It was a strange game I witnessed yesterday. Up until 75th minute, only one team was in it. Then Benteke scored and the dynamic of the match changed completely. We held on stoically, giving away only one chance in the last twenty minutes while Villa piled up the pressure and got our reward in the end.
Arsene made three changes to the side that has beaten Tottenham nine days ago: Flamini for Arteta, Ozil for Rosicky and Giroud for Walcott. The last two were pretty straightforward, but I was surprised not to see Arteta anywhere near the squad. He is our de-facto captain after all, so it's strange to leave him out just because it's an away game against a weaker opposition. He wasn't mentioned during the press-conference, so I assume the Spaniard is all right, but I still fear the worst. After this game, Arteta's injury is the last thing we need.
Arsenal started brightly enough and could have gone ahead very quickly had Giroud hit the target with his header. He missed (not from the best of positions, I must add) and we continued our quest for goals.
Though Arsenal seemed completely in control of the proceedings, Villa managed to conjure up two decent chances, first when Delph sent his shot wide, following a bad pass from Wilshere, then when Al Ahmadi fired over. The game returned to it's normal course after that.
This course saw us take the lead and then double it inside 60 seconds. On 34th minute a beautiful pass from Ozil split Villa's defence open down the left, Nacho cut the pass back for Wilshere and the Englishman's effort found the bottom corner.
Jack turned provider almost immediately. He robbed some bloke of possesion in the final third and sent a lofted through ball towards Giroud. The Frenchman controlled the pass well before smashing his shot past Guzan. It was a really neat passage of play from Olivier, but the pass leading up to it should also not be forgotten.
The second half turned out to be a most tedious affair in the beginning. Arsenal attacked half-heartedly, Villa tried to catch us on the break, only for their final pass to prevent them from doing so. Then, in the 75th minute, something that you don't get to see too often, happened, namely, Cazorla was dispossessed in the defensive half. Lowton then sent in a perfect cross, which missed everyone but Benteke at the far post. The Belgian scored his first goal in, like, a bazillion years.
Now, I may be wrong here, but it's not the first time I notice how weaker opposition, which plays like crap for the whole season, steps it up against Arsenal. Maybe playing big teams mobilises such teams, but I sure don't like it. Maybe we are seeing once again, how Arsenal never do things the easy way, but listening to how Villa, which only has one home win in the entire campaign, nearly takes two points away from possible champions is a bit disheartening.
Luckily, Arsenal held on for the remainder of the match. Benteke still has another half-chance, but his shot was straight at Szczesny. The game was, however, blighted by several nasty injures.
Apart from the first-time injury to Baker, which saw him stretched off the pitch in an unconscious state, Arsenal have very likely lost Monreal and Rosicky and I pray that we haven't lost them for long. Monreal got kicked during his great run after Villa's goal and had to be replaced by Gibbs (who himself has only just recovered) and then that disgusting Agbonlahor bloke elbowed Rosicky. The Czech looked like he had his nose broken and was also substituted, only minutes after coming on. The manager said, he doesn't know, how severe these injures are, so let's hope for the better.
Apart from the usual talk from Arsene about two different sides to this Arsenal, erm, side and the aforementioned injures, the boss has also touched upon Jack Wilshere's match-winning performance:
"He has
found his change of pace back, his game about that and his penetration because
he's not only a passer but he's guy who is incisive with the ball. It's his
strengths so from that you need to be at the top of your game physically".
So, Jack is back. Which is really good to hear. Now let's hope he'll be joined by Ramsey, Vermaelen, Monreal and Rosicky, though in a much more straightforward sense of the word.
Fulham is up next. Until then, enjoy the good win and a deserved place at the top