I am not going to lie, beating Stoke City in an ugly game with three goals - all from set pieces - brings me great satisfaction! All these years of dealing with these clowns and all they did was play physical and score on us from a set piece, today was the ultimate revenge in that regard: we didn't play that great, we weren't completely outplaying them, but we scored three goals, all of which, were almost out of the blue.
The game itself wasn't great. Even under Hughes, Stoke were their usual rough and physical team. They definitely pass the ball more than they used to, but when it comes to pressing, they are not shy to foul you. We started well with an early goal from Ramsey who scored after the keeper had blocked Ozil's free kick into his path. After the goal not much was going on, until the 26th minute when Gibbs had pushed too high up the pitch and lost the ball, a quick counter followed and Cameron was able to score after a scramble in our penalty area. After Stoke's goal we tried to create some chances, but the only memorable one was a blocked shot from Giroud after a great through ball by Ozil. Then out of the blue we scored another goal. Ozil took a corner kick and Mertesacker headed the ball in. Not much more happened until the end of the half.
In the second half, Stoke had a lot more possession than i would have liked. We definitely didn't dominate the game and at times out defense was opened up pretty badly. Luckily we managed to score another goal from a set piece: Ozil crossed a free kick into the penalty area and Sagna (out of all people) lobed the keeper with a nice header. We were able to close the game out without conceding more goals and now we sit top of the table!
The game itself wasn't great. Even under Hughes, Stoke were their usual rough and physical team. They definitely pass the ball more than they used to, but when it comes to pressing, they are not shy to foul you. We started well with an early goal from Ramsey who scored after the keeper had blocked Ozil's free kick into his path. After the goal not much was going on, until the 26th minute when Gibbs had pushed too high up the pitch and lost the ball, a quick counter followed and Cameron was able to score after a scramble in our penalty area. After Stoke's goal we tried to create some chances, but the only memorable one was a blocked shot from Giroud after a great through ball by Ozil. Then out of the blue we scored another goal. Ozil took a corner kick and Mertesacker headed the ball in. Not much more happened until the end of the half.
In the second half, Stoke had a lot more possession than i would have liked. We definitely didn't dominate the game and at times out defense was opened up pretty badly. Luckily we managed to score another goal from a set piece: Ozil crossed a free kick into the penalty area and Sagna (out of all people) lobed the keeper with a nice header. We were able to close the game out without conceding more goals and now we sit top of the table!
If there is an area in our game that really concerns me, it's the defense. We continue to allow teams to pass the ball freely in our half of the pitch without pressing enough as a team. On many occasions today, our defense was beaten, but Stoke didn't have the personnel or the final ball to finish the job and score. I know you can't be perfect in the back and not allow any chances, but we have to be much better than we currently are. Gibbs had an OK game. If he has a weakness in his game, it's his eagerness to always go high up the pitch in an effort to press the opposing players, but when he gets beat and no one is covering behind him it puts us in tough situations. He did that at least twice in the first half and on one of those occasions we got scored on. He played better in the second half and had some timely interventions. Mertesacker was pretty good today. He scored an important goal which gave us some breathing space and he was alert and on time in most of his tackles. Koscielny did OK as well. He wasn't rock solid, but he didn't make too many mistakes either. Sagna scored a great goal and was very active on the right side.
Our midfield wasn't great today. Except for Ozil and Flamini, who i thought had a pretty good game everyone else was average. Ramsey scored a nice goal, but his performance was nowhere near close to his quality of the last few games. I think Wenger has to manage him smartly so he does not burn out from playing too many games. Wilshere was pretty active throughout the game and was fouled quite a bit. He had some really good moments but is yet to start impacting the games with decisive passes or goals. Flamini continues to make me happy every time i see him on the pitch. He is playing very solid football and is key for us in his defensive role. Ozil obviously had the three assists, but he also had some great passes throughout the game. I enjoy how fluent and effortless his movement is and i was quite surprised when i heard the TV commentators stating that he didn't play that well.
Giroud had a blank game, but that was bound to happen at some point. He still played pretty well, had some shots blocked and won a lot of high balls. He was constantly getting fouled throughout the game and i was getting worried that he will lose his nerves and do something silly. Luckily, he didn't. Gnarby, came in for Walcott who had some sort of a pelvic injury, and played pretty well in his first start for the club. He looked very comfortable with the ball in his feet and didn't show any nervousness. He didn't create too many chances, but had a few good moments during the game. For a young guy, i thought he did well. It was great seeing Arteta back on the pitch, hopefully he will get some playing time in the Capital One game during the week.
So great result for us today. With Liverpool chocking at home, we are now top of the table at least until next week. I feel that the team is grinding out results when needed and we look strong offensively. With the likes of Rosicky, Arteta, Cazorla, Podolski and Chamberlain after they get back from their injures, our midfield and attack looks very impressive. My worry is that defensively we are not as strong as i would like us to be, but if we stay injury free at center back we should have enough cover with Jenkinson, Monreal and Vermaelen. I would like to see most of this guys start against West Brom on Wednesday, so we have some fresh bodies for the visit of Swansea on Saturday. C'mon You Gunners!
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