Well, that was a disappointment.

I think a draw would have been a fair result, but there is no denying that we were below our best.

I feel that we lacked a bit of drive and intensity in the first half. That  would have come from ‘Jack the knackered ankle’ and ‘Tomas the poorly’.

Really, I am of a mind that the number and intensity of games, played with an ever decreasing squad, finally caught up with us.

There is little or no point picking over the bones of this defeat. It’s gone and the important thing is that we are top of the league.

Two weeks rest and we will be back with a much stronger and fresher looking squad.

I am as confident as ever that we will make a real fist of this campaign.

Chelsea and City are the two teams I fear most over the distance and we stand 4 and 6 points ahead of them respectively at this stage.This is a great position to be in given we have been decimated by serious long-term injuries to vital players.

All we can do is get behind the team and let them play with the confidence that comes from knowing that they have a supportive fan base.

Those of us with a superstitious nature will be frankly terrified at all the gung ho pre match triumphalism spreading through the Arsenal world this weekend. Thank goodness we have a manager who has been there, seen and done it all before and who hopefully will prepare his team for today’s big tussle free from the crazy assumption that because we’ve had a better start we can’t lose. I can’t imagine this species of mania which is sweeping through social networking right now will be helpful to the players this afternoon. I do understand that a lot of it is fun and banter between fans and even I indulged myself a little with the resident United supporter at work. I told him I thought our biggest challenge was to pick ourselves up after playing the mighty Dortmund in midweek to face a lowly mid table English side. I suggested this was just the kind of banana skin we needed to avoid before the international break robs us of football.

Being a United fan he of course couldn’t understand my humour but he eventually got it and came out of his office ten minutes later with this snappy comeback: ‘Oi’. We attempted to chat about the upcoming fixture but we have a little history what him usually preferring to parrot the Sky Sports editorial line like he’s supposed to and me trying, as I prefer, to talk about the facts. This time though we kept it civil. I suggested that referee would be the crucial figure on Sunday and he surprised me by agreeing. His experience of following the red half of Manchester for the last thirty odd years has taught him the following piece of wisdom
“When Arsenal are the better team we will kick them, be more physical. If, on the other hand,  Fergie thought we were good enough we’d try to play football against you.”
“I can’t see Moyes being any different” I replied “That was certainly Everton’s tactic when he played us at the end of last season”
He didn’t gainsay me and for once we parted on reasonable terms. The sad thing was of course he was grinning, delighted at the prospect of the team he loved waving the white flag and attempting to injure and unlawfully intimidate an excellent footballing team out of the game.

I love that if we go two down in a match we are very likely to lose by at least three goals. Yes, you read that correctly; this pleases me. Why? And why do I mention it in the present context? It’s because we are talking about two things one of which is footballing philosophy. Our philosophy is always try to outplay the opposition. Even if it isn’t working and we are being closed out of the match we never stop trying to pass the ball and play the game in the way it ought to be played. If we are losing by the two goals I mentioned earlier then we will play five up front and gamble everything on getting back into the game despite the obvious space that leaves behind us. That is the right way, that’s the Arsène Wenger way, to keep trying to score, to try to influence the result by remaining positive and true to your principles. Contrast that to the ‘glory’ of Man United who are happy to divest themselves of even the semblance of a footballing philosophy the moment the going gets tough and instead resort the lowest and the most pernicious thuggery seen on a football pitch.

I said just now that we were talking about two things. The other is the way the match is officiated. The only way the illegal and violent tactics employed with varying degrees of success by Ferguson’s sides over the years could ever hope to overcome their more skilful and talented opposition is, put simply, if they were allowed to get away with it. When we won the title up there they were prevented from kicking us for the whole ninety minutes by some firm referring early in the match. On other occasions the officials have behaved with scant disregard for the rules or in  feeble capitulation to a bullying manager and a noisome crowd, or of course in a corrupt fashion. We may never know which of these was the most dominant cause of some of the travesties we’ve been forced to endure but as I say with fair, firm and consistent refereeing we should have a proper match on our hands where the teams can find out in a footballing contest who is pre-eminent at this stage of the season. I cannot imagine that with the old manager gone the baleful and inappropriate influence that inhibited officials in the past will still be so prevalent.

I know George doesn’t like Cesc and made some pretty unpleasant comments after the young man gave an interview recently but personally I think he had some very valid points and made them in the careful and articulate way you’d expect from a man brought up under Arsène Wenger’s indulgent tutelage. That’s Cesc I mean not George. On the subject of today’s opposition our former Captain had this to say “Seriously? People thought I’d leave Barcelona to play under that goggle eyed loon Moyes? Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ” Ok, ok so maybe I’m paraphrasing a little. The quote I was looking for was actually this

“Haha!” (see I got that bit right) ” With Manchester there is always talk about a dip … a dip, a dip, the end’s coming, it’s over … and they always end up right up there. You can’t trust them. Ten years ago I arrived in England and for ten years I’ve wondered, for ten years people have said: “Look out, this year Manchester might collapse.” But it never happens. That’s one battle I gave up on long ago. Whenever anyone says to me: “Manchester won’t be the same this year,” I say: “No, no, no, Manchester will be up there for sure.”

Along with the rest of the interview this rings very true. I will never write them off regardless of what happens this afternoon because you can only get stung by the same wasp so many times before you stop thinking it might turn out to be your friend. Personally, I hope we see the same type of Arsenal away performance that undid both Bayern Munich and Dortmund recently but if we have to dig in and battle for a draw then so be it. We will go into the international break in a strong position whatever happens today and when real football returns we can expect to see some reinforcements riding over the hill as the infirmary doors are thrown open and players start to stumble out blinking in the light of day.

If you’re wondering why a piece so hedged around with caveats and careful moderation could appear in a blog called Positively Arsenal, I should reiterate something I mentioned years ago but a few of you may not have read. I last made a public pronouncement of certain victory before a football match in May 1978 and it’s a mistake I have never since repeated. Sometimes the sting goes just a little too deep.

George and Ronan discuss the latest goings on and the upcoming visit to Old Trafford.

This morning we have a guest post from @The_Beck_ .

We’ve come far since the start of the year, and it feels great.

It’s 2 A.M. and I really want to write.

Across my screen, news articles keep flashing every minute.

“Arsenal can win Champions League – Jurgen Klopp”

“Wenger knows best” – Nick Miller (SSN)

“Arsenal made them (Dortmund) look distinctly average” – Jamie (My Dad’s a Wheeler Dealer) Redknapp (SSN)

“I think we have to start saying it now (that Arsenal are the real thing), the questions are all being answered.” – Gary Neville (SSN)

I really want to share my joy with all the Arsenal supporters that read this site, it feels amazing for me, just to think how different it was to last year to how it is now.

And its not just one player, all of them, all of them, I love all of them.

Rosicky is composing heavy metal r & b rap based pop rock grunge classical and all sorts.

Being spoiled with both Flamini and Arteta, both proving doubters wrong, both pleasing Wenger’s tactically.

Giroud’s hold up play and how he always manages to find Ramsey is nothing short of beautiful.

Ozil can have quiet games and still find magic moments, as can Santi and Theo and Lukas (when they get back from injury) and the list goes on.

Our back four, our back six, our back even if you include Vermaelen, Jenkinson and Monreal all provide great back up and close games out for us excellently. We’re tactically fouling when we need to and our defence is just as beautiful to watch as our attack.

With Szczesny, like we were with De Gea last season, we are watching one of Europe’s best young goalkeepers steadily become one of the top 10 GK’s in Europe, his distribution and movement has improved massively.

Now I am writing on a high, and they don’t always last as you know.

But lets enjoy this high, lets enjoy what our club has done so far, in life you can’t always be worried about what’s going to come back to bite you in the ass.

Because you might be forever be worrying.

Forward,

Victoria Concordia Crescit

Excuse me if I suddenly introduce random sections of dialogue or bizarrely inappropriate and entirely fictitious paragraphs into this narrative. You see it’s National Novel Writing Month and I’m attempting to put down an average of 2000 words a day in order to complete the ludicrous task of writing a book in a single calendar month. Penning this little piece in the middle of such insanity is a curious diversion but here goes nonetheless. I thought it only fair to warn you so you will understand if Tomáš Rosický appears to spend an inordinate amount of the match gazing into Santi Cazorla’s smouldering eyes as thunder rolls ominously overhead and dark clouds, pregnant with the threat of rain, blanket the world under a grey and purple bruise.

Sorry.

It’s five minutes in and I leave the novelling to check the match. Already Dortmund have shown their threat. They are pressing us high up the pitch, knowing we like to play out of a tight corner with intricate passes On the one occasion they’ve caught us out they struck with a cobra like swiftness and Per just cleared at the last gasp. We on the other hand are taking up where we left off against Liverpool, closing them on the halfway line hoping to nick it back and move through their midfield with crisp passing. It looks like the perfect contest between two very good teams. I hope the match measures up.

Our undoing last time was, according to Le Gaffer, that we did not want to settle for a draw and in our impatience to get the winner we left ourselves open to a quick counter. I can’t fault the analysis and it would explain why  BVB are happy to play keep ball at the back hoping to tempt us out. 13 minutes gone and still all square. Aron, Santi and Tomas look very sharp and Giroud doing his thing of joining the dots but as yet we’ve been suffocated out of it at every turn.

Oh blimey, they nearly scored from a knock down after a free kick just as I was contemplating why there are no significant female characters in my story yet. 11,000 words in and still all blokes. Is it a deep seated and hitherto unsuspected misogynistic bent I’ve been harbouring all these years? Or is it too much time writing about the all male environment of premier league football? We seem to be trying to quieten the crowd, keep the ball and take the sting out of the game – the oldest clichés in the ‘playing away from home in European Competition’ book. To be fair if impatient over enthusiasm cost us last time it is probably the only sensible tactic. Plus when one considers the statistical fact the the overwhelming majority of goals in a football match are scored in the second half, all good teams take it steady in the first to ensure they have enough left in the tank for that crucial phase of the game.

Having said that this Dortmund team are quick and inventive on the break so we need to be at our most vigilant when we lose the ball. Mesut just failed to get onto the end of Giroud’s pass but a little space around their area is at least encouraging. 26 minutes gone I need a cup of tea, back in a mo. If we score while I’m in the kitchen it’s my goal.

I’m back. Look at Tomáš go! He left that geezer for dead. Shame about Mesut’s free kick. Least said I think. And the least said about Mesut giving it away for that counter the better too. Thank God for the elegant genius of Per Mertesacker,  he just snuffed out another very dangerous attack. 31 minutes. All square, them on top in terms of chances. I think I might kill off one of my characters soon. I’ve given them all pretty tragic back stories but none of them has actually gone through the final wringer themselves yet. It’s supposed to be one of the tenets of writing fiction that you put your characters through hell at every opportunity.

Christ that was close. Some bloke with an unpronounceable name really should have scored, he tried to place it with Ramsey like calm into the far corner with only Szczęsny to beat but pushed it wide. We need to close down earlier, cannot have Mikel Arteta chasing these speedy guys. 38 minutes gone and Dortmund are treating my heart rate like I plan to deal with a couple of unlucky characters in my novel.

Better. We’ve started getting tight to them around the half way line and cutting out the supply to those pesky forwards. Lewandowski booked for a cynical trip on Aaron, the situation forced by us stepping things up in the middle. We’re trying hard to get the fast one touch stuff going but it’s all just a little rushed, a little stretched and not assured. Right now with three minutes left to half time I’ll take nil nil. Fuck sake, some bloke trying to get Gibbs booked after a nothing challenge. I hate to see that above almost anything else. Beardy yellow shirted twat.

OK so it’s half time and the plot remains much as it was at kick off. We should, I feel forget the sting of the defeat in the match at the Ems and realise that a draw would actually be fine for us. We then need only to match Dortmund in the remaining fixtures to stay top. Unless they go and lose all their remaining games of course then we need to do more than just match them but I’m sure you know what I mean. Gung Ho not the order of the day, of course you need to keep threatening even if a draw is good enough, it’s no good to play for the point and invite them onto us all day. Keep them with half an eye on their back door and you keep them honest I say. I might have a look at Twitter in the break. The wisdom there is anything less than a 10 – 0 lead at half time is always a disaster. It’s part of the English disease. Patience being the most vital commodity in the modern game and the hardest lesson for some people to learn.

49 minutes gone and Per is penalised for the best tackle of the game. Reus’s header is cleared by Szczęsny at full stretch. Would have been horribly unfair after such a harsh free kick. Brilliant save from Szczęsny moments later and then some bloke bangs it in from an offside position. We need to tighten up here, they are passing to each other while we are looping it hopefully in the vague direction of a team mate and that’s making the difference. Arteta is walking a very fine line tonight with this referee, I wonder if he’ll last the ninety. 53 minutes gone, free kick BVB, Reus high and horribly off target.

Still raining outside. Hope it stops tomorrow I’m cycling to work and hate getting wet before I even start.57 minutes gone and Bac has kicked some surf dude in the head. Still 0 – 0.

An hour in and we see one of the most beautiful sights in football as Tomáš Rosický curves a pass diagonally across the width of the pitch with the outside of his boot. Shame Giroud tried to pass through a defender instead of shooting, but oh my! YES! Just as I type this Ramsey stoops to conquer. 1 – 0 Arsenal. An untidy goal and one we hardly deserved but now we truly have something to defend. Just how good a season is our Welsh dynamo having? So often in the right place and putting his head in harms way there as the boots were flying.

64 minutes in and an incredible pass from Giroud to Aaron who for once is kept out by the defender. Per falls like a tree in their area but fails to connect and they nearly undo us on the counter. 1 – 0 Arsenal. My tea has gone cold. This is an excellent rehearsal for the Man U game who surely cannot be as good as Dortmund. No one has closed us down as well as these guys and no one has threatened as they have and I can’t imagine the domestic side that can.

20 minutes to go and we look fresh and sharp now. BVB making a change bringing on some bloke and I assume taking some other geezer off. No – correction, they’re swapping two not just one. We respond with our all action left sided super sub Nacho Man for the tiring Santi who has been back to something like his best tonight.

15 to go and I hope we don’t sit too deep for the remainder of the game. I’m a tired old man and I can’t cope with a long siege. My ticker won’t stand it.

Aaron wins a free kick in promising position but Kos is taken out by their keeper in a hideous assault. Per is absolutely furious berating the ref like a savage electricity pylon but the officials saw nothing wrong with the Kung Fu attack. Down to ten men. Tense times. 10 minutes to go, Kos is OK. Thank God. Or Buddha. Or chemical chance. Whatever, he’s OK.

What I wouldn’t give for a flying Theo to keep them on the back foot right now.

7 minutes to go. My stream goes down. Bollocks.

Found another one but it’s bloody English commentary and they’re banging on about Big Nic Bendtner and how crap he was against Chelsea. The fuck is wrong with these people? OK I have a better one and these guys sound Dutch, much better.

Big Nic on.

1 to go plus injury time.

1 – 0 Arsenal.

BVB’s famous fans leaving early.

Tomáš Rosický off, TV5 on. The rain outside grows heavier. There’s something scratching at the window, I peer through the rivulets that run down the glass, there’s a shadow just beyond the weak pool of light, is it a face? It’s hard to tell, the dog at my feet stirs, an insistent banging noise starts from the darkened garden, the shed door? I can’t be certain. The candle flickers, but where did the breeze come from with all the doors and windows bolted shut? I shiver, I must be imagining things. But it does seem suddenly cold. There’s a creak on the floor board behind me, the dog is snarling now , I turn

I honestly cannot remember being so nervous before a Liverpool game. Not for ages. They’ve been in fine goalscoring form and we struggle to keep a clean sheet these days. I blame Mike. Ever since he put Wojciech Szczęsny in his fantasy league team we seem determined to leak goals win lose or draw. He will be all smiles when I return to work tomorrow though, thanking me for  the points, which is a little insane but when you’re as unpopular at work as I am you have to take it where you can get it. The bizarre thing is of course that hidden behind the quite breathtaking talent that is Aaron Ramsey, Wojciech Szczęsny has actually been one of our very best players. The defence in front of him looks as settled as I can remember it and the midfield generally work their socks off to deny teams room in which to operate when they enter our airspace. And yet I was nervous that we would not keep them out yesterday. In my defence I kept my jitters to myself and didn’t pollute either this place or twitter with such pathetic weak kneed negativity. There was one other reason that I was concerned, not just for Mike’s fantasy league side but for our very real team as well.

Let us be perfectly honest we have been in a small dip, a minor depression, operating under a briefly passing black cloud of late and Liverpool have been in rampaging fine spirits. Our blip, as I sincerely hope it will prove to be, has been at once entirely understandable and at the same time extremely interesting. Understandable because we play in a fast hugely competitive league where players are usually only good for about four matches before they start playing in the red zone and given our injury situation we have had to wheel out the same old faces for just a few more games than has been desirable. The blip, or dip if you prefer coincided with some players returning to the side. I never expected such crucial personnel as Santi, Tomas and Mikel to simply glide back into their best pre injury form, who would predict such a thing? They didn’t of course, all players need time to find their groove, and with Mesut still adjusting to the frantic pace of the EPL and still finding the pushes and shoves shockingly under punished by lenient refereeing it was no surprise that we have struggled of late. This little period has been interesting though hasn’t it? Interesting and telling because we have somehow contrived to come through it five points clear domestically and joint top of our Champion’s League group. Oh and I ought to mention we’re shot of the pointless fixture clog of the league cup as well. Which I consider to be a result. How often in the past have we turned in below par performances, lost a couple of home games and been in such a powerful position?

Happy days to be an Arsenal fan.

Yesterday I was proved wrong. I had no real need to worry did I? I don’t need to tell you what happened of course. This isn’t the nineteen fifties where you need the written match report to tell you how the drama unfolded, but  I shall at least share the moments which stood out for me.

Per’s ludicrous level of calm insouciance as he intercepted, dummied a Liverpool forward before instigating a counter attack. It was simply gorgeous.

Wojciech Szczęsny playing a one two with one of their player inside his area with the relaxed attitude of a man who meant to do it.

Giroud’s entire performance. Yes, yes I know he fluffed his lines in front of goal a couple of times but he made more dribbles than anyone else on the pitch, was a tower of strength in our goalmouth whenever they had a corner, he bothered and pestered their defence into errors all afternoon thus relieving the pressure off those behind him and he tracked back, closed down and generally made a nuisance of himself all day long. A fantastic, skill filled, gutsy, tireless performance.

Santi’s goal. What can you say? The guy scored and got the assist. Not many players can play a thunderous one two off the opposition woodwork and then crash home an unstoppable volley.

Aaron’s goal. I laughed out loud. How else could you react?

Koscielny’s performance. All of it. Suarez must still be smelling Kos’s deodorant on himself. The young man not supposed to be Arsenal quality continues to keep our club captain out of the team and world class strikers in his back pocket.

Arteta’s tackling. No individual moment stood out but the slight of foot with which he gently relieved his opponents of the ball was just a joy to behold.

Arteta late in the game making Stevie G look so very past it.

Arteta dragging/back heeling/side flicking the ball to Gibbs next to the corner flag while under pressure.

Arteta’s hair.

Tomáš Rosický spinning, running, injecting urgency wherever he went and looking like a man ten years younger. Long may it last.

There were many other moments – I’m sure you have your favourites, but before I go I have to credit Liverpool for making a game of it, they had their chances and on another day might well have got something out of the match. However their strength is their attack and we neutered that strength for the most part by keeping the ball in their half. Can you imagine how good we will be with Podolski and Theo back in the side? It is a terrifying prospect. Oh and while I’m gazing with my red tinted spectacles into the future how about when Mesut Özil catches up to the speed of the EPL? It’s like we have this unexploded bomb ticking away in our midfield. He already has an understanding with Aaron, he just needs to adjust to the crazy pace of the English game, and, well, boom!

They keep saying that we haven’t played any big teams yet. The same people who talk about the strength of the league and how there are no easy games are suggesting that the points we get are somehow easier gained than those of our rivals. What is a big team? Should we win today, it would be hard to imagine our old friend Alan Hansen saying that Liverpool are not a big team but some will. There will be those who move the goal posts and say that we must beat Chelsea and/or the Manchester clubs before we’re “real contenders”. The fact is it doesn’t matter how highly any outsider rates our chances. What does matter is that we’re top of the league after this weekend – and every weekend.

I believe that it’s up to Arsenal who wins this game and Liverpool will prove a good yardstick for how far we’ve come. They have won three out of their last four games with the most recent being an impressive win against West Brom. With every second pundit being an ex-Scouser, their strike-force and three-at-the-back shape have been analysed to death so there really isn’t much left to say. They’re dangerous in attack but 2-2 away draws against Swansea and Newcastle suggest that there are gaps to be exploited. If Arsenal go out and play at close to 100%, we’ll see Szczesny enjoy a comfortable afternoon. Our midfield is more than capable of controlling the game and creating chances for Giroud to finish. It’s up to The Arsenal.

The Arsenal back five will more than likely be the usuals upon whom we’ve come to rely. I suggested that Vermaelen should start ahead of Mertesacker during the week but I’m putting that down as a moment of weakness. Per will start and rightly so. Arteta, Ramsey, Santi and Özil are also likely starters so the big question is over the right wing. Jack has played well there, in my opinion, and I think he might start ahead of Rosicky — complete guesswork, of course.

Whatever has been said about the atmosphere in the stadium recently, I have no doubt that it will be electric today. Every player and fan is desperate for this win so let’s hope our boys can do it.

Thanks for reading and enjoy the game.

Up the Arsenal!

Well we lost.

We did not play well,but not so bad either.

I am going to write it off as being down to injuries and having other priorities.

There you go,sort it our among yourselves in the comments section.

A hard-fought 3 points or what?

I saw people complaining that it was a poor performance. Really? Was it?

I don’t know what people were expecting, but the pitch was painfully slow and uneven. That’s not the sort of pitch that allows a quick passing game to be played.

Palace gave everything, running themselves to a standstill, almost.

I can’t understand why it’s a crime to credit the opposition for their effort and endeavour, rather than blaming our own players .

The deadlock was broken just after half-time when a bit of skill by Gnabry brought about a spot-kick. Of course, everyone blamed the defender and ignored the skill of the attacker.

Mikel lashed in the penalty and it looked like it would be a comfortable second half as we began to make more openings.

Not to be though. A hopeful punt up the field arrived at Chamakh’s feet. Mikel challenged for it  and, as far as I could see, Marouane veered across Mikel’s path causing a tangle of legs. Never a red card in a month of Sundays.

So, down to ten men, the tactically inept Arséne Wenger made some changes. On came Jack for the substitute Gnarby.

Jack took up the position at which he played his full debut season. This was worrying for me because he had a dreadful night on Tuesday and could not find a teammate with the simplest of passes.

Naturally, Jack proved me an idiot as he was superb .

Its was a great defensive performance by everyone concerned. Not least by our young goalkeeper, who pulled off two magnificent saves within seconds of each other. He is going from strength to strength.

We wrapped it up close to full time with a beautiful link up between Aaron and our other goal and assist machine; Giroud.

Some other points of note were; Santi was average, Sagna was magnificent and Monreal is the unluckiest player in the league that he does not get starts.