Match Review: Arsenal 0-0 Blackburn

Another FA Cup replay is required after a frustrating goalless draw at The Emirates. Blackburn came to defend and credit to them, that's exactly what they did. To the delight of the Arsenal faithful, William Gallas returned to the starting XI after almost three months on the sidelines. The versatile defender put in a solid performance before being substituted on 60 minutes. Few chances came Arsenal's way, especially in the first half when the only notable opportunity fell to Thierry Henry, who volleyed over when he probably should have scored. That was about it for the first 45.

The second half was slightly better with Theo Walcott's low drive hitting the side netting before Blackburn substitute, Matt Derbyshire's lob was well tipped over by Manuel Almunia. Then, Jeremie Aliadiere was brought down in the box by Stephen Warnock, but the referee waved play on. Tomas Rosicky came close when his snapshot went narrowly wide of Brad Friedel's post. But then the American keeper would save the day for Blackburn. Adebayor crossed from the left, for Henry to flick up before executing a lofted shot which was majestically saved by Freidel's fingertips. He then managed to block Justin Hoyte’s follow-up with his legs. But all in all it was a dull encounter, and yet another game to add to the already hectic fixture list.

Match Ratings:
Almunia: Did well to tip Derbyshire's lob over but was never troubled (6)
Hoyte: Unlucky not to score at the end (6)
Toure: Had nothing to do but did make some good runs out of defence (6)
Senderos: Made some good tackles, but he wasn't tested (6)
Gallas: Great to have him back. Solid performance (6)
Walcott: Disappointing. No end product to his runs (5)
Fabregas: Almost anonymous. Had very few touches (5)
Flamini: Also very quiet. Did well when called upon (6)
Ljungberg: Worked hard but saw very little of the ball (6)
Aliadiere: Also worked hard. Should have won a penalty as well (6)
Henry: Very quiet but his workrate improved (6)

Clichy: Dealt with the little Blackburn threat well (5)
Rosicky: Looked mostlikely to do anything. Had a couple of shots but nothing big (6)
Adebayor: Very quiet when he came on (5)