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
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 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."
"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
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