Aston Villa v Arsenal: Mat Kendrick's summary and stats
Jan 28 2010 by Mathew Kendrick, Birmingham Mail
MARTIN O’Neill refuses to share a glass of wine with his Arsenal adversary Arsene Wenger after matches – and he will have been just as reluctant to have shared the points last night.
There is no love lost between the rival gaffers and O’Neill accused Wenger of an “appalling insult” after he branded Villa an efficient English long ball team.
Villa might have shut the Frenchman up with a victory because, although the Gunners hit the woodwork twice in a lively scoreless stalemate, this was a big four battle which Villa could and possibly should have won.
They were keen to kickstart their Champions League challenge by avenging the post Christmas defeat at the Emirates which knocked them out of their stride.
Going into the festive fixture at Arsenal, the claret and blues were occupying fourth place and coming off the back of four straight Premier League victories.
However, since then last-gasp heartbreak against Liverpool, their all-conquering cup exploits and the cold snap has seen them take just one point from a draw with West Ham.
So at least this match will have significantly boosted their belief, if not their points tally and league position, during what the manager admits is a “make or break” stage of the season.
That the sides were level at the break was a fair reflection of the first period – even if the blank scoreline was not.
Gabby Agbonlahor, the hero in Villa’s victory over the Gunners last season, was the first to threaten when he latched onto Emile Heskey’s pass, only to be thwarted by Manuel Almunia’s outstretched palm.
Ashley Young, a boyhood Arsenal fan, then came within a ball’s width of scoring when a trademark 25-yard free-kick – after Heskey’s forceful run was ended by Thomas Vermaelen’s foul – curled agonisingly past the goalframe.
But Villa’s best chance before the break fell to Stewart Downing who was guilty of his second worst miss of the night (we’ll come to the worst a little later).
