Good evening.
Yesterday we've taken on Liverpool for the second time inside eight days and the encounter was the opposite of what we saw at Anfield. Arsenal didn't quite dominate the game (in fact, the Mugmashers had a better share of possession), but our defence found its old self.
Wenger made a whopping 7 changes to our midweek side, with only Koscielny, Mertesacker, Arteta and Ozil retaining their places. Among the surprising choices were Sanogo and Fabianski, but both showed they more than equal to their task.
We started the game rather slowly and could have paid the price twice inside the first four minutes, but for a fine save from Fabianski (a taste of things to come) and a miss from Sturridge when he should have opened the scoring. Not that I'm complaining.
After that the game settled a bit and Arsenal started to pour men forward. This resulted in a dangerous free-kick in the 16th minute. Arteta's first time effort hit the wall and the ball fell to Ozil. The German international found Sanogo in the box who chested it down and let fly, but Gerrard got in the way. Luckily, Oxlade-Chamberlain was on hand to smash the ball home to make it a massive 1-0.
This forced Liverpool to take the initiative, which resulted in a barrage of attacks and, though Koscielny and Mertesacker weren't as effective at stopping the opposition as always, that's the best duo in the league we are talking about. Whenever they failed to mop up, Fabianski did this himself, throwing himself rather spectacularly at every through ball.
However, it wasn't only Mertesacker and Koscielny who stepped their game: the whole team defended like hell, getting in the way of Liverpool's passing as much as possible. The way the players pressed men in possession reminded me of our midweek game.
We held onto our one-goal lead till the half-time whistle blew and came flying out of the blocks for the second half. Liverpool managed to conjure up an early chance, but Suarez effort only found Fabianski (or, rather, forced him into his most fantastic save in the entire game). Two minute after this we doubled our lead.
The Ox raced down the right flank, exchanged passes with Ozil and then cut the ball back for the onrushing Podolski. The German made no mistake and buried his chance.
This seemed to drown the Mugmashers. They continued pouring forward, but came up with a miss from Suarez and a shot from Sturridge (well-saved by Fabianski). Then, out of the blue, they pulled one back.
Suarez danced into our box, got surrounded by three defenders, waited for the slightest contact, fell, made it look like he was dying and the ref (Howard Webb) pointed to the spot. Gerrard scored.
This should have set a nervous ending, but it didn't. Liverpool seemed exhausted and only managed to set up Sturridge whose poor decision-making coupled with a brilliant piece of skill from Fabianski ensured we held on to a one-goal advantage.
A third goal from Arsenal would have ended it, but Cazorla (who came on for Podolski) sent his shot miles over the bar, when he really should have scored.
After that, the Mugmashers had come up with one chance only, but, mercifully, Agger steered his header wide.
There were some dodgy decisions from the ref, but they evened out in the end, so i think there should be no complaints.
After the game Arsene said:
"It was vital for us to respond to the disappointing performance we had against Liverpool last week. It was vital as well because we had an opportunity to go to the quarter-final of the FA Cup. I am very pleased with the intensity of our commitment and our response, our determination. You could feel there was a clinical desire in my team to take every opportunity to 'kill' them. That's why it was a great game between two good teams, and overall it was a fantastic FA Cup tie. Many people questioned the FA Cup but like today it delivers a great football performance".
He also touched on Mourinho's (that brainless twat) comments:
"I am embarrassed for him, honestly. First of all I would say that I didn't speak about him at all in my press conference, and I have no more to say… I am more disappointed for Chelsea than for me. I am not interested in the subject at all, and that is really genuine. If you are interested, and you have nothing better to do in your life, you are free to do it. But honestly, I cannot force my interest in things that are not interesting for me. I love football and I'm sorry to disappoint you, but what interests me is what happens on the pitch."
And on Sanogo (who played almost to the end):
"For a first performance he was excellent. He was always in the game, he was a handful for them. It's his first official game basically, he played one game in the reserves for 60 minutes. Considering the intensity of the game, he was absolutely excellent".
So, a morale-boosting win, a clear demonstration that our squad has more depth than people give us credit for and a home tie in the quarter-final of the FA Cup on top (we'll face Everton, by the way). What better way is there to get ourselves ready for Bayern?
Till tomorrow
Yesterday we've taken on Liverpool for the second time inside eight days and the encounter was the opposite of what we saw at Anfield. Arsenal didn't quite dominate the game (in fact, the Mugmashers had a better share of possession), but our defence found its old self.
Wenger made a whopping 7 changes to our midweek side, with only Koscielny, Mertesacker, Arteta and Ozil retaining their places. Among the surprising choices were Sanogo and Fabianski, but both showed they more than equal to their task.
We started the game rather slowly and could have paid the price twice inside the first four minutes, but for a fine save from Fabianski (a taste of things to come) and a miss from Sturridge when he should have opened the scoring. Not that I'm complaining.
After that the game settled a bit and Arsenal started to pour men forward. This resulted in a dangerous free-kick in the 16th minute. Arteta's first time effort hit the wall and the ball fell to Ozil. The German international found Sanogo in the box who chested it down and let fly, but Gerrard got in the way. Luckily, Oxlade-Chamberlain was on hand to smash the ball home to make it a massive 1-0.
This forced Liverpool to take the initiative, which resulted in a barrage of attacks and, though Koscielny and Mertesacker weren't as effective at stopping the opposition as always, that's the best duo in the league we are talking about. Whenever they failed to mop up, Fabianski did this himself, throwing himself rather spectacularly at every through ball.
However, it wasn't only Mertesacker and Koscielny who stepped their game: the whole team defended like hell, getting in the way of Liverpool's passing as much as possible. The way the players pressed men in possession reminded me of our midweek game.
We held onto our one-goal lead till the half-time whistle blew and came flying out of the blocks for the second half. Liverpool managed to conjure up an early chance, but Suarez effort only found Fabianski (or, rather, forced him into his most fantastic save in the entire game). Two minute after this we doubled our lead.
The Ox raced down the right flank, exchanged passes with Ozil and then cut the ball back for the onrushing Podolski. The German made no mistake and buried his chance.
This seemed to drown the Mugmashers. They continued pouring forward, but came up with a miss from Suarez and a shot from Sturridge (well-saved by Fabianski). Then, out of the blue, they pulled one back.
Suarez danced into our box, got surrounded by three defenders, waited for the slightest contact, fell, made it look like he was dying and the ref (Howard Webb) pointed to the spot. Gerrard scored.
This should have set a nervous ending, but it didn't. Liverpool seemed exhausted and only managed to set up Sturridge whose poor decision-making coupled with a brilliant piece of skill from Fabianski ensured we held on to a one-goal advantage.
A third goal from Arsenal would have ended it, but Cazorla (who came on for Podolski) sent his shot miles over the bar, when he really should have scored.
After that, the Mugmashers had come up with one chance only, but, mercifully, Agger steered his header wide.
There were some dodgy decisions from the ref, but they evened out in the end, so i think there should be no complaints.
After the game Arsene said:
"It was vital for us to respond to the disappointing performance we had against Liverpool last week. It was vital as well because we had an opportunity to go to the quarter-final of the FA Cup. I am very pleased with the intensity of our commitment and our response, our determination. You could feel there was a clinical desire in my team to take every opportunity to 'kill' them. That's why it was a great game between two good teams, and overall it was a fantastic FA Cup tie. Many people questioned the FA Cup but like today it delivers a great football performance".
He also touched on Mourinho's (that brainless twat) comments:
"I am embarrassed for him, honestly. First of all I would say that I didn't speak about him at all in my press conference, and I have no more to say… I am more disappointed for Chelsea than for me. I am not interested in the subject at all, and that is really genuine. If you are interested, and you have nothing better to do in your life, you are free to do it. But honestly, I cannot force my interest in things that are not interesting for me. I love football and I'm sorry to disappoint you, but what interests me is what happens on the pitch."
And on Sanogo (who played almost to the end):
"For a first performance he was excellent. He was always in the game, he was a handful for them. It's his first official game basically, he played one game in the reserves for 60 minutes. Considering the intensity of the game, he was absolutely excellent".
So, a morale-boosting win, a clear demonstration that our squad has more depth than people give us credit for and a home tie in the quarter-final of the FA Cup on top (we'll face Everton, by the way). What better way is there to get ourselves ready for Bayern?
Till tomorrow