Cardiff preview: go for it

Hello.

In a few hours time Arsenal will face Cardiff at their turf in what seems to be a tough fixture.

The Welsh side currently occupy fifteenth position in the table, but I don't think they can be underestimated. After all, they've beaten City to grab their first win of the campaign and went on to, quite fairly, draw United. If they turn up with a right attitude, it'll be a dangerous team to be up against.

Then again, we are also no pushovers. We've garnered 25 points from the last 10 league games, with the only defeat against a shabby United side. Not bad at all.

What is more, our defense is no longer leaky and error-prone. The thing has been mentioned numerous times already, but the league points were dropped because we were unable to conjure anything up front, rather than our because of our inclination to shoot ourselves in the foot.

Having a keeper in bang form also helps. Though our defensive abilities have been polished to almost a perfect state, it's just plain impossible to deprive the opposition (however bad they play) from all chances to score. And that's where Szscesny comes in. Just look at the importance and timing of the saves he pulled off even this week (against Southampton and Marseille) and we cannot hope for more. In an interesting twist, the Pole's outing against Marseiile happened to be his 125th game for the club and his 50th clean sheet. It's not quite every second of his games is a clean sheet, but it's impressive nonetheless. You can delve into the history of Arsenal's best goalkeepers to get some context.

Back to Cardiff, however. We have no new injures (thank God) and even Gibbs back. He's missed out due to some illness, but the important thing is, that he's back in contention. That probably means Kieran will start and Monreal will replace Gnabry on the bench. It's a bit of a shame we didn't see see more of the German, but I guess it's still early days for him. The signs of him becoming a good footballer are there, he was tied down to a new contract, so I expect to see more of him in a year or two. But not just yet, it seems.

However, I won't be too surprised, should Monreal start the game. He's played well against Marseille, his cameos as basically a left winger throughout the season were solid and his first goal for Arsenal was scored against a Welsh side, though it wasn't Cardiff.

All in all, Wenger will have his hands full, trying to figure out, whom to start and whom to bench, but it's better than having guys like Chamakh or Arshavin as the only real alternatives. It's even better, than having a bunch of kids (however promising) in reserve.

The midfield is the most crowded area right now, so I can't even bother to guess, who'll play where. It's Giroud up front and probably a Flamini-Arteta duo at the base, but that's about it. I may even be mistaken about Flamini. Or Arteta.

So, plenty of quality in this side to do the job. If we get a win, our lead at the top will extend to 7 points, seeing as how almost every one of our rivals plays tomorrow (some of them play against each other, which is very satisfying). But we are in a position, where we can afford to only care about how we play. Beautiful, isn't it?

Here's for the win today and I wish you all a very happy weekend. Until later

Arsenal 2-0 Marseille: almost through

Hi everyone.

Our fine form continued on Tuesday with yet another emphatic win. Though it never felt like Marseille were in the game, I do wonder, idly, how much of this was our work. It was another complete defensive performance from Arsenal, this time coupled with a scintillating attacking display.

Three changes were introduced to the side that have scraped out a result against Southampton: Monreal for Gibbs, Flamini for Arteta and Rosicky for Cazorla. Gibbs was, according to the reports "unwell", so Nacho was named in the starting line-up. It remains to be seen to what extent, if any, the Englishman will be used against Cardiff, but we have a capable and willing replacement in Monreal.

As for the other two, I think Cazorla is still finding his feet, but in a game like this it was important to set the tempo right from the start, so Rosicky seemed an obvious choice. As for Arteta, I think the Spaniard just needed a rest. He's played a lot of minutes recently and, as we have a slew of important games coming up in the next couple of weeks, our skipper was consigned to only a late cameo.

These changes, however, didn't affect the fluidity of our game, and within 30 seconds Arsenal were ahead. Sagna spotted Whilshere making a run down the right flank and played a through ball. Whilshere got himself into the box, sidestepped the defender and curled a beautiful shot into the far corner. Such a fine piece of play from Jack reminded me of Messi. Hard to pull off, yet beautiful and seemingly easy.

After that, Arsenal took full control of the situation. We could have doubled our lead easily by the end of the first half, first when Mandanda saved Ramsey's low shot, and then through a penalty.

Ramsey fooled the defender on the edge of the box, was bundled over and the ref pointed to the spot. Ozil took the kick, but his unimpressive effort was parried away by Mandanda. I didn't like the look of Ozil getting ready to take the penalty right from the start and when he stopped in front of the ball it was crystal clear to me that he wouldn't score. Unfortunately, I was right.

This didn't affect our confidence, as we continued pouring men forward right up to the second goal, which came in the 65th minute. In all that time, Marseille created only one half-chance, but Gignac's poor close-quarters control ensured the chance was wasted.

In the 65th minute we scored. Giroud held the play up on the flank, Ramsey found Ozil in the box and the German fired a low cross across the goal. Whilshere was on the receiving end of it and sent the ball home cooly to mark his first brace for Arsenal.

After that, we fell back, satisfied with an honest day's work, which could have backfired, had Szczesny not been our goalkeeper. Thauvin, who came on as a second-half substitute, found some space in the box, but his shot was partially saved by the Pole, to then be cleared off the line by Monreal. Minutes later, Thauvin nearly avenged this, but Szczesny got a big hand to his goalbound effort to stop it from going in.

We had the final say in this game however, as first Cazorla and then Walcott fired wide when they really should have done better. Their wastefulness didn't affect the points we got, they got some match sharpness (something they came on to do),so end of story.

Incredibly, this win didn't ensure our  qualification, as Borussia has beaten Napoli 3:1. The goal difference is such, however, that only a loss by a three-goal margin or greater can see us kiss the knockout stages goodbye, so basically, we are almost through.

What makes the situation even more incredible, is that all other English teams have qualified with a game to spare. Chelsea will play in the last sixteen despite having only nine points and losing to Basel twice, United (with eleven points) will go through from the first place and City, with twelve points, can fight for the first place, while being miles ahead of the third.

Anyway, I don't think we'll go Naples to just avoid a defeat, we'll want to keep our momentum going in-between important league fixtures but, you know, anything can happen. Let's just ensure it won't happen to us.

Until later

Marseille preview: in control

Hello.

Tonight we take on Merseille in the Champions League and a win, coupled with Borussia dropping points will see us qualify. It's hard to tell, what the odds of Borussia losing points are, but they definitely have a more complex task at their hands, than we do.

Marseille is sitting at the bottom of this group having acquired a grand total of zero points, but that doesn't mean we should underestimate them. They have lost only one game by more than a goal margin at the final whistle, so they are no pushovers. Marseille can consider themselves quite unlucky, in fact (and rightly so), because under different circumstances they would have been fighting for qualifying from the group. A harsh draw ensured they'll go out, but no one can say, that they did so without a fight.

At this level, basically any team can punish you for becoming complacent. Wenger and Cazorla are both right, when they warn their teammates against taking the opposition lightly. In order to achieve a necessary result we should give our all. Marseille have nothing to lose and this makes them dangerous. They are a quality side, after all, so it's not like they can't hurt us. We shouldn't fool ourselves by thinking that just turning up for the game will do the trick.

But I don't think we will. Wenger and Co are right, when they point out our defensive maturity. We know we can beat literally anyone, when we are on our game, but it's the other component, which has been missing for years, that now seems to be there. Namely, what we do, when our game doesn't click. Over the last couple of seasons, too many points have been lost, when we found ourselves unable to find our usual rhythm. Now, however, we retrace our steps, defend in an organised and disciplined way and just wait for our chance to come along. When we cannot win a game, we set out not to lose it. And it works. Time and again.  Sometimes we do not win, but the number of times we have lost a game, while adopting this style of play, since Bayern encounter is minimal.

I see no reason though, why we shouldn't click tonight. We have a strong starting XI, a packed bench and no one out from our Saturday game. With Flamini back, Bendtner will be our weakest link in this squad. And he's not that bad.

I expect the Frenchman to start the game alongside Arteta (who is, mercifully, all right), with probably Ramsey out wide. It's not that obvious, though, cause Whilshere had a very good game. And let's not forget about Walcott, who's much more of a flank player than Ramsey, Whilshere or even Cazorla.  A selection headache for Arsene, but of a pleasant sort, for a change.

So here's for the three points later today and, should results go our way, qualification from this nightmarish group.

Back tomorrow (Thursday, at most) with a review. Until then

Arsenal 2-0 Southampton: some more good stuff

Hi.

On Saturday we have increased our lead to four points in total, after having beaten Southampton in a convincing fashion. It turned out to be a game of few chances, but the difference between the sides was the number of individual errors. Southampton made several, while we made none, hence the final result.

For the first time in several months, our lack of squad depth was barely noticeable. Mertesacker and Rosicky overcame the effects of the flu, Whilshere was all right, despite some reports to the contrary and Walcott made his long-awaited comeback, though only as a sub. Which is understandable, given how long he was out. The only absentee (apart from long-termers) was Flamini, who missed out due to amassing five yellow cards.

The first half saw us start brightly, taking matters into our hands right from the start. We dominated possession and territory and should have been 2-0 up by the 20th minute.

First Whilshere hit the post with a chip from a narrow angle and several minutes later Ramsey`s beautiful backheel shot rebounded of the same post.

The goal would come from a surprising mistake by Boruc. The Pole failed to clear his lines in time, instead trying to dribble his way around Giroud. The Frenchman took it in his stride, deprived Boruc of the ball and poked it into the empty net. While the goalkeeper`s mistake was silly and completely avoidable, thumbs up to Giroud, who forced that error. He's always willing to press the goalkeeper and sometimes it pays.

Southampton now needed to come forward in order to savour something from this game, and they did so enthusiastically. Twice the Saints went close to scoring and both times they were denied by brilliant Szczesny. Lallana and Rodriguez tested our keeper in turns, but Wojciech was equal to it. Great stuff from our newly-signed goalie.

In the second half, the game basically died down. Southampton poked and probed, but were held at arm's length by a disciplined Arsenal side. The Gunners, meanwhile, sat back, content to let then come at us. Whether we didn't quite find our rhythm, defended our slender lead or saved the energy for the midweek fixture is unclear, but we never looked even remotely troubled by the Saints attempts to equalise. Szczesny dealt brilliantly with the little work thrown his way, dominating his area and easily parrying a couple of distance shots.

In the 82nd minute we sealed the game. Rosicky swung in a corner, Mertesacker was held back and the ref pointed to the spot. Both Arteta and Ozil were substituted by then, so Giroud stepped up and grabbed his second. By then, though, it was truly game over.

After the game, Arsene said:

"I am convinced that after a break like that, the character is tested. Can you win when you have to in a season like that, straightaway again after a big defeat [to Manchester United]? That was really at stake for us".

Once again, we showed our character. Our game didn't click the way it's supposed to, yet we've got all the three points in a convincing way. Szczesny had a big contribution to make, but the team as a whole dug deep and helped the Pole on his way to another clean sheet. We tried not to concede and take the few chances we had and pulled it off. Again. Gotta love it.

Though City and Chelsea had won (the former beating Tottenham to a pulp), a draw in the Merseyside derby ensured we increase our gap from the second-placed Liverpool.

The only worry is Arteta. We was substituted in the latter stages after suffering a knock of some kind, so fingers crossed it's nothing serious.

Enjoy the win and I'll be back tomorrow with Marseille preview.

Southampton preview: back on track

Morning everyone.

Real football returns tomorrow, as the main surprise of the season visits the Emirates. Southampton sit in third place and trail us by only three points after eleven games. It's the kind of opposition that is dangerous to underestimate, especially as their relative success is not coincidental. They have beaten Liverpool and drawn United away from home so anything less than full concentration can see us drop a couple of points.

Thankfully, we have Walcott back in contention, for the first time in two months. He can offer something different to our usual set up, because of his willingness to make runs behind defenders and to generally play a more straightforward game. He's not another flippy-flappy, tippy-tappy midfielder, seeking an opportunity for a perfect pass. He's more goal-driven and for me he's basically a second striker, more valuable for his finishing skills, than for his passing game.

Theo may even provide a genuine alternative for Giroud. Again, his style of play is different to that of the Frenchman, but didn't we bemoan exactly that in several games? So it's definitely good, that he's back. Theo is still more likely to be deployed on the right, but his qualities won't just disappear because of it. Bottom line is, we'll just be able to rotate our midfielders because of Walcott's return.

As for the others injured, things aren't looking that good. The closest to full fitness is Podolski, but he's still the weeks away. The Ox, a month. Diaby, well, never.

Even with these out, we are still much better off than, say, a month ago. Arsene will finally be able to adequately fill both the starting eleven and the bench and this time there will be some genuine options on it. Someone that really can impact how the game unfolds. God we need this transfer window now, before anyone else is injured.

This is a game we can and must take three points from, though. We have the players, we play at home and we need a response to the United defeat. It's a pity we couldn't get one straight away, but where would the fun be in that?

In other news, Gibbs and Szczesny spoke up during this tedious Interlull. The Englishman talked about our (quite obvious) defensive improvement, saying that the whole team takes their respective defensive duties seriously. He also mentioned a high defensive line we adopt in order to retake possession of the ball immediately after losing it. Great, great, but nothing groundbreaking.

The Pole meanwhile, said we will able to challenge for the title even without new additions. While we do need to boost at least our striker options, Szczesny has a point.

He's talking about the spirit inside the team, rather than our transfers. Our mentality of winners, if I may. For the last year or so, our team really looks like a team, fighting for each other, grinding out results in unfavourable circumstances. There one thing, though. Comebacks. We rarely come from behind to win games. Though I hate United, but even last year the best indicator of their strength was the number of comebacks they have pulled off. We need to try and match it, if we want to be successful.

Not sure there'll be a post tomorrow, but check back, in case something pops up.

Until later

Szczesny signs on; the Ox remains sidelined; Bendtner wants to join Real

Hello everyone. It's been quite some time, but not much was happening, to be honest. In a few days time this last Interlull will be behind us and we'll be able to get down to real business.

For now, however, we'll have to contend with whatever bits and pieces the press feeds us. Not exactly the most reliable source, but still, it's something. Better than nothing, I guess. Probably.

The most interesting bit, is that we've signed Szczesny. There were some worrisome reports of the two parties not being to reach a consensus due to the Poles`s salary claims. As I understand, Arsenal have given in and offered Wojciech what he wanted. Which is good, no doubt about it.

Our policy of penny-pinching has become notorious down the years, with Walcott becoming the first player to earn a hundred grand a week. Now Szczesny joins him. I'm not sure, how much we pay Ozil, but it's good to see we can tie down our key players by meeting their demands.

And make no mistake, Szczesny is one of our key players right now. There was a lot of scepticism surrounding Walcott`s new contract, especially as his form dipped right after he put his signature on the dotted line, but Szczesny seems worthy of this kind of money.

Sure, he's young (23, can you believe it?), he still has a lot to learn, but the signs are encouraging. Last season Wojciech became complacent mid-way through the campaign and found himself benched in favour of Fabianski. Fabianski, fresh from injury, who got his first bit of competitive football in a year against Bayern, at Allianz Arena. It sent out a message.

Szczesny grasped the meaning of that message and, as soon as his older counterpart sustained yet another injury, stepped up, gunned and ready. He became an indispensable part of our machine during the run-in, made a string of important saves that bagged us the points and, generally, was near impeccable.

Wojciech carried this fine form into the new season, restricting Fabianski`s playing time to a couple of CoC appearances and making Viviano a third-choice keeper. One of my acquaintances lamented this fact, rightly pointing out at how good Viviano was last season, when playing for Fiorentina. It gives you a clear picture just how good our Number 1 is right now.

Wojciech became focused, goal-driven, yet kept that attitude of his that makes him likeable a person. So we definitely did the right thing by acknowledging his form and paying him top dollar to maintain his services.

In other news, Oxlade-Chamberlain suffered a setback and, though he was due back in mid-November, he will now make a return in 2014.

This leaves us in a bad spot. Walcott is back, but Podolski is not, so we only have the Englishman and Gnabry as natural wide players. This inability to stretch the opposition's defence was clearly visible against United, so I think we need to address this matter in January. Another flank player won't hurt, especially taking Podolski's injury record and Gnabry's inexperience into account.

And to end it all on a lighter note, Bendtner tipped himself for a move to either Real Madrid or Barcelona. His humility is really quite fascinating. What a guy.

I'll leave at that. Until later

Manchester United 1-0 Arsenal: not great, but not critical

So, yesterday our fine away run came to an end after we've suffered a defeat at Old Trafford. Ferguson or no Ferguson, this place is cursed.

It was especially painful to lose the way we did, conceding the only goal from a set-piece, the Dutch Skunk converting his lone chance. But first things first.

Right before the whistle it became obvious, that Rosicky and Mertesacker will have no part to play in this game. Both fell prey to sickness of some kind. Arteta and Gnabry were also affected, but both were in the squad.

On the bright side, Whilshere and Flamini recovered from an ankle knock and a groin injury respectively, with the latter starting the game alongside Arteta. Vermaelen, meanwhile, filled in at centre-back.

The opening minutes saw the hosts in control, only to be denied time and again by our organized defense with Vermaelen putting in a lot of effort and not in vain. We would see just one shot on target from United before the 27th minute.

On this minute, Vermaelen would clear the ball for a corner after a dangerous run from van Persie. Rooney crossed the ball, the Dutch Skunk out-jumped Ramsey and headed the ball into the top corner. 1-0.

This changed the dynamic of the match. United stopped coming forward, content to give us the ball and let us come at them. However, we would only have one half-chance before the whistle, which saw Giroud head over from a cross.

A change was needed, and badly, but once again out bench lacked real options. This matter really needs to be addressed during the transfer window. It has already cost us points.

In the second half, Arsenal became more fluid. Ramsey`s shot was blocked, Gibbs had an effort saved and Ozil drove the ball into the side-netting. In an effort to save the game, Whilshere, Bendtner and Gnabry were introduced and our best chance came from the German.

He received a great pass down the right, cut the ball back for Giroud, but Jones was there to mop up. In the dying seconds, Bendtner failed to connect with cross, which would have snatched us a point.

United weren't completely listless during the second forty-five minutes. They had two chances of their own, first when a lucky deflection almost helped Rooney to make it 2-0 and the second when Smalling failed to get a proper head to van Persie's cross from a free-kick. But the overall feeling was that we dropped at least a point.

Arsene was understandably disappointed after the game, saying:

"It's disappointing to lose the game the way we lost it. I felt that we were a bit nervous at the start of the game and didn't play our game against a team of Manchester who was nervous, a bit insecure and we gave them a little bit of comfort by making the mistake at the first set-piece - or the second. After that we lost too many balls and we rushed our game in the first half. In the second half when we played our game we played in one half and they counter-attacked a few times but we didn't find the opportunity to equalise. We had the opportunities but we missed always a few inches to push the ball in the net and they were well focused to defend and defend and then try to catch us on the break - that happened once or twice in the game. Overall it's disappointing to lose the game like that because I think we had the opportunity at least to get a draw out of this game".

Well, he summed it up pretty nicely, but a couple of things are worth mentioning.

First of all, I think the team wasn't able to deliver because of simple exhaustion,  both physical and mental. We played a lot of games, had to grind out results and that comes at a cost. We were just unable to find our game, but thumbs up for the performance all the same. We kept going till the very end, never gave up despite the hard going and basically, dug deep.

Secondly, Ozil. His performance was poor, but the level of criticism heading his way is insulting. He's still a young man and, whatever you think, just can't be awesome in every game. Like everyone else, he can feel unwell, tired or just not in the right mood. He has already done a lot for the team, will undoubtedly do so much more, so getting harsh on him after a bad performance is just stupid.

And one last thing. I know I've already said quite a lot on the subject, but the problem was crystal clear yesterday: lack of squad depth. We know we have a great squad, when everyone's fit, but it's never the case, especially at Arsenal. Not much we can do about this situation right now, but when the time comes, we should not just sit on our bottoms and wait for a perfect footballer. We're suffering from player shortage already and I shudder to think, what it can lead to in, say, March, if we're still fighting on three fronts by then.

As the last (mercifully) Interlull is kicking into high gear, there will be less news, so I don't know, when I'll write next. Check back every new and again, though, in case anything pops up. And don't feel too down about this defeat. After all, we are still top of the league.

Until later

United preview: make it grand

Hello everyone.

Tomorrow we visit Old Trafford and for the first time in years we may be the favorites.

Ferguson's teams are usually hell-bent on beating us at their place just because it's, well, us. They were a cut above Arsenal last year, smashed us to pieces two years ago and, basically, I cannot recall when was the last time we won there. Probably in 2002.

Now, however, the landscape has changed. United is going through all sorts of problems following Ferguson's departure and I think it's the best time to capitalize on it. We're are on a strong run, have beaten two tough teams inside four days and our level of confidence is soaring to new heights all the time. So I say, go for it.

Sure, United has recovered a bit from their atrocious start in the league winning two games a row, but in no way do they seem invincible, and a blunder against Sociedad proves that. They still are finding their game, they are prone to defensive errors and we can make life very difficult for them.

Our run, on the other hand, is no luck or coincidence. Arsenal have become formidable opponents, especially away from home. 14 wins and a draw is as good as it gets. Our team finally functions as a whole, Arsene can now implement his freeflowing brand of football, eh, freely, knowing our defense will provide a decent base to build his team on.  And the number of technical players in our is enough for that aggressive attacking style to work.

Before the Liverpool game if someone had offered me six points from three games, I would have taken them. Today, there is a very real possibility to bag nine. Who would have thought it likely?

It terms of team selection, we have Flamini and maybe Whilshere back. The former is fully available, while the latter will face a late test. There is also a flip side, with Podolski facing another month out of action. Pity, but we seem to cope without him.

No word on Walcott and this may be both good and bad. The bad side is obvious: he won't make in time face United. The good side is, he WILL make it, but the manager is just keeping his comeback under wraps.

If it's the latter scenario, it'll be grand. We'll have another finisher on our hands, who have become much more clinical in the last 18 months. He will be a direct goal threat, much like Giroud.

Theo will also provide an outlet on the right, allowing players like Ozil and Cazorla to exploit his pace. In other words, we'll get ourselves a formidable weapon with his return.

Should Flamini, Whilshere and Walcott all return (and I know it's a long shot), our bench will finally start to resemble that of the league leaders. It's been somewhat discomforting to look at our options in the last couple games, realising we have no one to boost attack with in case something wrong. It was especially the case against Borussia, when things seemed to go not in our favor, to see Akpom and Hayden as our only midfield options.

Our midfield area is stretched to the limit, but not because we have few players there. It's because all our wingers are out injured and this problem looks more acute to me than our need for a striker. First thing we should do, when the transfer window re-opens in January, is buy ourselves a wide player. And then a striker. And offer a goddamn contract to Sagna. I don't care, if he wants to become the highest-paid right-back ever. Just do it.

That's it for today, back later (on Monday, most likely) with a review. In the meantime, have yourselves an enjoyable weekend.

Borussia 0-1 Arsenal: boy wonder

Yesterday we accomplished a very hard task indeed. Some likened this game to our Bayern encounter in March, but I take the manager's side here: yesterday was even harder, because more was at stake. We had to beat Bayern comprehensively to qualify and, while we came close to doing so, it was very unlikely we'd accomplish such a thing before the game. Thus the Germans (from Munich) viewed the return fixture as something they don't necessarily had to win.

Last night, however, both teams needed these three points. Badly, knowing that a loss will greatly hamper their chances, that with Napoli playing Marseille. The pressure was at the hosts to deliver at their turf, though.

Arsene made no changes from the side, that smashed the Mugmashers four days ago. Gnabry was the only new face, recovering from his ankle injury in time.

Borussia started brightly, and though they didn't have much of the ball, their constant pressing high up the pitch (in our half, to be precise), prevented us from doing anything with the ball when we had it. They were constantly trying to catch us on a mistake, but our vigorous defending made it impossible for the Germans to capitalise on mis-hit passes or lost duels.

The first chance of the game fell to Borussia. Arteta, who fouled Lewandowski out wide, conceded a free-kick. Reus (I think) swung the ball in, Bender headed it down but Subotic blasted his chance.

Before the break, Borussia spurned another great chance. Some quick work from Reus saw Mkhitaryan clean trough, only for the Armenian to curl the ball wide of the far post. Arsenal, meanwhile, didn't come up with anything of note, other than a yellow for Arteta.

After the restart, Borussia looked more dangerous. First Reus saw his header palmed away by Szczesny, then Blaszczycowski (Jacob from now on) had a low shot parried. A change was desperately needed, cause our defense looked ready to give way at any moment. And then we scored.

Rosicky passed the ball to Ozil, who held the play up, waiting for Giroud to get into a good position and then crossed it towards the Frenchman, who headed it down for onrushing Ramsey. The Welshman sent the ball home.

Suddenly, the game was alive, with chances created at both ends. We got the better ones and in the 10 minutes that followed could have scored four times.

First Weidenfeller produced a save with his legs from a Ramsey shot following some brilliant play from Giroud. Then the Frenchman himself saw his goalbound effort cleared off the line from an ensuing corner.

The other two chances fell to Mertesacker. He first failed to get his head to the ball from a cross and then fired wide from a free-kick. Had he hit the target, it would have been game over.

But he hadn't. Borussia piled up the pressure, but our brilliant defending averted all the threats. Ozil stood out in the end, winning us a throw, a free-kick and a corner in the dying seconds. In the end, we saw it out.

Here's what Arsene had to say after the game, if you're interested.

Now, a few sidenotes. I really liked how disciplined we were defensively. We were switched on from the first minute to the last and when some genius (like Reus) broke through, Szczesny shored things up. Another well-deserved clean sheet.

Arteta is another guy, who stood out. Got a yellow for a professional foul, continued to defend high and wide despite this, made some really important tackles and interceptions and generally it's his personal accomplishment, that Lewandowski was useless up front. Flamini-esque performance.

And, naturally, Lewandowski. I only have unprintable words for him. There's been a lot of talk of his possible move to the Emirates, and after watching the Pole for two games, it is my sincere hope, he doesn't make this switch. Yes, he's a good striker, he scored an important goal, but his overall cheating behaviour is beyond all rhyme and reason. The ref should have given Lewandowski a second yellow for diving, in my opinion. And his attitude around Arteta (the Pole`s) is especially disgusting. Pity I didn't see his face after the final whistle. Hope he suffered. Hope he cried his eyes out.

Anyway, a great win, hugely important three points and another step towards qualification. Well done.

United is next.

Borussia preview: lessons learnt

Good evening.

We play Borussia today and this fixture will go a long way towards deciding just who will qualify for the play-off round.

Both teams are at their peak right now, with Borussia winning eight home games in a row and Arsenal being unbeaten in 14 away games (with only one draw), so the match will be a tight one. I do hope we'll see a more open game, than the first one, but ultimately we may not. The managers know, what's at stake and both won't be looking to press for that winner, should the scores be level late in the game. Both also have a quality midfield at their disposal, so the teams just might cancel each other out.

There was a lot of talk before the game, that we've learnt from our mistakes and I do hope, we did. Overconfidence played a huge part in our late downfall last time, in my opinion. Don't dribble near your own box, track runners and we'll be a tough team to beat. When we get the basics right, we have plenty of quality in our side to deal with anybody.

I don't expect a lot of changes to our Saturday squad. Gibbs, mercifully, is all right and Gnabry has also recovered from his ankle knock and has travelled to Germany (along with Eisfeld, it seems). Whilshere, however, remains sidelined and his participation in the upcoming fixture against United is unlikely. Flamini and Walcott should both make the trip to Old Trafford and with them back, we'll finally have a strong bench.

The one we have now, though, is also not that bad. Jenkinson and Monreal (especially) have proved themselves as capable wingers, we've all seen Gnabry's potential and even Bendther is not bad. He's a bit hit-or-miss, but when he's on his game (see Norwich), he still has enough petrol left in the tank.

So, by no means will this be a walk in the park, but that's what you get, when pinned against the Europe's finest. That's what we love football for. I see no reason, however, why we can't have all the three points for ourselves. Bayern game has been mentioned on numerous occasions already, but that's really a blueprint, a defensive masterpiece. We've added some verve to our attack since that day in March, the players we have gelled together wonderfully, some of the others reached new heights (Ramsey and Giroud, for instance), so it's not unrealistic to hope for a win. Come on, you Gunners.

In other news, we seem to have agreed new terms with Wojciech Szczesny, whose contract was on course to expire at the end of this season. If press is to be believed (ha), he has become the highest paid young goalkeeper (under thirty) in the league and now earns around 100k a week. Now, I don't care, how much he earns, as long as he puts in performances like the one against Crystal Palace on a consistent basis, which he's doing just fine. Aston Villa aside, he's been consistently brilliant, pulling off crucial saves, when we needed them most. There's been a lot of talk about players not living up to their salaries, so it's nice, when someone gets the plaudits, he deserves. Now all that's left' is to offer Rosicky and Sagna brand new contracts they have been working their socks off for this year. Come on, Arsene, just do it.

That's it, back tomorrow for a review

P.S. Seen this picture this morning, it made my day. Have a look

Liverpool review: magnificent

Evening everyone.

So, we've beaten Liverpool yesterday in a convincing fashion and that made my day. Actually, it'll keep me happy until we face Borussia on Wednesday. A win of that magnitude sends out a clear message: we really are title contenders. To face runners-up with two strikers in bang form and demolish them they way we did...a thing of beauty. This win means we top the chart by five points, seeing as Chelsea lost to Newcastle and Tottenham produced a goalless draw against Everton.

Arsene Wenger made only one change to the side that has beaten Crystal Palace with the same score: Rosicky found his way into the team at the expense of the injured Flamini. It was unclear, just who the manager would play (the Czech or Whilshere), but the matter took care of itself, when Whilshere suffered an injury. The Englishman didn't even make the bench and is a major doubt for our midweek game.

Both teams started brightly enough and both had opportunities to score an early goal. A quick interplay between Cazorla and Rosicky saw the latter run into the box to produce a low shot, but Mignolet got a hand to it. Several minutes later Conor Henderson missed a brilliant chance to open the scoring. Cazorla lost the ball in midfield, Henderson picked it up and ran half the field only to shoot straight at Szczesny.

Just when the game started to calm down, Arsenal scored. Arteta fed Sagna on the right, the Frenchman crossed the ball into the box and Cazorla, of all people, headed it goalwards. His effort hit the post, but Santi was first on the rebound to smash it home. He celebrated his first goal for Arsenal with gusto.

Liverpool tried to respond, but our constant pressing (especially Rosicky's harrying) made life difficult for the Mugmashers. The closest they came was when Sturridge's low shot was easily claimed by Szczesny.

Arsenal looked like they could score another and Mignolet had to work hard to parry first Cazorla's shot, which was heading into the top corner and then Ramsey's effort, after the Welshman found his way into the box after some quick passing from Rosicky and Ozil. In the dying seconds Cazorla rolled another shot just wide.

In the second half, Liverpool came flying out of the blocks and created two real chances in the opening five minutes. First Suarez poked the ball wide after being clear and then he set Henderson up, only for the latter to (mercifully) fire over. Arsenal responded with a chance of their own, when Giroud failed to hit the target in a one-on-one situation. He then spurned another chance, this time because his shot lacked power.

On the 59th minute we finally broke the deadlock. Ozil's pass found Ramsey some 20 yards away from goal, Aaron took his time and then smashed home an absolutely gorgeous goal over a helpless Mignolet to make it 2-0.

We were then put under some pressure from Liverpool, who were desperately trying to get something out of this game. First Sturridge headed over and then Suarez hit the outside of the post after a corner. We looked most likely to concede during this period, but, luckily, we kept our goal under lock and key.

Sensing danger, the manager brought on Jenkinson, Monreal and Vermaelen, with the Belgian coming on for the injured Gibbs. Nonetheless, Liverpool was threatening and Szczesny had to work hard to prevent them from scoring. He first relieved Sturridge of the ball and then blocked Henderson's effort after some clever interplay from Gerrerd and Coutinho.

The best moment fell to Suarez, though. He was sent clean through and Sturridge waited for his pass for a tap-in, but the nasty little biter decided to score himself and in the end, he didn't. Sturridge went mental, which was as lovely to watch as Ramsey's goal.

We had the last word in this encounter, when Ozil's shot was blocked, but, overall, it was a very convincing display even without the third goal.

After the game Arsene heaped praise on our defense, which was no less than they deserved. Though Livepool had their chances, we looked in control for the duration of the game, with every player making his contribution. Cazorla has found his form, Giroud did splendidly, Ramsey was his usual self. A very neat performance from back to front, so a win well deserved.

Enjoy it

Liverpool preview: time to show how ambitious we are

Good morning.

Today we play Liverpool at the Emirates and a win will go a long way towards boosting the confidence of both the team and the fans.

The Mugmashers trail us by only two points and that in itself shows, that they are on a strong run. The Suarez-Sturridge partnership cripples defenses time and again and that's a problem we'll have to solve if we want to beat Liverpool today. The answer may be as simple as to cut out the supply from their midfield, so Flamini will be sorely missed during this encounter.

The Frenchaman`s groin injury will also keep him out of the Dortmund  game and only when we visit Old Trafford a week from now, will he be able to help us out. A pity, given how organised and disciplined our whole team looks, when Mathieu is on his game, but a Ramsey-Arteta duo should manage. They were, after all, key to our defensive improvement during last year's run-in.

Gnabry joins Flamini on the sidelines, so our flanks will have to, once again, be filled up with central midfielders. We'll see either Cazorla and Whilshere or Cazorla and Rosicky, depending on who got through the midweek clash better. It does not matter much, because, whoever plays out wide does so only nominally. With Ozil`s acquisition we seem to have finally nailed the concept of seamlessly changing positions (total football, anyone?), so I expect to see our midfield all over the pitch today.

We are even more likely to do that further still, seeing how Giroud has turned into a great provider. His smart flicks and passes do not always come off, but when they do, they usually create opportunities for others. And we have a lot of finishers on our hands who can make it count.

So I think we have plenty of players, who can hurt Liverpool`s defense. Hitting them on the break may be even more effective, than with our usual opposition, cause their defense is definitely their weakest link, being as immobile as they are. The key to our success will, therefore, lie in keeping Suarridge quiet. This will no doubt be the hardest part, because both strikers are firing on all cylinders and represent a threat from in and around the box.

Apart from that, news is, Podolski is back in training, which can only be a good thing. Still no word on how soon he'll be able to play, but he shouldn't be far from full fitness now. My sincere hope is, he'll be included in the team, that travels to Dortmund and will be a genuine option, when we visit United. Our flanks desperately need reinforcements and the same is probably true for our striker position.

Not much else going on, so here's for a win today and I'll be back tomorrow for a usual review.

Until then