Arsenal 4-0 Aston Villa: 12th time the charm

Triumph. I was looking for one word which can best describe what happened yesterday and I found it: triumph.

Not a win. You can get 30+ wins a season and still be left empty-handed. Not a success. Success is temporary. One day you are successful, the other you are not. Success isn’t all-encompassing. You can be a successful manager and a bad professor in management.

But triumph is something more. It’s permanent. No one can diminish it, no one can take it away from you. No one can say: “You are triumphant, but…”. If he tried, not only would he break all grammar rules of the English language, he would also defy all logic and common sense.

Yesterday was exactly that: a triumph. The triumph of Arsenal players. The triumph of our way. The triumph of Arsene Wenger. The triumph of Arsenal Football Club.

We delivered. On a big stage. Over the course of 90 minutes. We showed up with a serious attitude. We took nothing for granted. We (or, rather, Arsene) fielded the best squad possible. They may have been only one sentimental choice in our starting XI: Wojciech Szczesny. However, having seen his performance, I wouldn’t say that. More on our Polish goalkeeper anon.

The other 10 players? Arguably our strongest: Bellerin, Mert, Kos, Monreal, Coquelin, Cazorla, Ozil, Ramsey, Sanchez and Walcott. You could make a case Giroud is our preferred striker, but again Arsene was spot-on for omitting the Frenchman: Ollie was out of form, Walcott’s confidence levels were sky-high following his hat-trick. Seems a bit churlish singling anyone out after what was the best team performance I’ve seen this season, so I won’t. Consider it the FA Cup Final special.

Wojciech Szczesny: As any Arsenal fan, I was nervous when I saw the Pole start the game. He was hardly convincing in any of his performances this calendar year, you see. How wrong I was.

Woj had little to do (nothing at all in the 2nd half), but boy did he do it well. He claimed every cross during the first 45 minutes and one was a special treat: Chezza punched the ball clear, towering over Benteke. I’m not sure Ospina could have mustered such a commanding aerial performance, so hats off to both Arsene and Szczesny. The Pole may yet have a future with us.

Hector Bellerin: If he would be so kind as to let Grealish out of his pocket. Thanks. In short, the Spaniard owned the right flank, overlapping with Ramsey nicely, while also being dead-serious about his defensive duties. The late shove on Grealish was particularly satisfying.

Per Mertesacker: bossed Benteke. Won the air completely, once even in the opposition’s box (oink, Given). The expression of unrestrained joy on the German’s face as he delivered the killer blow in the 62nd minute shows you how he cares for the Club. Can rival Wenger in this regard.

Laurent Koscielny: Bossielny. Mopped up everything there was to mop, won two headers in Villa’s box (was denied by a brilliant save from Given for the first) and looked really disgruntled to find a shirt over his head when his mate scored a goal. But my favourite moment came deep into the 2nd half, when Kos first won a header, then shielded the ball from Benteke and then just pushed the Belgian to the ground. No foul.

Nacho Monreal: a brilliant run and cross for the first and another solid defensive display. Who said the Spaniard isn’t good going forward?

Francis Coquelin: I can dig up the usual tackles and interceptions stats and I’m sure they will be impressive, but it’s the other side of Coq’s game that surprised me: his dribbling and passing ability.

I noticed before how Francis can power past opponents with a sudden burst of speed (almost Wilshere-like), however yesterday the Frenchman took his dribbling to almost Cazorla’s level, wiggling out of several tight spots with the ball. As for his passing, you remember that diagonal pass for Theo? Of course you do.

My point is that, if he keeps improving his passing and dribbling, hell, we’ll surely only need back-up. We may not need even that.

Santi Cazorla: most touches a player ever made in the FA Cup final (100) and 95% pass accuracy. An assist for Per Mertesacker, superb positional play. Sometimes played even deeper than Coq (geddit? Deeper than Coq. Alright, I’ll stop now). A simply phenomenal display from Santi.

Mesut Ozil: He can find space in Japanese underground. He can create space with a change of direction or a drop of the shoulder. If someone continues measuring his impact based on his goals and assists tally, they probably also think Xavi is shite. Such people are better left ignored.

Aaron Ramsey: had the best two moments in the opening stages. Hit the side netting after a brilliant run from Bellerin and blasted over when one-on-one. However, he got into those positions and he also helped Bellerin out a great deal. Kudos to the Welshman.

Alexis Sanchez: baby, Alexis Sanchez oooh. He saved the best for last. An assist (a headed assist!) and a superb goal at a crucial time. Goal of the season, hands down. That makes it 25 goals and 13 assists in 52 games. Barcelona won the lottery.

Theodore James Franklin Delano Walcott: he scuppered an early chance and by minute 35 I was beginning to think Arsene made a mistake by starting Theo over Giroud. Then Walcott thumped an opener with his chocolate leg and I went into overdrive. My neighbour from an upper floor came investigating where all the screaming originated from. I want Theo to stay. Badly.

Jack Wilshere: a couple of nice dribbles and some exceptional champagne scenes. Though these came later.

Olivier Giroud: dyed his hair, though was pretty inconspicuous up until the last 5 seconds of the game. Then he showed up in the right place at the right time and completed Villa’s humiliation with a deft stroke of his left foot.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain: the manager wasn’t going to sub him on, so Alex subbed him on himself. Played for 4 minutes overall (injury time included) and bagged an assist. Nice outing.

The aftermath

Jubilation. From the fact we’ve broken the record for most FA Cups. From the fact Arsene became the manager with most cups in the post-war era (he’s tied with Ramsay on 6 each on overall). From the fact we’ve won two trophies in two years.

It was a complete and utter...triumph. First and foremost, of Arsene’s philosophy over all the two-bit critics like Owen and Carragher, over all the haters and all the doubters, over world football. It’s something that will stay with him, and us, forever.

Cheers

FA Cup final preview: forewarned is forearmed

So, it all comes down to this. The FA Cup final. Our second in a row. An opportunity for Arsenal to become the most successful team in FA Cup history by winning it for the 12th time and for Arsene to become the most successful manager in the post-war era by bringing the cup home for the 6th time. A chance for me to witness the Gunners lift only the 3rd trophy in my memory.

But before all that can happen we have a final to win. Granted, we aren’t tasked with beating City or Chelsea in it, though there should be no room for complacency. Just think back to last year’s final. A newly-relegated team took a 2-0 lead inside the first 8 minutes and nearly bagged a 3rd goal in the 15th.

Luckily, most of the players that played then will play now. They’ll know what’s at stake. They’ll know any lapse of concentration can prove costly. Add to it the hunger of those who wasn’t there last time and we have a pretty good mix.

Only Welbeck is missing from it. The manager confirmed everyone else trained and can be involved if he so decides. I say “if he so decides” because we have 23 senior players fit. Some will miss out, simply because only 18 can be selected.

My guess is that Debuchy, Chambers, Diaby, Arteta and Rosicky won’t make the cut. Debuchy, Diaby and Arteta can hardly complain, as none of them are match fit; Chambers has lost his race for right-back spot, while also coming across as less convincing than Gabriel at centre-back. Rosicky, however, will feel hard done by if Wenger really omits the Czech. I hope, in my heart of hearts, that Arsene won’t do it. Maybe Le Boss can throw caution to the winds this one time and drop Flamini instead?

As for the starting line-up, I think Arsene only has two dilemmas: Ospina/Szczesny and Giroud/Walcott.

Ospina or Szczesny?

I’d go with Ospina, simply because he is the safer option. He is unlikely to get a rush of blood, unlikely to allow the occasion to get to him and, what is more, he’ll be willing to make amends for his final league game.

However, my gut feeling is such that Wenger will play Szczesny. Arsene didn’t say who will start in goal during the presser, he said even goalkeepers themselves didn’t know that yet, but something tells me it will be Szczesny. The boss will give Wojciech the opportunity to play in the final, an opportunity the Pole didn’t have last season and then we’ll say goodbye to Szczesny. I’m pretty sure Wojciech will be sold this summer regardless. It looks like Wenger’s patience ran out on that cold rainy night of January 1st.

Giroud or Walcott?

My pick is Theo. He had a cracker of a game against West Brom, he showed he can be that centre-forward we all crave for and, finally, Theo is a confidence player. His morale will be on a high following the hat-trick and as such he can destroy Aston Villa. On top of that, Sherwood’s preferred pair of central defenders (Okore and Vlaar) are far from being pacy. Theo can ruthlessly expose that drawback.

And once again I’m pretty sure Wenger will start not who I would: Giroud. What can be said in defense of this decision?:

1. Ollie is our established centre-forward. Though Giroud, like Theo, is a confidence player (though, UNLIKE Theo, his confidence should be pretty low), the Frenchman is also a proven forward. Theo isn’t. FA Cup final is not the place for experiments
2. Giroud will deal with the aforementioned Vlaar and Okore better. In a purely physical sense. Theo can be bullied because of his height/weight, Giroud won’t. He is a machine himself
3. Finally, Ollie is an asset on set pieces, both ours and Villa’s. This could prove vital when marking Benteke

Ramsey or Wilshere?

I know I said Wenger only has two selection headaches, however, I’d still like to think that Jack has done enough last weekend to claim a stake at starting on the right. I’m sure Wenger won’t start Theo there, Walcott and Bellerin can be too suspect defensively, while starting Oxlade is a risk. Alex has only made one substitute cameo since his return from injury. Though it has to be noted that, back in January, Ozil also made only one (against Stoke), before starting every other league and cup game. Mesut spent three months out with injury prior to that, so there is an outside chance the Ox will start, if my logic is anything to go by. But I wouldn’t bet on Oxlade’s involvement from the off.

I feel Jack is a better winger than Ramsey. The Englishman tends to hug the byline more, which is an advantage if Giroud also starts. However, in every other regard Ramsey is better (at the moment of speaking). He is a more disciplined defender, for starters. A better physical presence. The Welshman is also very obviously Arsene’s favourite. So, while I’d personally go with Wilsh, I’m pretty sure Wenger will opt for Rambo.

Predicted line-up: Szczesny, Bellerin, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal, Coquelin, Cazorla, Ozil, Ramsey, Sanchez, Giroud.

Predicted bench: Ospina, Gabriel, Gibbs, Flamini, Wilshere, Oxlade, Walcott.

The verdict

We most certainly have what it takes to win tomorrow. We have an almost fully-fit squad (Welbeck being the only absentee), the vast majority of our players is in good form and we have options in every position.

We possess the needed mentality. Having played in one cup final, the lads know what to expect. They know what they are capable of. They know they have beaten Villa already, despite it being in a league game (two, actually). They have identified the main weakness (i.e. slow starts to the game). They are forewarned.

All that is left is to put their knowledge, desire, hunger and ability in one place, focus at the task at hand and be ready when the whistle blows.

So come you Gunners. Bring that trophy home

Why Mathieu Flamini’s example epitomises what is wrong with our fanbase (or most of it)

At the end of November Mikel Arteta suffered his second severe calf injury and the Arsenal fans went into overdrive: the only option left was Mathieu Flamini. Blame was apportioned accordingly: Arsene Wenger got his fair share for not bringing in an enforcer during the summer and consequently overplaying Arteta, Arteta himself was accused of “being old and not up for it anymore” (which returned most to the first point) and, finally, Flamini’s flaws were dug out and ruthlessly dissected.

The subsequent results did little to soothe the nerves: two narrow wins over West Brom and Southampton (the infamous banner appeared after the former) and then a loss to Stoke, which led to an even more infamous incident at the train station. 4-1s over Newcastle and Gala followed, as did a 2-2 draw against Liverpool, but it was only with the emergence of Francis Coquelin as a potent force that Arsenal fans were able to set their minds at ease.

Around mid-January a new culture appeared: a culture of mocking and ridiculing Mathieu Flamini. People were enraged every time he made the bench (most still are), they openly expressed their hate in all kind of polls (speaking of polls, you do know we are ruining the Internet, right?) and demonstrated signs of unrestrained joy at the thought of Flamini’s inevitable (or so it seemed to them) departure from the club in the summer. Some even counted days to the “grand” occasion.

I kept my thoughts on the matter to myself. Firstly, I knew Flamini’s contract expired in 2016, simply because it was announced in 2013 when the Frenchman signed a 3-year deal. Secondly, I didn’t want to join in the outpouring of hate and feared I wouldn’t be understood if I backed Flamini.

Yesterday, during the media day (or whatever it’s called) Mathieu stated the bloody obvious: he has one more year left on his contract and he’s not going anywhere. My fellow writers Dave and Darren were there to reflect on the situation. You can read their posts here and here respectively.

What was the reaction among the Arsenal faithful upon receiving the news of Flamini staying? That’s right, ladies and gentlemen, more hatred. This time I couldn’t keep it to myself any longer.

I asked myself as a simple question: “Why? Why the hatred?” and I’ll try to find an answer here.

Is he a bad player?

Granted, he’s not the greatest player that ever lived. But he’s not the worst either. He is, first and foremost, a team player. He’s ready to plug any hole that needs plugging. Even over the course of these two years he played at DM, LB and CB.

Mathieu is also the engine that never stops, never gives up and is (almost) never injured. Moreover, he’s a leader. Some ridicule his clapping and shouting, but reality is, I’ve seen very few players at Arsenal do that recently. Most choose to ignore the fact Flamini must have a point when shouting: he’s an experienced player who understands what is going on on the pitch far better than most Arsenal fans think. He’s earned his right to shout and point.

Admittedly, Flamini is a worse player than either Arteta or Coquelin. He’s not such a slick passer to displace the former and not such a good sweeper to be prefered to the latter. However, he did his bit to the best of his abilities when called upon. Flam did his job, worked his socks off for the team every time and I distinctly remember he had a good half a season last year, snapping into tackles and committing cynical fouls when needed.

Is he a bad person?

"If you look at the stats we nearly won every single game since February

"It's a situation I accept. Competition makes you better, but there's not much to say when the team is winning every single game.”

How’s that for humbling? Has Flamini thrown a tantrum he is not being picked? Has he asked to be sold? Can you recall one occasion when Flam criticized the manager or the players? I don’t mean constructive criticism. He’ll always say “We had a bad game” when it was the case. But he never said things like “I disagree with the direction the Club is going” and didn’t go on strike to be allowed to leave for Barcelona.

In short, he comes across as an honest and hard-working chap, who, by the way, is also a kind of cheerleader. Like Santi or Sanchez.

Then why all the hatred?

I think that Flamini is just the latest scapegoat for Arsenal fans. People in general (not only Arsenal fans) tend to search for a reason behind events, a kind of smoking gun. The entire first half of the campaign Arsenal faithful were searching for one. And those who search always find.

Bar Sanchez and maybe Oxlade, not one player escaped the wrath of Arsenal fans. Szczesny? Error-prone. Ospina? Unconvincing against Southampton. Chambers? Shit right-back and defender in general (let’s overlook the fact he made 25 appearances from August to December). Mertesacker? Useless snail. Monreal? The culprit behind every successful attack down the middle. Ramsey? Glory-hunter in attack. Wilshere? Forever injured. I’ve seen people blaming him for McNair’s tackle! “Oh, he shouldn’t have held onto the ball for so long”. Cazorla? Most were adamant the Spaniard is past it and needed to be sold. Until he grabbed two consecutive Player of the Month awards. The list can go on.

Only those who didn’t feature escaped the outpouring (though people accused Wenger for not giving Poldi and Campbell more minutes. Wonder if they still think he was wrong on that front, eh?)

I honestly can’t find another reason other than that. I struggle to understand how Flamini can attract almost universal hatred when he rarely does something wrong. In fact, he’s one of the few who actually cares for the Club, who’s a Gunner through and through. And people are out in force saying he shouldn’t get an FA Cup medal if we win it. Saying he doesn’t deserve it.

But then I struggle to understand many things. Like how you can clap Fabregas and boo Sagna at the same time. Or blame Ozil for shirt-swapping. Or want Song back.

It’s really sad. At times like these I don’t want to be associated with GoonerFamily.

I’ll leave it here. Hope I gave you something to chew on

Arsenal 4-1 West Brom: beware, Villa

Hi everyone.

The Premier League season drew to a close yesterday and some of the results were, how shall I put it, quite unexpected.

Aside from us thrashing West Brom (I think even the most optimistic of us couldn't predict such a scoreline), we have: Burnley beating Aston Villa away despite being relegated long before the game, Leicester thrashing QPR (not the win, the thrashing was unexpected) & Newcastle getting a first win under Carver to stay up. However, what Stoke did to Liverpool was the most surprising thing of all. I mean, Southampton never really stood a chance to beat City and aim for 5th place, but Liverpool just capitulated. They were totally outplayed for the second game in a row. As a result of two defeats, the Mugmashers finished below Tottenham. That's how bad their season has been.

There's only one person I really feel for in this theatre of absurd: Steven Gerrard. Liverpool's captain has performed below par this season, but he's a living legend who deserves much better than to lose to a mediocre Villa side in the cup and suffer two heavy defeats in his last two games for the Club.

There are people who I have enormous respect for beyond those who play(ed) for Arsenal. Steve G is one of them. I never understood all the mockery and abuse levelled at him in the last two years. Surely fans (not only Liverpool's) should be a bit more respectful towards one of the greatest English midfielders of his generation?

But apart from Gerrard leaving on such a sad note, I couldn't care one bit where Liverpool finished, whether they will sack Brendan Rodgers and how bad they have been. It's their mess and their alone.

Our performance, meanwhile, was inspiring. Just the one that was needed before the final. With all the right faces in all the right places. I'll start with the hat-trick hero, our surprising (but no less efficient for it) centre-forward on the day. His name is...

Theodore James Walcott

Theo was given 70 minutes up front with Ollie Giroud finally getting a bit of a respite and the Englishman was gorgeous. He demolished West Bromwich inside the first 40 minutes almost single-handedly. For the first Theo did touch-and-strike in the box, for his second he demonstrated the ability to dribble in tight spaces and his third was a simple tap-in but a) the combination leading to it was gorgeous b) Theo beat the offside trap  for the goal.

Theo went on to produce further three shots on target and Myhill had to work hard to save these. His overall contribution? Well, Theo only made 33 touches and 15 passes (all successful) before being subbed off for Giroud in 68th minute. That's probably not very good for a winger, cause it would be a demonstration the said winger didn't contribute much in the defensive sense, but Theo wasn't playing out wide yesterday. He was a striker and he was pretty damn efficient. Now we can see his stake to play as a centre-forward is very real indeed. Sure, our style of play is different to when we deploy Giroud, however, isn't that a bonus? We have a wholly different option on our hands and that's what we've been striving for. An alternative to Giroud in terms of play style. Walcott has given Arsene an almighty selection headache ahead of the Cup final.

Jack Wilshere , Santi Cazorla & Mesut Ozil

Jack played on the wing while he was on the pitch and, much like Walcott, he was gorgeous. Him and Ozil combined for Walcott's second, he ripped West Brom's defense with a dribble on his own for Theo's hat-trick and in-between Jack scored a wonder goal. One which was later voted on BBC as goal of the season. Brilliant outing for Jack, a reminder to everyone just how good he is when in form and another player with a claim for a starting place in a week.

Cazorla, meanwhile, had another stellar outing in a deeper position. 114 passes completed (pretty sure he led all players), 92% pass accuracy, 4 chances created and 2 assists (his 10th and 11th this season). He's second-best in the league in this regard, behind Him-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. I'm here trying to say that we should keep Cazorla at all costs, because it will be fiendishly hard to find a replacement.

Finally, Ozil. He was influential once again. He had less passes than Cazorla (74/81), amassing a 91% accuracy nonetheless, but it's his "chances created" column that left me drooling once again. 6 chances. Ozil created 6 chances, 5 from open play. As such he has 78 chances in 22 games. I'll let you do the maths (hint: Ozil tops the league in terms of chances-per-game). A much-lauded Hazard, for the sake of comparison, has created 100 chances in 35 games.

David Ospina

He was shaky and it was surprising. For the entire first half Ospina had literally nothing to do, so I was infuriated when we conceded from a corner and ruined Dave's clean sheet. Until the replays showed Ospina was himself to blame for the goal. He came out to claim the ball, missed it entirely and allowed McAuley to plant a free header into the empty net.

Dave had another two shaky moments: first led to a corner from which we conceded, second that horrendous "through the gloves" moment.

Before the game I rather liked the idea expressed by Arseblogger: whoever starts against West Brom, it won't mean a lot. If Szczesny starts that may be to either give him some minutes before the final or to allow the fans to say goodbye. While even if Ospina started (which he consequently did), it wouldn't mean the Big Dave would start in the final.

However, I was rightly pointed out Fabianski played the last league game last year, despite Szczesny fighting for Golden Glove. So I guess Szczesny played his last game for the Club in March, against United. Arsene seems to have given up on Woj.

But I keep wondering whether Ospina's shaky display yesterday gave Arsene second thoughts. Personally, I'd stick with Ospina in the final: Szczesny's last game came more than two months ago and he was very nervous that night. We don't need an out-of-practice, fidgeting keeper in the final. Besides, sticking with Ospina will be an indicator Arsene trusts the Colombian and this might well play a part on Dave's performance on the day. Not that I think one shaky performance is worth dropping.

The aftermath

We avoided the qualifiers in the CL. Phew. That means two less stressful games in "hell" (other name for Turkey) and, of course, the opportunity to attract players from the get-go of the transfer market. It seems our first transfer is already in place: today the official account of Chile's football federation announced Arturo Vidal will join forces with Alexis Sanchez after Copa America. Fingers crossed.

Right, that your lot for now. Bulk up on reading Tim's usual "By the numbers" (where I took most stats for this review) and David's brilliant article on why a resounding win over West Brom could prove vital.

Cheers

West Brom preview: finish on a high

“We want to finish on a high at the Emirates and we want our fans to go home happy, full of hope for next season.

We have fought very hard to directly qualify for the Champions League and we want to get over the line and finish the job, which we couldn’t do on Wednesday night [against Sunderland]. We want to do it in a convincing way on Sunday.”

That’s what Arsene Wenger said during his press-conference. Have to say the game against West Bromwich now looks crucial in terms of the Cup Final. It’s a chance to lay down a marker, sweep aside a team that will no doubt sit deep and show Villa they won’t be able to put ten men behind the ball and not get punished for it. If we find a way to break West Brom down, then Villa will think twice before adopting this tac come 30th May. You can read more on the importance of our final league game here (link, Captain Deeg).

Team news and approach

“Will I rest one or two players? Certainly. What is most important for me is for us to win the game on Sunday. We have enough experience in our dressing room to know that what is important is the next competition.”

Unfortunately, we won’t have Danny Welbeck to help our cause:

“Do we have anybody back for Sunday? Danny Welbeck no, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is back in full training today [Friday], and Mathieu Debuchy as well. They might be a bit short.”

I also don’t like nothing was said on Arteta, though him, Oxlade and Debuchy were all pictured in training today, so I don’t exclude all of them making the bench and even coming on at some point. I would love to have Oxlade and Debuchy as fit and ready as possible for the final. Starting Debuchy over Bellerin may even be the sensible thing to do, as the Frenchman is more experienced and more conservative, something that will make room for Theo Walcott in the squad. But we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.

Regarding our approach, I’m torn between two options:

1. Seize the ball, storm West Brom’s goal in search for an early goal and don’t let the foot off the gas
2. Give the ball to West Brom and hit them on the counter

I’m pretty sure Wenger will adopt the former strategy. Both to demonstrate we can break defenses down (thus showing Villa exactly what they will be in for in a week) and because it’s the final home game against supposedly inferior opposition. Arsene rarely utilises the pragmatic approach in front of our own fans, whatever the opponent.

Assuming Wenger really will set his team to dominate, which players are best suited for this?

Defense

Again, I think Szczesny might start. Simply because I have a nagging feeling he will do so in the final and the Pole may need some minutes before that.

Should we rotate the back four and to what extent if so? I’d go with the “don’t fix what ain’t broken” formula. We have a stable (and quite stellar) defense in Bellerin-Mert-Kos-Monreal. These four guys played for the entirety of the second half of the campaign and did brilliantly. So unless Arsene’s planning a surprise start for Debuchy (surprise considering his recent spell on the sidelines), Gabriel (as Arsene obviously prefers Mert to the Brazilian at this point in time) or Gibbs, I wouldn’t introduce any changes. They simply don’t make much sense and we all know how reluctant Wenger is when it comes to rotating his back four.

Midfield

Here EVERYONE could use a rest. Ozil maybe a bit less, as his January wasn’t as packed as Santi’s or Ramsey’s. Coquelin may also be omitted, though in his case for another reason, namely: he’s mostly a passenger in our passing game. That’s why we are linked with Schneiderlin strongly and I wouldn’t be at all surprised should Arsene sign the Saints’ man.

The again, it’s risky just swapping your midfield for something new entirely, so my rough guess is only Cazorla will get a rest and we’ll see a Ramsey-Wilshere-Ozil trio start.

Will either Rambo or Wilshere be able to maintain their defensive discipline the way Santi did against Sunderland? I have my reservations about Jack, but Rambo should be able to do it. As it turned out the Welsh Jesus made five successful tackles against the Black Cats, leading all players. That’s despite playing closer to the opposition’s final third than Cazorla. Make no mistake, though, by saying the attacking side of Rambo’s game suffered that night: he completed over 120 passes, second only to Cazorla.

Attack

Our player of the season is another one badly in need of a rest. Walcott is an obvious like-for-like in terms of position, while Rosicky (who will stay at the Club for another year, link) is a better replacement in terms of overall contribution.

But we have another problem: Giroud is also dead on his feet. Welbeck’s unavailability makes omitting Giroud very hard indeed and so it’ll be interesting to see, how Arsene will manage to give a rest to both Alexis and Ollie.

My guess is that Theo has a chance to start centrally, while Rosicky will play on the left. Who’ll play on the right, though? Oxlade? He’s my pick, however it’s unlikely Wenger will start the Ox in his first game in over two months.

Which means a start for another central midfielder on the right, unless of course Arsene starts either Giroud or Sanchez, which I wouldn’t recommend. Say, Jack on the right, Rosicky on the left and Coquelin in his usual position with Ramsey and Ozil in front of him. Cringe.

The verdict

We only really need to rest three players: Cazorla, Sanchez and Giroud, but it’s proving a hell of a tough job without Welbeck and with not completely ready Oxlade. I honestly cannot find a way to rest these our two attackers without having to play someone out of position. Fingers crossed Wenger will figure something out.

I have to say West Brom could prove tricky. They are on a fine run with 13 points in 5 games, 4 clean sheets and defeated Chelsea and United in the process. Their main threat, Berahino, is also in good form, something he confirmed with a brace against Chelsea. I even wonder whether we’ll be better off with Gabriel for Mertesacker in defense. Just in case.

But we have to win. It’s the final game, a home game and Arsenal should be signing off with a win, especially after a couple of underwhelming results.

So come on you Gunners.

Arsenal 0-0 Sunderland: 3rd

If you came here today to see me bemoan the dropped points, you can turn right around because I won't. I probably would have done that had we lost, but when your team attacks for 90 minutes out of 95, manages 28 shots and has 76% possession, well, that's what I call an effort. And far from an effort worth booing.

Were we profligate at times? (link, Tim Todd) Certainly. Were Sunderland lucky at times? No doubt about it. Could we have won the game? Yes, and it would have been fair. Could we have lost it? Yes, so thank you, David Ospina.

I've heard numerous cries on Twitter at half-time and after the game how this match was similar to the one against Swansea. I couldn't disagree more: Swansea were compact and organised, restricting us to very few shots on target, none of these coming in the first half & we were listless on the day. Yesterday there were gaps between the lines, space to exploit and Sunderland weren't nearly as good at suffocating Arsenal players in possession. What is more, the Gunners really cared about the outcome from the first minute to the last. But it's football, here not everything goes your way.

Let's face it: the draw guarantees us 3rd place and direct qualification. I don't care one bit our points tally will be lower than last year, I only care about our position in the table and marked improvement in games against the big sides.

As the game was a one-way street only, I'll focus on some individual performances.

Per Mertesacker, Laurent Koscielny & David Ospina

It's been some time since I last saw such an accomplished performance from our central defenders. The Mertescielny axis performed brilliantly yesterday, something that was overlooked in the context of the result. It shouldn't have been.

Both defenders played unusually high up the pitch and this was down to us camping in Sunderland's final third for most of the game. My gut feeling was that Mertesacker won the air completely, while his French counterpart made a ton of interceptions. I've later looked up their stats and it turned out I wasn't mistaken: Mertesacker won 5 out of 6 aerial duels, while also making 2 headed clearances; Koscielny made a whopping 7 interceptions. Just wow. Interestingly enough both only combined to a sole tackle, while Cazorla had 3 successful out of 4 attempted.

Also, kudos to David Ospina. Apart from sweeping up on at least two occasions the Colombian made two hugely important saves in the first 5 minutes of the second half and then parried Fletcher's chip late on. Dave made a huge contribution and rightfully earned his 8th league clean sheet.

Santi Cazorla, Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez

All looked dead on their feet, however only Mesut didn't play the full game. The German was taken off with 10 minutes to go.

Santi played the entire game in the deep-lying role and he did grand: 3/4 tackles and a whopping 11 ball recoveries. On top of all that, the Little Magician completed 155 out of his 162 passes: a record for a player in a single PL game this season.

However, apart from maybe Mesut (who created 7 chances from open play), all need a rest. Ramsey also.

Thomas Rosicky & Theo Walcott

Both made an impact upon coming on and I think both should have been given more time. Theo created two goalscoring opportunities in less than half an hour, while Rosicky also had a chance to break the deadlock after a brilliant one-two with Theo.

Most importantly, Walcott gave width to out attacks and was just the man to exploit the spaces Sunderland's defense left behind. His runs and his dribbling were really dangerous, so I struggle to come up with an explanation why Theo didn't start the game. This is not a stab at Wilshere, Jack did alright on the wing and actually set up Ozil for the best chance of the game and almost scored himself from a Sanchez through ball. Still, Jack is not a winger and his natural tendency to drift inside left our right flank empty, while also creating an unnecessary overload in the middle of the park.

Rosicky, meanwhile, was that engine we lacked all game. Wilshere is not ready to be that engine yet, as he is still not at 100%, while Sanchez is knackered. Again, why Sanchez played the whole game or started altogether with a fully-fit Rozza on the bench is beyond me.

Olivier Giroud

Oh, Ollie, why do you have to be so frustrating at times? You know we all love you, why do you break our hearts with such bleak performances? You know you're our only realistic option at CF with Welbeck out, why did you abandon us in our time of need?

I think it's no coincidence that our recent form is so unimpressive. While Giroud was firing we were winning. Last goal Ollie scored was against Liverpool, which was April 4th. Since then, Arsenal struggled, picking up only 9 points in 6 games, while we also needed extra-time to defeat Reading in the semi-final. Only 7 goals were scored in the process & Arsenal was held goalless in three consecutive home games.

So the focus shouldn't be on whether Ospina could have kept Gomis's or Herrera's shot out, it should be on our finishing. And I mean "finishing", we don't have a problem creating chances: 51 attempts in the said home games and 15 chances created by Ozil alone suggest we have no problem in setting teammates up, we have problems tucking away the chances.

The main culprit? Unfortunately, Ollie Giroud. He is our main man, our centre-forward and the overwhelming majority of chances are created for him.

Before I heap further critique on the Handsome French Bloke, I want to put his performances into some context. After making a return from injury in late November against United, Giroud made 31 appearance in five-and-a-half months, only 5 from the bench. Take his three-match ban into account and Ollie should be one of the most used players in the period from December till May.

It showed yesterday. Ollie was a second late for every ball, his touch was heavy, his flicks didn't come off and he only made 39 touches in 95 minutes on the pitch. Just 13 more than Ospina. Nonetheless, Giroud had two very presentable chances, one was saved by Pantilimon, the other he put just wide with the keeper stranded.

The Frenchman is obviously exhausted, though I can't help but wonder how much damage Henry's words after the game against Chelsea did. Giroud's form started to dwindle down a bit earlier, probably after the Liverpool game. However, two bleak performances (Burnley and Chelsea) aren't indicative of anything. The former was a game in which Giroud was doubly marked for the first time + Burnley were fighting for survival. Chelsea, meanwhile, was a game of fine margins, Ollie cannot be harshly judged for failing to score against the Blues.

Then Henry, feeling obliged to say something, said Giroud is not the one and here we are. Ollie relies on confidence so much he failed to score in 7 consecutive games.

Solution? I'd give Giroud a rest and play Welbeck if the Englishman is fit. Both against West Brom and in the final. Or we can give Walcott a chance centrally.

However, it'll be stupid to deny we have a wider issue. If Giroud is so sensitive, we need to have an alternative. Welbeck, Walcott or Sanchez if we are talking internal solutions. Jackson Martinez and Alexander Lacazette if we are talking external ones.

Maybe it would even be wise to consider Giroud second-choice and play someone less vulnerable to criticism as number 1 striker.

Another option is wingers who have goals in them and can save the day if Giroud is not in the mood. We have two such wingers at the Club: Sanchez and Walcott. Oxlade needs to work on his end product.

And of course we can consider bringing in such a winger. Sterling, Reus, Pedro are all possible options, with Reus my favourite. There are rumours flying around Pedro is being offered for as little as £7 million, while Sterling is definitely unsettled. Considering Wenger's comments on how he wants another 15-goal-a-season player, I don't exclude external solution to our problem.

The aftermath

While a draw at home against relegation team is never pleasant (further exacerbated by the fact last time Arsenal player scored a goal was May 4th), it's not the end of the world some paint it as. This point basically guarantees CL direct qualification, because I don't see United overturning an 8-goal deficit. Frankly, I also don't see us losing our last game. So keep calm. And support Arsenal.

Until later