I began my first draft of this little missive by suggesting that today’s game was a case of back down to earth with a bump. I scratched it out and started again for two reasons. Primarily because we don’t deal in tedious clichés here at the home of positivity but also because, as exciting as Champions League and FA Cup fixtures are, a visit from West Ham United is absolutely as important. We are right into the gristle of our league season, teeth sunk deep into the thigh of the Premier League beast and it is the teams which put together a good run from March onwards who are often sitting most prettily come May.
Arsenal cannot take anything lightly from now on. We have Man City firmly in our sights and we won’t bring down such a bloated, huge, cash rich brute without we maintain a constant, slavering, blood thirsty snarling at their heels. They need to feel the hot breath on their necks every step of the way. We want them looking over their shoulders and the chasing pack to falter and lose heart behind us. How to achieve this? By treating the likes of West Ham with precisely the same sense of all embracing commitment and concentration as that with which we approached the Man United cup tie on Monday night.
I know we weren’t perfect at Old Trafford. United actually had far more of the game and many more chances than most of us liked to pretend when revelling in the result on Tuesday. That is often the way. Just as we were nowhere near as bad as everyone said after the Monaco game, people do love to allow results to cloud their judgement of what actually happened over the ninety minutes. One thing we can all agree about our performance in Manchester is that it was resolute. There was an unwillingness to get beaten and a determination to keep sniffing for the winner which was so beautifully encapsulated in Danny Wellbeck’s goal. Those same qualities of determination, resolution and a refusal to lie down often count every bit as much as superior ball skills as we lace our flats for the final pas de bourrée.
The other significant factor which we’ve witnessed recently is the role of the so called lesser players in lifting the team when stellar performers are perhaps slightly off their game. It is of course nothing more than an essential aspect of any team sport that people step up when others experience a small dip in form. It is fantastical to expect an entire squad of players to simultaneously hit the high notes. Some may have a stand out season, others may enjoy a number of purple patches, many stay at a decent level throughout. Form comes and goes and individuals fight their own personal battles to get back on song while still contributing to the overall choreography of Arsène’s beautiful ballet.
I’m thinking particularly of the way Nacho Monreal and Francis Coquelin gave themselves up to the needs of the team and the desires of the supporters with the commitment and passion of drunken bridesmaids at the end of a reception, whereas Alexis batted his eyelashes and flirted but never really took things in hand as we know he can. He’ll come good again I have no doubt, but that isn’t my point. I’m more interested in the way the side plugs its own gaps and the way we have been getting results when not at our sensual and fluid best. All of these qualities go together to make up a successful team and if we can keep doing what we’ve been doing the winning confidence will lay the foundations for a return to the free flowing instinctive football of which we know this squad to be capable.
So what of our opponents today? The last time we met them they were above us as we strove to achieve fifth place, which we duly did by taking three points home from Upton Park and playing leap frog with Fat Sam and his merry men. After a good start to the season they were beginning to slide while we were in the process of hauling ourselves in the opposite direction towards our by now customary seat at the top table. The recent form statistics do not make happy reading for our friends from the East End. We are still second, just behind Liverpool while our visitors today languish in eighteenth having failed to win in their last six. A small cautionary note does sound on closer examination of their last six away games. They have drawn four, results which include taking a point home from Swansea, Southampton and Spurs respectively and so the warning signs are there.
Can I tell you anything about how the lugubrious old saggy faced gum chewer will set up his players? Can you tell me the numbers for tonight’s lottery? I can guess that he might suggest they keep a lot of players behind the ball, frustrate us and look to hit us on the break. It wouldn’t be the strangest thing we’ve ever seen but I have noticed our opponents often opting to harass Per and Kos high up the pitch to force us to hoof it long thereby thwarting our taste in patient build up. Tactical geniuses like Brendan Rodgers have been known to send out their teams with the express instruction to go four up within twenty minutes and so we can’t discount that possibility. I recall Hull trying something like it in the cup final last year but they fell short by two goals and so their whole plan went to shit rags.
Personally I don’t give a hoot how the other bloke sets out his stall. It is the way we play that ought to determine the outcome. If they defend in depth we will slowly pull and prod at them until we get a couple of threads started and eventually we’ll get them to unravel. If they come at us we will hit them with rapier like, counter attacking football. If we have one of our perfect games (and we are due one) then they won’t see the ball at all, so it won’t matter if they come out juggling fire and singing the Bolivian national anthem. Like predicting the team line ups I know no more than the rest of you so I’ll leave that to the discussion which I trust will follow my half baked ramblings. Speaking of half baked, my vegan croissant should be about ready by now so I’ll bid you adieu and if you’re not at the match I hope you manage to come across a decent quality stream. If you do, let me know where to find it. Thanks.
Positively Arsenal 
Beautiful, inventive, creative, intuitive, improvised, fast and what a strike at the end!
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oh what a goal, Giroud, outstanding
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HT: 1-0
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The old Giroud and Walcott combination, almost colliding, but between them they found the finish to beat Adrian. Good stuff so far.
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That’s what happens when you don’t shoot straight at the goalkeeper.
I wonder if Fat Sam has got a plan B.
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Excellent finish – rocket
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if we score the next goal we could bang in a fair few, up to the goal we were oh so close three or four times, some of our one touch passing moves have been a joy to watch, only thing missing was the finishing,
walcott causing them loads of problems, ramsey playing well, Giroud has been sharp all game, some of his flicks have been world class, as was his finish.
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sunderland 0- 4 aston villa – and the sunderland fans tried to get at Poyet, floods of them have already left, and to think they are always going on about the great loyal support teams in the north east have
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having seen the walcott penalty shout again, it was a clear penalty and of course a clear sending off too.
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Jon Shay @woolwich_1886 · 11m 11 minutes ago
Giroud’s goal is Arsenal’s 15th goal in stoppage-time this season
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ospina down winded after heavy challenge,
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arsenal have started this second half very sloppy, need to up it a bit and put this game to bed
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oh no it seems Anthony Taylor about to come on for Chris Foy
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Beautiful move down the right wing a series of one touch passes and they just fluffed their lines at the end. Shame.
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Arsenal still not got going so far this half. Sloppy stuff
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You’re not fit to referee rings out around the stadium as the devil’s own takes over from an injured Foy.
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Welbeck on for Alexis
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song should have been booked for deliberate foul on Ozil to stop the breakaway
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Koscielny been immense
not sure why Ozil did not shoot there
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Cazorla getting ready to come on for Walcott
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another outstanding goal, what a build up, Ramsey 2-0
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Ozil off, Flamini on, about 10 minutes left
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Still people fail to see how much Olivier brings to this team. What a wonderful goal he just helped to create.
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super sub Flamini, finishes off another great move of one touch inter play
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Just walking through them now. Too good.
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Chris Sutton doing his best to talk his way into more work for the BBC, negative to Arsenal as per
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Ramsey celebrates the cup victory with a little toast to his winner in May. This was the better goal? Outstanding game for OG it has to be said. Coquelin and the rest of the midfield, the defenders with Chambers enjoying his tricks.
And Flamini!
Arsenal got the gremlins out of their shooting boots in the first half and have warmed up as well as could be hoped for Tuesday. Admittedly Monaco do a have a little bit more quality then the hammers. But you never know.
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fins – if we go in 1 – 0 up at half time in Monaco it is anything but over.
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FT: 3-0
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0-1, even 1-1 wouldn’t be the end, though it’d help to keep them out.
Good stuff from the Gunners today.
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Thanks for the commentary which I’ve just read only having got home moments ago. What a good result: the sort of game that can all too easily go wrong. Glad to hear that Theo had a good run out: the goals will come for him, as they will for Alexis, once they both relax and let it happen naturally.
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The scoreline finally reflected the difference between the two teams but they took their time about it. Fortunately the defence was rock-solid today.
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Oops I mistook Theo for Ramsey in the build up for that first goal
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Cor.: Ramsey for Theo
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Which means that it was the old Ramsey-Ozil combination that helped set up the first goal.
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Santi is quite something.
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Just had a respectful interaction Twitter with the blogger @goonerdesi. He thinks we still have issues with our consistency. Thinks it is a long standing problem which will prevent us from challenging. Tend to agree we should have been more clinical earlier in the game but in my opinion this is work-in-progress. On reflection this was not even our starting XI. What do you guys think?
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I think we have so many great players, it’s difficult to say what the starting 11 should be.
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really loved what ozil today…we now go to monaco! common arsenal!!!
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Shotta. No shit he said that. Its true. But completely understandable. With players fit we we be more and more consistent.
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Boyd with a cracking half volley to put Burnley up at Turf Moor. As is we are a point of City for second.
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just had a quick check on the player ratings from several different Arsenal blogs, and its amazing the amount of scapegoating going on, when it comes to player ratings with Arsenal blogs, there really is a bit of the sesame street “one of these things is not like the other”, the ratings by and large given to Chambers, Ramsey, Ozil, Theo, Giroud and Alexis, really reflect preset starting points before the game is judged at all. One revealing quote I seen in a rating thread was in regards Chambers – “I really don’t like him at right back”, to me this explains why the over the top criticism of him today. Giroud in one blog(who I think do not like him) gave him the same rating today as Alexis, Cazorla and wait for it, Flamini. And on the flip side Alexis gets higher ratings cos he is deemed our star man.
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here is the text of a thread I seen concerning Welbeck, again the first line of it reveals a bias against the player
“I have said from start that he is an average footballer at best.
What does he offer?
Track backing ? Yes
Passing ? No
Crossing? No
Finishing ? No
Holding play? No.
He is really an average footballer at best”
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Really good shout from home fans singing you’re not fit to referee. Strange game when we were bad we were bad but when we good we were very good. The question remains why didn’t Mezut shoot. Oh and Danny really upd the pace of the game when he come on.
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wenger’s after game comments
http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/20150314/wenger-on-victory-giroud-and-monaco
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Giroud on track for 20+ goals this season despite missing 3 months and Ramsey on track for 10+ goals despite all his injury problems. Giroud with 14 and Ramsey with 7 so far.
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What did I tell you Man City? Feel our breath on your neck can you?
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so city only 1 point ahead of us now, haven’t we been told all season that they are streets ahead of us in all ways
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You haven’t heard, Eduardo? Arsenal are in a state of perpetual crisis and until we change the whole culture of the club from the top down and get taken over by Usmanov we will never win anything legitimately.
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I note that there is a new expression, vide The Guardian:
“…With 22 minutes gone Kevin Nolan, who until then had occupied himself by simply bumping into Özil at every opportunity, . ”
It would seem that the referee, thought it was “Closing down sales day”?
Did Nolan bump into Referee Foy, anyone?
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