Newcastle vs Arsenal 0-1

 Today's game was like a deja vu from last year's finale when we beat West Brom away:

1) Koscielny was again the man of the match
2) He scored the deciding goal
3) We won a must win game
4) We didn't play well, but we got a result

The main difference between today's match and last year's is that today we defended much better than an year ago and based on how little Newcastle threatened us in the second half, i feel we deserved to win this game.

When you think about our season, this is the first time in many years when our team has gotten so many scrappy wins. I haven't looked at the statistics but i am sure this season we probably had the most 1-0 wins that we have had in an looong time. Our victories were less flashy and less convincing, but we didn't throw as many games away, as we have done in years past. Does that mean that we are ready to win the Premier League next year? I don't think so. But it shows that we have made some improvements in the toughness area department. We are able to scrap out results when we need to and that is very important for any team that wants to win trophies. So if we make the right additions to this squad, and improve a lot of things (i will mention those later) we might have a shot at winning something next year!

Now, back to the game today. Let's just say that it wasn't the best game to watch. Both teams showed very little creativity going forward and the clear cut chances were far and between throughout the game. We started the first half decent, but Newcastle created the first chances of the game with Cisse missing a great opportunity after Mertesacker was well beaten by Mbiwa. The game continued with both teams trying to impose their will. We had cracks in the defense, especially down the left side where Gibbs were beaten more than once. Going forward, Cazorla missed a good opportunity in the 30th minute after a good pass from Gibbs. Ben Arfa had a dangerous shot over the bar towards the end of the first half.

In the second half we started well and after a mix up and a bad clearance by Harper, Theo had a good chance to score but his shot was blocked by Newcastle's keeper. Podolski was complaining that Walcott didn't pass the ball to him, instead, he should have been attacking the penalty area and maybe would have been able to tap in the rebound from Theo's shot. In the 49th minute Koscielny made his only mistake for the whole game by over pursuing Goufran almost to the middle of the pitch, which opened a huge gap in our back line, luckily Cabaye's through pass was too long and Szczesny collected it. 3 minutes later Koscielny scored a great goal after a free kick and a header by Mertesacker. We really needed this goal because i was sure Tottenham will find a way to score against Sunderland. After the goal, we pulled back a bit but Newcastle weren't able to create many chances. Theo could have finished the game off in the 91st minute, after he made a great run and beat the last defender, only for his shot to hit the side post. That miss coupled with Bale's goal, made the last 5 minutes of our game incredibly uncomfortable for me and all Arsenal supporters. Luckily we defended strongly and came away with a vital win for this team!

The defense was definitely shaky in the first half. Mertesacker was beaten early in the game and then was out of position on a few occasions. He settled down and played much better in the second half. Sagna was our second best defender after Koscielny. He stopped a lot of attacks on his side and was constantly going forward and even had a few decent crosses!. Gibbs on the other hand had a rough game. More than once he was way out of position and Newcastle's attacks kept going through his side of the pitch. Especially in the first half. He did make some of his trade mark runs forward and created a great opportunity for Cazorla in the 30th minute, but defensively it wasn't one of his best games. Koscielny was the man of the match, hands down! Not only he scored the winning goal, but defensively he was a rock the whole game. Made numerous very important blocks; rarely got caught out of position; he was a constant threat at set pieces!

Our midfield was average today. Cazorla continues being stuck on the left wing, so even though he was very active, he wasn't able to influence the game they way he can. Ramsey had a decent game. Made some good passes, had a few good runs, but also gave away some sloppy balls. Rosicky wasn't as sharp going forward and his game wasn't flowing today, but watching him chase players in the 90th minute and trying to win the ball was an absolute joy. What a complete professional and great competitor! He is older than most of the guys on the team but he realized how important this game was and he wasn't saving any energy for the off season. Check out the video below:

Oxlade came in and did a good job. He had some good runs/passes even though at times his final ball was a bit off. But overall he did well. Arteta was a surprise just being on the pitch, maybe they should have let him recover and not play today. Hopefully his injury is not too serious.

Up front Podolski was almost unnoticeable again. I keep repeating that he is not suited to play in the striker's position. He doesn't have the size; he doesn't attack the penalty area well enough to try to get at the end of crosses; a lot of times he goes back way too deep to get the ball. He was average at best in our last game, but just because he scored ,Wenger played him again at the same position. Walcott also wasn't great today, but he was way better than Podolski. He had some very good runs; gave some good crosses; forced two great saves from Harper and with a bit better execution, he would have been on the score sheet.

So today's result was very very important for our team and the Gunner nation! It's sad that we are so excited and happy to be 4th, but the reality is that this season, 4th place was the best we could do and we really had to earn it as well! It's great to snatch Champions League football out of Spurs's hands. It's great for our ability to attract players, that we made it to the Champions League. Now, the most important part for us is to take the next step necessary to start winning trophies. To take that next step, we need a few things to happen:

#1. We need a few good signings over the summer. I would say our main priority should be 1) a right back (in case Sagna leaves); 2) another striker but only from great quality, we don't need some random clowns. If we buy a striker it has to be someone like Mario Gomez from Bayern Munich or Jovetic from Fiorentina.3) We also need a strong defensive midfielder. Arteta has been doing a great job for us in that department, but that is not his natural position and he is not that young to play every single game. Frimpong if he stays healthy might be a good option. Getting 2 or 3 quality signings will ensure we have competition for every spot on the pitch! This way we can be competitive on a few fronts.

#2. If/After we get these signings, Wenger has to MANAGE the team correctly! What i mean by this is that guys like Carl Jenkinson, Oxlade-Chamberlain; Vermaelen; have to get playing time!!! We CAN NOT play the same exact team non stop. That is Wenger's favorite thing to do: if the team is winning, do not change anything. The problem with that is that players get injured and when the subs haven't gotten enough playing time they can't come in and play at the same level immediately. Squad rotation is and has been Wenger's Achilles heel for many years now. I can't stress how important that is.

#3. We can't continue to make players play out of position. Can Cazorla play on the wing? Ofcourse, the guy is good enough to play a fucking goalie if needed. Does that mean we take advantage of his strengths? No. He is most effective playing through the middle. Same thing with Podolski. He is not good enough to play in the striker position and he should not play there. He should be on the left wing.

#4. Do not fucking sell anyone!....except Gervinho, Denilson, Squillaci, Santos and Chamakh :)

I still have doubts about Wenger abilities to adapt to the modern game and the changes he needs to make to his style of management. But i do believe the actions mentioned above are absolutely necessary if we are to take the next step and start competing for something more than 4th place every year! C'mon You Gunners!!!

Arsenal vs Wigan 4-1

First, i want to apologize for not posting about the QPR game, but i only saw the first half of it and even though i taped the rest, based on what i saw and the final score, i didn't feel like wasting 45 minutes of watching us struggle to put QPR away.

I did watch today's game and the result is definitely very good for us. It was a must win game for both teams and the scoreline might suggest we easily trashed Wigan, but in reality i wasn't impressed with our play and the main reason the score was 4-1 were the bad defensive mistakes made by the Latics. Which is the main reason why they are getting relegated as well. They can play some good football (as Man City found out Saturday), but way too often they shoot themselves in the foot by horrible mistakes at the back and giving away easy goals.

We started the game well and dominated possession throughout the whole first half. Unfortunately we didn't create much in front of Wigan's goal and the real chances to score were missing. Our goal came after a corner kick and very bad marking by Wigan. The rest of the half we kept things under control, until Mike Dean decided to give an imaginary foul against Maloney, who scored a very good goal from the following free kick. I was a bit disappointed Szczesny didn't save it, considering Maloney had scored in the exact same manner against QPR a few weeks ago. Me and pretty much the whole stadium, knew where he was going to shoot and Wojciech still couldn't get there.

In the beginning of the second half the game was completely different: we looked a bit nervous and Wigan started playing with a lot more confidence. In the 47th minute Kone forced Szczesny into a great save and this time our keeper showed much more composure. This woke us up a bit and we started pressing again, Walcott set up Cazorla with a great cross, but Santi shot twice at their keeper. A few minutes later the Spaniard returned the favor and this time Walcott showed great pace and desire, to squeeze his shot past Robles and make it 2-1. This goal deflated Wigan and five minutes later they had another horrible mistake at the back with Scharner playing Podolski onside, the German's finish was great and the game was pretty much over. Ramsey scored his first Premier League goal four minutes later and i am glad that he did because up to that point he had played a very average game with two costly giveaways that could have been goals for Wigan. All in all, we did what we had to do - get the three points, but i feel that there are many issues that need to be addressed:

1. Cazorla should not be playing on the left wing. He is much more useful to us when playing through the middle, but Wenger stubbornly continues to make him play on the wing.

2. Podolski is not good enough playing as a striker. He should be playing on the left and i don't care if he likes that position or not, the three games that he played as a striker, he hasn't impressed me at all. He doesn't place himself well for Walcott's crosses; he doesn't make good enough runs to take advantage of Theo's pace; he is not strong enough to out-muscle defenders (same could be said for Theo but at least he has the speed to run by them).

3. We are still not decisive enough in the final third. We have a lot of possession with very little real chances to score. We need to get much better at creating and finishing chances.

4. If we don't play Giroud through the middle, Walcott should be the striker with Oxlade playing on the right wing and Podolski on the left, Cazorla in the middle. One player i would love to see us buy is Mario Gomez! The guy is a proven goal scorer and a big upgrade from Giroud. If we have someone like him at the top of the attack, Theo's crosses will be actually useful.

The defense today was pretty solid. Both Mertesacker and Koscielny had very good games. Koscielny made a great clearance in the 24th minute when Szczesny came out unconvincingly and Kone was ready to head the ball in the empty goal. Gibbs was very good and shut down McManaman for most of the first 45 minutes. Sagna was also solid and there weren't too many attacks going through his side of the pitch. Szczesny was average. He made some good saves, but he was at fault for the goal and as mentioned above, made some questionable decisions.

The midfield was average to good. Rosicky was very active as usual, even though he was having a hard time breaking Wigan's defense down. A lot of his through ball passes were stopped but he had a good game. Arteta was solid. Ramsey as mentioned earlier had a very average game and created some dangerous situations for us with his giveaways, but he did score a nice goal and he doesn't seem to get down on himself even when he is playing shitty, which is a good trait. Cazorla had a very nice game regardless that he is playing out of position. He assisted for the first three goals and if we can win our last game, these assists might be the difference between playing in the Champions League as opposed to Europa League!

I thought Walcott was by far our best player. He constantly tormented Wigan with his runs and kept sending great crosses in the box, even though more often than not, we couldn't take advantage of them. He also showed great hustle and good positional awareness to score our second goal. The run he made for his goal is a great example of how Podolski should attack the middle of the penalty area, when Theo is running on the wing. Podolski scored two good goals, but as i mentioned earlier I don't think he should be playing as a striker.

So, great result for us. I hope we can pull off one more win on Sunday and get the fourth spot, but beating Newcastle at St James' Park won't be a walk in the park. Hopefully we will play a good game and we will make it happen!

Arsenal vs Manchester United 1-1

I am definitely a bit disappointed with the result today. I felt Man U were very poor in the first half and we should have scored more goals or at least kept the score at 1-0, on top of that Wenger completely fucked up the substitutions in the second half. But, at the end of the day, i can't be too disappointed because we could have also lost this game.

Let me address the Wenger issue first. It's not the first time and it won't be the last time that i disagree with his substitutions. What amazes me though is that Arsene is a top class manager (or he was), but sometimes his game adjustments and substitutions are very poor. Today for example, he again took out Rosicky who was one of our better players during the game. I don't mind Wilshere coming in, but the guy who should have been subbed off was Ramsey. Ramsey's performance wasn't even close to Rosicky's, but it's almost as if Wenger is not paying attention to the game and watching who is playing well and who is not. Then he had the nerve to put fucking Gervinho on; and as a striker too! Not only Gervinho is NOT the quality impact player that can swing the game in our favor, you have to give Theo the chance to play up front and use all the space that was starting to open up towards the end of the game when both teams were going for it! And in his last substitution he finally took Ramsey out and put Oxlade in, but now Oxlade was playing through the middle where his pace was not really bothering anyone. It's as simple as this: Wenger should have taken Ramsey out and put Wilshere in his place; then Oxlade should have come in for Podolski - Theo goes to the striker position and Oxlade goes on the right wing. The third substitutions should have been Jenkinson for Sagna, because Sagna was getting frustrated and was lucky not to get a second yellow.

The game itself started very well for us. Theo scored a great goal (even though it was offside) after a nice pass from Rosicky. Throughout the first half an hour, we were very aggressive with our tackling and shockingly that asshole Phil Dowd was fine with it. Not only that, but he kept booking Man U players like it was his job! I couldn't believe it. Not that i was complaining. We dominated the midfield and Man U were uncharacteristically sloppy with the ball. Unfortunately for us, we dominated pretty much the whole first half but the final ball to score another goal was missing. Slowly towards the end of the half we LET Man U back in the game. First, Mertesacker was wayyy up the pitch trying to intercept a pass and all of sudden Nani was flying on the left and put a perfect ball on the "traitor" (RVP)'s head. Szczesny made himself big and made a great save. A few minutes after that Man U put in another good cross, this time from the right side and Sagna made a great tackle on Jones to prevent him from a flying header. A minute later and all the good work from Sagna was wasted. First Bacary made a bad back pass and then he made an even dumber decision to tackle the "traitor" in the penalty area. The poor back pass was a bad mistake, but Mertesacker was covering behind Sagna and the "traitor" couldn't have done much more than maybe try a simple cross. I guess Sagna wanted to redeem himself, but instead, gave away a very stupid penalty and we went into half time at 1-1.  

The second half was more even and there periods where Man U controlled the game. Both teams had chances to win it all, Rosicky and Cazorla were both close with long range strikes, on the other side Rooney and Giggs had opportunities to score as well.

The defense was decent today. I thought both Mertesacker  and Koscielny played very well. They made some decisive and important tackles, especially in the second half when Man U were putting us under pressure. Gibbs was alright, he covered a lot of ground and was trying to go forward, but we rarely tried to attack from the left. Up until the 42nd minute, Sagna was having a good game. His crosses weren't great but they never are. Obviously the penalty he gave away was very poor. That affected his game and in the second half not only did he miss a lot of easy passes, he got away with some challenges that could have been a second yellow for him.

The midfield was OK. I was impressed with how we dominated the middle of the field in the first half. We still didn't find the final ball to take advantage of that. I thought Rosicky was our best midfielder for a second game in a row. He gave the pass to Theo for the first goal, he was very active and early in the second half came close to scoring with a good shot outside of the penalty area. I still don't understand why did Wenger take him out. Ramsey had one or two good moments in the game, but for the most part he was  very disappointing. Consistency is still the keyword for his game. A lot of games he doesn't have it. Arteta was very good. He was a threat going forward and was constantly involved. He did a lot of defensive work too. Cazorla was average. He missed a lot of passes he normally doesn't miss. His final ball wasn't there but i have nothing against him staying on the field for 90 minutes, because he can change the game with one good shot/pass. Unlike Ramsey.

Up front we were decent. Podolski wasn't great and this is frustrating because we all know he is a very good player and then he gets a start today and doesn't do much. Tough to make an argument that he should start instead of Giroud, if he doesn't take advantage of the chances that he gets. Theo scored a great goal and did a lot of work on the wing, but a lot of times with no end product. Regardless, he was dangerous and was a constant threat. He should have been given a chance up front when Podolski came out. Defensively Walcott did piss me off a few times, when he was allowing way too much space for the Manchester players on the ball, instead of closing them down. Wilshere didn't have much of an impact, but neither did Gervinho and Oxlade.

So a point won, but three would have been better. Then again, we could have had 0. The battle continues and hopefully we can finish strong and win our last 3 games!

Fulham vs Arsenal 0-1

For me personally, our performance today was embarrassing! It starts with the coach who continues to annoy the fuck out of me with his decisions. If you play with 11 players vs 10 players for 75 mins you should be winning the game easily (we are not playing some European powerhouse team, that is super organized with 10 men). Or at least create tons of chances and maybe have a bad  day and miss them. We didn't do either. The simple truth is that with a bit more luck Fulham could have come away with a draw from today's game which is fucking sad!

For those of you who didn't watch the game, Fulham missed a big chance in the 2nd minute of the game when Monreal made a risky sliding tackle and Manolev was free on the wing, his cross created havoc in our penalty area but we cleared the danger. The next 10 minutes we completely took control of the game and passed the ball around with comfort. In the 12th minute Sidwell got a deserved red card for a stupid studs up tackle in the middle of the field. After his red card you would think the game was done and we will tear Fulham to pieces. Nope. Fulham actually got more organized and created better chances for themselves after Sidwell was sent off. We, on the other hand went the opposite way: we were sloppy with the ball, we didn't create almost anything and we tried to pass the ball into their net. Giroud who was absolutely useless today, hit the bar in the 34th min and that was his only contribution to the game. Eventually, we scored from a set piece (who would have thought?), Walcott crossed the ball from a free kick, Koscielny jumped the highest and hit a decent header across goal, where Mertesacker tapped it in. We desperately needed this goal not only because we weren't creating anything, but because it would force Fulham to open themselves up.

In the second half things didn't change much. We had a lot of possession with very few chances created. Wenger didn't make any adjustments even though it was obvious we were struggling in a game which we should have been winning easily. When he did make his substitutions, he took out our best player of the day: Rosicky and Walcott (who didn't have a great game but was way better than Giroud). In came Podolski and Wilshere. Believe it or not, the closer we got to the end of the game the more threatening Fulham looked. We were panicking and giving up the ball too easy and Fulham kept attacking. We had a good chance in the 82nd min when Wilshere set up Cazorla, but he took too long and his shot was blocked. And since Wenger didn't sub him, Giroud did the whole team a favor and got himself a red card. I am not going to lie, i am happy he got a straight red card because that means Wenger will be forced to put someone else upfront for the next few games - something he was never going to do if Giroud was available. Fulham made one last push and had a few corner kicks that had us scrambling for our lives. Luckily, we survived and Ramsey should have made it 0-2 with the last kick of the game but he missed a good chance on the counter.

The defense today was shaky all day long. Our defenders kept getting caught out of position on Fulham's counters; we never seemed poised and organized at the back; towards the end of the game there were too many scrappy situations in our penalty area. Monreal had a bad first half. He missed an important tackle in the second minute which could have led to a Fulham goal, then in the 39th he got out muscled and lost the ball right outside of our penalty area. He did have a much better second half and made some very important tackles on a couple of occasions. Between him and Gibbs, i definitely think Gibbs is the better player: more physical, a bit faster and a bit stronger, he is also a bigger threat going forward. But i am glad we have Monreal too, because we all know Gibbs gets injured a lot and Monreal is a good cover for left back. Mertesacker scored a very important goal but many times today he looked a bit slow to react and out of position. He did win a lot of high balls though, but that should be a given with his size. Average performance from him. Koscielny also wasn't at his sharpest, during their counters, at times he got confused as to who is he supposed to cover. He did set up Mertesacker's goal and had some good tackles as well, but all around average performance from him as well. Sagna, just like the rest of our defenders, was average. He had 0 successful crosses until the 63rd minute when he made one! I still don't understand why Jenkinson doesn't get any games, oh wait, i do: Wenger is our coach.

The midfield wasn't much better than the defense today: average. After all my praises for him on the last post, Ramsey had a shitty game. Missed a lot of passes, wasn't sharp going forward and missed a great chance to score at the end of the game. Cazorla was not very good either. He started on the wing again but was drifting to midfield much more. Still, his passes were a bit off today and he wasn't his usual precise self. Arteta also wasn't great, he didn't do much to help us create more openings going forward. Rosicky was by far our best player! He was constantly looking to run at defenders and create space for his teammates. His passes were spot on for the most part and unless his leg was hurting, i thought taking him out of the game was the dumbest thing Arsene could have done. Wilshere came in and had some good passes, most notably setting up Cazorla in the 82nd min. Too bad we were defending a lot when he came on, so he couldn't have that big of an impact on the game.  

Giroud, as i mentioned earlier was fucking useless. Every time he gets bumped in the back, he falls as if someone hit him with an axe. For a big guy, he acts like a pussy. He did hit the post in the 34th minute but that was about it. The rest of the game he was taking up space. Walcott didn't have a great game but he was crossing the ball well and if he was put on top of our attack so we can use his pace when we counter maybe we would have had a goal or two more. Podolski had zero impact after he came on, but then again, by that time were trying not to lose the game instead of trying to score more goals.

So, today was a big fucking disappointment. I feel that the whole team was flat, didn't play with enough energy and concentration. Wenger should have taken Giroud off at half time and put Podolski on the left and Walcott on top of the attack, this way we could have used his pace to open Fulham up considering they were a man down for 75 minutes. He should have made changes earlier than the 71st minute and this game should have been won with more than one goal. The fact that we had to bite our nails until the 94th minute is pathetic. The only good thing about today's game was the result.

Arsenal vs Everton 0-0

This was what you call a tough, physical game. Everton, as expected, were very organized and at times a bit too physical, but i thought we held our own against their physicality, except at times, we were whining too much. If the referee is allowing the game to be that physical you have to adapt, you can still let him know what you think, but don't whine every time you get bumped. The result today was disappointing in the sense that we really need all the points we can get, until the end of the season, but the team's performance was pretty solid. We controlled the game for long periods and we just lacked the finishing touch. I do have to make one note right now though: Cazorla should NEVER play on the wing! Not that he can't, he is good enough to play any position, but we basically waste all of his vision and passing abilities when we stick him out there! He should be in the middle of the pitch where he is running things and controlling our attacks! Wenger, should show some sense and stop playing him there.

Everton started the game better than us. They were very organized and controlled the midfield for the first 15 minutes of the game. Pienaar missed a great chance in the 6th minute when a through ball found it's way to him with Mertesacker and Sagna too slow to keep up with his run. Luckily for us, he didn't hit the target. Slowly, we got into the game and started dictating play. We didn't create too many chances though and we almost got caught at the back again in the 39th minute. Gibbs made a great challenge and saved us from a tough situation. We finally created two very good chances just before the end of the half. First, in the 41st min Ramsey hit a great cross and found Giroud by himself, sliding for the ball, but he wasn't able to direct it into the goal. And then in the 43rd min, Wilshere gave a great ball to Cazorla but his shot got blocked.

In the second half we started well and Giroud and Cazorla had shots at goal, but then Everton took the game over for about 20 minutes. In that spell we had only one dangerous counter attack which Theo wasn't able to finish. The rest of the time, Everton were passing the ball around and we weren't pressing organized enough to take it back. Barkley went really close to scoring with a great shot. After Podolski and Oxlade came into the game, Cazorla went back to the middle of the pitch and then we pretty much dominated until the end of the game. The best chance we had was in the 77th min. Podolski started everything with a great pass, we caught Everton on the counter attack and eventually Oxlade was alone against the keeper and instead of taking a shot, tried to pass to Giroud and the Everton defenders cleared the ball. We came close again in the 89th, when Arteta made a great run and had a chance to shoot or pass to Giroud, but he took too long and the ball was stolen off his foot. At the end we didn't do enough to win the game but i felt we had a solid performance all around.

The defense today had some tense moments but those were far and between. Considering how physically strong Everton are, our defense had a very good game. We limited their chances and kept them at bay for the most part. We made some individual mistakes, but overall we were solid. Szczesny had a good game. He wasn't tested too much but he looked in control out there. Hopefully that spell on the sidelines will do him good and bring out the skills we know he has. Sagna got beat early in the game when he didn't stay with Pienaar when he had his big chance. Other than that mistake, he was solid throughout the game, he even crossed the ball pretty well for his standards. Gibbs was very active as well, he also got beat badly in the 55th minute by Mirallas, when he took a risky lunge and once Mirallas passed him, there was no one to cover for Kieran. But he also made a great sliding tackle in the first half to prevent a 1 on 1 against Szczesny. And he was a constant presence on the left wing, trying to find space for crosses and shots. Mertesacker and Koscielny were solid and won a lot of high balls. With the size of Fellaini and Anichebe you would think we would have a lot problems from set pieces, but we managed those beautifully.  

The midfield was good today. At times very good. But they also had a tough time with the constant pressing of Everton. Cazorla was doing 360's just to get away from people. As i mentioned earlier, he should have been in the middle of the pitch from the start. Once he was there, he was brilliant. Even from the wing, he gave some great passes. He put a lot of effort and his crosses were a bit better today. Ramsey was outstanding. Yes, i said it! I always give credit to players when they deserve it. Those of you who have been reading this blog for a while know how frustrated i was with Ramsey in the beginning and the middle of the season. He wasn't playing well enough, making stupid mistakes and dumb decisions over and over. Well, the same way i bashed him for those, now i give him credit. He has been playing good the past few weeks, but today he was great! He was all over the pitch, chasing people down; tackling; passing the ball around and creating chances. In the 81 st minute he gave a 40 yard pass across the field to Podolski and put it right on his foot. I hope he keeps this up, because we all know that he is talented. Wilshere was better than he was on Saturday, but still not great. He had some good passes but his game wasn't flowing the way it normally is. Arteta was great today as well. Besides the defensive work he normally does, he was active going forward and made a great run towards the end of the game, too bad he couldn't finish it better.

Giroud had a good game, we needed his size up front and he won a lot of high balls. I only wish he had scored Ramsey's great ball in the 41st minute! He had a few more shots at goal and was looking for a way through the defense until the end of the game. I thought Theo was a threat, but he didn't have a great game. He made some runs on the wing but Everton were doing a great job of keeping up with him. Coleman in particular is super fast!

The changes Wenger made were very good. Both Podolski and Oxlade went straight into the flow of the game and helped us put pressure on Everton. I definetely think Podolski should be starting on the left instead of putting Cazorla there. I would have also put Rosicky into the game, he has been playing well and could have been a game changer unlike Monreal who seemed a bit lost when he came in. So, overall a good point for us. I wish they were three of them instead, but we played a solid game against a good team. Hopefully both Chelsea and Tottenham will lose some points too. C'mon You Gunners!

Arsenal vs Norwich 3-1

I don't know if i should be happy that we won, or sad that we almost blew a great chance with a very lackadaisical approach to the game today. We never seemed to have any urgency in our play. Even after Norwich scored, nothing really changed. Only after we got the penalty and converted it, did we wake up a bit and won a very important game for the future of this club.

The first half we dominated play pretty much until the 35th minute of the game. We weren't playing great, but we had the majority of possession and we created some chances. The best one of them was thrown away by Gervinho (who else), Cazorla fed him a phenomenal through ball, all Gervinho had to do was control it, go around the keeper and score. Typical for his abilities, his first touch was awful and it basically killed the chance off. Towards the end of the half Norwich woke up and started attacking a bit more.

In the second half we continued to play slow football. Our attacks weren't developing fast enough and you could tell that Norwich were starting to look for a break on the counter attack. We gave away a silly free kick in the 56th minute and after some horrible marking, Turner scored pretty much a free header to put Norwich one up. Only then did Wenger decide to take Gervinho and Wilshere out (who both had poor games). We started pressing a bit, but to be honest we didn't really create anything and we almost gave away a second goal on a quick counter. We finally got a break when Giroud was pulled down and we got a penalty. I don't understand what all the fuss is about that penalty, the guy is clearly tugging his shirt and even though those things go unpunished sometimes, if they get spotted, it's a clear penalty (check out the picture at the bottom of the blog). After Arteta scored, we finally showed some urgency in our game and a great one-two between Oxlade and Podolski led to the Bassong own goal (they better not give that goal to Giroud because that's some serious fantasy football pts on the line). Podolski's goal was the final nail in the Norwich coffin and if they had to complain about any of our goals, it should be third one, because Theo was offside.

The defense didn't have to do much for big parts of the game and somehow they still managed to give away a very bad goal from a set-piece. Our marking has been shitty all season long and it doesn't seem to be improving much. Koscielny was marking Turner but once the cross was made, he decided he doesn't have to follow Turner and no one else picked him up. The result was a free header and a goal. Speaking of Koscielny, he didn't have a great game. Besides the mistake he made for Norwich's goal, he also had some sloppy passes which gave away our possession. Vermaelen on the other hand was very solid. I don't recall him fucking up anything major throughout the game. Hopefully he can keep that up and get back to the form we are used to seeing him in seasons past. Gibbs and Sagna were both very active on the wings throughout the whole game. Sagna had some horrible crosses and some good ones, but no one was ever on the end of them. Gibbs was flying all over the left flank and was involved in almost every attack, but again, not much end product.

The midfield was average today. Cazorla was absolutely brilliant in the first half. His passes were spot on, he was releasing players on the wings with some great touches. His through ball to Gervinho should have been a goal 10 out of 10 times. In the second half, he disappeared a bit and the his crosses today especially from corner kicks were fucking awful. Arteta was doing his usual dirty work. He kept his composure for the penalty and executed it very good. A few inches to his left and Bunn makes that save. Gervinho as i mentioned, was fucking useless. He had a few good runs in the beginning and then he was back to his stupid self.  Besides fucking up the great chance Cazorla created for him in the 28th min, he also failed to pass the ball to either Ramsey or Giroud in the 26th min when both of them were in a very good shooting position. He should be on the subs bench for life and only if we have no one else, we should put him in the game. Wilshere had a rough day. He was rusty, a lot of his passes were off. He lacked his usual sharpness. Missed a great chance to create a 1 on 1 for Ramsey in the 19th min, he lofted his pass instead of rolling it on the ground. Anyway, unlike Gervinho he IS a great fucking player who just had an off day. Ramsey had another good game and he is finally starting to get on my good side. For a second game in a row, he didn't make any stupid passes or bad giveaways; he was also very involved going forward and was very active around the pitch.

Giroud was decent. Too many times he fucks up good opportunities with fancy back heels and misplaced passes. He did have some good touches today and was involved in the first two goals that we scored, so not a bad game for him, but he has to be much better. I thought Oxlade was great for the few minutes that he played. He was the main guy behind our 2nd goal and i better never see Gervinho playing ahead of him in the line up. He has had his bad games this season but his potential is so much bigger than fucking Gervinho's, that he should be playing more often. Theo was rusty but you could feel his pace and presence immediately creating confusion in the Norwich's defense. Podolski is another guy who should be starting ahead of Gervinho. Lukas is a proven goalscorer and i would even rotate him and Giroud rather than sit him on the bench. Even though he has some off games as well, Podolski is a good fucking player.

So, another good result for us, but another shaky performance. We need a really good showing against Everton. That's a good team that won't give us shit, so we will have to perform way better than today to take care of business against them!

p.s. Just added this pic for the clowns that say this wasn't a penalty...

West Brom vs Arsenal 1-2

Huge result for us today! This was a must win game and i am very happy we got the result we needed because we almost threw it away, as we have done so many times in the past. The game itself was nothing to write home about. The first half was pretty boring with a few good chances here and there. Rosicky saved us from going a goal down with a goal line clearance and then put us in front with a great header. Towards the end of the half we took more control of the game and Ramsey missed a great chance to make it 2-0.

We started the second half pretty well and after Rosicky scored his second, it looked like it will be smooth sailing and an impressive away victory. Unfortunately Mertesacker had other plans. He gave away a very stupid penalty and earned himself a red card which put us in a horrible position. I would have rather seen him let the guy score than give away a penalty and a red card. What followed was complete tactical incompetence on our part. I swear to god, i have no clue why we are so naive and stupid when defending a lead, or playing with 10 men. We could not keep the ball on the ground to save our lives! As soon as an Arsenal player got the ball, he would kick the fuck out of it and then everyone will sit back and defend a cross after cross and pray for the best. Fabianski must have had 6 or 7 goal kicks in those last 20 minutes and not even on one of them did he pass the ball to a defender. Each goal kick was kicked straight back to West Brom so they can start another attack and put us under pressure. We do such a good job of keeping possession of the ball when we are going forward, or when trying to break teams down. As soon as we are under pressure to keep a lead, our passing game magically disappears. For those last 25 minutes of the game, we did not try to get a player with the ball close to the touchline, or close the their goal line and keep it there, waiting to get fouled or waste some time. Not even ONCE! I mean, which other team is dumb enough not to waste some time by passing the ball around, or trying to get a corner or a throw in? Fucking Giroud wins a ball, deep in West Brom's half in the 94th minute and what does he do? Take it to the corner flag and run the clock out? Noooo. He has to mother fucking shoot it at goal, so West Brom can get ANOTHER attack our way and make me bite my nails for 2 extra minutes! I am making such a big deal out of this because if Lukaku hadn't missed the sitter of the season we would have lost 2 points today. Long, also had a great chance to tie the game. I am not saying it's easy to play with 10 men, but i still don't understand how we can be so tactically incompetent when we get in those situations... 

Anyway, i am still giving us big props for winning. This is probably the third or fourth game this season that we have gotten a very scrappy win and we never used to be able to do that! So that's a massive step forward, let's just hope it's not pure luck, but we are actually getting mentally tougher when we need a result. Debatable which one it is.

The defense looked pretty good today until about the 66th minute. That was when we first got opened up by a long ball and three minutes later was there was a second long ball pass that forced Mertesacker into a dumb decision and turned the game on its head. Mertesacker had been playing really well the past 4,5 games and on days like today you wonder what was he thinking? I know everything happens very fast and sometimes you just react instinctively, but there was no need for him to foul and get sent off. The worst that could have happened was for West Brom to score but we still would have been 11 vs 11 for the rest of the game. So i guess Per's streak of good games had to come to an end sometime. Sagna was decent most of the game, he got beat a few times on his side and his crossing was awful today. I thought Koscielny was good throughout the game. He had a few questionable tackles (one could have been a penalty) but overall he was pretty solid. Monreal was probably our best defender today. Last few games he was getting caught out of position, but i thought today he was spot on. Fabianski did good for his abilities. I don't think he is a keeper for the big stage and i think he is prone to mistakes but today he was pretty good. He should have saved the penalty and he also had a few shaky moments when he was trying to clear balls and didn't make good contact, but he also had some good saves. I still think Szczesny is way better than him, and had Wenger given Mannone some cup games maybe Szczesny's form wouldn't have dropped as much because he would have had some competition. Our goal keeping situation is not great mainly because Wenger didn't handle it correctly this season. But i really hope all these rumors about bringing in Reina or Valdes (please god, don't punish us like this) are false, because that would be the dumbest thing we could do. Szczesny should be our starter, Mannone and Fabianski should be given games so they can push him and make sure he is performing. And if he is not, i do think Mannone is a good enough keeper to be our #1.

There is no question who the man of the midfield and the game was: Rosicky! He had a great game and i love watching this guy play: so much energy; a constant desire to push forward, create chances, look for openings, or shooting opportunities. His problem has always been his fitness, and i feel we should keep him as long as we can with an year to year contracts. Arteta was solid today, he gave a great long pass to set up Gervinho who then assisted Rosicky for the first goal. Cazorla was good, not at the level he has been the past few games, but still very involved in everything we did. I thought Ramsey had a good game. The fact that he didn't piss me off even once with a stupid ball giveaway is impressive. He also assisted Rosicky for his second goal.

Gervinho was surprisingly effective today. He didn't have too many fuck ups and wasted opportunities, he gave a great ball to Rosicky for his first goal (although it looked like he shot at goal, but we will give him the benefit of the doubt) and as long as he doesn't waste chances for us, i don't mind him playing if there are no other options (which is not the case because both Podolski and Oxlade are better than him). Giroud continues NOT to impress me. The only memorable involvement he had in the first half was the back heel pass he gave to Ramsey which should have been a goal. Other than that, not much else. In the second half he was a bit more active, but still nothing impressive.

So, great win for us and that's about it. We continue with the good old pattern that Wenger has: if we win a game, we DON'T change anything at any cost, unless someone gets injured. So Vermaelen doesn't get any games, Podolski doesn't get any games, Oxlade doesn't get any games and Jenkinson as sure as hell doesn't get any games, UNLESS we get an injury or a suspension. I really believe that you have to have a core group of players that play the majority of the games, but as long as there is no huge drop in quality, everyone else has to be constantly rotated so you have a team that can compete on two or three different fronts and all these players get enough games to be sharp when they are needed.

Let's hope Everton can get a draw at Tottenham tomorrow and we can control our own destiny as far as the top 4 race!