I guess it was only fitting that it took a superb goal from Robin to bring a much needed win for us, on a special day like today: 125 years of Arsenal Football Club!!! I can't say that i was enjoying the score being so close but i am starting to like the fact that on a day like today after missing so many chances we are still able to pull out a 1-0 victory, when in years passed we would find a way to fuck up that scoreline.
I thought we started the game pretty well. Had numerous chances in the first 30 minutes and we should have been at least 2 or 3-0 up. In the second minute Gervinho made a great run on the left and if Ramsey was able to give him a softer pass, we could have been 1-0 up already. In the 14th min we should have gone ahead for sure: Walcott got released on the right with a great ball and instead of taking a shot himself he decided to pass the ball. I thought he should have shot himself but even if he was going to pass, he should have tried to pass the ball to Ramsey who was in front of the Everton defender not to Gervinho who was behind both of them! Then we blew two more great opportunities in the 28-29th minute when both Ramsey and Gervinho should have scored. I felt our passing was pretty sharp and we were creating good opportunities. Everton had their spells of possession but didn't create too many clear chances for themselves.
The frustrating part is that when we are not able to score on teams early (especially after creating good scoring opportunities), we allow them to settle down and a lot of times they get lucky scoring a goal and the game goes down the shitter. That's why the deeper the game went in the second half with the score being 0-0, i felt it would get harder and harder for us to score. Everton had a good spell of possession around the 60th -65th min and they looked comfortable in the game. But then Song made a great pass and Robin scored a fucking stunner! That guy is just unstoppable because he wasn't doing much for most of the game and then all of sudden produces this finish! We needed that goal badly and i am sure Wenger was relieved he didn't have to put Arshavin in the game. I was relieved too because i am tired of watching the Russian walk around and do nothing. We closed the game out even though there were some nervy moments at the end. The two Everton subs McAleny and Gueye both had good chances to score, especially McAleny.
I thought defensively we were decent. Can't say we were great, but good enough for the most part. Djourou on the right had an ok game. Mertesacker was solid except that one weak header at the end of the game which allowed McAleny to almost score with a great shot. Koscielny and Vermaelen were both very good. Vermaelen had a great clearance in the second half under pressure from Cahill. I hope Thomas is alright after that elbow he took from Fellaini. Miquel subbed in and played with confidence, i think he should be playing more often and i have said that many times.
Arteta was very good. Not very flashy but got a lot of work done, he has been playing deeper together with Song and i like that he is willing to work defensively. Song had a quiet first half but in the second half he was one of our best players. Gave unreal pass to Van Persie; and then he was pretty much everywhere for the rest of the game.Ramsey had a solid game overall. He had a great chance to score and he has been really close to scoring for most of the season. I have a feeling that once he scores, the floodgates will open and he will score much more. As good as he is in passing the ball, today he had numerous times when he could have done better. The ball to Gervinho in the 2nd min, if passed properly is almost a sure goal. Then he had a few passes where guys were obviously offside. He has to either pass it earlier, or hold the ball. Other than that i have no complaints, he is one of my favorite guys to watch. Walcott was great today! I do think he should have scored or passed better on some ocassions. But he was a constant threat; made so many good runs; had a great shot blocked by Howard in the second half; and did a tremendous job of getting back and helping defensively when needed.
Gervinho continued his good play from recent weeks. He always looks dangerous on the wing. He wasn't as noticable in the second half but had another solid game. And for Robin, what can you say? As i mentioned earlier he didn't look great for most of the game but then he scored a goal like that...Pure class! I think we have really benefited of him and Walcott being injury free (knock on wood) for a long period of time. I don't remember the last time they had so many games in a row with both of them being on the pitch at the same time. Obviously Wenger is doing a better job managing their workload-especially Robin's.
Good way for us to celebrate the 125th anniversary with a win! Let's hope we can keep it going in a very tough game at City next week! Go Gunners!!!
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