Match Preview: Cardiff vs Arsenal (Let's put these minnows to the Sword)

Quick match preview. So now  its our turn to visit the wannabe Giant  killers of Cardiff city. Coming off decent results against the two Manchester sides, my guess is they won't be shitting themselves over meeting us today..They would very much fancy their chances against us and rightly so..However, that could play into our hands a bit considering we tend to like it when teams of inferior technical caliber come at us gung ho..it leaves us with the sort of space we thrive-on to pick them apart. Newly promoted sides like Cardiff are always a breath of fresh air. At the outset of every new season, just look at how they start off desperate to prove they belong in the elite division. They play exciting stuff, entertain the neutrals, ruffle a few feathers of the big boys before they customarily hit a wall and the wheels start coming off their campaign (who could forget Blackpool of 2010/11). Only few have managed to successfully balance the raw enthusiasm of promotion and the tactical discipline required to mix it with the premiership teams. Naivety, squad size/squad quality, Managerial turnover are other factors that haven't helped their cause either but having said that, if you are big team top of the league like we are, you have to see games against promoted teams as chances to consolidate your stance.      


Wales has been a good hunting ground for us lately. We have taken maximum points from our last two trips there at Swansea and excluding the Old Trafford debacle,our away form has been absolutely fantastic. We score at will away and barely let anything in on the road. Matter of fact only Aston Villa in that opening day from hell, has managed to put more than ONE past us all season home or away..Even the fluke strike scored by Grey haired traitor was hardly a fallout of any defensive apocalypse. We have a near fully fit squad and an almost 100% rested 1st-team, many thanks to the nice chaps from Marseilles who were generous enough to roll over on Tuesday without much fuss. Its not like our opponents today are some sort of high-flyers in the division, they may have taken the scalps of the two Manchester teams but aside that they haven't been overly terrific just look at their league position. I'll say this though, they have some weapons they use well. One of such is their set-piece play. There's that stuff they do on corner kicks where their guy Whittingham  delivers the wicked ball in to your danger area deceptively enough for your keeper to think he can claim it only for either Turner or Caulker to nip in just in front of him and wreck havoc. We've successfully employed zonal marking in dealing with set plays and i have to say we have not fared badly but Per and Kos will have to demonstrate increased concentration level against the likes of those Big men i mentioned on free kicks and corners. Odemwingie hasn't quite hit the heights of his Westbrom  fame after spectacularly falling out with them but he still boasts a dangerous scoring rate against us..2 goals in 3 starts. He'll have to be watched. Ditto for Frazier Campbell who is their big game man.

We know our strengths as a team. We are not Manchester United or Mancity. If they think because they rattled those guys then we won't be much hassle, they will be in for a lesson in premiership 101. Which teaches you that no 2 teams are ever the same in this division and that games spin on fine margins.  We have a hectic December in the offing, with CfC and City to come..So we absolutely need to thrash teams like Cardiff just in-case we come unstuck in those title double-headers to come. Those two are our closest title rivals and their games could go any way in fairness. But if we manage to stack up a reservoir of points from beating  the minnows, we will have enough to fall back on. Here's to 3 points, C'mon you REDS                                                                                                                                                                              

Match Review: Arsenal 2: Marseilles 0 (Gunners take giant step to Knock-out round)

Same scoreline as Saturday, same 3 points as well. Arsenal swat aside Olympique Marseille without necessarily  needing to break much sweat. The pre-match objective for us couldn't  have been clearer, secure 12points and acquire elbow room from those other 2 contenders in this dance of ''death' in Group F. No other result other than a win would have been acceptable given that our opponents on the night, Marseille had nothing to play for and have bagged a grand total of zero points thus far. In my match preview i had sounded a note of caution to the effect that any complacency could be disastrous to our ambitions, in the end it proved a relatively comfortable night as we were never required to move up a gear to secure the 3 points. Call it hindsight or revisionist, but i perhaps may have overestimated our visitors. They didn't look at all like they were ready to cause any sort of upset and even though there was still a chance for Europa League qualification within their reach, they didn't seem up for it. Even the boss tried to hide his disappointment in their performance in his post game interview. In any case, be it  far from me to complain. As they say in football, you can only beat what's in front of you.

It was a night of ''Firsts'' both on and off the pitch in the sense that Jack Wilshere grabbed his first brace in an Arsenal shirt since he broke into the first team. It was also the first time according to the boss that we would amass a points haul of 12 in 5 games in the champions league and still be mathematically unsure of qualification (even though you and i know we definitely will go through). So here are the permutations as they stand now, its safe to say after Dortmund beat Napoli tonight, if they win in France or draw and we beat Napoli away they qualify with us. They win the group if we lose and they pummel the hapless Marseille with a scoreline upwards of 2-3 goals. If we draw and they win (even if by 10-0) we top the group. So we find ourselves in a strong position, but there's still some work to be done on match day 6.

To touch on a bit about the individual performances, is it just me.or  is all not 100% well with Ozil. I look at him on the pitch and whilst he does a lot of good things, i see a fair few issues of concern also. He never really seems eager to bust a gut to win back possession or track any runner ghosting past him. He tries a little, half- halfheartedly to stop some,but gives up far too easily. I'm thinking, is it a case of ''Couldn't be bothered''? or Fitness issues? and don't get me started on the Penalty...'cos he never looked like scoring with that rather ambiguous run-up. Make no mistake, i do like him because he is a great player and he still delivered an assist on the night. Yes, its his first season, but the basics of his game in the last few fixtures have been iffy. His stats are still impressive mind you. But its just that he's a big, big player and perhaps needs to do more. Is it maybe the pressure of the price-tag getting to him? who knows?...Ramsey was again, impressive. How many times will i have to say this in a season where thus far he has looked invincible, i don't know. But get this, in the entire game, Ramsey touched the ball 140 times while the only other Marseille midfielder to play 90mins touched the ball only 55 times!!!! Mental! The guy is a machine. Wilshere was great and his two goals will definitely do him good in terms of building goal scoring confidence. Though i don't think the boss was correct to play the ''anything Ramsey can do, i can do'' card in terms of what Jack must have been thinking when he took those opportunities. I know i personally don't like being compared to my peers, so if Jack is like me, that comment would have hurt. But the Boss said it was a joke,so hopefully they both laugh over it.

Saturday will meet us with no significant injury situation to deal with (touch wood on Gibbs reported illness though) that game with Cardiff is one i know will be a real fight for us. Monreal was again solid as a stand-in but Gibbs is Gibbs. Rosicky still impresses with his running and application and how i wish i could genetically preserve him and maybe duplicate his DNA. That way we could have a Tomas-like player forever at AFC...So we march on in the UCL ,and with this victory, we have bitch-slapped the prospects of being eliminated and playing Thursday night football (yuck!!) like our mighty 6-0 stuffed lilly white neighbors. Great stuff from the lads. Back on Friday with a match preview of Cardiff vs AFC.

Match Preview: Arsenal vs Marseilles (Group of Death Survival is in our hands)

Hi folks, quick preview of our champions league fixture with Marseilles. The game comes on the heels of our  fine win against Southampton on Saturday, so i would expect confidence and self-belief to be high . The visitors are already out of contention in the run up for qualification for the knock out stages in group F, but we will have to ensure they do not throw the spanner in the works of our chances to progress.  Group F, the group of death hasn't disappointed thus far. All teams have given everything on match days,unfortunately for Marseilles they are the ones whose dreams currently lie on life support. They just have't been able to get going in this group and tonight we will have to be the ones to take the responsibility of easing them off the life support machine for a painless,peaceful demise. They will have nothing to lose as they file out against us at the Emirates, so expect them to play with a calmness and liberty that perhaps they lacked hitherto. No one will be expecting them to win the game so anything other than victory for Arsenal will be seen  as a surprise.

The permutations of us finishing on equal footing in this group (12points) with Dortmund and Napoli has been making the rounds in the media and other platforms but i tend to believe it won't get to that. Qualifications lies squarely in our hands and if we successfully dispatch Marseilles Tonight, you have to fancy us to go through. This competition is so heavily dependent on experience, a trait we do not lack as seasoned campaigners so starting from picking three points against Marseilles, i see us picking up another point from Naples to close out the group as leaders. The team from the south coast of France come into this tie in good spirits after a convincing win away to Ajaccio. Pierre Gignac a one-time target of Arsenal scored a beauty as well as young starlet Thauvin to consign Ajaccio to a 3-1 defeat. The win moved them to fourth position in Ligue 1, and they may seek to re-enact an encore in North London. I watched the kid Thauvin at the just concluded Fifa U-21 world cup (won by France interestingly) and he looked really good in that tournament. Quick,skillful and clinical he will be one to watch as well as the stocky Gignac who on his day can be a handful. 

With a crucial tie in the coming weekend against Cardiff approaching, you will be forgiven to expect a few rotations in the Arsenal squad in order to freshen up things. Could Vermaelen be drafted in, or Rosicky given a start? The  Vermaelen question may prove more riskier considering how we've got our fingers burnt before by resting Per for no reason and pairing Vermaelen with Koscielny. Could Gnabry also feature? or Perhaps Walcott given a start. How about Monreal also getting a look-in and giving Gibbs a breather? Its great to have selection headaches (devoid of injuries) as this indicates a sense of competition for starting positions in the team but then the key word is Balance. One false move that disrupts the balance of the team can portend costly consequences. The manager knows this very well, so it will be interesting to see who gets the nod to start. It will be a difficult night for us if we let them score first and settle down quickly to any kind of rhythm. Therefore its imperative we give them the ''Napoli treatment'' blitz them early and finish the job without fuss. Qualification for the next round beckons, so lets go out there and see out this tie efficiently..

Match Review: Arsenal 2: Southampton 0 (Cracking game ends with victory for gunners)

For those of us (Well pretty much all of us) who demanded a response from the lads after our last outing, we got exactly that..A brilliant performance from Arsenal against a very dangerous looking Southampton side that gave as good as they got for very large portions of the game. At some point watching the game i said to my self that even neutrals would've been engaged by it. Such was the action packed nature of it.. Crucially for me, we showed no International break hangovers as we looked reasonably fresh and up for it, credit to the team handlers for this. So we bagged 3 delicious points and go 4 points clear at the top as Liverpool dropped points in their Mersyside affair..Below are a player by player rating as i saw it..feel free to concur or dispute accordingly.

Szcesney:------------------------8

Woj was brilliant again today for us and continues what seems to be a rich vein of spectacular form. He made 3 absolutely top drawer stops in the 1st half to deny Southampton from grabbing potentially damaging goals. The finger tipped one round the post to deny Llalana was quite impressive in the sense that he couldn't have seen it early. Plus he seems to have finally worked on being able to kick a ball further than the halfway line!! Long may this continue, greater battles lie in wait.

Sagna:----------------------------7.5

A follower of mine on Twitter wrote that neither Sagna nor Mertasacker should be allowed to leave the ground until both had signed contracts to stay at Arsenal for the forseeable future. I couldn't agree more. Sagna for one was immense. His knack for winning Ariel balls against bigger opponents amazes me to no end. His leap gets him ahead of his co-jumper time after time and this enables us to control the situation and douse pressure. His crossing was equally good today, not excellent but good and his experience ensures he stays calm no matter what the situation is. Contract please!!

Gibbs-----------------------------7.5

Keirian had one of his better days at the office today. On his day you can expect solid defending, intelligent overlapping runs, disciplined tracking of runners and timely positioning. All that were on show in the game and even though he caused a scare late-on by bringing down a Southampton player in our box, it didn't come any where close to dampening a great day for him.

Koscielny:-------------------------8

It was back to the usual Koscielny again, as he was reunited with his reliable defensive partner unlike 2 weeks ago where he looked rather uncomfortable. I enjoyed a sliding tackle he performed early in the 2nd half when Rodriguez sauntered into the box rather dangerously. Kos simply tracked him, timed his tackle and executed it to perfection to snuff out the danger. Quality stuff. In addition he kept Lambert quiet, to the frustration of the England striker.

Mertasacker------------------------8

BFG is fast becoming a fan favorite in the ground and off it as well, and his BFG T-shirt picture that circulated on the net this week only served to increase that. He had a great international break and promptly brought that form back to the team today..barely put a foot wrong and if you keep your eye on him next time you just might see how vocal he is in games. organizing and pointing out things.

Arteta-------------------------------6

From the get go he struggled to get to grips with the pace of the game. His touches and passing were somewhat off today. Strange because if you look at the stats, those are the strongest areas of his game. He suffered a reported ankle knock that ended his involvement ultimately but it probably may have been an issue he was struggling with before the game, as he never really got going in this one.

Wilshere-----------------------------7

Jack looked lively, and after rumours that he was injured during his time with the Three lions surfaced it was great to see him close to his best in midfield today. He suffered under the brute strength of Wanyama at times but his technique and skill were still useful in driving us forward from deep and dictating the play for others to follow.Was unlucky not to score in the 1st half but can be happy with his shift today.

Ramsey------------------------------7.5

Rambo was largely quiet today and didn't really create many moments of interest. His first-half back flick that grazed the bar off an Ozil cross was perhaps his highlight of the day. But he was also crucially tracking runners when we were under attack as well as tackling Southampton players to breakup play consistently. And when Arteta made way following his injury, Ramsey was the man that had to take up the defensive duties of the captain. His versatility is an asset and highlights why he is probably the first name on the starting list.

Ozil------------------------------------7

Much better from Mesut today. He was always involved and even though fast-paced games of this nature are still a bit of the English style he needs to acclimatize to, he played his part by spreading dangerous balls across the final third of the opponents and looked to link up with Wilshere to great effect. He pops-up a lot on the wings and it makes me wonder if he'd have preferred the middle. Some say he's been given a kind of free role. But i think for now the flanks suit him..He isn't the quickest of players i agree, but his game reading and range of passing are better suited for him to cut  in and look to shoot or pass..

Carzola----------------------------------7

Santi was livlier than last time round in Old Trafford..He was back to his old self running rings around Southampton fullbacks and kept our passing moving even in the midst of the strong pressing game of our opponents.Has the tendency to overdo it sometimes with the dribbling but overall the joy of watching him wriggle out of the tightest of corners with the ball seemingly tied to his boots is sheer bliss.

Giroud----------------------------------9

                

Giroud left Boruc with egg on his face for the second time in 2weeks after Bergovic lobbed him against Stoke at the Brittania. Giroud was fantastic with his all round game, Holding up play, leading the line and generally putting his body, sheer size and commitment on the line for the team. Defensively, i can recall one really good header he won in the first half when we were really under the cosh from the visitors. I cannot recall any striker we have had in recent years that works as hard as Giroud. I was a staunch critic of his last season, but iv been won over by his passion and application. He may miss the odd sitter here and there but i'll pardon him. The dude is a prized asset. And his two goals today, underlined that.

SUBS

Walcott-------------------6

Rusty rusty theo!...great to have him back regardless of his physical condition though. His snap shot from a Wilshere pass in the 2nd half just demonstrates the kind of  attacking spontaneity the man brings to us. Instictive runs and shots are what Theo is all about and i can't wait to see him back fully in the next couple of weeks.

Rosicky------------------6

Came in for Arteta and brought his experience to the table in closing out the win.

Monreal-------------------6

1/3 of Arsene's tactic of ''throw in all the fullbacks'' when we want to close out  a game. I like Monreal, he's such a business minded Left-back that comes in and discharges his affairs responsibly without fuss.

So it took a better individual outing from all concerned to get this win, focus, discipline and character were the keys to success, as the boss describes post game last night. It'll demand more of the same from the team in subsequent games for us to pull out from the chasing pack and go clear by more points..but that's not a matter for today..Today is about commending the response from the lads. 

Match Preview: Arsenal Vs Southampton ( Tough fixture for Gunners as EPL hostilities resume)

Greetings..The international break is over and its a return to the rigours of premiership football this weekend..The 2014 world cup participants have now been finalized and there will be no further international breaks until the new year. Unlike a few out there,i personally don't mind international breaks. The Super Eagles, for me are always a welcome distraction from the tension and heart pounding affairs of Arsenal games. Hence, i'm usually not fussed when those weekends without EPL arrive. Having said that though, this particular international break was an enduring pain in the ass for me considering the manner we entered it ( the loss to you know who). Whenever a result like that happens without an outlet to bounce back immediately, i get agitated. Us sitting top of the league regardless of the loss was scant consolation, i just wanted a dosage of 3 points in my system and i wanted it fast.

The chance to do that has finally materialized, we have a home game this Saturday evening against a surprisingly high flying Southampton team. I tell everyone who cares to listen that they are a classic example of what a good manager can do for a team. Its amazing how modernity has successfully belittled the position of a ''Team Manager'' so much that in my view, almost everyone thinks they can manage a premiership club! Its laughable..Last season under Nigel Atkins, they looked so out of their depth and appeared well and truly on their way back down after only 8 games into that campaign. Compare that to this season under New Boss Pochettino, 3rd on the table after 11 games, only 5 goals conceded (Best defense in the division) and on a league form of WDWDW in their last five! These are the sort of stats you would've associated with the Chelseas and Man Utds of this world not Southampton. But that is the team we are going up against and its on paper definitely going to be a difficult afternoon for us. So what changed them from premier league bottom scrappers to top dogs in less than 14 months? The boss puts it down to hard work from their players. The stay true to a 4-3-2-1 makeup and pressing style that features a lot of direct running from the flanks and center. In Llalana they possess a fine player who on his day can make the difference, alongside Rodriguez they thrive in finding pockets of space around the final third. Ricky Lambert is adept at link-up play that has proved potent at bringing the aforementioned two into dangerous positions but in Mertasacker and Koscielny they will be up against a pairing that has seen it all at this level.

We welcome Theo Walcott back from a two month absence and as far as i'm concerned, this is a massive boost to us. Over the last couple of games, i had observed a dire need of freshening things up a bit in our play in the final third. It looked a bit like teams were starting to figure us out by denying Giroud the opportunity to link up with the midfielders as he loves. it didn't matter if he dropped deep or not he was always heavily marked. The added option of having Theo make his trade-mark runs behind defenses for Rosicky and Ozil to pick out will give opponents something else to think about. Flamini is ineligible but Carzola and Wilshere are available after shaking off knocks. Speaking of Carzola, this piece interestingly reveals his thoughts on our title credentials. He is quoted in another source as saying how the boss has been demanding more from him this season. I know he hasn't hit the dizzying heights of last season but his quality is such that he can always be relied on to pop-up in difficult games and win them for you just by being Santi Carzola. He hasn't synchronized with Ozil the way most of us had imagined but part of that is down in my opinion to the newly found discipline the entire team has embraced since the close season last term. We seldom throw everything at opponents, we do just about enough to break them down whilst striking a balance in terms of taking risks, and keeping it tight at the back. Gibbs describes it better here. It promises to be an interesting game against the saints. We enjoy a cordial relationship with them off the pitch, but who's to say if the friendship will also exist on the pitch seeing they have ambitions of their own this season. I want 3 points to re-address the setback that was our last fixture. Its a weekend where every other rival is saddled with a tricky game,so you don't want to be the one dropping points when every one else has done their business..What else can i say other than, Come On you Gunners! 

Stock taking as the dust from the Old Trafford defeat settles

Its been nearly 7days since that debacle at Old Trafford...Much as i pride myself as an open minded gooner and never one to mouth-off stupidly on impulse when results don't go our way, i have to say i found it hard not to feel disappointed with our trip to Old Trafford. My Last post told its own story. I had posted that piece just minutes after the game and it reflected my exact feelings at the time..Many a seasoned bloggers will say the first rule in Blogging is ''Never post an article immediately after a loss''. Chances are you will post more out of emotion than sense and as a result sound like a Jilted lover. But on that occasion i went against that rule because like many of you out there i had hopes of a win! I had pictured myself posting a Celebratory Post, where i'd gloat my ass off  like a WWE wrestler would do after executing a Top rope spinning body slam on his opponent. It hurt to lose that game, and more so lose in the way we did but i guess in the context of the fact that only on few occasions in history had we ever had a good game up there in recent memory, do you then feel less pain.

The skipper on the day says it all in terms of how big a chance we blew. It definitely was a big opportunity to lay down the marker of our intentions this season but it appears the sheer size of the task ahead of us gave us a bit of  the proverbial ''Deer in the headlights'' syndrome and we froze. We have now had a week to endure the taunting of the Manc fans and pretty much everyone with any remote interest in our quest to end this trophy-less odyssey. Its not been fun for you guys, i can imagine but the season isn't over yet. Its time to stop licking our wounds and regroup for the challenges that lie ahead. You think those taunts sound bad? Wait till the season is done and we don't win anything (God Forbid). The players are professionals, but i'm willing to bet they get picked on too about Arsenal's trophy drought. It may come from their National team mates, personal friends, family members, or heck, even the bloody milkman for that matter. If there's any entity associated with Arsenal that wants this trophy matter ended ASAP its the players. That's what makes me confident that there's going to be a real fight between us and all the other contenders this season. I only just ask that we never allow ourselves cower under the weight of expectation surrounding a game, so much that it literally stifles our play and we end up not delivering anything close to our best on the day. I think why the game on Sunday hurt me so bad was because as i sat there watching the team in yellow shuffle around aimlessly in the first half and marginally better in the second half, i couldn't help but feel that  if only we could just produce 1/5th of what we are truly capable of we'd have blown United of the pitch.

Now its back in another wees time to face Southampton at home. I know the cliche that'll make the rounds about that time will be all about responding, but devoid of any delusion the Boss, Players and co have to realize that this isn't a chance that will present itself again so soon. We sit atop the premiership after our hard work and collective effort. Lets make the most of it and never again allow whatever nerves or self doubt we harbor in the Big games numb our strengths on the pitch the way that strange flu wiped out Per and Rosicky off the pitch.. ..later 

Match Review: Man utd 1 : 0 Arsenal (Poor day at the office as gunners bottle it)

Poor passing, Poor movement, No character, Key players in sleep mode, No fight, Debilitating case of stage fright and nerves galore add all that up an what do you have? a steaming pile of hot waste displayed by our lads earlier today...what a disappointment!


Need to go for a drink to get this outta my system so here's my view of the player by player rating...not pretty i must warn..

Szczesney--------------7

Couldn't do much about the Van persie header..More a fallout of poor marking than anything else. Suffered a concussive head clash with Jones but commendably braved the match on until finish..Don't remember any particular mistake or save he made through out the match..such was the strange nature of the game in all..


Sagna------------------7

Bacary did well in all, with his defending as well as overlapping. His experience at the back always evident with his calm decision-making..whipped in some tasty crosses that were begging to be converted but Giroud and co had an off day..


Gibbs-------------------6

Keiran didn't have a disaster like a few others i'll come to later but in fairness a lot of united's dangerous moments came from his wing. Perhaps he wasn't getting the help from Carzola in front of him, but there were moments the general malaise about our game seemed to just cramp his usual effervescent self. Crosses were also at an all time low from him but like i said earlier, pretty much everyone struggled today.



Koscielny---------------7

We've all known for something now that there's something about Kos's game that just looks glaringly unsettled whenever he is paired with Vermaelen. He just doesn't look as assured and confident as he looks when paired with Mertersacker. Invariably it appears whenever those two (Kos and Vermaelen) pair we lose. Today they weren't bad but their in-cohesion was obvious. Kos did make some good tackles and always puts in a good shift every time but he didn't look as inspired today as usual.




Vermaelen---------------6

Look it would be harsh to say if Per was in there things would've been different. Thomas did well in general its only that he and Koscielny are so similar in style that when paired together there isn't that calmness you would associate with the defending as when Per is there..There were some hairy moments as a result of his robust style but thankfully no big  mistakes as in last season.


Arteta---------------------5

How many times do you see Mikel get subbed in a game he starts without being injured? Exactly. and i don't buy the thought his substitution was tactical either because he left the pitch at a time Flamini had already departed as well. So we evidently had no Holding midfielder. Wenger must have grown fed up with the lack of creativity on show from our middle and decided to sub Arteta..He was 2nd best to most of the 50-50 balls in midfield all-night long and that was my first sign of worry.. allowed Rooney to overpower him often and had a below par game.


Carzola-------------------3


He was a complete waste of space today..i don't know if it was fatigue, or just a lack of effort but i didn't see the technical runs or passing range Santi has..He was slow,wasteful in possession,unimaginative and anonymous...infact as poor an outing as he has had in an arsenal jersey..Truly shocking.


Ramsey--------------------5

Well it would have been some effort to have maintained his scoring form in  a game like this one. It was evident the attention he was getting from Jones earlier on had stifled his influence. Credit to him though, he didn't hide and still came forward despite the difficulties. Had that real good opening to shoot in the united Box but lost it after good defensive work from them. Overall a hardworking shift, but no memorable impact to speak of.


Ozil-----------------------4

Another key player who under-performed badly. Something doesn't just feel right, either he is really physically unfit as games in the premiership tend to blow past him or he isn't just trying hard enough. Watchers say he hasn't gotten the knack of the pace of football in England yet but still from my vantage position, HE STRUGGLED! gave easy passes away and didn't add the much needed creativity in the final third we badly wanted. Need him to step it up and quick.

Giroud--------------------5

Giroud had more fouls than shots at goal.  Make of that what you will but to me that's a painfully woeful stat. You might argue and say where was the service to him going to come from judging how everyone around him had a shocker.But Giroud has gotten through this before, he only just got frustrated by a resilient United defense. The few times Sagna whipped in great crosses, you'd have wanted him at the right place to turn in tap-ins but his love for dropping deep to get possession has its drawbacks...he's always 75% sure of being nowhere near the box when the crosses fly in..  :(


Flamini--------------------4

Didn't look at all ready for his comeback..just like Arteta he was 2nd best to most of the 50-50 balls...Now he has eventually got his 5yellow cards of the season,meaning he will sit out the Southampton game.



SUBS:

Wilshere: ----------6

Looked better and livelier than Flamini and looked to combine better with the pedestrian Ozil on the right.

Gnabry-------------7

I had been screaming all through the 2nd half for the youngster to be introduced to the game but Wenger perhaps didn't share my view. Caused a lot of action to suddenly occur around the United final third with his speed and trickery and you just get the feeling what may have happened if only he started the game.


Bendtner----------4

The sooner we part ways with this guy the better for both us and him..


So there you have it. A tame and spineless performance got what it deserves. I just hope its only a blip and it certainly could have been worse if the results of other teams this weekend wasn't equally as bad..Ozil and Carzola need to rip up this performance and throw it it the bin of history labelled ''Never again''.

need a drink..talk later.

Match Preview: Man Utd Vs Arsenal (Week of Reckoning ends with Battle at Old Trafford)

Ok guys we have a real battle on our hands today!  Forget the Liverpool game, forget the Dortmund one even ( Those were cracking wins tho) ..This is the game every bone, tissue, cartilage and erythrocyte in my body wants to win.. My Goodness, we owe those pricks one don't we? I have wanted to trash Manchester United ever since that 8-2 nightmare and i'm praying today will be that day...On that unfortunate afternoon, we were in a very bad place as a squad morally. We had just lost Cesc& Nasri, the creative core of our midfield in one month, in addition the manager had dithered in replacing them all summer. The season duely began without us making any marquee signing to boost our morale save for Gervinho and then Old Trafford came calling. We were threadbare, unmotivated, inexperienced and blunt as a squad and got murdered. The result of that game has left a scare so indelible in the minds of ARSENAL FANS that its safe to say the only thing that can come close to exorcising that ghost is to bash, batter& humiliate a United team in front of their miserable fans in their backyard. The media frenzy about United's near capture of our man-of- the-season Ramsey , plus the revelation of how David Moyes turned down a chance to purchase Ozil in August is frankly pure revisionist hogwash . Aaron Ramsey already cleared the air on the events of the summer of 2008. He was approached by United, sized them and their offer up and said ''Thanks but No thanks''. Its an indication of how confident they are about this fixture that instead of doing what united usually do whenever we meet them (which is say how such a good job Wenger is doing bla bla bla), they are concerning themselves with a player who never really wanted to sign for them. Hahaha and as far as the Ozil story is concerned, please don't even get me started on that one.


This Game has come at the right time for us. We are in red hot form at the moment. This isn't the same kind of form got from beating a string of minnows for a few weeks, naah. This is a rich form of confidence derived from outclassing Liverpool with their SAS muppets, clashing with and upstaging a decent Dortmund outfit at home, where they had enjoyed a strong unbeatable record in Europe and of course sitting pretty at the summit of the EPL with a healthy 5points. We seem to have understood how to prosecute games away from home with the right degree of patience, discipline, defensive synergy and attitude. The record reads 14 wins out of 15 with only one draw, dating back to the game against Bayern Munich. You may not be one to get overly excited by stats but they are what they are. This game will be won and lost in the Middle of the park. Carrick is the only United midfielder worth speaking of as capable of giving Arsenal any headache. Cleverly and Jones are lightweights, Kagawa is out of sorts in a team he is unsure if he is wanted or not. If we can get down to the workman-like application we produced in Dortmund with Carzola, Rosicky and Ozil technically laying down the law on a pressing Dortmund midfield determined to deny us any joy in possession we will be unplayable. I have no time at all for Anderson as it appears his owners have't as well. He has been talking about how the United team know how to beat Arsenal...All i can say to fat boy is to keep calm and eat his snickers...the Diva.  Rooney has been mouthing off too also, i have as much time for his comments also as i do for a Robby Savage punditry half hour. Moving on swiftly.

We welcome back our gladiator Flamini,  also Jack Wilshere was part of training but will need to be assessed prior to the game. i'd rest him though if there was any doubt at all. The midfield personnel that did brilliantly in the last two big games will do just fine for me. I know theres' the issue of fatigue but lets face it, who won't be pumped up with adrenaline for a chance to thump United at home eh? Walcott is said to be running again but its unclear if he will be included in the squad today. His pace and finishing has been missed. Giroud will no doubt be the man all focus will be on, he has led the line admirably but  we all know he has it in him to miss sitters. This is one game we cannot afford him to be wasteful though. Chances will be few, so to say we will need to be efficient in burying them when they come will be saying the bleeding obvious.so guys, that's it i'm done, i can't even bring myself to write about this fixture like i would do others because i just want to see us hurt those Mid-table morons today...C'mon Arsenal !!!!!! lets do this!!!




                                                                                                                            

Match Review: Arsenal 2: Liverpool 0 (Gunners outclass title rivals in superb style)

 
                        

So at the end of the day we did the business and bagged 3 emphatic points against our so called Title rivals Liverpool. So much for the "Dreaded" SAS double act. If you ask me, they looked as dangerous as a Chamakh&Bendtner partnership..We now as a result of this win open a 5 point Gap at the top following Chelsea's debacle earlier in the day. Not a bad day's job you will agree. The game plan we executed was disciplined, calculated and professional. Individual Mistakes were non-existent and  the few that did occur weren't punished, so in fairness you can say we were the better team all through..

But how did each player rate:

Szcezney -----------------7.5
I initially wanted to score him higher than this ,but because of those crazy late dillydallying  he was comitting at the back, when he should be clearing the ball, his score has been affected..Not to take anything away from his performance though, he made some brilliant saves on one or two occasions. And can go home happy at bagging a cleansheet..

Koscielny:----------------8
When this guy is good,he is really good! Virtually everywhere in our Final third tackling, blocking and intercepting the runs from the now infamous SAS. He had a fantastic game and we'll be looking to more of the same come Wednesday

Mertasacker--------------7
Its a testament on just how good  Per is that you never remember him perform any significant tackle or do anything in general but still his marshalling of our defence  alongside Kos remains solid . His role was to mostly double-up on Suarez from a safe point, whenever Koscielny moved in first. He did well.He's a tough lad, and distinguished himself.


Gibbs----------------------8

Great work as always. Tidy in his tackles and sensible orientation to overlapping..Got a Knock' late on his calf..So hopefully it isn't so damaging

Sagna-----------------------8

Sagna again brought to bare his wealth of experience. He faced both Sturridge&Suarez at specific times in the game out on the wings but he dealt with every bit of threat Liverpool could muster like a boss.


Arteta:-----------------------8
Mikel in the absence of Flamini took up the holding role and thoroughly cleaned out Liverpool's incursions to our area regularly. It was like he was back in an Everton Jersey the way he covered every blade of grass for us to pip Liverpool..

Ramsey:----------------------9

 Whenever i remember that he could so easily have played for Manutd i cringe..He again tonight was fantastic..Tirelessly running to and fro to support the attack and do his bit defensively. His goal was sheer quality, and came at a time we had started pushing for the second. Not only is he much improved from last season, He looks super confident and i hope he keeps improving.

Rosicky-----------------------7

Ageless Rosicky is an asset for this club. His commitment serves as a good example to the youngsters plus on the pitch he is an attacking threat. Liverpool were constantly being pulled apart by his direct running and interplay, Not bad for a 33yr old eh...

Carzola------------------------7.5

At the start of the game some of his quick feet dribbling were not coming off and i thought it was gonna be a bad day for him..but Alas he shook it off and buried a crucial goal to set us on our way. He can make difficult things look so easy Santi and thats why i need him to entrench even more understanding with Ozil so we can lessen the pressure on Giroud..

Ozil----------------------------7

I don't think our German wizard is fully fit...his running appears laboured, and finds it hard to keep up with the pace of play. Perhaps the manager believes constant game time is the best solution for it. But he was anonymous today, with only few impact moments one of which was sending Sagna free to cross the ball for Carzolas Goal. Hope he gets into full flow soon


Giroud--------------------------8
For sheer work-rate, this guy almost made me give him my whole full marks. but like Szceszney he lost vital points for missing two sitters..Composure is Giroud's bane..and like iv said a million times if he can incorporate icy cool ruthlessness up front, we would have quite a player on our hands..


The subs dont't get to be rated  as they all barely had any chance to impress. Confidence has been restored now to an extent going into The UCL, but its a totally different game to this on Wednesday...lets not get ahead of ourselves though..We can for now enjoy being 5points clear after 10 games..not too shabby.

Match Preview: ARSENAL Vs LIVERPOOL (CRUNCH BATTLE AT THE EMIRATES AS TOP SIDES CLASH!)

   

Isn't this just why we love this competition called the Barclay's Premiership? The Intrigue, The excitement surrounding a fixture like this can attain unbelievable levels of tension to leave you breathless as kick-off approaches.''The EPL show'' trailer of this tie by John Dykes describes it as a game between two fallen giants who possess a rich history laden with successes but have both endured forgettable recent times. Indeed both teams have suffered difficult years in recent memory as a result of contrasting challenges, but never has that taken away the passion usually associated with this epic tie. This season they have both set the pace in the premiership, the merseysiders have won 6 out of their 9 games drawing 2 and losing 1  while Arsenal have won 7 games drawing and losing 1 apiece. It may be early days, but the recent form of both sides sets up this clash at the Emirates to almost title-race 6 pointer status. All the pre-match talk has been predictably connected to the so-called SAS strike force comprising Suarez (LoL!) and the ridiculously dancing Sturridge (cringe!). With 16 goals between them this season, they look to be spearheading a kind of renaissance of the classic two man strike partnership that modern football had almost rendered extinct. Other striking twosomes in the division like Rooney/Rvp, Negredo/Aguero, Bony/Michu haven't quite caught the attention of watchers like the SAS due to the fact that their respective teams aren't occupying Top4 status. However, beyond their league position its the ease and near telepathic understanding both men have demonstrated in such a short time that has surprised watchers. They've been hard to cope with on the field of play and come 5.30pm it'll be the turn of our defense to test themselves against these 2 guys.

Smarting from two home defeats, Arsenal will be looking to return to winning ways asap. The loss to Chelsea in midweek, while not season-defining (yet), was a painful reminder of the scarcity of talent in depth at our disposal. Granted we had Arteta suspended,Walcott, chamberlian and Podolski out too but overall we struggled to trouble the visitors. The boss isn't worried though, he expresses his confidence the lads will not only dispatch Liverpool but will come out of the fixtures with Dortmund and United in good shape. We'd all want to believe him. But its so clear for all to see that in that last 3 games we haven't been playing well. The confidence going forward when we had the fulcrum of Flamini  at the back appears shaky now and unless we want to revert back to the style we adopted in early spring which we used to good effect in defeating Bayern Munich and going unbeaten in 10 premier league games, i have to say i'm worried. Arteta in DM doesn't quite fill me with confidence due to his less physical style but unless you fancy Frimpong in the squad (i know i know) we have no choice. We have no new injury returnees and that's tough luck but Sagna, Gibbs, Szczesney and Arteta would all be returning rested and rearing to go. Its definitely a 4-2-3-1 formation for us as usual with Giroud on his own upfront ably assisted by Carzola,Ozil,Rosicky or Jack Wilshere.

Goodness me, its so important we start the game well from the blast and put them under early pressure with a view to getting a goal. All the whole suarez could have joined us bollocks is irrelevant now, thats why iv stayed away from discussing it. He was interested in Champions League footy, he wanted to crossover to us but they shit their pants at the thought of doing so and dug their heels. Doesn't matter now, i just want 3points come 7.15pm. An outcome that would, silence the doubters (scratch that,i don't think anything will silence those haters) and underline our seriousness to win this Title. I know it may sound like the bleeding obvious but we MUST avoid gifting them any easy goal they won't work for. Whenever we tend to commit those howlers, we almost never win. Here's a massive chance to snatch us some breathing space from Liverpool at the top, C'mon you gunners!!!!!