory did not feature in Rome. Andrei Arshavin is cup-tied in Europe, yet the forward, deployed in his favourite position off a lone striker, showed a mixture of silk and steel. The hard men might have bristled at the pink boots which the Russian wore in the first half, yet they would have murmured their approval when he re-emerged for the second, having had stitches to close a deep wound in his foot, in more traditional black boots.
“There was no question he wouldn’t play in the second half,” said Wenger. “He’s not a soft boy at all. His game is provocative, he goes at you and invites you to commit.”
Arshavin, who opened his goalscoring account with an impish finish from a tight angle, credited another driving force for his performance. “It’s not been easy, I was alone, but my wife came two days before (the game) and maybe she gave me power for this match,” he said.
Blackburn’s despair at conceding an early goal when Arshavin’s presence unnerved Andre Ooijer was compounded by injuries to Gael Givet and captain Stephen Warnock. Ryan Nelsen had gone down before the game and Sam Allardyce, the manager, admitted he needed them, and a few others, to return quickly.
This was only a third Premier League defeat in 12 games under Allardyce but by far the most emphatic. Morten Gamst Pedersen forced Manuel Almunia into an acrobatic save on 27 minutes and that was about it from Rovers.
Guardian Service
