A view from the ground from @foreverheady
I enjoyed the game and thought we were properly in charge throughout. The defence looked organised and apart from a spell in the second half when we seemed happy to concede possession, we always seemed in control of the game. I was very impressed with Campbell and felt he made a big impact: the ball seems to find him, and he was often involved. He provided excellent support defensively and his energy level seemed high – Monreal must have thought he was in heaven. Given that it was effectively his first proper match for Arsenal I thought he did well, and I would love to see him play again. There have been better players than him who have been one-footed and as the Tony Adams quote on the wall of the stadium says, “play to your strengths”. He seemed to give us a very different balance and it will be interesting to see how he is used. There is a line of thought that says that that left wing spot has been the hardest to fill effectively: Podolski, Ozil, Cazorla and Wilshere have all played there with varying degrees of success, and not all have embraced the defensive aspect of the role wholeheartedly, so it was good to see him trying so hard: he deservedly got an ovation when he left the pitch. Given the doubts over the fitness of our midfielders I wouldn’t be rushing to send him out on loan, although playing a dozen or so Premier League games for Palace, QPR or WBA would do him no harm at all I guess.
It was a good natured crowd, with a lot of youngsters there, and also a lot of empty seats, although I suspect that the official attendance was high as no doubt it was largely season ticket holders who were absent. Not many Club Level members seemed to have made it, and I can only guess that most were still on the ski slopes or wherever it is they head to over the Christmas holiday. Nice work if you can get it as they say.
And now we enter a period of brief normality with only a game a week for a while which will be very welcome for the players and rather dull for us. But thanks to our warriors yesterday we have the excitement of the Fourth Round draw to look forward to, and that is something to be more than happy about. I rather fancy an away tie at Old Trafford.
Positively Arsenal 
Alexis with a second goal from a free kick, idiot lee dixon talking about it being an og, and of course saying even at 3-0 its not game over, why is it former Arsenal players can not be pro Arsenal, in the way all the ex manu, chelsea and liverpool pundits support their old teams
LikeLike
my God the ref just booked a Stoke player
LikeLiked by 1 person
YankeeGunner @YankeeGunner · 21m 21 minutes ago
Stoke aren’t “physical,” they’re “dirty” and “reckless.” Big difference.
LikeLiked by 1 person
we could have had ten by now if we had been a bit more clinical
Oxlade-chamberlain off and Walcott on, 67 minutes gone
LikeLike
Ozil on for Giroud, about 20 minutes left, great to see him back
LikeLike
Good stuff from the Gunners.
Enjoyed watching this midfield in action.
LikeLiked by 1 person
awful attempt at goal by Walcott when clear
LikeLike
Ohhhh nearly a fantastic fourth within at build up.
Özil is back.
We are currently witnessing an attack of Özil Sanchez and Walcott, with Rozza and Cazorla supporting. Once Wally shakes off the rust I think I’ll be another step closer to heaven.
Ooooooohhhh. Mesut. Right foot. Needs a little work there hehe.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ratings
Ospina 6 – virtually nothing to do
Debuchy n/a – off injured early on
Mertesacker 6 – a few miskicks
Koscielny 7 – composed
Monreal 7 – good game
Coquelin 8 – he is getting better and better game on game
Cazorla 7.5 – good movement and passing
Oxlade-Chamberlain 7 – lively, needs to improve his shooting and final ball
Rosicky 8 – always in the thick of it
Alexis 9 – two goals and an assist, a real gem of a player
Giroud 6 – battled,
subs
Bellerin 7 – good game
Walcott 6 – missed a great chance
Ozil n/a – late sub, but great to see him back
LikeLike
Not the personnel I had in mind but the performance I was looking for
LikeLiked by 2 people
just realized Coquelin was on loan at Charlton a matter of a few weeks ago, so I think I should change his rating from an 8 to a 5, he clearly is not good enough for Arsenal
LikeLike
And sent on loan (one month deal only) simply to get him sharp and fit if required. Smart thinking. And credit where it is due.
No guarantees that he’d have shown the required application and attitude, but he has.
LikeLiked by 1 person
i noticed yesterday in the build up to the game the media was running with Arsenal have only beaten Stoke 2 out of last 5 meetings, so imagine my surprise when today’s win makes it 13 or 14 wins in a row at home to Stoke
and Mar Hughes has never won a league game at Arsenal as a manager, 5 different clubs, 8 games. lost them all.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Coquelin has really surprised me. He’s strong in the tackle, gets great height for a smallish man for headed interceptions and his positioning to give those in front of him someone to lay off to is first class. Maybe a bit ambitious with some of his passing forward at times but he has a good eye for the possibilities – just needs to hone the execution.
Real shame if Debuchy is out again – especially because of a totally unnecessary shove from Arnautovic. That said, Bellerin looks an able deputy – played really well. More of a natural right-back than Chambers – where was he today?
Difficult to see how Mesut is going to get into the starting line up after the way Santi, Rosicky and Ox played today – but that’s Arsène’s problem – great to see him on the pitch again.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s also three good games in a row for Le Coq.
Does that mean our DM problem is solved?
LikeLiked by 1 person
that was one of the most disgracefull diplays ive seen in years and has no place in modern day football. Im not talking about the thugs from the potteries but from the inept officials who even with the aid off white spray couldnt keep a wall at ten yards. A deliberate push in the back near the advertising hordings that see Debuchy injured again with no punishment from the ref, no red card for dangerous play, no booking for intential push and not even a foul. when the world, european, and domestic governing bodies change the laws in the game to protect footballers and deter thugs then it is clear for officials to run the game. This wasnt a case of a ref missing something but quite simply not applying the the laws of the game. Yes he did miss lots as well but but having blown for free kicks for arms or going through the back of a player then he has to use his cards its the rules no grey area for interpretation. Quite simply how stoke finished with eleven men is amazing. I know the football dinosaurs in the media will say its the english game and you need to make the most of what youve got, but they also say they want a technically gifted england side and that will never happen if you do not encourage football in your domestic league. The F.A. can forget all about their vast plans for the future if they continue to allow 1970s football to reduce our best players to sit in medical rooms rather than gracing our pitches
LikeLiked by 4 people
i always thought we needed a CB more than a DM, by far more
LikeLiked by 3 people
aob – agree completely, but it’s been like this for centuries now – just have to grin and bear it I suppose. No amount of ranting and raging makes any difference. When Arsène complains about it, he’s just whinging, they say.
Anyway, 3-0 to the football team. Go on a Stoke blog and write that over and over – it’ll drive them up the wall.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Excellent performance all round by the good guys. We never let Stoke breathe. Worst refereeing performance so far by a distance. I began to worry that we would have no players left by the time he finally got a card out.
I thought Ospina did a good job in goal – I was worried about his height against the Orcs of Stoke, but the defence protected him well, his decision making, handling and distribution were spot on today. Stand out performers were Santi as usual, Tomas, who was rolling back the years and showing the Energizer bunny a thing or two! And finally Coquelin – he was probably my MoTM but will no doubt get over shadowed by the always excellent Alexis.
LikeLiked by 3 people
TS – me too. Even if Koscielny’s achilles problem is out of the way (which I doubt), Mert doesn’t look comfortable playing left CB and for all Monreal’s admirable qualities, he’s not really a CB. Then we come to the situation with Hayden – is he good enough and is he fit enough? We need to be in a position where we can give Per a break now and then (as well as Kos) – that’s not the case right now. So an experienced CB who can play right or left (but especially left) seems necessary. Then we can play Per/Kos or Per/Newboy or Chambers/Kos or Kos/Newboy or (at a pinch) Chambers/Newboy.
All of which raises the question of where Arsène wants to play Chambers in the long run – I’ve been in favour of giving him the DM role but he needs to get a bit more pace into his game.
I’m not a great fan of Winston Reid – can’t help but think there must be someone better out there, surely not too big an ask.
Anyway – AKB.
LikeLike
passenal – good point about Tomas – we go on about Alexis’s stamina and work rate but Tommy’s played a full game today and near the end I watched him run right across the Stoke back line chasing and harrying. Fantastic performance.
I know it was only Stoke but that was an excellent all round display today from the good guys. Looking at Man City’s team, there is no reason to fear them if we could only play the same way twice for once.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I got sent out of the room just before half-time for having a real go at the Ref and was only allowed back once I’d calmed down. You might think that when you have played as long and at the level he has that Crouch would avoid making contact so regularly with his elbows – and you might equally expect a referee to think it something more than coincidence. Fortunately once the third goal went in the Stoke team seemed to rein in their tactics, no doubt unwilling to risk unnecessary suspension once the cause was lost. I thought their performance in the first half was cynical, and as I have said before, such cynicism can only really flourish if the officials allow it.
What a player that Rosicky is, and his non-appearance for the first half of the season for the last three seasons in a row is one of the more enigmatic aspects of following the club. Coquelin again was very good, as was the criminally under-valued Monreal, and it was good to see the defensive team secure their second clean sheet in a row. Santi is playing out of his skin and now seems to be relishing the physical aspect of the League in a way that he perhaps was unprepared for when he first started with us: he was excellent and I adore him. Sanchez had his best game: linking when he needed to, going it alone when that was appropriate. He has helped energise the team, and you sense he is enjoying himself. A great result, and it will be really interesting to see how the manager reacts to the injury to Debuchy. Much, I suspect, depends on the terms of Jenkinson’s loan.
LikeLike
Jenks loan is for the season. No recall.
LikeLike
The one thing Coquelin brings to the role of DM for us is speed, he has a nice burst of pace, something that restricts Arteta and Flamini, and I thought that today he showed glimpses of what a DM with speed could do for us.
LikeLike
Arnautovic pushes MD2
http://gfycat.com/DismalArcticImperatorangel
LikeLike
wenger’s after game comments
http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/20150111/wenger-on-victory-alexis-and-ozil
LikeLike
FT: Man Utd 0-1 Southampton
southampon up to 3rd, utd 4th
arsenal one point behind utd and 3 behind southampton.
amazing how many of the pundits and journos are going on about utd’s injury list as being the reason why they lost, yet it should have no effect on Arsenal. Odd that.
LikeLike
i see the idiot brigade are already having a go at Wenger due to Southampon winning at OT
LikeLike
Ok then.. so it is only when arsenal win that the opposition is bad? Noted
Robbie Savage
BBC Radio 5 live at Old Trafford
Man Utd 0-1 Southampton
Posted at
“I don’t want to hear how bad Manchester United were, Southampton were great They were tactically immense and defensively solid. A well-deserved three points. What a fantastic performance and Southampton were disciplined throughout.”
LikeLiked by 2 people
Where is anicoll5? Someone must want to do the write up for that game?
LikeLike
how the stats compare between this season and the 1997-98 season
97-98
P21 W10 D7 L4 F37 A24 PTS 37
14-15
P21 W10 D6 L5 F37 A25 PTS 36
LikeLike
Oliver Kay @OliverKayTimes · 19m 19 minutes ago
FT: Man Utd 0 Southampton 1. #MUFC 37 pts from 21 games. Exactly same as under Moyes last season. Fewer goals scored. “Philosophy” unclear
LikeLike
I guess that Rozza’s chronic tendon problems restrict his ability to survive the gruel of a full PL season? Two of three seasons since he’s had that impact in the second half he had niggles in the first half and he does not often play three times a week.
A great player in spite of his injuries worth his weight in gold for this or any squad.
–
Fellaini or the other Yawnited forwards not as efficient as Giroud has been in his games in breaking open this Saints defence. Also forgot Welbeck in my list above. Hopefully he’ll be back in the squad for the City game.
LikeLike
I watched the game in a pub in Durham. I couldn’t give it my undivided attention for fear of being reprimanded by the battle n’ strife. I thought Coquelin was excellent.
LikeLike
“amazing how many of the pundits and journos are going on about utd’s injury list as being the reason why they lost, yet it should have no effect on Arsenal. Odd that.”
Even odder that as I left the Emirates I heard the commentators boasting about how man u only had 1 injury and VG had almost a full squad to pick from! What happened between the start and the end of the game?
Rantetta thanks for confirming what I thought I saw from my seat “Arnautovic pushes MD2” and not even a talking to, never mind about a card.
LikeLike
I would be delighted to write that up but would the morning be ok ?
LikeLike
That finish from Alexis on Begovich’s near post. Woooooooooooshhhhhhh!!!!
Chiiiillleeeeeeenoo, Chiiiilllleeeeeenoo, Chhiiillleeeeennnnoo!!
This is what Alexis should hear when he tears down the house like he did today.
Hahahahaha!!!!! Let’s thank Koeman for teaching every mid to lower table manager how to thwart that idiotic 3-5-2 of Van Gaal’s. No Robben, No party for that formation.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Passenal: “Even odder that as I left the Emirates I heard the commentators boasting about how man u only had 1 injury and VG had almost a full squad to pick from! What happened between the start and the end of the game?”
Fellaini.
LikeLiked by 3 people
The practice of shoving the defender as he shields the ball out of play is ubiquitous and it is very rare that a foul or even a telling off takes place. Correct me if I’m wrong.
There is no point in doing it, just petulance.
As we saw today other than being bad sportsmanship it can be bloody dangerous.
I have to say that when I saw the incident in real time it looked nothing and I expected Debuchy to bounce up.
I guess therefore that is why Moss did not give anything – clearly five minutes later and as Debuchy departed on a stretcher his lack of action looked deplorable.
I hope however AFC do raise this with the FA and try to stamp out this stupidity.
LikeLike
I loved the Rosicky, Santi midfield.
LikeLiked by 3 people
this is a performance arsenal is capable of and has seem to elude us for large parts of the season. team is gelling, more consistency please… A loss to all above us next match day and we could take 4th for sure but would have to score a truckload to take 3rd… Hope we take better advantage this time than against Southampton and stoke… 2 losses that just seemed so avoidable and could have seen us 6 pts better off and in 3rd already!
LikeLike
reports that Falcao did not even stay at OT to watch the game today, once he was not selected. Harmony.
LikeLike
the want big names and big egos, they have to beady to manage them
LikeLike
The morning will be fine Anicoll5, thank you kindly.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wenger admits we need to sign a center-back
AW: “Monreal and Debuchy can play centre back, but if Gibbs is not here, Monreal cannot play centre-back. and if Debuchy is not here he cannot play centre-back. This is a position where we are short.”
LikeLike
Eduardo, how can Arsene ‘admit’ something that he has been saying for months?
LikeLiked by 1 person
I see some utd fans are turning on RVP, saying he is faking an injury today cos he just don’t fancy the battle, and that it aint the first time he has done it, and that its all about his own glory with him.
seen it said utd had no shots on target today
LikeLike
LVG said Falcao was left out of the squad today, no injury, Wilson picked in subs ahead of him.
Laughably LVG also claimed utd dominated the game and were the better team
LikeLike
Utd had zero shots on goal.
LikeLike
the pain of Debuchy
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B7F4-BgIIAAlw51.jpg:large
LikeLike