Galatasaray 1-4 Arsenal: a positive game all around

Going into this game, I didn't expect us to produce such a strong display. As I've stated, it was unlikely Borussia would lose their game. They eventually drew against Anderlecht, a result which left a narrow window of opportunity for us. And by "narrow" I mean a win by a 6-goal margin over Gala.

The first half

An achievement which wasn't completely out of the question during the first 45 minutes. In fact, it seemed more and more likely as the half progressed.

We've started the game in the best possible manner: by scoring a quick goal. Ramsey found space near the box, his pass singled out an unmarked Podolski and the German fired an unstoppable shot into the top corner. 1-0.

Gala responded with a dangerous counter-attack, but, thankfully, Bellerin (deputising at left-back) made a gorgeous last-ditch tackle. It would be the last moment of danger before we took full control of the game.

Which happened in the 11th minute. Podolski won a tackle near the halfway line and passed the ball to Oxlade. The Englishman saw Ramsey making a run, rolled the ball in the Welshman's direction and Aaron did the rest by coolly poking the ball into the far corner. 2-0.

We could have been further up through first Podolski and then Sanogo, only for the former's strike to rebound off the bar and the latter's effort blocked to be blocked by a defender. However, we did add a third in the 29th minute.

The move started rather innocuously. Campbell swung in a corner which was cleared at the near post. The last thing I saw before the visual part of my stream died was Ramsey readying his left foot to hit the ball on the half-volley from some thirty yards out. But the audio part of the steam still worked fine and before I even thought "Why, oh why, Aaron?" the commentator shouted what a beauty of the goal the Welshman just scored. Replays showed Ramsey's beautiful strike (with his weak foot, mind you) fly all the distance to the goal and end up in the top corner. The Welsh Jesus has returned.

However, we didn't put the foot off the gas till the whistle went. Campbell was denied from a one-on-one, Podolski's cannon of a shot was somehow parried away to safety and I vaguely recall some dangerous shot from Oxlade-Chamberlain which flied over the bar. The possibility of us scoring the required six goals was there all right.

The second half

This possibility went up in flames right after the restart, as Arsene took off Ramsey and Flamini for Zelalem and Maitland-Niles respectively. Not that I rue the manager's decision. It was the right call to rest those who needed it most. That's what we've taken so many youngsters to Turkey for. To give seniors a breather provided we got a satisfactory result.

The downside of that double sub was that our midfield lost it's cohesion and urgency. Both youngsters (under the guidance of Oxlade-Chamberlain) did pretty well on their debut, though. At least I recall no blunders from them, which is a positive in itself.

These changes led to us surrendering possession and, consequently, our chances of scoring six. However, we came across as a very organised defensive unit, mostly restricting the Turks to distance shots. There were a couple of last-minute blocks from Chambers and Debuchy, but not much else. The few efforts that hit the target were dealt with by Szczesny easily.

Gala got their consolation goal, for whatever it was worth. The ref appointed a ridiculuous free-kick on the line of our box (the ball hit Mert's arms, but the German was blocking the shot and turning away from the ball. It could have hit him in the face, for instance, but the ref wouldn't say it's a free-kick in this case). Technically, though, the Spanish referee was within his rights as the ball hit the arm. Sneijder stepped up and smashed an unstoppable effort into the top corner. No chance for Szczesny.

We did manage to end the game on a high, though. A quick counter inside the last minute of injury time saw Poldi go one-on-one with the keeper and the German slotted his chance away. 4-1 it finished.

The aftermath

"We gave a strong response. We were dangerous every time we won the ball back, had good penetration, goals and until half-time we were very strong. In the second half we suffered a bit more - some players had not enough competitive games and I had to take two players off. We were a bit more lightweight in midfield. It was, overall, a strong performance."

A summary from the manager and it's a fair one. Interestingly enough, he said the possibility of scoring six crossed his mind at half-time:

"Not at the start of the game, but at half-time yes. But after we had to take Ramsey and Flamini off, it was too much for us to hope we could score six. We were closer to conceding one or two more in the second half. We had still our opportunities. No regrets, the players I left at home, I had no choice."

Borussia still finished top, despite drawing at home against Anderlecht (wait, Anderlecht is a hard team to play? At home? Who would have thought?) and thus we have to steel ourselves for a tougher opponent in the last sixteen. We'll face one of Atletico, Real, Barcelona, Bayern, Porto or Monaco. Not the prettiest picture, but to prove you are the best you have to beat the best. There's no escaping a big team in the Champions' League play-off round, so does it really matter when we draw one?

Alright, I'll leave it at that. Back tomorrow (or on Saturday) with the preview and all that entails.

Until the, enjoy the win

Follow me on Twitter (@AlexBaguzin)

Galatasaray preview: win it. Just in case

Hello everyone.

We face Galatasaray tonight and, while the chances of us topping the group are slim, we will look quite foolish if Anderlecht gets a result against Borussia and we don't win against the Turks. And, as Borussia is not exactly on top of their game right now, I do not exclude the possibility of them losing. We've seen how Anderlecht can be a thorn in the side, let's hope they become one for Borussia.

Team news update

Despite Arsene stating we want to win the game, a lot of key players were left behind. I can understand that: Gibbs and Koscielny need time to recover, Cazorla, Alexis and Welbeck played a lot, Giroud is ineligible and let's not forget about the injured.

However, as Arsene announced the squad a full day before the game (the first time he's done so in my memory), we now know that some of our players won't get a chance to rest. Chambers, Mertesacker, Flamini, Ramsey, and Oxlade will all start. Chambers will have some R&R because of his suspension, thus his next game will be almost two weeks from now. As for the others, well...let's hope Arteta and Walcott make it for our Saturday fixture, thus providing the manager with the opportunity to rest the Ox and Flamini respectively. Mert and Ramsey will have to hold on for dear life. That's the downside of having only three centre-backs and no Wilshere.

However, there is some positive news as well. Ospina, Szczesny and Debuchy have all been deemed fully fit and the latter two will start tonight. Debuchy's return is very welcome indeed, we've missed his experience in some games, while Szczesny and Ospina recovering simultaneously gives Arsene something to think about. I've been (rightly) pointed out recently, that Szczesny's attitude is not always appropriate for a goalkeeper. He has these moments of madness, when he suddenly rushes out of his goal or tries a clever pass instead of just hoofing the ball in the stands or elsewhere. In this sense even Martinez is calmer, though I don't think the Argentine will continue after his display against Stoke. Ospina, meanwhile, is as good a shot-stopper as Szczesny, while the Colombian also has none of the Pole's attitude problems, so I do wonder if he should be given a run. To show just what he can bring to the team. I won't bet on that in the league, we all know Wojciech is Wenger's №1 by default, but Ospina getting a string if games in the FA Cup is not that unlikely. The first cup game will take place on January 3rd and then we'll know where we are with the Colombian. By the way, we've drawn Hull City in the third round, so steel yourselves for all kinds of "Time for the Tigers to right the wrongs of the final" headlines. Good thing is, we play them at home, so this shouldn't be overwhelmingly hard. We'll cross that bridge when we get there, however.

The verdict

This game was christened a "dead rubber game" and it's hard to look at it in any other way. This feeling only intensifies when you look at our bench: Martinez, Zelalem and Akpom are the most prominent memebers there. We have a strong starting XI however, the one that is also more or less fresh and ready to play the entire game. While I hope the likes of Ramsey and Oxlade won't have to do that, there's just no guarantee things will work out as we want them to.

And what do we want really? The qualification is assured, the first spot is unlikely (though not entirely out of queston) and very few of these players will start against Newcastle come Saturday. I guess tonight's game boils down to a good performance, a clean sheet maybe and maximizing our fat chance of topping the group. Like Borussia's fans, we should be by the Germans when they fall, though the reason for that is entirely different.

So come on you Gunners

Wenger in or Wenger out?

I also wanted to address the matter of Arsene Wenger and where we stand with him. Right now the fan base is split down the middle and both sides (#WengerIn and #WengerOut) have thier share of sense to their arguments. We are not taking into account the WOBs and the AKBs, cause extremes rarely tell the full story and give you a clear picture of what's going on.

However, there are all sorts of (mostly logical) opinions flying around. The pundits, the journalists, the bloggers and whatnot have made their positions known during the last couple of days (a week, maybe) while using the variety of platforms to get their message across and I think it's time I've voiced mine. I hope you'll find it sensible. So here goes.

I'll start with the obvious: whether or not you want the manager gone, I think you should respect him. Arsene has done a lot for the Club, no one will deny it. He has won three titles, five FA cups and five Community Shields. He has introduced a whole new system of training players (new fitness regimes, diets and so on). He has built a new stadium when it became clear we were losing a sizeable chunk of profit because the iconic Highbury only held around 35 thousand. He didn't do it with the limitless resources of Chelsea and City, that's why a lot of penny-pinching and operating on a tight budget was involved. We had to pay off the stadium debt till last summer and I suspect us performing the transition from Nike to Puma has a lot do with it: I've heard how Nike was strict to us when it came to returning the loan we took from them to build the Emirates. Finally, Arsene has invented a whole new brand of free-flowing football, football which, when when we pull it off is both aesthetically-pleasing and extremely effective against pretty much anyone. There are only four sides in the whole Europe Arsene hasn't beaten during his 18 years at the helm and these four doesn't include Barcelona, Real, Bayern, Juventus, Milan or any of the English grands. Thie style of football saw us go a whole season unbeaten, took us into the final of the CL (ffor the first time in Club's history) and gifted us players like Henry, Bergkamp, Fabregas, van Persie and on and on. The list of players who blossomed under Arsene is really endless.

Then, there is the question of whether Arsene deserves the stick he's currently getting and it's a wholly different one. Mindless and vile abuses aside, does Arsene deserves to be criticized? It's really hard to answer that, because we don't have access to what's going on inside the Club. For example, many labelled Arsene tactically inept at defending after a 3-3 against Anderlecht, only to then discover it's Bould who trains the defense and organises it at set-pieces. I think the manager is still partly to blame for the team's weak performances this season, but he's definitely not the only responsible guy for that. It's just easy to level critique at him, because we know him well, while fitness coaches and the like are less prominent and, as such, harder to criticize. Arsene's just become the lightning rod, in my opinion and, while he's not flawless, he's also not the pantomime villain many try to present him as.

We can be quite sure he does his best and that he really has the Club's best interests at heart. I think the dissatisfaction stems more from the prolonged reign of our manager: many are tired of the journey, as Tim Stillman nicely put it and want a change. That's why they jump at every opportunity to get Arsene under pressure. Bottom line is this: everyone's entitled to his opinion and, as I've mentioned above, both sides have logic to their arguments. I'm fine with that (the sifference of opinion), but I'm definitely not fine at the amount of abuse Arsene is getting. He's, apart from being a manager, a human being (surprise, surprise), who has his ups and downs, bad and good days, who may not be in the mood. Never forget that.

Should he stay or should he go and, if the answer to the last part of the question is positive, when should he go? I think end of the season is the best time to judge him. We are halfway through December, a lot can change between now and May and Arsene deserves the chance to set the record straight and put things right. If he's unable to do that come May, we'll have that discussion again. For now, I think it'll be best for all parties concerned to not breed negativity and heap even more pressure on Arsene. This will enable him to do his job much better, trust me.

That's it for today. Back soon with a customary review.

Until then

Follow me on Twitter (@AlexBaguzin)

Stoke 3-2 Arsenal: abysmal

If you came here for a full review, you can turn right around: I've only watched the first half and 25 minutes or so (from 71st) of the second half. I don't know what happened in-between and, frankly, I don't want to know.

Also, my review will contain very few positive moments, so if you aren't looking to set the wrong tone to the remainder of your Sunday, you can also stop right here. For the rest of you, here goes.

The squad

Szczesny and Koscielny didn't make it and I wonder what would have been if they had. Martinez retained his spot between the sticks and his inexperience showed, though he can hardly be blamed for any of the goals.

He was protected (ahem) by a back four of Bellerin, Mertesacker, Chambers and Gibbs. No, "protected" is a wrong verb here. It implies that the Argentine was somehow shielded and kept safe from Stoke attacks, which he wasn't. Our defenders ran around like headless chickens, though receiving little support from Flamini and Ramsey hardly helped.

If anything, I don't get the decision to play Bellerin. The only reasonable explanation I can find is that Koscielny couldn't play and only made the bench because there was no one else. However, this game showed why Arsene was reluctant to use the Spaniard. He's still raw and, what's more important, not very physical. Which counts when you play Stoke.

The first half

 I only just made it in time for the kick-off. Yesterday was my first day back at uni after spending a week down with flu. I didn't get a proper night's sleep, then had to sit through three classes (with a window between them, mercifully) and, on top of all that, the tube wasn't functioning properly and after 5 hours' sleep and seven hours at uni I had to take the bus, the tube and do quite a bit of walking on my way home home. I entered my apartment 15 minutes before kick-off, physically drained and ready to collapse. Only I knew I couldn't, because I had a game to watch. A game I've been looking forward to and which may have been the only reason I stayed on my feet.

30 seconds into the match I wish I was stuck somewhere else. Anywhere but in front of the TV. The first goal was as unexpected as it was just, because our defense broke down during the episode. All our defenders switched off completely: Gibbs gave whoever it was the time to cross the ball, Chambers failed to head it away, though he shouldn't have, and Bellerin was up on his own against Crouch with Mert nowhere to be found. 1-0.

We could have equalised right away and we really should have done so. Bellerin got to the ball no one expected him to and crossed it towards unmarked Giroud. The Frenchman had the goal at his mercy and the simplest of tasks of nodding the ball home. He missed.

After that, it was all Stoke. We found ourselves outfought by a team which was flirting with the relegation zone before the start of the game. I vaguely remember Cazorla's effort drifting over the bar, but that was all. As far as I know, we didn't pull off a single shot on target during the first half.

Unlike Stoke. They had four shots, three of which went in. Their second again came from a cross from the left. Gibbs did nothing to prevent (was it Walters?) from crossing, Bojan's run was timed perfectly and no one cared to mark the former Barcelona man. 2-0.

Stoke continued attacking and got a third right at the death. A cross from a corner caused such panic and confusion between our defenders that no one spotted Walters at the far post. He smashed the ball into the roof of the net. I didn't see the replays of the moment, cause I immediately turned the TV off.

The second half

Despite not watching the first 25 minutes of this half, I couldn't bring myself to not follow the game on Twitter. I caught whiff of Sanchez hitting the post after a brilliant run from a halfway line saw the Chilean round off two defenders and Begovic, knew Stoke had a goal disallowed and was astonished when first Cazorla and then Ramsey found the net inside three minutes. I rushed back to the TV.

We were piling up the pressure alright. Bellerin was subbed for Welbeck at HT and then a hopelessly ineffective Giroud gave way to Podolski. The German had a header saved, which was his only decent moment from these 25 remaining minutes.

However, our best attempts to equalise led to nothing (not even many real chances) and then Chambers saw red. Calum held off Bojan some thirty yards from goal for only his second foul of the game and was immediately dished out a second yellow. There were only ten of our players left and even Campbell's introduction for Gibbs led to nothing. 3-2 it finished.

The verdict

Firstly, the positive moments, these tiny silver linings to a gigantic thunderstorm cloud. I liked Ramsey's goal very much, it was purely a moment of brilliance from the Welshman. A beautiful shot on the volley which puts an end to Ramsey's goal-drought and which will (hopefully) enable him to abandon his quest for goals and concentrate on other aspects of his game.

I'm also happy for Cazorla, who took the responsibility and converted the penalty for his second goal of the season. And, of course, it's better to lose 3-2 rather than 3-0 from a purely psychological point of view, because we showed some character and got something for it.

Finally, our away fans were brilliant. They were singing their hearts out at 3-2, completely muting the useless prick of a commentator on NTV+ football. I can recall only one moment when Arsenal fans' singing brought a tear to my eye. Two years ago, when we were losing to Bayern 3-0 at home.

And now the bad. First up is our defense. From inexperience of Bellerin to indifference of Mertesacker, we've had it all yesterday. Throw in an injured and out-of-form Gibbs and suspended Chambers and you get the idea of how useless our defense was.

Oh, the suspension. I know it's commonplace to start blaming the ref, but Anthony Taylor yesterday had a nightmare of a game. From not booking Crouch for a hand-in-the-face to letting off Charlie Adam for choking Sanchez with only a yellow. That's not to blame the ref for the loss, just to point out his complete and utter incompetence.

Finally, Arsene Wenger. Like after the game against United he spoke about positives and I find it not simply offensive, it's outrageous. Just admit for once we were not good enough. Stop with the excuses, man up. Admit yours and your players' mistakes.

I don't know, where we go from here and I don't like to think about it. I'll be back on Tuesday with a preview and will maybe have something more constructive to say.

Until then

Follow me on Twitter (@AlexBaguzin)

Stoke preview: keep it up

Evening everyone.

We face Stoke at Britannia Stadium tomorrow and, as always, it's a tough place to go to.

Injury update

And we seem once again short of defensive players. Debuchy will only be available against Gala, Monreal is out, Gibbs is also a doubt and Koscielny's involvement (God help us) is under question:

"We have to assess a few players today because we had some bad surprises with Nacho Monreal being out for tomorrow’s game. Hopefully Kieran Gibbs will be available and back in the team. We have to assess some other players like Laurent Koscielny and a few bumps and bruises that we got after the game".

That means we only have two 100% fit defenders - Mertesacker and Chambers. Throw in Bellerin (though I doubt Arsene will throw him in) and we have three. Keeping all fingers crossed that at least Gibbs makes it.

We also have some problems further up pitch, as Rosicky and Sanogo were both mentioned in a rather gloomy way:

"We might also lose Tomas Rosicky for a thigh problem and Yaya Sanogo for a calf problem."

Campbell for Sanogo is obvious, but Rosicky was our only fit midfielder on the bench. His absence not only means a fourth consecutive start for Cazorla and Ramsey, it might also create rotation problems for Tuesday. And we do need to rotate for our final group game, no doubt about it.

And to make matters worse (funny word, considering we already have 6 players out and 5 on the verge), Walcott is out, both for today and for Gala. Brilliant.

"Walcott is still struggling with his groin inflammation. I think he has an injection today to take care of that. Hopefully he can be available again after that. Galatasaray will be too early for him."

With all that, the usual guessing game becomes absurdly (and worryingly) easy.

The back five

Did I mention Szczesny might not be avaialable? My bad. While I have no problem with Martinez between the sticks, it'd good to have a proper keeper on the bench. Just in case, you know.

The back four. More like the back two-and-a-half. Chambers and Mertesacker will definitely start and, while Mert cannot be deployed in any other role, than a CB, Chambers will be plugging any hole that will be required of him. If Koscielny's unavailable, than Chambers becomes a centre-back. If it's Gibbs who's out, Chambers will play at left-back. If both Koscielny and Gibbs are okay, Chambers will remain at right-back.

I'm more than a little worried about the lad. He's got 21 games under his belt already and that's not taking his caps for England into account. And even though Debuchy is on the brink of returning and might be up for selection starting next Tuesday, there's no guarantee Chambers will get a nice long rest he deserves. Why? Because Koscielny is not completely fit and both our left-backs will soon start walking on crutches. I guess that's the price you pay for not buying another defender. Or letting Jenks go, when Bellerin isn't ready yet.

The midfield

We have three. Fit. Midfielders. Three. Flamini, Ramsey and Cazorla. For Cazorla, like for Chambers, it'll be game №22. For Ramsey №20. And for Flamini? №19.

I don't think Arsene will introduce changes to this set-up, however. Tuesday is our rotation day, tomorrow a win is crucial. Luckily, we have more room for manoeuvre in midfield, as both Oxlade and Sanchez can play there. It's easier to find a winger right now, than a central midfielder, so Ox in midfield won't hurt our chances elsewhere.

By the way, no word was said on Arteta and this genuinely worries me. He wasn't training with the main group at the very least, which means he may not be available for Tuesday. Which hampers our rotation ability to the point of "abort rotation, abort rotation!" Just imagine the worst-case scenario: 7 guys (4 defenders + 3 midfielders) who have played 4 games in 11 days (4th tomorrow, an away trip) will have to return to London and then immediately leave for Turkey and there play their 5th game inside two weeks. Scary prospect.

The attack

Arsene on Alexis:

"He is in the red zone. You can see that when he plays but he can dig deep. He played his 27th game on Wednesday."

27 - that means 22 for us and five for the national side. But, again, I don't think the Chilean will be rested tomorrow. Tuesday, yes, definitely, it'd be mad to start him, but tomorrow? Unlikely.

As for the other two in our front three, I'd very much like to see Welbeck and Giroud start together. They played some good football at West Brom and then some devastating one for a short period of time against Southampton (between Giroud coming on and Welbeck coming off), so I want to see them together.

However, what I want and what the manager thinks is right is two different things, though in this case I think there's a good possibility of my wish coming true, Either way, I figure Giroud should start definitely. He's physically stronger than Welbeck and we'll need that against Stoke. Whoever starts on the right (Oxlade or Welbeck) will depend on our midfield crisis.

The verdict

We are on a good run and we should do our best to prolong it. A third successive league win would be very welcome indeed, while if we can keep another clean sheet I'd be over the moon. And I won't be alone in that.

Can we win? Yes, I think we can. Even with all the injures we should still see a capable side out there. Just stick to our organized style of play as of late and we should be fine.

So come on you Gunners

And I'll be back with a review on Sunday or Monday.

Until then

Follow me on Twitter (@AlexBaguzin)

Arsenal 1-0 Southampton: resolute

Hello everyone.

Yesterday we got a third win in a row and it was much like the one against West Brom. A game with very few chances on both sides (Southampton has a grand total of one), but we got the result we needed, despite leaving it very late. And who scored that only goal? Alexis Sanchez, of course. At this rate he'll become our best player for the fourth consecutive month. Let's start at the beginning, though.

The first half

Arsene made two changes to the squad that bested West Brom three days prior to this game: Oxlade for Giroud and Sanogo for Campbell. Poor Costa-Rican. Not many eyebrows will be raised if he leaves us in January, but there will definitely be a lot of calls for Wenger's head. Monreal and Gibbs, meanwhile, both passed their fitness tests (just like the Ox) and were included.

We could have gone in front in the 7th minute already, when Cazorla's beautiful pass released Welbeck down the left. Unfortunately for us, the Englishman decided to try poking the ball with his weak foot and thus squandered a good chance. Now, I have to say this: Welbeck's decision-making is really strange at times. My guess is that Danny loses his head a bit in front of goal and that's why his finishing is off. He needs serious work in that area.

We had two more chances inside the first 45 minutes to take the lead. First presented itself after a scuffle in Saints' box, only for Oxlade's shot to be saved by Forster. Second came from a set-piece, when Cazorla's cross was met with a header from Welbeck. Forster saved again.

Southampton only had one opportunity to open the scoring, when Pelle and Davis combined brilliantly on the edge of our box, but, mercifully, Pelle's shot went well over. 0-0 at half-time.

The second half

The second half continued in much the same pattern. We (rather lethargically) attacked, Southampton defended and this dragged till Giroud's introduction to the proceedings. The Frenchman subbed Oxlade-Chamberlain on the 65th minute and we sparked into life.

Within minutes, Olivier created two moments of danger. First was a finish on the volley, which Forster palmed away, second was a pass to Welbeck, but the Englishman's effort was again saved.

After that the game calmed down and it looked like we were in for a 0-0. With ten minutes to go Arsene threw Podolski on for tiring Welbeck and the German made an impact several minutes later. His cross found Giroud in the box, the Frenchman nodded the ball towards the far corner, only for Forster to intervene and make another save.

But we got there in the end. Giroud battled his way in the box and found the onrushing Ramsey, the Welshman cut the ball back inside and an unmarked Sanchez slotted it home. 1-0 to the Arsenal.

The aftermath

After the game Arsene said:

"It was difficult for us to keep going from the start of the game because we’ve given a lot against Dortmund and on Saturday - today was the third game in seven days. You could see that we had to dig deep. We played against a good team who are very well organised and play very quick on the counter-attack. For us it was important not to be exposed on the counter-attack and to keep a clean sheet. We had to be patient and wait for our chances and you could see in the last 20 minutes that they started to suffer a little bit physically and that we created openings."

As it turned out, 10 out of twelve our league goals at home games were scored in the last half an hour, five of them in the last 15 minutes. Resilience.

I have to say I'm still a bit worried. We weren't exactly sharp and commanding and, as it can only be put down to physical exhaustion, that's even more worrying. We have three more games in ten days and the manager is already considering resting a few players against Gala:

"It is a very important period but one thing is for sure - we are not under huge pressure for game No 6 in the Champions League. With the week we had behind us and the week we have now, to go to Galatasaray for a decisive game would be very difficult."

I don't like the sound of it. Albeit it's a fat chance, there still is this teeny tiny possibility to top our group, which we should snatch at with both hands. By then, however, we can have Arteta, Debuchy, Walcott and both keepers back, so maybe we can still beat a managerialless Gala with a bit of rotation.

Oh, and a couple of words on keepers. Martinez had another fine game and this presents a dilemma, at least to me: should Szczesny be reinstated the minute he returns? Of course Martinez has benefited from a Mertescielny central pairing, but he still hasn't put a foot wrong in these last three games. Very calm, commanding, with great distribution (better than Szczesny's) and, most importantly, he doesn't try anything clever. Whenever there's danger, he just hoofs the ball into the stands. So definitely a decison for Arsene to ponder.

Alright, I'll leave it at that. Back in a couple of days with fresh news and a preview.

Enjoy the win

Follow me on Twitter (@AlexBaguzin)