Birmingham City can only dream until cash is spent after defeat to Arsenal
Oct 19 2009 by Andy Walker, Birmingham Post
Alex McLeish was left to wonder where exactly he should spend those Chinese millions in January.
The Birmingham City manager has vowed to invest on quality not quantity following a pledge from the club’s new owner, Carson Yeung, to hand over a cheque for as much as £40 million when the January transfer window opens.
A further £40 million is also promised in the summer.
If, by that time, McLeish can develop his Birmingham team into half the team Arsenal were on Saturday then it would have been money well spent.
As the manager admitted himself, it would have been a ‘bonus’ for the visitors to take anything away from the Emirates Stadium against a free-scoring Arsenal, who had found the net 11 times in their three previous Premier League fixtures.
So, unsurprisingly, McLeish found his side largely outclassed by their London hosts, apart from the occasional purple patch.
When the Gunners edged into a two-goal lead inside 18 minutes, through Robin Van Persie and Abou Diaby, then there was fears that this could have turned into a repeat of the battering Arsenal dished out to Blackburn Rovers over a fortnight ago.
Fortunately for Birmingham, who had their former and current regime watching on, Arsenal took their foot off the pedal and there was no humiliation.
McLeish welcomed back Cameron Jerome to his starting line-up after the striker had been out for eight games with an ankle injury. However the lone front-man wouldn’t enjoy a fruitful return to Premier League action.
After two chances had come and gone for Tomas Rosicky, Arsenal eventually took a deserved lead in the 16th minute.
A through-ball from Diaby found Van Persie on the edge of the Birmingham area, the Dutchman showed quick feet to skip past Stephen Carr and fire home the opener into the bottom of Joe Hart’s far corner.
Within two minutes, Arsene Wenger’s side were cruising at 2-0. Emmanuel Eboue let in Rosicky on the right flank and the forward’s low ball across the area evaded every player dressed in blue to find Diaby at the far post.
From that moment the travelling Birmingham supporters were fearing the worst for Yeung’s first fixture at the helm.
However Arsenal dropped down to a pace akin to a testimonial, allowing Birmingham to earn themselves a way back into the match by the time the half-time break arrived.
