The afternoon of February 5, 2011 is one forever etched on the minds
of Arsenal's travelling faithful. A frenetic 90 minutes at St James'
Park saw the Gunners conspire to throw away a four-goal lead against
Newcastle United in a game that came to epitomise the failure of Arsene
Wenger's recent sides to show the sort of ruthlessness that wins
silverware. The greatest redemption for that 4-4 draw will of course
come when the club's now infamous trophy drought is brought to an end,
but at the Madejski Stadium, a role reversal - and then some - brought a
much-needed sense of reverie to the Gunners' frustrated fans.
At
4-0 down to a Reading side winless in the Premier League thus far this
season, some of the away supporters began to slope away, their desertion
beamed on to the Madejski's big screen to the unbridled delight of
those in blue and white. Some 83 minutes after that fourth goal from
Noel Hunt, when Marouane Chamakh had the final say in one of the most
enthralling games ever witnessed in English football, those jeers were
replaced with tears. Arsenal's astonishing 7-5 victory left Sunday
League players the world over nodding knowingly, while those inside the
stadium pinched themselves in disbelief.
This was our sport at its
best. Though the way the match unfolded would have been abhorrent to
Gunners' assistant coach Steve Bould, a chief protagonist in the "1-0 to
the Ars-e-nal" area of defensive frugality, spectators were treated to a
wild and wonderful night of utterly unpredictable football. Less
Catenaccio
and more "kamikaze" - as Brian McDermott aptly labelled his team's
approach - it was a truly memorable night. "Just crazy," the Reading
boss reflected in his post-match press conference. "I know this game
will be remembered for a long time and that only makes me feel worse."
Scant consolation for Reading came in the form of bettering the 7-4
defeat they suffered against Portsmouth in 2007, which stands as the
highest scoring game in Premier League history.
McDermott, who
was a loyal servant to the Gunners for six years of his playing career,
came agonisingly close to ending Reading's rotten record against his
former employers. But there was to be no elusive first triumph against
the North Londoners, who have now won all ten matches against the Royals
stretching back to 1935. "It's like a funeral [in the dressing-room],"
he said afterwards; with QPR coming up this weekend it is now up to the
Englishman to help his distraught players move on from their mourning.
For
Wenger, this was a triumph of resilience. He had made it clear before
the game that the Capital One Cup represented the lowest of his
priorities this season - stating that potential signings "don't ask if
you won the League Cup, they ask if you play in the Champions League".
He demonstrated as much with his team selection as ten regulars were
omitted ahead of this Saturday's crunch Premier League game against
Manchester United. With last season's 8-2 thrashing at Old Trafford
impossible to forget, Wenger understandably chose to rest his regulars,
though his desire to avoid another humiliation nearly caused an
unexpected embarrassment at the Madejski.
If combining some of his
promising youngsters and fringe players was designed to provoke
displays laced with hunger and desire, it worked. Unfortunately for
Wenger, it was Reading , not Arsenal, who initially appeared most
spurred on by the names on the visitors' teamsheet. Veteran striker
Jason Roberts, whose career began when a number of the Gunners' starting
XI were still dribbling down their bibs, provided an early breakthrough
- his opener supplied by Hal Robson-Kanu, a player who looked
significantly more explosive than his gangly, ex-Arsenal namesake
Nwankwo.
A second came soon after in the form of a Laurent
Koscielny own goal, satisfyingly forced by former Tottenham defender
Chris Gunter moments after he had been roundly booed by the Arsenal
contingent. The Royals were being given a free reign by a lacklustre
midfield and a defence that, conveniently, contained three of the back
four who suffered so dismally at Old Trafford last August. Further
strikes from Mikele Leigertwood and Hunt had Reading believing a
quarter-final berth was theirs and led to a vociferous chant of "we want
our Arsenal back" from the away end, but it was Theo Walcott's strike
in stoppage time that provided the key moment in the game, according to
Messrs McDermott and Wenger.
"I wasn't happy at half-time,"
McDermott said in his post-match press conference. "I just felt the goal
gave them impetus they didn't need. When you give good players and big
clubs the opportunity like that, they will take it ... I really wanted
us to finish that game off. I wasn't comfortable. I felt the job was not
done and I think that was the turning point." Wenger concurred with
his opposite number's assessment, adding: "It was 4-0 and could have
been one or two more. The goal before half time was important... At 4-1 I
thought it was possible. I had hope we could come back. You cannot play
for Arsenal and give up. The players understood that and they responded
very well."
Galvanised by the late retort, Arsenal played some
breathtaking attacking football in the second half, pummelling the
Reading goal with astonishing frequency. Walcott, who along with
Koscielny, Djourou, and Andrei Arshavin featured in the Gunners' 4-4
humbling on Tyneside 18 months ago, seemed driven by a personal sense of
responsibility for the Newcastle nadir. In one of his most mature
performances in a red and white shirt, the England winger was
unquestionably the catalyst of the comeback. Relentless in his running,
even deep into extra-time, it was his corners that were headed home,
first by substitute Giroud and then in injury-time by Koscielny, before a
96th-minute strike of his crept over the line for a dramatic equaliser
that Wenger later described as "the miracle goal".
While Arsenal's prayers were answered, the press box sat perplexed as
the sound of delete buttons being pressed on keyboards echoed around
the Madejski media hub. Concerns about missing deadlines saw most
reporters sporting grimaces when the late leveller went in; by the end
of extra-time, they were replaced with grins as all present basked in
the glow of pure sporting theatre.
First came Arsenal's
completion of a most unlikely fight-back, as Marouane Chamakh broke a
16-game goalless streak. That Wenger persevered with the Moroccan, who
put in a dogged shift despite looking incredibly frustrated during the
first-half, must be commended. An injury to left-back Ignasi Miquel two
minutes later left the Gunners with only ten men, and Reading made their
advantage count as a header from substitute Pavel Pogrebnyak made it
5-5. As time ebbed away and with both managers mentally preparing for a
penalty shootout, Walcott offered one final telling contribution.
Leaving it until the death, as he had done at the end of the first and
second half in normal time, the 23-year-old pounced inside the penalty
area to restore the one-goal lead. Reading hearts broken, their misery -
and the incredulity of the night - was compounded seconds later by
Chamakh netting the 12th and final goal of the game with an expertly
executed lob.
Losing manager McDermott was a picture of
professionalism after the game, amazingly insisting on searching for the
positives in the face of such a crushing defeat. "It was the worst
defeat of my career, to have that turnaround," he said. "It's happened
to the best but it's embarrassing for all of us. We have to take it on
the chin and move on to the game against QPR. The football was
extraordinary in the first 35 minutes - what happened afterwards with
bizarre. It's strange to take positives from a 7-5 defeat but you have
to look for them. It's what football's all about - you have those
disappointments. We will come back from that."
While Reading's
battered boss was left lamenting his team's "suicide", Wenger could
rejoice at Arsenal's resurrection in an enthralling contest that
provided a spectacular advert for the oft-maligned League Cup and will
deservedly earn a place in football folklore
