Saturday, 8 November
2008
Basil Fawlty would probably accuse Thomas Sorensen of
"stating the bleeding obvious" in response to the Stoke City
goalkeeper's assertion that Arsenal "lack the spine needed" to
mount any kind of challenge for the Premier League
title.
But if the penny had still to drop for Arsene Wenger prior to
his team's woeful display at the Britannia Stadium, Sorensen's
brutal assessment of Arsenal's failings might just force home the
message that English football now views the Gunners as a soft
touch, a team that can be 'got at'.
The Britannia Stadium on a cold, windy November day is no place
for the faint-hearted, especially when Rory Delap is producing his
A-game with his jet-propelled throw-ins, but Arsenal hearts were
faint from the moment they walked onto the pitch.
It was evident from the looks on the faces of Cesc Fabregas and,
particularly, Emmanuel Adebayor, that Stoke was the last place
Arsenal's players wanted to be.
Adebayor's performance was pitiful. Outfought by the muscular
Stoke centre-half Ryan Shawcross, the Togolese forward developed an
exaggerated limp and slumped to the ground three times, clutching
his ankle, following a late second-half challenge by the defender.
Adebayor was ultimately replaced by Wenger, but it's difficult to
imagine how his efforts would have gone down had he shared a
dressing-room with the likes of Adams, Keown, Winterburn and
Vieira.
Those great names of Arsenal's past would have relished this
encounter with Tony Pulis's passionate Stoke team because they
would have matched the home side's commitment before allowing their
superior quality to do the rest.
This Arsenal team did not want to know, however, and Sorensen –
barged to the ground by the petulant Robin van Persie in an
incident that led to the Arsenal substitute's dismissal – suggested
that Wenger's team lack the steel required to succeed in the
Premier League.
Discussion time: Arsenal manager Arsene
Wenger had much to ponder during his side's limp defeat at Stoke
City
Sorensen said: "Arsenal have shown in the past that they are a
fantastic football side, but they are just lacking that bit of
physicality. When Chelsea came here, they matched us in the
challenges, but Arsenal weren't quite there.
"That's the difference. Arsenal lack that bit of spine that you
need. They want to play all the time, but sometimes you have to
work hard and earn the opportunity to play your football.
"They have excellent players, but once we got the second goal,
it felt like we were cruising because they totally lost belief. I
think they expected a bit of an easier ride, but no one's going to
get that here."
Ahead of this game, half of Stoke's goals this season had been
as a result of Delap's penetrative throw-ins, but Arsenal
centre-halves Kolo Toure and Mikael Silvestre were more Cannon and
Ball than Adams and Bould in their attempts to deal with the two
throw-ins that led to goals for Ricardo Fuller and Seyi
Olofinjana.
Gael Clichy's injury-time goal might have reduced the arrears,
but Van Persie's dismissal and injuries sustained by Adebayor,
Bacary Sagna and Theo Walcott capped a dreadful day for Arsenal,
who, Wenger admits, cannot afford to lose at home to Manchester
United this Saturday.
He said: "There is no better game in which to come back from a
defeat from a confidence point of view. It will also give us a
chance to show we have quality."
