January 29, 2012

ARSENAL 3, ASTON VILLA 2
FA Cup Round 4
 

ARSENE Wenger got up at the end of his press conference with a wink and said: "Certainly not, but you never know."
 

The Arsenal boss had been asked about his future and his response left reporters scratching heads but smiling, too.
 

The puzzling paradox rather summed up Arsenal's form right now: artful but hard to decipher.
 

Two-nil down at half-time in a home FA Cup tie and the fans were contemplating a fourth defeat in a row against Premier League opposition – after losses to Swansea, Fulham and Manchester United in January. In the end, it was a strangely comfortable victory.
 

Wenger said: "It was a test of whether these players have the mental quality to play for this club. I said, 'don't panic'. They responded well against Man United and again tonight.
 

"This was a classic cup tie – 2-0 down, to come back, you have to fight. It was important for us to keep massive pressure on them in the middle of the park and important to close them down very hard.
 

"The team has shown they are not ready to lie down. The captain played a big part."
 

He added: "I feel that last year it was a learning process. In January we were still in all the four cups. We learned a lot from that the final (against Birmingham) – they were nervous, but now they are not."
 

Few fans will share his sense of belief. They have suffered enough misery this month to know this was a case of papering over cracks.
 

In a match that will be remembered for a stirring fightback, many remarked afterwards that the goals came from the penalty spot twice and a wild rebound off Theo Walcott that he knew nothing about.
 

The first half had few chances from open play. Thomas Vermaelen, playing left-back for most of the match, forced a save from a set-piece and Walcott later shanked his shot wide after bursting into the box.
 

It was no surprise when Laurent Koscielny and Lucakz Fabianski allowed Richard Dunne to rise above them and head home on 28 minutes, and, just before half-time, Villa broke away with crisp, first-time balls finally finding Darren Bent, who finished from the tightest of angles.
 

Wenger said: "I thought the boos (at half-time), it was quite positive compared to last time."
 

Then followed what man of the match van Persie later described as a "crazy six minutes that changed the game". In a whirlwind start to the second half, Arsenal forced a penalty after Dunne scythed down Aaron Ramsey in the box on 54 minutes. Van Persie slotted into the bottom left corner, sending Given the wrong way. With fans still outraged that Dunne had not got at least a second yellow, Arsenal were on the attack. A cut-back deflected off Walcott from a clearance, and suddenly it was 2-2. Minutes later the back-tracking Bent brought down Koscielny after a powerful run from the centre-back. Van Persie scored his 25th goal of the season to equal Dennis Bergkamp's total goals tally for the club.
 

Villa had their chances with Robbie Keane and later Stephen Ireland, but they had the stuffing knocked out of them and there was even time for five minutes of Thierry Henry. The Arsenal legend was sent through on goal, but his old old drag-back-and-shoot skill is not what it used to be.
 

Oxlade "Chambo" Chamberlain, who might best be described as a "handful", burst down the wing and caused trouble all night.
 
"I felt Chambo had a good game, he has quality," Wenger said, after criticism of his substitution against United last week.
 

He added: "I must tell you I just want to do well. I understand it if people question my decisions, but I wouldn't understand if if they questioned my commitment to this club."
 

He said he had "no real news" on Jack Wilshere but that the "first news had been quite good". "There are more tests," he added.
 

Diaby is expected be back at the end of February, he said.
 

Arsenal will play the winners of Middlesboro and Sunderland in the fifth round of the FA Cup.