Tom to the rescue + Ozil thoughts

Since our game is on Saturday, things are quieter than usual. However, there's talk Tomas Rosicky will extend his contact sooner rather than later, so we have an opportunity to discuss just what the Czech brings to the team and why the manager is so keen to keep him.

In the immediate aftermath of our game against Sunderland, Tomas drew praise from Arsene, who likened the 33-year-old to Dennis Bergkamp. No small comparison, either, since Dennis just had his statue unveiled.

Wenger talked (however brief) of Tomas' qualities, highlighting the Czech's loyalty to the club as one of the rarest things in modern football. Our experienced midfielder has been pulling on the Arsenal shirt for almost eight years now (only Walcott and Sagna play longer) and, though I may be mistaken, Tomas has had the same wages for the duration of this period.

In one way, it's easy to keep him. Tomas doesn't want a shiny new salary, nor a long-term contract. But Wenger was right when he said Rosicky is an exception to the general rule. Tomas loves the Club and is prepared to stay with us whatever. I don't know, whether other clubs approached the Czech, but I get the feeling those clubs would have been turned down. I call it loyalty, others may apply other terms to Rosicky's stance.

However, it's not just his devotion that deserves praise. Though he is 33, Tomas is full of energy and drive. It's not a coincidence that our game against Sunderland is among the best, when it came to denying our opponents space and putting them under pressure. We've talked how Rosicky sets the right (frenetic) tempo to our game and it is more apparent when we're forced to play off the ball. He closes men in possession tirelessly and it had a direct influence at least twice. First, when he scored against Tottenham. Saturday was a second time. You can read more about the role Tomas played in our 4-1 win here. It's a quite brilliant piece of analysis.

Ozil doesn't do the same amount of work off the ball as the Czech. Or, at least, he doesn't do it often enough to make it count. He's an another type of player, one who prefers to split defences open with an inch-perfect pass. Mesut cuts a less noticeable figure on the pitch, yet his raw numbers are much better than that of Tomas. Sure, he plays more, but the point I'm trying to get across, is that different styles of play is normal and both players are equally important. Some, however, have already written Ozil off, which just goes to demonstrate how quickly people's opinion change.

Honestly, I don't understand the criticism aimed at the German international. For example, all this crap about him shying away from his defensive duties. Ozil does do them, but he's not a defender, for God's sake, he can't be as effective at tackling or intercepting the ball as our back four + defensive midfielders. And for those who think Ozil doesn't track runners, he's second in distance covered to only Flamini (in the Bayern game). Yes, Ozil is going through a bad patch of form, but we all know he's a world-class footballer. He'll find his game soon enough, I'm sure he will. All Mesut needs is support. If not from everyone, then definitely from Arsenal fans. We were all happy when Ozil was signed for a reason and if every time Mesut's form takes a dip we start calling him a shitty footballer, it would have been best if he hadn't signed at all. Give the man some support, he needs it as much as everyone else, even though he's our all-time record transfer.

Until later

Arsenal 4-1 Sunderland: a good ending to a difficult month

Our midweek result was put well and truly behind us yesterday as we have swept aside Sunderland at home to maintain pressure on Chelsea. Their late goal ensured they got the points, so it was vital for us to get a win.

Before the game, however, all eyes were turned to Dennis Bergkamp. Our legendary number ten flew to London to witness the unveiling of his statue and gave a short speech. He then stayed to watch the game and was not disappointed.

Arsene made a lot of changes to the side that went down to Bayern. Ozil, Gibbs, Flamini, Oxlade and Sanogo were all replaced, the former two didn't even make the squad because of an injury. I suspect Ozil has no injury and was just taken out of the firing line, but, whatever the reason, the German needs that break.

Arsenal started in splendid fashion, determined to show the strength of their character and managed to do just that. Five minutes into the game Arsenal were ahead.

Wilshere burst through the middle, drew four defenders to himself and laid the ball off for Giroud. The Frenchman grabbed his chance and sent the ball into the bottom corner. His celebration was tame somewhat, I suspect this is down to him feeling he's let the manager down.

We didn't back off, though and continued to pass the ball around in our opponents' half. This led to a good shot from Podolski (outside the box), which was saved by our old friend Mannone. However, our relentless pressing lead to a second goal soon enough.

In the 32nd minute Sunderland was forced to play the ball back to their keeper, who found Vergini on the right. After a short interchange with some bloke, he was forced by Rosicky and Podolski to play it back again, but mistimed his pass. Giroud made this count and sent the ball into the net to double our lead.

Eleven minutes later we were 3-0 up. An interchange between Wilshere, Cazorla, Giroud and Rosicky sent the latter one-on-one and the Czech dinked the ball over Mannone. This goal reminded me heavily of Wilshere's goal against Norwich. The same dazzling speed, the same quick thinking and movement. A great goal, a contender for the best goal of the season, no doubt.

The ref blew for half-time three minutes later. In 45 minutes Sunderland had only one half-decent chance and enjoyed just 25% of possession.

In the second half, Arsenal lowered the tempo and basically surrendered the ball for the first ten minutes. Whether it were the effects of playing a second game in three days, the fact that they've won the game or just some good play from Sunderland, it's hard to tell. Whatever it is, the Black Cats seized the initiative and had two very respectable chances in the opening minutes of the second half. Szczesny made two brilliant saves, but everyone inside the stadium sensed a goal coming.

It did, but at the other end of the pitch. We burst into a counterattack, Sagna crossed the ball and Vergini made a sloppy clearance. Santi sent in a cross, Koscielny escaped his marker and planted a firm header into the bottom corner to make it 4-0.

If there were any questions before this goal, they evaporated. Arsenal had done their job, Sunderland had an eye on the League Cup final, so the remainder of the game was pretty boring. Gnabry (who replaced Rosicky) could have scored another, but lingered too long and his shot was easily blocked by Manonne.

However, Sunderland managed to grab their consolation goal, thus leaving us without a clean sheet. After Giroud fouled some bloke on the wing and some other bloke crossed the ball, Szczesny punched the it away and it fell to Giaccerinni. The Italian smashed home a beautiful low shot from about 30 yards. I was actually amazed no one got in the way, since our box resembled my local underground station at 8 a.m., but you have to give credit to Giaccerinni. It was a beautiful shot. The game finished 4-1.

After the game, Arsene hailed his team's spirit:

"We had a very demanding week physically and mentally and we gave the right response today. We did the job in the first half and we scored two great ‘Arsenal’ goals; one of them scored by Giroud, the other by Rosicky".

He also spoke about Giroud's display:

"I had no hesitation about his strength of character. Of course you want him to come back into the team and be successful, which he was today because he scored two goals. One great one at the end of great movement and the other a little bit of a gift from Sunderland. He got an assist as well, so he did well".

For me, the Frenchman showed just how important he is to our current set-up once again. Bendtner may be a decent  replacement, Sanogo has shown promise, but Giroud demonstrated he can, more often than not, make his presence count. With Rosicky, Wilshere, Cazorla and even Podolski to make runs off the Frenchman, our attacks looked dangerous every time, despite Sunderland playing some very good defensive football. Giroud may have his shortcomings, but right now he has to be number one choice, family problems or not.

Another thing, that will no doubt worry the manager, is our makeshift defence in the latter stages. We finished the game with Jenks on the right, Sagna in the centre and Flamini on the left. Monreal was taken off at half-time, Koscielny left the pitch twenty minutes from the final whistle and Gibbs and Vermaelen are still not back. Wenger said both Kos and Monreal only carry knocks and should be fine for the next game (against Stoke), but the situation is flimsy to say the least.

Another casualty was Jack Wilshere. The Englishman has pulled a muscle in the closing stages, but was forced to continue as we've run out of subs. Wenger was less optimistic on Jack but, hopefully, he too makes the squad this weekend.

So, a great win, and an even better performance is just what we needed to rebuild confidence ahead of a tough run of fixtures. It's even more important as City, Chelsea and Liverpool have all scraped a win. Let's win our next two games and see what we can make of our trip to Munich.

At this stage, I'm positive Bayern will have a hard time making it to the last eight.

Sunderland preview: only one response

 Hi everyone.

Tomorrow Premier League action returns and we face Sunderland in a very important (psychologically) game.

Sunderland had an atrocious start of the season, but had gone a long way since Poyet became their manager. The Black Cats now sit 18th in the table and their battle to avoid relegation is no longer seems a lost one. Moreover, Sunderland is still fighting in both the FA Cup and the League Cup and have progressed to the finals in the latter. It's obvious they are a dangerous side and Arsenal will have to work hard to best them again.

The news is, Gibbs and Vermaelen are definitely out for this game, but we welcome Arteta back, while the Ox had, most likely, avoided an injury that may prevent him from playing. If luck is on our side (which it almost always isn't), we may even see Kallstrom involved.

Whatever squad plays, the manager had hinted rotation will take place and Sanogo, Ozil and Sagna top my list to make the bench.

This trio has played almost every minute against Liverpool and Bayern and looked dead on their feet in the last stages of our midweek clash.

On top of physical exhaustion, Ozil also needs a mental break, if I may. He's been criticised by all and sundry for his penalty miss and a couple of crappy performances, so taking him out of the firing line is a good idea.

I expect Giroud and Podolski to replace Sanogo and Ozil respectively, while Arteta can come back at Oxlade-Chamberlain's expense. Injury or no injury, he's played a lot and risking the Ox is stupid. Better let Wilshere play on the flank.

Apart from that, the manager has touched on how Arsenal can produce a stunning response against the Bavarian giants and I think he's not just being arrogant or disrespectful.

As you probably remember, Arsenal had a flying start on Wednesday night and Bayern found themselves on the ropes, as we cut open their defence time and again. Had Ozil scored the spot-kick, I bet we would have won the game, perhaps by a good margin.

Producing such a start in Munich may lead to a goal we need to get back into the tie and the game would be an open one after that. Bayern won't dare go into an all-out-attack mode out of fear of getting caught on the counter, while Arsenal goes to Germany with nothing to lose and everything to win and will no doubt play without any pressure. Of course, should Bayern score first, we are are out of the tie, but, thankfully, we have a blueprint of how to play, courtesy of last year.

What is even more important is that today's Arsenal is completely different to the team we've seen last year at this stage. I view our loss in the first game as a freak occurrence, or, to be more precise, a game ruined by poor refereeing. I've watched the episode with the penalty once again and my opinion remains the same. It was a dive from Robben after he realised he's lost control of the ball, pure and simple, and the ref bought it. It's sad really. It was a  beautiful game, a game of two sides and after the suspension only one team was in it.

I really think the rules ought to change. Let alone that the punishment for such a foul is absurdly harsh, the fact, that the ref was basically tricked into making an unfair decision is outrageous. It's nothing new, footballers do this all the time, but that's exactly what I'm talking about. Video replays need to be put in place to prevent refs from making game-defining decisions. The reality is, the quality of refereeing is probably better than it was, say, forty years ago, but now the whole world sees when the ref makes a mistake. Match officials are not to blame for making mistakes, the system is. Actually, I more often than not sit in quiet awe when, for example, the linesman spots an offside we struggle to see with all the replays. No, referees are all right, they just don't receive enough help to become impeccable.

Right, I'll leave it at this, back Monday for a review. Have a good weekend

Arsenal 0-2 Bayern Munich: deja vu

I still haven't gotten over what happened yesterday, so I'll split everything I have to say in sections.

Starting line-ups

I don't know much about Bayern, but I did notice Rafinha, Shaquiri and Muller were left out. Shaquiri is injured, but Rafinha was benched in favour of Lahm, who played much of the season as a DM. Seems Guardiola smelled the potential weakness of Rafinha at right-back and ploughed for Lahm. When Cazorla was taken off, Rafinha made his entrance.

Arsene gave a surprise start to Sanogo. The lad played the entire game and played well enough, but his attacking actions were restricted, apart from a burst of activity early on.

Ozil and penalty

Bar a 3rd minute shot (well-saved by Szczesny), we've managed to put pressure on Bayern and created a couple of dangerous moments. Sanogo saw his effort blocked and then a pass from Wilshere split open the Germans defence. Ozil got the better of whoever it was, then was knocked down. The ref pointed to the spot, Mesut stepped up and did the exact same thing he did earlier in the season. A short run, a weak shot, a save, this time from Neuer.

This is getting ridiculous. After the first miss, Ozil would have been the last man to take the spot-kick, if it was up for me to decide. I'm sure Wilshere would have had better luck. Maybe even Cazorla. It's high time we reconsider our pecking order.

Szczesny and a red card

After the penalty miss, Arsenal lost a bit of pace going forward and Bayern started to get back into the game. This resulted in a couple moments of danger, but we've dealt with these well enough.

Up until 37th minute. A lob pass split open our defence, Robben got a foot to the ball, sent it out for a goal kick, then bumped into Szczesny, performed a theatrical dive and went down like he's been shot. The ref bought it, pointed to the spot and sent Szczesny off.

This decision killed the game. Apart from the fact, that such double punishment is harsh (overly harsh, in my opinion) it made an interesting game boring as hell. By virtues of justice Alaba hasn't scored, but Arsenal were forced on the back foot for the remainder of the game. It was getting hard to fend off Bayern with 11 men, but having ten made it nigh on impossible. We held out till the break with the scores level, though.

Second half

It was boring. We got as many men behind the ball as humanly possible and tried with all our might to keep the German side at bay. They did manage to score on the 54th minute, but it was down to a brilliant piece of play, rather than poor defending.

Second goal

We then kept the score at 1-0 till the 88th minute. And just when it looked like we'll only have one goal to chase in Munich, some poor decision-making from us ensured we'll have to score at least twice at Allianz Arena.

Arsenal have won a free kick upfield and instead of playing it short or just lumping the ball towards Sanogo, we've brought Koscielny into the box. He got to the ball, lost it and Bayern flew forward. They've been waiting for an opportunity such as this all night and the fact we have given it ourselves is frustrating in the extreme.

Koscielny got stuck high up the pitch, Flamini didn't cover his position well enough, Muller got in-between the Frenchman and Mert and scored. The fact, that this was an entirely avoidable goal made it that much harder to swallow.

Conclusion

So, what do we do now? The same thing we always do after a defeat. Put the maximum effort into winning our next game. And when the time comes, we send our best squad to Germany and go for it. Like last year.
And I'll get back to you later. Tomorrow, maybe. Cause right now, it's still hard to gather my thoughts.

Bayern Munich preview: underdogs?

Hello.

Tomorrow night the second bout of Champions League football takes place and we host Bayern in an entertaining home fixture.

Most are of the opinion that Arsenal are no match for the defending champions. On top of a a last year's treble, Bayern are, by far, the best team in Bundesliga, with nineteen wins and two draws. Leverkusen trail them by 16 points, Borussia by 17. Their only loss came during the group stages of the CL, when City has beaten the Germans at Allianz Arena.

And yet there's also an air of confidence around quite a lot of people, Arsenal fans being the most prominent fraction. And I don't think it's based on belief in this side only.

Point is, Wenger rarely makes the same mistake twice, unless he has no room for manuever. There were a lot of examples of how Arsene learned from his mistakes down the years and only United and Barcelona (at their prime) managed to get two wins over Arsenal in the same year.

Even if we take some of the most recent games, Arsenal always responds in a positive way. Milan? Check. Bayern last year? Check. Liverpool right now? Check.

Moreover, this side has mental toughness to it than any other side since the Invincibles. We've been doing what we do for a year now and I don't see us suddenly break down.

In terms of team news, the press conference hasn't taken place yet, but there is word Vermaelen may return and if he really does, that's wonderful news. I got to admit, it's been a bit nervy to only have two fit centre-halves for a last couple of weeks. We were an injury or a suspension away from calling Sagna into action as the emergency central defender, which also would have meant Jenkinson on the right flank. I like Carl, but I still think he's not ready to play on a regular basis.

Apart from Vermaelen, I don't think anyone will return and, unfortunately, we lose Arteta through suspension, so Flamini will most likely be paired up with Wilshere.

Szczesny, Sagna, Gibbs and Giroud should all start, but the manager has an interesting dilemma on the flanks to ponder. Does he try and overload the centre of the park and pick Cazorla and Rosicky, or will he want to stretch the play and start Podolski and the Ox? Besides, there's also the matter of form and exhaustion level to ponder.

I suspect Arsene will choose the latter option. Not only are Podolski and Oxlade genuine wingers and will provide Giroud with plenty of service as such, they may also seek to exploit Bayern defensive weakness. In a piece I've read earlier, it is stated that Rafinha will most likely play at right-back and, given the fact he's not a true full-back, Podolski can make it count.

On the other flank, there'll be no Ribery (another bonus), so we can risk playing the Ox there. Not that he doesn't return to help Sagna out, but Rosicky is still a better option defensively.

An interesting call for the manager, anyway. I'm sure he's informed of any potential weaknesses and his teams' strengths better, than anyone else. Having played Bayern just a year ago helps too.

Not much else going on, so I'll leave it here. Should anything of note pop up, I'll be back tomorrow. If not, check back on Thursday for a review.

Come on you reds