Hello everyone.
Arsenal have kept their fourth place after a 3-0 thrashing of Hull and what a good game that was. For the first time in what seems like an eternity we've managed to win a game long before the final whistle was blown. We've also kept the first clean sheet since our North London derby, so fair play to Szczesny (first and foremost) and our defenders for being brilliant throughout.
Arsene reintroduced Ozil and Ramsey for Rosicky and Kallstrom respectively. Vermaelen was, surprisingly, omitted altogether, with Monreal filling at left-back. Apart from these three the squad was unchanged, something that proves the players aren't as exhausted as I suggested earlier. Which is a good thing, cause the group of players that took on Hull on Saturday is the best we have.
Arsenal started slowly with the only moment of danger coming from Podolski. The German received the ball on the left, rounded off a defender and smashed a shot with his right, forcing Harper into a great save.
Apart from this, it was all Hull for the first 25-30 minutes. They controlled the ball in our half and tried to create opportunities through crosses, but failed miserably. The reason? Brilliant, commanding Wojciech Szczesny. He grabbed them, punched them away and was basically up to everything thrown his way. The Pole's determination not to concede was such that he even elbowed his own teammates to get to some of the high balls. His effort was well rewarded in the 31st minute.
Ramsey held the ball on the right flank, passed it to Ozil, who weighed a perfect pass into the path of Cazorla. The Spaniard laid it off for Ramsey (who continued his run after the initial pass), the Welshman took a touch and sent the ball into the far corner for his 9th league goal.
Hull tried to respond and came close to equalizing when Shane Long hit the post with his distance shot. It wasn't meant to be, however.
We struck again in injury time. Arteta robbed Jelavic of possession (the latter was waiting to be tripped, so the ref gave nothing) and Arsenal stromed upfield at lightning speed. Cazorla played it to Ozil, Mesut found Giroud on the right and the Frenchman played a lob pass towards onrushing Ramsey and Podolski. The former chested the ball down and the latter smashed it past a stranded Harper, who could only stand and watch. The whistle for half-time blew soon after that.
Arsenal started the second half on the front foot and put all the doubts about the outcome to rest in the 54th minute.
There was a quick interchange on the edge of the box involving Ramsey, Monreal and Cazorla and it resulted in a cutback from the latter. The ball fell to Ramsey, the Welshman's shot was only just blocked by Harper, but Podolski was on hand to poke the ball home from close range for his fourth goal in two games. This time the German celebrated properly, such was his delight.
This goal meant game over. Hull knew there was no going back from 3-0 down and could not be bothered to try. Arsenal, on the other hand, could have added another goal. First Giroud nearly made the keeper pay for his mistake by smashing a shot against the the bar, then Ramsey found space in the box only to see his effort well-saved. Szczesny, meanwhile, finished what he started by claiming a few balls and thus ensuring Arsenal do not concede.
All in all, a very positive game. This is what Arsene said afterwards:
"It was a big win. I think the first half was very physical and played at a very high pace where our defenders needed to be very strong in the air on crosses. I believe as well that we looked dangerous when we went into their half and took advantage of that. In the second half when we scored the third goal it looked like we completely controlled the game. Overall it was a positive performance because I think if you look at our individual performances all over the pitch they were good".
Some words need to be said about Ozil, Ramsey and Giroud. The German made a very decent return, being directly involved in the first two goals, while Giroud very obviously benefited from Ramsey's presence. The Frenchman is more of a pivot, than a lone striker and having someone making runs made his actions much more dangerous all of a sudden.
And Ramsey, of course. Put in man of the match performance and rightly so. A goal and an assist aside, he made our play more direct, our attacks carried more purpose and our defence looked as solid as it gets. Here are some numbers, if you are interested.
It would have been interesting to see him play during those months he's missed. Would we have surrendered the title the way we did? I don't know and we won't find that out. Anyway, now that Ramsey is back, we definitely have better chances of finishing on a high.
Until later
Arsenal have kept their fourth place after a 3-0 thrashing of Hull and what a good game that was. For the first time in what seems like an eternity we've managed to win a game long before the final whistle was blown. We've also kept the first clean sheet since our North London derby, so fair play to Szczesny (first and foremost) and our defenders for being brilliant throughout.
Arsene reintroduced Ozil and Ramsey for Rosicky and Kallstrom respectively. Vermaelen was, surprisingly, omitted altogether, with Monreal filling at left-back. Apart from these three the squad was unchanged, something that proves the players aren't as exhausted as I suggested earlier. Which is a good thing, cause the group of players that took on Hull on Saturday is the best we have.
Arsenal started slowly with the only moment of danger coming from Podolski. The German received the ball on the left, rounded off a defender and smashed a shot with his right, forcing Harper into a great save.
Apart from this, it was all Hull for the first 25-30 minutes. They controlled the ball in our half and tried to create opportunities through crosses, but failed miserably. The reason? Brilliant, commanding Wojciech Szczesny. He grabbed them, punched them away and was basically up to everything thrown his way. The Pole's determination not to concede was such that he even elbowed his own teammates to get to some of the high balls. His effort was well rewarded in the 31st minute.
Ramsey held the ball on the right flank, passed it to Ozil, who weighed a perfect pass into the path of Cazorla. The Spaniard laid it off for Ramsey (who continued his run after the initial pass), the Welshman took a touch and sent the ball into the far corner for his 9th league goal.
Hull tried to respond and came close to equalizing when Shane Long hit the post with his distance shot. It wasn't meant to be, however.
We struck again in injury time. Arteta robbed Jelavic of possession (the latter was waiting to be tripped, so the ref gave nothing) and Arsenal stromed upfield at lightning speed. Cazorla played it to Ozil, Mesut found Giroud on the right and the Frenchman played a lob pass towards onrushing Ramsey and Podolski. The former chested the ball down and the latter smashed it past a stranded Harper, who could only stand and watch. The whistle for half-time blew soon after that.
Arsenal started the second half on the front foot and put all the doubts about the outcome to rest in the 54th minute.
There was a quick interchange on the edge of the box involving Ramsey, Monreal and Cazorla and it resulted in a cutback from the latter. The ball fell to Ramsey, the Welshman's shot was only just blocked by Harper, but Podolski was on hand to poke the ball home from close range for his fourth goal in two games. This time the German celebrated properly, such was his delight.
This goal meant game over. Hull knew there was no going back from 3-0 down and could not be bothered to try. Arsenal, on the other hand, could have added another goal. First Giroud nearly made the keeper pay for his mistake by smashing a shot against the the bar, then Ramsey found space in the box only to see his effort well-saved. Szczesny, meanwhile, finished what he started by claiming a few balls and thus ensuring Arsenal do not concede.
All in all, a very positive game. This is what Arsene said afterwards:
"It was a big win. I think the first half was very physical and played at a very high pace where our defenders needed to be very strong in the air on crosses. I believe as well that we looked dangerous when we went into their half and took advantage of that. In the second half when we scored the third goal it looked like we completely controlled the game. Overall it was a positive performance because I think if you look at our individual performances all over the pitch they were good".
Some words need to be said about Ozil, Ramsey and Giroud. The German made a very decent return, being directly involved in the first two goals, while Giroud very obviously benefited from Ramsey's presence. The Frenchman is more of a pivot, than a lone striker and having someone making runs made his actions much more dangerous all of a sudden.
And Ramsey, of course. Put in man of the match performance and rightly so. A goal and an assist aside, he made our play more direct, our attacks carried more purpose and our defence looked as solid as it gets. Here are some numbers, if you are interested.
It would have been interesting to see him play during those months he's missed. Would we have surrendered the title the way we did? I don't know and we won't find that out. Anyway, now that Ramsey is back, we definitely have better chances of finishing on a high.
Until later