Arsenal 4-1 Newcastle: depleted Arsenal side is up to scratch

Before the game I wrote I didn't know what to expect, which Arsenal side we would see. Newcastle was on the up, we've lost Ramsey against Gala, Koscielny and Monreal didn't return from injury, Chambers was suspended. Add all the other wounded on top and we played Debuchy at centre-back and Oxlade alongside Flamini. And both Oxlade and Debuchy faired brilliantly. But let's start at the beginning.

The first half

We started with a whole lot of pressure, albeit there was some nervousness to the proceedings. We didn't concede any chances until very late in the half, if I recall correctly.

Our first real opportunity came from a corner. Alexis swung in a cross to the near post (do we cross anywhere else?) and Mertesacker got his head to the ball. Unfortunately, the ball rebounded off the underside of the woodwork and was then cleared.

In the 15th minute no such travesty occurred. Our move started near the halfway line, when Bellerin read Newcastle's pass well and intercepted it. The young Spaniard then passed to Giroud, the Frenchman singled out Sanchez with his pass and continued his run. The Chilean got to the byline and crossed it towards Giroud. The Frenchman rose majestically and met the ball with a cracking header. Alnwick was left to watch the ball float into the top corner. 1-0.

We could have been 2-0 up almost immediately. Welbeck and Gibbs combined on the left, the Englishman ran around Janmaat and then chipped the ball over Alnwick. However, the goal was disallowed and I don't know why. I think the ref was under the impression Welbeck fouled Janmaat in the build-up, but replays showed Daryl fell on his own at the slightest of contacts. Apparently when he realised he's lost the battle against Welbeck.

The Englishman could have scored another, however he couldn't quite get the ball under control after Sanchez's lobbed pass left all the defenders out of the picture. A shame, Welbz deserved a goal.

The half didn't finish as calmly as we'd have liked. Newcastle earned another free-kick in a good crossing position, a customary cross ensued and the ball found Gouffran at the far post. The Frenchman pulled off a header, but Szczesny was equal to it. Cisse was the first man on the rebound, but Szczesny saved again, this time with his leg. A brilliant double save to keep us ahead at halftime.

The second half

Nine minutes into the half we scored a second, which was long overdue. Sanchez spotted Cazorla darting inside the box and split Newcastle's defense with a pass. Cazorla received the ball, stayed on his feet after Collocini unceremoniously tried to bring the Spaniard down and then swerved the shot past Alnwick. A beauty of a goal from the man who turned 30 on the day.

Four minutes later Giroud added to his tally. Bellerin got down the right flank well and powered a low cross in Giroud's direction. The Frenchman was standing  sideways to the goal and as such had only one option: poke the ball with the outside of his foot. Which he did and it paid off beautifully. The ball rolled over the inside of the net and it was 3-0. However, Newcastle tried to swing the momentum in their favour and we found ourselves under pressure. And lost our clean sheet as a result.

The Magpies won themselves another free-kick, crossed the ball towards unmarked Perez and the Spaniard headed the ball home - into the far corner. 3-1 and I admit I started to get rather nervous, as there was still half an hour to go.

However, I worried over nothing, as it turned out. Instead of shutting shop and putting men behind the ball, we managed to maintain the right balance between attacking and defending and could have been further up, first through Santi's volley, then through Gibbs's effort. Both flashed their respective shots just wide of the post with the keeper beaten.

We then conjured up two brilliant counter attacks and the second wasn't in vain, albeit the first looked a better opportunity. Alexis and Welbeck were 2-on-1 (against Collocini), but the Chilean held onto the ball for too long and this resulted in Welbeck being dispossessed on the edge of the box.

The second attack, however, turned out to be successful. Gibbs won a crunching tackle near his box (cleanly, I have to say), ran some distance (considering it was 88th minute) and passed it to Cazorla. The Spaniard cut Newcastle's defence open and Dummett had little choice but to bring down Welbeck inside the box. Cazorla stepped up and chipped  Alnwick from the spot. A cooly taken penalty for a brace and a 4-1.

The aftermath

An attacking masterclass from Arsenal. We wanted to produce a performance after a blunder at Stoke? Done. Protect the makeshift back four? Done. Take our chances and score goals? Done. Not leave it until late in the game to grind out a win? Done.

That's not to take anything from our defenders, they were all very good. Bellerin made a couple of mistakes, but with an assist under his belt and the part he took in creating the first goal, I think we can turn a bit of a blind eye to his slips. It was a breakthrough performance from Hector, and though I expect Chambers to return against Liverpool, it's good to know Bellerin isn't there just to make up the numbers.

I was also very happy for Debuchy. For someone who has never before played at centre-back he did very well. In fact, I think he performed better than most natural centre-backs. Again, in the light of Chambers' return it's unlikely we'll see Debuchy deputising alongside Per any time soon, but who knows? Koscielny is out for "a couple of weeks" and we have a busy Christmas schedule coming our way.

I also want to single out Oxlade-Chamberlain. The lad performed brilliantly in central midfield and it's obvious he's taken a leaf out of Sanchez's book in  terms of work rate and desire. After such a performance it's obvious Wenger wasn't just talking for the sake of it when he said central midfield is Chamberlain's future.

Finally, there was a really nice moment during the game when supporters started singing "One Arsene Wenger" in full swing. This time the commentator was on top, so I missed the moment, but I will find it and then listen the hell out of it. That's what Arsene said on the overall situation surrounding his persona:

"99.9% it's people with full respect even when they're not happy. I can take the 0.1% of criticism. I'm thankful for the fans singing."

Even though the numbers are exaggerated, it's still good know Wenger understands those calling for his head represent the minority.

So, a nice game all around. We now sit sixth in the table, level on points with fifth Southampton and just two behind West Ham. And we'll play the Hammers over Christmas, if I recall correctly.

That's it for now. Enjoy the win and I'll be back in a couple of days with fresh news.

Until then

Follow me on Twitter (@AlexBaguzin)

P.S. Wenger said he'd go to church over the weekend for a CL draw to be kinder to us. It apparently helped, as we've drawn Monaco in the last sixteen. Now we can breathe easier, for the first time in, like, six years. On a side note, City again got Barcelona, Chelsea was paired with PSG (moneybags contest) and Borussia will face Juventus despite topping the group. Guess there really is a God

Newcastle preview: chopping and cropping

Hello everyone.

It's Newcastle today and, though I'm buzzed for the game (as I always am), the state of our squad is genuinely scary.

Team news

Koscielny, Monreal and Ramsey are all out. The first two haven't recovered, Rambo pulled a hamstring and various reports suggest  he could be out for four weeks. Add Arteta, Wilshere, Ozil, Rosicky and Walcott and our squad is wearing rather thin. I'm not even including Diaby and Gnabry in this list. The current situation is so pitiful that Coquelin's loan has been cut short and he was spotted in training yesterday, with the manager suggesting he could use his Coq in the upcoming game against the Magpies:

"He (Ramsey) told me yesterday he was very positive and much better and that he would play, then he texted me late last night and said he was out. I called Coquelin back from Charlton."

So the task of putting together a comprehensible starting eleven is becoming ridiculously easy and genuinely daunting.

The back five

I'm not sure where we are with Ospina, but with a fit Szczesny and capable Martinez serving as backup, the Colombian is the least of our worries right now.

The defense IS worrisome, however. We have four fit defenders + Coquelin, so there are two possible scenarios: 1) Debuchy, Mertesacker and Gibbs all in their preferred positions with Bellerin on the bench and Coquelin at centre-back and 2) Debuchy alongside Mertesacker with Bellerin and Gibbs flanking them. I like the first option better, as our best defenders play in their natural positions, while Coquelin is physical and quick enough to hold his own, however, the second option seems more likely:

"That is what I have to decide. I have asked him (Debuchy) already.

Yes, of course [it's a big ask], but the solution I have to decide will not be ideal, it will be a gamble. But there is not a massive difference between right-back and centre-back."

Tell that Djourou. Or Chambers (though for him it may just be the other way around). Sagna was the exception, and, by the way, the Frenchman still hasn't played an awful lot at centre-back.

The midfield

Flamini and Cazorla are our only established players in their respective positions. Oxlade can do a job alongside Flamini and then we have Coquelin. Imagine such a pair of central midfielders: Coquelin and Flamini. Just what the doctor ordered.

That's why I think the Ox is a more likely candidate. Probably his best performances came from central position, so I'm not particularly worried about Oxlade playing there. I'm much more worried it'll his umpteenth game and that his last was four days ago, a full ninety minutes in Turkey. I'm also concerned about the general state of affairs in midfield and, especially, Ramsey's absence. The Welshman produced a stunning display away at Gala, it's a real shame to lose him like that. Fingers crossed his injury is nothing serious and he'll face Liverpool a week from now.

The attack

With Walcott unavailable and Oxlade occupied elsewhere (hopefully), Alexis should be reinstated on the right flank with Podolski coming in on the left. This seems the most sensible decision, especially taken Poldi's midweek performance.

Up top it's either Giroud (who criticised our game at Stoke and defended the manager) or Welbeck. If it was me making the call, I'd probably start the Frenchman and thus give him the chance to redeem himself after our last week's showing. However, I do not exclude the possibility of seeing Giroud and Welbeck together. I think Arsene is quite keen on this experiment and, after some good interaction between our strikers in the last couple of games, you can see why.

The verdict

I honestly don't know what to expect from this game. This season we are as unpredictable as my German teachers when giving mid-term marks (sorry for this atrocious metaphor). We had good games and bad games and then again good games and then once again bad games. There's just no telling which Arsenal we'll see today: the one that capitulated at Stoke or the one that ripped Galatasaray apart with a second squad. The fact that these two games happened inside one week probably tells you all you need to know about our (in)consistency.

The matters are only further complicated by Newcastle's recent performances. After an atrocious start to the season, which has seen them spend some time in relegation some and the fans calling for Pardew's resignation, the Magpies pulled their act together and won 6 of their last 8 games, beating Liverpool, Tottenham and Chelsea along the way. They are on the way up it seems, we are struggling and searching for consistency. Let's find some today. Please.

Come on you Gunners.

Finally for today, you can take a look at this (link), if you've missed it. The preview part is no longer relevant, but the thoughts on the manager are and, I suspect, will be for quite some time.

And I'll be back with you as soon as I can.

Until then

Follow me on Twitter (@AlexBaguzin) 

Galatasaray 1-4 Arsenal: a positive game all around

Going into this game, I didn't expect us to produce such a strong display. As I've stated, it was unlikely Borussia would lose their game. They eventually drew against Anderlecht, a result which left a narrow window of opportunity for us. And by "narrow" I mean a win by a 6-goal margin over Gala.

The first half

An achievement which wasn't completely out of the question during the first 45 minutes. In fact, it seemed more and more likely as the half progressed.

We've started the game in the best possible manner: by scoring a quick goal. Ramsey found space near the box, his pass singled out an unmarked Podolski and the German fired an unstoppable shot into the top corner. 1-0.

Gala responded with a dangerous counter-attack, but, thankfully, Bellerin (deputising at left-back) made a gorgeous last-ditch tackle. It would be the last moment of danger before we took full control of the game.

Which happened in the 11th minute. Podolski won a tackle near the halfway line and passed the ball to Oxlade. The Englishman saw Ramsey making a run, rolled the ball in the Welshman's direction and Aaron did the rest by coolly poking the ball into the far corner. 2-0.

We could have been further up through first Podolski and then Sanogo, only for the former's strike to rebound off the bar and the latter's effort blocked to be blocked by a defender. However, we did add a third in the 29th minute.

The move started rather innocuously. Campbell swung in a corner which was cleared at the near post. The last thing I saw before the visual part of my stream died was Ramsey readying his left foot to hit the ball on the half-volley from some thirty yards out. But the audio part of the steam still worked fine and before I even thought "Why, oh why, Aaron?" the commentator shouted what a beauty of the goal the Welshman just scored. Replays showed Ramsey's beautiful strike (with his weak foot, mind you) fly all the distance to the goal and end up in the top corner. The Welsh Jesus has returned.

However, we didn't put the foot off the gas till the whistle went. Campbell was denied from a one-on-one, Podolski's cannon of a shot was somehow parried away to safety and I vaguely recall some dangerous shot from Oxlade-Chamberlain which flied over the bar. The possibility of us scoring the required six goals was there all right.

The second half

This possibility went up in flames right after the restart, as Arsene took off Ramsey and Flamini for Zelalem and Maitland-Niles respectively. Not that I rue the manager's decision. It was the right call to rest those who needed it most. That's what we've taken so many youngsters to Turkey for. To give seniors a breather provided we got a satisfactory result.

The downside of that double sub was that our midfield lost it's cohesion and urgency. Both youngsters (under the guidance of Oxlade-Chamberlain) did pretty well on their debut, though. At least I recall no blunders from them, which is a positive in itself.

These changes led to us surrendering possession and, consequently, our chances of scoring six. However, we came across as a very organised defensive unit, mostly restricting the Turks to distance shots. There were a couple of last-minute blocks from Chambers and Debuchy, but not much else. The few efforts that hit the target were dealt with by Szczesny easily.

Gala got their consolation goal, for whatever it was worth. The ref appointed a ridiculuous free-kick on the line of our box (the ball hit Mert's arms, but the German was blocking the shot and turning away from the ball. It could have hit him in the face, for instance, but the ref wouldn't say it's a free-kick in this case). Technically, though, the Spanish referee was within his rights as the ball hit the arm. Sneijder stepped up and smashed an unstoppable effort into the top corner. No chance for Szczesny.

We did manage to end the game on a high, though. A quick counter inside the last minute of injury time saw Poldi go one-on-one with the keeper and the German slotted his chance away. 4-1 it finished.

The aftermath

"We gave a strong response. We were dangerous every time we won the ball back, had good penetration, goals and until half-time we were very strong. In the second half we suffered a bit more - some players had not enough competitive games and I had to take two players off. We were a bit more lightweight in midfield. It was, overall, a strong performance."

A summary from the manager and it's a fair one. Interestingly enough, he said the possibility of scoring six crossed his mind at half-time:

"Not at the start of the game, but at half-time yes. But after we had to take Ramsey and Flamini off, it was too much for us to hope we could score six. We were closer to conceding one or two more in the second half. We had still our opportunities. No regrets, the players I left at home, I had no choice."

Borussia still finished top, despite drawing at home against Anderlecht (wait, Anderlecht is a hard team to play? At home? Who would have thought?) and thus we have to steel ourselves for a tougher opponent in the last sixteen. We'll face one of Atletico, Real, Barcelona, Bayern, Porto or Monaco. Not the prettiest picture, but to prove you are the best you have to beat the best. There's no escaping a big team in the Champions' League play-off round, so does it really matter when we draw one?

Alright, I'll leave it at that. Back tomorrow (or on Saturday) with the preview and all that entails.

Until the, enjoy the win

Follow me on Twitter (@AlexBaguzin)

Galatasaray preview: win it. Just in case

Hello everyone.

We face Galatasaray tonight and, while the chances of us topping the group are slim, we will look quite foolish if Anderlecht gets a result against Borussia and we don't win against the Turks. And, as Borussia is not exactly on top of their game right now, I do not exclude the possibility of them losing. We've seen how Anderlecht can be a thorn in the side, let's hope they become one for Borussia.

Team news update

Despite Arsene stating we want to win the game, a lot of key players were left behind. I can understand that: Gibbs and Koscielny need time to recover, Cazorla, Alexis and Welbeck played a lot, Giroud is ineligible and let's not forget about the injured.

However, as Arsene announced the squad a full day before the game (the first time he's done so in my memory), we now know that some of our players won't get a chance to rest. Chambers, Mertesacker, Flamini, Ramsey, and Oxlade will all start. Chambers will have some R&R because of his suspension, thus his next game will be almost two weeks from now. As for the others, well...let's hope Arteta and Walcott make it for our Saturday fixture, thus providing the manager with the opportunity to rest the Ox and Flamini respectively. Mert and Ramsey will have to hold on for dear life. That's the downside of having only three centre-backs and no Wilshere.

However, there is some positive news as well. Ospina, Szczesny and Debuchy have all been deemed fully fit and the latter two will start tonight. Debuchy's return is very welcome indeed, we've missed his experience in some games, while Szczesny and Ospina recovering simultaneously gives Arsene something to think about. I've been (rightly) pointed out recently, that Szczesny's attitude is not always appropriate for a goalkeeper. He has these moments of madness, when he suddenly rushes out of his goal or tries a clever pass instead of just hoofing the ball in the stands or elsewhere. In this sense even Martinez is calmer, though I don't think the Argentine will continue after his display against Stoke. Ospina, meanwhile, is as good a shot-stopper as Szczesny, while the Colombian also has none of the Pole's attitude problems, so I do wonder if he should be given a run. To show just what he can bring to the team. I won't bet on that in the league, we all know Wojciech is Wenger's №1 by default, but Ospina getting a string if games in the FA Cup is not that unlikely. The first cup game will take place on January 3rd and then we'll know where we are with the Colombian. By the way, we've drawn Hull City in the third round, so steel yourselves for all kinds of "Time for the Tigers to right the wrongs of the final" headlines. Good thing is, we play them at home, so this shouldn't be overwhelmingly hard. We'll cross that bridge when we get there, however.

The verdict

This game was christened a "dead rubber game" and it's hard to look at it in any other way. This feeling only intensifies when you look at our bench: Martinez, Zelalem and Akpom are the most prominent memebers there. We have a strong starting XI however, the one that is also more or less fresh and ready to play the entire game. While I hope the likes of Ramsey and Oxlade won't have to do that, there's just no guarantee things will work out as we want them to.

And what do we want really? The qualification is assured, the first spot is unlikely (though not entirely out of queston) and very few of these players will start against Newcastle come Saturday. I guess tonight's game boils down to a good performance, a clean sheet maybe and maximizing our fat chance of topping the group. Like Borussia's fans, we should be by the Germans when they fall, though the reason for that is entirely different.

So come on you Gunners

Wenger in or Wenger out?

I also wanted to address the matter of Arsene Wenger and where we stand with him. Right now the fan base is split down the middle and both sides (#WengerIn and #WengerOut) have thier share of sense to their arguments. We are not taking into account the WOBs and the AKBs, cause extremes rarely tell the full story and give you a clear picture of what's going on.

However, there are all sorts of (mostly logical) opinions flying around. The pundits, the journalists, the bloggers and whatnot have made their positions known during the last couple of days (a week, maybe) while using the variety of platforms to get their message across and I think it's time I've voiced mine. I hope you'll find it sensible. So here goes.

I'll start with the obvious: whether or not you want the manager gone, I think you should respect him. Arsene has done a lot for the Club, no one will deny it. He has won three titles, five FA cups and five Community Shields. He has introduced a whole new system of training players (new fitness regimes, diets and so on). He has built a new stadium when it became clear we were losing a sizeable chunk of profit because the iconic Highbury only held around 35 thousand. He didn't do it with the limitless resources of Chelsea and City, that's why a lot of penny-pinching and operating on a tight budget was involved. We had to pay off the stadium debt till last summer and I suspect us performing the transition from Nike to Puma has a lot do with it: I've heard how Nike was strict to us when it came to returning the loan we took from them to build the Emirates. Finally, Arsene has invented a whole new brand of free-flowing football, football which, when when we pull it off is both aesthetically-pleasing and extremely effective against pretty much anyone. There are only four sides in the whole Europe Arsene hasn't beaten during his 18 years at the helm and these four doesn't include Barcelona, Real, Bayern, Juventus, Milan or any of the English grands. Thie style of football saw us go a whole season unbeaten, took us into the final of the CL (ffor the first time in Club's history) and gifted us players like Henry, Bergkamp, Fabregas, van Persie and on and on. The list of players who blossomed under Arsene is really endless.

Then, there is the question of whether Arsene deserves the stick he's currently getting and it's a wholly different one. Mindless and vile abuses aside, does Arsene deserves to be criticized? It's really hard to answer that, because we don't have access to what's going on inside the Club. For example, many labelled Arsene tactically inept at defending after a 3-3 against Anderlecht, only to then discover it's Bould who trains the defense and organises it at set-pieces. I think the manager is still partly to blame for the team's weak performances this season, but he's definitely not the only responsible guy for that. It's just easy to level critique at him, because we know him well, while fitness coaches and the like are less prominent and, as such, harder to criticize. Arsene's just become the lightning rod, in my opinion and, while he's not flawless, he's also not the pantomime villain many try to present him as.

We can be quite sure he does his best and that he really has the Club's best interests at heart. I think the dissatisfaction stems more from the prolonged reign of our manager: many are tired of the journey, as Tim Stillman nicely put it and want a change. That's why they jump at every opportunity to get Arsene under pressure. Bottom line is this: everyone's entitled to his opinion and, as I've mentioned above, both sides have logic to their arguments. I'm fine with that (the sifference of opinion), but I'm definitely not fine at the amount of abuse Arsene is getting. He's, apart from being a manager, a human being (surprise, surprise), who has his ups and downs, bad and good days, who may not be in the mood. Never forget that.

Should he stay or should he go and, if the answer to the last part of the question is positive, when should he go? I think end of the season is the best time to judge him. We are halfway through December, a lot can change between now and May and Arsene deserves the chance to set the record straight and put things right. If he's unable to do that come May, we'll have that discussion again. For now, I think it'll be best for all parties concerned to not breed negativity and heap even more pressure on Arsene. This will enable him to do his job much better, trust me.

That's it for today. Back soon with a customary review.

Until then

Follow me on Twitter (@AlexBaguzin)

Stoke 3-2 Arsenal: abysmal

If you came here for a full review, you can turn right around: I've only watched the first half and 25 minutes or so (from 71st) of the second half. I don't know what happened in-between and, frankly, I don't want to know.

Also, my review will contain very few positive moments, so if you aren't looking to set the wrong tone to the remainder of your Sunday, you can also stop right here. For the rest of you, here goes.

The squad

Szczesny and Koscielny didn't make it and I wonder what would have been if they had. Martinez retained his spot between the sticks and his inexperience showed, though he can hardly be blamed for any of the goals.

He was protected (ahem) by a back four of Bellerin, Mertesacker, Chambers and Gibbs. No, "protected" is a wrong verb here. It implies that the Argentine was somehow shielded and kept safe from Stoke attacks, which he wasn't. Our defenders ran around like headless chickens, though receiving little support from Flamini and Ramsey hardly helped.

If anything, I don't get the decision to play Bellerin. The only reasonable explanation I can find is that Koscielny couldn't play and only made the bench because there was no one else. However, this game showed why Arsene was reluctant to use the Spaniard. He's still raw and, what's more important, not very physical. Which counts when you play Stoke.

The first half

 I only just made it in time for the kick-off. Yesterday was my first day back at uni after spending a week down with flu. I didn't get a proper night's sleep, then had to sit through three classes (with a window between them, mercifully) and, on top of all that, the tube wasn't functioning properly and after 5 hours' sleep and seven hours at uni I had to take the bus, the tube and do quite a bit of walking on my way home home. I entered my apartment 15 minutes before kick-off, physically drained and ready to collapse. Only I knew I couldn't, because I had a game to watch. A game I've been looking forward to and which may have been the only reason I stayed on my feet.

30 seconds into the match I wish I was stuck somewhere else. Anywhere but in front of the TV. The first goal was as unexpected as it was just, because our defense broke down during the episode. All our defenders switched off completely: Gibbs gave whoever it was the time to cross the ball, Chambers failed to head it away, though he shouldn't have, and Bellerin was up on his own against Crouch with Mert nowhere to be found. 1-0.

We could have equalised right away and we really should have done so. Bellerin got to the ball no one expected him to and crossed it towards unmarked Giroud. The Frenchman had the goal at his mercy and the simplest of tasks of nodding the ball home. He missed.

After that, it was all Stoke. We found ourselves outfought by a team which was flirting with the relegation zone before the start of the game. I vaguely remember Cazorla's effort drifting over the bar, but that was all. As far as I know, we didn't pull off a single shot on target during the first half.

Unlike Stoke. They had four shots, three of which went in. Their second again came from a cross from the left. Gibbs did nothing to prevent (was it Walters?) from crossing, Bojan's run was timed perfectly and no one cared to mark the former Barcelona man. 2-0.

Stoke continued attacking and got a third right at the death. A cross from a corner caused such panic and confusion between our defenders that no one spotted Walters at the far post. He smashed the ball into the roof of the net. I didn't see the replays of the moment, cause I immediately turned the TV off.

The second half

Despite not watching the first 25 minutes of this half, I couldn't bring myself to not follow the game on Twitter. I caught whiff of Sanchez hitting the post after a brilliant run from a halfway line saw the Chilean round off two defenders and Begovic, knew Stoke had a goal disallowed and was astonished when first Cazorla and then Ramsey found the net inside three minutes. I rushed back to the TV.

We were piling up the pressure alright. Bellerin was subbed for Welbeck at HT and then a hopelessly ineffective Giroud gave way to Podolski. The German had a header saved, which was his only decent moment from these 25 remaining minutes.

However, our best attempts to equalise led to nothing (not even many real chances) and then Chambers saw red. Calum held off Bojan some thirty yards from goal for only his second foul of the game and was immediately dished out a second yellow. There were only ten of our players left and even Campbell's introduction for Gibbs led to nothing. 3-2 it finished.

The verdict

Firstly, the positive moments, these tiny silver linings to a gigantic thunderstorm cloud. I liked Ramsey's goal very much, it was purely a moment of brilliance from the Welshman. A beautiful shot on the volley which puts an end to Ramsey's goal-drought and which will (hopefully) enable him to abandon his quest for goals and concentrate on other aspects of his game.

I'm also happy for Cazorla, who took the responsibility and converted the penalty for his second goal of the season. And, of course, it's better to lose 3-2 rather than 3-0 from a purely psychological point of view, because we showed some character and got something for it.

Finally, our away fans were brilliant. They were singing their hearts out at 3-2, completely muting the useless prick of a commentator on NTV+ football. I can recall only one moment when Arsenal fans' singing brought a tear to my eye. Two years ago, when we were losing to Bayern 3-0 at home.

And now the bad. First up is our defense. From inexperience of Bellerin to indifference of Mertesacker, we've had it all yesterday. Throw in an injured and out-of-form Gibbs and suspended Chambers and you get the idea of how useless our defense was.

Oh, the suspension. I know it's commonplace to start blaming the ref, but Anthony Taylor yesterday had a nightmare of a game. From not booking Crouch for a hand-in-the-face to letting off Charlie Adam for choking Sanchez with only a yellow. That's not to blame the ref for the loss, just to point out his complete and utter incompetence.

Finally, Arsene Wenger. Like after the game against United he spoke about positives and I find it not simply offensive, it's outrageous. Just admit for once we were not good enough. Stop with the excuses, man up. Admit yours and your players' mistakes.

I don't know, where we go from here and I don't like to think about it. I'll be back on Tuesday with a preview and will maybe have something more constructive to say.

Until then

Follow me on Twitter (@AlexBaguzin)