Arsenal reinforced their burgeoning title credentials on Sunday with an excellent 3-0 win over the in-form Aston Villa. A trio of second half goals, with two from Cesc Fabregas and one from Abou Diaby sealed a win that put the home side just four points behind leaders Chelsea, with the added bonus of a game in hand to boot.
The plaudits for the win will rightly fall at the feet of Fabregas. Introduced into a relatively turgid encounter ten minutes into the second half, the Arsenal captain produced a mesmerising twenty-eight minute cameo of drive, scoring two fabulous goals and utterly bossing the midfield before being withdrawn with a recurrence of his hamstring injury. Arsenal will certainly be hoping it proves only a short-term setback.
Fabregas’ performance provided Arsenal with some much needed impetus after a first half which had typically seen lots of possession, but little penetration, as a series of underwhelming moves had largely been dealt with excellently by the Villa defence. It illustrated that even in this most unpredictable of seasons, certain individuals can be relied upon to keep the elite a cut above the increasing number of contenders.
Without Fabregas the game had been even. With him the teams look oceans apart. Suddenly Arsenal were finding space, and Fabregas was instrumental in a move that set up Arshavin to force a good save from Brad Friedel with a powerful low drive.
Just after the hour mark, Arsenal were rewarded for their increased pressure. Fabregas, fouled himself by Richard Dunne, picked himself up and curled a sumptuous free kick into the top corner. And as it was Fabregas who powered Arsenal into the lead, so too was it the Spaniard that effectively sealed the win.
A loose James Milner pass was picked up by Armand Traore who swung a cross-field ball into the path of Theo Walc
ott, who in turn laid an inch perfect ball into the path of the charging Fabregas, showing a surprising turn of pace, who finished superbly inside Friedel’s near post.
Arsenal’s joy was tempered somewhat as Fabregas pulled up grimacing immediately after scoring, and had to be withdrawn after 84 minutes.
Deserved gloss was put on the second half performance in stoppage time by Diaby who, Fabregas aside, had been clearly Arsenal’s most threatening player. Taking advantage of tired Villa legs, Diaby drove through the Villa midfield before planting a twenty-five yard shot into the bottom right hand corner.
The win was thoroughly deserved on the merit of the second half performance and will be particularly satisfying as it came so convincingly against a side who boasted the league’s meanest defense before kick-off and had not failed to score in their previous sixteen league matches.
Arsenal now sit in a promising position in the league table, but will have to show that they can cope without both the injured Fabregas and also integral midfielder Alex Song against Portsmouth on Wednesday, with the latter departing for the African Cup of Nations. An early exit for Cameroon and a speedy recover from the captain would both be much welcomed in North London.
