Southampton preview: break into the top four

Hello everyone.

We play Southampton on New Year's day and a win will finally see us elevate to the 4th. Moreover, should United drop points on their away trip to Mordor Stoke, we'll either be on level points with the Devils or a solitary point behind. So a win can really improve our situation.

Team news

The news is mixed. Rosicky will definitely come back into the side, having been rested during our away game at Upton Park, but there is a doubt over Welbeck:

"We have an uncertainty about Welbeck, who came off with a thigh problem. I think he will be short for Thursday."

Not good, especially since Giroud cannot help us for two more games. However, Theo Walcott is fit to start, if needed be:

"Walcott is involved because he was already in the squad. Of course I judge him a bit short on the competition front but on the fitness front he is ready to play."

The situation with Walcott in interesting. He has been fit for quite some time, yet us still to make an appearance, even as a substitute. If he doesn't start tomorrow, then a start against Hull on the 4th will mean the first start for Theo in exactly a year. As you may recall, the last time Walcott made the first XI was on January 5th against Spurs, where he's torn his knee ligament.

Finally, none of Ramsey, Arteta or Ozil will be in the squad. No word was said on Arteta, Ozil only joined full training today, while with Ramsey the manager is being cautious:

"Ramsey is not available yet. There’s no setback but because he had a setback last year, we have to be very cautious with his thigh - he was out for three months."

I doubt any of the three will be available for Hull, but I quietly hope for all three to make it in time for Stoke. And now, the squad.

The back four

See what I did there? I just excluded the goalkeeper from my usual preview. Get used to it. Szczesny will play if fit and if it's not a cup game. On these occasions I may bring up the subject. For the Premier League and the Champions League, Chezza will start.

As for the defense, I think Gibbs will come in for Monreal and we'll finally see our best back four in action. We'll have the chance to rest Mertesacker or Koscielny against Hull, for now we need both. That means Chambers and Monreal should make the bench, and Bellerin, who is having his best year will likely be omitted. Ah, well. He did well when called upon this season and I'm pretty sure he'll still be involved, as we have a lot of games to play. We may see him in four days, actually.

The midfield

If it was up to me to choose, I'd play a trio of Coquelin, Rosicky and Cazorla. Both because Flamini needs a rest and because I've really liked how Coquelin looked against West Ham. He really outperformed Flam and should be given a chance.

However, as it is for Wenger to decide, I won't be surprised to see Flamini start and not Coquelin. The other two players should remain the same, though: Cazorla, who's having a stormer of a season right now and Rosicky, who was impressive against QPR. Of course, there's a slight chance of Oxlade being reinstated alongside Flamini, but given the absence of Giroud and (most likely) Welbeck, we may need the Ox elsewhere. So Flamini-Rosicky-Cazorla it should be.

The attack

Just how many lives Alexis has? More than nine, definitely, cause he again seems up and ready to start, with Wenger saying:

"Alexis is a guy who has a naturally quick recovery and he has a lot of energy available as well."

He played full games against Liverpool, QPR and West Ham and was spotted waving the manager off during our game against the Hammers. Arsene obviously wanted to take the Chilean off. Alexis protested and stayed on. If he now plays two full games against Southampton and Hull, at a time when he's used to break, I'd be well and truly amazed.

As for who he'll be partnered with in attack, it's hard to guess. I'd say Welbeck and Oxlade, if both are fit and fresh. In case they are not, the Walcott, Pododlski and Sanogo top my list of replacements. Walcott can be a natural solution for both the right winger and the central striker roles, while Sanogo is a good target man, should Arsene decide to utilise one. Podolski is unlikely to start in either scenario. Poor chap.

The verdict

Yes, we have obvious problems in midfield, but:

1. the state of our midfield is still better than it was was in our last game, with Rosicky coming in
2. we still managed to beat West Ham with that midfield and the margin should have been greater, in all fairness
3. the Saints have problems of their own, with Schneiderlin and Clyne both unavailable, due to suspension and injury respectively

As for our attack, we have the requisite depth to cover for Giroud's and (potentially) Welbeck's absences, while in defense we have everyone available (gotta be a first this season). On top of that, we had two encouraging performances in a row and if we can somehow merge these, we should be fine against the Saints.

So come on you Gunners.

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Finally, I wanted to say a couple of words on Podolski. The German expressed his displeasure at not featuring more regularly (once again) and rumours emerged linking him to Inter Milan. Arsene reacted adequately:

“There is only talks. Podolski is a player of Arsenal football club and I want him to stay. Apart from that, what it is to be professional is that as long as you are somewhere, you give your best to justify your wages and your love for the club. I hope that he will still be an Arsenal player at the end of January. Inter? That is a joke. Inter is not serious.”

That settles it. Podoslki can, of course, be unhappy with his current situation, but he's one of these players who provide depth. He can be devastating from the bench and to see Arsene put his foot down and do what's best for the Club is really satisfying. I'm pretty sure we'll discuss Poldi's situation more in the summer, when all parties will be better suited to say goodbye, but for now, he should stay.

That's it for today. Wishing you and your families a very happy New Year and I'll be back here with a customary review either tomorrow on in two days.

Until then

Follow me on Twitter (@AlexBaguzin)

West Ham 1-2 Arsenal: a lively performance sees us get the points

I wrote before the game how we can find ourselves fourth if results go our way. Miraculously, they did: Chelsea drew with Southampton, United were denied a win at White Hart Lane and Burnley recovered from two goals down at the Etihad to snatch a point off the reigning champions. The pressure was all on us to deliver a performance and win the game. And we did just that.

The squad

Arsene's selection raised a few eyebrows alright. Flamini was paired with Coquelin in central midfield, Oxlade started the game wide, Podolski was benched again and Rosicky was nowhere in sight. Arsene later explained the Czech's absence:

"I just gave him a complete recovery today. When I took him off with 10 minutes to go against QPR he had cramps in the calves and in the hamstrings, so I didn’t want to take a gamble".

However, Koscielny's return meant we've finally been able to field a balanced back four and it was telling. Mertesacker looked much more his usual self, while Szczesny probably had his best game for us this season. Pity he was denied a clean sheet.

The first half

Whether because it was our second game inside 48 hours, the fact that we didn't have enough personnel in midfield or just because it was Arsene's plan all along, we started the game on the back foot. We surrendered possession and put men behind the ball to see what West Ham has to offer.

The Hammers gladly took the ball and tried hoofing it in the general direction of Andy Carroll, but our central defenders were on alert and reduced Carroll's time on the ball to minimum. There was still a heart-in-the-mouth moment when Song put the ball into the net, but this goal was disallowed, as Carroll was obstructing Szczesny's view of the initial shot.

We didn't see much of the ball during almost the entire 45 minutes, but when we got it back, we attacked with real vigour and purpose. One of such attacks saw Cazorla weave his way through a couple of defenders and into the box, where he was brought down by Reid. The ref pointed to the spot, Cazorla himself stepped up and sent the ball in the opposite direction to that of Adrian's. 1-0.

Three minutes later it was 2-0. Debuchy exchanged passes with Cazorla and then set up Oxlade, whose low cross found an unmarked Welbeck. The Englishman poked the ball home from a yard. We could even have been 3 up, but Alexis's effort following a corner was blocked.

The second half

It's fair to say we could have started it better, as we found our lead cut in half nine minutes into the second period. Tomkins was allowed to swing in a cross, Kouyate won the aerial duel against Debuchy and the ball ricocheted into the net off the Frenchman's back.

However, we didn't look fazed by that goal. On the contrary, we came flying out of the blocks and had several brilliant opportunities to make it 3-1. First Cazorla's shot was parried by Adrian, then Oxlade's header suffered the same fate, before Alexis's powerful effort was again saved by West Ham's keeper.

Another two brilliant chances were spurned by Welbeck. Though I have to add, both he created himself. For the first, the Englishman won a tackle in his own half, ran half the field and then fired his effort wide, for the second he capitalized to a loose back pass, but again his effort went over.

We could have been punished for such wastefulness, but a combination of luck (Valencia firing over with the last shot of the game) and good goalkeeping (Szczesny saving Nolan's effort) ensured we got the three points and ended 2014 on a high.

The aftermath

"We deserved to win the game. It was a typical committed, direct game where we needed to be solid in the air, take our chances on the break. Unfortunately when they came back to 2-1, we had five or six chances on counter-attacks that we couldn’t take, but overall everybody did the job very well, from the keeper to up front".

Arsene's take on our win. He also commented on Coquelin:

"He played very well, especially in the first half. He was very influential and then in the second half he fatigued a bit in the last 20 minutes, but he had a very good performance not only defensively but he also passed quickly, sharply and through the lines. Overall he had a convincing performance".

As far as I'm concerned, Coquelin did enough to demonstrate he earned his run of games ahead of Flamini. Francis was strong in the tackle, quicker in transitions than Flamini and he also looks a better passer of the ball. I'd pair him up with Rosicky for the next game and see how they fare.

I also really liked our defensive performance. Apart from a (rightly) disallowed goal, an actual goal and that very last moment, we gave away very few chances, despite West Ham enjoying 57% of possession and being a really effective unit at home. Of course, we had a rather conservative set-up, with our back four protected by two DMs, while our subs only added to our look, but you have to give our defense credit where it's due. We kept out Sakho and Carroll when every cross was heading their way!

This win sees us leapfrog the Hammers in the table. We are now fifth, level on points with fourth Southampton (who we play in three days) and a mere three points behind third-placed United. Roll on 2015.

And I'll be back with a preview in two days.

Enjoy the win

Follow me on Twitter (@AlexBaguzin)

West Ham preview: a bit of rotation

Hello everyone.

It's West Ham away today you can't help but feel we'll see a few changes from the Arsenal side which faced QPR less than 48 hours ago.

Team news

Koscielny and Oxlade can both be back, though Arsene was pretty cautious about their respective returns:

"Koscielny has a chance, he will have a test tomorrow. He has a little chance. [Alex] Chamberlain has an even smaller chance."

While I doubt Oxlade will be risked just yet, Koscielny has been propped to return for some time, so I won't be surprised to see the Frenchman start the game. Arsene also touched on Walcott and Podolski:

"He (Podolski) hasn't played much this season and he lacks a little bit of competitive sharpness. He can only find it if I play him."

"Walcott was in the squad on Friday but it was difficult to bring him on when it was tight and we had to defend. He's not far away."

And of course, we'll have Giroud serving his three-game ban. With all that more or less sorted out, let's try to put a squad together.

The back five

Let's just agree Szczesny is our №1, shall we? It's getting a bit repetitive to state he'll play every time. He will play by default, but I still have to mention Ospina's return. The Colombian made the bench against QPR for the first time in several months, something that I've missed. Props up to Martinez, he was solid when called upon.

As for the back, I quietly hope we'll have our best one available. Debuchy, Mertesacker and Gibbs are definitely ready and so I expect them to start, only question is, whether Kos is up for it. If he is, then fielding him instead of Monreal is natural. However, we all know Mert has played a lot, so I wonder whether he should be given a rest and replaced by Chambers. One thing is clear: we'll need at least one senior centre-back, be it Koscielny or Mertesacker, so I'm pretty sure they won't be omitted simultaneously.

The midfield

We don't have much of a choice here, with Arteta, Ramsey, Ozil and Wilshere still injured. And though the first three can even be involved against Southampton, they are not ready just yet. And with Oxlade likely to sit this game out due to his groin injury, we only have three fit midfielders: Flamini, Rosicky and Cazorla.

And I'm pretty sure they will start. Despite Flamini and Cazorla playing quite a lot recently, we have no other option, but to start them once again and keep our fingers crossed they have enough petrol left in the tank to put in a performance. Hope Flam and Santi get their rest against the Saints, with Arteta, Ramsey and Ozil all close to full fitness.

However, I don't think it's a bad midfield. Santi has rediscovered his form, Flamini has been solid and consistent (although his contribution often goes unnoticed) and Rosicky was brilliant against QPR and is definitely fresh enough to play.

The attack

Giroud's suspension complicates things a great deal, but not as much as some would have you believe. It's a shame he's out, we could use his physical presence and the fact he's much fresher than both Alexis and Welbeck, however, it's not like we have no other fit strikers.

Podolski looks the best option to me. We can move Welbeck infield and use him as a target man, while Poldi will slot in on the left. He's full of energy, he is a great finisher and, moreover, The German has a good record against The Hammers, with 4 goals in the last four games. Bring him on, I say.

Also, I'd probably rest Alexis this time. Despite the goal and the assist, he looked less sharp than usual and this showed in a couple of erratic decisions on the ball and turning over possession more often than usual. Give the Chilean a chance to recoup and play him against Southampton on January 1st.

If Sanchez really will be rested, than Walcott is the most natural solution. Him starting is long overdue, besides, he also enjoys scoring against West Ham, netting a goal on last year's Boxing Day. Also, it'd be interesting to see how he links up with Welbeck.

The verdict

This will not be an easy game. West Ham always gives us a hard time, this year they look even more capable of doing so, while we haven't exactly been the model of consistency. The reasons for this are different and aplenty, from constant rotation due to injures to psychological issues.

However, I see no reason why we can't win this one, especially if Koscielny returns to the side. His mere presence has a calming influence on the defense, with his pal Mertesacker benefiting the most from it. And though we are a short in midfield and will probably have to win this one with those who start, it's hardly the question of a lack of quality. Flamini is, obviously, the weakest link, but that's not to say he is weak.

A win will see us leapfrog West Ham in the table and take up the fifth spot and if Southampton loses to Chelsea at the same time, we'll find ourselves fourth. What is more, Tottenham is playing Man Utd, meaning at least one side will drop points. Hope they both will and, in case we bag the three points at Boleyn Ground, we'll be a mere three points off third-placed United. So fingers crossed the results go our way today.

And I'll be back with a review tomorrow.

Until then

Follow me on Twitter (@AlexBaguzin)

Arsenal 2-1 QPR: complicated, but much needed three points in the bag

First off, I have to apologise for not posting a preview for the game: I had a rather important mid-term exam to get ready for and thus had no time to spare. The exam didn't go down particularly well, but that's another story.

The squad

I was fully expecting Arsene to rotate the squad for yesterday's game and was surprised indeed when he didn't. The only changes were Rosicky for an injured Oxlade-Chamberlain and Monreal at centre-back for an exhausted Chambers. Debuchy was reinstated at right-back.

The first half

We dominated it. Pure and simple. At around 40th minute mark the stats showed Arsenal enjoyed 71% of possession.

Our first real chance came less than two minutes inside the half. Sanchez did brilliantly to control the ball on the right flank and then sent in a cross. The ball was cleared for a corner moments before Giroud could get on the receiving end.

The second chance was again created by Sanchez. The Chilean was hacked down inside the box and Atkinson pointed to the spot. Alexis stepped up, but his shot was the one to forget. Meek and tame, it was easily parried away by Green.

Why Cazorla, who has scored both his previous spot-kicks, didn't take that one, I have no idea. Even Wenger was baffled by that:

"How do you know he (Alexis) shouldn't take it? I think Santi is a nice guy and let him take it. Honestly, he is not No 1 on the penalty list, that's true."

However, Sanchez recovered almost immediately by nearly setting up Welbeck. We then had another chance to score, this time from a free-kick, but Giroud's brilliant shot was saved by Green.

We finally found a breakthrough in the 37th minute. Cazorla played in Gibbs down the left, our left-back crossed towards an unmarked Sanchez and the Chilean headed (!) the ball home. 1-0.

We could have been 2-0 up at half-time when Giroud was wrongly flagged offside, but then we also could have found ourselves level. Mercifully, Caulker headed wide from a decent position in the dying seconds.

The second half

We continued to play in much the same way as during the first half, but eight minutes into the second found ourselves a man down. Giroud was pushed by Onohua right into Green, as the Frenchman was trying to get onto the end of a cross and Olivier, for reasons best known to him, exploded. As soon as he got up on his feet, Giroud sprinted to Onohua and head-butted him. Atkinson, of course, showed a straight red.

Now, several things need to be said in connection with this suspension. Firstly, Giroud deserved his red and his consecutive three-game ban. Even if he was provoked, Olivier is a professional footballer and should know better than to react. Secondly, Onohua made the most of the head-butt, but that bit was expected, It wasn't exactly a proper head-butt, just a touch, but of course Giroud should not have done even that. And thirdly, for this, Ferdinand deserved to be sent off as much as Giroud did. Which, again, doesn't make Giroud's unsporting behaviour look any less unsporting, but also cannot be left unsaid.

And so we found ourselves with 10 men and only a one-goal lead. However, QPR didn't look in any mood to try and get at least a point, despite Rednapp throwing on two attackers: Fer and Hoilett. Instead, we continued to see more of the ball and that led to us doubling the lead.

Sanchez (who else?) went on a run, gathered everyone around him and rolled the ball to an unmarked Rosicky. The Czech's first-time effort made it 2-0.

After that, we fell back and haven't given many chances away. However, a mention should go to that penalty. At first, I was fuming because Debuchy clearly got the ball and only then did Hoilett run into Debuchy's outstretched leg. Then I noticed something different entirely: Debuchy didn't make contact with Hoilett at all. It was a dive, and a blatant one at that. Look closely and you'll see it.

Atkinson, without the blessing of a video replay, bought that dive and pointed to the spot, Austin powered his effort past Szczesny, but that was the only moment of danger QPR created after the sending off. 2-1 it ended.

The aftermath

We got the win and that's the important part. We are now a point behind fifth-placed West Ham and two behind fourth-placed Southampton and we play both teams in the next two games. Which means two wins will elevate us into the top four. And once we are there, we can try to overthrow at least United, The Devils currently have five points more.

That's it for now. A good win overall, a resilient defensive display. West Ham up next, in just over 24 hours. And so I'll be back with you tomorrow, with a preview for our game against the Hammers.

Until then

Follow me on Twitter (@AlexBaguzin). And subscribe using the form on the right

Liverpool 2-2 Arsenal: up there with the worst

No, the heading is probably inaccurate. After some consideration and a two days reflection period I've come to the conclusion this is the worst I've seen Arsenal perform this season. And when you have defeats to Borussia and Stoke to consider, well, that's saying something.

We made a disjointed and toothless Liverpool side with Sterling up top look good. Had Szczesny not been our goalkeeper that day, or had he just been as out of form as the rest of the team, Liverpool would have won the game. They had 27 shots, 10 on target and enjoyed 64% of possession. We only pulled off three shots on target and our respective 36% possession is the worst in eleven years. Maybe more, but Opta, who provided the stat, only started gathering such kind info eleven years ago.

Frankly, we only had three players who were up to scratch that day: Szczesny, Cazorla and Giroud. Wojciech did everything in his power to ensure we stayed in front, pulling off a couple of outstanding saves, Cazorla provided the assist for Giroud's goal and was the only player with whom the ball stuck and Giroud held our attack together by coming out on top in a lot of aerial duels and almost scoring the winner. Almost.

The manner in which we conceded the equaliser was horrible. It was the 97th minute, we were a goal up and had an extra man and yet somehow, inexplicably, we've left the most dangerous player on set-pieces unmarked. The concept of zonal marking always made me feel uneasy, but when it worked, it worked. The problem is that, when is doesn't work (like on Sunday) we suffer the consequences.

I also don't like the fact we no longer put men on posts during corners. Skrtel's header, as good as it was, could have been blocked or cleared off the line if somebody was just physically standing on the post. No one was there, so no one stopped the effort from going in.

Then again, there is the problem of making substitutions. Monreal for Alexis is alright, but Campbell for Oxlade? I mean, really? In what world does it provide us with a better chance at either end of the pitch? Also, why remove Giroud? Not only did this sub allow Liverpool to operate with freedom, knowing the chances of Welbeck or Campbell punishing them are slim at best, we also lost a player who could make the difference in our own box. A player who could have won the duel against Skrtel, or got in his way, at least. Coquelin, upon coming on, did nothing to shore things up, so why the hell did we need him?

I do realise we have a lot of injures and that stops us from finding our game, but the extent is remarkable, really. United had a lot of injures, but they thrashed Liverpool. Aston Villa beat Liverpool. The Mugmashers only picked up five points in the CL, for Christ's sake. They were battered by every half-decent team. But not by us, of course.

And then again, when do we not have a lot of injures? It's the same old story every year. And I don't really care whether they are muscle injures or accidents or results from Woodoo dolls' experiments. We have a bunch every year and it's just not good enough.

We have a big squad, much bigger than some will have you believe. Yet look at how many games Cazorla, Oxlade and Chambers have played and compare it to these of Arteta, Walcott and Koscielny. We have a squad with requisite depth (maybe just 1-2 players short) yet are unable to rotate because of injures. The same players feature over and over and over again, until they enter the fabled red zone and get knackered. By then the other half of the squad recovers and the story repeats itself, only with different players this time. Pathetic.

Right now we are a mess. We're unable to demonstrate any kind of consistency and this leads to us being where we are. Sixth in the table, level on points with seventh Tottenham. We've failed to capitalise on United's slip-up and are five points behind third-placed Devils.

Of course, much can change over the festive period. We play four games in rapid succession and four wins should at least elevate us into the top four. And we'll once again fight for staying there. Any talk of finishing second or even first is gibberish, not because it's mathematically impossible, but because no sane person, who has watched us for any period of time this season, will say we are capable of producing positive results on a consistent basis.

I cannot express how tired I am of seeing Arsenal struggle. Tired of analysing bad results and bad performances. Tired of us making the same mistakes over and over and over again. Tired of fighting for fourth/third every year. I do realise we are behind City, Chelsea and United in financial regard and that we finish about where our resources allow us to, but that doesn't make me any less tired. I badly want this to change, for Arsenal to become a major force again, but for now I see no light at the end of this long and gloomy tunnel.

Back in two days with a preview.

Until then

Follow me on Twitter (@AlexBaguzin)