We are finally safe.
This was certainly a game of two halves. For once this season, luck sat with Villa with decisions going our way and player being fortunate in terms of bookings. Had things gone the wrong way for us, we could have easily finished the game with 9 men, with Petrov lucky to not get a second yellow, and Dunne luckily avoiding a straight red.
The performance first half was great, and showed glimpses of what the team really can do. With the addition of Delph to the team, and some defensive cover for Collins and Dunne, there seemed to be a more solid flow spine to the team running from back to front. Add into this a final battling display from the likes of Reo-Coker and Petrov, with defending from the back and this certainly seemed more like a team that Houllier had constructed tactically. It was also good to see an appearance from Michael Bradley, although one has to wonder about the suitability of his transfer given the restricted game time he has had over the course of his loan period. I believe Reo-Coker might end up staying as he has become a solid player in today’s team, and will feel like a new signing to us.
Most successful team at the Emirates, and brace from an Arsenal fan
Believe it or not, after that win, Aston Villa are the most successful team to take points from Arsenal at the Emirates. For a solid 40+ minutes, I was very happy with how we were playing. Partially this was down to lax Arsenal defending, but there has to be some massive credit to Darren Bent. His ability to play off the shoulder of the last man puts the man in a different class to any other forward we have had at the club in probably 10 years. His finishing is absolutely lethal, and when the stats say two chances, two goals, you really can’t ask any more from the man. To those that think he was overpriced at £18m, he is nothing short of the salvation of our season. If you removed even three of his goals (today’s and the Man City win at home), then we would have been in the bottom three.
Moving forwards, and after a top quality showing for half the game, I’d like to get on to the point of Ashley Young. Whilst some might argue that he wasn’t playing overly well this match, I think the three man strike force of Downing / Bent / Young is proving to be a solid attacking three. If I were Randy Lerner, I’d say to Ashley “Here’s 80k a week. Take it or leave it, but if you don’t sign we are keeping you next year”. In the transfer possibility of Ashley, I think keeping him for the extra season and (potentially) losing a transfer fee could prove a significant decision. After all, if we had kept James Milner for this season, I think it would have turned out a lot differently due to the spine of the team. Doing the same with Ashley Young might persuade other players to join the revolution and, at the end of next year, it might even convince Ashley to stay.
Anyway, we can finally breathe a sigh of relief. In reality, we have to think that we can do a lot better next year after such a disappointing season. Certainly the new manager will have solid foundation to build on, as we are not as bad as our league position has indicated.
I am just very thankful we have survived, and that Blues could end up down still too. It looks like my prediction at the start of the season of 12th -14th might end up pretty correct as well.
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