Well, we got what we wanted on a lot of levels. Most importantly is the win which puts us into second place behind Manchester United. If Chelsea lose tomorrow, we stay in second all my our lonesome. If they draw, we share the second place spotlight, and if they win? Well, they're back in first place tied with Manure. Anyway, we have no control over how other teams perform, only ourselves. And I thought we did pretty well at that.
All the players seemed to have a bounce in their step and we started having Chamakh return to the striker role with both Bendtner and Van Persie on the bench. Tomas and Samir started in the middle with Arshavin back on the left along with Jack and Song to help out defensively. Clichy was at left back, Koz took over center back duties from Djourou and paired with Squillaci. Sagna was back starting at right back and Fabianski was in goal. The rest of the bench consisted of DJ, Denilson, Gibbs, Szczesny, and Walcott.
The first half was eerily similar to the first half of the game from hell last week. We dominated possession, zipped the ball around, created opportunities and ended the half up 2-0 with wonderful goals by Arshavin and Nasri. I actually gulped when halftime began as I noticed the similarities. The announcer didn't help of course as they reminded the listeners of Arsenal's second half capitulation to Spurs the week previous. Even the second half began with a deja vu -type experience as Villa subbed at the half bringing on a speedy striker for our legendary Pires whose aged legs just weren't quite up to the task.
Villa did try and create a chance by both Ashley Young and Nathaniel Delfouneso had chances which were snuffed out. And then Clark scored thanks to Clichy backing off him and referee Mark Clannteburg not calling offside on Carew who impeded Fabianski's view. Fab was peeking around the left of Carew and Clark hit the ball right. I highly recommend taking a look at OhioGooners breakdown of Clichy's mistake. We all groaned as we let Villa back in the game. How would we respond? Quickly.
It only took about three minutes for Rosicky to thread a great ball to Chamakh who poked it home past Friedle. A collective sigh escaped from everyone all around me and it was nice to see the fight back. Surely that third goal would break Aston Villa and they would give up? Ah, but no. The drama continued with a corner by Ashley Young getting to the same Clark whose header hit the underside of the bar and bounced back in behind the line and behind Fabaianski. These guys were not going away. Could we hold onto a one goal lead with nearly 20 minutes left on the clock?
Arsene responded to the pressure by taking out some offense and strengthening the defense. Denilson and Gibbs subbed for Arshavin and Nasri - both whom had outstanding games. I guess Djourou was set to sub also but never made it onto the pitch. One would think he was going to be brought on for Koz to handle possible last ditch long balls into the box. I'm not really sure.
But not to worry as we put the final nail in the Villa coffin. Chamakh - whose hustle in the late minutes of a match should inspire all - took a rebound from a deflected Denilson shot, and lobbed it to Jack who notched his first Premier League goal by diving head first.
Some things I noticed:
1) Koscielny may be more agile than Djourou, but he misses a lot of headers. I can't tell if he's getting out-muscled on them, if his timing is off on his jump, or if he just has no hops. Talk during the game today among my friends brought up the point that Koz' head may be too narrow to compete for the onslaught of headers that prevail in the EPL. I can see why Wenger would choose him against quicker opponents, but as most teams are going to try and expose us in set pieces, I am much more comfortable with Djourou handling those responsibilities. On the other hand, he was successful seven out of eight times on his tackles.
2) Arshavin came to play today. I think he gave his best perforamce of the season. He was everywhere, running full out when released by a pass, providing assists, helping out on defense, and was a nightmare for Villa's center halves. He may be small, but he was mighty. This is the Arshavin we would like to see on a regular basis please.
3) Chamakh has a non-stop hustle to him. He may not be some people's idea of a quality striker, but for someone who has three months of Premier League action under his belt, his seven Premier League goals in 14 appearances is nothing to scoff at. His goals total 10 overall.
4) Clichy had six interceptions today. His gaffe that allowed the first goal is typical of his current inability to focus, but his desire, speed, and ability to anticipate also had an impact. This Jekyll/Hyde aspect to his game is making me a bit schizophrenic. Gibbs really needs to stay healthy in order to keep the pressure on Gael.
5) Whenever an opponent broke away or booted one into the box for someone to head in - my breath caught. I just don't trust our defense right now. The first goal should have been disallowed by the ref, but the shot never should have gotten off. Clark was given too much space as Clichy backed away from him. Clark's second goal was a case of ball watching I think as Dunne headed the corner onto Clark and we weren't expecting that.
6) With all our attacking prowess and marvelous midfield, we could be dominating this league if not for our defense. The fact that other clubs are struggling as well has made things a bit easier for us, but I would like us sitting at the top of the table because of everything we did right. Not because of other teams doing things wrong.
I guess that's it. Thanks to the win, the rest of my weekend should go swimmingly. We have Wigan on Tuesday for some Carling Cup action and then Fulham on Saturday. Until then - have a good one Gooners.
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