So, we are back to winning ways. And the world feels a much better place to live in after an Arsenal win, doesn't it? Surely, the performance wasn't particularly bright and shiny, but the important bit was to just get the three points. Which we did.
The squad and tactics
Gabriel for Mertesacker and Oxlade for Welbeck were the only changes compared to our midweek squad. There was no return for Ramsey or Flamini, Ospina and Giroud kept their respective places and this turned out to be the right call from the manager. Both had a brilliant game and made amends for the Monaco debacle. I was a little baffled to see Gibbs start his second game in a row, but I think there may be two reasons for this:
- Gibbs needed to get his last game out of the system. AW later talked how it can be detrimental to a player to be dropped immediately after a bad performance and you have to agree with it
- It's a bit far-fetched, but I somehow thought back to the mare we had at the Goodison last season. Monreal was the left-back for that game and Lukaku just destroyed the Spaniard. Could Arsene too have such thoughts before the match?
Exhaustion can in my opinion be safely disregarded. Monreal had a week between games, he should have been psychically up for the game.
Our approach was an odd one. Few would argue Arsenal defended for the most part of the game, yet we completed twice as many passes as Everton in the final third, registered twice as many shots and created a lot more clear-cut chances. Even the possession is 48%-52%. Despite everyone getting a clear impression we sat back and defended we only enjoyed four percent less of the ball!
As the game wasn't chock-full of moments, I'll just go over a select few and also over some individual performances.
Our chances (and goals)
There were very few in the first half. In fact, we managed only one half-chance during the first 38 minutes when Alexis's cross was met with a brave header from Ollie, but his effort was just wide.
In the 39th minute we scored. Ozil's low pass from a corner found Giroud and the Frenchman made it 1-0 with a deft touch. The relief in the stands was palpable.
Cazorla and Bellerin each had their moment before the whistle blew, but Santi's effort was tipped over by Howard and Hector's blocked by Jagielka.
The second half was more of the same. I don't think we had any credible moments up until Ozil failed to put the ball into the net in the 80th minute. Cazorla then blasted his effort over after a great one-two with Giroud, but, finally, the goal came. Substitute Rosicky was in the right place at the right time and his fierce effort went in after a deflection off Jagielka. Rosicky and Giroud could have added to their tally in the dying minutes, only for a combination of good goalkeeping and wastefulness to prevent them.
Individual performances
For some Cazorla was MoM with his calm and commanding performance, WhoScored voted Oxlade as the best man on the pitch, Barclays decided to give the award to Giroud, Ozil and Coquelin were both nominated by Arsenal, while a healthy portion of fans admired Gabriel's performance. That just shows you that all our players did well on the day and picking the best is immensely hard.
But I'll stick my head out nonetheless: for me Ospina was the top man and I think the majority of fans will agree with me. The Colombian started his brilliant afternoon by denying Lukaku in the 16th minute. After the Belgian pounced on Gabriel's mistake he rushed out of his goal, batted the ball away with his hand and then followed it up with a brilliant sliding tackle. David went on to make at least two more important saves to keep the score intact, first when Lukaku found space for a shot at the near post, then when Coleman set up Lennon. But that's not to say these saves were the only things Ospina accomplished. He punched, headed away and claimed everything in his range, taking a hit to the ribs in the process. In the end he got the clean sheet he deserved.
Others dug in too. From Ozil, who had a quietly influential performance, bagging two assists in the process, to Giroud who worked his socks off and won the air completely, as well as scoring the eventual winner, everyone looked much better than against Monaco. Not quite fluid, but resilient and compact.
A special mention should go to Gabriel and Coquelin. The former was a little nervous during the first 20 minutes but grew in stature as the game went on. In fact, he looked better than Koscielny, a seasoned pro, whose level of performances almost never drops. At one point Gabriel made a vital tackle on Lukaku and a minute later we scored the first.
And Coquelin. His performance flew under the radar somewhat, but he hasn't put a foot wrong all game. It was exasperating to see him break his nose in a collision with Giroud. Francis tried to stay on, but a minute from time got a whack on the nose and had to leave the pitch. It is unclear whether he'll require surgery, however if he does, it will be a big blow. FIngers crossed he won't.
The aftermath
It was obvious from the start our target №1 was not to concede and give chances away. It's understandable: last year when we suffered these big away losses we invariably played our next game this way. All three were followed up with a 0-0 draw. It's psychological: we needed to regain confidence in ourselves, to know we can stay compact and keep clean sheets. We did just that and scored a couple of goals on top.
But what I really liked was the unity. Everyone ran that extra mile for the good of the team and that is the most pleasing thing.
The win takes us back to third, above United who just scraped past 10-man Sunderland. It also widens the gap on Southampton (to five points) and Tottenham (to seven) and allows us to maintain our distance from Liverpool. We are now a mere four points behind City. Beautiful.
That's it for today. Back tomorrow or Wednesday with a preview of the QPR game.
Until then
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