I can finally write a blog where i don't have to bitch non stop throughout the whole article! Today was probably our best performance this season and i am not saying that just because of the score line. Even before Blackburn went down to 10 man we played really well. They barely had any possession on the ball and if it wasn't for the free kick which they scored from, i don't think they had one dangerous attack. I also really like the way we responded after Blackburn scored, we scored two quick goals and both were from great attacks. That's why i feel we played a really good game even before we were a man up. Once Givet got the red card, it was obvious we will put some goals on the board. The only thing in the second half that wasn't as good as in the first was our press on the ball, but considering the score line i will let it slip without complaining too much.
The defense was solid throughout the game, i was really happy how we were closing down on the Blackburn players in the first half, they barely created any chances. I was really impressed with Coquelin, he is very mobile and his passing is great. He gave a great ball to Walcott to set up RVP's first goal and had other great moves on the right. I guess part of his good passing is because he normally plays as a midfielder, so you can definitely tell that the guy is good with the ball in his feet. I think he is more than capable to play both as a right back or midfield. Koscielny was very good except for the foul he gave up for Pedersen's goal. Vermaelen was solid as usual, got a unnecessary yellow card in the second half because of a few silly fouls. Mertesacker is playing better and better with each game. I think next season we will really see his true qualities.
The midfield had it's best game of the season. We created a lot of chances and took most of them. This was something that was missing the whole season up to now. Arteta was solid and scored a nice goal. Song gave some great passes for a few of our most dangerous attacks. Walcott finally had a really solid game. Had three assists and was very active on the wing. Rosicky was solid, couldn't get on the scoreboard but played a good game. Oxlade-Chamberlain was the guy who deserves a bit of special mention. I think this kid has the potential to be very, very good! He has great pace, very similar to Walcott's but his dribbling and control of the ball are much better than Theo's. He is physically stronger and also has better vision and good passing. I think Chamberlain will be like Wilshere last season: once he breaks into the first team it will be tough to get him out of there. Robin was great as he has been the whole season. He was at the right place for the first two goals, gave a great pass for Chamberlain's first goal and was pretty much lethal throughout the whole game.
I know we played against Blackburn today. I know they were down to 10 man. I know most Premier League tams have better defense than Blackburn's. But today i am just going to enjoy the way the team played and the win we got. First time all season we were defensively solid. We created a lot of chances up front and we took most of them. Basically today was the first complete game we had all season and i am very happy. We really needed a performance like this.
The last thing that i want to mention is that if the team gets healthy with all the new players settling in we can have pretty much two very strong teams. You would have Sagna, Coquelin and Jenkinson at right back. Koscielny, Mertesacker, Vermaelen, Miquel at center back. Gibbs, Santos at left backs. Arteta, Rosicky, Ramsey, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Song, Wilshere, Walcott, Gervinho, Benayoun, Frimpong, Miyachi, Diaby (if he is ever healthy) and Arshavin (i hope we sell his lazy ass) as midfielders. The only spot we need to improve is the striker position. I don't think Chamakh is good enough and i don't know about Park yet because we can't see him play. It's a good problem to have but Wenger has to do a good job rotating the squad, something he has proved he can struggle with. Anyway if we can keep improving our performances we will have a really good team next season. And hopefully we can squeeze into the top four this year, because until i see us put a few good games in a row, i will still be saying "Europe League" next year :). p.s.I do believe we can get into the top four and i bet $20 on it, so i hope my boys will help me win some cash.
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