Last night's victory allowed Arsenal to leapfrog Everton and West Bromwich
into fifth place in the Premier League and, perhaps most importantly, move
to within only two points of Chelsea in third.
Yet even in winning by three clear goals, there were also reminders of the
club's ongoing fragility, not least when Reading scored twice during the
second-half to cause some brief but still very tangible moments of tension.
Inevitably, Arsenal had been reminded by the home supporters of their
embarrassment in Bradford but there was no sign of dented confidence. Having
selected virtually his strongest available team in losing to League Two
opposition, Wenger made three changes last night.
Mikel Arteta provided extra composure to the midfield while Walcott and Alex
Oxlade-Chamberlain added pace to their attack. Oxlade-Chamberlain was
immediately impressive, cutting in from Walcott's usual position wide on the
right to force a finger-tip save from Adam Federici.
Walcott was initially less assured in the unfamiliar role and, while he
clearly must work on playing with his back to goal, his presence seemed to
force Reading to deeper.
The opening goal, however, was to come from another player who sees himself as
the long-term answer in Robin van Persie's old position.
With Walcott also lurking in the penalty area, Lukas Podolski delivered a
perfectly-timed run into Reading's penalty area to control Kieran Gibbs'
cross and then direct a finish past Federici.
The goal lifted a weight off Arsenal's shoulders and they produced their most
sustained period of fluid attacking football this season.
Cazorla, in particular, was superb. He shot narrowly wide with his first sight
of goal before finding his range twice in the space of three minutes.
With Shaun Cummings struggling badly at right-back, Podolski broke into space
down the left to dissect Reading's defence with quite shocking ease. Cazorla
had anticipated the cross, evading Adrian Mariappa with his darting run
before sending a low header past Federici.
Arsenal were aided by more woeful defending as they added their third. Gibbs
drifted into the penalty area and headed back across goal, allowing Cazorla
to control the ball before spinning to volley past Federici.
Only 34 minutes had elapsed but some Reading fans were already heading for the
exit. Having perhaps paid for their complacency against Bradford last
Tuesday, Arsenal kept Reading on the back-foot.
Walcott looked increasingly confident through the middle, twice forcing
further saves from Federici. Further excellence from Oxlade-Chamberlain and
Podolski presented the chance from which Cazorla gratefully put Arsenal four
goals clear. But, at their moment of greatest dominance, Arsenal's
vulnerabilities were evident again.
Jay Tabb played a through-ball to Adam Le Fondre and he got behind Arsenal's
back four and calmly rounded Wojciech Szczesny. Then, five minutes later,
Arsenal nerves were further tested when Jimmy Kébé shot inside the post.
Arsenal's wobble, however, was ultimately corrected by Walcott who put the
gloss on his performance by cutting inside on his left, collecting a clever
pass from Cazorla and side-footing a calm finish past Federici. With Walcott
and Arsenal still deadlocked in their contract negotiations, the advice from
the away supporters was simple. "Wenger, Wenger sign him up."
For Reading, there was some consolation to be taken from a spirited
second-half performance if not a sixth consecutive defeat. The Impossible
Dream had been played over the Tannoy before the match and that sums up
Reading's survival hopes.
Source:
http://www.ezonearticle.com/2012/12/17/reading-2-arsenal-5-match-report/
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