Top of the morning everyone... how sweet it is to return from Newcastle with 3 massive points..It was a game even before Kick off we were in no doubt as to what was expected from us. The difference between the teams at the summit is so paper thin right now that any slip-up in terms of results will almost certainly see you get usurped on the table. Take Liverpool for example, top of the league at Christmas but now after back-to-back defeats sit in 5th position, 6 points off the spot they occupied just less than a week ago. Such is the unforgiving nature of this season's title race. When i look back on that fixture with Chelsea at the Emirates, its clearer now to me why both teams were cautious. They both understood that defeat would be disastrous to their short term ambitions hence the stalemate. Lets say we lost to Chelsea, then found ourselves behind like we did against West Ham in the 2nd half of that following fixture, would we have had the confidence to fight back? anybody's guess...
We had some high profile changes to the squad for this tie. Ozil was declared unfit, down with a shoulder problem (maybe from training, as i can't recall any incident where he got the knock from) Vermaelen was also left out with a reported bout of flu, Monreal was a no-show on the squad list too leaving either Flamini or Sagna to cover Leftback in the event of any injury to Gibbs. We began well enough with Rosicky and Santi bossing the midfield and making incursions to the home teams ' danger area. However, no clear cut chances were created, which didn't surprise me because like i said in my match preview, possession football is what you're guaranteed when you have two accomplished ball huggers like Rosicky and Wilshere in the same starting line-up. The two teams kept on trading punches before ending the half goalless. Although Newcastle should have gone ahead after a Debuchy header from a corner came off the post. The corner was brought about after some carelessness from Koscielny who sent an otherwise simple pass straight to Cissokho, who's rasping shot had to be tipped over by Szczesny. The 2nd half was even more scrappier, as both teams struggled to find a breakthrough. Arsenal were to succeed first though, after Tiote was whistled for tripping Santi Carzola up. The resultant Walcott freekick was converted by Giroud whom everyone will agree needed a goal badly.
Cue a barrage of attack and pressure from the home team as Arsenal fell in to their shells with a view to defending the slim advantage they had. Cross after cross was sent in to our box but each time they were headed out by big Per Mertasaker and Sagna. Whilst Koscielny ensured he mopped up any 2nd balls the aforementioned duo fail to deal with. You could see the sequence is a well rehearsed one and it proved successful in warding off any chance of an equalizer by Newcastle.
So we weathered the storm and emerged victorious. The result sends us back above Mancity and gives us the psychological boost of being the '' Halfway through the Season champions''. We set forth again on another quest for the points against Cardiff at the Emirates on New years day (Wednesday). An easier tie on paper, but one not to be toyed with. Perhaps Podolski and others like Monreal and Bendtner can get a run out. And interestingly, that day will mark the opening of another Transfer window so interesting times lie ahead. I'll keep you up to speed with rumours and speculations as they develop coupled with my own unique look at how we feature in the grand scheme of things in the market. But for now lets savor our status as errr....Midway champions..#okbye :-)
