After 3 wins out of 3 in the Champions League so far, qualification for the next round could be secured with a point away against a team that we hammered 7-0 at home. Given the many other important games coming up, it was not too surprising to see Arsene Wenger rest a number of key players for this one. The weather was due to be cold and wet, so Fabregas, Hleb, Toure and Rosicky amongst others, were also probably not too unhappy to have been left at home.Last time I went to a 0-0 draw, it was this reasonably boring, end of season kickabout - but at least that had some form of incident in the form of a missed penalty, and a disallowed goal. Since then, Arsenal have not failed to score in any competitive game, we are unbeaten and firing on all cylinders. I suppose that this, rightly in a way, raises expectations of the type of game you can expect, so goals and a victory were on most peoples agendas for the evening.
After what seemed like an endless walk uphill to one of the least salubrious grounds in European football, this game was one of the most boring and downright dull football matches I have ever seen. In fact, it may even be the single worst game I have watched, especially given the distance travelled, cost, and effort involved. This happened for a few reasons - firstly, the Slavia Prague team were clearly desperate to give a decent performance in front of their own fans, and show that they were better than the 7-0 drubbing they had a fortnight ago. This led to a dogged and determined, if not especially skillful, display from them - with lots of tactical fouls to break up the little decent play that Arsenal tried to string together.
The Arsenal team on display didn't help matters particularly, it was a second string team, with only Gallas, Almunia and Clichy surviving from last Saturday's game against Manchester United. At times they played like they had never met each other before, never mind were part of a squad considered amongst the favourites for the Champions League this season. Slavia Prague made it difficult, but a number of quiet performances from Arsenal players meant that there was not much to write home about. The Slavia players were just as bad, to the extent that there were very few passages of play worth noting, from either team, throughout the game. It took 85 minutes for Arsenal to get any kind of goalwards effort on target, and even that was a pretty tame header. Slavia weren't much better, although I do recall Almunia making a save at one point.
And, of course, the conditions made it a turgid game as well. It was freezing, it was windy (the stadium being on top of a huge hill made sure of that), and at half time, it absolutely lashed down with rain, turning the pitch into something of a mess, and for the second half at least, ensured that any technical ability that Arsenal may have had, was eliminated. A freezing, miserable night weather wise, and many in the crowd seriously considered leaving at half time, to seek out the warmth and beer of a bar back in town.So, a very strange game all in all. Arsenal got the point they needed to qualify for the next round, we did it without risking or tiring many of our key players, and we gave the second string a valuable run out. On that score, everything that we wanted to get from the game was achieved, and it was a success all round. But if you went to Prague, walked up the endless hill from the city centre, stood in the freezing cold, and watched 90 minutes of football where, literally, nothing interesting happened, you would be forgiven for wishing that we'd just been awarded the 0-0 draw without having to endure the match. Even the official site's report, and the Guardian report, couldn't find much interesting to say - the fireworks launched from the Arsenal end were the highlight for some, the amusing chanting the relieve the boredom was the highlight for me - as well as the walk back downhill.
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