Swansea 0-3 Arsenal: resilient Gunners get crucial three points

If you follow me on Twitter, then you know that I’m generally outraged at Russian commentary and commentators. The commentators generally fall into two categories: just incompetent at providing correct and interesting insight and those who are anti-Arsenal on top. There is actually a third category: neutral commentators who are pretty good at their thing, but I can count those on the fingers of one hand. Kudos to these unsung heroes.

That’s why I relish English commentary when I can get my hands on it. I mean, I can always tune into Arsenal Player, for starters, but watching the game from a Russian channel usually means there is a small lag which ruins the experience. So I have to make do with our commentators, for the most part, or watch the game on mute.

However, yesterday was that rare occasion when the Arsenal game wasn’t broadcasted live. Crystal Palace vs Manchester United was preferred for some reason, so, fuming, I rushed to find a stream. One of the streams available was from the USA channel and I had no hesitation to tune into this particular stream.

I have a soft spot for English commentary for three reasons:

1. I don’t have to endure Owen, Savage and Co at all
2. It presents a nice change from the meaningless babble of our commentators (yes, their English counterparts usually prove to be more competent!)
3. My first experience of English commentary was an overwhelmingly positive one. In case you are interested, I first listened it happened three years ago, when we thrashed Milan 3-0

This time around I was unlucky in the extreme. The commentators weren’t English, they were Americans and both were utterly inept. They mentioned how Monk never ever lost to Arsene Wenger (in his entire three games) at some point midway through the first half and it was the clearest possible indication to me I should turn off the sound. Which greatly contributed to me enjoying the rest of the game.

The first half

It was a nervous affair for the Arsenal fans. The Gunners looked off the pace and it could have cost us on several occasions. Swansea’s best opportunity to score presented itself when Shelvey put Gomis clean through, but Cech’s calmness, Bellerin’s recovery speed and, most importantly, Gomis’ total lack of confidence in front of goal on the back of a goal drought, ensured we kept it at 0-0. The Swans had other chances, Shelvey’s and Gomis’ headers spring to mind, while Montero could have found himself one-on-one, had Gomis (who was offside) not touched the ball.

At that point I was asking whether Bellerin could handle Montero even with all the help from Joel Campbell. The conclusion I came to I didn’t like. I thought our best shot at a clean sheet was removing Mertesacker for Gabriel. The German was caught out twice with a through ball, however my main source of concern regarding BFG was that he couldn’t cover for Bellerin as he simply doesn’t possess the required speed to sweep up and cover Montero.

Can we say Arsene’s decision to stick with the German was justified, seeing as we didn’t conceded in the end? I’d say partly. Mert’s numbers are pretty unimpressive, especially compared to those of Koscielny and Monreal; however, you can’t measure Per’s overall impact on our backline. You can’t measure his ability to organise the defenders or his leadership qualities. We would probably have seen a more accomplished defensive performance from Gabriel, though I’m not sure it would have led to the same outcome.

We had our chances too, it has to be noted. Monreal dragged a shot wide early on, Giroud sent the ball over when hitting the target was easier and Campbell had a couple of pops at goal. Oh, and speaking of Campbell…

Joel Campbell, the enigma

Before the game Joel was an unknown quantity, more or less. The mere fact it was his first start in the Premier League lends credence to this argument.

When the team is playing poorly it’s easy to think those uninvolved can change things around, and vice versa. When the team is on a high, people tend to agree with the manager’s selection, even if it completely deprives some individuals of playing time. Just think back to Podolski. Before his loan spell at Inter, most wanted Arsene to use the German more often. He was seen as a kind of savior, an ace up the sleeve, for an underperforming team (at that point). Only when he scored, like, one goal in 15 appearances for Inter did people realise he is not actually as good as they thought he was.

Joel Campbell is no stranger to both sides of this argument. Just like Podolski last year he was portrayed as a stranded hero (Get out while you can, Joel). Just like Podolski his unimpressive stint elsewhere convinced people he was not the man we need. Besides, our team was (and still is, long may it continue) on a run of form, so the manager’s decision to keep Joel out of the team was justified in the eyes of many. Before the game against Swansea everyone has come to the unanimous agreement it was Joel’s last chance, which was a radical change from last year’s narrative.

And he did take his chance. I was very relieved to see that because Joel really is the only senior winger left standing.

Here’s what Campbell accomplished:

1. 4 shots, all dangerous, 2 on target, one goal
2. 6 ball recoveries
3. ¾ tackles
4. 2 interceptions
5. 2 blocked crosses

He wasn’t involved much in our passing game (completing a mere 13 passes out of 20 attempted), he only attempted (and successfully completed) one dribble and only crossed the ball himself twice, but nonetheless, he managed to make decisive contributions at both ends of the pitch. Joel scored a goal, he was a constant threat and he also helped our Bellerin against Taylor and Montero a great deal. That’s all I can ask of him, really.

The second half

We needed to improve on our first half and we did just that. Arsenal started in the best manner possible: by scoring an early goal. We won a corner, Ozil curled in a cross and Giroud cleverly got rid of Williams and Fernandez to power home a header. It was goal number 2000 under Arsene Wenger, 6th goal for Giroud in the league and 15th headed goal for the Frenchman since he joined three years ago. It was also his 150th appearance for Arsenal. Phew.

Swansea responded in a lively fashion, forcing Cech into a great save from Sigurdsson and looking dangerous from the resulting corner. Again Cech came to the rescue, punching the ball clear from Shelvey’s onrushing bald head. A couple of minutes later Cech was out of the picture after Sigurdsson found Ayew, but, luckily, the linesman blew offside, denying Bellerin a massive off-the-line clearance in doing so.

After that it was basically all us. I won’t even bother listing all our moments, two of which ended in goals for Koscielny (his second in as many games) and Campbell respectively. Swansea’s only real moment of danger happened at 2-0 when Williams saw his effort brilliantly saved by Cech. Our keeper also parried magnificently after Gomis went clean through, though it didn’t count as the linesman raised his flag by then.

The verdict

It was a statement of intent from the Gunners, if ever there was one. With no real attacking options on the bench (congrats to Iwobi, by the way, the lad made his PL debut), we dug in and found the resources to put Swansea to the sword after a difficult first half.

We can say not every one of our players looked overly convincing, but in the end we did enough as a team to win it. Which is the only thing that matters, really.

The win ensured we stay level on points with City, who nicked it against Norwich in the dying minutes, but it allowed Arsenal to put some distance between us and United (who drew vs Palace) and West Ham (who lost to Watford). Amusingly, Leicester are only three points behind after their comeback at the Hawthorns. However, we got the most difficult period out of the way.

Well done to the Arsenal.

Until later

P.S. By the way, it was Cech's 168th clean sheet. He needs just two more to set a new record in the Premier League. He is in with a chance to equal it against Spurs next weekend.

And a word on Ozil. The German capped his sublime performance with two assists and now has 9 in 10 games (he missed the Newcastle game). He now also has 23 league assists since he joined, the highest total in this period among PL players.

Swansea preview: last men standing

There is a saying in Russian which goes like this “Осталось только день простоять и ночь продержаться”. In English it will read roughly “You must hold out for a day and a night only”. I don’t know if there’s an equivalent in English, for two reasons:

1. I was never really good at proverbs and use them with extreme caution
2. It’s not so much a proverb, as a general wisdom, a product of a collective mind

In case you are wondering what the saying means, I’ll explain: it is applicable to a hard, but finite, situation. So when, for example, you return home on Thursday evening, exhausted after a long working week, you know that this time next evening you’ll be a free man. In order to remind you of that, to cheer you up, someone might say this “you must only hold out for another day and a night” (though the order is reversed, in this case). Which basically means “it’s tough going right now, but it won’t be this way forever”.

I think the saying is very much in harmony with the current injury situation at Arsenal. Things look bleak right now, but they should improve considerably after the break. Hence why I brought the whole thing up.

Team news update

What exactly is the situation? The usual trio aside (though even their return is getting closer), we have Ospina, Arteta, Ramsey, Walcott and Oxlade out. Eight seniors in total. Here is the latest on all of them:

“We have two kind of injuries - the injuries who will be coming back after Christmas, which is Rosicky, Wilshere and Welbeck. [Then] we have the short-term injuries. Most of them like Arteta, Ramsey, Oxlade-Chamberlain should be back after the international break.”

And on Ox and Theo:

“Both are out for Saturday’s game and until at least after the international break so they are out as well for England. I believe the quickest back will be Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Theo Walcott might be a fraction longer.”

I don’t like this “a fraction longer” bit and I keep wondering whether this particular injury was avoidable. It is what it is, however, not much we can do about it.

Right-wing problem

The litany of injuries creates another problem: we don’t have a reliable right-winger at the moment. Ramsey, Ox and Welbeck, followed by Theo and Wilshere were our options and, amazingly, all of them are injured at the same time. Where does it leave us?

According to Wenger, he’ll be mulling over two options: Joel Campbell and Alex Iwobi:

“Campbell and Alex Iwobi (are my options). Santi can play there as well but he has become very important centrally. The problem sometimes is that you can destroy two departments if you move one player out. We control the ball better with Santi in the middle.”

This passage gives us insight not only into manager’s thinking regarding the right wing solutions, but also his approach to the problem as a whole. Before Arsene said it, there were suggestions he could use Gibbs as a left winger and shift Alexis to the right flank, or move Bellerin further up to accommodate Debuchy. Now I think both scenarios are off the cards.

Truth be told, I don’t like either scenario anyway, mostly because Gibbs and Debuchy have been utter crap this season. I don’t know why, I think they are much better players than their recent performances suggest, but I don’t think a crucial away game against Swansea is a good playground for experiments. Gibbs and Debuchy have been skinned by lesser opponents than Ayew and Montero respectively (Monk’s preferred wingers).

I would probably have suggested using Chambers at right-back with Bellerin essentially becoming a winger. This approach will allow us to be defensively secure, while both Bellerin and Chambers have the requisite experience at their respective (potential) roles. However, this plan has two downsides:

1. Unsettling a stable back four
2. Montero

As we remember all too well, Montero gave Chambers a torrid time last November, so I don’t know whether it’s such a good idea to pin them against one another. If Bellerin doesn’t get back in time to help out Chambers, Lord knows what might happen.

Taking all this into account, Campbell is probably our best option. He is a like-for-like, he is surprisingly good at defending and his introduction causes minimal disruption to the established order. The downside? Joel doesn’t look very good at attacking, a requirement pretty essential for an inverted winger.

Problem is, there is no ideal scenario. When your 6 options or so for one position are all out simultaneously, you have to make do with what you have. And hey, what gives that Joel won’t improve alongside the likes of Ozil and Alexis?

I’m pretty sure this is Joel’s last chance with us, however. If Ramsey and Ox return after the break (like they should), Campbell will once again be consigned to the bench. Unless he shows signs of improvement, that is. So he has everything to fight for on Saturday. Here’s hoping he will show some steel vs the Swans.

Lighten up, fellas

Despite the slew of injuries, there is one very obvious and very heartwarming positive: our starting XI essentially remains intact. The same guys who started the majority of games from March onwards are available, with two exceptions: Ramsey and Walcott (the latter played less than Giroud overall, but seems to have won the starting spot lately).

Yes, we don’t know how our XI would have looked with everyone available. Maybe Wilshere would have been a starter, or Welbeck, but the reality is such, that in over 5 months of football our team included neither on a regular basis. So the right wing position is our only real bother going into the game.

One could make a case Walcott started most games this season, but again we are definitely more used, maybe even better suited, to Giroud up top. He has been our main striker for the last three seasons.

And you know what? It’s important. Yes, our bench will consist of several defenders, Matt Macey, Alex Iwobi and a couple of my chums visiting London, but so what? We all know Wenger is at his best at getting results when he has a settled team (Tim Stillman examines this phenomenon in-depth here). He is even reluctant to make substitutions in-game if his initial plan works.

So yes, we are light on numbers overall, we don’t exactly have a right winger everyone likes and our bench may be held with Blu-Tack at the moment, but all of this has little or no impact on the starting XI and, therefore, on our ability to win games. At the end of the day, while squad depth is important and substitutions can have the desired impact, it’s the guys who play from the off that get most of the work done.

The verdict

This is a crucial game. Maybe the most important up to now. Maybe even season-defining.

Why? It will set the tone for the upcoming week. It can also show we can win games despite having multiple injuries. Finally, a win will take us one step closer to getting some of our walking wounded back.

I liked a thought expressed on Twitter the other day: “If Arsenal win the next two games in the Prem before their players recover, they will win the title”.

Now we only have to hold out for day and a night

Sheffield Wednesday 3-0 Arsenal: young Gunners get slaughtered

Before I say anything else, an important notice: I haven't watched the game. So everything you are going to read is just my thoughts based on what I heard/read. Don't expect a tactical breakdown from me. But you can bulk up on one right here.

The decision not to watch the game was partly based on medical reasons (I had a kind of allergic reaction and took some pills which have an unfortunate side effect of making you sleepy), but it was also based on a nasty feeling I was not going to see good football from Arsenal. I had a feeling of this kind before the Zagreb game, however that time I decided to nonetheless watch the match, something I thoroughly regretted afterwards. This time around, I was wiser. Thank God I was.

I woke up midnight because of a sinking feeling and instantly knew we lost the game in a horrifying way. I didn't even need to look at the final score (something I naturally did) to know it all went horribly wrong. It's an inexplicable bond: I can say most of the time how Arsenal is performing/performed even when I don't follow the game, live or otherwise.

I opened the app I use to follow games via live text updates. This time around the commentator either didn't find a stream or just couldn't be arsed to give updates other than cards, substitutions and goals. As there wasn't much to read anyway, I scrolled through and something caught my eye: two substitutions from Arsene during the first half. My heart sank: Oxlade and Theo came off in the 5th and 19th minute respectively. There could only be one reason for such quickfire changes: injuries. And so it proved.

Both players sustained muscle injuries, hamstring and calf respectively. The extent of the damage? 2-3 weeks, it seems, which means we’ll be without both for crucial away games vs Bayern and Swansea. Theo and Alex become our 7th and 8th injured players respectively. Injuries aside, though, there are other things I’d like to discuss. Starting with…

Team selection

I do not blame Arsene for picking the players he picked. Some needed games (Debuchy, Campbell etc.), others featured because the regulars needed a rest. What I do blame him for, however, is playing Walcott.

Oxlade needs games to get back into the swing of things, this bit is obvious. But why, having lost him to an injury, Wenger put on Theo? Why risk our back-up striker and our only viable right winger left? I don’t know what was going through the manager’s head when he motioned for Theo to come on.

Our youngsters

None of them seemed to have a good game. Some said Bielik and Iwobi were decent, but that’s about it. Here’s what Arsene said post-game:

“They are not ready to play at this level. None of them are”.

Which is a brutally honest assessment, but also an unexpected one from the boss. I don’t really remember the last time he threw the players under the bus like that. Was at a dig at Jonker? Is that why Brady was called back?

I don’t know and I don’t much care whether we find ourselves amid political games. I do care about our threadbare squad, though. We have 8 seniors out, some of our better prospects are away on loan (though Crowley has been recalled) and a crucial week coming up. Knowing we can hardly rely on any of our younger understudies fills me with dread.

Our seniors

They seriously underperformed. While I don’t get the outpouring of anger aimed at Chambers (the guy is 20, he is a 4th-choice centre-back, let him develop for Christ’s sake), I can relate to criticising Debuchy, Gibbs and Campbell.

Problem is, none of them have been any good this season. Considering Mathieu and Kieran are second-choice in their respective positions, I’m ready to dance naked around the fire and pray to ancient Gods nothing happens to Bellerin and Monreal.

As for Campbell, well, odd thing is, he is likely to have another chance soon, As every single player who could potentially play on the right is out (Ramsey, Oxlade, Walcott, Welbeck, Wilshere, even Rosicky), Arsene has little choice but to play Campbell. In three crucial games. Someone hold me.

Question is, what should we do with these three in the grand scheme of things? I’d suggest shipping them off unless they improve drastically. Get Jenko back and find a decent back-up left-back and a winger. Maybe Gnabry will make the step up, I don’t know. However the standards demonstrated now by our second-string players is simply unacceptable.

The verdict

I don’t care much about crashing out of the cup. We all knew it was a sideshow, a distraction from the main event. No one really cares about the Capital One Cup.

I don’t care much about the performance, which, I suspect, stems from the fact I haven’t watched it. I doubt it will have a psychological effect on the team, simply because very few regulars were involved (Cech, Mert and Giroud being the only ones who played the entire game).

What I do care about, though, is injuries to senior players. At a very important time. One of these injuries was utterly avoidable.

What do we do now? Put together a squad capable of beating Swansea and Spurs and at least drawing Bayern Munich away. This is achievable, since Swansea are in piss poor form right now, Spurs are Spurs and Bayern Munich…

Do you remember the squad which beat them at Allianz Arena in 2013? I’ll remind you in case you don’t: Fabianski - Jenkinson - Mertesacker - Koscielny - Gibbs - Arteta - Ramsey - Cazorla - Rosicky - Walcott - Giroud. We can arguably field a better XI this time around, even if it includes Campbell or Iwobi. Our bench will be held with Blu-Tack, but that’s another story.

Right, that’s it from me for now. Back with a Swansea game preview.

Until then

Sheffield Wednesday preview: rotation with the capital "R"

Another day, another game. They really are coming thick and fast, which has its benefits, of course. But also its downsides.

The obvious one being fatigue. No player, however physically fit, can play three games a week for even a fortnight, let alone three or four weeks in a row, which is exactly what we have now. A lot of games squeezed into minimum days.

Key to getting through it all successfully is having a big squad and Arsenal, at this moment in time, can’t boast one. We had a very good squad before the Community Shield game, when all were hoping Jack, Welbeck and Rosicky would return any day.

Not only did they not return, we are unlikely to see any of them this calendar year, something that obviously puts a strain on the squad. Our 24 players were reduced to 21 from the off. Now Ramsey and Ospina are out till the end of November, while no return date has been put on Arteta. You counting? We now have exactly 18 players, just enough to fill the squad. 8 of these are defenders. At this point I’d gladly trade in a defender or two to have Ramsey and Welbeck back. But things don’t work that way, of course.

With these 18 guys we have to hold out till end of November. Luckily, an international break will give us the much-needed two-week period to get some of the walking wounded back (it’s one of these rare occasions when I use “luckily” and “international break” in the same sentence). That means we only have to hold out 4 games without further incidents. First one will take place on Tuesday, against Sheffield.

Team news update

“There are no new problems from Saturday, Per Mertesacker is available again after illness. Nobody else is coming back. Arteta will not be fit. Ramsey, Wilshere, Welbeck and Rosicky of course are all out too.

Ospina is still out too, so Cech will certainly play.”

That’s it, basically. One in, no one out, we have 18 players as I’ve stated above. But I hope we can count some youngsters in. Iwobi maybe. Doubt it’s Jeff, he was away with France’s youth NT the last time I checked.

Squad

Think I’ve seen in the Evening Standard that they expect massive rotation, on the other hand I’ve also seen reports Wenger hinted he won’t change things around all that much.

I really hope he does, though. With Swansea, Bayern and Spurs coming up, our top players should have as much in their lockers as possible. It’s very unlikely City will drop any points in their next two games (they play Norwich and Aston Villa), while we still need at least a point from the Bayern game to not complicate matters in our Champions League group any further.

I came to one very simple conclusion though: we will be unable to fully rotate our squad. Furthermore, Cech’s inclusion from the first minutes means Wenger is taking the game seriously, so I don’t’ expect a side chock-full of youngsters. Things are even pretty quiet on Iwobi front, let alone someone even less experienced.

I think we’ll see a totally different back four of Debuchy, Mertesacker, Chambers and Gibbs, but in midfield things get tricky. Flamini can come in for Coquelin, but then what? Without Ramsey, Wilshere, Arteta and Rosicky we look really thin and will likely be forced to play at least one regular. My guess is Cazorla, although ideally I’d like him to have a break.

The only other senior option I see which is not Ozil, is Oxlade. Again, I’d rather have him on the flank, especially if we take into account the amount of turnovers the Englishman allows (these are often in dangerous areas too), but who else do we have?

It’s a bit easier with the front three, here I’m sure Campbell will start, with Oxlade/Iwobi/Walcott on the other flank and Giroud down the middle. Ideally, I’d like to see Iwobi on the left, Campbell on the right and Giroud/Walcott down the middle, depending on who will start against Swansea to keep his powder dry.

Predicted line-up: Cech - Debuchy - Mertesacker - Chambers - Gibbs - Flamini - Cazorla - Oxlade - Iwobi - Campbell - Giroud

The verdict

If I may quote Michael Cox on this:

“The Owls are likely to give Arsenal a classic lower-league test - they’ve committed the most fouls in the Championship this season, and have scored one-third of their goals from set-pieces.”

That’s why I think Giroud should start: he is generally a more useful player against organized defenses, furthermore, he’ll be another body on set-pieces and this may prove crucial. Oxlade’s dribbling and energy through the middle, meanwhile, can be highly effective in breaking down Sheffield’s defense. Just have a word with him about turning the ball over, Arsene, will you.

Hope we have enough to win this with our second squad. We should, really. Here’s for a win and no injuries. Come on you Gunners.

Back with a review

Arsenal 2-1 Everton: Gunners do the job for the third time inside a week

I’m writing this fresh from the most boring derby game I’ve seen this season: I’m talking about the Manchester derby. However, the goalless draw with two shots on target and two dangerous moments overall certainly has its joys. In this case, it allows the Gunners to go two points clear of United and level with with City.

Another important conclusion I’ve formed as a result of this game is that both teams are from invincible. In fact, the quality of football on offer in Manchester today was so dire I’m now convinced we can win the title if we keep up our form.

But back to matters Arsenal and we did what was required yesterday. Had it not been for a lucky deflection off Gabriel in the 44th minute, I think the manner of our win would have been more convincing. However, few would argue we deserved anything less than three points on Saturday. A win over a dogged Everton side in which the score flattered the visitors, on the back of a hard week is nothing short of a tremendous effort. Well done to the Arsenal.

The squad

Arsene made three changes to the side that beat Bayern Munich midweek: Gabriel came in for the ill Mertesacker, Oxlade replaced the injured Ramsey and Walcott made way for Giroud. However, our bench really had me worried.

In short, it looked defense-heavy. Flamini, Campbell and Walcott were the only non-defenders. Out of them, you can only trust Walcott to make an impact in the final third. Amusingly, Theo didn’t get off the bench the entire evening. Not that we needed him really, but it just highlights Theo is a very specific player, who would only be used under strict circumstances or he wouldn’t be used at all.

I can only hope Arteta will return soon, but even his comeback won’t change much. Having Ramsey, Wilshere, Rosicky and Welbeck out simultaneously hampers our attacking options severely, at the same time limiting our rotation possibilities.

Fact: we have only used 19 players in the league this season, joint-fewest with Swansea, But while Swansea have a smaller squad, we are restricted by three long-term injuries from the very start. Add to these Ramsey, Arteta and Ospina and we are looking very light on numbers in several areas at the moment.

Such a shortage leads, in its turn, to overplaying the available players, which can potentially cause further injuries. We are skating on thin ice now: though Arsene said pre-game we don’t have a fatigue problem, we’ll surely have one soon if we don’t get several players back quickly. Fingers crossed the ones which seem affected the most (Bellerin, Alexis, Cazorla) will get a rest against Sheffield Wednesday and then we come through our next three games (Swansea, Bayern, Spurs) unscathed. And after the Interlull we might just get Ospina and Ramsey back. Hope Arteta and Mertesacker return even earlier.

Gabriel, an able stand-in

Or is he a starter now? I’m confused a bit, as this we never seem to have Mertesacker, Koscielny and Gabriel available at the same time to see which duo the manager prefers.

Regardless of his status, Gabriel put in a great shift. The unlucky deflection aside (he really is not to blame for it, was doing everything right by blocking the shot), Gabriel had 5 ball recoveries, was ⅔ on tackles (both successful were crucial ones, inside our box), made 2 interceptions, won ¾ of his aerial duels and completed 87% of his passes (40/46) displacing none in our third.

It was a tidy and able performance from Gabriel, his late tackle on Lukaku was absolutely vital, so I can say I’m pretty calm even with Mert temporarily sidelined.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, the criticised one

When the Ox saw his shot blocked in the 44th minutes, my heart skipped a beat. Everton came flying out of their blocks and the rest you all know.

The Ox immediately came in for a hailstorm of criticism. I have to say there is a feeling most times Alex loses the ball it ends in goal at the other end. We conceded that way in pre-season against Everton. then on the opening day against West Ham and Ox’s Monaco loss will live long in memory.

Yet the criticism is blown out of proportion. Here is the guy was a guaranteed starter last season all the way until March. Here is the guy most fans (myself included) were pining for Wenger to play in the opening stages of the season. Here’s the guy who most call a prodigy whose talent surpasses that of Sterling.

Have some patience. The Ox seems to me very much a confidence player. Not getting any support from the fans won’t make him play better and the Ox looks our only real option on the right for at least the next month, until Ramsey returns.

Really, who else do we have? I don’t think we can cut Gnabry’s loan spell short and even if we can, I’m not sure Wenger will do that. It looks like Walcott is now viewed only as a centre-forward, maybe because of his defensive contribution, or lack of thereof.

The only other option I see is trying Bellerin as a winger with Debuchy at right-back, but that’s phantasy territory. Not sure Wenger will even consider such an approach, although we do seem to have an abundance of defenders and not nearly enough attackers.

The most likely scenario to me (and probably the best for everyone concerned) is sticking to the Ox and playing him into form. Even yesterday he was far from catastrophic in the final third. Alex completed 4 dribbles of 8 attempted and created 2 chances for teammates. He also helped out defensively quite a bit: 2 tackles, 2 interceptions, 2 blocked shots and 3 ball recoveries. This particular aspect of his game seems to have improved, it was noticeable vs Olympiakos too, so here’s hoping he ups his attacking game in the coming weeks.

Olivier Giroud, our second-best goalscorer

While we were drooling over Walcott’s relative success as a striker, Ollie was quietly playing himself into form. He seems to have come a long way since his Zagreb red card (although as I’ve said then, I believe he had a very decent game up front up the the point of his sending off).

Whether Giroud starting was a tactical switch from the manager or a reward to Giroud for his recent goalscoring travails remains to be seen, but one thing is certain: Giroud was massive on the night.

He took 6 shots, 3 headed, 2 on target and hit the bar late in the game. He also created 2 chances for his teammates, won 4 of his 5 aerial duels and, surprisingly, proved a very efficient tackler by completing 4 out of six attempted. He was immense and it’s a shame he didn’t score a second goal, but it’s heartwarming to see Giroud start, get a goal and put in such a shift. Took his chance of re-establishing himself as first-choice really well. Ollie now has 6 goals in 14 appearances for the Gunners (5 in 10 in the league). Only Alexis Sanchez has more (7 in 14, 6 in 10 in the league).

The aftermath

It was a very good win against a resilient Everton side. On the back of a week we had, it makes the win even more special. Now we play three games away (Sheffield, Swansea, Bayern), before returning to the Emirates to face Spurs in what will be the last game before the break. A challenging ten days period lies ahead.

I’ll be back to cover the Sheffield game for you. For now, enjoy our deserved win and a no-less deserved joint-first place in the table.

Onwards and upwards