The positives out weigh the Negatives...on a night of rotten Luck

Its nights like yesterday's that make me wish i wasn't a football fan. What had shaped up to be a pure spectacle of quality football turned into a farcical one sided charade. We began the game confidently and rattled Bayern Munich in the first 10 minutes of the game. Mesut Ozil then in one moment of pure skill won a Penalty for us after Fooling Boateng with a lovely turn. Unfortunately The Hero then turned himself to a Zero as he stepped up and Delivered a disappointing spot kick that his international team mate saved quite easily. One of my favorite bloggers http://www.arse2mouse.com/ usually says that football spins on very small margins. He explains that you may be watching a game and already developing an account of how you think things will play out...then all of a sudden boom! The game changes and you are left ripping up the previous script and re-writing a new one. In the light of last night's game the match spun on two moments..the first one was the penalty miss which i have just narrated above. The second one happened in the 30th min when after he met a lofted pass into our Danger area, Argen Robben was brought down in the box by Wojiech Szczesny. The pin drop silence that befell the ground as the referee flashed his Red Card and pointed to the spot was as palpable as it was indicative that this game had suddenly gone down south for Arsenal. Despite the miss by Alaba for the German team, the damage of facing this awesome force with just 10 men was already done. We managed to see out the first half without conceding but every Arsenal Fan must have known we faced a hellish 2nd half to come.

And so it proved. The match got reduced to a mockery of sorts. It became effectively a training session for Bayern. The stroked the ball everywhere within our half pinning us back. We defended heroically following everything, tracking everything and blocking any thing that moved. Arsenal are not used to this at the best of times and in the end Bayern found the breakthrough. Tony Kroos received a ball from left and proceeded to curl in a wonder strike past Substitute keeper Fabianski. It would seem like that was probably the only way they could have scored today..i.e something spectacular. We kept on doing a great job keeping them at bay but then in one strange moment we felt we could hazard a risk and get a shock goal back. Koscielny ventured forward for a freekick. It came to nothing, Bayern Attacked and Muller found space to nod in their 2nd. Game over!

the POSITIVES:

(1)We gave as good an account of ourselves in the first half as iv seen all season, that's obviously something to build on.

(2) We defended well for 70mins or thereabout, against a very good attacking force, but poor decision making by Koscielny to venture up leaving us exposed and a wonder strike by Kroos breached us.

(3)Now we can boldly say Ozil can't take penalties.

(4)The Ox and Sanogo where bright lights on a dull dreary night, and particularly Sanogo showed he can grow into a fine player for us indeed.

(5)When we attack with pace we can cause any team trouble, Bayern couldn't live with us in that first 10 mins. So we must now for the rest of the season imbibe this route going forward.

(6)We beat them 2-0 at their place last season. So based on that, this tie is far from over. 

NEGATIVES:

(1)We wanted so much to do well in this game as characterized by our brilliant start. It remains to be seen if our collective morale will be hit by this unfortunate loss or not. 

(2) We lost Gibbs to injury

We can't cry over spilt milk though and we have too much to lose in the season left that we must pick ourselves up and ensure we bounce back with 3 points against Sunderland at the Weekend. We can still win the League and must ensure that our heads stay up devoid of our fate in this year's Champions League.

Match Preview: Arsenal vs Bayern Munich (How will Season 2 of the Block buster end?)

And so here we are at the cusp of  what promises to be another potentially thrilling night at the Emirates courtesy of the UEFA Champions league. Our opponents tonight are the mighty Bayern Munich, last year's winners of the trophy and whom for the 2nd time in successive seasons we will be clashing with for a place in the last 8. This eagerly awaited fixture has met both teams in somewhat similar circumstances. Both are doing well in their domestic leagues, but also missing key personnel going into this game. For Arsenal its Theo Walcott and Top scorer Aaron Ramsey while for Bayern its reigning Euro player of the year Frank Ribery and Xherdan Shaqiri. Both teams are in fine form and obviously possessing healthy respect for each other following their meeting last year that was only settled by the away goals rule. Arsenal must be feeling confident going into this one after successfully eliminating Liverpool in the FA cup at the weekend. And with their self belief restored, it makes this night's encounter a very mouth watering prospect indeed.

Under new Manager Pep Guardiola, Bayern Munich have not missed a beat from the all-conquering form they exhibited under previous boss Jupp Heynkes last season. The Spaniard may have inherited a treble winning side on resumption of his duties in Germany but he has gone ahead to stamp his identity firmly on the 22 times Bundesliga winners. Anyone who watched Barcelona over the trophy laden 4 year reign of Guardiola would tell you unequivocally what his management philosophy on the pitch is: 100% Possession football! Now the man has literally turned Bayern Munich into efficient pass masters of the game. Over the course of last season, Bayern's Average possession overall was 60%..But this season it has shot up to 80%.  Its not only their pass completion stats that have seen an upturn, the famous pressing game we saw in the devastating Barca sides of 2009 to 2011 has manifested in the Bavarians. They allowed their opponents last season complete 2366 passes in their half but so far this season that has dropped to 1961. Impressive figures you'd agree for a team who many thought looked perfect last season. They have weapons who can score goals from literally everywhere from Defense to attack.(you wouldn't need me to bore you with their names). If at all Bayern have any weakness, its in their central defense where either pairing of Van Buyten, Dante or Jerome Boateng aren't the quickest you'll find anywhere. I recall how in the 2nd leg last year in Munich, our first goal exposed this weakness so glaringly. It was almost a ball-watching festival of bewilderment  for the Bayern Defense as we moved the ball smartly across them before Walcott fired the ball goal wards only for Giroud to Tap in. The wings is where this Bayern Team destroys its opponents. The pair of ageless Argen Robben and Frank Ribery (who will not play today) easily rip fullbacks to shreds, they are also good at pulling Center-halves out of position for deep runners like Kroos, Alacantara, Schweinsteiger and Muller to do damage. They are quick with their interplay between the lines and this is where Arsenal will have to be very watchful. 

On our day, Arsenal can take on anyone and beat them. And tomorrow will not be any different..But as the boss stressed in the press conference a lot will depend on how we begin the game. We obviously cannot afford to go the Anfield way and let in 2 or 3 goals before the spectators are fully seated. Its crucial we stamp our authority in the game early and maintain the good defensive record we have at the Emirates this season. Jack Wilshere also says it brilliantly here by pointing out that the Experience of last year will serve Arsenal in good stead. He talks about approaching the match ''intelligently'' which i'm sure he means knowing when to go for it and also knowing when to sit back in the course of the game. The tactical discipline of the home team will be put to test in this one as Bayern are known to be an unrelenting wrecking ball that will keep pushing until they break-through. The ultimate objective as Jack said is to ensure we stay in the tie and not let it drift away from us as it did when Bayern scored their 3rd goal at the Emirates last year. If we can manage to do that, then we can go to Munich with something to fight for.

Team news states that there are no new injury worries going into tonight's game. Rosicky joins the fold once again after his rest period. Attacking wise it's hard to predict who will get the nod. Will Giroud be in a better frame of mind to play after his Domestic issues were made public? Or will the Boss leave him on the bench and take a Hail Mary risk on the Sanogo Podolski axis again like he did against Liverpool?  Here's my guess: Szczesny,Gibbs,Koscielny,Mertasacker,Sagna,Flamini, Ozil, Oxlade-chamberlain,Rosicky,Giroud,& Cazorla. With Podolski coming off the bench if need be.. Its going to be a cracker tonight...lets have your predictions in the comments section. I'll see you at the review post, C'mon Arsenal!!!

Much needed response sees Gunners oust Liverpool 2-1

This was just the outcome i had hoped for prior to the game. A WIN. Simple and short. Any other outcome would have left us in a bit of a crisis which was starting to brew following poor results lately. Unfortunately i wasn't able to see the whole game no thanks to an engagement i was compelled to attend. I am afraid as a result, i cannot give a comprehensive match report. However from the little first half action i was able to catch, my eyes were fixed on Yaya Sanogo, the 21 year old. He was the shock addition to the team probably made to freshen up the forward line that had gone a little stale. From what i saw, he didn't look as bad as i had feared. Yes his nerves were evident (as you would expect) but there was some intelligence in his movements. He still has a long way to go to cut it in the premier league as a striker, but he was certainly not a write-off. Back to the game, the highlights of the 2nd goal showed what fast beaks can do with a pacy player in the side. Following Walcotts' injury, we had sort of grown accustomed to the slower Giroud ''hold up style'' of  getting goals. It was almost to the point that we forgot how fast counters can be a real weapon. Great to see Podolski get a goal to keep his confidence up. I also understand the Goal keeper had a great game too and credit must go to him too. 

So we say a thank you very much and Good bye to the terrible SAS combination of Liverpool whom we will not be facing again for the rest of the season (Thank heavens). Its Bayern we channel full attention to now, and that is another massive ''season defining'' game. I recall how our victory over them in Munich gave us such a boost in confidence that we literally steam-rolled everyone in our path on our way to snatching 4th off Spurs last season. I'll be back with a full preview of that Champions league game later...meanwhile lets bask in the euphoria of a sweet revenge.

Match preview: Arsenal vs Liverpool ( Gunners seek Revenge via FA CUP)

After just a little over a week since they last met, Arsenal and Liverpool will be locking horns again. Its hard to describe how i feel prior to this fixture. On one hand it feels like a great chance to right the wrongs of a week ago. To prove that on that occasion we simply didn't turn up as a unit..But on the other hand there's a sick fear that lightening may strike twice... Such was the blow that 5-1 thumping left on me.. It was evident last Wednesday that the players were similarly hit hard by that defeat also, as seen from their limp performance against the poorest United team in decades. On that night , we simply did not look confident at all, and did not play like Arsenal.

When asked if Liverpool was the last team he wanted to play following that humiliation at Anfield, the boss's answer was quite emphatic. He said the fixture provides the players the opportunity to address that ''Accident'' from a mental point of view. Essentially saying that knocking out Liverpool on Sunday will serve as veritable closure. There is no doubt the players and their pride took a collective dent following last Saturday's debacle and according to Arteta, only one thing can get it out of their system. Enough has been said about what went wrong on that fateful day, the fans and players ought to have mourned and licked their wounds enough by now. Its time to rally ourselves and ensure one of the best avenues of a trophy for Arsenal this season doesn't evaporate by the end of today.


So what can we expect from Liverpool? Not a lot of rotation it appears. Their Manager says they have every right to go full strength as they have no commitments in midweek to warrant any change. That may or may not be a good thing considering the fact they have used largely the same lineup in consecutive games against us and Fulham respectively. Fatigue may be a factor there. Nevertheless, they are the team in form going into this encounter and they would be confident in their chances at the Emirates. Suarez and Sturridge have 39 goals between them this season and even though the Uruguayan is in a bit of a goal drought lately, he remains a dangerous customer. They thrive on service though and in my opinion the best way to nullify them is to keep Gerrard and Coutinho as quiet as possible. The Talented Brazilian had a hand at crucial moments in the 3rd and 4th goals we conceded at Anfield (even though we were guilty of giving the ball away cheaply on both occasions). He has a fantastic eye for a pass and we cannot afford to switch off and give him the time and space to find any of those two forwards with through balls. Gerrard on the other hand is still a dangerous outlet for service for the SAS. At the ripe age of 33, his dead ball abilities are still world class. The delivery that led to their opener at our last meeting was a wicked in-swinger that would have troubled any defense. Also in midweek we saw him yet again assist Sturridge with a sublime pass for their equalizer against Fulham. These two men hold nearly 90% of the ammunition in midfield for Liverpool, sort them out and the SAS  partnership will starve. Both are also not the best players defensively (i.e when Liverpool are not in possession). They depend on the youngster, Henderson to do most of the dirty work in that regard. Henderson, credit to him does a good job in tracking opponents runs and buffering his more talented partners in the middle of the park. One of the reasons why he looked so good last time at Anfeild against us was because having gone down by 2 goals so early, our midfield lost its shape and orientation. If we can avoid conceding early again today, Jordan will have a much busier day running around to win back possession indeed.

We on the other  hand, will have to be more focused than we were last time we played these guys. We were literally ambushed in the first 20 mins of that game. The lessons by now ought to have been drummed into the ears of the boys. Keep it tight and do not concede first. Technically we are by far the better side. And as the second half of that game showed if we can do the basics well enough defensively and in our ball possession we can keep them quiet. Team news has Flamini back in contention for a place after his suspension and for me he goes into the starting lineup immediately. Cazorla was reported ill by Wenger on Friday, but from pictures on the official website he participated in training on Saturday, hinting at a possible recovery. He for me would be a big loss if absent. He is our best outlet for goals at the moment as evident on Wednesday when he came close twice. Podolski looks set to feature too in a changed attacking formation that should see him start on the left. Your guess is as good as mine regarding Giroud and if he should he be rested or not. He has looked rather tired of late culminating in a  worrying dry spell. Bendtner can be called upon to freshen things a bit.. but when you consider its Kolo Toure likely to be in Defense, you must be relishing Giroud's physical presence tormenting the calamity prone Liverpool man. Pace is another addition we need injected into our game. Only Chamberlain and Gnabry can offer those in Walcotts' absence, so expect either of the two to be in the lineup. Here's my guess : Fabianski, Gibbs, Sagna, Koscielny, Mertasacker, Flamini, Arteta,Ozil, Gnabry,Podolski,Giroud...feel free to state yours :-)

You don't need me to tell you how massive a positive result will be for us. With the Mighty Bayern waiting in midweek, its important we get a morale boosting win today so we can go into that game on a high. Failure to win would be very bad as we can ill afford a replay or a loss for that matter. Its time for the players to show why the manager believes so much that they deserve success. C'mon you Gunners!!!

Quick thoughts on last night...Arsenal 0 vs 0 MAN U

Heart stopping moment

Arsenal do not  look ready to be champions of the EPL.  Much as it hurts me to say this, on the evidence of what transpired last night it would be hard to put up any kind of argument to the contrary. 0-0 unfortunately wasn't the reassuring result i expected the team would go all out to achieve following Chelsea's draw two nights ago. Instead what it shows is that Arsenal as a team have a serious psychological problem as far as Manchester United is concerned. Despite being at home at the Emirates in front of 60,000 plus adoring fans, we could not find the fire in our bellies to do what we needed to do. Yes Manchester United adopted a rather unfamiliar negative approach to the evening, but what champions do is they find a way irrespective of their opponents tactics. 

In my opinion there was nothing wrong with the starting line up. i was upbeat when i saw it, few would have complained at seeing Rosicky start along-side Ozil and Cazorla. The back five were of-course our strongest usual suspects of Koscielny, Mertasacker, Gibbs and Sagna. While Wilshere,Giroud and Arteta make-up the list. That i felt ought to be enough to trouble a Man utd side whose defensive woes were well known to everyone. Instead we could muster only few half chances in the first half. I watched sadly, as the players labored to find each other, something they do easily when confidence is high. It was either a misplaced pass here or a mis-control there. There was one moment Wilshere found Rosicky with a rare ball over the top in the united danger area, instead of the expected shot Rosicky chose the baffling option of passing to Cazorla, who was crowded out. Which brings me back to the confidence thing. We had like zero confidence nearly all game. Even the Boss acknowledged that much. As far as i'm concerned, its an excuse to mention nerves, these guys are not Kids, but tested experienced players. Its the race for the title.. not a territory for the faint hearts.


Take a bow Szczesny for saving our blushes with that save..i leave it to you readers to imagine the consequences if we had conceded then. Giroud was yet again exposed as a light weight striker in terms of facing the big sides. As altruistic as his mono-style of backing the opponents goal and looking to bring others into play is, it has not worked against quality opponents. And the numbing feeling before us now is we may rue our January transfer market inactivity. Wilshere also had a less than stellar evening. His number of turnovers on the night was worrisome, especially as he is supposed to be one of the more assured players in possession. He started brightly but then got sucked into making those fouls and getting in the referee's face. Look any keen watcher of Arsenal knows when that starts to happen to Jack, forget it he's done. You want your big players turning up on big nights like yesterday, but sadly for us we had no one take responsibility to win the game for us. Wenger said he choose not to make subs because he wanted first to not lose the game as opposed to going for the win. He also mentioned that the subs were not necessary as he thought he had enough offensive players on the pitch. 17 shots at goal but only a paltry 5 on target shows we were firing but not  near dangerously enough. Also Possesion stats of 57.3% for Arsenal and 42.3% for the visitors means we had the ball more than them, but ultimately not much to show for it.

So where does this result leave us? not in a crisis situation but also not in an encouraging one too. As a fan i'd have liked to believe we could rub shoulders with the Big boys in this league. After all we are considered a big side ourselves. We are now possibly faced with a situation where if we (God forbid) get knocked out against Liverpool at the weekend in the FA cup, we may be staring at a another trophy-less season. Not even worth considering...We desperately miss our match winners Walcott and Ramsey. But with the former out for the season and the latter due back in March., my confidence is brittle indeed. Only time will tell.

Match Preview: Arsenal Vs Manchester United (Time to find out if we really WANT THIS TITLE..)

There comes a time in life when you have to face your fears... doesn't matter what that fear is.. you will just have to look at yourself one day and face the inevitable. Some fear things like failure..while others fear less-conventional things..(such as clowns). But one thing is for sure, as long as you refuse to address that fear factor, you will remain its slave.

Arsenal have a problem with Man united. In 13 previous meetings with the reigning champions we have won just 1 game, drawn twice and lost 10. The only thing worse than this statistic is the fact that, even in this current season where they have been handing out maximum points to just about everyone, we haven't managed to get the better of them. As annoying as that circumstance is, today is the day we must draw a line under it. Our clash with the stuttering Red-devils at the Emirates is not so much a ''must win'' game to save our title hopes, its one to fix  the obvious fear we have against Big teams in this league. I know a few people might counter this by pointing at the Liverpool victory at the Emirates this season, but our stats overall against the Big sides down the years tells its own story.


The beating we suffered in the hands of Liverpool notwithstanding, this game with Man U is one fixture i desperately want to see us win. I have supported this great team for years and never once in all those years did we go into a fixture against United under any sort of complex. They were always 50-50 games. Yes, our lack of Trophies in recent years when compared to their trophy successes contributed to our timidity, but now the tide has turned (obviously), Sir Alex Ferguson who was like Kryptonite to Wenger is gone, therefore i feel things must change, starting from tonight.

Wenger has Charged the boys to forget the Liverpool debacle. He termed that infamous result as an Accident. And went on to state how our season won't be judged by that loss but by how we respond to it as a setback and bounce back. We all know our manager is a sensitive man, and for all his lyrical waxing about loving this group of players and saying how much they deserve success it won't amount to anything if the players themselves don't believe they are worthy of being successful. If they think they are worthy, then today is the day to show it. They must want this success beyond just mere lip service. David Moyes and his band of bottlers are not going to make it easy for us. They may not be the fearsome outfit of seasons past but we mustn't let any complacency stemming from their recent results deceive us. A rapid start from the blast of the whistle is the way we must approach this game. As i type this post, i see Chelsea has just been held to a draw by West Brom. That result paves a way back to the summit of the league for us, if we can show the same response to defeats to Aston Villa and Mancity.


Team news from the official site states every one from our previous game is fit to play. With the addition of Yaya (like a new signing) Sanogo from Injury. I've spoken about a collective response from a team perspective, but i'll have my eyes out for Mesut Ozil's individual response to the criticisms that have deservedly come his way of late. The German play maker has been in a funk lately and  despite his managers vote of confidence he must feel the need to up his game as the team needs him now more than ever. They say its during adversity you get to know the make-up of individuals..So Ozil the ball is in your court.

A draw is simply not good enough today. We must make a statement of intent, it kinda feels like the heavens are working in our favor..The setbacks of Mancity and now Chelsea at winnable grounds like Norwich and Westbrom look like gifts from above..the big question is what we do with it?

Match Review: Liverpool 5 vs 1 Arsenal (Gunners Battered in Horror show at Mersyside)

What an absolute disgrace of a performance. Liverpool within 20 mins of this game had already wrapped it up as a contest. I had maintained on this forum that our habit of starting games slowly and dozing through the first half believing we can rally and win it in the 2nd will unravel soon. It looked very much like Liverpool had caught hold of this aspect of our game and moved swiftly  to capitalize. No sooner had the game began, we found ourselves under the cosh. Brendan Rogers's plan was obviously to take full advantage of that dozy first 15 mins Arsenal always seem to enjoy now in every game. What followed next was like watching a plane crash in slow-motion.

We conceded in 52seconds off a free-kick sent in by Gerrard and turned in by Martin Skertel (of all people). As if that wasn't bad enough the same player was left with all the time in the world to head in the 2nd from a corner unchallenged. 2-0 in barely 10 mins of  play in a game of this magnitude probably had our players shell shocked but i'm sure the Liverpool players were over the moon with how well their tactics were working perfectly. It was sadly like Mancity all over again,we were compounding our predicament by showing terrible crisis management... giving away the ball stupidly in critical areas instead of keeping it tight and steadying the ship.

As far as individual performances go, no one stood out in that first half of horror. Our midfield looked off the pace and perhaps only Wilshere could come out with some credit. Mesut Ozil, who has been struggling for form lately failed to keep the basic law of  footballers who are off-form.. which is '' When you see that you are not playing well, for goodness sake just keep it simple'' Alas he chose to do the opposite by trying to be too cute with the ball in the middle of the park, he tripped himself over and lost the ball. The result of that abysmal play from a man who is so much better than what he is offering right now was for Liverpool to make it 3-0 via Raheem Sterling (we somehow managed to make him look like Messi today). At this point, if i were the manager, i'd have taken Ozil off immediately. He was stinking the place out. He was involved yet again for all the wrong reasons for Liverpool's 4th when it came. A wayward pass in the opposition half was intercepted,and in a matter of seconds Coutinho was playing Sturridge in for goal number four! Sheer madness..

The half time whistle was a massive relief to many Arsenal fans ears, such was the painful nature of that first half. The boss acknowledged our wretchedness too by saying he wanted to take off almost everyone at the break. 4-0 at half time is nowhere to be for a title challenger, and though the game was over as a contest, Wenger must have told them to go out there and redeem their collective prides as professionals because what they had dished out thus far wasn't good enough. 

The 2nd half saw us stem the bleeding, but still there was still time for Liverpool to make it 5-0 via Sterling who was spotted by Toure at the half way line and put through, to finish past Szczesny. Szcz cannot be blamed as he was left exposed yet again by our disappointing defense whom prior to this game had earned plaudits across the division for their solidity. Suarez who had been involved in our torment all game, nearly scored a blistering freekick in the 62nd min after hoodwinking everyone to think he was delivering a cross. Thankfully Szczesny was alert and palmed the ball away for a corner. It was difficult to see where an Arsenal goal would come from but we got one. Gerrard who had been hauling his old butt into meaty challenges all game slid in late on Chamberlain on 68mins in the box and Arteta stroked the ball past Mignolet via a penalty. (cue ironic jeers from the home crowd). The rest of the game from an Arsenal point of view was errr....zzzzzzzzz. 

So we where thoroughly and deservedly thrashed, no excuses no mitigations. Credit to Liverpool who smelt blood all through the game and went for the Jugular. They now sit 6 points off the top and are right back in the thick of things themselves. This is a good thing, as they still have City and Chelsea to play at home, as well as United Away. They could yet have a massive influence in this title race in the current form they are in. For us we simply have to commit this game to the scrap bin and move on. I'd advocate for one of those flash thingys Will Smith uses in Men in Black to wipe the memories of peeps who see Aliens. We thankfully have a chance to make amends on Wednesday, when we welcome the fallen giants Man united with RVP in tow. That game has now evolved into a must win, as failure to respond to this debacle with a win will sow seeds of doubts everywhere about our title credentials. We lie 2nd on the table after Chelsea capitalized on our slip by dispatching  the hapless Newcastle. Mancity who were favorites to go top were held by Norwich in what seems a mini slump for them. Its still in our hands at the moment but big games lie ahead in this month and so we really can't look too far ahead of ourselves. A response on Wednesday is demanded from the boys.. anything short of a win against United will be underwhelming for everyone related to this great club.

Match Preview: Liverpool vs Arsenal (Another test of our title Credentials)

Liverpool vs Arsenal at Anfield is always the fixture i look out for at the start of every season. it holds a fascination for me that i'm yet to fully understand, let alone explain. It does however border around the magical ground that Anfield is. Games there against Liverpool are almost never dull affairs and you can bet your bottom dollar that with the high stakes surrounding this particular tie, Saturday's match is definitely going to be fireworks. 

Arsenal are title chasers while Liverpool are desperate to finish in the Top 4 and re-establish their Champions league identity which they lost in 2009. Both objectives at this stage of the season seem very attainable for the two sides, however they face stiff competition from formidable adversaries looking to ensure they come up short. Arsenal would have watched Chelsea's confident dispatch of Mancity at the Etihad and sensed their rival Londoners are starting to rev up their challenge. The professional and masterful delivery of that defeat had all the hallmarks of Mourinho's  title winning DNA from Inter and Madrid and Wenger will feel now more than ever the pressure to ensure maximum points in this game than the one in November at the Emirates. On the flip-side, Brendan Rogers will not be under any illusion that the job is done in terms of securing 4th place. Seven points separate them and Man united in 7th place, and he will know that if their hopes of securing champions league football is not to crash and burn like it does nearly every year, a morale boosting result against the league leaders will be just what he needs.

Much has been made of the Suarez and Sturridge strike partnership, 37 goals between them in the 24 premiership games thus far is quite decent. However they are both petulant players who love a good sulk when things aren't quite going their way. I saw them bickering amongst each other in the derby with Everton ostensibly due to each others selfish tendencies, (particularly Dancing queen Sturridge). Individually they are both talented players but i'm yet to be convinced either of the two are willing to sacrifice that headline making opportunity in a game to make hay for the other partner who is in a better position to score. Essentially what i'm getting at is they are both selfish players who's game is tailored after self glory above everything else. In the game at the Emirates, they caused dangerous moments for us but the trouble they faced was who would sacrifice himself and play the Decoy. Koscielny and Mertasacker are two defenders who will stick to their duties like robots and their qualities are so tailored to each other it seems almost made in heaven. They have their frailties though, one is a hot head at times and can commit silly fouls in the box while the other is slow and easily beaten for pace. Sturridge for me is the better box finisher while Suarez is the more skillful runner and spectacular. If they had any brain, Sturridge who is One footed would sit back more and ping passes off the more mercurial Suarez. It may mean less goals for him but there you go, they'd be more successful against bigger teams whom they have struggled against.

For Arsenal, the Midfield is where we always win every game. Our plethora of skillsets in that department is oneof the reasons why we are Top of the league. Ozil,Arteta,Rosicky,Flamini,Ramsey,Carzola,Wilshere and Chamberlain are an impressive array of footballers gifted in unique and different ways. Any combination we choose can do a job, but of course not all the comobos are as effective as others. We have seen how the Flamini/Arteta outlet fails to inspire the team. Then conversely things get very dynamic when OX 's runsare brought in. Ozil is always the 1st man on the list in that department, his big money purchase ensuring his place in front of Giroud is uncontested. However, Mesut has done little recently to catch the eye. Stats are  wonderful things, but i like to go with what my eyes can see. He needs to stamp his identity and authority in Big games like this and today, his team would be looking up to him to create magic in the Liverpool danger area. Jamie Carragher who is no favorite of mine, puts it well here regarding the German. I won't like to see Philip Coutinho outshine him in the key passes arena so c'mon Ozil show us again what you are capable of!

In our attack Giroud will again hold sway. In this fixture last season he was just a green horn in the English game and had a bad afternoon, He is a diff man now&will be throwing himself at Liverpool's fragile defense to put the smaller men through on goal.Podolski got one of our goals last season with a fine strike from the left side after a great Carzola pass, it remains to be seen if the Smiling German will be involved. But as always he remains a threat. 

We are unbeaten in this fixture stretching nearly six years now, and today will be the worst possible day to do so. Our title hopes depends on it, our psychology going into the ''February of death'' depends on it. It promises to be explosive but i hope we come out on top, C'mon Arsenal!!

Match Review: Arsenal 2 vs 0 Crystal Palace (Solid display sees us go Top&mount pressure on Rivals)

A brilliant brace from Youngster Alex Oxlade Chamberlain secured the 3 points for Arsenal as we moved back to the top pending Monday's result between Chelsea and Mancity. It was the customary 2nd half show we have all become accustomed to lately, it has become usual to see opponents start off inspired at the Emirates looking to frustrate us into errors, they keep it tight in midfield and press us high up the pitch when we have possession in attempt to knock us off our rhythm. I'm sure our lads have come to expect this now and just respond by staying disciplined, nonetheless it still leaves the fans nervous every time..especially at half time, mostly because they know how every point dropped this season can be so crucial in this tight title race. I have mentioned in previous posts that we need to get more incisive in 1st-halves but if we aren't at our free flowing best due to the opponents tactics/game, sometimes you have to hold your hands up in resignation.

Tony Pulis is probably the least likeable manager in the Division (assuming you are not a palace fan). From his Stokecity days iv always found him a rather unpleasant character, its a combination of the way he talks,his style of play, his defending of Ryan Shawcross after he nearly ended Ramsey's career years ago and of course his silly hat. He was in his usual elements pre-game saying he would exploit weaknesses in arsenals Left-side (probably implying Nacho Monreal's area). Monreal may have been unconvincing in his last game at Southampton,  but in this one he was quite good. Not in anyway awed by the Physical approach of Jerome,Puncheon et al. And it was Nacho that almost put us ahead in the 5th min running behind the defence to connect with a great ball over the top from Ozil. His effort was saved by Speroni in the palace goal. The goal keeper found himself busy not long after, when Mesut Ozil's free-kick was met by Koscielny's head, he had to scramble left of his goal to keep the ball from creeping in. The half ended with both teams unable to find a goal albeit with Arsenal the more under pressure to find a breakthrough in the 2nd half.

One of the reasons i believe our rival fans, haters, or pundits who think they know it all are wrong to write us off in this title race is that when it comes to this arsenal team, goals can come from any where. I know we could do with a better striker than Giroud, but its instructive to remember that thus far we have 14 different goal scorers this season. This i'm sure is one of the things that rankles opponents before they play us. Just who will it be this time? they must be asking when preparing tactics. Oxlade chamberlain was one i must confess i didn't have much hope in lately. I never could pin point what he genuinely brings to the table. Don't get me wrong, he always had ability but my concern revolved around his slow development since he joined 2011. However, it was that ability he possesses, that led to Arsenal's 2nd goal. Collecting the ball, from Rosicky he executed a sharp back heel to Giroud who held it up well and laid it off back to him. The striker bared down on goal and unleashed a low shot that the keeper fumbled in to the net. 2-0 game over!

Liverpool away at Anfield will be the next fixture for us and even though we will go into that game confident to win, i would like the lads to ignore the panic carrot being toed by the media over our coming engagements. Yes United and  Bayern Munich are formidable but we are the Arsenal. We are not push overs and hence should never see ourselves as such. Whatever those fixtures will bring our way, its crucial we keep our belief high and spirits up. The haters are waiting to laugh and get their knives out if the games ahead don't pan out well, so now is the time to rally together as we have always done and show the stuff we are made of. We have worked extremely hard to get to where we are and we deserve it.