17 September 2011
Arsenal's miserable start to the Premier League season suffered another setback on Saturday as two second-half own goals helped Blackburn score a 4-3 victory at Ewood Park.
Arsenal, looking to build on their unconvincing 1-0 win over Swansea last week, appeared to be on course for victory in the first half when they went ahead twice with goals from Gervinho and Mikel Arteta. However, the Gunners' age-old defensive problems returned to haunt them as two goals from Ayegbeni Yakubu and own goals from Alex Song and Laurent Koscielny put Blackburn 4-2 up.
Substitute Marouane Chamakh ensured a nervous finish for Rovers when he headed in Robin van Persie's cross to pull one back for Arsenal on 85 minutes, but the home side hung on for their first win of the season.
The defeat leaves Arsenal with four points from five games, just two points above the relegation zone, and eight points behind leaders Manchester United, who face Chelsea on Sunday. Afterwards beleaguered Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger said his side were still suffering a psychological hangover from their 8-2 drubbing against Manchester United at Old Trafford last month. "We had so many chances in the game and on top of that we scored two own goals so it is unbelievable to understand, but we have to take it on the chin," a shellshocked Wenger said. "At the moment defensively we are fragile because our confidence is gone due what happened at Old Trafford."
Victory was sweet for Rovers boss Steve Kean however, who has faced repeated calls for his sacking from disgruntled Blackburn fans. A few hundred Rovers supporters marched to Ewood Park before kick-off to call for Kean's dismissal but the Blackburn manager said he believed the win would keep his critics at bay. "I hope it does, we've got a bright future," Kean said. "We've got a lot of good players. I think this result shows the character that everybody has been questioning and hopefully we can turn this round," he said. "I think the fans got a fantastic performance and could see what we're all about. The performance showed what we've got in the dressing room which is 100 percent team spirit."
None of the top three teams in the league were playing Saturday, with leaders Manchester United entertaining Chelsea on Sunday while Manchester City travel to Fulham. Liverpool were also playing Sunday, facing Tottenham at White Hart Lane.
Source: Breitbart.
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