Arsenal Make Easy Work of Round 4 - Onto Round 5.

Job Well Done



 

Arsenal dispatched Coventry City 4-0 with little problems and a second half full of sloppy efforts.  Our Goldi Poldi got himself a brace upon his second start since returning from injury which will be a boost of confidence of him, and Giroud and Santi scored after coming on in the 79th and 71st minute respectfully.  The scoreline did not give Coventry enough credit, as they came out in the second half pressing higher up the pitch, getting some shots off - way off - target.  Fabianski was called into action however, and did a fine job of shot-stopping.

 

The squad was a bit stronger than I thought it would be.  I definitely thought Arsene would take this match to rest Ozil in preparation for Southampton and subsequent Liverpool and Man United games (I know I skipped Crystal Palace there).  Wenger really wanted to make a statement about his intention, I guess, and did not put on the young 'uns - unless you count Serge - until Zelalem came on in the 71st minute.  All in all, Wenger put out a professional squad who did a professional job.

 

My online stream was awful, so I was unable to catch all the nuances of the game.  How did Ox look in the CM position? How was Zelalem - the first Arsenal player born after Wenger was appointed as manager to make an appearance as first team player - on the ball?  (That was an ugleee structure of a sentence).  Did Giroud's beautiful six-pack really show through his rain-soaked jersey?  These are important questions.  I'm relying on other bloggers' posts and Wenger's post game interview to help answer those them.  Twitter isn't a bad resource either.

 

We are onto Round Five of the FA Cup with the draw taking place Sunday.  So far, there have not been any upsets, unless we can count Wigan taking out Crystal Palace.  There are a couple of games tomorrow, but it looks like we will have a PL team to play next round,  Bring it, I say.

 

Transfer rumors persist despite Wenger's somewhat straightforward answer in his post-match interview:

 

re: the Draxler rumors that spiked on Twitter yesterday-"That again is an illusion. There is nothing happening, honestly no. We have no need on the flanks, we have Chamberlain coming back, we have many players on the flanks. Honestly, I told you in the last press conference, we don't rule it out but at the moment I cannot announce anything to you."

 

I think he's playing some major poker-face here in an effort to not disrespect the reported negotiations that are going on.  We don't need another player for the flank?  Theo is out for the rest of the season.  And Wenger is known for taking such talented wingers (Henry, the Dutch Skunk), and turning them into world class strikers.  For now, I am focusing on the phrase "we don't rule it our but at the moment..."  Only how many days left in the transfer window?  It can't come soon enough for me.

 

I think that's it for now.  I'll have a pre-match report up for the Southhampton game on Tuesday.  Have a good one Gooners.