FA Cup Arsenal vs Liverpool 2-1, Arsenal vs Man Utd 0-0

Let's start with today's game because we did get a positive result and it was an important win for us from a psychological stand point. I am enjoying this victory because we had a bunch of players rested and we pulled off a great result. But i can't close my eyes to the fact that with a little bit more composure in front of goal, Liverpool could have put up a similar scoreline to the one they beat us at Anfield with. Sturridge should have scored twice in the first 15 minutes and this game would have had a completely different outcome. We did press well and we were moving the ball nicely in the first half, so the goal we got was somewhat deserved. What troubles me though, is how many times our defense got opened up so easily throughout the match! And the pattern was always the same: long ball from Gerrard or Coutinho and our high defensive line is easily beaten - allowing 1 on 1 opportunities for their forwards. Luckily for us both Sturridge and Suarez could not find the goal today and Fabianski had the game of his life. I repeat, Fabianski had a solid game! That happens to him on average: once in every 40 games. But the reality is that teams that are on their game, will punish us big time if we allow opportunities like that. I hope Wenger realizes that and i think he does, he just doesn't know what to do about it!

There was a 100% second penalty against Suarez and if he hadn't done the worm dance after he got fouled maybe they would have given it to him. He overreacted so much, that i guess Webb was like "after this theatrical shit, i can't give you a penalty dude, that's just embarrassing". Oxlade was our best player today, he is very positive with his runs and he is not afraid to shoot. We just need him to stay healthy! I also can't believe Wenger took him out in the 76th minute, if anybody should have been taken out, it should have been Sanogo who had not played a competitive match in 5 months. Instead he played 87 minutes - another "genius" decision from the Professor. Sanogo seems an interesting prospect, he didn't impress me with his first touch or his dribbling, but he has good size and a big stride, i need to see him play more to get a better impression. Podolski keeps proving that he needs to be playing more regularly, except for the stupid penalty he gave away, he had a solid game and scored a great goal. He is always a threat and he should be starting on the left almost every game. I still don't think Arteta and Flamini should be playing at the same time even though today they did OK. 

Ozil had finally woken up against Man Utd, but today he was back to being mediocre. He did give a great pass to Oxlade who set up Podolski for the second goal, but i expect much more from him and the game against Man U was a step in the right direction, but he needs to keep his level up every game. So, good win for us today but very troubling signs defensively and i don't think we will get so lucky the next time a team has so many chances against us. 

ARSENAL vs MANCHESTER UTD 0-0

I thought we responded very well after the defeat to Liverpool, the team was playing with great hustle and desire, but if i can sum up the Man U game with one word, the word i would use is ineffective. We were pressing up the pitch like crazy and everyone was hustling but we weren't organized enough while doing that! We had 2,3 players pressing the same guy with the ball, instead of covering the players they were responsible for. So we would expand a lot of energy with very little end product. We still controlled the game though, but real chances were tough to come by and when they did, we wasted them with ease. I felt, that was one of the weakest Man Utd teams we have faced in the last few years, not so much the players they had on the pitch, but the confidence they played with - they were ours for the taking and we just didn't have enough quality at the final third to take advantage of that. 0-0 was a fair result in the end, considering "the traitor" Van Persie would have scored in the 2nd minute, had he not slipped before he kicked the ball. And then Szczesny denied him with a great save in the second half. I also feel that Ferdinand coming in for Rafael was bad for us, because him and Vidic as a pair, are one of the best central defending pairings in the EPL (no clue why Moyes doesn't start them every game). Ozil finally had a good game, he was fighting for the ball and was taking people on trying to shoot or pass. That's the player he should be in every game. Unfortunately for us, he rarely shows that much desire or fight game after game. Because of the Chelsea stumble at West Brom, we are only one point away from them, but i really feel that defending the way we do (allowing too many chances for opposing teams), we will really need A LOT of luck to win the title. The only plus for us is that there are so many good teams fighting for the top spot that we will have a chance no matter what.

The last thing i want to mention is the team i think Wenger should be playing on regular basis: Szczesny at goal. Sagna, Mertesacker (rotated with Vermaelen against speedy teams), Koscielny, Gibbs. Monreal can rotate with Gibbs when needed, but Gibbs should be the starter. Arteta OR Flamini as defending midfielder, NOT both at the same time. In front of him Ozil and Cazorla as central midfielders with Podolski on the left, Oxlade on the right and Giroud in the middle. Wilshere and Rosicky can be rotated with either Ozil or Cazorla, Gnarby can be rotated with Oxlade and Sanogo with Giroud. The bottom line is that we have a lot of quality but we need to put our players at the right spots for them. Playing Cazorla on the left and Podolski on the bench is not ideal for either player, yet Wenger continues to do it all the time.

We have a big game against Bayern on Tuesday and if Wenger has any brain left, he should make sure we don't go forward like morons, instead be patient and defend well. We can't go back to Munich with a bad result like last year, even 0-0 will be a good result because we are capable of scoring anywhere. But if we go out and try to attack non stop, i am pretty sure our shaky back line will be punished badly. C'mon You Gunners!     

Liverpool vs Arsenal 5-1

I have been meaning to write a post ever since the Southampton game, i just never found the time. But our performance in the first half today made sure i can spend most of the second half writing this, instead of watching our inability to have any defensive organization.

It's very easy after a game like this for every fan to point fingers and say "We suck", "We are not good enough" etc. But the painful truth is that after the Southampton game, i was thinking: "we have enough quality players needed to win the title this year, but i don't think we are defensively organized enough to get it done"!

In the Southampton game we were dominated in the first half, but were only 1-0 down. Somehow we scored 2 goals in the beginning of the second half and you would think that we should have enough composure to close the game out, instead we concede a goal 2 minutes later and the worst part was that we were beaten by a simple long ball and our defense was nowhere to be seen.

All the talk during the transfer window was how we need another striker to compete for the title and so on, but the reality is that we need a really good defensive midfielder to hold this team together. Arteta and Flamini have been doing their best, but neither of them is an imposing physical player. Someone like Yaya Toure would be the perfect for that role (the guy has amazing strength and control over the ball). The other thing Wenger has to be aware of is that Flamini and Arteta playing at the same time is not a good combination. Even before Flamini got sent off against Southampton they were struggling to work well together in our midfield.

The second and more important problem is the fact that i just don't think Wenger knows how to organize a team defensively! I have been saying for years that we don't press teams properly when we don't have the ball  (you can read my posts from the last few years). On top of that we are not efficient enough going forward: at times we leave too many holes in the back without much end product up front. That is not a problem for us when we play weaker teams because a lot of times they don't convert the chances they get, but when we play a team like Man City or Liverpool who have a lot of good players going forward, we have no clue how to go forward without exposing ourselves in the back.

I watched Chelsea beat Man City on Monday and i remember being so jealous of the way Mourihno had set up his team: No more than 4 players at a time were attacking when Chelsea were going forward which was shocking to watch, but that ensured that City had no open spaces for their deadly counters. Instead Chelsea were sitting back, being organized in defense and every chance they got, they broke forward in lightning fast counters without over committing a huge number of players. They could have easily scored 3 or 4 goals if they were more composed in front of goal. The bottom line is that Mourinho knows how to set up his team to give them the best chance to win. Wenger on the other hand does not have a plan B: we just go forward trying to put teams under pressure even if we get punished by counters over and over! The 6-3 scoreline at the Etihad in December is a great example.

 Another problem with good old Arsene (which i have talked about a lot as well) is the lack of personnel rotation. If he had given Vermaelen more opportunities to play during the season, he could have probably used him today instead of Mertesacker not because the German had an awful game or anything but just because Liverpool have so much speed on their team: Sturridge, Sterling, Suarez etc...Against a speedy team like that, you can make an adjustment in your tactics and come out with a more mobile defense but Arsene would never think of changing a team that has been playing well. Never. Regardless if that might be a helpful and useful change. His stubbornness would not allow him to alter his vision or tactics. Jose Mourihno on the other hand would have no problem changing his line up if he thinks that would give him the best chance to win.

Do we still have a chance at winning the title this year? Sure. Things might happen, there are too many teams that are playing well for one team to just dominate until the end. Do I think that we are good enough to win the title? On paper yes, but in reality i highly doubt it. I just don't see Wenger all of a sudden improving our inability to stay organized when we need to defend or go forward more cautiously. Let's hope i am wrong and i have to apologize (which i will, if we win the title) for doubting Wenger's ability to win it all.

p.s.Last thing i want to mention is Ozil. He continues to under perform and since the first few weeks in which he showed what he is capable of, he has been terrible! No desire, no fight, no hunger. It looks like he still can't get used to the physicality of this league but he has had long enough to get his shit together. If that's what we get for 42 million pounds, that's a fucking joke. Like our performance today.