Momentum Mounts as Arsenal Beats Cardiff 3-0

Aaron made an excellent return against his former club

 

 

Arsenal pulled seven points clear at the top of the table after decisively beating a well organized Cardiff City 3-0 in south Wales on Saturday. 

 

This game marked the start of a blistering run of games going into the new year.  And we need all the cushion we can get before going up against a very in-form Everton, a dangerous Chelsea, and the goal-scoring machine that is Aguero Manchester City.

 

As I thought, this game was not an end to end goals scoring extravaganza.  Cardiff clogged the midfield, slowed down our passing, and looked to counter on the break.  I held my breath every set piece, and we were fortunate when Campbell headed a cross wide unimpeded.

 

Confusion then ensued in the 14th minute when Giroud received a great loft that was helped on by Ozil and stopped playing without a whistle sounding.  Wenger stated in his press conference that Ollie told him he saw the linesman raise his flag (and replays show he was offside taking into account Ozil's flick), but if he had played until the whistle sounded, we might have had a goal there.  The passing though, was spot-on.

 

We did finally get on the scoreboard when Ramsey got his head on the end of a lovely Ozil loft into the box.  He did not celebrate scoring against his former club, but the Cardiff fans gave him their respect and applause.  Cardiff - home of scary, passionate, and classy supporters.

 

I have to say, I love it when a defender scores.  And watching Flamini put his foot through a perfectly weighted pass from Ozil (that's two assists) was more fun, I confess, than Rambo's brace.  Plus, he got to properly celebrate.  That goal, however, did not come until 86th minute and it was Sir Szczesny who kept us in the game with confident decisions on set-pieces and one terrific reflex save.  He now has five clean sheets out of the last six games.  Terrific stuff.

 

The one last note that I have is that when it came time to sub, we had excellent choices on the bench.  Super Sub Theo made an instant impact coming on against tired legs and assisted Aaron with his second goal.  That's the rub for Theo right now.  He's great from the bench, but will he earn his starting position back again?  Wenger talked about rotation in the next couple of weeks.  I figure Theo can take his chances then.

 

All in all, a most satisfactory performance. Sunday's games will show us just how much of a cushion we will have come our midweek match against Hull.  Until then, I leave with a bit of footy magic courtesy of @Arsenlist and Mikel Arteta.  Have a good one Gooners.

 

 

 



Le Jack is Back - Arsenal 2-0 Marseilles



My apologies for the lack of posts - I am experiencing HUGE issues with my internet -well my neighbor's internet- connection at my home.  I really need an IT person over here to help me figure out why I can't connect to my roommate's wireless and now am unable to steal borrow my neighbor's unprotected one.  Harumph.

Anyway - onto my favorite topic - the Arsenal.  After the disappointing but not disillusioning loss to Manure, this new and improved squad has bounced back after break with two wins.  None of which looked inspiring, but both looking professional and efficient.  And at this stage of the game when fatigue can overcome some of our over-played members (I'm thinking Giroud in particular), efficiency seems wise, not boring.  The best part, though, is that Jack is looking like he is on his way back to form scoring a brace against Marseilles.  Check out his highlights.

We have Cardiff tomorrow requiring us to travel to their stadium in South Wales.  It will be a steely atmosphere for sure.  And even though they currently sit in 15th place, this will be a test.  This is the team who came from behind and drew against Manchester United last week.  Wenger isn't taking them lightly either:

“They look to have good solidarity, good togetherness [and] fantastic support as well,” the manager said. “They are all on the same wavelength in the team and are very efficient at home on set-pieces.
“Even on Sunday when they were 2-1 down against Man United, many teams could have thought 'OK, it's Man United, we will not come back'.

“Even on Sunday when they were 2-1 down against Man United, many teams could have thought 'OK, it's Man United, we will not come back'.

Set pieces are made of nightmares of seasons past for us.  And even though our defense is as solid as its been since the Invincibles were dismantled, I still hold my breath just  a beat when an opponent takes a corner or free kick.  We'll have to depend on the terrifically-in-form Szczesny to make smart decisions off his line, as well as our fullbacks conceding throw ins rather than corners.  And some one will have to make sure and keep Frazier Campbell from getting service from his midfield or the wings.  He's fast, and Mertie will have to be smart how he plays him on the offside trap.

Rambo will be playing against his former club.  The last meeting he had against them, I think most would agree he tried a bit too hard and did not have a great game.  His confidence is brimming now, and I look for him to be relaxed and enjoy his football.

There's no injury news to report. Gibbs is back from being ill (Monreal did a great job filling in against Marseille - what a clearance off the line).  With Theo back, Arsene will have a chance to rotate.  Who does he rest?  Does he put Theo in the middle and give Ollie a breather?  Does he leave Theo on the wing, and shift Jack, Rambo, Ozil, or Santi?  He also has TR7 he can consider for rotation.  Where did all this depth come from?  Podolski is supposedly due back two days before Christmas (fingers crossed) and then the transfer window opens eight days later.  Can this depth outlast the rigorous schedule we have until then?  Giroud's fitness has been tremendous, but like you all, I worry everytime he goes down holding his ankle, knee, or stoops in exhaustion after a match.  Let's hope Arsene is inspired in picking his squad.

That's it for now.  I'm looking forward to three points tomorrow.  Take care you Gooners.

A Poor Arsenal Bring Out the Best in Man U

The traitor shows his true colors.



There's no hiding from the fact that Arsenal's performance on Sunday fell fathoms short of what we expected.  Watching this team find their confidence and enjoy their football over the past several weeks made the pain of watching their meager execution all the more piercing.  And Arsene did not candy coat the performance.

"I hope that everybody's full of rage basically against ourselves because it's unbelievable to lose a game like that."

Can't get more to the point than that.

Having lost Per and Tommy the day of the game could have cost us, but I don't think it was the prevailing problem.  Vermie started his first match since last April and was solid.  I'm not sure Tommy would have played much having put forth an exhausting full-match effort against Dortmund on Wednesday.  He might have been able to come off the bench as I could see Wenger being wary of putting the 33 year old injury-prone player on the pitch unless he was wrapped in cotton wool.  No.  I think that we were psychologically out of it.  We have been losing at Old Trafford in the Premier League for awhile now (I think the 1-0 victory in September 2006 was the last one).  And if I had one word do describe how we played, I would have said scared.  United pressed us high up, but instead of playing our patient, fast-paced passing, we booted it up field more times than I can remember.  We allowed ourselves to become panicked which affected our accuracy.

All in all what I saw was a hard-working Manchester United club out hustle and beat an under performing and weakened Arsenal side.  That's the positive to take from this defeat.  I have confidence this team will bounce back after international break to compete successfully against other top teams.  We have yet to face Chelsea and Manchester City in the league.  Those teams hold no psychological sway over us.  I trust that we will be in the position and mindset in February to beat Rooney et al at home.

Signing a striker in January should be first on Wenger's to-do list.  Giroud's performance didn't seem fearful last night but was poor - I'm thinking he's getting pretty tired.  Who knows when reinforcements in the form of Theo and Poldi will appear.

One last note.  I was happy to see RVP celebrate the way he did after he scored against us.  The fake humility of last season's goal made me nauseous.  The gaudiness shown to all is the real Dutch Skunk.  The mask is gone.

That's all for now.  Keep your heads up.  I know we will come back strong after internationals.  Until then, have a good one Gooners.

Arsenal Dig In and Get It Done -Arsenal 1-0 Borussia Dortmund



Three weeks ago, I received a promotion at work.  The promotion was accompanied with a substantial raise...and more work.  Lots more work.  My job is now officially messing with my blogging. 

Go figure.

But I still managed to watch us earn a hard point away in Germany on Wednesday (the key is to know when to minimize the screen) and honestly, I  never felt prouder or more confident of our form.  This win has banished the depiction of our defense as having a "soft underbelly".  No more.  Having scored only one goal and that in the 62nd minute, we had to defend and play smart tactically for the remaining 28 minutes.  The Arsenal squads over the past few seasons would not have had the professionalism and experience to see out a game like that.  Arteta, for example, after receiving a yellow early on in the first half, had to resist the temptation to take down Lewandowski with a foul, instead opting to give him more space and relying on Mertesacker to mop up the Polish leftovers. 

It only took a couple of weeks to learn our lesson.  Having lost to Dortmund at home because we didn't buckle down after our goal, we did not make that mistake at the Westfalenstadion.  After Ramsey converted a brave header (check out the high boot next to his head), we immediately went from 100% focus to %150 overdrive - if there is such a thing.  My favorite defensive moves of the second half were this Tommy sliding tackle (sure to be added to his already extensive montage videos), and this Szczesny save.

Wenger added the defensive nous of Vermie and Nacho Man, and that was all the nail-biting she wrote. 

What next?  Ummm...oh yea - Manchester United at Old Trafford this Sunday.  I haven't looked forward to a game against the Red Devils in a long time.  I can't wait.  Flamini may be back in the squad, and his combining with the ever-excellent Arteta is mouth watering indeed.  I think if we handle the Dutch Skunk and Rooney the way we took care of Sturridge and Suarez, we are in for another three points.  Manure's midfield is no match for ours.  The strategy of cutting off supply to the two strikers will probably be implemented yet again.  Our back four is more solid than ever, and Ozil attracting three defenders everytime he touches the ball, will open up our other players to receive his elegant passes.  The corridors will open, and our attacking players will answer.  I say it now.  Unless we are crazy fatigued from our exhaustive display at Dortmund,  we are winning this one.  I am that confident.

The game is late on Sunday after the other top table contenders have played.  Winning against Moyes' not quite-ready-for-prime-time-players would be the most delicious icing on the scrumptious cake ever.

So here's to another three points, to crushing the little boy inside the skunk, and to pulling even farther away from the pack.

That's it for now.  Have a good one Gooners.  And - Come. On. You. Gunners.