Hello everyone.
We made it two wins in a row on Saturday and thank goodness for that. The game, especially the last ten minutes of it, wasn't easy, but three points is three points. No complaints about the here.
The squad
The starting line-up brought a couple of surprises alright. Koscielny started (that bit was predictable), but Gibbs's omission caught me off guard. I suppose Arsene just wanted to rest the Englishman before our game on Wednesday, but, unfortunately, it didn't work out. Monreal sustained a knock at around the 20th minute and had to give way to Kieran.
The midfield was unchanged from our midweek clash, but the front three was barely recognisable. Only Alexis kept his place and, while Giroud for Sanogo was kind of obvious (especially in the wake of Yaya's injury), Welbeck for Oxlade was not. Again, I think Arsene just wanted to give the Ox a rest and in this particular case it worked out better, than with Gibbs.
The first half
We had a lot of moments, most of them boiled down to Cazorla's shots. Unfortunately, Santi once again didn't have his scoring boots on. All three of his shots were on target, but he really should have done better at least with his third attempt, when Welbeck laid the ball off for the Spaniard.
However, others also had their moments. Welbeck's shot was brilliantly saved by Foster, Ramsey's effort skidded just wide of the post and then Giroud's work rate almost got him a goal. Had the angle not been so tight, the Frenchman's name would have lit up on the board.
West Brom, meanwhile, created almost nothing and I put that down to two factors: Koscielny back alongside Per and the tremendous work rate of the front three. All of them tracked back and helped us defend. There was just one heart-in-the-mouth moment, when Berahino put the ball into the net, but the goal was disallowed. as Brunt was flagged offside in the build-up. 0-0 at half-time.
The second half
It wasn't as eventful as the first, but both sides had their share of moments.
We could have been in front early into the half, but first Ramsey fired his effort over and then Alexis, who was going for the kill, was beaten to the ball.
West Brom responded dangerously, Berahino looking to make the difference. He was (wrongly) flagged offside and then saw his shot blocked by an in-form Martinez. Just as things were starting to look threateningly, we scored.
Cazorla received the ball on the left, bested Wisdom in a one-on-one and put in a cross from the byline. It was met by a thumping header from Welbeck. 1-0.
We faded in the last half an hour and fell back to defend our slender lead. However, West Brom never really looked like equalising, and Berahino hitting the bar was mostly against the run of play. We could have scored a late, late goal when Foster came in for West Brom's corner, but Ramsey, instead of passing the ball to Oxlade, hoofed it clear. Ah, well. 1-0 it finished.
The aftermath
"In the end our solidarity got us through when the legs went in the last 10 minutes. Maybe we were a fraction lucky on the crossbar, but overall it’s a well-deserved win."
The natural worry we have from this game is injures. Monreal had to be subbed because of one, however, both Gibbs and Oxlade also sustained some knocks and are doubts for our game on Wednesday. Fingers crossed at least one of our left-backs make it in time.
This win elevates us to the 6th spot. Hardly something to be proud of, but, combined with Southampton losing to City, we are now six points behind third-placed Saints. A win on Wednesday, and we are three points behind them.
Finally, some words need to be said on the banner that appeared on the stands after the game. The banner calling for Wenger's resignation. I was wondering whether I should mention it at all, as bad publicity is also publicity, but in the end I decided I cannot just sit there and pretend nothing has happened.
To put it shortly, this banner was uncalled for. I can understand the frustration of the fans, we are hardly smashing past everyone this season, but the timing wasn't right. Had it been unveiled after the United game, I would have understood. Not sympathised, but understood. Or after the game against Swansea. Or before Borussia.
Now, however, it looks stupid. The team is on the up, produced two good performances and got two wins. Moreover, this banner is stupid even in the wider perspective. Will Arsene's sacking (hypothetically) right now do us any good? No. There are no good managers available in November and even a good one will need time to settle. And we'll be losing points in the process.
All these "fans" did was undermine the confidence and the morale of the team. And put the manager (who is, I'm convinced, doing his best to get us out of this situation) under more pressure. Watching Arsene having to defend himself during the press-conference was much worse than watching us let in 6 against Chelsea.
Arsene was always underappreciated and, at a time, when a lot of managers are doing far worse than him, it's astonishing really to see some fans turn against the Frenchman. Look at LvG, Rodgers, Martinez, Klopp (the local favourite among Arsenal fans). Do we want to find ourselves in such a situation?
So back Arsene while he's here. Don't put him under even more pressure. Judge him at the end of the season, when it's clear what we have achieved and where we have failed. But not earlier.
Back tomorrow (or on Wednesday) with a preview.
Until then
Follow me on Twitter (@AlexBaguzin)
We made it two wins in a row on Saturday and thank goodness for that. The game, especially the last ten minutes of it, wasn't easy, but three points is three points. No complaints about the here.
The squad
The starting line-up brought a couple of surprises alright. Koscielny started (that bit was predictable), but Gibbs's omission caught me off guard. I suppose Arsene just wanted to rest the Englishman before our game on Wednesday, but, unfortunately, it didn't work out. Monreal sustained a knock at around the 20th minute and had to give way to Kieran.
The midfield was unchanged from our midweek clash, but the front three was barely recognisable. Only Alexis kept his place and, while Giroud for Sanogo was kind of obvious (especially in the wake of Yaya's injury), Welbeck for Oxlade was not. Again, I think Arsene just wanted to give the Ox a rest and in this particular case it worked out better, than with Gibbs.
The first half
We had a lot of moments, most of them boiled down to Cazorla's shots. Unfortunately, Santi once again didn't have his scoring boots on. All three of his shots were on target, but he really should have done better at least with his third attempt, when Welbeck laid the ball off for the Spaniard.
However, others also had their moments. Welbeck's shot was brilliantly saved by Foster, Ramsey's effort skidded just wide of the post and then Giroud's work rate almost got him a goal. Had the angle not been so tight, the Frenchman's name would have lit up on the board.
West Brom, meanwhile, created almost nothing and I put that down to two factors: Koscielny back alongside Per and the tremendous work rate of the front three. All of them tracked back and helped us defend. There was just one heart-in-the-mouth moment, when Berahino put the ball into the net, but the goal was disallowed. as Brunt was flagged offside in the build-up. 0-0 at half-time.
The second half
It wasn't as eventful as the first, but both sides had their share of moments.
We could have been in front early into the half, but first Ramsey fired his effort over and then Alexis, who was going for the kill, was beaten to the ball.
West Brom responded dangerously, Berahino looking to make the difference. He was (wrongly) flagged offside and then saw his shot blocked by an in-form Martinez. Just as things were starting to look threateningly, we scored.
Cazorla received the ball on the left, bested Wisdom in a one-on-one and put in a cross from the byline. It was met by a thumping header from Welbeck. 1-0.
We faded in the last half an hour and fell back to defend our slender lead. However, West Brom never really looked like equalising, and Berahino hitting the bar was mostly against the run of play. We could have scored a late, late goal when Foster came in for West Brom's corner, but Ramsey, instead of passing the ball to Oxlade, hoofed it clear. Ah, well. 1-0 it finished.
The aftermath
"In the end our solidarity got us through when the legs went in the last 10 minutes. Maybe we were a fraction lucky on the crossbar, but overall it’s a well-deserved win."
The natural worry we have from this game is injures. Monreal had to be subbed because of one, however, both Gibbs and Oxlade also sustained some knocks and are doubts for our game on Wednesday. Fingers crossed at least one of our left-backs make it in time.
This win elevates us to the 6th spot. Hardly something to be proud of, but, combined with Southampton losing to City, we are now six points behind third-placed Saints. A win on Wednesday, and we are three points behind them.
Finally, some words need to be said on the banner that appeared on the stands after the game. The banner calling for Wenger's resignation. I was wondering whether I should mention it at all, as bad publicity is also publicity, but in the end I decided I cannot just sit there and pretend nothing has happened.
To put it shortly, this banner was uncalled for. I can understand the frustration of the fans, we are hardly smashing past everyone this season, but the timing wasn't right. Had it been unveiled after the United game, I would have understood. Not sympathised, but understood. Or after the game against Swansea. Or before Borussia.
Now, however, it looks stupid. The team is on the up, produced two good performances and got two wins. Moreover, this banner is stupid even in the wider perspective. Will Arsene's sacking (hypothetically) right now do us any good? No. There are no good managers available in November and even a good one will need time to settle. And we'll be losing points in the process.
All these "fans" did was undermine the confidence and the morale of the team. And put the manager (who is, I'm convinced, doing his best to get us out of this situation) under more pressure. Watching Arsene having to defend himself during the press-conference was much worse than watching us let in 6 against Chelsea.
Arsene was always underappreciated and, at a time, when a lot of managers are doing far worse than him, it's astonishing really to see some fans turn against the Frenchman. Look at LvG, Rodgers, Martinez, Klopp (the local favourite among Arsenal fans). Do we want to find ourselves in such a situation?
So back Arsene while he's here. Don't put him under even more pressure. Judge him at the end of the season, when it's clear what we have achieved and where we have failed. But not earlier.
Back tomorrow (or on Wednesday) with a preview.
Until then
Follow me on Twitter (@AlexBaguzin)