Manchester City 0-2 Arsenal: impeccable

Introduction

Looking back at our comprehensive 2-0 win at the Etihad, I'm starting to question how we could have undergone such a complete transformation in the space of mere seventeen days. I say "seventeen" because we've lost to Southampton 2-0 on the 1st of January. At the time I've written this, questioning the ability of the team in general and dreading our next away game. I had serious misgivings at how our campaign might go after that toothless performance and a visit to the reigning champions in just over two weeks did little to calm my nerves.

But that's football for you. It's fickle, a lot depends on chance and, though no one in their right mind would say we were lucky to beat City, it just goes to show how quickly things can change and how complete turnarounds can happen in a matter of days.

A plan with three phases

The second thing I've carried out of this game (bear with me, I'll get down to an actual review soon) was no less enlightening: we had a plan, not just for this game, but for all away games against the big teams this season.

The first part of it was our visit to Stamford Bridge at the 5th of October. We set out not to concede first and foremost and try to hurt Chelsea on the counter. Our plan went to pieces due to several factors, I suspect:

1. The team had barely entered a third month of playing together. Welbeck, Sanchez and Chambers all started (the latter at RB), while the introduction of a rather unfamiliar 4-1-4-1 with Ozil on the wing did little to help matters of gelling
2. A moment of magic from Hazard. Had the Belgian not taken three or four players out of the picture single-handedly and forced Kos to foul him, we would not have found ourselves a goal down this early. Which, in it's turn, would not have led to our frantic search for an equaliser

Nevertheless, we looked very good defensive-wise. Very compact and solid. That's why I christened the result "A dignified loss". It didn't even feel that much of a loss.

The second part of our "sit-back" plan unfolded at Anfield. Then I wrote this:

"After some consideration and a two days reflection period I've come to the conclusion this is the worst I've seen Arsenal perform this season. And when you have defeats to Borussia and Stoke to consider, well, that's saying something.

We made a disjointed and toothless Liverpool side with Sterling up top look good. Had Szczesny not been our goalkeeper that day, or had he just been as out of form as the rest of the team, Liverpool would have won the game. They had 27 shots, 10 on target and enjoyed 64% of possession. We only pulled off three shots on target and our respective 36% possession is the worst in eleven years."

That day something went awfully bad and our defense was a leaky cauldron (Harry Potter fans anyone?), but, amazingly, we still could have won the game. We SHOULD have won the game.

Two days ago our plan was put in action once again and this time we've pulled it off impeccably.

The squad

Too little happened for an actual review, so I'd stick with discussing the interesting things only.

First of them, of course, was squad selection. Astonishingly, I guessed everyone right. Ospina continued in goal (and had so little to do, I'm starting to think we'll never find out how good he is. And I'd prefer it this way), Bellerin started at right-back with Monreal at left-back (the system is actually real), Coquelin was handed a 4th consecutive start with Ramsey alongside him, while Cazorla and Oxlade were both picked ahead of Ozil and Walcott respectively. We deployed a 4-1-4-1 yet again and this time both the system and the players implementing it worked wilke clockwork.

The stats

We saw very little of the ball - just 35% (like against Liverpool) - and only pulled off three shots on target (like against Liverpool!) - and (like against Liverpool) scored twice. The only major difference to the Anfield game was the "shots allowed" stat (4 against 10). But this particular bit resembles our encounter against Chelsea (we've only allowed 3 shots on target against the Blues, two of which happened to be goals). Meanwhile, City had only one shot on target to bolster in the entire first half, despite dominating possession and territory.

Our goals

The first one was a penalty, coolly tucked away by Cazorla. However, the build-up to the goal is of more interest. Monreal played a one-two with Giroud and burst into the box to receive the return pass, where he was unceremoniously stopped by Kompany. Mike Dean awarded us a penalty (first time he did that since a 4-0 win over Blackburn in 2010), Cazorla stepped up and made no mistake. This goal allowed us to fall back and defend with vigour, knowing we had the lead.

The second goal happened as a result of a foul on Alexis Sanchez, after the Chilean's run was stopped with a foul. Cazorla curled the free-kick into Giroud's path and the Frenchman nodded home without anyone even trying to stop him. We even could have scored a third in injury time, but Flamini failed to pull the ball back for Giroud, who was ready for a simple tap-in.

The defensive performance

We rocked. Arsenal have made a total of 108 defensive actions during the game, 25 more than anyone else this season. However, the most important thing was how we shut out City's players and thus nullified their threat. Bellerin dealt with Milner like no one's business, Monreal stopped Navas time and again, Sanchez terrorised Sabaleta all day long and Aguero was last seen during the warm-up. There were conflicting reports of either Koscielny or Mertesacker finding him in their back pocket later in the dressing room, but these reports are unconfirmed. Please let us know if you've seen Sergio, his family members are worried.

However, the stand-out defenders on the day were Coquelin and Cazorla. The Spaniard made three interceptions, 10 ball recoveries, completed 10 dribbles (out of 14) and 54 passes (out of 59). He also blocked three crosses, though I don't know how many tackles or clearances Santi has made. Oh, and let's not forget he has a goal and an assist to his name.

Coquelin, meanwhile, had two successful tackles (out of two), made 6 interceptions, 11 clearances (6 of them headed) and 10 ball recoveries. Francis also completed 33/38 passes. Frankly, he had a screamer of a game. For more stats, look here. It's my preferred source of info for these things.

The aftermath

We have (deservedly and comprehensively) beaten the reigning champions at their place. Our defensive display was the best since that against Bayern almost two years ago. We took our chances in attack. The players who needed to step and produce (Bellerin, Monreal and Coquelin) stepped up and produced. We are three points off Soton, one behind United and still in front of the likes of Spurs, West Ham and Liverpool. Moreover, if we win our next game (Aston Villa at home) and City loses to Chelsea away, we'll be a mere five points behind the Citizens. The race is on.

I'll leave it here. Oh, and one last thing. Tomorrow I'm going away and won't be back till Feb 5th, but, as of yet, I'm not sure how it will affect the frequency of my writing here. Check back here every couple of days anyway, in case something interesting pops up and I'll be able to report it.

Until later

Follow me on Twitter (@AlexBaguzin)

City preview: pressure's on

Good evening.

It's City away tomorrow and I think it's the hardest game of those remaining: even Chelsea should be less challenging, as we face them at home. City, however, have only lost once at the Etihad (with nine wins in another eleven games) and, looking at how their squad is one of the most balanced in the league, you can't help but feel we will be the underdogs tomorrow.

And this role suits us perfectly fine: too often we failed to deliver under the weight of expectation. We've lost and drawn games in which we were the favourites, so playing second fiddle may not turn out to be as bad.

Team news update

Debuchy, Arteta and Wilshere can be scrapped out of the equation for now: Jack will probably be the first one to return, but his return won't happen before the end of February. Very unlucky, all of them could have come in handy, but it is what it is. I've long since gotten used to the thought we'll probably never have a fully-fit squad.

In other news, we'll take on City without Danny Welbeck:

"Danny Welbeck is not ready yet, he is still feeling some pain, so we will have to be patient. I think he has two more weeks before he’s back."

though Kieran Gibbs should be fine:

"He has a test today. He should come back into the squad."

Also, Ozil, Ramsey and Walcott are all fine and are now a week fitter:

"They were already available for last week and they are available for Sunday."

Which leaves us with a pretty big squad and quite a few selection headaches. Let's try figuring out who'll start.

The back five

I'm pretty sure Ospina will continue in goal. There's a reason he's replaced Szczesny, that reason hasn't gone away and, on top of that, Ospina didn't make any mistakes against Stoke. No reason to drop him.

At right-back we have two candidates to start: Bellerin and Chambers. The Spaniard has matured rapidly since his debut against Borussia early in the campaign and has also put in some very convincing performances against Newcastle and Stoke. However, I still feel Arsene will opt for Chambers, as he seems a more reliable choice.

Interestingly enough, this choice may depend on who plays at left-back: Monreal or Gibbs. As explained in this piece by Tim Stillman, Arsene likes to play with one conventional full-back, who sits back and basically acts as a third CB, while the other full-back bombs forward to help the attackers stretch the pitch. In the long run, we'll probably have Gibbs as the one going forward, so our right-back will have to be a more defensive-minded player. However, in the short-term, the simple truth is that Monreal is in better form right now. And, as Monreal prioritises his defensive responsibilities, the romping full-back position is up for grabs and Chambers doesn't fit the job description. But Bellerin does.

As Gibbs hasn't played for a while, I think Monreal will start tomorrow. Which, in it's turn, makes Bellerin the favourite to start at RB. It'll be interesting to see, how Arsene tackles this problem. At CB, meanwhile, we should see the usual Mertescielny axis of awesome.

The midfield

Will Arsene start Ozil? That's probably the main dilemma. I don't think he will, Ozil doesn't seem fully ready yet. Throwing him at the deep end won't do anyone any good, especially since Cazorla is on top form right now. So the Spaniard should get the nod.

At the base I think Coquelin and Ramsey will start. It's easier to start Ramsey than Ozil simply because the former didn't spend so long out of the game. As for Coquelin, he has been impressive recently, so it'll make little sense to drop him. Let's see how he fares against a big side.

But I also won't bat an eyelid should Arsene go for a safer Flamini-Coquelin base, especially if he opts to start Ozil ahead of them. This decision will surely drive Arsena's fan base crazy, however, you can't say it doesn't make sense if we decide to play second fiddle to City. I'd still pick Ramsey over Flamini any day of the week, though.

The attack

In Welbeck's absence, I'm pretty certain Giroud will lead the line once again. His physicality may be a problem for City, even more so if Kompany doesn't start. And, of course, no one said we are abandoning the target-man system with fast wings, so Giroud is a natural choice.

Alexis should once again play on the left, but there's another conundrum for Arsene to crack concerning the right wing. Walcott or the Ox? Theo has to start games at some point, however it's obvious he's not on top form right now and it may not be the best idea to risk playing him. It's not like we don't have options. So I'd start the Ox on the right, with Walcott making another appearance from the bench as the games goes on and City's defenders will fade away a bit. And then we can start Walcott all we like against Brighton, Leicester and Aston Villa. Not the hardest games on offer and they present a good chance for Theo to return to his peak.

The verdict

“It is important that we keep calm, play with control and be committed as well.

We have to find that right balance between going for every challenge but also not going overboard - we have to respect the rules.

We want to win. What we want is to put the maximum effort in to give ourselves the best possible chance of winning."

That's Arsene reflecting on the upcoming game. Personally, I think we really can win this game. Despite injures we have a very good squad, a squad full of quality players. We have a lot of in-form players, guys like Cazorla, Alexis and Koscielny. We have those who have something to prove (Monreal, Bellerin, Coquelin). And we are on a rather good run, having won four games out of the last five, shipping in four goals and keeping two clean sheets in the process. So there are positive signs based on which we can win the game. It won't be easy by any means, but it's doable.

So come on you Gunners.

And I'll be back with a review as soon as I can.

Until later

Follow me on Twitter (@AlexBaguzin)

A little of this, a little of that

Good evening.

I've been away a bit longer than I expected and quite a few things happened in my absence. Starting with:

Transfers

Before you get overly excited, there's only one player we've bought and it's not someone in the Scnheiderlin's or Hummels's mould: it's a 17-year-old Krystian Bielik from Legia Warsaw. He's tall (6'2 feet), he's young and he's completely unknown. A perfect Wenger signing, though I'm reserving any judgement on the player until I've seen him in red-and-white. It would be overly unfair to criticise someone until you've seen him play. I'm not sure how much time will elapse until it happens, however, cause the Pole himself admitted he's not yet ready for first team football.

Elsewhere, we have two players in the "out" category. First is Yaya Sanogo, who's left on a loan deal till the end of the season. He'll be joining Crystal Palace, who are fighting the relegation battle under the management of Alan Pardew and I think it's a good move for all parties concerned. Sanogo will get his chances, he may get regular playing time in the Premier League and Palace's fight to stay up should toughen the Frenchman psychologically. Maybe Hull would have been a better destination, that with Hernandez and Jelavic out injured, but I don't know whether they were actually interested in Yaya's services. Case closed.

The other player to leave us (permanently, this time) is Benik Afobe. He's joined forces with Wolves after having a stormer of a season at MK Dons (19 goals in 30 appearances) and, while this transfer is a bit surprising, it's not entirely unreasonable. The man will soon turn 22 and he is very far behind in the pecking order for first team football at Arsenal. Both Sanogo and Akpom have leapfrogged Afobe, but it's not like these two have regular practice, isn't it? So all the best for Benik, I'll remember him as a guy who made a brace against United. Not too shabby.

The injures

The sun rises every day, Samsung's phones get bigger and bigger displays and Arsenal suffers one injury after another. It's the norm, the usual course of events and I think we won't see an injury-free Arsenal anytime soon.

After receiving horrendous news about Debuchy (the Frenchman had surgery on a dislocated shoulder and will spend another three months sidelined), it has now become known Mikel Arteta also was operated on. The Spaniard will spend further six weeks out of the game.

On Debuchy Arsene said:

"He is destroyed because he is such a keen player, so professional, so willing. It is his first year here and of course he is embarrassed. But it is not his fault. He was pushed. The push was not needed."

Wenger stopped just short of saying that Arnautovic is the most disgusting piece of meat to have ever walked this earth. Everyone knows there are more violent and less violent teams in the PL and the fact that the former suffer because of the latter is, frankly, embarrassing. On the FA, who hide behind rules, and on the referees, who are having the worst season in my memory (yes, collectively!). Fans are always willing to jump to the defense of their team and blame everything on external factors, but I honestly haven't seen such a poor level of refereeing ever before. If several years ago there were only selective games where referees were bad, this year they've all hit an all-time low.

Arteta, meanwhile, is the player we've missed most this season. Both Flamini and Coquelin cannot replicate what our captain brings to the team and this makes me wish we've signed Cabaye last summer. He was up for grabs for a reasonable sum of money and could have come in handy. However, Arsene is still looking at the defensive department, rather than at our midfield (can't he look at both?):

"He (Ilkay Gundogan, ladies and gentlemen) is not a defender. At the moment we are more looking for the defensive department."

Is Arsene just playing the cards close to his chest? Or is he waiting to snatch an ideal player in the summer, someone like Morgan Schneiderlin? I don't know, though sometimes I really crave to understand the manager thinking process.

However, I'm not particularly worried we haven't brought any senior player in yet. We all know the market is more mobile in the last couple of days of the window and I expect this one to be no different.

Though I do expect us to sign some players this time.

That's it for now. Back tomorrow with a preview of the City clash.

Until then

Follow me on Twitter (@AlexBaguzin)

Arsenal 3-0 Stoke: justice served

Good day to you.

Well, what a stark contrast this game was compared to the one in December. We took the game to the Orcs straight away, scored an early goal and never looked in any kind of trouble. Were it not for Begovic and a couple of near misses, we would have won by a far greater margin.

The squad

The team sheet emerged an hour before kick-off and it answered many questions: Ospina started in goal, Coquelin kept his place despite a fully-fit Flamini making the squad and Giroud came straight back in. While definite conclusions still can't be made concerning some players (I'm pretty sure Ramsey, Ozil and Walcott are all guaranteed starters when 100% ready), it was interesting to see Szczesny and Flamini omitted. By doing this Wenger basically said that he won't tolerate recurring breaches of discipline (Szczesny) and cannot guarantee anyone a place in the starting XI should an understudy do better (Flamini). Other omissions included Sanogo (the Frenchman is already at Palace on loan, it seems), Chambers and Gibbs (both weren't fully fit). Bellerin got a place on the bench and boy am I glad he did.

The first half

Just like the manager, the team wasn't messing around. Sanchez made his mark on the game in the 2nd minute already, only for Begovic to palm away Chilean's curled effort. Three minutes later Rosicky stormed into the box and Begovic was again called into action. A corner ensued.

Alexis crossed the ball to the near post (just stop doing that!), some Orc cleared and the ball fell to Koscielny, who returned it to Sanchez. Alexis waited for the Frenchman to get back into position and then his laser-like cross found Kos unmarked some 8 yards out. A thumping header and Begovic was left flailing his arms at thin air. 1-0.

We were deservedly in front, but minutes later the attention of all Arsenal fans was diverted by not the most wonderful thing that could have happened to us: an injury to Debuchy. However, it's not the injury itself, but the manner of how the Frenchman got it and the referee's reaction to it that sent the Arsenal's fan base into overdrive. With a ball going out of play from a Stoke player, Debuchy protected it with his body and, as he was hanging in mid-air following the ball's trajectory, the Frenchman received the most cynical of shoves in the back from Arnautovic. There was no intention of getting to the ball, no "the usual run of play" thing: it was a deliberate and dirty action from the Stoke player. Debuchy dislocated his shoulder as a result and it took full five minutes to get him on a stretcher. He'll be out for the minimum of six weeks.

But was Arnautovic punished? No. Not even a foul was called by the joke of a referee that is Jonathan Moss. Moreover, the FA Committee decided to not punish Arnautovic retrospectively, hiding behind the rule "that the referee saw the incident". That's incompetence at it's finest. During the game it led to several more dirty challenges from Stoke, because they knew it could go unpunished. In the longer run, we are left without our best right-back, Arnautovic walks free and Moss will continue refereeing games. I have no words for this. The whole thing was brilliantly broken down by @7amkickoff, so give it a read.

Thankfully, our dynamic wasn't affected by the injury. Bellerin came on for Debuchy, who was carried off to a round of applause, and we continued attacking. Moments after the substitution Oxlade's shot fizzed just wide. It took us some minutes to create another clear-cut chance, but when we did, it went in.

The attack started on the left flank. After losing the ball Sanchez immediately got it back, played a one-two with Rosicky, stormed into the box and powered a shot into the bottom corner. 2-0.

The second half

We sealed the game three minutes after the restart. Oxlade was hacked down near the box by Sidwell and Moss whistled for a free-kick. Alexis stepped up and his low shot flew between the defenders' legs and into the bottom corner. 3-0 and game over.

The game settled into a routine, with both teams realising there could be no doubts over the result. We still could have added to our tally through first Cazorla, whose chipped effort went over and then substitute Walcott blew a brilliant chance after Alexis has sent the Englishman one-on-one with Begovic. Ozil then also had a half-chance, only for his right-footed shot to go over the bar. 3-0 it ended.

The aftermath

Arsene later said:

"We moved well without the ball and moved the ball well, which is the basis of our game. Overall, we created chances, were mobile and the speed of our game created problems for Stoke. We took advantage of that."

It was probably the best performance from Arsenal this season. We created opportunities, took them and all the while haven't let Stoke anywhere near our goal. Their only moment of danger happened deep into injury time and Ospina dealt with it well. The dark spot we have from this performance is Debuchy's injury. I'm honestly starting to worry about Calum Chambers in this context. The young man has featured in 28 games this season, only just got a break and now Debuchy's out again.

Fortunately, Bellerin seems to be maturing really quickly and the manager also confirmed we are in the market for a defender:

"We were in the market anyway. Monreal and Debuchy can play centre back, but if Gibbs is not here Monreal cannot play centre back and if Debuchy is not here he cannot play centre back. This is a position where we are short."

Fingers crossed we'll get through without Debuchy alright. On the bright side, we have Ozil, Ramsey and Flamini all back, with Walcott nearing full fitness and Welbeck due to return before our clash against City. And so the manager should have options on his hands.

That's it for now, back on the 15th most likely with a fresh batch of news.

Until then

Follow me on Twitter (@AlexBaguzin)

Stoke preview: a little revenge, please

Good evening to you.

It's Stoke City tomorrow and we finally have some good news on the injury front going into the game.

Team news update

"Ramsey is back in training, Ozil is back in training and Flamini is back in training. We’ve got three players back. Welbeck is still not available for Sunday because he is a bit short. Maybe next week he will be available. Giroud is back from suspension."

Apart from Welbeck we also have Arteta and (obviously) Wilshere out, but it's peanuts compared to even last week when we had Maitland-Niles on the bench and Alexis as a lone forward. Not that I have anything against the Chilean playing there, I'm just not sure he would if we had one of Giroud/Welbeck/Sanogo fit.

However, most of our problems seem to be in the past. With Welbeck and Arteta edging closer to full fitness we'll soon have to omit really good players from the bench, despite loaning out Podolski and having plans in place for loaning Campbell and Sanogo.

All of this finally gives us the opportunity to pick a proper squad.

The back five

The main question is who'll play in goal. I'll break the pros and cons of each choice down:

Playing Szczesny/Ospina:

1. The Pole will work very hard and will do his best not to disappoint. Especially after being backed by Arsene
2. Wojciech has more experience playing in the Premier League, let's not forget that

However:

1. Chezza's performance is going to be scrutinised should he start. If he makes another mistake, there'll be calls for his and the manager's heads
2. So it can probably be beneficial to all parties concerned to take Szczesny out of the firing line. Rest him, play Ospina and when the Colombian will have a downfall in form, people will be more condescending to Szczesny and will look at the young Pole through a more forging prism

I'm pretty sure we'll see Szczesny in goal tomorrow, as you wouldn't normally expect Arsene to drop a player after one bad performance, however, it remains to be seen just how important that smoking incident is for Wenger's decision.

As for the back four, I'm expecting our strongest one to start. That means a Debuchy-Per-Kos-Gibbs quartet. Keeping my fingers crossed they'll fare better tomorrow.

The midfield

Despite three midfielders returning from injury, it doesn't look like Wenger is drowning in options. That's why I'll be pretty surprised if we don't see a Ramsey-Flamini-Cazorla trio tomorrow.

While Ramsey for Rosicky is understandable (and kind of obvious), I'd still play Coquelin ahead of Flamini on the basis of what I've seen from Francis so far. However, I'm also pretty sure the manager has more faith in Flamini.

As for Cazorla/Ozil decision, it's the Spaniard for me. There are two reasons:

1. Wenger generally eases players back into action, don't see why he might change his mind with Ozil. We aren't in dire need of creating opportunities right now, no point in risking our best playmaker immediately upon his return from injury
2. It's Stoke we are playing. Not the most gentle of sides. Some of these enterprised individuals like to do this. For this reason alone I won't let Ozil anywhere near that lot

However, I'm also curious whether Arsene will want to revisit his 4-1-4-1 experiment, now that he has more midfielders at his disposal. Him not doing so tomorrow will mean nothing, however, so moving on.

The attack

Giroud and Alexis are guaranteed starters tomorrow, though it's intriguing who'll complement them. Walcott or Oxlade? Guess it'll depend on whether Theo is fully ready. Then again, he never will be unless he plays.

We also have to take into account the Ox played in every our game since the start of the season. Koscielny's return gave Chambers a chance to recover, with Ozil back Cazorla will also be able to take a break (maybe even tomorrow) and Alexis just seems to be superhuman. Out of 30 games he played in 29 (missed Gala away) and has 28 starts. I'll just stop saying Alexis needs a breather, he very obviously doesn't. But Oxlade is another story and Walcott's timely return may allow Arsene to rest the Ox.

The verdict

For me Stoke players are a bit like those pirates from the first part of the "Pirates of the Caribbean". At home they are ugly and undead (just like the pirates in the moonlight), away from home they are far less scary. And while our away record against them is truly atrocious, we have won our last six home games against the Orcs in a row. I'll be very surprised should we fail to get the three points tomorrow.

So come on you Gunners

And I'll be back with a customary review. Until then

Follow me on Twitter (@AlexBaguzin)

On Szczesny, transfers and brinkmanship

Good evening.

It's been a bit quiet in terms of Arsenal-related news for the last couple of days. And this probably shouldn't come as a surprise: the last game was won (so no introspection is required), our next FA Cup opponent is not Bayern Munich and the situation on the injury front is about to be drastically improved with the returns of Flamini, Ramsey, Ozil, Welbeck and Giroud. Still, there are bits and pieces I'd like to discuss. Starting with

Szczmoking habits

The story of our №1 goalkeeper having a smoke in the showers after the defeat to Saints has been all over the newspapers. Initially, some reports hinted at a row between the manager and Wojciech. A falling-out (if there was one) is understandable: a self-inflicted 2-0 defeat, with Chezza the main man to blame on one hand, and a dissatisfied Arsene on the other. These reports were consequently squashed by Arsenal's press team, but soon others emerged: these of Wojciech being punished for having a smoke in the showers. For that the Pole was allegedly fined £20 000 and there is no consensus reached on whether or not Wojciech would be dropped and if he would be, then for how long.

The bit about fining Szczesny doesn't worry me in the slightest: he's a wealthy guy earning £100k per week. It's pocket money for him, literally a day's work. The smoking itself also is of little concern to me. As long as it doesn't affect his performances, he can smoke three packs a day for all I care: he's a grown man who can decide for himself what's in his best interests.

But here we've come to the most important part: DOES smoking affect his performances? If this incident in the showers is a one-off, then definitely not. However, if Wojciech has made a habit of it and it's influencing the way he plays, then he should be dropped.

I think this particular "dropping" bit should be decided solely on the Pole's performances. As for me, I think a spell on the sidelines can do Chezza some good. The impression he's left this season is not particularly shiny: only 3 clean sheets in 24 games and a stupid red card against Galatasaray. Add the absolutely atrocious performance against Southampton on top and both Ospina and Martinez look better-placed to protect our goal right now. Damian has three clean sheets in four starts, Ospina has one in two.

So I'd drop Szczesny and give the Colombian a run in the side. He's had a solid performance against Hull (they didn't prove much of a threat, but still) and, as I've said, it can be highly educational for Szczesny. One such spell on the bench back in 2013 brought about the desired effect, so we can repeat the experiment.

Transfers

No, we haven't brought anyone in. Right now Bielik and Perrin seem our most likely transfer targets, but there are question marks over the latter, because, though he himself claimed to have been contacted by Arsene, Saint-Etienne denied receiving any bids.

However, I'm not too worried we haven't bought anyone yet: we always tend to close deals very late in the transfer window, so I don't expect any arrivals before the last week, most probably before the very last day. Yes, there are beautiful exceptions to us buying players early in the window (Sanchez, Giroud), but: a) I cannot recall us buying early in winter b) it's the exception, not the norm. The norm is Ozil, Welbeck, Arteta etc.

It's the game of brinkmanship Wenger plays and who would blame him? When Bony goes for £30 million to consequently sit on the bench or Falcao's loan is worth £20 million, Arsene is really trying to find value for the money he pays. As he often does just that, I see no sense in questioning the way he does things.

Finally, if you are still getting worked up because of Podolski's departure, check out this article. It explains why exactly losing Podolski isn't such a big loss after all.

That's it for now. Back with a preview on the 10th, most likely.

Until then

Follow me on Twitter (@AlexBaguzin)

Arsenal 2-0 Hull: Alexis the difference as we progress into the 4th round

Well, that was much better, wasn't it? A deserved win, a convincing performance from back to front and we end the hectic Christmas schedule on a high note. A really nice day at the office.

The squad

It received an injection of fresh blood, but also managed to maintain a rather serious look about it. Ospina, Bellerin, Chambers, Monreal, Campbell and Walcott all came in (the Englishman starting his first game in exactly a year). The side didn't look unbalanced despite so many changes, however. A team better than Hull could have probably exploited our flanks, as neither Monreal and Campbell, nor Bellerin and Walcott have played together before (and are unlikely to do so anytime soon), but we should given a break already. While City, United and Chelsea entertained themselves with the likes of Sheffield, Yovil and Watford, we played a Premier League side in the very first round.

The first half

We set out with a serious intention of putting Hull under pressure and scoring as early as we can and it's fair to say we succeeded on both fronts.

We could have taken the lead in the 5th minute already, when a one-two between Campbell and Sanchez saw the former clean through, but Joel's effort was saved by Harper. I cannot say it was a particularly bad shot or a spectacular save, so I'll settle for "A player with more minutes would have tucked it away".

Next chance fell to Sanchez (who once again started and once again did so in the CF position). The Chilean was sent through on goal by Walcott and saw his first shot blocked, before sending a rebound over the bar/ However, we went ahead soon after that.

Surprisingly, the goal came from a corner. After the first delivery from Santi was cleared at the near post (just stop crossing there already), Sanchez took the ball from the Spaniard and showed how things should be done. The Chilean's corner was met with a thumping header from Mertesacker and the board lit up to show 1-0 to the Arsenal.

The former Barcelona man could have scored himself after Rosicky sent Alexis through. Sanchez gratefully took the ball, rounded off the keeper and released a powerful low shot, only for McShane to clear if off the line. Sagbo nearly scored an own goal from a resulting corner, but Harper was on hand to save again. Hull, meanwhile, had only Ince's shot to show for their (non-existent) attacking effort. And so the first half ended 1-0.

The second half

For some reason, we decided to put the foot of the gas, gifting Hull the ball. It was as if we dared them to try and score. Only some twenty minutes into the half (when we started attacking again) did it cross my mind that half our squad played a lot of minutes recently and were just tired to produce a stunning attacking display for the whole 90 minutes.

However, not much happened inside these first 20 minutes. Hull looked as toothless as it gets and after it became painfully clear to everyone involved we piled men forward in search for a second goal.

Campbell had the first chance after a cut back from Alexis, but the Costa-Rican dragged his shot wide. Then Walcott entered the scene. First he failed to hit the target after a brilliant through ball from Cazorla sent him one-on-one, then a no less brilliant lofted pass from Coquelin ended up in the hands of Harper after Theo failed to control it. Frustrating finishing from Walcott, no doubt, but he'll put it right after a couple of games. The most important thing is, Theo still times his runs perfectly and gets into these dangerous positions.

Thankfully, we sealed the game eight minutes from time and who do you think did it? That's right, ladies and gentlemen, Alexis Sanchez. The Chilean received the ball with his back to the goal, took one touch to get it under control, then swerved and shot. I'm not even sure he looked where the shot was going. 2-0 and game over.

The aftermath

That's what Arsene said after the game:

"I believe we had a serious performance. We were in control and it was a positive game. We created many chances and it took us a while until the 82nd minute to get the second goal but overall I think we had a serious, positive and good collective performance."

And on not resting Alexis:

"I was tempted. Giroud was still suspended today and I knew that it was an important game for us. In the end, he always feels ready.

I feel that when the players are confident it’s important to keep them going, especially when they have that physical potential. He recovers very quickly and we’ll see. At the moment he doesn’t look in our tests like he has any fatigue problem."

Well, what more can I add? I good win, we are through to the next round, the players will finally have a week's rest and by the time we face Stoke we should have Flamini, Ramsey, Ozil, Giroud and Welbeck all back. Though personally, I wouldn't sub Coquelin for Flamini. Francis has done really well and demonstrated (to me, at least) that he's more capable than Flam in this role.

That's it for now. Back in a couple of days.

Until then

Follow me on Twitter (@AlexBaguzin). And subscribe by using the e-mail form on the right

Hull preview + Podolski's loan move

Good evening.

Starting with bit that has everyone's minds: Lukas Podolski has joined Inter Milan on loan. It will last till the end of the season, Inter will pay Poldi's wages in full, while Arsenal will receive around £2 million for this deal. I'm not sure there's a buy-out clause, but it's not the important thing right now.

The essence of it all is that Poldi's stint at the Emirates has effectively drawn to a close. He may or may not return in the summer, but I doubt he'll feature in a competitive game for us again. And it's a bit sad, really. Podolski is not a bad player by any means, in fact, he's our best finisher, but his main problem is that the German isn't suited to our system.

Poldi is not someone in Giroud's mould, he's not that typical centre-forward who can play with his back to the goal. As such, he'll always have Giroud and Welbeck in front of him. But he's also losing (lost?) the contest to play on the left, with the likes of Sanchez, Oxlade and the same Welbeck all preferred to the German. And that's the sticking point. All three, while not possessing Poldi's hammer of a left foot, contribute more to our game, by either tracking back, being better with the ball or just having electric pace.

In an ideal world, Poldi is best suited to a 4-4-2, which relieves him of his defensive duties, while also presents with more opportunities up front. But few teams rely on a 4-4-2 these days. Fewer still will accept one of their players not tracking back to help, even if we are talking about a striker. And so Poldi has become surplus to requirements. Could it have panned out differently? Maybe yes, had the German realised the importance of working hard in defense, but there's no telling. I wish him all the best, though, and sincerely hope he gets his chance to shine at Inter. He didn't get that chance with us, for reasons I've mentioned above.

However, while a move away is probably beneficial to the German and his career, I struggle to see in which way it is beneficial for us. In short, we've just lost a powerful weapon from the bench and, given our current dearth of options in attack overall, the timing of this deal is downright harmful. With all the whispers about Campbell's and Sanogo's potential loan moves, I would be not just surprised, but furious if we don't target a decent winger in this transfer window. After we've bought a CB and a CDM, of course.

All of this leads us back to the task at hand: Hull. The press conference took place today, so we have some bits to chew on.

Team news update

In short, we'll most likely have exactly the same squad (bar Szczesny) and that's genuinely scary. While some measure of rotation can still take place at the back, with Bellerin, Chambers and Monreal all healthy, the midfield and attack have a fat chance of getting some rest.

Of course, the official site says that Welbeck, Sanogo, Ramsey, Flamini and Ozil are all "doubts", meaning some of them can actually make it, this bit from the manager is terrifying:

"The two keepers, Ospina and Martinez, will come in. After that, we will see. I cannot rotate too much either because we need stability. Who comes back? We have the 18 players [that played against Southampton] - nobody else will play."

This gives me the creeps. It's obvious guys like Cazorla, Oxlade and Alexis are on the brink, in the red zone or whatever you call it, yet if they all have to play a 5th game in 14 days I'm not sure anyone will benefit from it. Not us, not them. Though Hull might.

The back four

Ospina will come in, while Martinez takes a place on the bench, so this bit we can be sure of. However, I think that, in case Ospina does well, we need to give him a run of games in the Premier League. This will serve the double purpose of showing Szczesny childish mistakes will not be tolerated, while also ensuring we have a calmer goalkeeper between the sticks. The one who doesn't have these frequent and rather damaging rushes of blood.

I would also rotate the back four. Chambers for Mertesacker and Monreal for Gibbs (both Mert and Gibbo has played a lot) and, depending on Debuchy's energy reserves, introducing Bellerin may also be a good idea. One of the few games Bellerin started this season was against Hull and the Spaniard did pretty well.

The midfield

Didn't like how Chambers looked alongside Coquelin, moreover, Calum will most likely be needed elsewhere. So Rosicky seems the best option. He's relatively fresh, and also happen to be a brilliant playmaker, so the Czech should play in central midfield, in my opinion.

Cazorla, meanwhile, must be bracing himself for another 90 minutes under the striker. There's a slight chance Ozil will return, but even if it happens, it'd be foolish to think the German will start after spending so much time out. An appearance from the bench is possible, but I wouldn't count on it.

The attack

Alexis needs a rest, pure and simple. He looked knackered against the Saints, moreover, I'm not sure CF is his best position. For now, at least. That's why I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for Welbeck or even Sanogo to return.

Assuming they don't, the only replacement we can offer is Campbell, It's either him as a lone striker with Walcott on the right or vice versa. And Oxlade comes in on the left to complete our attacking trio. Stupid, stupid Giroud.

The verdict

I honestly don't know what to expect from this game. All the talk of how we were not fulfilling our potential and should bounce back went down the drain two days ago. Then again, I don't exclude the possibility of that loss being a freak occurrence. It's hard to get 9 points out of 9 in such a busy period, so us getting 6 is actually not that bad. Chelsea has four, while United has five, for instance. The most most accumulated is seven. Nobody has nine.

But tomorrow we have to win. It's vital for our confidence, self-belief and psychology to do that. It's a home game, the first round of the FA Cup, to go out would be a catastrophe, one which can easily send us in a freefall. Give it your all, win it by hook or crook and then there'll be a nice long rest with Ozil, Ramsey and Co providing the light at the end of the tunnel.

Come on you Gunners.

And I'll be back with a review on the 5th.

Until then

Follow me on Twitter (@AlexBaguzin). And subscribe using a form on the right

Southampton 2-0 Arsenal: new year, same old story

Before I embark on a description of what has happened at St. Mary's, I'd like to say a few words.

You see, I'm a rather emotional man. In the heat of the moment I can say or do something I can regret in a couple of days, or look down on as downright madness in a week. It doesn't mean that I'm fickle or shape my narrative to suit someone's views. So if you'd like to know my opinion on a sensitive subject I have a vested interest in, asking me straight after if occurred is a bad idea. Wait a little while, then go for it.

That's why I rarely write match reviews the day they are played. I know I wouldn't be objective in the slightest and would likely see the world in black-and-white. But even next day or two days after the game I sometimes find it hard to be reasonable.

The matter of being objective wasn't helped in the slightest when I joined Twitter several months ago. There I stumble on all manners of opinions and, while I mistrust the extreme ones, the not-so-extreme are usually reasonable enough to sound plausible. And, as I'm following people with different philosophies, my judgement becomes clouded further still. I try my best to give a fair assessment of what I see, but don't hold it against me if I sometimes get carried away in the heat of the moment. Rather, check back in a couple of days and see if I'm still sticking to my previous post. And now, onto the game.

If there was a part of it I enjoyed, it was the first half an hour. We saw the most of the ball and, despite some warning signs (Pelle hitting the post, Mane almost getting on the end of a dangerous low cross), most will agree we dominated the game during that period. Sanchez could have opened the scoring with a distance effort, Oxlade's shot flew just wide following a clever backheel from Sanchez and some fancy footwork from Cazorla. The Spaniard himself enjoyed the best moment of the half, but his effort was too close to the goalkeeper. I felt that wasted opportunity could cost us, and it did.

I'd say I was surprised by the absurdity of the goal we conceded, but I wasn't. It's Arsenal. If I may slightly paraphrase The Beatles "Run up, run up for the ludicrous goal, step right this way". When it comes to gifting the opposition such goals we are the absolute champions. If there was a trophy for that, we would have been it's holders for a number of years.

Seriously, how can you leave any midfielder in any team with so much time and space to make a pass? But the way the situation was handled after that still makes me want to cry. Why did Szczesny race off his line, but then backed off at the moment it mattered most? Why didn't Koscielny put more pressure on Mane? Why Mertesacker failed to make a clearance being as tall as he is? How could Szczesny, Mertesacker and Koscielny fail to communicate and cover for each other? It was pathetic defending and, though Szczesny is to blame the most (doubt the goal would have happened had he stayed on the line), the sheer horror of the situation is that our supposedly best back four screwed up big time in a relatively simple situation.

The goal knocked the wind out of our sails completely. We could have conceded another before half-time, but this time Szczesny saved. There was a brief period of resurgence at the beginning of the second half and we could have actually been level, but Sanchez's shot was brilliantly parried by Forster. And the we conceded another.

Warden-Prowse put in a low cross and Debuchy intercepted it. The danger seemed averted as Debuchy was ready to whack the ball clear after a first touch, but then Szczesny intervened. He panicked, probably thinking Debuchy didn't have the situation under control and instead of letting the Frenchman finish the job, poked the ball away from him. It fell to Tadic and the latter smashed the ball home from close range. It was game over and we were in damage control mode since then, with Soton having at least three more moments to make it 3-0. Only a combination of Prowse's wastefulness, incredible luck and Debuchy's cool head prevented a third goal from going in.

And that's my biggest problem with yesterday's game. We gave up. With almost thirty minutes to go. There was no hope among the players, no desire to change the situation (bar, probably, the efforts of a completely knackered Alexis). This team has to backbone, no desire to fight back and this baffles me. It's beyond my comprehension.

These are basically the same players as last year, right? Bar Sagna, Fabianski and Vermaelen, these are the same players who topped the table for two-thirds of the campaign. Our defence was at least second-best in the league overall and definitely the best until early February. We didn't have the pacy Welbeck and Alexis, yet we were deadly on the counter. We didn't have Chambers or Debuchy, yet our ability to absorb pressure and keep opponents at arm's length was unmatched.

I fear that our problem goes beyond the injured players. Yes, we have a depleted midfield and attack, but it wasn't because of them we lost yesterday. It was because our supposedly best back five made a complete blunder of the situation.

Some has once again pinned the blame on the manager, but really, was it him who cost us this game? Yes, he could have brought on Campbell and Akpom (earlier), but ask yourselves, do you really think these two would have made a difference? As for Walcott, I have no words. Theo spent thirty minutes on the pitch and do you know what impact he had? A grand total of seven touches and five passes.

We need to somehow pick up the pieces and carry on. We play Hull in two days and I'd suggest rotation should be our priority. Both because we have a lot of knackered players and because I'm starting to really doubt the ability of some. Bring in somebody fresh and see how they fare.

That's it for now. Back tomorrow or on 4th with a preview.

Until then

Follow me on Twitter (@AlexBaguzin)