Arsenal 2-3 Olympiacos: different kind of same old?

In my 11 years of supporting Arsenal I've seen us lose a lot of games. Home and away, by a fine margin and only just, to big teams playing crap football and small sides rising to the occasion. Every defeat was, and still is, different. Simply because you can't play two identical games even against the same opponent.

Yet, and I think you'll agree, sometimes there is this feeling of "same old, same old". It's like watching Fabianski race out of goal after you thought you've seen the last of it with Almunia. Like conceding from the opposition's first shot on target. Like seeing the team not turn up for the game.

In that sense, yesterday's defeat feels exactly like it's happened before. It was like watching a horror movie you've never watched, yet knew what the ending would be like. And when the movie peters out towards its inevitable conclusion, you are not left with a sour taste in the mouth. You don't feel robbed, angry, disappointed or cheated out of a better ending. You only feel deflation. As if you already knew, deep down, that this was inevitable, that the movie itself was just an exercise in frustration, a pointless prelude to the main event.

That was exactly how I felt when the final whistle blew. I didn't feel like shouting at Ospina for dropping a clanger, I didn't want to kick furniture, I didn't want to blame the ref for his ineptitude or scream to the heavens at the gross injustice that I've just witnessed. I just wanted to brush my teeth, take a validol and go to bed. Which I did. Which was exactly what I did a week ago, after we lost to Zagreb. And which I'm sure I'll do again this season, be it after another European or domestic fixture.

I've become accustomed to Arsenal screwing with my expectations over the years. I shout and point and scream and name players names during the game. After it, I feel emotionally drained. Numb. No longer able to react. No longer wanting to react.

Is it a consequence of really getting used to losing? Is it a kind of protective reaction from my body? At times like these I wish I was less emotionally involved in the matter, though I have no idea how this can be achieved.

Yesterday's loss felt all the more ironic considering how we talked before the game of the importance of winning your home games. Even more so if we take into account Olympiacos' form in England. But the crunch of it all were our chances of qualifying. In a season when we were supposed to kick on and produce a better result in the Champions League we only went on and lost two opening games against Zagreb and Olympiacos, of all sides, and made qualification from the group nigh on impossible. If Arsenal wasn't involved, or if you were a fan with a particularly dark sense of humour, you would have laughed. We can't make it out of the group in a year when we wanted to at least make it to the last eight. How ironic can it get?

I'll be completely honest with you: we have no business in the knock-out rounds this season. We don't play with any stability, conviction or consistency, at least in Europe. When you are beaten by Zagreb and Olympiacos, let's face it, you are not a heavyweight, one which could go on and have a meaningful European campaign. Heavyweights produce miraculous comebacks in the last ten minutes, heavyweights thrash opponents everyone expects them to thrash. They deliver on a consistent basis. As for us, well, we'll try again next year (if we make the CL spots) and hope we will do better.

Do we try and get into Europa League should we not get the desired results against Bayern? Or should we just leave it, finish fourth and have our Thursdays free? The question is purely speculative, because one man once said "If you play for Arsenal, you don't give up, whatever the score is". I'm sure this man will fight. I'm sure he won't go down, accept defeat and play damage limitation. For him the question of whether we should deliberately lose games doesn't exist. Therefore, I expect him to fight for qualification and then, if he fails, fight for the third place. And then fight in every game of the Europa League, should we make it.

It's painful. In my 11 years, I've never seen Arsenal not make it out of the group stages. Yet the harsh reality is such we are likely to need 10 points from 4 remaining games and will also have to rely on others doing us favours. We have to get the minimum of 4 points from our back-to-back Bayern games. A team which has crushed Olympiacos and Zagreb. As they should have. As any big team worth their salt should have. As WE should have.

Until later

Olympiacos preview: have to win with what's at our disposal

We face Olympiacos in the 2nd game of the group stages and, needless to say, this game is a must-win:

“You have to win your home games if you want to qualify from the group stage, it is simple as that. We cannot afford to drop points now against anyone at home.”

While I have my reservations about our ability to do just that with Bayern in the group, right now Bayern is not our biggest problem, simply because it’s not them we face next.

Head-to-head

We drew Olympiacos three times in the last five years or so. What’s interesting, is that out of the six encounters Arsenal have won only three - all three at home. I seem to vaguely recall the away matches being dead rubber games, though.

Olympiacos aren’t particularly successful at playing English teams away from home - their record of 12 losses in 12 games with 37 goals conceded and 3 scored show just that. However, as we found out the hard way, complacency can be punished by any team at this level, so there shouldn’t be any complacency when we don on the red-and-white.

Team news update

Apart from our usual trio (which will be out for three more months), we will have two further midfielders out, which exacerbates our midfield selection problems. Those two are Mathieu Flamini (hamstring) and Mikel Arteta (who is rumoured to have suffered a dead leg):

“Both have slight muscular problems, but I think Flamini has a scan today (Monday) and Arteta certainly as well. 

They are not big injuries. It is a question of days.”

We also have Olivier Giroud’s suspension to deal with, lest you forgot. However, we’ll have Gabriel back and chomping at the bit, while Francis Coquelin also should make it:

“He has been back since yesterday and I will have to see how he responds to two days of training, but he looks alright.”

With Giroud out, I suspect Iwobi will make the bench, while Gabriel and Coquelin will replace Arteta and Flamini respectively.

Squad and approach

“The game (against Manchester United) will not interfere with that at all. It is more the games we played before that could have an influence. Some players had two tough games at Tottenham and at Leicester, where they were a high level physically. I will have to analyse that today and make my decisions.”

It’s understandable United game shouldn’t affect our selection too much, seeing as we play both them and Olympiacos at home and seeing as there are five days between the games, but the line Wenger dropped on previous matches affecting his selection is interesting.

The only players who played a lot of minutes in both games are Mertesacker and Ramsey, Alexis to a lesser extent. I’m pretty sure Arsene won’t even consider giving Sanchez a rest (as won’t the Chilean himself), especially after his hat-trick heroics.

However, I’m not so sure about the other two. Mertesacker played two full games straight after coming back from injury, so I won’t be surprised to see Gabriel return to the starting line-up. As for Ramsey, the Welshman completed 90 minutes against Tottenham, while also completing close to 70 against Leicester. That, and Oxlade’s presence at the press conference give me the feeling Ox is due a start on the right.

Beyond that I can see Wenger making only one further change: Ospina for Cech. Yes, I do know we don’t have a tradition of rotating keepers for the Champions League, however, we might well have parted ways with this tradition against Zagreb. On top of that, I’m pretty sure Ospina will leave if he is not first-choice at the end of the season. So I’m sure Wenger will give the Colombian all the chances to impress.

Predicted line-up: Ospina - Bellerin - Gabriel - (ain’t nobody like) Koscielny - Monreal - Coquelin - Cazorla - Ozil - Alexis - Oxlade - Walcott

As for the approach, well, I think Wenger hit the nail on the head:

“What changes more (at home) is the attitude of our opponent. We always try to play and go forward. At home we face maybe a different kind of problem, teams regroup in front of their box and you need to be penetrative with your passing, with your movement, and clinical with your finishing.”

I’m pretty sure it will be the case of “We attack - they defend” and all will boil down to how well we take our chances. If we make the most of them, we should have too much for the Greek champions.

The verdict

This is the game which is a bit different to the previous ones in a sense we won’t have a lot of options on the bench and will most likely have to win it with whoever starts. If we presume I guessed the squad right, Ramsey will be the only guy who can realistically make an impact from the bench.

To be honest I’m a bit stunned it’s our midfield that’s skating on thin ice in terms of injuries right now. It looked the very-well stocked at the start of the campaign, but long-term injuries to Wilshere and Rosicky changed the picture a bit. Throw in the fact Arteta, Flamini and Coquelin are all nursing different knocks and there you have it. We are not in crisis just yet, however, we seem to be treading a fine line. Fingers crossed we won’t have to worry about out walking wounded come Tuesday 9:30 p.m.

Finally, a bit of extra reading for you. First article is from Tim Stillman, in which he speculates on whether we can learn to play without a natural DM (might we try this out against Olympiacos?) and the second is a quite brilliant write-up from Daniel Cowan on the underlying reason for Mourinho’s classless midweek comments on Wenger. Check them both out, well worth your time.

Right, back with a review.

Come on you Gunners!

Leicester 2-5 Arsenal: finally

A month back, almost to the day, I’ve read an interesting article from @7amkickoff which stated, in unequivocal terms, that Arsenal WILL get back to their best, that they WILL become much, much better at finishing the chances they create. The reason was very simple: every team has a certain amount of chances created, shots, goals scored etc. every season. And the fluctuations from one campaign to another are not wild, meaning we can more or less predict what will happen next season.

In that sense, the first six games presented an anomaly in that we scored very few goals (just five, three if you take away own goals). We had an atrocious conversion rate, but other important numbers linked to scoring goals (like chances, shots etc.) actually improved. It became obvious this anomaly would be short-lived, because at that rate we would have far inferior numbers to the previous campaign. Such outcome, while possible, was highly unlikely for statistical reasons: as I’ve said above fluctuations from one year to another are not wild. It was just a matter of time before Arsenal broke the goalscoring duck.

I’m not trying to come across as a know-it-all and say I knew we would put 5 past Leicester. What I was sure of, though, is that we would, sooner or later, have a cracking game which would balance out the previous matches with their statistical anomalies and get Arsenal close to their average in terms of goals scored. That such a game happened at a time when we absolutely needed to win to capitalize on City’s slip-up (thank you, Tottenham!) makes me infinitely more happy. As usual, I’m going to dissect the moments I found interesting.

Theo Walcott, the lone forward

Theo’s been playing as a lone forward for a couple of games now (in fact, last time Giroud started a league game for us was August 24th, against Liverpool), however, lingering doubts remained whether Theo has indeed become our Plan A.

Now these doubts have been put to bed. Theo started up front in a tough away fixture and he performed admirably. He scored an all-important equalising goal at a time when Leicester were in front and looked likely to score another and was a live wire while he remained on the pitch. Out of our 26 shots Theo took 8, 7 were from inside the box and 4 of these were on target. I felt Theo was a bit unlucky to come off with only one goal to his name, but there’s no denying that goal was massive. There is also no denying Walcott looked really dangerous with his clever runs in-behind, so I think we are going to embody a force to be reckoned with once the rest of the team fully gets used to Theo’s style of play.

Alexis Sanchez, the hat-trick hero

Alexis Sanchez is a microcosm of Arsenal, in a way. Just like the team, the Chilean struggled in front of goal for six games. Just like the team, he exploded on the day, scoring not one or two, but three goals and it was a sight to behold.

Alexis was in the right place at the right time for the first (a quality that sets real strikers apart), his sheer willpower saw him score a header past much-taller Morgan and Huth and for the third he cut inside from the left and cannoned a distance shot into the bottom corner. It was the first hat-trick for the Chilean in the Arsenal shirt and you couldn’t be happier for him.

A couple of interesting facts about Alexis’ performance:

1. He took 7 shots, 6 from inside the box
2. 3 of these 7 were on target and he scored from all 3
3. 2 of the 7 were headed efforts - not bad for someone who is 5 ft 7 inches tall
4. Sanchez completed all of his dribbles - of which there were 7
5. He had 2 big chances and put away both

Finally, this is a mere guess from my part, but it looks like Sanchez is much more effective with Walcott as a striker - he acts almost as a second striker (which is reflected in his stats) and he looks much more at ease with the Englishman by his side.

Cech, the massive goalkeeper

Yes, he let in two goals, but he also made 5 saves: one at 0-0, one at 3-1 and then a massive three at 4-1. I do not understand why Leicester looked much more interested in chasing the game at 4-1 than they did at 3-1, however, that doesn’t make Cech’s saves any less valuable or, indeed, any less spectacular. At one point he pulled off a great save, then, after realising the defenders aren’t going to help him out, he chased the attacker himself (think it was Vardy) and palmed the ball away from under his feet. He might have let in 2, but he also showed how important he is and I am genuinely happy we have a goalkeeper of Cech’s level.

Arteta, not done yet

I wasn’t really surprised to see Flamini start the game. It was a safer option than Ramsey and with Arteta playing all the 90 minutes in midweek it was obvious Mathieu was the fresher guy. He also scored twice, let’s not forget that.

However, when Arteta came on in the 21st minute to replace an injured Flamini, the game, which has been end-to-end stuff, calmed down a great deal. Both teams still had their moments, but Arteta brought assuredness to the proceedings with his metronomic passing and we instantly looked more organised and less vulnerable on the counter.

Arteta didn’t do anything particularly interesting stats-wise, didn’t have a Coquelin-esque performance, tackling anyone and everyone in sight. His only really decent (for a DM) figure was his passing: 88% accuracy (46/52), but even this is not much of an anomaly (how many times did I use that word?) for our lego-haired Spaniard, who’s used to clocking 95% passing accuracies with over 80 passes per game.

His greatest asset, like Mertesacker’s, was his calming influence: Mikel slowed down the tempo when we badly needed just that and continued to control the proceedings in his unobtrusive, yet effective manner. Even if Coquelin doesn’t make it in time for Olympiacos, I’ll be calm.

The aftermath

It was a massive performance, a massive win away from home against an in-form team and an opportunity to get us within reaching distance to the very top, the opportunity we grabbed with both hands, legs and Sanchez’s head.

With Tottenham humiliating the newly-crowned invincible Champions at White Hart Lane, Chelsea hilariously dropping points against a team facing a relegation battle and United powering past a hapless Sunderland, we did what was required. A win against United next Sunday and we’ll go into the break at least joint-second, with a maximum two points off the top. Not bad for a team in crisis, eh?

Until later, enjoy the win, Gooners

Derby winners Gunners should be too much for Leicester

Howdy.

Had a busy couple of days, hence there was no fully-fledged Spurs review from me. Well, there was no review at all, to be exact. Seeing as now our next game is on Saturday already and the last was on Wednesday, I’m now facing the prospect of trying to cram both the review of Spurs and the preview of Leicester in one article. Gives me all the more reason to be concise I guess. So here we go.

Spurs review

Well, whatever I expected, this was not it. It’s a rare occurrence when Flamini scores a goal, when he scores twice inside one game...it’s unheard of. Literally. I don’t think he scored twice in one game for us.

However, if there was one player I desperately wanted to do well from that starting line-up, it was Flamini. Barring Wilshere and maybe a couple of other Englishmen (Gibbs, Ox, Theo), Arsenal players nowadays don’t really differentiate between a derby and any other game. They mostly don’t get why derbies are special because they were not born in this atmosphere of mutual rivalry (one which brilliantly described by Tim Stillman here). I do not claim I do either, but it’s still nice to see a player, who does, succeed. Witnessing Flamini demonstrate skills of a predator for the first and then finish the job with a sumptuous volley for the winner before running to the away fans’ section and pounding the chest, brought a tear to my eye. Well done, Flam.

However, not all of our players had a similarly good game. Wenger really did give fringe players another chance, making ten changes (only Ramsey kept his place. Played the full game too, what an engine). Gibbs and Chambers were very good, the former making a vital clearance off the line, the latter getting stuck in all over the place. Calum was really unlucky to have another own goal attributed to him, though I do wonder whether Ospina, who had the cross covered, gave Calum a shout. But overall Chambers had a second consecutive strong performance. Bodes well for him.

Others weren’t equally impressive, though. Debuchy in particular was beyond atrocious, and it was down the right that Spurs had most of the joy. Mathieu was caught high up the field time and again, forcing Chambers to cover for him, and didn’t offer much going forward. Campbell should shoulder some of the blame for this, as he rarely tracked back to help out Debuchy, but it’s safe to say the Frenchman isn’t getting his place back anytime soon at this rate.

I also wanted to single out Oxlade, because the Englishman had yet another unconvincing performance. On one hand he basically set up Flamini for the first by showing some nimble footwork. On the other, his passing seemed way off, with roughly 70% of his 26 passes finding their intended target. Campbell was even less impressive in this regard, attempting a mere 15 passes in the 66 minutes he was on the pitch.

I don’t think either will, or indeed should, play ahead of Ramsey on the right. Whatever his faults may be, the Welshman is generally a sound passer and helps keep the ball in circulation.

The aftermath

It was a deserved win for us in a match where neither team really seemed to care about the outcome for the first 25 minutes. Tottenham had their moments, we had ours and the difference was Mathieu Flamini. An unlikely hero, but here you go. The 4th round will see us travel to Sheffield Wednesday on a Tuesday (ahem), while City takes on Palace and Chelsea faces Stoke away.

Leicester preview

The bit of news that had everyone worried was Coquelin’s unavailability:

“He is progressing well, but he will not be available for Leicester. He has a scan today but the evolution is quite positive. He might start practice tomorrow. He has a little chance for Tuesday, and a bigger chance for Man United. It is very difficult to be definite today”.

Our other loss is Gabriel, who was banned by the FA for one game after having been found guilty of improper conduct. It looks like a bit of farce really, for a player to receive a ban for overreacting to a red card which was subsequently overruled, but here you go. Guess we should be grateful he is not doing 4 or 5 games while Costa walks free and pushes grannies with a walking stick.

However, we should have Cazorla back, while both Mertesacker and Chambers had good enough games in midweek for us not to be sweating over Gabriel’s ban. Wilshere, Welbeck and Rosicky remain unavailable.

The squad

Cech, Bellerin, Monreal, Koscielny, Cazorla, Ozil, Alexis and Walcott should all come back in. The questions Arsene will have to solve is who partners Kos in defense and who plays alongside Cazorla at the base of the midfield.

I think Mertesacker will keep his place, though Chambers’ form and fitness may give Arsene something to chew on. Who will partner Cazorla is the more worrying dilemma for me.

I saw some suggest Wenger should be bold and play Ramsey alongside Cazorla and I have to say this idea has something about it. I didn’t particularly like how Cazorla dovetailed with Arteta against Zagreb.

Flamini might be a better option, not so much because of his midweek heroics, but rather because his style of play is closer to Coq’s. We shall see. In case Ramsey becomes the missing part of the jigsaw, I fully expect Oxlade to slot in on the right.

Predicted line-up: Cech - Bellerin - Mertesacker - Koscielny - Monreal - Flamini - Cazorla - Ozil - Ramsey - Alexis - Walcott

The verdict

Leicester are not the ones to underestimate. They actually sit above us in the table with 12 points after 6 matches and are yet to lose a game. They have only lost once in their last 15 league games, racking up 34 points and right now they are top scorers in the Premier League with 13 goals, 8 of these coming at home. First Pearson and then Ranieri did a wonderful job with the team, so we’ll have to be fully switched on to beat The Foxes.

However, Arsenal has a pretty good record against Leicester, losing none of the last 17 matches and drawing only six. I also think it’s about time Sanchez scored, so the team should have what it takes to do what is necessary tomorrow, get a win and protect the achievement of going the entire campaign unbeaten.

So come on you Gunners.

Back with a review

Spurs preview: we need to win, but not because the cup is of importance in itself

So, it’s a North London derby in the first round of the Mickey Mouse Cup to keep us entertained. For the last couple of years we have persistently been getting rather tough opponents in the opening rounds of both cups: Southampton last year and Chelsea before that in CoC, Hull and Spurs in FA Cup. All the while teams like Chelsea and City get Walsall, Carlisle, Peterborough and whatnot. Just our luck.

I would say “I’m not fussed, it’s only Spurs” but that last week taught me humility. The problem for us right now is not the opponent, but rather our form, attitude, mentality or whatever. And shit refs, don’t forget shit refs.

On a side note, you do know Mike Dean the inept twat wasn’t punished in any way for the atrocious performance he produced? He was even picked to referee Spurs vs Norwich next week. I feel for both teams.

Also, while Costa was charged with violent conduct (proof there really is a God), Gabriel faces further charges of improper conduct, while both clubs were charged with “failing to control their players”. Additionally, Cazorla was issued a warning for basically calling the ref a wanker when leaving the field. We are ought to be building a statue for the Spaniard, not charging him with some weird shit.

So, in short, for one good decision, the FA made five wrong ones. Well done. Oh and, by the way, if Costa really is banned for three games, I would like to make it perfectly clear this punishment is insufficient, especially if Gabriel gets a lengthier ban. For one, the aggressor should always get a longer ban than the victim. Secondly, Costa made THREE separate offenses on Koscielny, while also flicking a foot at Chamberlain, diving and scratching Gabriel’s neck. If all this only gets him a three-game ban, well… But then again Shawcross only got 3 games for breaking Ramsey’s leg, Terry got 4 for racially abusing Anton Ferdinand, so hoping for a bit of common sense from FA is stupid. Naive, even.

Back to Spurs, however. They haven’t exactly produced a flying start, with 2 wins (both 1-0, late goals against Sunderland and Palace respectively), 3 draws (Stoke, Everton and Leicester) and a loss to United on the opening day. Kane is off the pace at the moment, having scored none in 6 games, while their second-best outfield player (Eriksen) has only just returned from injury and only made a substitute appearance against Palace. The rest of Spurs squad is, excuse me, poverty (barring Alderweireld and Lloris). I’ve honestly tried watching them play a couple of times and wasn’t impressed at all.

As for us, well, let’s start with the usual team news.

Team news update

Cazorla will obviously be unavailable and I’m not holding my breath Gabriel will. Yes, Arsenal are trying to rescind/reduce his ban, but it seems unlikely we’ll succeed, especially with new charges being imposed.

Coquelin, with a swollen knee, will also be sidelined, but his injury doesn’t seem to be serious. The good news is that Mertesacker is finally back and I expect him to slot back in alongside Koscielny.

As for Tottenham, they will be without Bentaleb, Dembele and Mason, all of whom are carrying different knocks.

Squad and approach

Will be tough to guess our squad for this one. Arsene said he’ll go for an experienced side with 1 or two youngsters. On who the youngsters may be, your guess is as good as mine, since Jeff is injured and Wenger was somewhat elusive on Iwobi.

Maybe he was talking about Bielik? We haven’t seen so much as a glimpse of our January signing (unless you are watching U21s, that is). Apart from Bielik and Iwobi I genuinely can’t think of anyone, seeing as all the usual suspects were loaned out.

Apart from these “1 or 2 young players”, I guess the squad will be pretty much the same that faced Zagreb. A mere week after that debacle the squad players are likely to get  a chance to put things right. Besides, rotation is inevitable, we can’t have our regulars playing three times a week and the Leicester game should be of more importance.

So I expect to see Ospina in goal, Debuchy and Gibbs on the flanks, Mertesacker for Gabriel, Arteta for Coquelin, Ramsey alongside our captain and Oxlade with Campbell on the wings. Also, with Mertesacker back is it possible Wenger plays Chambers at the base? Doesn’t look likely to me, especially since that would mean using all our centre-backs at once, but you never know.

The two really important questions, however, are these: who plays up top and who plays behind the striker?

Do we persist with Theo or does he need a rest? Personally, I’d keep him if possible. He looks to be starting to grow into the role of a lone forward, so more the practice he gets and the more goals he scores, the better. However, both him and Giroud enjoy a goal vs Spurs, so I have no qualms with either.

Playing someone different to Ozil under the striker may prove difficult. Firstly, we don’t have any of Rosicky/Cazorla/Wilshere to do the job. Secondly, Ramsey showed against Newcastle he is not really a playmaker. Finally, Ozil is so unique I wouldn’t drop him out of simple fear we won’t be able to fashion chances for our strikers. If he can take three games a week, I would start him tomorrow.

Predicted line-up: Ospina - Debuchy - Mertesacker - Koscielny - Gibbs - Arteta - Ramsey - Ozil - Oxlade - Campbell/Iwobi - Giroud.

The verdict

I don’t really care about the Mickey Mouse Cup, but this game is a must-win for several reasons: it’s a derby and it’s a chance to put an end to our losing streak. Both these make the clash more important than it usually is.

Here’s hoping we end our unlucky spell and no referees get in our way.

Come on you Gunners.

Back with a review

Update: Gabriel's three-match ban has been rescinded by the FA with immediate effect. Charges for improper conduct remain, though these will be contested no earlier than Thursday. At least until then Gabriel is free to play, so it'll be interesting to see whether Arsene picks him or Mertesaker. I think Mert is due to start anyway, the man needs some minutes

Chelsea 2-0 Arsenal: atrocious Dean gifts Chelsea the win

Initially I had no intention of writing the review. Not because I was fuming at the result (I was, though), but because the game was lost courtesy of a highly incompetent Dean. Why write about something so trivial and done to death already? I mean, how many times can we say Mike Dean was horrible?

After giving it some consideration, I decided to go ahead and write the review. After all, despite Arsene being almost exclusively asked about the referee’s performance in the presser, there were some other talking points.

The first half

It was a game with little between the two sides. Chelsea dominated a bit more, but it looked as though we allowed them. Knowing for them a win was a must, we had the luxury of sitting back and playing on the counter.

Wenger seems to have picked his team with exactly this point in mind. And it worked. Walcott looked lively, we tried to get the ball to him as quickly as possible, all the while remaining cautious at the back. We didn’t leave space for Chelsea to exploit, Gabriel and Koscielny snuffed out any danger emanating from Costa and Bellerin pocketed Hazard. The stage was set for us to win the game in the second half. But for one thing.

Gabriel’s sending off

After another lost battle in the box, Costa twice used his hands on Koscielny’s face. Deeming it not enough, the Spaniard then pushed Kos to the ground. Inside I was gleeful. I thought “This is it. We got under the fucker’s skin, he committed a blatant act of unsporting behavior. No way he’s staying on the field after that.”

All of this was based on the assumption the referee, Mike Dean, will follow the rules and send Costa off. A brave assumption, as it turned out. Dean only flashed Costa a yellow, while showing Gabriel a booking too, for standing up for Koscielny.

It seemed the incident has run its course, but unfortunately, it didn’t. Costa immediately got into Gabriel’s ear, the Brazilian flicked a foot at the aggressor and got a straight red from the ref. The ref who didn’t even see the incident and seemed to have given in to Chelsea players’ demands.

Now, after some thinking, Gabriel did exactly the thing Arsene warned about: he reacted. He was stupid to do that, however, the simple fact remains Costa should have left the field before Gabriel flicked his foot.

I also didn’t like no one from our players talked Gabriel down and got him away from Costa. The red might have been avoided if someone did. However, none of Cazorla (our captain), Monreal, Koscielny or even Cech calmed down Gabriel. It hints at the lack of leadership and it’s not the first time I level this accusation at our players. Perhaps the situation would have been avoided had Mertesacker been on the pitch, or even Arteta, but neither of them were and Gabriel saw red.

Chelsea’s goals

Both were shit goals, to be honest with you. First was from a free-kick, one which was wrongly given by Dean, the other was from a heavily deflected shot in the 92nd minute. After we went down to 9 men, that is.

Oh, by the way, about Cazorla’s sending-off. It was every bit as absurd as Gabriel’s (I kid, I kid, nothing gets more absurd than that). It was absurd enough, though. Santi is not a malicious player, certainly far less than Costa or Ivanovic. He got the first booking for a tactical foul and the second for going for the ball and mistiming his tackle a bit. However, I was not surprised to see the Spaniard sent off for the only two fouls he committed all day. By that point, I was convinced beyond any reasonable doubt Mike Dean was an incompetent prick. On a side note, are there any Fabregas lovers left after yesterday? Asking for a friend. You see, Cesc did everything in his power to get Gabriel and Cazorla sent off.

Back to Cheslea and after seeing their almighty struggles against 10 men yesterday, I’m convinced the Blues are going nowhere this season. They were far from their best yesterday, but  think it is clear for anyone with a working brain and a pair of eyes attached to it. They dominated territory and possession, sure, but Cech was hardly troubled. If it takes you an undeserved free-kick and a wild deflection to score twice versus ten men, you’ve got problems.

What’s next

For us, it’s recuperation. The players shouldn’t beat themselves up for the loss, the game was ruined by the referee. Our only concern will be bouncing back midweek against Tottenham, something we’ll have to do without Gabriel, Cazorla and Coquelin. Coq sustained a minor knee injury close to the half-time mark.

It’s also worth considering whether we should give a rest to Sanchez and Ozil. The latter to avoid a burnout and a subsequent injury, the former seems way off his best. Alexis was yet again sloppy in possession, overcooking a lot of situations, spurned a brilliant chance to equalise, his cutting inside has become too predictable and easy to defend against and, finally, he didn’t help us defend after we went down a man. Here’s hoping a bit of R&R will help him get his mojo back.

However, I’m more interested in what FA should, and must, do. First off, they should impose a ban on Costa, maybe even fine him. The man was at his dirtiest yet again and he will do it again next week and the next and the next. He deserved a red for the push alone, however, I counted at least four other separate, and bookable, offenses: a push and a hit on Koscielny, a dive and a flick at Oxlade-Chamberlain. Not all of these are red-card punishable, but the cumulative effect could have seen him sent off three times yesterday.

The FA should also contemplate what they with Dean, or, how I will call him from now on, the inept twat. In his usual “By The Numbers” section, @7amkickoff focuses solely on how Arsenal play when the inept twat is the referee and the numbers look grim. Check it out. However, even the highly below-par performance yesterday should give FA food for thought.

Last, but not least, I believe Gabriel doesn’t deserve a three-match ban. One game maybe, purely because he retaliated, but three is harsh, especially if we take into context what Costa did and the fact he stayed on the pitch despite that.

Luckily, there was a silver lining to our loss yesterday, one that considerably cheered me up: City lost at home to West Ham. That means we slip to fifth, but we are still only 5 points behind City, which is a lot better than 8. So kudos to the Hammers.

Right, that’s it for now. Back with a preview of our now absolutely crucial midweek game.

Until then

P.S. Bravo to Koscielny and Chambers, by the way. Koscielny handled Costa's disgraceful behavior with the professionalism which wasn't lauded enough afterwards and Chambers put in a massive second half in defense. The own goal wasn't his fault in the slightest.