While the opportunities to score were almost entirely Arsenal’s, the Gunners were unable to take advantage and ended up drawing 0-0 with Fenerbahce at the Emirates.
Wednesday’s midweek Champions League fixture was a complete turn around of the earlier CL clash between the two squads, in which Arsenal thumped Fener’ 4-2 in a game that could have easily seen eight or nine goals total.
Instead, the fixture at the Emirates proved a relatively frustrating night for the Gunner faithful. Wenger made multiple changes from the side that lost to Stoke on the weekend, largely in part due to significant injury woes. Walcott, Adebayor, Eboue, and Gallas were all unavailable, and keeper Almunia also withdrew from the squad due to illness. However, the team simply lacked offensive flair, a problem perhaps in large part due to the absence of regulars Theo and Ade’.
Wenger played backup keeper Lukasz Fabianski, and brought in Johan Djourou at centreback to couple with Silvestre, while leaving Toure and Clichy to the defensive wings. The midfield also saw some changes, with the youngster Aaron Ramsey starting in right midfield position. Bendtner took over Adebayor’s central striker role.
The first half was, save for a couple quick counterattacks, entirely Arsenal’s. The lion’s share of the possession wasn’t able to lead to a goal though, despite several attempts by van Persie from a variety of locations; including one rebound from about six yards that he uncharacteristically didn’t finish. Asides from the few RVP opportunities, Samir Nasri also took a chance with a powerful strike from outside the eighteen in the 38th minute, but the keeper was equal to it.
From the second half kick-off, Arsenal’s majority of possession continued, but only a few plays were of any real concern to Fenerbahce goalkeeper Volkan Demirel. Attempting to up the energy, Wenger introduced Diaby for Ramsey and Carlos Vela for Bendtner in the 59th, though the introduction of the two didn’t seem to change the game much – it was still all Arsenal attack with no goals to show for their efforts.
On a rare break of play into the Arsenal half, Silvestre took a hit in the nose from Semih Senturk, which would lead to the third Arsenal sub of the game as Alex Song came on in the 81st. The final nine minutes of the match, along with the extra four, would also prove to be uneventful, as the Gunners would have nothing to celebrate on the evening.
In the other Group G match of the evening, Porto edged Kyiv with a 2-1 victory snatched up during injury time. The result ensured that Fenerbahce still has a mathematical chance of qualifying from the group, while Arsenal are still top of the table by two points. With the result, Porto trail with 6 points total, while Kyiv (5) and Fenerbahce (2) follow.
Justin Barrie
