Arsenal 4 Reading 1

This game always looked set for a home win as we had enough quality to beat a relegation-threatened Reading side on paper even with the absence of Jack Wilshere and Theo Walcott. However, a newly appointed manager always gives an extra boost, which was the unpredictable factor we feared. Nigel Adkins has already seen what would happen if his side let Arsenal play their game in Southampton's 6-1 defeat at the Emirates earlier this season. His new club has also seen Arsenal score against them 12 goals in their two previous meetings this season. Some of us expected Reading to sit back and contain Arsenal like many teams do when they visit the Emirates, while others predicted an open game as a point wouldn't be enough for Reading to keep their hopes of staying up.

On top of the possible 'new manager syndrome' effect on Reading, how the latest international break would affect us was another unknown factor. We had so many players involved in the World Cup qualifiers. Fortunately, most of them had a good international break, with Olivier Giroud, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, and Aaron Ramsey getting on the scoresheet for their respective countries, Nacho Monreal and Tomas Rosicky setting up goals, and Per Mertesacker and Thomas Vermaelen helping their respective national teams keep a clean sheet. Injuries picked up during international breaks have also been a cause for concern for us over the past years. Especially we used to sweat over a certain Dutchman's fitness, but this time Theo Walcott was the only casualty. Theo was released from the England squad due to a pelvic muscular strain he suffered in training, but he is expected to be back for the WBA game next weekend. Nonetheless, we still feared that the international break might disrupt our recent form, which was the league's second best after Manchester United's.

Arsene Wenger made four changes to the side who started in the defeat of Swansea two weeks ago. We expected the Ox to replace injured Theo on the right wing, but the boss had another idea. Gervinho was promoted from the bench to the starting line-up following his impressive performance as an impact sub in the Swansea match. We thought that the Ivorian should have a couple of more games as a sub to build up his confidence before he starts a game, but his display must have been good enough to convince Wenger that he was ready to start.

Much to our discontent, Lukas Podolski was not included in the starting XI despite being fully fit again. Amid speculations surrounding his future at Arsenal, this was a concerning sign. It is not fair to him if he is to be sold before he is given decent chances to prove himself in his preferred central striker role. Cazorla moved to the left flank from central midfield where he looked superb against Swansea. In fact, he drifted to the middle so often and his goal came from exactly there that we were not quite sure what his real role was in this game. We think he excels in central midfield when he is given space and freedom rather than the left wing.

Tomas Rosicky came in for an attacking central midfielder role, while Ramsey replaced Abou Diaby, who suffered a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament this week. Apparently, the team wore "Get well soon Abou" shirts in warm-up in their support to the hapless midfielder who is no stranger to serious injuries. (We missed all the build-up to the game because poor Joaquin couldn't put the game on the TV screen until kick-off despite having struggled since 10 o'clock in the morning) This time the injury is expected to keep the Frenchman out of action for eight to nine months. We feel sorry for him, but you cannot build a team around a player as injury-prone as him. Wenger has to discount Diaby when the Club go into the summer transfer window.

Elsewhere, fit-again Bacary Sagna replaced Carl Jenkinson, who successfully deputised the French defender in the last two games. In the past week, Arsenal.com's Online Opinion Poll asked which full-back partnership the fans prefer. The most popular pairing was Jenkinson-Gibbs, followed by Jennkinson-Monreal.

Arsenal's depth in the squad was often questioned over the past years, but it is encouraging to find that we can still produce this level of performance without key players such as Jack Wilshere and Theo Walcott. Even Roy Hodgson acknowledged that England sorely missed Jack in their draw against Montenegro, but we have produced some impressive results and performances without him. In this game, we had Vermaelen left on the bench, while Gibbs, Poldi, and the Ox came off the bench.

It was a comfortable win for Arsenal and it could have been an even more emphatic scoreline if Gervinho had converted all the chances he had in the first half and had it not been for Reading's last-ditch blocks. That said, we enjoyed the Gunners' free-flowing football and were pleased with their spirit. They looked like they wanted it more than the Reading side who were battling against relegation. Especially, our midfielders chased every loose ball and did a great job of cutting off any supply for Reading's lone striker, Pavel Pogrebnyak. We must admit that Reading were poor on the day, but they were the side who caused Manchester United significant problems at Old Trafford and were unlucky to come away with nothing two weeks ago.

For us, Gooners, it was one of rare games we could watch comfortably. Although during the first half, we were worried if we might have to pay for our profligacy at the end of the game, it didn't take us long after the break to be reassured that three points were in the bag. Arsenal took full control of the game and dictated it from the beginning to the end. As Arsene Wenger said in the post-match interview, the right balance between defence and attack was the key.

The convincing win boosted our hopes of the top-four finish. Chelsea's loss to Southampton highlighted the fact that everybody can drop points anywhere in the run-in. We are now two points behind fourth-placed Chelsea with the same number of games played and four points adrift of third-placed Tottenham, but with a game in hand. The two teams will have to play each other, and before that Tottenham will face another top-four finish contenders, Everton, next Sunday only three days after their Europa League match. We have to continue our excellent run of form and win all those winnable games.

Player ratings

Fabianski: 7

He had little to do as Reading registered only two shots on target, one of which was an easy save for him.

Sagna: 8

Back into the team as soon as he is fit again. This must underline Wenger's faith in him despite all the rumours over his departure in the summer as his contract talks show little progress. Solid defensively, went forward to help attack on the right flank. Delivered a couple of good crosses as well. Overall, he made a solid return to the side. 

Mertesacker: 7 

Comfortable afternoon for the German defender.

Koscielny: 8

Made a crucial tackle.

Monreal: 6

He was not alert enough to spot Robson-Kanu's run. Replaced by Gibbs in 71st minute as a result of an injury when he collided with the post. Wenger confirmed that the Spain international should recover from a bruised hip in two or three days.

Ramsey: 8

Made 87 passes, including 4 key passes, with 90% passing success rate and an impressive 6 interceptions. His form has been improving steadily this season. His performance for the Walsh national team last weekend impressed many people. Unlucky not to score. One of his goal attempts was deflected wide, another forced a good save from Stuart Taylor.

Arteta: 8 

Completed 108 passes with 93% passing success rate. His incisive pass released Giroud, who should have been awarded a penalty. Scored from a spot-kick with calmness.

Rosicky: 7

Had a good game with quick purposeful passing and drive through the Reading defence.

Cazorla: 9

He was at heart of creativity. Scored his 12th goal in the Premier League with an exquisite curled finish.

Gervinho: 9

Although he missed a few clear-cut chances, scoring 1 and assisting 2 should justify the rating. He looked dangerous throughout the 75 minutes he spent on the pitch. His decisions for the final ball left a lot to be desired earlier in the season, but the one he made in the counter-attack was spot on. His well-weighed pass didn't even require Giroud a touch.

Giroud: 8

Well-taken goal, which was his 16th of the season. Not bad for his first season in English football. He is often accused of being static, but he was fairly mobile in this game. 

Subs

Gibbs: 6

Glad to see him make the bench after he had been sick for three days and was doubtful for this game. Made his 100th appearance for Arsenal when he came off the bench in 71st minute to replace injured Nacho.

Oxlade-Chamberlain: 7

75th-minute substitute for Gervinho. Made an immediate impact by intercepting and running at the Reading defenders. Earned a penalty.

Podolski: 6
75th-minute substitute for Giroud. It was interesting to see how he played a central striking role, where he played only once in the season opener, but there was little time to make an impact.

Referee

Christ Foy: 5
Made three wrong decisions. Giroud should have had a penalty when Stuart Taylor clattered him. Mariappa handled the ball blatantly. The Ox was possibly fouled outside the box. However, it took a couple of replays to confirm where the foul was committed and the penalty may be a fair result after the two legitimate penalty claims were turned down. Good job these decisions didn't affect the outcome of the game.

Swansea 0 Arsenal 2

On Saturday, two teams known for their similar style of play met for the fourth time this season. In the first encounter of the season at the Emirates, the Welsh club left us shocked, scoring two late goals in quick counter-attacks and taking all three points. However, since then, we had nearly beaten them on their home soil, where Manchester United and Chelsea both dropped points, in the third round of the FA Cup, and we outplayed them in all departments in the replay at the Emirates.

Nobody knew what kind of mood Swansea would be in, going into this game, after they won the Capital One Cup three weeks ago, securing their place in Europe next season, and  pretty well safe from relegation. It was equally difficult to predict how much the midweek exertions had affected Arsene Wenger's side. On the other hand, we were hoping that the impressive win on Wednesday night would give them much-needed confidence to carry them through the rest of the season. In fact, Michael Laudrup revealed his gameplan that if his side managed to hold Arsenal early on, the north London club would get tired and his side could beat them in the second half.

Arsene Wenger made three changes from the side that started in the midweek win over Bayern Munich. We were hoping that he would keep the same back five on the back of their solid defensive display against the German giants, but the reported recurrence of  Gibbs' thigh strain looked set to leave the English left-back out of the squad. As it turned out, Gibbs made the bench and he came on as an 85th-minute sub, which was an encouraging sign of his fitness. In any case, we never doubted that Nacho Monreal would be a more than capable deputy and our confidence in him was backed up by his performance in this game. Now Arsene Wenger has two competent left-backs to chose from.

Bacary Sagna was yet to recover from his injury, which made Wenger's selection for a right-back position easier. Vermaelen continued his life on the bench, while Szczesny also made the bench. Prior to the game, Wenger defended his decision to have left out the two regular starters against Bayern Munich, claiming they still play vital roles in the team. Jack Wilshere has been ruled out until April, according to the media report, although Wenger previously hoped that the England international would only miss out on one Premier League game.

Another conspicuous absentee was Lukas Podolski, whose future has been a talking point among the fans. The German international declared his return to full fitness on the matchday, 16 March, and tweeted on Sunday that he was glad to be back in the German squad. As we mentioned in the last post, Juventus and Atletico Madrid are reportedly prepared to offer £15 million for the German striker as he seems to have fallen out of favour with Arsene Wenger. If he plays for Germany and he doesn't feature in the Reading game in two weeks' time, unless he gets injured during the international break, it will cast a serious question on his future at Arsenal. He is Arsenal's most clinical finisher and has provided joint top assists in the Premier League. We fear that Arsenal may not be able to resist the temptation of selling him for profits in the region £4 million (based on a reported transfer fee of £11 million) in just one year.

Elsewhere, Abou Diaby replaced Aaron Ramsey from Wednesday night, while Santi Cazorla moved back to a central attacking midfielder role, which was vacated by Tomas Rosicky. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain started on the left wing.

Wenger's substitution decisions have caused our displeasure a number of times this season, but the one he made in this game proved to be spot on and crucial. In the 70th minutes (regular as clockwork), the Frenchman brought on two pairs of fresh legs in the shape of Gervinho and Ramsey, both of whom have many critics among fans. Their introductions were met by groans at the Las Mimosas bar. Especially, the substitutions came when the Ox was demonstrating his strength, i.e., shooting from range, going close to score twice only to be denied by the woodwork. However, the two substitutes injected energy and impetus going forward and produced a late goal to seal a victory with two of them combining. We have to say that the Ivorian's resurgence was somewhat expected from his good work on Wednesday night.

It was a strange game. Some papers described the win as "comfortable", while others claimed that it was anything but convincing. Stats are of no help for that matter, painting a mixed picture open to interpretations. Swansea dominated with 57% of overall possession. They outpassed us with 619 passes vis-à-vis our 454, with an 88% passing success rate against our 84%. However, one can argue that they didn't make most of their possession and passes, as they only had nine shots in total with no shots on target, in comparison with our 16 shots in total with six on target.

In our view, Arsenal controlled the majority of the game, especially most of the second half. With our defence looking composed, we didn't look like we were going to concede, which left it only a matter of our capability to score a goal. Arsene Wenger and Michael Laudrup both agreed that in this kind of game, a first goal would be decisive. And we got it in the 74th minute through Nacho's shot, which was described as a "scuffed" attempt by many, but we didn't agree. The goal was set up by Olivier Giroud. According to some match reports, after Santi had "squared the ball for Giroud", Giroud "nudged" the ball for Nacho. In our opinion, the French striker did his best to mess up Santi's pass which was intended for Ramsey waiting at the far post unmarked. After the goal, Swansea had to come out in their attempt to find an equaliser, which pushed their defence line high up, leaving space behind them. Giroud spotted Ramsey on the right flank ahead of him. After collecting a pass from the Frenchman, Ramsey found himself in a two-on-one situation and squared the ball to Gervinho. The pass was not perfect, falling behind the Ivorian, but Gervinho managed to check and slotted past Michel Vorm with a great composure, which has been found wanting for some time.

It was vital three points after Everton beat Mancester City earlier on the day and leapfrogged us temporarily. We showed great spirit, in particular, in the last 20 minutes. Our defence looked solid throughout the game, even when Swansea showed some attacking intent in the first half. Fabianski was well protected by the back four, who prevented Swansea's shots on target by doing their best to block or deter them. Another clean sheet in four days against another strong attacking side should further boost the team's confidence. Many thought this was our toughest fixture, apart from the Man U match, so coming away with all three points from South Wales definately helped Arsenal's successful run-in.

After Tottenham's slip-up on Sunday, fouth place suddenly looked more achievable. We are now trailing the north London rivals by four points with a game in hand. Hopefully, all the players who go away on their international duty will come back unscathed and others can get a good rest before they focus on the clash with Reading in two weeks' time. Keep fingers crossed that we can keep the momentum and a good run of form after the international break.

Player ratings

Fabianski: 7 

With Swansea registering no shots on target, he had little to do. Apart from one occassion, in which we were surprised that he didn't come out to claim the ball, he looked commanding.

Jenkinson: 7

Apart from one school-boy error, in which he gave away the ball in his attempt to make a pass across the face of the box, he looked solid.

Mertesacker: 7

Solid. Seems to be much better with Koscielny.

Koscielny: 7

Worked hard and made some crucial challenges.

Monreal: 7

He grew into the game and scored a key goal.

Diaby: 6

After having a nightmare in the first half, his game improved dramatically in the second half. He was more direct and used his bursting runs well. He just needs to have a good run of games without getting injured. 

Arteta: 6 

His passing success rate was right up there on this day with 92%, but he still committed a meaningless foul and received a yellow card.

Cazorla: 8

Outstanding. 41% of voters on Arsenal.com's Opinion Poll shared the same view with us that he was the Man of the Match. Nacho was the runner-up with 18% of votes, followed by the Ox's 14%.

Walcott: 6

We expected more from the birthday boy.

Oxlade-Chamberlain: 7

He was most likely to score in the first half, hitting the woodwork twice.

Giroud: 6

Battled well against Ashley Williams, a Swansea defender who has been linked with Arsenal in recent weeks.

Subs

Gervinho: 7

Made a great impact again when he came on in the 70th minute for the Ox. Scored a stoppage time goal.

Ramsey: 7

The other one of the double substitution in the 70th minute, replacing Diaby in his favourite central midfield position. Assisted a goal for Gervinho.

Gibbs: 6
85th-minute substitute for Walcott.

Bayern Munich 0 Arsenal 2 (2nd leg of Round of Last 16 in Champions League)

We nearly made the "mission impossible" possible. While the media are keen to remind us that another season will end trophy-less for the eighth successive year, we are quite happy with how bravely our players fought for an unlikely comeback. The impressive win against the last season's Champions League finalists and current Bundesliga leaders proved that we deserved to be in Europe's elite league. Although Arsenal failed to find the net one more time to go through to the next round, they went out of the competition, holding their heads high.

Pre-match mood couldn't have been gloomier for Arsenal fans with more unnerving news unfolded on the day, as if the media hadn't tormented us and Arsene Wenger enough this season. First of all, Wenger's decision to rest Wojciech Szczesny caused a stir among the fans. Wenger explained his decision by stating that the young No. 1 needed a breather after a number of games he played under severe scrutiny. Most of the media interpreted this as the young keeper being dropped because of his recent errors, especially the one that led to the Gunners' exit from the FA Cup, while some fans took the word "rest" at face value and protested Wenger's decision as they saw no reason why the first-choice keeper should need a rest. At Playa Flamenca Arsenal Supporters Club, we feared the worst at the news that Lukasz Fabianski, aka Flappy-hand-ski, was likely to stand in for his compatriot. As it turned out, we must admit that his performance surpassed our expectations.

The most malicious rumour which went around on the papers earlier that day was that Arsene Wenger was expected to field a weakened team, resting key players ahead of Saturday's league game against Swansea. Supporters, including celebrity fans, such as Piers Morgan and Ian Poulter, expressed their anger and disappointment with the alleged team selections. The Telegraph even posted an online poll asking readers whether Wenger was right to field a weakened team. The narrow majority of voters were against it, while the rest of them showed their understanding and a realistic point of view that it would make sense to prioritise the league game. And the truth? Arsenal's starting line-up included Theo, Santi, and Per, all the key players that the media thought Wenger was going to rest (picking Koscielny or Vermaelen ahead of Mertesacker may be called rotation, but I am not quite sure if that qualifies as "resting a key player", though).

In fact, Wenger only made forced changes, apart from one surprise omission. Santi Cazorla continued on the left flank in the absence of Lukas Podolski, who have been struggling with an ankle problem. Earlier on that day, the newspaper reports suggested that Juventus and Atletico Madrid were prepared to offer £15mn for the German striker as he seems to have fallen out of favour with Arsene Wenger due to his poor work rate (Poor work rate? Poldi offers more cover for a left-back than Gervinho, Arshavin, or even Santi does). However, in this case, only the German international's injury seems to have kept him out of the squad. Tomas Rosicky replaced Jack Wilshere in an advanced central midfielder role. The Englishman was ruled out for three weeks through a bruised ankle. Kieran Gibbs started for the first time since the end of January in the place of Nacho Monreal who was cup-tied. The above changes were more or less in line with expectations, after the heartening news about Gibbs' return, but it came as a surprise that Thomas Vermaelen was dropped to the bench, which gave Laurant Koscielny a starting place alongside Per Mertesacker. The Belgian was regarded as an automatic starter because of the armband, but the media believe that this season's dip in his form has finally prompted Wenger to drop the captain from the starting XI.

The only negative from this match was that we fell one goal short of going through to the next round. The final whistle should have seen us and our players celebrating a massive victory, but instead, it was met by a relief from the home side and cheers from the home crowd. We cannot help thinking ifs and buts. If we hadn't conceded the third goal at the Emirate, a 2-0 victory would have been enough to see us through. We should have played at home like we did this night. If Gervinho or Giroud had converted that clear-cut chance, a 3-0 win would have sent us to the quarter-finals. If a second goal had come 10 minutes earlier, panicked Bayern defence might have given in under pressure.

However, as Mikel Arteta, captain on the night, said, there are a number of positives to take from this game. First and foremost, beating the Bundesliga's run-away leaders 2-0 on their home soil was a feat in its right own right and it should give our players confidence, which has been an issue this season. Bayern Munich had conceded only 10 goals at their home ground this season before Arsenal's visit. Hopefully, the Gunners can take the momentum into the remaining league games as we still have a Champions League spot to play for.

Secondly, our defenders answered critics with their calm display. The two young full-backs were superb. They kept Bayern's skillful and tricky wide players, Muller and Robben, at bay. The two centre-backs obviously rehearsed well during the 10-day interval since the north London derby defeat, leaving no space between them. The tight defence meant that Bayern were reduced to shooting from outside the box. Our well-organised and composed defence was a big positive from this game. Bayern Munich were top-scorers in this season's competition, going into this game, and this was the first time they failed to score in this campaign. Our defenders should take courage from a clean sheet against one of the best teams in the world.

Arsene Wenger said they would have a go without being silly. His gameplan was spot on and the team executed it well. They started strongly and got the first goal inside three minutes. The early goal gave the team a belief that they could pull off an unlikely turnaround, as well as surprising a confident home side. However, we didn't take a gung-ho approach to this game as some journalists suspected. We kept it tight at the back. As long as we didn't concede, there was still a chance to overcome the 3-1 deficit from the first leg.

If we were to go out, which looked most certain prior to the game, we had to go out in a positive way and we did exactly that. Any humiliating result or weak performance would have had a detrimental effect on our run-in. We didn't find fluency in our attack in this game, but an excellent team display earned an impressive 2-0 win on German soil. The lads did us proud.

Player ratings

Fabianski: 7 

Made some smart saves. Apart from a sloppy pass to Jenkinson, he didn't put his foot wrong. He demonstrated authority which Szczesny lacks, when he came off the line to claim the ball with such a momentum that took Mertesacker off the ground. Very promising performance in his first start of the season for the first team.

Jenkinson: 9

We think the 20-year-old right back had a blinding game. Made a match-saving stop. He put in a strong defensive performance and made a superb cross to Giroud who nearly converted it.

Mertesacker: 7

Solid.

Koscielny: 7

Arsenal fans' chosen Man of the Match (according to the Arsenal.com's Fans Online Poll) perhaps on the strength of his goal and solid defensive display.

Gibbs: 8

Encouraging performance on his return since the Liverpool game at the end of January. He didn't look like he had been away. If anything, he seemed to have made a progress from where he left off 6 weeks ago. He kept quiet Philip Lahm, who was influential in the first leg. We don't mind the same back five playing against Swansea this weekend, but Gibbs are likely to be sidelined again as Wenger revealed that the Englishman had a minor reaction on his thigh. Monreal should replace him without problem as he has had a nice 2-week rest by then.

Ramsey: 6

Got involved and worked hard, but his passing let him down.

Arteta: 6 

Made an impressive 7 interceptions. Although he was unlucky that the ref's decisions went all against him, he made too many (9) fouls. Especially, his silly fouls disrupted the flow of the game in the final few minutes when we were desperately searching for a tie-decider. The stats were also shocking for the usually accomplished passer, with a meagre 78% of passing success rate. In fact, the entire team's passing completion rate (76%) was far below their standard. The whole team worked hard to win the ball only to lose it through subsequent poor passing.

Rosicky: 7

His incisive pass found Walcott, who set up an early goal for Giroud. He seemed to have lacked understanding with his team-mates at times, but hopefully there will be his best to come from him.

Cazorla: 6

Had a relatively quiet game.

Walcott: 6

Provided an assist for Giroud. Looked dangerous.

Giroud: 6

Scored the opening goal, but missed a couple of good chances. We want to see more commitment on attacking from him.

Subs

Oxlade-Chamberlain: 6

One of the double 72nd-minute substitutions for Ramsey and Walcott. The double substitutions clearly gave the team an attacking momentum. I know that passing is not really the strength of his game, but passing success rate of 46% is appalling.

Gervinho: 6

The other one of the double substitutions. Had a glorious chance to score in 78th minute after dancing through Bayern defenders into the box only to trickle a shot just wide.

Tottenham 2 Arsenal 1

Las Mimosas bar started filling up earlier than usual ahead of kick off of a north London derby with Gooners who didn't want to miss out on seats in the popular bar, including John and Karen, who turned up one hour earlier, thinking the kick-off was at 4 pm Spanish time. This north London derby had an extra significance with more than bragging rights at stake, as the two neighbouring clubs were only separated by four points, looking to push on for a Champions League spot. A win would move us up to only one point behind them, while a loss would open up the gap to seven points. This was a real six pointer.

The focus of our pre-match talks was on a reported £1.5 billion take-over bid for Arsenal FC by a Middle East consortium. The news seemed to have been generally received favourably among the Playa Flamenca Gooners, with expectations for cash injections and the prospect of drastic changes. However, with qualification for next season's Champions League thought to be a condition for the proposed take-over or the basis of the valuation of the Club's worth, the bid now looks less likely to take place.

Wenger only made one change to his side who started in a 2-1 win over Aston Villa last weekend. Abou Diaby, who hobbled off the pitch against Aston Villa, failed to pass late fitness tests and did not even make the bench. Bacary Sagna also failed to recover in time from his knee injury he sustained during the Bayern Munich game, which meant Carl Jenkinson continued deputising for the French defender at right back.

We thought Koscielny would get the nod for this game because of his pace, but Mertesacker continued in central defence alongside Vermaelen. If Arsenal were to play such a high defensive line, Koscielny may indeed have been a better choice. However, the defensive frailty exposed in this game did not necessarily stem from Mertesacker's lack of pace, but the whole defensive unit did not cope well with the pace of Tottenham's attack nor manage their own high line well. Besides, Koscielny has his own problem of error-proneness. Back in September, when he was selected ahead of Mertesacker against Torres, his two mistakes cost us three points. It seems that it always turns out to be a wrong decision, whichever is chosen, Koscielny or Mertesacker.

Santi Cazorla has been excellent on the left flank in recent weeks, which kept Lukas Podolski out of the starting line-up. Combined with Jack Wilshere excelling in a No. 10 role, which was played previously by Santi Cazorla, Poldi has rarely started of late. Although it is understandable for Wenger to continue playing Santi and Jack in these positions, we don't understand the Frenchman's reluctance to play Poldi, considering the fact that Wenger has been known as a long-term admirer of the German striker. We want to see him in a central striker role, especially now Giroud's form has dipped.

Santi's deployment on the flank again opened up another central midfielder position alongside Mikel Arteta, which was occupied by Aaron Ramsey in the absence of Abou Diaby.

The team selection was more or less in line with our expectations, but what baffled us was Wenger's substitutions. Rosicky came on for Jenkinson in the 60th minute, when we were pushing for an equaliser. The Frenchman's intention to add more attacking force was easy to understand, but not at the expense of one of our best players on the pitch. Jenks was a threat going forward, providing the width, putting in superb crosses all the time and even his cross-cum-shot tested Hugo Lloris. Jenkinson's withdrawal meant Aaron Ramsey was once again pushed to right back. Although Ramsey had a good game overall, surely a specialist right-back would have been a better choice for the position. A straightforwad swap, i.e., Rosicky for Ramsey, may have done just the job.

Another questionable substitution decision was the timing of Poldi's arrvival. Although he did not make as big an impact as we hoped, if he had come on earlier, he could have made a difference. During his 15-minute appearance, he had a goalbound shot deflected wide.

This game highlighted two big issues at the back and front. We allowed two easy goals. Although our defence is still the fourth best in the league statistically and had the best defensive record away from home before this game, the lapse of concentration (the second goal was conceded while Santi Cazorla was injured by Sigurdsson) and the lack of communication should be addressed before we embark on the crucial 10 remaining games.

Up front, we didn't take advantage of our possession and chances when we were on top in the first 35 minutes. This problem has been apparent for some time, but against bottom- to mid-table teams, we have managed to scrape wins, where we could have beaten them comprehensively. To start with, poor finishing is to blame. If Giroud buried that clear-cut chance early in the first half, it could have been a different game. We also lacked accuracy in the final ball and crosses. Secondly, we want to see a change in approaches to our game. Our usual probing passes around the edge of the box didn't find a breakthrough to Tottenham's resolute defence. Predictable crosses from wide positions were easy for them to defend as well. Our attack has to be more direct in order to find penetration into the box.

At Las Mimosas bar, we were critical about Walcott's ineffectiveness, complaining that he should have used his pace like Aaron Lennon did. Therefore, when we watched the Match of the Day 2 on that night, Walcott's movement off the ball was a revelation to us. Contrary to our perception, Theo was making quite a few good runs, when he did not have the ball, but unfortunately most of them were not picked out by Jack Wilshere. In those cases, Jack dribbled sideways instead of pushing the ball forward to release Theo behind the Tottenham defenders. Hopefully Jack will learn lessons and improve his game. If those clever runs of Theo's had been used, we could have found the net more than once.

The result was obviously very disappointing. We saw the same result with the same scoreline for the corresponding fixture last season, but there is no denying this one dealt a severe blow to our Champions League qualification aspiration and the hopes of finishing above our old archrivals. However, our players' general performance showed some encouraging signs. Despite the reputation as a second-half team, we started the game very well. The tempo was high. Passing was crisp. No one can say that we were outplayed or outclassed like we were in the Bayern Munich game. Stats showed that we had a majority (61%) of possession and our passing success rate was right up to our standards (83% vs Tottenham's 73%). Our midfield pressed well (perhaps they could have done better to put pressure on assist providers, Sigurdsson and Parker, on the two particular occasions, though). We mounted heavy pressure in the second half with desire and determination to win the game only to be disrupted by injuries to Tottenham players. Overall, we didn't play badly, but the lapse of concentration cost us dearly. We had enough quality in the team and produced good enough performance to win a match on another day, but it wasn't to be.

I have to admit that even within our Supporters Club, quite a few members hope we will not finish in the top four so that it will serve as a wake-up call and trigger major changes within Arsenal FC. However, Champions League qualification is imperative for the Club to attract world-class players in order to reinforce the squad next summer. A top-four finish now looks increasingly difficult, but keep fingers crossed that Tottenham and Chelsea will slip up and drop more points. But before that, we have to be consistent and win the remaining games.

Player ratings

Szczesny: 6
Made some good stops.

Jenkinson: 7
Good going forward. He has better crossing than Sagna does.

Mertesacker: 7
Scored with a towering header (hope the dubious goal committee won't rule it as Bale's own goal). His two goals in an Arsenal shirt both came from this season's north London derbies.

Vermaelen: 6
He lacked leadership in defence and should have been more aware of the positioning of him and his central defensive partner.

Monreal: 5
He was guilty of Tottenham's second goal. He should have picked out Lennon's run and stopped it. It was a disappointing mistake as he looked like a good defensive addition.

Ramsey: 7
Lively, but he slowed down our quick counter-attacks. Fired a shot inches past far post.

Arteta: 6
Did his job, but made significantly fewer touches (66) than usual. (Actually, other Arsenal players also had fewer touches than usual).

Wilshere: 7
Influential in Arsenal's attacking play.

Cazorla: 6
Did not provide his usual creative spark, but worked hard defensively, doubling up on Tottenham's wide players on the left flank with Monreal. His pass sent Giroud into a great position only for the French striker to have his shot blocked.

Walcott: 6
His free-kick led to Mertesacker's goal.

Giroud: 5
Won most of aerial duels (12), but his holding-up of the ball on this day left something to be desired. He also lacked composure in front of goal. Doesn't seem to have any close control especially if it involves his right foot.

Subs

Rosicky: 7
60th-minute substitute for Carl Jenkinson. According to Arsenal.com's poll, he was Arsenal fans' chosen Man of the Match with 18% of total votes, followed by Jenkinson and Ramsey, who collected 17% of total votes, respectively.

Podolski: 6
Came on in the 77th minute to replace Mikel Arteta. Too late to make a difference.

Arsenal 0 Blackburn 1 (FA Cup 5th Round)

We don't usually criticise the boss, but he got it all wrong for this game. The Frenchman was reportedly not happy with the team's performance and rued a "massive" mistake that allowed the Blackburn goal. However, we think he has a large part of blame for the defeat.

We said in our previous post in this blog and our Facebook post that Jack Wilshere should not be risked ahead of Tuesday's Bayern Munich match and we still stand by the view. Abu Diaby, Tomas Rosicky, and even Aaron Ramsey could play in his place. In fact, Diaby and Rosicky were two standout players in this game. Midfield was not a problem. Diaby couldn't do everything Jack Wilshere is capable of, but he has different attributes to be a box-to-box player and contributed to the team in his own way, using his aerial ability. Rosicky has created enough chances to match what Cazorla could have offered, again in his own style.

While we had some injury issues prior to the tie, including Jack Wilshere and Laurant Koscielny's fitness, our other concern was that Wenger might not be able to resist the temptation of rotation, with the Champions League match looming on the horizon. We hoped that he would not make too many changes to his side, but seven changes to the starting XI against Sunderland proved to be just what we feared.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's inclusion was expected to some extent. He is a bright prospect, but has so far failed to replicate his last season's form. If Wenger were to play the Ox on one flank, in-form Walcott or a clinical finisher, Podolski, should have played on the other side. Gervinho was just one gamble too many to take.

To be fair to him, Coquelin probably didn't do too badly in an unfamiliar position, but why would you play the midfielder out of position, when a specialist right-back is fit in the shape of Bacary Sagna. Wenger might have hoped to save the experienced full-back for the Bayern Munich game, but the FA Cup was our best chance, if not an only chance in realistic terms, to win silverware. He should have fielded the best team available. Wenger's logic behind resting Sagna and Mertesacker was that the two players played 90 minutes of mid-week international friendlies and Saturday's Sunderland game last week. However, they had a week's rest since the last match and Sagna should been able to play against Bayern three days later. If the France international were to get injured during the cup tie, so be it. Carl Jenkinson will be available against Bayern. Although following the sending off last week, Jenks' stock has suffered a dip, he is still a competent deputy, if you remember how well he played at the beginning of the season.

Arsene Wenger claimed that he had no regret on his team selection, but we think that was exactly the major factor behind Arsenal's exit. Blackburn's intention was clear even before the kick-off that they were going to park the bus and try to hit us on the break as a lot of visiting teams do at the Emirates. We knew Blackburn would be happy to let us keep the possession of the ball. The only way to open their defence up was to score the first goal. In order to do so, we needed our best players up front. Once we had scored the first goal, they would have had to come out, resulting in the floodgates opening. With a comfortable cushion of goals, then Wenger could have withdrawn some of key players to rest them ahead of Tuesday's match. He should have started with the strongest XI.

OK, the boss may have overestimated some of his second-string players' ability, but he still had a chance to rectify his mistake. At Las Mimosas bar, we were crying out for substitutions in the 60th minute. We had seen enough of some of the players. However, our calls were not answered until the 71st minute. Some may argue that the triple substitutions led us to concede a goal, but if the substitutions had been made with half an hour to play, we would still have had a time to score a goal or two.

We had 71.4% of overall possession, but we were too comfortable with it. Maybe the players thought that they could score at any time with the overwhelming possession. There was no urgency and they lacked clinical finishing. Also, we were unlucky that Blackburn's second-choice keeper was in defiant form. The decisive moment was arguably Gervinho's miss in the first half. Rosicky's incisive pass released Gervinho behind them. However, Gervinho dragged his shot wide. If he had found the net, then Blackburn would have had to come out and it would have been a totally different game.

In his post-match interview, Wenger admitted that we need to improve in set-pieces. We failed to take an advantage of a whopping 16 corners (according to the Sky Sports site, it seemed more than that to us) we were awarded. Under pressure Blackburn were just hacking the ball after ball out of the line, knowing we would do nothing with corners. To start with, we have to improve our deliveries. Also, we tried to break through the crowded middle on the edge of the box too many times, which proved to be fruitless. We have to find another way to break down a stubborn defence.

It's difficult to find a positive from this game. Obviously we were all shocked and heartbroken with another trophy hope dashed. However, one thing Wenger got right was that we avoided a replay.

A clash with Bayern Munich, last season's Champions League runners-up and the current leader of the Bundesliga, is looming large. Hopefully, the players will bounce back from the disappointment quickly and show some spirit and desire in the massive game.

Player ratings

Szczesny: 5
He was almost certainly guilty of the goal. Any professional keeper would have parried Olsson's shot to either side (preferably to his left), or even held the ball. Maybe, he was not alert enough as he had nothing to do for a long period. Disappointing display after his heroics against Sunderland last week.

Coquelin: 6
He was a threat when he went forward. If he hadn't been so theatrical when he was fouled in the area, he may have had a chance to be awarded a penalty (if he was lucky, with Mike Dean as the ref). He may have had his hand in the Blackburn goal.

Koscielny: 6
Looked solid.

Vermaelen: 7
Led the defence well.

Monreal: 6
Went forward more often than his previous two games, but his deliveries left something to be desired.

Rosicky: 8
In the heart of Arsenal's creativity. He was unlucky not to score as his shot hit the under-side of the bar. It just summed up our day. His shot hit the bar and came out, while Kazim-Richards' scuffed attempt hit the inside post and went in. Gave way to Santi Cazorla in the 71st minute.

Diaby: 8
Encouraging performance from the injury-ridden player. Had a couple of good chances to score himself, as well as providing others, and completed 90 minutes.

Arteta: 5
One of his poorer games from the usually consistent performer. Some of his passing was disappointing for an accomplished passer boasting high passing success rates usually. (We have no individual stats on this game as this is not a league game).

Oxlade-Chamberlain: 7
Started brightly. Lively. Replaced by Walcott in the 71st minute.

Gervinho: 5
Missed a match-defining chance. He is still not good enough, no matter how well he did in the Africa Cup of the Nations. It is frustrating as he had a good pre-season and start of season. Withdrawn in the 71st minute.

Giroud: 6
Maybe it was his off-day. His movement without ball was poor on this day, static and wrong at times, but his disappointing performance may be partially affected by the fact that he was often isolated and had to hold up the ball on his own.

Subs

Walcott: 6
71st-minute substitute. The three substitutions injected the urgency to the game, but could not find the net.

Wilshere: 7
71st-minute substitute. He upped the tempo of the game and made an impact to Arsenal's attack.

Cazorla: 6
71st-minute substitute. Didn't have enough time to influence the game.

Referee

Mike Dean: 5
Since he was assigned to take charge of this game, we were doomed. Another number added to the stats that indicate that he is our "bogey" ref.

Sunderland 0 Arsenal 1

It was another hard-fought win, which was a lot tougher than last week's 1-0 win over Stoke as we had a lot of defending to do under severe pressure with a numerical disadvantage. The last 20 minutes brought our hearts into our mouths. It was not comfortable viewing, but in the end, we were all pleased with our team's gritty display. Arsenal have been criticised for their lack of steel in recent years. Losing a key player to injury and a sending off could have had a catastrophic effect on the team's performance in the past. The departure of Jack Wilshere certainly affected our creative side of play, but it didn't lead to capitulation. We defended resolutely after going down to 10 men. We like the way the team earned a vital three points. Facing a situation where we cannot afford to drop any more points, have the team finally found a strength of character? We'd like to think so.

Games following international breaks always give Arsene Wenger team selection headaches and this one was no exception. The biggest problem was a centre-back position. With Thomas Vermaelen ruled out after reportedly having been sent back from the Belgium national squad midweek due to his lingering ankle problem, Koscielny's fitness was a big issue. Wenger was optimistic about the Frenchman's calf strain that forced him to limp off the pitch during France's friendly against Germany on Wednesday night. However, the boss admitted prior to the match that if Koscielny failed a test, options were limited and he had to be "creative". To our relief, the boss didn't mention Squillaci's name as an option. As it turned out, Koscielny reportedly tweaked his calf in the warm-up and as a result, Bacary Sagna was told to play in central defence only 15 minutes before the game, which meant Jenkison was promoted from the bench to the starting line-up at right back. Another option Wenger suggested in the pre-match press conference was on the bench in the shape of Iggy Miquel.

In addition to those changes to the shape of the back four, Wenger made two more changes to the side that started in last week's victory over Stoke. Aaron Ramsey, who was pulled out of the Wales squad before their friendly against Austria due to a calf problem, came in for Abu Diaby, while Santi Cazorla started in the place of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. The scorer of the winner against Stoke, Lukas Podoski, was on the bench along with Vito Mannone, the Ox, Tomas Rosicky, and Diaby.

A fraction of fans are not happy with the negative tactic we adopted for the last 20 minutes, which was sitting in deep and trying to hit Sunderland on the break. However, we think the Gunners did the right thing under the circumstances with 10 men. In fact, it nearly worked. On several occasions, our break-away players outnumbered Sunderland defenders as the hosts pushed forward, committing more players higher up the pitch. If only Giroud, Cazorla, and Diaby had been more clinical in their finishing, we could have enjoyed the rest of the game relaxed. Walcott also hit the woodwork.

While we heap praise on our team's resolute and committed display in the second half, our regret is wastefulness in the first half. We played some good football and beautiful link-up play, demonstrating quality in the team and showcasing Arsenal's style of play, but the final ball let us down. Walcott and Giroud missed glorious goal-scoring chances, while Ramsey was unlucky not to score on two occasions, both of which were denied by fine saves by Mignolet. We had enough chances to put the game out of sight in the first half and the sending off wouldn't have mattered too much.

That said, positives taken from this game far outweigh negatives. We started the game with high tempo and kept attacking with a high level of intensity for a large part of the first half. Hopefully, we have kicked the recent habit of slow starts which earned us a reputation as a second-half team.

Another clean sheet and solid defensive performance should boost the team' confidence. Since the arrival of Nacho Monreal, we have kept a clean sheet twice in a row. Is this coincidence? The presence of an experienced left back seemed to have contributed to the stability of our defence. Mertesacker was largely helped in the less familiar left side of central defence by not having to cover for the left back and concentrating on his job. In particular, Monreal's calmness is beneficial to our defence which was shaky previously.

Three points proved to be vital with Chelsea and Tottenham winning on the same day. The win moved us up in the table to fifth, leapfrogging Everton, and we are set to stay there for at least another two weeks, following Everton's loss to Manchester United on Sunday. Now we have three important matches in three different competitions in two weeks. We need to focus on each one of them.

Player ratings

Szczesny: 9
Produced a string of outstanding saves, which were crucial to secure the three points.

Jenkinson: 5
Sent off in the 62nd minute after receiving a second yellow card. We think the first one was a bit harsh as it was his first foul and wasn't a malicious challenge, but just mistimed. Nonetheless he should have been more careful after being cautioned. Struggled to cope with Sunderland's wide players. However, we still think he is a promising young talent and this game just highlighted the fact that he needs games. It's a shame now he will miss out on Saturday's FA Cup tie against Blackburn Rovers through suspension, which could have been an ideal opportunity for him.

Sagna: 9
Prior to the match, we were sceptical about him playing as a centre back mainly because of his height or lack of it, although we knew that he has a tremendous leap. In fact, he put in a blinding performance and fared better than in his regular position at right back, perhaps because he didn't have to run up and down the flank or put crosses in. It was a revelation.

Mertesacker: 7
Generally solid, apart from one failed clearance, which nearly cost us a goal and two points (although Fletcher handled the ball).

Monreal: 8
It was the first stern test for him in the defensive terms as Stoke showed little ambition in going forward last week. We think he passed it with flying colours. Made two key passes with 96%  passing success rate.

Ramsey: 7
Had a good game both defensively and offensively. Actively involved in attack in the first half but following the sending off of Jenkinson, he ended up playing in an unfamiliar right-back position. He was dispossessed by Sessegnon, which could have had significant consequences, but to be fair for him, his play was probably affected by the knock he received on the ankle.

Wilshere: 8
Drove the team forward till he suffered a big kick on the thigh. Excellent in linking with Cazorla, which is encouraging as it looks these two seemed to have developed good understanding. Keep fingers crossed for his speedy recovery. Wenger hopes it will be four or five days until the England midfielder is back. Newspaper reports suggest that Wilshere could be back for Saturday's cup tie, but with the Champions League game on the horizon as early as on Tuesday night, it may be a good idea to start him from the bench. Certainly his fitness shouldn't be gambled on, considering the importance of a player of his calibre against Bayern Munich.

Arteta: 8
Guided the team to the hard-fought victory as captain of the day. Subtle display as usual, but played a central role in distribution of the ball and Arsenal's resolute defence.


Cazorla: 9
Scored the winning goal and orchestrated Arsenal's attack.

Walcott: 7
Had several goal scoring chances, one of which he hit the woodwork. He has hugely improved this season in consistency through a game. He doesn't go missing or fade away in games these days.

Giroud: 7
Worked hard. He played a vital part in defence, using his aerial ability, as well as getting involved in most of the Gunners' attacking play. However, he needs to improve his finishing.

Subs

Diaby: 7
50th-minute substitute for injured Wilshere. Added physical strength and height to the Arsenal defence and defended well.

Miquel: 6
Came off the bench in the 87th minute to replace Walcott in order to shore up the defence. Did his job.

Referee

Anthony Taylor: 5
His decisions were inconsistent. Jenkinson's first carded challenge was not as bad as some of the Sunderland players' tackles which escaped punishment. Arsenal midfielders, especially Ramsey and Wilshere, and forwards suffered the consequences of the referee's shortcomings physically. One of the poorer referees this season.

Arsenal 1 Stoke 0

If "the end-to-end stuff" and a goal fest are main ingredients for entertaining games, this game was certainly not one of them, but it was not our fault. Stoke parked the bus and stopped us playing our free-flowing football by constantly tripping Walcott and Wilshere. They had no intention of attacking, with only Crouch up front left isolated. It was very difficult to break down stubborn Stoke defence and in the end, we needed a lucky deflection on Geoff Cameron's boot to find the net. Some fans are critical, stating that we don't have a plan B against those teams who try to defend with 10 men behind the ball, but we think that we could have won the game even without a help of luck, by playing our style of football, had it not been for Asmir Begovic's heroics. Also, the media were sceptical about penetration of our attack, but through Wilshere's incisive pass combined with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's effort, we managed to get behind Stoke's defence and created a number of clear-cut chances. We could have won 3-0, again had it not been for Begovic's superb saves.

In fact, we played some good football despite Stoke's efforts to stop us playing. Before the match, a piece of Opta stats was in the centre of attention, which was "if only the second half of games counted this season Arsenal would be second on 46 points, two points behind Manchester City." So, it was official that Arsenal are a second-half team. Following the Liverpool match, in which we came back from 2-0 down to earn a point, Podolski urged his team to start strongly from the beginning. The team responded to his call by starting the game in high tempo against Stoke.

Arsene Wenger made five changes to his side who started against Liverpool on Wednesday. Injured Vermaelen was replaced by Kosielny. Vermaelen's aggravated ankle problem left us with little left-back option, either a transfer-deadline-day signing, Nacho Monreal, or Andre Santos. To our joy, Monreal came straight into the starting XI. Santi Cazorla and Lukas Podolski dropped to the bench, while Abu Diaby and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain came in for them. Fit-again Mikel Arteta started in the place of Aaron Ramsey, who had filled in for the Spaniard as a deep-lying midfielder relatively well.

All eyes were on our new signing. Although most of fans agreed that he was a great acquisition, some were disappointed with Arsenal's transfer activity less than they expected amid the media reports that the Club had a sizable transfer budget. At Arsenal Playa Flamenca Supporters Club, we were pleased with the fact that the boss recognised the need of a new left-back and took action before the transfer window slammed shut. Maybe we could have done with a new holding midfielder as well, but we don't think we needed a new striker as we have Walcott and Podolski as Giroud's back-up.

Left-back was exactly where we needed to strengthen and we are happy to see Wenger act swiftly as soon as he had found Gibbs would be out for up to six weeks. We didn't have an adequate cover for Gibbs as Santos is not a Premier-League level defender. Also, at the age of 23, Gibbs is too young to be an uncontested first-choice left-back anyway. The 26-year-old former Malaga player is at the prime of his career and nine caps for the Spanish national team is not to be sniffed at. Arsenal had been linked with Luke Shaw of Southampton for some time, but following his signing of a new contract with the South coast club, the speculation has died down. We are glad that the potential move didn't materialise. Shaw may be a talented player with 6-month experience in the Premier League, but another teenage player is not what we wanted for this position.

We didn't get disappointed with the display by our new signing. Although his defensive prowess was not much tested as Stoke had decided not to push forward, Monreal was unfazed in aerial duels against Jon Walters. Arsene Wenger said, "There is no better culture shock than Stoke when you come from Spain!". Monreal also looked comfortable and confident on the ball as is the case for Spanish players. He even played a lovely one-two with Wilshere and his chipped cross for Giroud was delightful. It was a promising start to English football and his Arsenal career.

Critics claim that we struggled to find penetration without Santi Cazorla. Although it is true that the introduction of Santi and Poldi injected a renewed urgency into Arsenal's game, we think Jack Wilshere did well in Santi's place. Arteta, captain on the day in the absence of Thomas Vermaelen, hailed the depth in Arsenal's squad. We needed to give Santi a rest and it was encouraging to see Jack play in the heart of Arsenal's attack, filling Santi's boots, while the Spaniard came off the bench to make an impact. In fact, a number of players had a good game this day, including those who have been heavily criticised recently, which is encouraging. Another positive from this game was a clean sheet obviously. It should give some confidence to our defenders, who have been under huge pressure in recent games.

The goal shouldn't have been disputable. The linesman may have flagged for Walcott's off-side position, but he was not interfering with play and not even in a position to obscure the keeper's view. Christ Foy correctly (as all the media said) overruled his assistant and let the goal stand. Tony Pulis was not happy with the way Arsenal players surrounded the linesman, but as Wenger said, it was a natural reaction (In that situation, who wouldn't protest?) Actually, a couple of Stoke players also rushed to the linesman.

It was a great win (it's always great to beat Stoke), although it may not have been as convincing as some of recent games such as our thrashing of West Ham. We are quite happy with our team's performance. With Chelsea and Everton dropping points, it was a good weekend for our hopes of a top-four finish (Shame about the Tottenham result, though). Hopefully, we can maintain the winning ways after a mid-week international break.

Player ratings

Szczesny: 6
With Stoke managing only one shot on target, which was a comfortable save, he had little to do all afternoon.

Sagna: 7
Had a much improved game.

Mertesacker: 7
Kept Crouch at bay. He has been under criticism recently for not using his height well (on some occasions, he didn't even jump). In this game, he won 7 aerial duels.

Koscielny: 7
Looked solid and went close to score with his header, which was denied by Begovic's fine save.

Monreal: 7
Made a promising debut just after 48 hours of his arrival in England.

Diaby: 7
He had arguably his best game since his return from 2-month lay-off. Looked reliable defensively and robust going forward.

Wilshere: 8
In the heart of creativity. His pass to the Ox was superb.

Arteta: 7
Much-awaited return from a calf injury. Brought back stability to the team. The most touches (128) of all the players on the pitch with 91% pass success rate.

Walcott: 7
He tormented Wilkinson and showed his strength against physical Stoke, not deterred by crude challenges. One of those Wilkinson's challenge resulted in a free-kick just outside the box, which led to a precious goal. However, his final ball let us down in this game.

Oxlade-Chamberlain: 7
Had a good game. Energetic and constantly posed a threat to Stoke defence. We like his direct approach. He always look to shoot. Went close to score twice.

Giroud: 6
He should have put his free header on target, rather than knocked it down for another Arsenal player.

Subs

Cazorla: 7
Came off the bench to replace Diaby in the 68th minute. Added creativity and went close to secure a victory in a more convincing way.

Podoliski: 7
Replaced the Ox on the left flank in the 68th minute. His free-kick may have needed a lucky deflection to beat Begovic, who was excellent all afternoon, but the German should get credit for his powerful shot.


Ramsey: 6
90th minute substitute for Walcott. Little time to make a difference.

Arsenal 2 Liverpool 2

This campaign may be Arsenal's worst season in Arsene Wenger's 16-year tenure, with the fewest (10) Premier League wins from 24 games, but it seems that the worse Arsenal have been playing, the more crowd we get in the Arsenal end of Las Mimosas bar. The bar was packed once again and the neutral didn't get disappointed as we were treated to another entertaining game. However, as usual, the game was too tight for our comfort largely due to our shambolic defence.

Going into this game, Arsene Wenger's side was supposed to be full of confidence (at least on the offensive side, anyway) on the back of two consecutive wins in a week, including sound thrashing of West Ham. The Frenchman made 6 changes to the side that started in the FA Cup tie against Brighton on Saturday. Thomas Vermaelen was fit again to replace Koscielny. Rested Bacary Sagna, Santi Cazorla, Jack Wilshere, Kieran Gibbs, and Theo Walcott came in for Carl Jenkinson, Tomas Rosicky, Abu Diaby, Andre Santos, respectively. Aaron Ramsey started his third successive game as a deep-lying midfielder.

It was disheartening to concede so early and so scrappy a goal. After the match, Arsene Wenger blamed the nerve for his side's atrocious defending, but surely the defensive problem can be resolved other than through a psychological approach. Our defence showed their vulnerability against counter-attacks once again. Since we lost Alex Song, we tend to get exposed in those situations. Song had his share of criticisms for his tendency to get forward too often, but playing even more attack-minded players, such as Mikel Arteta and Aaron Ramsey, in a holding midfielder role doesn't help improve our defence.

Five months earlier, our defence showed a remarkable improvement on the previous season. Steve Bould took all the praise for the transformation, but it was crucial at the beginning of the season since our new signings, the key attacking players, had to go though adaptation stages and one of them, Olivier Giroud, was even not fully fit to play at the time. Wenger says that leaking goals is a price for our philosophy with emphasis on attacking, but now our attacking players, including Theo Walcott, have found their form, it's time to focus on our defence again. The defensive problem should not be left unaddressed if we are to pursue a Champions League spot.

Another negative from the game was Gibb's injury. It was a big blow as we don't have an adequate cover for the left-back position. Andre Santos is never a Premier League-level player. When he gave the ball away and slipped in injury time, which gifted Suarez a golden opportunity to snatch a victory, it nearly gave me a heart attack. Even on the attacking side, it was obvious that Podolski came to life after Gibbs replaced Santos in a hard-fought win against Championship side, Brighton. Wenger cited Santos' match fitness as his reasoning behind the substitution, but how Gibbs' introduction changed the game speaks volumes for the difference in quality of the two players. Santos' sole merit as a left-back lies on the attacking side of his game, but if he cannot get the best out of one of our best attacking players, Lukas Podolski, what's the point having him in the team? Following Gibb's injury, the media reported Arsenal were in search for a left-back, but we should have started to look for a new left-back long before the January transfer window deadline day, perhaps, just after the Manchester United game (in which the Brazilian famously asked RVP for his shirt prematurely), when Wenger resorted to playing Vermaelen at the left-back even though Santos was fit. In fact, we hoped Wenger would replace Gibbs with Koscielny and move Vermaelen to the left-back in this game.

On a positive note, we showed character coming back from 2-0 down to earn a draw. Arsenal demonstrated the same intensity and purpose in the second half as they did in patches in the last four games. Although our first-half performance was accentuated by our dreadful defending, on the attacking side, we created some good chances and looked dangerous even in the first half. After the final whistle, it felt like two points dropped as we mounted pressure on the Liverpool defence, but the visitors also got close to snatch a late victory. On balance, a draw may be a fair result.

After all, a draw with Liverpool, who lie just below us in the table, was not the end of the world as we kept the gap to them at three points. On top of that, as Tottenham and Chelsea also drew last night with Norwich and Reading, respectively, (which highlights the unpredictability of this season's Premier League results), the gaps to them also remained intact.

With another tough game looming on the horizon, as early as Saturday, we need to sort our our defence quickly, especially how to cope with Gibbs' three-week absence. On the injury front, hopefully, we will have Arteta and Coquelin back before long.

Player ratings

Szczesny: 6
He had a number of shaky moments, one of which almost cost us a goal unnecessarily. On the other hand, he made a few good saves, including the one that denied Suarez's attempt for a winner at the death.

Sagna: 5
Liverpool's first goal started from his slip. There is no sign of improvement in his crossing. We want to see Jenkinson play in his place from time to time. Jenkinson needs games as he looked rusty against Brighton. The England international proved himself as a capable deputy at the beginning of the season and has better crossing than Sagna.

Mertesacker: 5
He dithered every time he got the ball, which allowed the opponents time to rob the ball. This has been seen in a number of recent games.

Vermaelen: 5
His air-kick allowed Sturridge a clear sight of goal and subsequently led to Liverpool's first goal.

Gibbs: 6
Replaced by Santos in the 37th minute due to a thigh strain.

Ramsey: 7
Worked hard in his new role as a deep-lying midfielder. He was unlucky as his touch ricocheted Santos after he took the ball off Henderson, who capitalised on Arsenal's misfortune to score Liverpool's second goal. On the other hand, he had a hand in Liverpool's first goal as he failed to clear the ball after Szczesny's fine save.

Wilshere: 8
He was impressive against Liverpool midfield, including his role model, Steven Gerrard.

Cazorla: 8
In the heart of Arsenal's creativity.

Walcott: 8
He made a good use of his pace. Always looked dangerous apart from a short spell during the first half when he went missing.

Podolski: 7
Created chances on the left flank. Completed his second 90 minutes in a row since he said that he didn't mind getting substituted in the post-match interview following his stellar performance against West Ham.

Giroud: 8
Another spirited performance. Scored his 14th goal of the season and provided an assist for Walcott's equaliser. After the Brighton match, Arsene Wenger said about the France international "When he gets into the fighting mode it is difficult to handle him." He was once again in the fighting mode and spearheaded Arsenal's fightback. He has grown to one of our most influential players in recent weeks. It was quite difficult to choose one standout player for Arsenal (the easiest bit was eliminating all the defenders), as shown by Arsenal.com's votes for the Man of the Match, which were split among three players: Giroud, Wilshere, and Walcott. Giroud collected the most votes with 32%, followed by Wilshere's 28% and Walcott's 22%.

Subs

Santos: 5
Not up to Arsenal standards, or even bottom-table club standards.

Arsenal 1 Swansea 0 (FA Cup 3rd Round replay)

While empty seats at the Emirates attracted the media attention, the Arsenal end of Las Mimosas bar was packed on a cold (but not as cold as at the Emirates obviously) and windy Wednesday night. There were even a weather-defying group of Scandinavians outside in a tent, cheering at their national handball teams in front of a large-screen TV. Actually, an estimated turnout of 50,000 (as opposed to official ticket sales of 58,359) at the Emirates is considered respectable for a midweek FA Cup replay on a cold winter night. The media always like to put a negative spin on anything when things are concerned with Arsenal.

As has been the case this season, we didn't know how this game would pan out. Even ever-optimistic Cheryl admitted the day before that she was convinced that we would be beaten by Swansea. That epitomised the mood of the Arsenal Playa Flamenca Supporters Club after the disappointing defeat to Manchester City.

Wenger made three changes to his side who started in a 2-0 loss to the reigning champions. As Laurant Koscielny was suspended as a result of his sending-off in that game, Per Mertesacker started alongside Thomas Vermaelen. Olivier Giroud and Francis Coquelin came in for Lukas Podolski and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, which meant Santi Cazorla moved to the left wing, while Jack Wilshere took a more advanced position in the Spaniard's place. Francis Coquelin was deployed in a deep-lying role, which is usually taken by currently sidelined Mikel Arteta. Midfield looked better balanced than in the Man City game.

Arsenal started the game brightly. Giroud went close to score twice. They looked like they had learned lessons from the Man City game, but then the tempo slowed down and Swansea had better chances. However, it was Arsenal, specifically Vermaelen, who had the best chance at the end of the first half.

The second half was one-way traffic. Arsenal mounted pressure on Swansea defence. As the boss said after the match, it was unbelievable how we managed not to score a goal. The stats show that we had 27 shots in total, of which 10 shots were on target with 10 shots off target and 7 shots blocked. Although our profligacy was partly to blame (the main culprits were Walcott and Giroud), Swansea deserved credit for their resolute defence. They packed the box with bodies, hoping to attack on the break. Two shots were cleared off the line. We were also unlucky, with Giroud's shot blocked by Wilshere on the line.

When we started conceding that extra time was inevitable, Jack Wilshere brilliantly volleyed home. His shot was our 26th attempt at goal. However, we still had a job to do. At this point in the initial tie, there was still time for Swansea to equalise. After Cazorla's wild shot, Arsenal seemed to have taken the game under control again thanks to Jack Wilshere's leadership. In fact, he was magnificent all night.

It was a great win, which saw us through to the fourth round of the FA Cup. It was also great to show that we can beat Swansea by playing our own game. The Welsh club started becoming our bogey team and the most annoying thing was they outplayed us in our passing game on a couple of occasions. It was satisfactory that we stopped Swansea from playing their football by playing our game. The intensity of our attack forced Swansea to focus on defence entirely. When Michu came on the pitch, we didn't even worry about its implication this time around. In fact, he was forced to help out their defence with little to do offensively.

A trip to championship side, Brighton, awaits us in 10 day's time, but before that, we have two important league games. This weekend's clash with third-placed Chelsea was a virtual six-pointer. The West Ham match on Wednesday night is our game in hand, which offers a chance to close a gap to those clubs currently in Champions League places. Hopefully, the players will show the same determination to win in these games.

Player ratings

Szczesny: 6
As Swansea registered no shot on target, he had little to do, especially in the second half. Despite being a bystander for most of the second half, he stayed alert when Sung-Yeung Ki tried to catch him out. There is an argument as to who was to blame for allowing Kyle Bartley's header, which fortunately hit the bar. We think that Szczesny should have come forward and claim the ball.

Sagna: 7
Made himself always available. Looked more confident than recently, but his crossing left a lot to be desired.

Mertesacker: 7
His passing was indecisive at early stages of the game.

Vermaelen: 7
Made two crucial blocks. Went forward more often and nearly scored at the end of the first half.

Gibbs: 7
Good going forward especially in this game as he didn't have much to worry about defensively.

Diaby: 6
He seemed to have struggled to keep up with the pace of the game in the first half, slowing down our passing. He was good in winning back possession, but his passing afterwards let him down. Still, another 82 minutes (Wenger admitted after the match that he should probably have taken him off a bit earlier) under the belt is encouraging.

Wilshere: 10
Simply awesome. He had a great game offensively and defensively. This game showcased everything good about him: technical abilities, drive, physical strength, passion, tenacity, and leadership (have I missed anything?). Arguably his best performance since his return from the injury, if not in his entire career. We don't usually give 10 in our player ratings, but he merits it on this occasion as he even did what his team-mates couldn't do all night, which is scoring a goal.

Coquelin: 7
Replacing Arteta was a huge challenge for the 21-year-old, but he did a decent job. He took his shot well when the rebound from a corner fell in front of him.

Cazorla: 7
It was interesting to see how he fared on the left wing for the first time for Arsenal as apparently he was a winger before he joined Arsenal. He wasn't spectacular, but did create chances.

Walcott: 7
Lacked accuracy in his finishing.

Giroud: 7
He was involved in all attacking moves, in one of which he set up a goal for Wilshere. He works for the team, but he needs to improve his finishing, which is poor for a main striker.

Subs

Ramsey: 6
Replaced Diaby in the 82nd minutes and carried on where the France midfielder left off.

Arsenal 0 Manchester City 2

Going down to 10 men so early was always going to prove a huge handicap against the champions, Manchester City. At half time, we were just hoping that the scoreline wouldn't end up too embarrassing or too detrimental to our players' confidence ahead of a run of crucial matches. As it turned out, Arsenal's spirited display in the second half brightened up our bleak Sunday afternoon. Although clear-cut chances were hard to come by, our midfield, led by Jack Wilshere in the absence of Mikel Arteta due to a calf strain, was battling hard to obtain possession, while our defence looked solid against Man City's counter-attack, recovering well after shaky spells in the first half. The numerical equilibrium was restored when Kompany was sent off for his challenge on Wilshere with 15 minutes left. However, playing with one man down for such a long period had started taking its toll by then. We were unable to take advantage of the sending off of their talisman and fell to a 2-0 defeat.

Some question Wenger's team selection, but we are not going to go into that argument. Whichever the boss picks, Mertsacker or Koscielny, there is always criticism afterwards. Wenger chose Koscielny, probably based on his heroics in the reverse fixture earlier this season. It is unfortunate that the France defender could not reproduce the performance.

Obviously the referee's two major decisions were the centre of post-match talking points. Koscielny's foul on Dzeko was utterly stupid and there was no denying a penalty, but many argue that the sending off might have been a harsh decision. On the Sky Sports site, Chris Kamara called for a change in the rule book, claiming that when a foul that denies a clear goal-scoring opportunity takes place, you are given the goal-scoring chance back with a penalty kick. So the law should be changed so that the player should be sent off, only when such a foul takes place outside the box, because you don't receive a free shot at goal.

The defeat was a blow for our top-four aspiration as we failed to take advantage of Tottenham, Everton and West Brom all dropping points and now we trail fourth-placed Spurs by 7 points with a game in hand.

However, we can take heart from Arsenal's spirit in the second half. They gave absolutely everything. If only Giroud had buried his chance with a free header and Walcott's effort hadn't been cleared by Lescott off the line, we could have conjured up a miraculous comeback. Although we lacked the killer instinct in the final third, nobody could question our spirit and desire.

Another positive from the game was Jack Wilshere's performance. He battled hard to win possession and drove the team forward whenever he could. He even saved Garcia's goal-bound effort off the line. His contribution to the team has been impressive since his return from the long-term injury which kept him on the sidelines for 14 months.

Also, Diaby came through the game unscathed. He completed 65 minutes in the U-21 game against West Brom in midweek, his first game since September. This game was thought to have come too soon for him, but Arteta's injury had left no choice for Wenger but to turn to the France midfielder. Although he appeared rusty in the first half with a few passes going astray and wrong decisions for the final ball, he made his presence felt as the game wore on. Diaby believes he had no reaction to his thigh injury from Sunday's 62-minute exertion, which is good news for us.

There is no time to feel sorry for ourselves. The crucial FA Cup replay awaits us on Wednesday night. This is a must-win game for us as the FA Cup is our only realistic chance to win any silverware this season. Arsene Wenger blamed his side's allowing the opponents to dictate the game for their defeat to Man City. Hopefully, the team will have learned lessons and take the game to Swansea from the moment the kick-off whistle has blown.

Player ratings

Szczesny: 7
Made a couple of great saves, including a penalty save.

Sagna: 6
Much improved display compared with his recent performances.

Koscielny: 4
The hero of the reverse fixture earlier this season turned to the villain. There is no doubt his dismissal swung the game hugely in favour of Man City.

Vermaelen: 7
Solid in the second half, but he should have done better as a leader in defence when Man City took a free-kick quickly.

Gibbs: 6
His losing of the battle against Zapaleta led to the free-kick, which eventually resulted in Man City's goal. Otherwise, did OK.

Cazorla: 6
Not as eye-catching as he was earlier this season, but did his job.

Diaby: 6
Encouraging performance in the second half, considering his long lay-off. Withdrawn in the 63rd minute. Hopefully, he will have a longer run of games this time. Keep fingers crossed for his fitness.

Wilshere: 8
He has been targeted by the oppositions because of the battling nature of his game and his well-known feistiness, but he has been coping very well. Great to see him making his trade-mark "bursts".

Oxlade-Chamberlain: N/A
He was replaced by Mertesacker, following the sending off of Koscielny, before he had a chance to assert himself.

Walcott: 6
He didn't do very much as a lone striker. His best chance came when he had moved to the right wing and was unleashed by Ramsey's pass, only to be cleared by Lescott off the line.

Podolski: 7
Worked hard.

Subs

Mertesacker: 7
Came on the pitch at the expense of the Ox in the 12th minute to replace Koscielny who was sent off.

Giroud: 6
57th-minute substitute for Podolski. Headed over the bar when he had received Cazorla's curling free-kick. It is disappointing to see his inability to make a difference in this kind of situations.

Ramsey: 7
Replaced Diaby, who was never expected to last for 90 minutes, in the 62nd minute. Had a decent game in his natural position in central midfield.

Swansea 2 Arsenal 2 (FA Cup 3rd Round)

When the draw for this tie was made early December immediately after Swansea had beaten us 2-0 at the Emirates, nobody could see any other result for this game apart from a home win. A month is a long time in football. Going into this gaem, Arsenal were regarded as a favourite to win at even odds, on the back of a decent run of form in the past month. However, more realistic fans would have taken a draw before the match.

We were back at Las Mimosas bar, with more members back from their stays in the UK over the festive period. Cheryl was back in business, selling a scratch card at half time for the first time in 2013 to raise funds for our Supporters Club.

Arsene Wenger made it clear prior to the game that he would field a full-strength team and would not rotate his players for the sake of it. The decision was quite right as this was our only realistic chance to win silverware this season and Swansea are a difficult team to beat at home even though they were expected to rest their key players for this game with their sights set on the Capital One Cup semi-final match against Chelsea on Wednesday.

Wenger made three changes to the side that started in their 1-1 draw with Southampton on Tuesday night. Per Mertesacker, who was left on the bench midweek, came in for Thomas Vermaelen to form a central defensive partnership with Laurant Koscielny. Aaron Ramsey started in place of Lukas Podolski on the left wing. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain gave way to Theo Walcott on the right flank, whose starting place as a central striker was taken over by Olivier Giroud.

Prior to the game, Wenger also suggested that one or two players might need a breather, who we thought could be Bacary Sagna. The France international has had some poor games recently. As Carl Jenkinson proved himself as a reliable deputy right-back earlier this season, we thought it would be a good idea to give him a run-out in the Frenchman's place. However, the England right-back didn't even make the bench, whereas Andre Santos was on the bench as a back-up full-back despite his lack of match fitness. We don't understand Wenger's reluctance to play Jenkinson. The boss has just given the young player a long-term contract and doesn't use him when our regular right-back is clearly out of sorts.

As usual, Ramsey's start caused us a lot of displeasure. I, for one, still believe that he is a talented player, but playing a right-footed central midfielder on the left wing does not help the player already low in confidence. Why the Ox was left on the bench was a mystery. Another conundrum is Wenger's seeming reluctance to play Rosicky. Amid fans' fear that Cazorla could be burned out before the end of the season, Rosicky's healthy return should certainly ease those concerns.

The first half was quite boring, but the second half lived up to Arsenal's standards in terms of dramas. Arsenal stepped up their attack in the second half, but it was Swansea who opened the scoring. When we saw Michu coming off the bench, we all feared the consequence and he scored with almost his first touch. However, we had our own answer to their super sub in the shape of Poldi, who fired home an equaliser. Within three minutes, we were in front for the first time in this game thanks to Gibbs' brilliant volley. However, Arsenal being Arsenal, this wasn't the end of the story. They always like to put us supporters through more ups and downs than they need. Our joy was short-lived. Danny Graham scored an equaliser with four minutes left to take the tie into a replay at the Emirates.

Wenger's substitutions often mystify us. Podolski's introduction was spot-on. Probably this was always on the card. Arsenal were pouring their attack, but lacked decisiveness in the final ball. The Germany striker, whose finishing is second to none, provided exactly what the team needed. However, at 2-1 with just 7 minutes to go, why Wenger didn't bring on Vermaelen or Coquelin to shore up the defence was beyond us. Earlier this season, such as in the Wigan game, we questioned Wenger's negativity regarding substitutions, but this was a case where he should have made those substitutions. We could have held on to the narrow lead and won the game on the day.

Arsene Wenger bemoaned a penalty opportunity turned down. The interesting thing is that there are those people who think it should have been a penalty. To us at Las Momosas bar, replays on the TV seemed to have indicated that Ramsey fell over. (Well, these days he doesn't have much of the fans' sympathy, does he?) Most of the media seem to have thought the same with one report even claiming that Ramsey was tripped by his own foot. On the other hand, the Daily Telegraph's match report read "Arsenal had a genuine claim for a penalty in the 51st minute when Ramsey was clearly tripped as he fought to cut across Tiendalli." Needless to say, Arsenal.com's match report, as well as the Arsenal blog, shared the Telegraph's view.

It was frustrating because we could have won the tie on the day, considering how many chances we created in the second half. Was it a missed opportunity for Arsenal or Swansea? Swansea fans must have fancied themselves to go through, based on their perfect form at home this season. We would like to think that we have a good chance to progress now that the tie has gone to a replay at the Emirates. Playing at home does not guarantee a win as the result of the previous encounter between the two sides shows, but Swansea will have played more games than us with the second leg of the Capital One Cup semi-final at home awaiting them in the following week.

At the end of the day, what matters is that we are still in the competition. Fixture congestion may prompt Wenger to bring in new players. Who knows. We look forward to the replay. Hopefully, a seaside trip to Championship side, Brighton, in the next round will motivate the players.

Between now and then, there is a small matter of a Premier League clash against Manchester City. We produced one of our best performances this season, when the two sides met at the Etihad Stadium. One of our outstanding players on that day was Abu Diaby, whose return to first team action is thought to be imminent. He may be still short of match fitness for this Sunday's game, but having produced an impressive display during his 65-minute appearance in Wednesday's U-21 match, signs are encouraging.

Player ratings

Szczesny: 7
Made a great save to deny Graham's effort in the first half, but beaten twice.

Sagna: 6
He started the game brightly, but got worse later on.

Mertesacker: 6
Beaten in the air by Bartley. Unconvincing display.

Koscielny: 6
Both centre backs were culpable for Michu's goal. Provided an assist for Poldi's goal.

Gibbs: 8
Great going forward, scoring an exquisite goal, but was caught out of position at times.

Cazorla: 6
Not eye-catching, but did get involved in attack.

Arteta: 6
Should he have done better to prevent Graham's equaliser? I personally think it was a very difficult situation for him on the-man-at-post duty. He couldn't make up his mind whether to leave the post and block the shot or at least deter Graham from shooting, or to stay at the post. Perhaps, Sagna should have picked up Graham. Overall, it was not his best defensive game.

Wilshere: 7
Put a lot of efforts into the game.

Walcott: 6
His free-kicks and corners were poor.

Giroud: 6
Set up a goal for Gibbs through a brilliantly lofted pass, but his finishing left a lot to be desired. He should have at least put his header on target. Missed a couple of more chances as well.

Ramsey: 6
He did some good things, including a great cross only for Giroud to head it wide, and got into great positions on several occasions, but he still lacks composure in front of goal. On the BBC site, ex-Gunner, John Hartson suggested Ramsey would benefit from a loan spell. His reasoning was based on the Wales national team's point of view as he thinks that Ramsey needs to play in central midfield, where he cannot get a chance at Arsenal due to competition. We agree that sending him out on loan would be beneficial for him to get back into the form he was in prior to the horrific injury and to fulfil his potential. On the other hand, from Arsenal's viewpoint, the lack of the depth in the squad does not allow us to loan him out as he can be used as a utility player. If we can get a natural wide player and a defensive midfielder in the January transfer window, this predicament could be solved.

Subs

Podolski: 8
Replaced Ramsey in the 73rd minute. Scored a poacher's goal.

Southampton 1 Arsenal 1

Perhaps this is a game that we, Arsenal fans, want to forget quickly. It was definitely two points dropped, despite Arsene Wenger admitting that they were lucky to come away with a point. It wasn't a result we wanted nor a performance we expected following a scintillating game and a stellar attacking display against Newcastle. Wenger blamed a mental hang-over from the recent goal fests rather than fatigue for his side's lacklustre performance.

It was a very disappointing display from Arsenal players, who were brilliant going forward 3 days ago. There was no pace or purpose in their passes, which they struggled to put together. Their passing accuracy rate of 80.3%, well below their average, speaks volumes. There was no sign of what we saw in the recent games as a welcome change. In fact, Arsenal registered only one shot on target out of 6 shots in total including blocked shots, in comparison with Southampton's 5 shots on target. We didn't even try to take advantage of the Southamption second-choice keeper's suspect handling after the opening minutes.

Unfortunately, it was not only the offensive side of the game that let us down. Sagna's failed clearance led to Southampton's goal. I saw an Opta stat prior to the Wigan game that Arsenal had made 11 errors this season directly leading to goals, more than any other club. If Jack Wilshere's deflection in the Newcastle game was not counted as one, Sagna's mistake in this game was 12th of such a kind of errors. The figure highlights lapse of concentration, which we need to address.

Arsene Wenger kept his side that beat Newcastle in a convincing way last Saturday, which meant Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain made starts against their former club. Per Mertesacker was left on the bench after recovering from illness.

Giroud's introduction was once again expected. However, his fellow substitute, Gervinho was a waste of space. Perhaps, Arsene Wenger wanted to give him a last chance before he departs for the Africa Nations Cup. As the boss stated earlier that he had no intention to rush the Ivorian back after the African competition, we are unlikely to see Gervinho for a while. Why the Frenchman didn't bring on Rosicky was a mystery to us.

One of our members, who is back in Southamption where he came from, was among the 3,141 strong travelling fans. We felt sorry for him for having to pay to watch his beloved Club playing so badly. It was disheartening enough for us to watch it in a bar. (Incidentally, our usual venue, Las Mimosas bar was closed on the New Year's day. Therefore a small contingent of us went to watch the game at the nearby New Odd Couple.)

Although Szczesny won Arsenal fans' Man of the Mach votes on the Arsenal.com site, we think one of few bright spots in this game was Oxlade-Chamberlain's performance. He was one of our better players. It looks that he has cemented his place in the starting XI when Theo is playing up front. It is good to see the 19-year-old's form is getting back to last season's level. The Southampton left-back, 17-year-old Luke Shaw has been strongly linked to Arsenal in the recent months. Although he had a decent game, he was beaten by our 19-year-old winger a few times.

Another better performer was Jack Wilshere. He has been a target of rough challenges by opponent midfielders recently because of fierce temper he is well-known for (the refs haven't done very much to protect him and this game was no exception), but he has been controlling himself very well. As Southampton didn't give our midfield much space to manoeuvre, Jack's offensive contribution was relatively limited, but he was the best player in our midfield. Arsene Wenger stated a few weeks ago that he intended to rest Jack in one every four games, considering the fact that he hadn't played for 17 months. This game might have been one of those games he might have been rested as Wenger mentioned. Including 120 minutes he played in the Capital One Cup tie against Bradford, playing 6 straight matches since 8th December and still maintaining the same intensity is quite encouraging.

Hopefully, this was just a bad day at the office. We have another tough game on Sunday against Swansea away. We expect that all the new foreign players know what Cup games are all about by now from their humiliating defeat to Bradford. Besides, Swansea have already proved that they are not the opponents to be underestimated, by beating us at home not so long ago. So there will be no chance for complacency to creep in.

Player ratings

Szczesny: 7
Great save to save Sagna from a potentially embarrassing own goal.

Sagna: 5
Shocking performance from a quality player who used to be known for his consistency. He has recently had some poor games, which worries us a lot.

Koscielny: 6
Some dodgy moments.

Vermaelen: 6
Could have given away a penalty.

Gibbs: 6
Didn't do enough going forward. Probably those mistakes he made during the Newcastle game inhibited him from going forward.

Cazorla: 6
Kept quiet by Southampton midfielders. Didn't make those good runs he made against Newcastle. Had a shot deflected.

Arteta: 6
Failed to create rhythms, but his attempt went fairly close.

Wilshere: 7
One of the better performer on the day when all the players were below par.

Oxlade-Chamberlain: 7
Lively on the right wing. Delivered a great cross into the box where nobody was present to collect it.

Walcott: 6
Failed to make an impact but didn't get enough service.

Podolski: 6
Anonymous.

Subs

Giroud: 6
Replaced Podolski in the 58th minute. Made little impact.

Ramsey: 6
74th-minute substitute for Cazorla. Despite playing in his natural position, made little difference.

Gervinho: 5
74th-minute substitute for the Ox. He now seems to have gone backwards from last season, despite all the promising signs earlier this season. He was clueless. As he created some half-chances for himself, it was even more frustrating.