Crystal Palace preview: emulate our last performance

Hello everyone.

Gosh, it's been a long and hard week. Good thing it's finally over and, though, the exam didn't go down particularly well and I'll have to retake it I'm not going to study for it anywhere near as hard. So normal service resumes starting today.

And today Arsenal travels to Selhrust Park to take on a resurgent Crystal Palace side. The Eagles have won 5 out of their last 8 games (in all comps), such is the effect Pardew has produced. However, they are far from being invincible, even at home. So if we show up with a performance we can win it.

Team news update

"My team selection will not be influenced at all by the Champions League. The most important game is Palace because it is the next one."

That being said, there are some question marks over Bellerin's and Flamini's involvement:

"We have some uncertainties about Flamini and Bellerin - they are doubtful for Saturday."

Don't know about Flamini (he wasn't likely to start anyway), but Bellerin took part in full training yesterday, so that should mean the Spaniard is likely to make it.

However, there is positive news in regards to Oxlade and Wilshere:

"Jack is fine. He could be back in the squad because he’s available again. He’s a bit ahead of schedule and he’s worked hard with no big problems, so it’s good to have him back.

Oxlade Chamberlain is close. He will join in normal training today."

Both have trained and I'm sure at least Wilshere will make the bench. The manager has already gone on record saying he contemplated picking Jack against Boro and I'll be hugely surprised if we don't see the Englishman on the team sheet today. With Oxlade the situation is different, though I have a gut feeling he'll be involved against Monaco if not today. Ramsey remains out, his hammy will keep Aaron sidelined for something around ten more days. No walking on water for him today or midweek, I guess.

With all that out of the way, time to try and guess the team.

The back five

Ospina should come straight back in for Szczesny: the Pole didn't do anything to convince he should stay in goal after the Middlesbrough performance. Sure, he had little to do, but then it was the same story with Ospina for three of four games and the Colombian wasn't removed, which culminated in his brilliance performance against Spurs. So for me David should start.

Defense is another story altogether. Chambers, Gabriel and Gibbs all did brilliantly and it will be hard dropping any of them. Gabriel maybe not so much, he still has to adapt to the rigours of the Premier League, but Chambers and Gibbs provide Arsene with an almighty headache. I think we should keep faith in our best back four, which now consists of Bellerin, Per, Kos and Nacho. If there's a chance Bellerin aggravates his injury, then he needs to sit this one out. Otherwise Hector deserves to regain his spot. As does Nacho.

The midfield

With Ramsey absent and Jack unlikely to start I think a trio that destroyed Middlesbrough can do the job. Coquelin and Ozil play magnificently in their respective preferred positions, while Santi has shown great potential as a link between the two. Besides, the scarcity of options is such that, unless we want to try Rosicky there, we really don't have a choice.

Can Santi do a job in almost a holding position on a permanent basis? That is the question. The author of this article argues the Spaniard is up for the task. He definitely looked comfortable there against Boro and, while it's not even a Premier League team we are talking about (thogh they should become one next season), the makings of playing deeper infield are present. Brilliant close-qurters control, very good distribution, the ability to quickly change the direction of an attack: it's all about Santi Cazorla. At this rate he'll quickly become our new Arteta. There remains the question of where Jack and Ramsey fit into this nice picture, but it's up to them to trove they deserve to start games when fit.

The attack

Giroud and Alexis will play, no doubt about that, but I'm really interested in who will get the nod to start on the right: Walcott or Welbeck. For me it's the latter, simply because Danny can combine his pace with tracking back and helping Bellerin out, whereas Walcott often leaves the full-back exposed.

Theo has been questioned a lot lately, truth be told and I can get why: at this moment in time, Theo still hasn't become a very good all-round performer. In fact, he strongly reminds me of Podolski and that's not a compliment. I sincerely hope injures took their toll and we are yet to see the best of Theo, but with his contract due to expire next summer, some started wondering whether we need to replace the Englishman with a more complete footballer like Reus or Dybala. You can have an in-depth read here and here (the article is in two parts). As for me, I think Theo will need to show a drastic improvement on his current performances by the end of the season to convince the masses we need to keep him.

The verdict

Should our attack click the way it did against Boro I'm sure we can get the win. It will be particularly handy with United visiting Swansea and Tottenham and Southampton facing West Ham and Liverpool respectively. It presents us with a decent chance to break into the top four and we should take it with both hands.

Come on you Gunners.

Finally, I wanted to touch on the FA Cup draw. We didn't have any luck with it this time: we'll have to face United away on the 9th of March. United scraped past Preston North End in the last sixteen due to a mix of appalling refereeing from Phil Dowd and a blatant dive from Rooney. This side has zero class, with Van Gaal quickly becoming more of a joke than Moyes and all this should hint at a win at Old Trafford, only for a small "but".

It's Arsenal they play. We have an atrocious record against United away from home. We've managed to lose to the Devils under Moyes and are yet to face them in the league under Van Gaal. Fingers crossed we show up with a performance on the day. If we do, we should be too much for them to handle.

That's it for now. Back tomorrow with a review.

Until then

Follow me on Twitter (@AlexBaguzin)

Arsenal 2-0 Middlesbrough: can we always play like this?

Yes, I'm still buzzing from our yesterday's performance. In fact, it has set my mood for the upcoming week. Just as you can reply to the question "Why are you grumpy?" when there's no apparent reason with an "Arsenal lost", you can say you're happy because Arsenal won. Even if your current situation wherever (at the uni, work) is nothing short of abysmal, saying the magical words " but still, Arsenal won" makes it that much better.

The squad

Arsene made a whopping 6 changes compared to our last game, four of these to our back line: Szczesny, Chambers, Gabriel and Gibbs all came in and all did brilliantly. Though I'm pretty sure Ospina will return against Palace, everyone else will provide Arsene with a nice selection headache.

Further up field Flamini came in for Coquelin and Welbeck replaced Walcott. Ozil moved infield to give way to Alexis on the flank and Cazorla was basically tasked with performing Ramsey's functions, something he did with aplomb. The Spaniard was also named captain in Mert's absence.

The first half

We took the game to Boro immediately and could have opened the scoring as early as in the 4th minute when Cazorla's clever effort from the free-kick forced Mejias into a save. Our next real moment of danger came ten minutes later when Giroud's curler was palmed away by the same Mejias, before Alexis's rebound hit the side netting.

Giroud looked in a goalscoring mood and the Frenchman's desire got the better of him in a situation when a simple pass to Welbeck seemed more promising, but Olivier's efforts were duly rewarded in the 27th minute. In a move, which saw EVERY Arsenal player touch the ball, the Frenchman found himself on the receiving end of a low cross from Gibbs after the Englishman was set up by a sublime pass from Santi. Giroud made it 1-0.

Less than two minutes later he made it 2-0. Him and Sanchez took advantage during a corner when all Boro defenders fell asleep. The Chilean swung the ball to the near post having spotted Giroud making a run. Olivier sidefooted the ball into the net.

We could have scored a third straight away when Alexis chipped the keeper after being sent clean through by Ozil. The defenders, however, cleared the ball off the line. Truth be told, I don't think Alexis was at his best yesterday. Don't get me wrong, Alexis was very good, but a have a feeling he is still not at his best.

After such a strong start we've slowed down a bit and nothing of note happened for the remainder of the half, bar, maybe, a late shot on target from Adomah. Which hasn't troubled Szczesny at all.

The second half

We started it on a bit of a back foot and I feared the repeat of what happened at Leicester, but nothing of the sort occurred, despite Boro seeing more of the ball in the first 15 minutes or so. In all honesty we could have further extended our lead after Boro's corner, but Welbeck blasted his shot wide after making a good run.

Ozil was next up with a chance to score, only for his effort to be well-saved by Mejias. Shortly after Gabriel received his first booking in English football, after he had to cynically foul Reach, who was racing through on goal. I really liked the manner in which Gabriel blocked Reach: he did so with exactly the intention to stop a dangerous attack and knew he would receive a yellow card. This heavily reminded me of Arteta, who is always ready to commit such fouls for the good of the team.

Ozil and Alexis combined once more only to see the danger averted at the last possible moment, before substitute Walcott snuffed two chances in succession. His second was particularly tasty, with Rosicky sending the Englishman through, but Mejias got down well to save.

We also could have scored through first Alexis, whose headed effort was tipped around the post and then Cazorla, whose cracking effort went over the bar.

We put our foot off the gas in the closing stages and that could have cost us the clean sheet. First Adomah's shot fizzed just wide with Szczesny stranded, and then Kike's header smashed against the post. This last moment, however, happened in the 93rd minute. Shortly after, the whistle blew.

The aftermath

"We controlled the game from the first to the last minute. They had one chance at the end from a header, but overall I’m pleased with the way we attacked, the way we defended and with the way we played together with a good focus for 90 minutes. That’s basically it."

Yes, that's it. I don't want to single anyone out in what was a brilliant collective effort. Maybe Gabriel is worth a mention, but purely because it was his debut. Had Mertesacker played the way the Brazilian did I wouldn't dwell on that after such a display.

"He (Gabriel) has shown three important qualities - great concentration levels, great urgency to defend and good pace, especially on the recovery tackle he made in the box...From what I’ve seen there’s a lot to come from him because technically he is good at passing as well."

The Brazilian was really good at aerial duels, having won the air completely (with the exception of that last episode), he made a couple of sharp interceptions and there were quite a few through-the-line passes from him. A very good package for a first game.

Right, that's your lot for today. I hope I'll return on Wednesday, but, as I have an exam on Friday, I'm not sure about this bit. If there's nothing from me on Wednesday, then expect me to be back for a preview of our away game at Palace.

Until later

Follow me on Twitter (@AlexBaguzin)

Middlesbrough preview: keep the concentration

Hello everyone.

We face Middlesbrough in the last sixteen of the FA Cup tomorrow and it's a game that will require complete focus from our players. Firstly, because any team which has beaten City at the Etihad should be reckoned with. Secondly because of our last year's exploits in the cup. Do you remember how everyone thought we've done the hardest bit by knocking out Tottenham, Everton and Liverpool only to then be pushed all the way by Wigan and Hull?

Luckily, this isn't our first game after the North London derby. It would have been psychologically very hard to deliver a performance in the cup straight away, so thank God for Leicester. We've beaten them ugly, but the win was very important for our mentality. We've overcome this hindrance and can now breathe easier.

Team news update

As usual we've a bit of everything. Ramsey is definitely out, with the boss confirming the Welshman has suffered a grade one hamstring strain. This means two weeks on the sidelines and that would have been a big blow had Wilshere not returned. However, it's not the injury itself that worries Arsene:

"We haven’t found the underlying reason (to Ramsey's continuing injuries). There is an underlying reason that is certainly medical or bio-mechanical because he is a guy who is serious, works hard, has a controlled and disciplined life, so there’s no obvious reason why he should have muscular problems."

A third hamstring injury in a season definitely hints at some underlying reason. I only hope we find out what it is quickly enough. Fingers crossed on that one.

In further news, Sanchez may be short to take part, but even if he can make it doesn't mean he should play. I'd keep him wrapped in cotton wool till our clash with Crystal Palace next week. We have enough players up front even without the Chilean and Oxlade.

Wilshere, Szczesny and Gabriel, on the other hand, are all likely to be involved, the Englishman probably from the bench only:

"Jack Wilshere's back in normal training but has been out for [more than two] months and misses competition. He worked very hard and is focused, committed, but it will take him a while to get back to competitive level."

Szczesny and Gabriel are likely to start, on the other hand:

“He (Szczesny) is ready to play. At the moment I feel I left Ospina in because he has done well but Wojciech is completely ready and has impressed in training."

“[Gabriel is] a player who has the ability and likes to defend - it’s more and more difficult to find people like that. He’s a player who has good qualities - he has good pace, he’s good in the air and is good in one against ones."

On the overall, Wenger promised to make some changes to the squad (apart from the aforementioned, I guess), but promised to take this game seriously:

"Some players will play who have not played recently, but we treat this game exactly the same as a Premier League game.”

With all that finally sorted out, let's try guessing the squad.

The back five

Szczesny will start, that bit is certain. I'm really interested to see whether he keeps his place in case he does well tomorrow, but that's a debate for another day. By the way, if you want to gain some useful insight on the goalkeeper situation, you can check out this article from Tim Stillman. Quality stuff as always.

I'm also pretty certain our back four will be heavily changed. Chambers and Gibbs should come in for Bellerin and Monreal respectively (both have played quite a few games lately, Bellerin especially should be carefully managed, he's 19 after all) and it looks likely Gabriel will be handed his first start, though for whom is a question I really like to know the answer to. My completely uninformed hunch tells me Gabriel will come in for Mertesacker after being lauded for his aerial prowess. We'll see.

The midfield

Is Jack ready to start after spending ten weeks out? Personally, I'd start him and then sub with Rosicky around the 60th minute. It'll be a like-for-like, only the Czech is at a better fitness level. No point risking Wilsh if he isn't at 100%, which he obviously isn't.

Coquelin has become so integral I'll be surprised a great deal should Arsene drop the Frenchman for Flamini. However, the question of who plays at ten is more interesting. I wouldn't start Cazorla, the Spaniard looked knackered against Tottenham and only marginally better on Tuesday and with Rosicky likely to be deployed elsewhere, my money is on Ozil to finally getting his hands on the number 10 position. Mouthwatering prospect.

The attack

With Alexis and Oxlade out and Ozil (hopefully) utilised under the striker our best trio is Welbeck-Giroud-Walcott. Looks a nice one, plenty of power, speed and hardworking guys in it. Akpom should make the bench in this case. Can he get a start? It will certainly be against the odds, but then Sanogo was thrown in at the deep against Liverpool last season and Akpom, at this point in time, looks better than the Frenchman.

The verdict

In the end, a lot will ride on how we take the game. If we start well, score an early goal and continue pressing then we have more than enough to come out on top and get into the last eight. If we fail to make our pressure count and give Middlesbrough the opportunity to hurt us on the counter, there's no telling how this game might end. I no longer feel confident with Szczesny between the sticks, so those in front of him should really put in a shift to ensure the ball won't get to our keeper.

Come on you Gunners.

Back with a review on Monday.

Until then

Follow me on Twitter (@AlexBaguzin)

Arsenal 2-1 Leicester: back on track, if only just

Before the game most Gunners hoped we would be in for an easy ride. But some, and not without reason, adopted a more cautious approach: they feared the knock-on effects our Saturday's loss could produce. So the fact we played a side that sits bottom of the league helped a great deal: if we had to play West Ham or Liverpool, for instance, I fear we could have dropped points. As it is, we bagged all three and moved back above Tottenham who, coincidentally, went down to Liverpool. And those who said even Leicester can prove a tough opponent were completely right. Not because they are mighty and scary (they would not be bottom in this case), but because we fought a battle with ourselves, as much as with them. Even Arsene later acknowledged it:

"Yes it (the North London derby) was a bit in their head, especially in the second half in the legs. Tottenham lost in the last minute as well. It was a very intense game on Saturday and three days later, it’s not easy."

Glad we have overcome this psychological hurdle and won the game. And now, onto the game itself.

The squad and approach

Arsene made three changes to our Saturday's squad: Rosicky, Alexis and Walcott replaced Ramsey, Giroud and Welbeck respectively. The back five remained unchanged, presumably to give the guys a chance at redemption.

The changes added up to a mouthwatering trio of Ozil, Alexis and Walcott up front, but it soon became clear this trident was largely ineffective. The idea was clear: the manager wanted to cut Leicester's defense open by combining Ozil's laser-guided passes with Walcott's and Alexis's blistering pace. Whether we are just not used to the system or it's simply the wrong system for us to adopt is open to debate: the resulting bleak performance was there for everyone to see and it lasted right up to the point when Giroud was introduced. When the Frenchman came on he did what he always does: provided our attacks with a focal point and won most aerial duels, something that allowed Ospina to breathe easier and just boot it long in case of emergency.

I'm pretty sure this isn't the last time we've tried playing without a target man, I cannot even guarantee we won't do this in our next game, but I'd rather we didn't. Use our usual system until the end of the season and in the summer there'll be plenty of time to practice whatever Arsene deems worthy of practising.

The first half

Rather unexpectedly, we could have found ourselves down twice inside the first fifteen minutes: first Mahrez's deflected shot bobbled inches wide with Ospina stranded, then the same Mahrez found himself one-on-one with the Colombian, only for his effort to be wide off the mark once more.

Our first chances came seconds after. Ozil's beautiful through ball made his way to Walcott, only for the Englishman to hit it straight at Schwarzer. Alexis headed over from a resulting corner.

Several minutes later we went ahead nonetheless. Ozil has found space on the edge of the box and poked the ball towards the far corner and Schwarzer could only palm it away for a corner kick. Ozil stepped up, flung the ball in and an unmarked Koscielny slided the ball home from point-blank range. 1-0.

Despite Mahrez's best efforts we soon doubled the lead. Bellerin won the ball on the right, passed it to Ozil and the German produced a fierce drive some 25 yards away from goal. Schwarzer only managed to parry the ball into the path of an onrushing Walcott and this mistake proved costly. 2-0 and the teams went into the tunnel.

The second half

We started the half in a bleak manner, unsure of whether we should continue to attack or just defend our lead. As a result, we didn't particularly succeed at both.

We had a strong claim for a penalty early on, then Rosicky's shot was saved from a corner that ensued, before Leicester seized the initiative.

Kramaric fired an effort wide, Matty James miscontrolled a pass which would have seen him one-on-one with Ospina and you could sense something coming.

Leicester attack which led to the goal started with Kramaric almost chipping Ospina. It took a combined effort from the Colombian and Mertesacker to avert the danger for a corner.

From it a scuffle in the box ensued, Cambiasso kept the ball alive (despite claims for a handball) and it ended up with Kramaric. The Croatian's fierce low shot went in at the near post and I do wonder could Ospina have done better on that one. Sure, the ball dilli-dallied through a lot of legs, besides, I'm not sure Ospina saw the moment the shot was taken, but a near post is a near post. It should be better protected by the keeper.

Arsene immediately introduced changes. Giroud came on for a knackered and (probably) injured Alexis, while Ramsey subbed the inefficient Walcott. I do hope Alexis is OK, he was on the receiving end of a dirty tackle from Upson. Ramsey, unfortunately, is less likely to escape another injury spell. He pulled his hamstring ten minutes after making his entrance and was taken off for Flamini. Arsene later rued the decision to let Ramsey play:

"I basically left him out today because I wanted to be cautious with him. I had to bring him on - I had a hesitation between Flamini and him - because we lacked a a bit of offensive power. It was not the best of decisions."

He also expressed his concerns, as it the third muscle injury Rambo sustained this season:

"I don’t know how bad it is yet. Just visually, it didn’t look good. When a guy stops straight away and sits down, that’s not good news. There’s a recurrence now of a few muscular injuries and it’s difficult - we haven’t found out why."

Whichever way you look at it, we'll probably have to make do without Aaron for a couple of weeks. At least we have Wilshere back, otherwise the situation would be looking dangerous again.

Meanwhile, Leicester continued the search for an equaliser. They went ridiculously close twice, first when Mahrez curled an effort just wide, then Kramaric fluffed his chance when clean through. We only had Cazorla's effort to show for it, though our hold up play got much better with Giroud on. In the end, we clung to our three points and that's the most important thing.

The verdict

A few short notices on individual performances. First up, Walcott. Maybe he hasn't reached his peak conditions just yet, but it was another game that slipped him by. Apart from the goal and a missed chance early on, the Englishman was invisible. He's only completed 6 passes and made less touches than Giroud and Olivier played fifty minutes less. Theo is looking increasingly like Podolski at the moment and unless his overall involvement drastically improves he may well find himself used as a power sub only. Especially with Gnabry and Oxlade on the way back.

I also wanted to single out Ozil. The German has been massive since his return, with 3 goals and 4 assists in four games and the fact that he plays on the left doesn't seem to affect his overall contribution at all. He's made himself undroppable lately and you could see why.

Anyway, despite a shaky performance at home we have moved back above Tottenham and in the light of yesterday's results sit only a point behind Soton and two behind United. We face Middlesbrough at the weekend and our next league game is an away fixture against Crystal Palace. We have plenty of time between now and that game, let's hope we use it wisely and give some key players a rest in the Cup. They could use it.

And I'll be back with a preview, most likely.

Until then

Follow me on Twitter (@AlexBaguzin)

Leicester preview: it's not who you are underneath, but what you do that defines you

If you've been reading my posts more or less consistently then you know I love the Dark Knight series enough to quote it every now and again. This time I feel the situation calls for it: pre-game there's been all the usual talk about bouncing back and putting things right. It's all well, it's part and parcel of the game, it needs to be said and no one should be surprised to see such quotes, but, in the end, the only thing that matters is the next game. If we go out there, play good football and deliver a result, then words will be backed by actions, if we drop points, words will remain just that: words.

Team news update

As always, Arsene gave the usual update:

"Alexis will be back in the group and we don’t have any injuries from Saturday. Everybody else looked fine yesterday."

There was also some good news on Wilshere:

"He’s back in full training this week. I don’t know exactly [how long until he returns], we have to monitor him on a daily basis and see how he develops."

A bit strange to hear a player has returned from injury with no return date pinpointed. Maybe Arsene is just playing his cards close to his chest and we might even see Wilshere today, as a sub of course? Sounds a bit far-fetched, I know, so I'd probably settle for a cameo against Boro and something along the same lines against Crystal Palace.

With that bit out of the way, the usual guessing game is in order.

The back five

I wonder if there's room for rotation in today's squad. Arsene usually prefers to rotate in cup games, but this time cup and league games are swapped and, besides, I'm not sure some players will manage yet another full game, being only three days out of the last one. I've seen suggestions, though, that sticking to our last starting last XI as closely as possible will provide players with a chance to make amends and restore some confidence after a defeat. They sound pretty sensible, but I don't think the manager can ignore the exhaustion issue entirely. And thus I expect a couple of issues.

While Ospina, Bellerin and Monreal haven't played an awful lot and can take another game before being provided with a rest in the cup, the same isn't true for Mertesacker and Koscielny. Especially since Kos still hasn't overcome his Achilles problems. We are going to need the Frenchman in more important games even this month, and so the Leicester game provides us with an opportunity to drop him.

The natural solution if Arsene really decides to rest Koscielny? Our new boy Gabriel of course. The Brazilian has been around for a couple of weeks now and is due a debut, introducing him against the side that currently sits bottom seems a good idea. However, if Gabriel is really set to play, I think we can safely assume Mertesacker will also play. It'll be way too risky to field a central pairing of Chambers and Gabriel.

The midfield

Cazorla looked knackered against the Spuds, that bit I'm sure of. With 28 starts and five appearances from the bench this season, the Spaniard is second only to Alexis in terms of minutes played, so giving him a breather today won't harm Santi. Shifting Ozil inside is the obvious option in this case.

Who do we play at the base? No question about Coquelin, but shall we perhaps drop Ramsey for Rosicky? Yes? No? Thing is, the Welshman also had his fair share of football this season, making 28 appearances in total. And this is considering he's spent minimum six weeks on the sidelines. For me, we can try and have Rosicky do all the stuff Ramsey usually does.

The attack

Oxlade isn't back and he won't be in the next two weeks, but having Giroud, Welbeck, Walcott and Alexis hardly calls for desperate measures, does it? I wonder whether Giroud should be restricted to a bench role, though. Not because of his performances (he's been brilliant upon his return from injury), but because he limped heavily after Rose drove his studs in the Frenchman's ankle. Welbeck up front should be good to go, with Alexis and Walcott flanking him. Sanchez, Welbeck and Rosicky can all compensate nicely for Walcott's and Ozil's defensive shortages (should this be required) and, overall, complement a pretty balanced squad nicely.

The verdict

Anything less than three points simply won't do. If United has beaten Leicester at home, we simply have no excuses. Besides, we really need a win to prove Saturday was a freak accident (which I think it was). A thorough bashing can restore some much-needed confidence and also help us move back into fifth and above Tottenham. For all Liverpool's poor play this season, I simply don't seem them losing to Spuds at Anfield.

So come on you Gunners.

And I'll be back with a review tomorrow or Thursday.

Until then

Follow me on Twitter (@AlexBaguzin)