Arsenal 2-0 Fulham: Santi keeps us at the top

Good evening.

Arsenal's splendid fashion of putting lesser teams to the sword continued yesterday with another fine win, this time over Fulham. The Cottagers has thus become the second side Arsenal took six points from over two games.

Arsene named an identical side to the one that got the job done at Villa Park. Monreal (despite all the doubts over his health) started on the left, while Rosicky was among the substitutes.

The first half was a rather uneventful one. Arsenal had one clear-cut chance in the 4th minute, when an interplay between Wilshere and Ozil allowed the latter to fire a low shot which was cleared off the line.

Fulham created a couple of decent chances, but, fortunately, our keeper was up for it. Szczesny first saved from a good Sidwell shot and then had to race Dejagah and Kacaniklic to the ball, after they have found some space.

We had the last word when Sagna's fierce shot was parried by Stekelenburg, but the game was still an even-shared one, though we dominated territory and possession.

After the restart, however, Arsenal upped the tempo just like they did against Cardiff, and it worked again. Gnabry saw his effort saved, then there was a scrap in the box as Arsenal almost got the ball into the net, but were denied by some last-ditch defending.

Fulham cracked under pressure soon enough. Cazorla cut inside from the left, Giroud and Wilshere combined and the Englishman returned the ball to Santi who smashed it home from the penalty spot. A great goal fro an in-form Spaniard.

Five minutes later, Cazorla doubled our lead. Monreal's cross fell to Santi just outside the box, he took a touch and sent a low shot flying towards the far corner past Stekelenburg.

After that, the game died down. Fulham was finished, we knew it, they knew it, so no one really tried to pull anything off.

Except Podolski. He came on for a tiring, but brilliant Gnabry and had two very presentable chances. His first effort was blocked by one of the defenders, his second was pushed onto the post by Stekelenburg.

Fulham could have nicked a consolation goal, something that could probably have sent Mertesacker into overdrive and force him to kill everyone responsible for ruining his second clean sheet in a row, but, luckily for his teammates, Bent wasted his chance, followed by Kasumi. In the end, we got the win and the clean sheet.

Our brilliant defence apart, I would like to give the props to Wilshere, Cazorla and Podolski. A run of games in his favoured position has clearly benefited Jack as he was, again, at the heart of every good Arsenal move with his trademark bursts of speed and close control of the ball. He will now give the manager a real choice headache, seeing as Arteta and Ramsey are set to return against Southampton. A situation that will, no doubt, only benefit everyone.

Cazorla seems to finally find his form, something the manager was quick to acknowledge:

"He was out for a long time at the start of the season and had some injury problems. After that he had an ankle problem and only recently, since mid-December, has he come back to his level".

His brace means he now has three goals in three games. Let's see how things progress over the course of the next couple of games, but the signs that the Spaniard is returning to his best, are encouraging.

And Podolski. When he came on, he always looked dangerous on the ball. He also put in a shift defensively, retracing his steps to help Monreal out. It's a pity the German didn't score, but at least we know he's all ready to play if the manager needs him.

And Arsene said, that's exactly, what he'll do:

"Every player who is on the bench is frustrated. But Lukas has a fantastic spirit and attitude and he showed that when he came on. He will play. He has been out for four-and-a-half months and it takes time, but he looks sharp. When he comes in he gives us something. First of all his occupies the flank well, his left foot is intelligent and dangerous. He is now physically ready".

That's another competitive player back to his best and the returns of Arteta, Ramsey, Bendtner and Vermaelen a week from now will make our bench packed with quality players.

This win ensures we stay top, though both City and Chelsea have won their respective games and we still have no margin for error. And we shouldn't, for the time being, need it. We play Coventry, Southampton and Crystal Palace in the upcoming weeks and should be looking to win all of these. Before all the hell breaks loose in mid-February. In the meantime, we can just enjoy being top.

Oh, and one last thing. I'm leaving for Maldives next Friday, so I won't be able to cover Coventry game. As for our next two Premier League fixtures, I'll do my best to find steams and watch them there. So check back often in case anything pops up.

Until later

Fulham preview: better than expected

Evening everyone.

Tomorrow Arsenal plays Fulham in yet another London derby and we should be looking (as always) to pick up the three points.

Team news, while still some way from ideal, looked way worse even yesterday. Today we can be quite certain, that both Moreal and Rosicky will be involved, the only question is, to what extent.

The fears that Monreal has broken his metatarsal were, fortunately, unfounded, while Rosicky underwent a surgery and will be able to play in a mask. This is certainly good news, seeing as Arteta, Ramsey and Vermaelen will only be available after Coventry encounter. If Monreal and Rosicky were added to that list, we would have run out of options in midfield, while Jenkinson would become out only back-up defender.

A situation we have avoided, which gives us a chance to play our most combative squad against Fulham. I think it's only reasonable for the manager to field a strong a side as possible. He'll have an opportunity to rotate in the Cup (if he feels like it) and some pictures from the training ground (involving Zelalem) show, he's considering it. Personally, I won't be surprised if guys like Jenkinson, Zelalem and Miyaichi, coupled with some seniors, who need practice (Podolski, Ox) start against Coventry.

For the time being, though, we should focus our attention on Fulham. Our home record started going up recently, with wins over Cardiff and Tottenham, so let's keep improving it. As title contenders (no one will deny it now), we have to get good results against lesser opponents, something we've been good at since the start of the season.

The only points we dropped against teams, which are now positioned considerably lower were in games against West Brom and Aston Villa. Just five points dropped. Astonishing, come to think of it.

The manager has also reiterated this result, by saying it gives us a platform to build on. If we are consistent against the bottom teams, we can then look to pull off good results against sides like Chelsea and City. It's not easy,but, as experience has taught us, it may not be necessary, should we roll over everyone else.

In other news, Arsene has talked quite a bit about contracts (his own included) and, when quizzed about the future of Sagna and Mertesacker, said that, hopefully, we'll soon have an announcement to make, regarding both players. While there was some talk back in October (I think) about renewing Mertesacker's contract, the matter of his contract wasn't as pressing as Sagna's. Now, it looks very much that we have finally found compromise with the Frenchman, which is really nice.

A right-back of his quality and consistency is hard to find, especially during the January transfer window, so it's good to hear, we're close to tying his future to the club. It's understandable, the Frenchman was weighing up his options, as it's probably his last big contract, but, at the same time, I got the feeling he wanted to stay and only waited for us to up our offer. If that's what we've done, then thumbs-up to Arsene. Sometimes you do have to pay that extra to keep a really good player and this is definitely one of these times. As for Mertesacker, well, he's no less integral to our defensive solidity, so it's another bonus. His contract still have a year and a half to run, but the sooner he signs, the better.

Apart from that, not much else going on, so I'll leave it here. Here's for a win tomorrow, so we'll head into a busy February top of the world.

Until later

Aston Villa 1-2 Arsenal: Jack in the box

It was a strange game I witnessed yesterday. Up until 75th minute, only one team was in it. Then Benteke scored and the dynamic of the match changed completely. We held on stoically, giving away only one chance in the last twenty minutes while Villa piled up the pressure and got our reward in the end.

Arsene made three changes to the side that has beaten Tottenham nine days ago: Flamini for Arteta, Ozil for Rosicky and Giroud for Walcott. The last two were pretty straightforward, but I was surprised not to see Arteta anywhere near the squad. He is our de-facto captain after all, so it's strange to leave him out just because it's an away game against a weaker opposition. He wasn't mentioned during the press-conference, so I assume the Spaniard is all right, but I still fear the worst. After this game, Arteta's injury is the last thing we need.

Arsenal started brightly enough and could have gone ahead very quickly had Giroud hit the target with his header. He missed (not from the best of positions, I must add) and we continued our quest for goals.

Though Arsenal seemed completely in control of the proceedings, Villa managed to conjure up two decent chances, first when Delph sent his shot wide, following a bad pass from Wilshere, then when Al Ahmadi fired over. The game returned to it's normal course after that.

This course saw us take the lead and then double it inside 60 seconds. On 34th minute a beautiful pass from Ozil split Villa's defence open down the left, Nacho cut the pass back for Wilshere and the Englishman's effort found the bottom corner.

Jack turned provider almost immediately. He robbed some bloke of possesion in the final third and sent a lofted through ball towards Giroud. The Frenchman controlled the pass well before smashing his shot past Guzan. It was a really neat passage of play from Olivier, but the pass leading up to it should also not be forgotten.

The second half turned out to be a most tedious affair in the beginning. Arsenal attacked half-heartedly, Villa tried to catch us on the break, only for their final pass to prevent them from doing so. Then, in the 75th minute, something that you don't get to see too often, happened, namely, Cazorla was dispossessed in the defensive half. Lowton then sent in a perfect cross, which missed everyone but Benteke at the far post. The Belgian scored his first goal in, like, a bazillion years.

Now, I may be wrong here, but it's not the first time I notice how weaker opposition, which plays like crap for the whole season, steps it up against Arsenal. Maybe playing big teams mobilises such teams, but I sure don't like it. Maybe we are seeing once again, how Arsenal never do things the easy way, but listening to how Villa, which only has one home win in the entire campaign, nearly takes two points away from possible champions is a bit disheartening.

Luckily, Arsenal held on for the remainder of the match. Benteke still has another half-chance, but his shot was straight at Szczesny. The game was, however, blighted by several nasty injures.

Apart from the first-time injury to Baker, which  saw him stretched off the pitch in an unconscious state, Arsenal have very likely lost Monreal and Rosicky and I pray that we haven't lost them for long. Monreal got kicked during his great run after Villa's goal and had to be replaced by Gibbs (who himself has only just recovered) and then that disgusting Agbonlahor bloke elbowed Rosicky. The Czech looked like he had his nose broken and was also substituted, only minutes after coming on. The manager said, he doesn't know, how severe these injures are, so let's hope for the better.

Apart from the usual talk from Arsene about two different sides to this Arsenal, erm, side and the aforementioned injures, the boss has also touched upon Jack Wilshere's match-winning performance:

"He has found his change of pace back, his game about that and his penetration because he's not only a passer but he's guy who is incisive with the ball. It's his strengths so from that you need to be at the top of your game physically".

So, Jack is back. Which is really good to hear. Now let's hope he'll be joined by Ramsey, Vermaelen, Monreal and Rosicky, though in a much more straightforward sense of the word.

Fulham is up next. Until then, enjoy the good win and a deserved place at the top

Aston Villa preview: got to be up for it

Morning everyone.

Today we play Villa away from home and should be looking to pick up the three points.

The thing Arsenal excels at this season is getting the right results against lesser opposition. We have dropped only a couple of points against such teams and this achievement catapulted us to the top.
We didn't take anyone lightly and anything for granted and showed up fully motivated for every game. Because of this attitude we have been able to succeed thus far. And we should continue in this vein, because we know all too well how every team in the league can punish mistakes and lack of concentration.

We go into this game with a relatively clean bill of health. Sure, Walcott is out for long and Bendtner is, like, three weeks away, but everyone else has a chance of at least making the bench. There are doubts over Vermaelen, Gibbs and Ramsey, but they definitely are on the fringes and, in worst-case scenario, are only a couple of days away.

Even without them, we can put out a strong squad. I think we should try and play as competitive a side as possible, given we'll have five days after the game to recuperate.

Should Ramsey and Gibbs make it, I assume they will only be used from the bench. Oxlade-Chamberlaine  is another player unlikely to start, so we'll probably see Gnabry or Rosicky on the right and Cazorla on the left. Wilshere will be, most likely, deployed alongside Arteta, seeing as Villa isn't much of a threat in the middle of the park.

Who will play on the right is the most interesting thing for me. The experienced Czech, who had a brilliant game or an exciting new talent, who had an even better game? We'll see.

It's good to know that, regardless of who starts, we'll have a strong bench. Should the aforementioned trio be given a green light, someone won't make the squad. Gnabry seems the weakest link, but he's also one of the few natural wingers we have and is clearly on top of his game right now. Another puzzle for the manager to solve and it's a puzzle of a pleasant kind.

In other words, we have more than enough to win the game and should do exactly that. With Chelsea and City winning their respective games we now sit third and have to get three points to return to the summit.

Which, I sincerely hope, we can accomplish without too much trouble.

Till tomorrow

Injury update + Arsene talks transfers and Rosicky

Evening everyone.

Our next Premier League game is still a couple of days away, but there are bits and pieces to keep us going for now.

First of all, Arsene updated us on the squad condition and it looks like we are going to be better off, than expected. Giroud and Ozil are completely fit and I expect both of them to start. Oxlade-Chamberlain is also back in contention, but, even though he played forty-five minutes with the reserve team, it's still early days for him. It's going to take some time to get back into the swing of things and he's definitely not ready to fill Theo's shoes right now.

His style of play is a bit different, he's not a finisher like Theo (at least, not yet), so it's interesting to see, what role Arsene holds for the Ox.

Whatever it is, we need to somehow step it up in terms of goals, seeing as Theo was one of our goalscoring threats (in fact, I think only Bendtner (!) has currently scored more than Walcott at Arsenal). I've seen a rather interesting suggestion of how we can solve this problem without the need to revert to external solutions.

With Walcott, our set-up was simple: on one flank we had a skilled midfielder, who drifted infield to create an overload (usually, Cazorla), on the other we had a finisher, who found space behind the defenders (Theo). Now we can keep this scheme by introducing Podolski on the left and shifting Cazorla to the right flank. The Spaniard will then be able to switch places with Ozil, while Podolski will become a genuine goal threat by making runs behind defenders' backs.

Of course, there's one flaw to this set-up right now: Podolski is our only remaining alternative to Giroud (at least, for the duration of Bendtner's injury, which should be around three weeks), thus starting both the Frenchman and the German is a bit of a gamble.

I somehow don't think we'll revert to a scheme we used earlier this season when Walcott was out, namely, playing two creative midfielders on the flanks. With Oxlade and Gnabry it will be a bit strange if we do. Both are more natural wingers, than anyone else on the team (except, maybe, Podolski), so keeping both of them on the bench will look odd. At the same time, both may not be ready to deliver on a consistent basis, due to their relative inexperience. All in all, an interesting problem for the manager to wrap his head around.

And he may do so by finding an external solution. In his interview to Goal.com, Arsene stated, that losing Walcott accelerated his desire to sign cover, as Arsenal have lost a goalscorer, first and foremost, so he'll try and find a replacement in that department. I would not rule out a winger, but, then again, I won't be surprised, if we sign nobody this January.

In other news, Wenger has revealed, that Rosicky is likely to re-sign his contract and I think it's a right decision. The Czech has been really good this season, showing he still has a lot to contribute on numerous occasions, so fair play to Thomas. I would be as happy as him, should he finish his career at Arsenal. Even more, if he does so by becoming a part of a team that finally ends this trophy drought.

Apart from that, not much else going on. As I have another exam coming up, I'll only be back on Monday with the usual preview of the game.

Until then