Media / Match Report: ' Arsenal v Cardiff City '

Arsenal 2-1 Cardiff City: Aubameyang and Lacazette score but Bluebirds' character wins on emotional night -


Tuesday 29th Jan 2019

By Dominic Booth

This was never going to be about football.

Cardiff City might have lost 2-1 to a Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang penalty and a fine goal from Alexandre Lacazette, but they showed mental and physical fortitude in abundance after an unimaginably tough week.

Nathaniel Mendez-Laing's last-gasp goal showed that in a microcosm.

Yet events before kick-off were always going to be more poignant than those afterwards. Paying tribute to Emiliano Sala was foremost in Bluebirds' minds this evening, even if the game provided a "welcome distraction", as Neil Warnock put it.

Was football important? It always will be - but only up to a point.

Sol Bamba had captured the mood rather eloquently more than 24 hours before the Emirates fell beautifully silent. Sala was a "team-mate", "he was part of us", said the Cardiff captain for the night.

Not that the emotional events before the game needed any explanation. How could words sum up the most tragic of tales?

Cardiff's players stood, arm in arm, city as one.

Bereft of the team-mate they never had. The record signing whose talents they could never appreciate. Sala's name was sung with emotion and feeling by the travelling Cardiff fans.


Cardiff City players pay tribute to Emiliano Sala ahead of the start of the match (Image: Gareth Everett/Huw Evans Agency)
Bamba and his men bowed their heads, there was applause from some, but silent reflection from most. As Warnock said in his pre-match press conference, everyone reacts to tragedy in different ways.

The sound of the referee's whistle then made football important again. For 90 minutes, it was back to the grindstone.


Arsenal, as expected, started brightly.

Lacazette spurned a gilt-edged chance in the opening two minutes, denied by a despairing tackle from Bruno Manga at the back post following a crucial touch from Neil Etheridge.

No shortage of intensity from either the hosts' attack or the visitors' defence, then, though Cardiff gradually grew in confidence - as if they required a moment to come to terms with the occasion.

Bobby Decordova-Reid flashed two big chances off target early on, with Oumar Niasse's hold-up work proving a vital foothold for Cardiff. Niasse and Lazacette then saw penalty appeals waved away by Dean.


After the footballing catastrophe that was Newcastle away, Cardiff fans could hardly have hoped to keep Arsenal to 0-0 - and match them in the process - in an opening 66-minute period at the Emirates.


And while it wouldn't be right to use the word 'inspired' to describe this performance - as Joe Bennett smashed a dangerous free-kick into the wall on 30 minutes - it was stirring stuff from the men in blue, cheered on by the fans who donned yellow.

The Gunners' fans groaned their disapproval when Lucas Torreira ran blindly into Manga, the Gabonese defender proving a man mountain in the Cardiff back three.

Thought, if that caused murmurs of discontent, there was something bordering on despair as the game entered half-time with the score still stalemated at 0-0 - though the two sides had strong arguments to claim they deserved the lead.


Lacazette had again wanted a spot-kick towards the end of the half, after Callum Paterson skewed a fine chance when latching onto tantalising Bennett cross. Reid was a constant menace on the break.

Paterson fluffed two more efforts after the restart - sandwiching a speculative Aron Gunnarsson pot-shot - as Cardiff continued where they had left off.

It took an outstanding sliding block from Shkodran Mustafi to deny Niasse just after the hour mark. By that stage Unai Emery had already made two changes, such were his side's travails.

One of those, Alex Iwobi, made a telling difference, his reverse pass slipped through to Kolasinac, who was tripped by the otherwise impeccable Manga. Aubameyang dispatched the penalty and it was 1-0 to the Arsenal.

Chances followed, most of them for Arsenal, as Warnock introduced Kenneth Zohore and Nathaniel Mendez-Laing for the impressive - but fatigued - Reid and Niasse.

The whole Cardiff team, in fact, looked tired. Emotionally drained, spent, call it what you want.

Lacazette had probed for a goal all night and eventually got his reward, speeding beyond the blue shirts and drilling home before celebrating with a knowing nod of the head.

But at the climax of a compelling tussle, it was Cardiff City who could hold their heads high. They always expected to lose here, yet the nature of their performance - the spirit, effort and harmony on display - mattered.

Just ask Mendez-Laing, whose emphatic stoppage time goal was more than merited.

The relegation survival campaign will take twists and turns from here, but this was a gallant Cardiff City performance worthy of the occasion.

Arsenal: Leno; Lichsteiner (Jenkinson, 60), Mustafi, Monreal, Kolasinac; Guendouzi, Torreira, Elneny (Iwobi, 46), Ozil (Ramsey, 76)), Aubameyang, Lacazette.

Subs not used: Cech, Mavropanos, Xhaka, Nketiah.

Cardiff City: Etheridge; Peltier, Manga, Bamba, Bennett; Gunnarsson, Arter (Harris, 81), Ralls; Reid (Mendez-Laing, 70), Paterson, Niasse (Zohore, 72).

Subs not used: Smithies, Cunningham, Healey, Hoilett.

Referee: Mike Dean

Attendance: 59,993

On a difficult and emotional night lack of quality in the final 3rd once again cost us

We were the better team for an hour but simply didn’t take our chances

Can’t fault the teams commitment and effort but with other results going spectacularly against us tonight a very difficult and disappointing evening

Somehow not given a penalty in the first half.... Small margins change games.

Somehow not given a penalty in the first half.... Small margins change games.

They should of had one aswell

Somehow not given a penalty in the first half.... Small margins change games.

They should of had one aswell

That's your opinion.

I thought we played well, deserved a point at least

I thought we played well, deserved a point at least

My thoughts also,considering what the club has been through this last week,if we had not been at the races last night,it wouldn't have been a surprise, I personally think the boys played well,and a draw would have been well deserved,well done bluebirds everywhere

Overall thought we deserved a point at least just those small margins seem to always favour the opposition....
Performance better than Leicester where we won....
In Warnock We Trust !