sth

Having been at the Emirates today, I must say that Dunne was magnificent all game. He was covering more of the pitch in the second half than Petrov. Warnock too, what a defender. The first half was a terrific effort from the Villa and we matched Arsenal blow for blow. Second half, Downing was done in, if not injured. I think he was waving over at the bench to come off at one point, but that didn't happen although it really should have. Petrov barely moved in the second half. There's no doubting his ball playing ability but his fitness holds the team's performance back. Madness to sub Luke Young and move Milner. Young had had a very sound game and Milner still had energy. The defensive unit should not be messed around with. Ashley Young dived so blatantly that he had to get booked. He appeared to have run out of ideas in this game, but in fairness to him, Arsenal's defence was tight, and very quick to the ball. Although the idea of Ashley and Downing switching wings is good in principle, in practice it means that often they're using their weaker foot and the fluency of Villa's attacking play suffers. The difference was Arsenal's midfield, in particular Fabregas, in the second half. A defensive substitution should have been made in the second half when Petrov could barely move. Delph was the wrong man for the job, although a fluent and talented prospect. No surprise that Arsenal ran at us through the middle. A better performance by the Villa than the scoreline suggested and lessons, particularly in respect of tactical subsitutions, should be learnt from this game.