Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Newcastle 0 Arsenal 1

It has taken some convincing for pundits and journalists to recognise Arsenal as serious title contenders. A spectacular run of form early in the season didn't convince them. They attributed it to Arsenal's easier fixtures. Comfortable wins and superb performances against Napoli and Liverpool at home were not good enough for them, either. Defeats over the two Manchester clubs significantly undermined our title credentials. However, this "ugly win" over in-form Newcastle, seemed to have impressed more pundits than any of easy-on-the-eye displays did.

Arsene Wenger made four changes from the side that started in the 3-1 win over West Ham on Boxing Day. Jack Wilshere came in for the injured Aaron Ramsey (we are yet to know the prognosis, but signs are not good. Some reports claim that he will be sidelined for at least one month, possibly two) after completing a two-match suspension. Laurant Koscielny resumed his central defensive partnership with Per Mertesacker after recovering from the cut  knee. Thomas Vermaelen was left home due to illness. Tomas Rosicky replaced Mesut Özil after recovering a knock on the knee he sustained during the Chelsea match (some reports stated the Czech international was rested for the West Ham game). Asked about Özil's shoulder injury, Wenger answered in his post-match press conference, "it is an inflamed shoulder, it should be one more week maybe less, I don't know, but not a long time". Keep fingers crossed that he will be fit again for the FA Cup tie against Tottenham. As widely expected, Mathieu Flamini started in place of Mikel Arteta. Nacho Monreal did not make a trip to the Northeast as he also fell ill. Ryo Miyaichi and Serge Gnabry filled the bench, which looked frightening just recently.

Despite the majority of pundits predicting an away win, it was a big challenge to get three points, which we needed to reclaim the top spot. St James' Park is always a difficult place to go. Newcastle are one of the form sides currently in the Premier League, having already beaten Chelsea, Man U, and Tottenham this season. We lost two important players in Özil and Ramsey to injury. In light of these, the three points was a great result, which moved us back to the top of the league, going into the New Year.

Wenger's post-match comment "subconsciously the team wanted to defend" bemused us. It was him that made those defensive substitutions. We somewhat predicted that he would not start Poldi as the boss stated that he intended to introduce the German striker into competitive games slowly, but after his impressive comeback, why Poldi was not used as a sub is a mystery to us. He could have been deployed as a left-winger as we desperately needed width in our attack (even a wide player, Theo, tended to drift into the middle and did not stay wide). The German international could also have replaced Giroud, who appeared to have been playing through the pain.

The back four earned the well-deserved plaudits, but the team defended very well as a unit. Mertesacker, captain of the day, demonstrated his leadership. Arsenal have been accused for lacking a plan B, but now thanks to improvement in defence, we can still get the job done even when we cannot play our brand of free-flowing football. Some fans are worried about Arsenal not having been at their best for a while, but as long as the team gets a result, we have no complaint.

Arsenal showed some steel in the last couple of games. They came from behind to claim a 3-1 victory against West Ham and ground out a result against a good Newcastle side. Winning these kind of games is imperative for maintaining the team's consistency. January fixtures all look winnable. Hopefully, we can widen a gap in this period, if other teams slip up.



Players rating

Szczesny: 6
Mixed performance. He made some smart stops, including a fingertip save at the end of the first-half, but had a moment of madness, kicking the ball straight at Loic Remy's head.

Sagna: 7
Solid display.

Mertesacker: 8
Stayed strong against Newcastle's strikers. He has been the most accurate passer among the Premier League regular defender this season with a 92% passing success rate (97% in this game).

Koscielny: 7

Along with Mertesacker, kept Newcastle strikers quiet. 

Gibbs: 6
Struggled to contain Debuchy on the left flank. Replace in the 70th minute. We didn't notice at the time, but apparently he suffered a calf strain.

Flamini: 7
Protected the back four very well. Moved to the left-back after Gibbs' withdrawal.

Wilshere: 7
Whoscored.com's Man of the Match, but he looked to us a little too easy to get muscled off the ball. Cleared Debuchy's headed effort off the line. Set up a goal-scoring chance by prodding Walcott clear behind the defence only for Giroud to mess it up.

Cazorla: 6

Struggled for space and time as Newcastle players, especially Tiote, pressed him so hard. He must have missed massively the presence of Ozil, who usually takes on two or three defenders. Some question the ref's decision to give Arsenal a free-kick which led to the goal, but it is more questionable why Tiote went unpunished after so many fouls on Santi.

Rosicky: 7

Showed his desire and determination. Always tried to go forward.

Walcott: 6
Sub-par performance, although he contributed to Giroud's goal via a superb delivery.

Giroud: 6
Scored the only goal of the game by guiding Theo's free-kick home with a delicate header. His first goal in over a month should release him from pressure. His lack of aggression may stem from his fear of getting injured. We need another striker to take the burden off him so that he can play without handbrake. (He was reported to have stated that Arsenal do not need another striker as they have Theo and Poldi, who both can play up front). 



Subs



Arteta: 6
70th minute substitute for Gibbs. Helped to shore up the defence.

Jenkinson: 5
Replaced Walcott in the 80th minute to see out a win. It was mystery to us why he didn't take a throw in quickly towards awaiting Bentner to attack the empty Newcastle box before all the defenders, including the goalkeeper, got back. Probably he was too concentrated on wasting time to run down the clock and was not aware of the chance.


Bendtner: 6
86th-minute substitute for Giroud. 

Saturday, December 28, 2013

West Ham 1 Arsenal 3

We had a series of massive games over the last couple of weeks but this clash with a struggling West Ham side was even more important. Had we lost this game, the critics would have had a field day and totally written us off as title contenders, even though we would still be in the mix. To be honest, we, at the Arsenal Playa Flamenca Supporters Club, started doubting towards the end of the first half if this team has what it takes to be champions after a string of chances were spurned. With the league leaders on goal difference, Liverpool, having to face Manchester City later on the day, this was an opportunity that must not be missed in order to reclaim the top spot.

Arsene Wenger understood the importance of this game better than anybody else as he named an almost unchanged starting XI from the side that started in a goalless draw with Chelsea on Monday night. This came as a surprise to us as the Frenchman suggested that he would rotate his team over a busy period. The only change was forced one as Tomas Rosicky picked up a knock from the Chelsea game. Santi Cazorla started in his place on the left wing. Surprisingly, Mathieu Flamini remained on the bench, while Mikel Arteta kept his place in the starting line-up despite suffering a swollen ankle after falling victim to John Obi Mikel's atrocious tackle.

We were hoping a big response from an Arsenal side that saw four games without a win. The first half left us frustrated. In contrast to the previous game, the Gunners created dozens of chances, but Theo Walcott missed a great chance after having been released behind the West Ham defence by Aaron Ramsey's incisive pass. Olivier Giroud cut a frustrated figure, missing a few clear-cut chances. At half time, we were hoping that we would not be left regretting all those missed chances at the end of the game. Then less than a minute into the second half, West Ham scored totally against the run of play.

The goal inspired the hosts. We were probably lucky not to go two goals down as West Ham were as wasteful as we were in the first half. Arsenal were too open for our liking, but Wenger admitted that they had to open up in their search for an equaliser, which arrived in the 68th minute. Walcott's effort might have needed a little bit of luck to hit the back of the net, but his decision-making and movement leading to the goal probably deserved it. Theo's goal celebration was minimal before the team positioned themselves for the restart of play. Arsenal's intent was clear that a draw simply wouldn't do. Three minutes later, Theo struck again, this time with a super header, which met Poldi's superb cross down from the left flank (Poldi didn't seem to have been awarded an assist because his cross was flicked on by Tomkins). This time Theo celebrated his goal emphatically, especially pleased with his first headed goal. In the 79th minute, Poldi's sublime strike virtually put the game to bed, although we still had chances to score more.

The turning point for Arsenal was arguably a substitution, which saw Poldi come onto the pitch for the first time in four months. It was also a forced change as Aaron Ramsey was clearly in distress, asking to come off. The media are talking up the negative impacts the absence of our best player of the season so far could have, but as this game suggested, Santi Cazorla will be more than happy to take his chance to play in the middle of the park. Although the diminutive Spaniard does not have Rambo's engine and stamina, he looked to have enjoyed the opportunity after Poldi came on and took over the left-winger role. Rosicky can also play in the central midfield. Jack Wilshere could be a more like-for-like replacement of Ramsey as a box to box player next to a holding midfielder, Arteta or Flamini, but he needs to step up his game to fill Ramsey's boots. Alternatively, even Arteta could play a more attack-minded role alongside deep-lying Flamini. Ramsey looked to have hit a lull in his form recently with a number of passes misplaced. As long as the lay-off does not stretch into too long a period, it may do him a good, serving him as a well-deserved rest to come back stronger. 

Before this game Arsenal had never won when they conceded a first goal (draw against West Brom and losses against Man U, Napoli away, and Man City), so this game presented a tough test when they went a goal down. Losing an influential player in Ramsey in the crucial stages of the game could have led to capitulation in the past. Despite these adversities, Arsenal pulled off a spirited comeback. 

After the well-deserved three points, Arsenal are top of the league again. Our next fixture is an away game against a high-flying Newcastle side. It will be another stern test.


Players rating

Szczesny: 6
He was directly responsible for the West Ham goal by spilling the ball, but pulled off a great save of Noble's free-kick.

Sagna: 7
He had to work hard to cope with Matt Jarvis, who was constantly attacking our right flank in the first half. Provided a great cross for Giroud, as well.

Mertesacker: 7
Had a good game.

Vermaelen: 7

Solid display.

Gibbs: 7
Had a good game going forward. Delivered a few good crosses and combined well with Poldi.

Arteta: 7
Gave away an unnecessary free-kick in the dangerous area, but he initiated some good attacking moves and had a shot. Made 4 tackles and 87 passes with a 95% passing success rate.

Ramsey: 6
Probably he may have been more adventurous with his passing, but for the past few games, his passing has been notably wayward. His passing success rate for this game was 79%, poor again by his standard and the team average of 84%. Some fans blame Wenger for not resting Ramsey for this game, but there were no clear signs of fatigue and it would have been cruel if the boss had denied him a chance to celebrate his 23rd birthday with a goal. Hope his thigh strain will not keep him on the sidelines too long (according to Mertesacker, it could be two to three weeks). He has been the strongest candidate for the Player of the Year until Suarez hit the current form. Hopefully, the Welshman will come back soon to replicate his earlier form.

Özil: 7

He has been a target of some criticisms from a section of the fans, but his touches and movements oozed class. Made impressive 8 key passes. His performance might not have been so eye-catching, but he is still a joy to watch and a very important player for us always occupying two or three opposition players.

Cazorla: 7

Perhaps his best performance so far this season, bar the Liverpool match. He was never shy of shooting from distance, which was a fresh breath of air to us. Unlucky not to score with a fine header, which forced a powerful save from Adrian. Had 8 shots, of which 2 on target with 6 key passes.

Walcott: 8
Barclays and whoscored.com's Man of the Match, scoring an equaliser and a winner. He should have scored in the first half when Ramsey's pin-point pass unleashed him behind the West Ham defence.

Giroud: 6
He lacked aggression in front of goal. Missed a number of chances, but he did very well to hold the ball and lay off for Poldi to score.



Subs



Podolski: 7
Came on to replace the injured Ramsey in the 65th minute. Made a big difference. Provided the width, which has been missing while he was out injured. Welcome back, Poldi!

Flamni: 6
81st-minute substitute for Özil. This substitution seemed to us a bit too late. He should have been brought on as soon as we had scored a winner in order to tighten up the defence, but no harm done.

Bendtner: 6
85th-minute substitute for Giroud. Nearly scored.




Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Arsenal 0 Chelsea 0

This game was massive for Arsenal. They could return to the top of the league 2 points clear, if they were to beat Chelsea, while they could end up as low as fourth if they were to lose, which would be a dramatic fall from the height of the top a point clear before the weekend. The last Premier League match before Christmas was billed as the game of the week. So much so, we were even reminded how big this game was for the Gunners prior to the game by a few non-Arsenal supporters, who also wished us well. However, the top of the table clash turned out to be a scrappy goalless draw to everybody's disappointment. While Jose Mourinho set up his side for a draw, Arsenal struggled to break down the well-organised side. The weather conditions did not help. The both side lacked quality in the final ball.

The majority of pundits predicted a draw, based on what was at stake for either side. On the other hand, we, the Arsenal supporters, regarded this game as winnable in light of the West London club's recent unconvincing performances. But one thing everybody agreed on was the first goal would be crucial, which proved to be the case.

As soon as it was found out Mike Dean was in charge of this game, we knew we would be playing against 12 men. TV replays showed that Willian clipped Walcott in the box, which was a blatant penalty. Most of pundits and journalists alike seem to agree with that conclusion (apart from Jose Mourinho, obviously). If the 36-minute penalty claim hadn't been turned down, the game would have opened up and the result would have been completely different. People say that Arsenal cannot win big games, but when the officials make mistakes week in week out (we are not just talking about the last two games, but the Napoli game as well), it is difficult for anybody to win big games.

Mike Dean not only turned down a legitimate penalty appeal, but also let five sinister challenges by Chelsea players go unpunished. Most of the media seem to agree that John Obi Mikel could have been sent off for his studs-up lunge at Arteta, but the Chelsea midfielder escaped any colour of card. If Chelsea had had to play with 10 men for the rest of the 90 minutes, it is not difficult to imagine that a crack might have appeared in their impeccable defence before the end of the game. Chelsea were also lucky to get away with other fouls committed by Azpilicueta, Ramires (who was eventually shown a yellow card), Lampard and Ivanovic. Mike Dean's decisions were also inconsistent. We don't know why Arsenal ended up with one more yellow card than Chelsea. Walcott's tackle was innocuous as he pulled out last minute, while Rosicky's yellow-card offence was nowhere as bad as the aforementioned fouls. Mike Dean also failed to take control of the game at the latter stages when the game hotted up, showing the lack of authority as a result of his leniency.

Combined with the legitimate penalty shout turned down, we feel that Arsenal could have won the game as they created just enough chances at the death. We are disappointed in that sense, but probably a point is not a bad result.

Some fans criticise Wenger for not having made any substitutions, but we understand the ground of his decision against changing the balance of the team. As the Frenchman said, there was no sign of fatigue in players. You could argue that Giroud and Walcott might have been replaced, but it could have been a gamble. Considering the fact that the team created more chances at the latter stages, one may say that it was not a gamble worth taking.

One of the positives taken from this game is a clean sheet, which should re-establish the team's confidence in their defence after conceding 6 goals from individual mistakes in the previous game. Vermaelen came in for the injured Koscielny and did a very good job, arguably our Man of the Match. Fortunately, Koscielny's injury is not as bad as we initially feared and the French centre-back should be back before long. However, it is reassuring that we have a capable back-up in the Club captain.

Another positive is depth in the squad. We had Cazorla, Flamini and Podolski on the bench this night. It is a luxury to be able to rotate Flamini and Arteta without affecting the balance of the team. Santi could start against West Ham in Özil's place, where the Spaniard thrived earlier last season, in order to give the German international a breather. Poldi's return to full fitness is a huge boost as he is a reliable finisher. Jack Wilshere will be available again for the Newcastle match when he has finished his two-match ban. All in all, it is great to have the most of the squad back ahead of the busy Christmas period. The Ox shouldn't be too long to be back, either (reportedly in the New Year).

Many doubted that Arsenal would stay top of the league at Christmas. Although our lead has disappeared and we are second only on goal difference, we are joint league leaders, level with Liverpool on points. Liverpool still have to play against Man City and Chelsea before the halfway mark of the season, while we have got over  our toughest period. Hopefully, we will get back to the winning ways as soon as possible, while Liverpool are going through a couple of those difficult games. We can count on Mourinho to play for another draw against their title rivals. If those results go in our way, Arsenal could be back at top of the table by New Year.

Players rating

Szczesny: 7
Chelsea's 4 shots on target were mostly comfortable saves.

Sagna: 7
Worked hard.

Mertesacker: 7
Solid display. Made a great last-ditch tackle to stop Torres delivering a cross.

Vermaelen: 7

Unlucky not to score from 
Özil's corner as his header was cleared off the line. Made 2 tackles, 4 interceptions, and 13 clearances. Apart from a careless back pass to Szczesny, who had to hack it off the sideline, he had an overall good performance. Covered Gibbs well, when the Englishman went forward.

Gibbs: 7
Provided the width on the left wing. Great cut-back for Giroud, whose effort was blocked by Cech.

Arteta: 7
Protected the back four well, but his distribution was fruitless.

Ramsey: 6

Difficult game. Too many wayward passes and a 73% success rate is extremely poor by his standard. He shouldn't have kicked the ball out when Ramires was seemingly injured on the floor as the referee didn't stop the play. Made 2 key passes, though, and one of them was a delightful chipped ball in the path of Giroud on the left, providing the French striker a clear-cut chance.

Özil: 6

He was forced to operate deeper than usual. His pass to Walcott could have earned an assist if the penalty claim had been successful.

Rosicky: 7

He always drove the attack forward. One of our late chances came from his run forward.

Walcott: 6
We were hoping for him to cause the Chelsea defence all sorts of problems with his pace, but disappointed. Probably he didn't get enough service, but with a mere 41 touches, he was not involved too much. (That said, the figure is better than Hazard's 37 touches, Willian's 36 or Torres' 33).

Giroud: 6
The recent dip in his form worries us. Wenger couldn't lay his finger on the reason for it as the boss ruled out fatigue after a 9-day break. Had two good chances late. His close-range effort was blocked by Cech, while he failed to convert the other by slicing his shot into the side-netting. Very disappointed with his finishing again.

Monday, December 16, 2013

Manchester City 6 Arsenal 3

This was always going to be a tough game. Arsenal had played two arduous games in the previous five days and had to travel to Manchester the day after they arrived from Naples. This game could have been played on Sunday, but was arranged for the Saturday lunch-time TV viewing. Some may argue that our opponents also played a midweek away game, but they had an extra day of rest and didn't have to go back on road. Besides, our midweek game was much harder with qualification at stake, while Man City could afford to rest key players after having secured their place in the knock-out stages with a game to spare.

Although Arsene Wenger was adamant prior to the game that he would not use the fixture congestion as an excuse, it was clear that fatigue was an issue as the Frenchman made as many as five changes from the side that started in the 2-0 defeat to Napoli in midweek. Fit-again Bacary Sagna and Nacho Monreal replaced Carl Jekinson and Kieran Gibbs, respectively, in the full-back positions. Aaron Ramsey started in place of Mikel Arteta, who publicly criticised the schedule. Jack Wilshere came in for Santi Cazorla, while Theo Walcott started for the first time since September at the expense of Tomas Rosicky. It was a mystery to us why Wenger did not use Theo in midweek even for the last 20 minutes or so as his pace could have made a difference, but probably the boss wanted to keep the right winger fresh for this match.

Only those who actually watched the whole game know how flattering the scoreline was for Man City and that the game was nothing like "thrashing" as the scoreline may suggest. Not all the match reports mention our two disallowed goals and penalty claim, but with those lost opportunities, the result could have been totally different. In particular, considering the timing, the potential penalty could have changed the whole dynamics of the game. At the Rendezvous bar, we were all incensed by the poor decisions of Martin Atkinson and Co. In fact, some say that they had never seen decisions as one-sided as in this game. Two perfectly good goals were ruled out for offside and a strong case of a handball was turned down (there was an intention, when Zabaleta lifted his arm. Man City fans may say that the ball hit his thigh and then bounced off his arm, but Tottenham have been given a penalty twice in the same situations this season). Furthermore, the penalty Man City was given was extremely soft as Milner was already going down and his trailing foot might or might not made a contact with Szczesny's foot. The ref looked as if he couldn't have waited to give a penalty as soon as we had scored a late goal through BFG's header. It's difficult to win a game when the officials make so many mistakes.

We admit that Arsenal gave away soft goals and made many mistakes, but they didn't play too badly. Stats show that they were not outplayed by their opposition with a 47% of possession (Man City's average possession is 56.8% vis-a-vis 53% in this game), 416 passes made against City's 476 with a better passing success rate of 85.1% in comparison with City's 84.5%. Arsenal registered 6 shots on target with a 54.5% shot accuracy rate, while City had 7 shots on target with a 38.9% accuracy.

Some question if Arsenal should have been more cautious, going to the Etihad, but we can see why Wenger didn't use two defensive midfielders as double pivot. Such defensive set-up was not successful at Old Trafford nor in Naples. Also, some question the substitutions, stating that a 4-2 scoreline would have looked better than a 6-3 defeat. It was a gamble to replace Flamini with Serge Gnabry, but Arsene must have thought we had a better chance to win the game by opening it up, seeing the fragility of the Man City defence. Had those four decisions gone in our way, Wenger's tactics might have just worked. It was good to see Arsenal have a real go, especially just after their disappointing display in Naples.

It was a tough game as we had to chase Man City all the time, but we never gave up. That was one of positives we can take from the game. Another one is Theo Walcott's return to full fitness. The England right winger had a good game on his first start in more than 3 months, scoring 2 goals. His performance highlighted what we were missing while he was sidelined. We needed somebody to get behind the defensive line, which Theo did in a number of occasions.

Koscielny's injury is obviously a blow as his partnership with Mertesacker was one of the key factors behind our excellent start to the season. Wenger confirmed that the France international suffered a deep cut on the knee and would be sidelined for a while. But look on the bright side. Vermaelen will have playing time he desperately wanted before he goes to the World Cup. We will be no longer bothered by those rumours about the Belgian international's wish to leave the Emirates. We have 9 days to prepare for the next game. It will be certain that BFG and the Verminator will have good drills beforehand with the rest of the back five.

This time the media wasted no time to pounce on the Arsenal "meltdown" story as Jack Wilshere's rude gesture and the "bust-up" between Mertesacker and his compatriot Özil dominated the back pages of the Sunday papers. Wenger condemned Jack Wilshere's alleged behaviour and stated that he hoped the Englishman would be banned if the report was found accurate. Although it is regretful to see an Arsenal player behaving badly, the midfield is an area we can afford to lose a player for a short term (Luis Suarez was landed with a one-match ban and fines after a similar case) and he shouldn't be a big loss. Santi should be fully recovered by the next game and Poldi's return is imminent as well.

On the other incident, some blame Mertesacker for his berating of Özil in public, but we appreciate his enthusiasm to keep the Club tradition and do the right thing. If somebody had to tell the £42 million star how to behave as a Gunner, it could only be his friend. Asked about the incident, Wenger answered that the Germans would sort it out themselves and he was right. Özil later apologised to the travelling fans on Twitter and Facebook: "Sorry I didn't thank the fans at the end of the game! You have been brilliant to me and I know you had travelled a long way and spent your money to support us. I was upset with the result and know I should have come to you to say 'thank you' and I know it is a big Arsenal tradition win, lose or draw."

We have always bounced back from disappointment in the past and we believe that this is no exception. The next game against second-placed Chelsea is another massive test, but considering that it's a home fixture and that we have plenty of time to recover and prepare this time around, the game is definitely winnable. Besides, Chelsea are still trying to find their feet under Mourinho and struggling to find any consistency in their performance.

Nothing is decisive at this time of the campaign as there are still 22 games to play, including a home game against Man City. We have been top of the league for 13 weeks and after all we are still top of the table. If we beat Chelsea, everybody will be asking "Crisis, what crisis?" once again.

Players rating

Szczesny: 6
We believe that he was innocent for the penalty. Some brave saves.

Sagna: 6
He was guilty of making a poor pass to Flamini, which led to a goal. On the other hand, he set up Mertesacker's goal.

Mertesacker: 7
He was guilty for one of the City's goals, but scored a goal.

Koscielny: 6

He was responsible for City's first goal by losing his mark, Aguero at the far post.

Monreal: 6
Lost the ball in a dangerous position and struggled to contain runners on the flank.

Flamini: 6
He unfortunate slip, combined with Sagna's misplaced pass, led to one of the City goal. He allowed his counterparts too much space.

Ramsey: 7

Set up Walcott's second goal with an incisive pass and was heavily involved in the build-up to Walcott's first.

Özil: 7

Set up Walcott's first goal, extending his assist tally to 7.

Wilshere: 6

Missed a glorious goal-scoring chance by mishitting the ball. Made a good effort, which forced a powerful save from Pantilimon. Had a defensively poor game. He was too slow on the ball, which allowed the City players to rob the ball.

Walcott: 8
Scored two goals.

Giroud: 6
We appreciate his work rate, but his finishing left a lot to be desired, missing 3 goal-scoring chances. On the other hand, he was unlucky his perfectly good goal was ruled out for offside. Walcott might have been in an offside position, but he did not affect the play and Giroud was definitely on side.




Subs


Vermaelen: 6

Replaced injured Koscielny in the 41st minute.

Gnabry: 6
72nd-minute substitute for Flamini. It was Wenger's massive gamble to bring him on for a holding midfielder. He lost the ball in a dangerous position.

Bendtner: 6

74th-minute substitute for misfiring Giroud. Made a brilliant effort, which was ruled out for offside.

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Arsenal 1 Everton 1

It was a pulsating game of football. Neither team was settling for a draw and kept going till the end of the game full of desire and commitment. Arsenal players admitted that an Everton side this afternoon was the toughest opponents they had faced all this season. It was disappointing not to come away with all three points, which we all thought the Gunners had in the bag, when Ozil broke the deadlock with 9 minutes to go. However, many think it was a fair result and most fans and Wenger alike were happy with the fact that Arsenal extended their lead to 5 points at the top of the league, thanks to Chelsea, Man City, and Man U dropping points a day earlier.

Arsene Wenger made four changes from the side that started in their defeat of Hull City at the Emirates on Wednesday. Olivier Giroud came in for Nicklas Bendtner, after having a breather in midweek. Mikel Arteta captained the side against his former club at the expense of Mathieu Flamini. Kieran Gibbs replaced Nacho Monreal at the left-back, while Carl Jenkinson continued to deputise Bacary Sagna, who was still short of fitness after suffering a hamstring injury. Jack Wilshere lined up on the right flank for Tomas Rosicky.

It is difficult to assess how the Gunners played. Probably it was safe to say that Arsenal were not at their best. Ozil and Koscielny were our two stand-out players, but we had a little too many players whose performances were below par to win a game against a well organised side like Everton. Stats highlighted that Arsenal didn't play their brand of fluent passing game with a miserly 78% passing success rate vis-à-vis Everton's 84%. Everton also outpassed us with 515 passes in comparison with our 403 passes. However, the Toffees managed only a couple of shots on target when they were dominant in possession in the first half.

In fact, Everton's possession in the first 25-30 minutes was phenomenal. Arsenal may not have played well, but Everton didn't let them play. While Wenger heaped his praise for Everton's performance, he was subtly critical about how they stopped his side from playing. Arsenal could not get into the flow of the game as the Toffees tried to break the flow with a foul every time they failed to win the ball back. Although four Everton players ended up with a yellow card, Howard Webb was initially very reluctant to punish them. Fortunately, Wenger confirmed after the match there were no injury problems, but these tactical minor fouls are seen more often now when a team press the opponents high up on the pitch and may pose problems for the referees as Wenger pointed out.

Obviously it was hugely frustrating that we couldn't take advantage when we were in ascendancy at the end of the first half and conceded an equaliser just 4 minutes after we had finally found the net. Arsene Wenger made rare triple changes in the 68th minute. We think he should have made double attacking substitutions earlier and left one option open for a defensive move later in case we would take a lead. Theo Walcott should have been brought on for Jack Wilshere earlier as he looked sharp when he came on.

However, a point against a very good Everton side was not the end of the world and certainly did not do too much damage to Arsenal's title aspiration as the point saw the gap widened to 5 points. It also seemed to do little harm to the north London club's title credentials, either. Chelsea and Man U were beaten by the Toffees this season, while both Liverpool and Tottenham had to settle for a draw. There is no shame in sharing the spoils. In addition, Everton, who are now widely acknowledged as top-four finish contenders, also dropped points.

The biggest positive from this game was that Arsenal can grind out a result, albeit a point, when they cannot play their football. It was an unusually slow start from the Gunners, but our defence was solid enough to hold a lively Everton side under tremendous pressure. We could have won the game only if Giroud's stunning volley from 20 yards out had hit the back of the net, instead of the woodwork. What an end to the exciting game it would have been.

This team has learnt lessons. Following the match, Wilshere said "if you can't win the game, don't lose the game". We could have lost this kind of games before by pushing forward too much to win the game and conceded goals on the break. The team showed their maturity.

We have little time to dwell on the result, with another massive game looming on the horizon. Anything but a defeat by a three goal margin should guarantee a place in the knock-out stage. The Gunners did suffer a 4-0 defeat in Italy two seasons ago by the hand of AC Milan, but we cannot see the current team conceding 3 goals in a game at the moment. If we can avoid conceding an early goal, we should be through to the next round of the Champions League. A draw will be enough to see us win the group regardless of the other result. On the other hand, Napoli desperately need a win to get through. After the Marseille match, Wenger made it clear that he would set his team up for a win. It will be an exciting game.

Players rating

Szczesny: 7
Made a couple of stunning saves. It would be too harsh to blame him for not being able to save Deulofeu's shot.

Jenkinson: 6
Dragged into the middle at times, but managed to negotiate danger posed by a good Everton right-back, Oviedo.

Mertesacker: 7
Solid at back.

Koscielny: 8

Kept Lukaku in his pocket throughout the game and made crucial tackles and interceptions.

Gibbs: 6
Guilty for the goal. He should have closed down on Deulofeu quickly or blocked his shot. Went forward often and got in great positions, but his defensive display left something to be desired.

Arteta: 6
Worked hard to cope with the Everton midfield, made 5 tackles.

Ramsey: 6

Had a difficult game, giving away the ball too often. A 77% passing success rate is extremely poor by his standard. That said, he had his moments in attack and had 2 shots on target with a 100% shot accuracy rate, which forced excellent saves from Tim Howard. Replaced in the 68th minute by Flamini.

Özil: 8
Everton and England international, Ross Barkley's performance attracted all the plaudits as well as Barclays Man of the Match award, but whosored.com rated 
Özil as a Man of the Match. Scored his fourth Premier League goal. It's good to see him shine in a big, intense game like this.

Wilshere: 6

Quiet game.

Cazorla: 6
Did some great work defensively, but not so impressive in the final third. Hopefully, he will repeat last season's form soon. Gave way to Tomas Rosicky in the 68th minute.

Giroud: 7
Worked hard, winning aerial battles, holding the ball up for the midfield runners, who were a bit slow this day. 



Subs


Walcott: 7
One of triple 68th-minute substitutions to replace Jack Wilshere. His introduction gave the side much-needed pace. His header led to 
Özil's goal. Once he is fully fit, he should be a regular starter on the right wing.

Rosicky: 7
His incisive pass from the left to Walcott eventually led to the goal.

Flamini: 7
Made an immediate impact by going forward, but failed to convert the chance.




Monday, December 2, 2013

Cardiff 0 Arsenal 3

Cardiff City Stadium is a difficult place to go, where both the Manchester clubs dropped points this season. So coming away with all three points and shutting out the side renowned for their strength in set-pieces were extremely satisfying.

Arsene Wenger made three changes from the side that started in Arsenal's comfortable 2-0 defeat of Marseille on Tuesday night. Kieran Gibbs came in for Nacho Monreal, who had a good game on his rare start, after the Englishman had recovered from illness. Mikel Arteta and Santi Cazorla replaced Mathieu Flamini and Tomas Rosicky, respectively. Jack Wilshere kept his place on the merit of the two goals he scored in midweek.

However, all eyes were on one Arsenal player, a certain Aaron Ramsey, who made a return to his home-town where he spent his early career. Ramsey joined Arsenal in 2008 with a reported fee of £5 million and when he played against his former club a year later in the FA Cup, his every touch was met with boos and the then 18-year-old looked very uncomfortable on the pitch. It was one of his poorest displays as Cardiff didn't allow him much space, either. It was one of talking points prior to the match how he would be received by Cardiff fans this time around. The fact was that the home crowd gave the Wales international a warm reception before the kick-off.

Ramsey responded to them with respect in return. He did not celebrate his goals against his childhood club and the Cardiff supporters appreciate it with applause. Some Cardiff fans sung his name after his stoppage-time goal. The 22-year-old responded by tapping both hands against his head - a Cardiff celebration known by supporters as Ayatollah.

In contrast to such a nice home-coming story, there are still a number of mindless Arsenal fans (hope they are not true fans) who blame the in-form midfielder for the death of an actor. There was a so-called curse of Ramsey goals a couple of years ago, which we have mentioned in this Blog before. The rumour has it that when Aaron Ramsey has scored, famous people die. The victims include Osama Bin Laden, Steve Jobs, and Whitney Houston. However, his goal tally so far this season has already reached 14 and apart from Paul Walker (if you haven't heard of him, apparently he was a star of the Fast and Furious film franchise) who was killed in a car crash on Sunday, we haven't heard of any demise of celebrities on or around the day when Ramsey found the net. So please leave him alone and let him get on with what he is doing very well at the moment.

As for the game, it was an all-round great performance from a quality Arsenal side. Our midfield was tremendous going forward. Combined with Giroud, our midfielders were all over the pitch, interchanging their positions freely, while keeping the shape with a danger of counter-attack in mind. This requires good understanding between the players and individual players' intelligence. During the absence of recognised wingers, we sometimes suffered from the lack of width, but when the midfielders are playing like this, we have no width problem. Even Cardiff fans admitted that Arsenal were a joy to watch.

Our defence deserved credit, too. They were solid even when they were under sustained pressure from Cardiff. They were calm and just weathered through those moments. Mathieu Flamini was brought on to shore up the defence in order to protect a narrow lead, which they didn't need to in the end as the holding midfielder scored a second goal. Then we were cruising. The third goal came from a quick counter attack, which was initiated by Sagna's interception at the edge of their own box.

The 3-0 win saw us move 7 points clear at top of the table on Saturday. The results of the following day were mixed. The draw between Man U and Tottenham was ideal for us, resulting in Man U trailing us by 9 points and Tottenham by 10 points. Liverpool also dropped points and now sit fourth in the table, 7 points behind us. Chelsea and Man City moved to second and third, 4 and 6 points behind the Gunners, respectively, after their wins on Sunday. Games come thick and fast in December. We are in a strong position where we just need to concentrate on our games. As long as we keep winning our games, we will stay top.

Players rating

Szczesny: 8
His stunning 52nd-minute save was arguably the decisive moment of the game. If we had conceded a goal at that time, the dynamics of the game would have changed completely. His decisions were flawless, too.

Sagna: 7
Solid defensively, helped attack.

Mertesacker: 8
Made a last-grasp tackle.

Koscielny: 8

Made 5 interceptions and 10 clearances.

Gibbs: 7
Joined attack, solid defensively.

Arteta: 8
Made 7 tackles and 5 interceptions.

Ramsey: 9

Unanimously chosen Man of the Match. Scored 2 goals, including an exquisite header, and always in the heart of Arsenal attack. Top passer of the game with 72 passes in total including 3 key passes. Real box-to-box performance.

Özil: 8
The recent games suggested a dip in his form, but this was arguably one of his best games in an Arsenal shirt. His touches and movements oozed class, but his vision was his greatest asset. He picked out Ramsey and Flamini and set up their goals with incisive passes, moving top of the assist table in the Premier League with 6 to his name. Clearly he enjoyed the game, tweeting "3:0 away. what a game. I love this team and this Club" after the game.


Wilshre: 7

Unlucky not to score in less than 30 seconds from the start of the game, hitting the corner of the woodwork. Gave way in the 81st minute to Monreal, but it is clear that his fitness level has improved massively in the recent weeks.

Cazorla: 6
Tracked back well and worked hard defensively, but hasn't reached his best form he showed last season yet. Attempted a tame shot on target.

Giroud: 6
Very mobile. Unlucky to have his effort in the goal-mouth blocked on the line. His hesitation to capitalise on the referee's wrong decision (or lack of off-side decision) cost us an early goal chance, but he seemed to have learnt lessons that he should not stop playing until the whistle has been blown. 




Subs


Flamini: 8
Came in for Cazorla. The 77th-minute substitution was designed to see out the game. It was his first Premier League goal in 5 years.

Monreal: 6
Replaced Wilshere in the 81st minute. Made a wrong decision to blast a shot high and wide when we needed to hold the ball.

Walcott: 7
90th-minute substitute for 
Özil. Set up a goal for Ramsey after breaking on the right wing.