Arsenal defeated Bolton at the Emirates to advance to their ninth Carling Cup quarterfinal round in nine years. Ju Young Park and Andrey Arsahvin were the goal scorers, while Thomas Vermaelen made his return from injury.
Bolton fielded a strong team, while Arsene went with a mix of young players and little-used experienced players. Arshavin and Park outshined the young talented players like Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Francis Coquelin. The little Russian did well playing behind Park, with Benayoun and Chamberlain on the wings. Park played much better than he did in the last Carling Cup game against Shrewsbury. You could see his confidence growing as the match wore on.
Park played right on the edge of the Bolton backline, similar to how Chicharito positions himself for United. Cahill and Knight caught him offside a few times, but the South Korean continued to make intelligent runs. Park made a run, but Arshavin did not make the pass. The little Russian waited for Park to get back onside before releasing the South Korean. Park curled the shot into the side netting in the far corner for the winning goal.
Wenger made a very good point about Arshavin after the match (from Arsenal.com):”Andrey is a player who of course takes a bit gamble on nearly every ball he plays. Sometimes he loses balls he shouldn’t lose but when you look at the end of the game he has always had a big impact. Tonight he scored and made an assist. He had a good performance tonight.”
Arshavin [...]
