Newcastle preview: more of the same

Tomorrow we have another tricky away game to play. But if West Ham was more a test of our mental toughness, Newcastle is going to push our abilities to the limit.

True, they are no Chelsea or Liverpool, but they sit sixth and that, combined with fact that it's going to be our third game inside six days poses a challenge.

Today's results have not gone our way, as both Manchester clubs won their respective games. Because of this we now occupy the second spot and in order to return to the top we need to win. Luckily, Chelsea play Liverpool tomorrow and one of them (hopefully, both) is gonna drop points.

It's still a bit early for the usual squad update from the manager, so we'll have to more or less guess, who'll play.

It definitely won't be Ramsey who, as we know, will be out for a couple of weeks (if not more). On the bright side, we have Podolski and Wilshere back. The former has already shown he can score goals, while the latter is presented with a chance to play on a more regular basis alongside Arteta.

I got to admit, I don't like the idea of those two playing side-by-side. For some reason this relationship just hasn't worked out, making our midfield too leaky for my liking. I think we'll see a more balanced duo of Arteta and Flamini paired up for the foreseeable future. This midfield contributes a tad less to our attack, but is rock-solid when it comes to protecting our back four.

However a Wilshere-Flamini pair looks pretty good, so, should the Spaniard need a rest, I think it's a rather interesting partnership. Not that we'll have many options in that case, but still.

Speaking of which, it looks high time to me to give our lego-haired skipper a breather. He played two full matches inside four days and now is definitely not the time to risk losing the Spaniard. Ramsey is enough, thank you very much.

All of this makes me wonder, whether we need reinforcements in this department. It's something Mertesacker noted in the wake of Ramsey's injury. While the message is a bit of this and a bit of that on the whole, we definitely need to add some players in January. I've already emphasised the need for a striker, but it's hardly the only position we should strengthen.

Sagna, for example, is very likely to leave during this window. Contract talks with him have been ongoing, but with little effect. In the summer, he'll be able to leave on a Bosman, so January transfer window is realistically the last for us to get something for the Frenchman. But we have no one to substitute him with, cause Jenks isn't yet ready.

We may also have a goalkeeper case on our hands. Viviano hasn't played once and will most likely leave after his loan spell expires, Fabianski has featured only twice, so I'll be surprised if he stays beyond January.

Anyway, I got a bit carried away. Our lack of depth is obvious, but we'll have plenty of time to discuss it further, when the window is well and truly open.

Back to our tomorrow match, Arteta is not the only one, who needs a rest. Same is true for Gibbs, Ozil and maybe even Giroud. Gibbs looked lively enough during the game, so he may still have some petrol left in the tank, but Ozil and Giroud are nearing that fabled red zone, in my opinion. We have Podolski back and firing, we have a fresher Bendther, if needs must, so give the Frenchman a rest. While Cazorla is perfectly capable to play under the striker, seeing as how he is rediscovering his form.

These are the changes I do expect, although it's hard to rest your best players against such a strong side as Newcastle, so a balance needs to be found.

One thing I forgot to mention is Koscielny. Laurent will most likely return and if you ask me, should be paired with Mertesacker once more. Vermaelen wasn't bad, but he also wasn't terrific. He's also not the last guy responsible for Carlton Cole's goal, though he's not the only one.

Overall, even with Ramsey injured, we have more than enough players to get a result. He have got a result there last year, despite the circumstances being much more complicated, so no reason not to repeat this feat.

I'll leave it here. Back with a review on Monday.

Until then

West Ham 1-3 Arsenal: Poldi hauls us back to top

Evevning everyone.

We regained the top spot yesterday with a win against the Hammers and it was a very welcome win. Though our performance was far from ideal, our fighting spirit ensured we took all the three points.

The manager introduced only one new player, namely, Cazorla for Rosicky. Gibbs and Arteta played the whole match, while Ozil and Giroud came off fifteen minutes before the final whistle.

The Frenchman had another below par performance. We should have been two or three goals up by the break, only for Giroud's poor timing to prevent that. This time around he had plenty of service, but came up short. He dragged a shot wide and failed to get on the receiving end of crosses from Gibbs and Ozil.

The best chance of the half fell to Walcott, though. He was clean through with a clever pass from Ramsey, but his volleyed attempt fizzed wide.

At the other end, Szczesny dealt with everything thrown his way relatively easy. He saved from a clever freekick, prevented Nolan from scoring by closing him down quickly and was good at coming out for crosses.

After the restart, West Ham scored almost immediately. Walcott gave the ball away, Arteta's clearance found Noble, who smashed his shot straight at Szczesny. The Pole wasn't able to control it and Cole found the empty net from a rebound.

Suddenly, Arsenal looked shaken and the home side could have doubled their lead in the following ten minutes. First O'Brien headed wide from six yards and then Cole missed another good opportunity.

Arsenal tried to respond, but not much came off till the 65th minute, which marked an injury for Aaron Ramsey. He was taken off, Podolski came on and Arsenal found their rhythm.

Three minutes later, we equalised. Walcott danced through West Ham's defense and his odd left-footed shot somehow found the net, passing two defenders and Adrian's outstretched arms on its way.

Three minutes later, we were ahead. Podolski crossed the ball from the left, Tomkins failed to clear and the ball fell to Walcott, who smashed it home from close range.

Podolski could have scored himself from a one-on-one, but Adrian turned up with a wonderful save.

Eleven minutes from time, we scored again. Giroud controlled a cross well, held off two defenders and laid the ball off for the onrushing Podolski. His curled effort left Adrian with no chance.

 Overall, it wasn't our best performance ever, but what I liked most was our attitude. This attitude is what separates true champions from everyone else. Things didn't go our way, but we kept on going and got the result.

The only downside is, of course, Ramsey's injury. Arsene said, he didn't know, how serious it is, but he was quite sure the Welshman won't help for the next week or so. With Wilshere having served the last game of his suspension and Oxlade-Chamberlain on the fringes it's not that critical, but Ramsey was one of the few, who played in that deep-lying position. Now we only have Arteta, Flamini and Wilshere to fill the gap, making rotation that bit harder.

Anyway, we're back to top (with Liverpool having gone down to City), Podolski is back and firing on all cylinders, so there's plenty to be happy about.

Newcastle is up next

West Ham preview: kick on

Today we play West Ham away and it's a good opportunity to regain the top spot, while also building positive momentum ahead of a busy schedule.

Recent results haven't gone our away. But we're still in the mix for a simple reason: we've demolished lesser teams earlier this season, something that gave us a cushion, a margin for error. We've used it up now.

I've already said, that it's not that important, how we play big teams, if we roll over everyone else. And so it proved. Two points from nine could have been disastrous under different circumstances. And yet we're still second, trailing only on goal difference.

The manager will most likely rotate his squad again Sam Allardyce's side. I think, we're due to see Monreal, Flamini, Cazorla and Podolski all start.

Monreal was frequently deployed on the left in away games last season. He's also in decent form now and should give Arsene a decent choice headache ahead of every game.

Flamini can come in for Arteta. The Spaniard has confirmed ankle swelling, so, even though I don't think it'll keep him out for any period of time, giving him a chance to rest makes sense. He's played a lot of games recently, including a full match against Chelsea, so recharging his batteries (especially when the opposition allow it) won't hurt.

Cazorla for Ozil is pretty straightforward. The manager has spoken of how the German will need a break at some point and today's game can become that break. It'll also provide Cazorla with an opportunity to improve on his performances.

And Podolski. Well, he needs practice at some point and playing him instead of Giroud will give him that, while Giroud will have a chance to recoup. He hasn't done awfully well recently, maybe the strain on him as our only striker is finally telling. It's more of a mental burden, than a physical one, in my opinion.

Again, whoever plays, will give it his all, so no worries here. We should not, by any means, take West Ham lightly, but we can all draw inspiration from our last-year results, something Arsene acknowledged during his press conference. Two well-deserved, emphatic wins. And we were a rather disjointed side back then.

Should we get a win, we will, most likely top the chart. Liverpool play City away and I'll be surprised, if they manage to snatch all three points. Sure, Suarez is great, but he's just one man. City has a whole team of talented players (we've learnt it the hard way).

So here's for a win and a great performance later and I'll be back with a review as usual.

Until then

Arsenal 0-0 Chelsea: a tedious draw

Our winless run against Mourinho's side continued on Monday as the teams shared the points at the Emirates. I gotta say, I expected more from this game. Had I not supported Arsenal, I would have gone to bed at half-time. As it is, I sat there watching the game till two o'clock in the morning.

Arsene made a couple of changes to the side, that went down to City nine days prior to this encounter. Vermaelen came in for injured Koscielny, Arteta replaced Flamini, while Rosicky started on the left at the expense of Cazorla. Podolski remained an unused sub throughout.

Maybe the relentless rain played it's part, but neither team never built any kind of momentum. Chelsea sat deep and tried to catch us on the break, while Arsenal probed around, trying to find an opening. Both sides didn't succeed in their respective missions.

The best chance of the first half fell to Chelsea. Hazard (I think) played a ball over our defense, but Lampard cracked his shot against the bar. Arsenal defenders saw off the remaining threat.

The Blues had another chance, when they finally caught us on the counter, but Willian's tame effort only found Szczesny. Arsenal, meanwhile, had a shout for a penalty, after Walcott was tripped in the box, but Mike Dean pretended not to notice.

In the second half we were on top and created three good chances as a result.

In the first episode, Ramsey played a lob pass to Giroud and the Frenchman needed to hit the target with only Cech to beat. He failed, slashing his shot wide.

He was then presented with another opportunity, after a great move down the left saw Gibbs fire his low cross towards Giroud. This time, however, it was more a case of brilliant defending from Terry, rather than a poor piece of play from our striker. In the dying minutes, Sagna's shot was cleared off the line following a corner.

Chelsea was absolutely toothless in this second half. When Mourinho took off Torres to replace him with Oscar, we knew the Portuguese was content with a point.

Wenger, surprisingly, made no substitutes, which I think was a mistake. Walcott wasn't all that great, for example, and replacing him with Cazorla seemed an obvious thing to do. It just wasn't a game, in which Walcott could help us. He needs space he can exploit and Chelsea's defending provided him with none. Cazorla would have fared better in my opinion.

Another player I expected to come on (and I don't think I'm alone here) was Podolski. He could have replaced either Rosicky (who faded towards the end) or Giroud (who gave it all, but wasn't provided with enough service). I also suspect, Podolski would have buried that ball from a Ramsey pass.

Now, a word about individual performances. Firstly, Mike Dean. I think he had an atrocious game. I don't know, whether we really have won just 7% of the matches he refereed, but some of his decisions were, to say the least, controversial.

He  didn't point to the spot, when he should have done so. He also gave Chelsea's players way too much freedom, something that could have twice resulted in a serious injury for Arteta and an Ozil with a shredded cheek.

We cannot, however, put all the blame on Dean. As much as I like Giroud, he played his part in this draw. The chance he missed is what separated one point from three and he cost us two points. The manager really should consider an alternative during the transfer period or, at least, give Podolski a chance in that position.

This result leaves us with 36 points and in second place. trailing Liverpool on goal difference. Tomorrow we'll have the chance to regain the top spot, cause the Mugmashers face City, while we play West Ham. Hopefully, we will get a result this time around.

Till tomorrow, when I'll be back for a preview

Chelsea preview: break the spell

During Mourinho's first reign at the club, our record against the Blues was, to put it mildly, not very good. Out of eight games we drew four and lost four, including at least one Cup final defeat.

For the better part of three years, during which Mourinho was at the helm, Arsenal wasn't at its best. Only during 2004-2005 the Gunners fought Chelsea as equals, though went 13 (or so) points behind in the league. There was, of course, that famous 2-2 draw, when Henry scored twice, thus getting a chance to humiliate the Portuegese.

However, there was little to cheer about for the next two years. We've got beaten again and again (comprehensively, at times), which fuelled my ever-growing hatred towards the Blues. The way they dispatched of us reminded me heavily of the way United dominated the Gunners.

In 2007 the playing field levelled, as Mourinho was fired. We breathed again, going on to beat Chelsea immediately (3-1, remember?)

There were both good and not-so-good results in the follow-up, but at least we've got some wins under our belts. Last year, for example, we've come out on top 5-3 at Stamford Bridge.

And now we have to deal with the Portugese again. We've already suffered our fifth defeat in nine games, crashing out of the League cup.

Nevertheless, things seem different now. Even Wenger touched on this in his press-conference. The financial strain is lifted and we're definitely better off without it. We're genuine title contenders and not without reason.

Chelsea, on the other hand, seem in disarray. Sure, they are fighting for the top spot, but the overall feeling from their game is that of a disappointment. They're through in the Champions League, but lost to Basel twice. They're out of the League cup, having gone down to Sunderland. And I don't even want to touch on the mess, surrounding Mata and their strikers.

As of recently, we have hit something of a stumbling block. A draw and two defeats inside one week is hardly a result to be proud of. But now we have a chance to put things right and get back on track. Big time.

A win over Chelsea will serve the purpose of shutting up the critics, while also providing us with a handy boost ahead of a busy schedule. Getting through such a tough run of games successfully partially depends on the momentum we build. In other words, it's easier to forget about the tired legs if we win games consistently.

In terms of the squad, we have Koscielny and Wilshere out, but Podolski is back. I've already discussed, where and when the German can come in, while also giving my thoughts on possible stand-ins for Wilshere and Koscielny.

The midfield is the area, that interests me most. I think, our experimental axis of Flamini and Ramsey isn't up to scratch, so I'd pair up Arteta with the Frenchman. We lacked the Spaniard's cool head and metronomic passing against City, while dropping Flamini can prove costly defensively. He went off at 4-2 and our defense basically fell apart. We cannot allow such a dip against Chelsea. They have quality enough to hurt us.

As for the flanks, I'm again hard-pressed to tell, who'll play. I won't even exclude Rosicky. He can set the right tempo to our play, so he's definitely an option.

I think, Walcott will start, following a great performance against City. Besides, he enjoys to score against Chelsea more than anyone else on the team. As he occupies the right flank, it will probably mean a bench-start for Ramsey.

Anyway, all this is a nice problem for Arsene to wrap his head around. Whoever he plays is going to give his all, so no worries here.

Whoever he drops, though, it definitely won't be Ozil. The manager touched on how he will have to rest the German at some point, knowing he's used to a winter break. But he stressed this won't happen against Chelsea.

Anyway, we have enough quality in our side and everything to play for today. The weekend results see us sitting third in the table, a win will see us top the league one more.

So let's get a win