Introduction
A jolly good day to you.
So, finally, a win. A convincing win. A fully-deserved win. A solid defensive performance. A Yaya Sanogoal, his first ever in a competitive game for us. And, of course, a win over Borussia, not the weakest of sides in Europe.
Some might say Borussia were playing half-heartedly. Despite the defeat, the top spot is theirs for the taking. A draw in their last match (at home, against Anderlecht) and the Germans qualify from the top spot. However, it's not like the Germans were completely indifferent to how things would pan out against us. An Arsenal win by a three-goal margin on Wednesday and wham! Only a win over Anderlecht would guarantee Borussia the first spot. Meaning they'd have to take their last game very seriously. A slip-up of any sort and Arsenal's back in control of the situation.
Moreover, the Germans didn't look disinterested. We were just better than them. Quicker to attack, more organised in defense, good at pressing. And it feels great. A solid ninety minutes. A nice change.
The squad
As expected, Martinez replaced Szczesny and Cazorla slotted in for Wilshere. Koscielny made the bench, while Welbeck was omitted altogether. I think it was the first game since his acquisition when Welbeck didn't feature. I'm pretty sure it's also the first game he didn't start.
In these circumstances I'd fully expected Sanchez to start up front, except that he didn't. Instead, Sanogo did and this raised more than a couple of eyebrows when the squad was announced. This would change 72 seconds into the game.
The first half
We started it with a bang. A simple throw-in from Chambers deep into the opponent's half found Sanogo and the Frenchman produced a moment of magic. He juggled the ball a bit with his back to the goal while waiting for Cazorla to make a run and then back-heeled it into the Spaniard's path. Cazorla drew three defenders to himself and then returned the pass to an unmarked Sanogo. Yaya rolled the ball between Weidenfeller's legs and into the net. 1-0.
Sanogo could have doubled the lead on the 9th minute when sent clean through by Sanchez, but instead of shooting decided to cut inside in search of a better position and lost the ball as a result.
Borussia has recovered a bit in the following minutes and could have equalised, but Immobile could get on the end of Piszczek's cross which flashed wide of the far post. Another moment of danger saw Mkhitaryan fire his effort well over, though Chambers played a part in that miss when he suddenly blocked all the space available.
Borussia had another good opportunity right before the half-time whistle went, but a heroic save from Emi Martinez kept us in front.
The second half
We could have twice gone further ahead in the first nine minutes of the second half. First Alexis's brilliant effort from outside the box was well-saved by Weidenfeller and then a cracking effort from Oxlade-Chamberlain rebounded off the woodwork with the keeper stranded.
However, it was 2-0 soon enough. Mertesacker intercepted a dangerous ball near the halfway line and his pass split open Borussia's midfield and found Cazorla. The Spaniard spotted Alexis on the left and played the ball to him. Sanchez cut inside and let fly an astonishing curled effort which left the keeper with no chance. 2-0.
After that we sat back and defended the lead, restricting Borussia to distance shots, which we either blocked by our defenders or easily saved by Martinez. We even could have made it 3-0, but the Ox fired his shot just over. Another good save from Martinez in the 89th minute and then it was game over.
The aftermath
That's what Arsene had to say on the game:
"We had a good start and overall it was a very intense game between two very good teams where you had to fight for every ball and be focused. I felt we had a good combination between our usual passing game and our transition from defence to attack. We were highly focused to defend well together from the first to the last minute and we always looked dangerous. Defensively we were very good as well."
That day I've spent 16 hours on my feet prior to the game. I was dead-tired by kick-off, but after the game I didn't regret staying up into the night to watch. It was a high-intensity game, the like of which I haven't seen in a long time. It was extremely nervous for all the fans, though I'm sure the game was a great spectacle for the neutrals. Despite very few clear-cut chances the match kept me on the edge of the seat four 90+ minutes. It was like watching a good movie with a happy ending.
The only regret we can have from this game is injures. Arteta was forced off with a bad calf and is now expected to be out for 6-8 weeks and Sanogo pulled his hamstring in the final ten minutes. While this particular injury is not very damaging in the light of Giroud's return and Welbeck being not far away (maybe even available for the weekend), the loss of our skipper is bad news indeed. As I've said countless times the Spaniard is the organiser. His ability to create order from chaos and guide less experienced heads through a game is even more important than his metronomic passing. It's a real loss and a conundrum for Arsene to solve.
Anyway, we'll ponder our defensive problems tomorrow in a preview. For now enjoy the win and the performance that comes with it.
Till tomorrow
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