Fabregas fundamental to Arsenal and Reading
Reading FC visited one of the “Big Four” on Saturday - poetic Arsenal - and fortunately I was there, thanks to my friend, and lifelong Arsenal follower, John McGarvey. Cheers John!
Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal have been one of the most exhilarating teams to watch in recent years, from The Invincibles to the reinvented and exuberant side of the present, characterised by youth. They’d played Reading already in the season and gave them an absolute thumping. I wasn’t expecting such a decisive defeat this time.
The first thing that struck me when I took my seat close to the pitch at the hugely impressive Emirates was the size of the crowd. A little more than 60,000 had turned up to see the Gunners take on Reading (still one of the smaller teams in the league). Respect.
The contingent of Reading fans, a swathe of blue and white, was pretty small, but highly vocal when they needed to be (they were also much more vocal outside the ground). When they did pipe up, their chanting was met with the derision of Arsenal fans.
While Reading players were the main attraction for me, I was excited to see the red-and-white shirts of Arsenal exiting the tunnel. Thierry Henry, the star draw, wasn’t playing, but teen Catalan sensation Cesc Fábregas was there, as were Brazilian internationals Julio Baptista and Gilberto Silva.
The first half was dominated by Arsenal. However, while they teased and prodded, Reading remained resilient and the 45 minutes passed drearily.
The second half told a different story. There was much more zip and intent to Arsenal’s play.
In one breathtaking moment, Baptista released the ball to Fábregas, who had a glorious chance to put the Gunners ahead. But he fumbled the opportunity and Reading were safe. Moments later, Cesc’s miss was forgotten, with Gilberto converting a penalty after Andre Bikey brought down Gael Clichy.
Arsenal, and Fábregas in particular, were now ruling the midfield and a second goal came from the foot of a darting Baptista, who was fed by yet another Brazilian, young Denilson.
Reading made changes and once again showed grit in the closing minutes of the game, prompting some excited comments from jittery Arsenal fans behind me. I thought it amazing that they should criticise Baptista, a forward who, while not scintillating, had cemented Arsenal’s lead.
Fábregas, so influential during the game, ironically presented the Royals with an 87th minute goal, as he accidentally knocked the ball into the net from a John Oster corner. Confident Reading continued to push forward and Steve Sidwell nearly brought the score level (but for a Lehmann save). The game thus ended a respectable 2-1.