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