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

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

Team news update

As always, Arsene gave the usual update:

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

There was also some good news on Wilshere:

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

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

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

The back five

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

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

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

The midfield

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

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

The attack

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

The verdict

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

So come on you Gunners.

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

Until then

Follow me on Twitter (@AlexBaguzin)

Tottenham 2-1 Arsenal: tried to do a City, but did a Liverpool

So, we lost. We produced a bleak performance. We could have won, but we really didn't deserve it. This game had echoes of the Liverpool game about it, not the trumpeting horn of the Etihad win.

As is often the case after a loss, I'm in no mood to follow my usual structure. Instead, I think quoting myself and analysing what has happened yesterday through the prism of these quotes is the best possible way to present you with my review. So here goes.

The tactics and the squad

"I won't be surprised should we stick to a cautious approach tomorrow. In other words, I expect us to deliver something along the lines of City's game, only to a lesser extent, because Eriksen and Kane aren't nearly as scary as Silva and Aguero."

This is what I said two days ago when writing a preview for the game. And this approach was exactly the one we adopted yesterday. Only, however baffling it sounds, I'd rather we faced Aquero and Silva than Kane and Eriksen. We gave both time and space and paid the price for that. We dropped too deep after scoring the goal, thus inviting even more pressure. That was a mistake, both because we couldn't cope with that pressure and because we were woefully inefficient on the counter.

"Do they have an edge over the current Hispanic trio? The only edge I can think of is experience (in case with Chambers) and a better understanding of a derby atmosphere (Szczesny and Gibbs). But I don't think these are convincing enough reasons to omit Ospina, Bellerin and Monreal. If our Spaniards can do it at the Etihad, they can do it anywhere."

Seems I was wrong with at least one player: Bellerin. Maybe I wasn't watching too closely, but I don't think he had a good game. His starting minutes were particularly atrocious, as Spurs successfully pulled off a couple of attacks down our right flank. And I think it won't be totally off the mark if we blame him (at least partially) for both conceded goals. He failed to close Kane for the first, he allowed an easy delivery for the second. I'm not saying others couldn't have done better (Ramsey at marking Kane, Walcott for the cross), however, part of the blame goes to Bellerin.

I'm not so sure about what kind of game Monreal had (pretty solid, I guess), but in this case Gibbs could have fared better due to sheer enthusiasm and better understanding of how important a derby is. But I definitely was wrong about Ospina. This is what I said on Twitter a couple of weeks back:

"I think we'll never find out, how good Ospina is. Our defense is keeping it in great secret for a third consecutive game."

Well, yesterday our defense was shaky and Ospina finally got to show just how good he really is. He pulled off save after save after save and they were all gorgeous. When he finally succumbed to pressure, there was nothing he could do. He parried a hard shot in the attack when the equaliser was scored and Kane had a tap-in, and was left stranded with Kane's late header in the episode with the second. I rarely watch the highlights after a loss, but this time I did to enjoy the brilliance of our Colombian goalkeeper. I suggest you do the same.

"As such, I'd prefer to introduce Rosicky for Ozil, as Walcott can be devastating on the counter, something that'll play to our strengths. Rosicky, meanwhile, can compensate for Theo's defensive shortages in his usual manner: by harassing and tackling and pressing and intercepting and forcing mistakes and whatnot."

Wenger found a way I haven't thought of: he combined Walcotts' and Rosickys' strengths and put on Welbeck. And the Englishman rewarded the manager with a brilliant run for the first and the sheer drive and energy he put in. He also had the best moment of the second half with a venomous shot, but Lloris did well to parry. Had it not been Danny's first game upon returning from injury, keeping him on the pitch would have been a better idea than letting Walcott come on.

The conceded goals

"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."

This is what I said after we drew with Liverpool back in December. And once again our lapse on a corner proved costly. Not only did no one close down (or, indeed, marked) Kane, no one was standing on the post. I'm sure we wouldn't have conceded this goal if someone had the sense to cover the post.

Meanwhile, on the second goal:

"Seriously, how can you leave any midfielder in any team with so much time and space to make a pass? But the way the situation was handled after that still makes me want to cry."

It's the bit from the Southampton game, if you are interested. Then we let Warden-Prowse make a cross, this time it was Bentaleb. Walcott and Bellerin has given him way too much time and space and Bentaleb used it to great effect. But even when the cross was put in all was not lost: Kane had to beat Koscielny first. That he did is as much of a compliment to him, as it is a reproach to Kos.

The aftermath

This is what I said in the preview prior to the game:

"Tomorrow's game is a derby and derbies screw with the odds. They have very special atmosphere and rules of logic rarely apply to the results. You can go the whole season undefeated and then lose in a derby and no one will bat an eyelid, however good you've performed up to this point.The chips are down when a derby kicks off."

And this is yours truly on Twitter after the game:

"I don't think any definitive conclusions can be drawn based on today's game. Except that Ospina is a brilliant keeper. It's derby and, though having not been brought up in England, I will never fully grasp it's meaning, I do realise derby is a special occasion. Anything can happen during a derby. It doesn't mean that one team is sh*t and the other is a newly-crowned champion. And so I'm not going to chastise the Gunners for that loss. I will if they drop points on Tuesday, but not today"

With this taken into consideration, I still want to say that Tottenham were much, much better than us and fully deserved their win. They showed up with the right attitude, we didn't show up at all and so there can be few complaints about the result.

This loss sees us slide to 6th, one point behind Tottenham, but the situation doesn't look in any way dangerous. We are just seven points of second-placed City (who miraculously rescued a point against Hull yesterday), three behind Southampton (who miraculously nicked all three against QPR) and trail United and Tottenham by a solitary point, with United yet to face West Ham at Boleyn Ground today. Fingers crossed for a draw there and, in the light of Liverpool's draw in the Merseyside derby, we are not really threatened by them.

Now we need to bounce back quickly and that's why I'm happy we play on Tuesday. And, by the way, we face Leicester at home, while City play Stoke away, West Ham visits St. Mary's and Spuds go to Anfield. Thus we are presented with a chance to restore the equilibrium. Hope we take it.

And I'll be back with the usual preview tomorrow or on Tuesday.

Until then, don't hang your heads in despair

Follow me on Twitter (@AlexBaguzin)

Tottenham preview: a big team away?

Honestly, this is the question that needs answering before we can try and guess our squad and approach for tomorrow's game. Does Tottenham fall into the category of a big team?

I think after the famous big four ceased to exist some ten years ago, the definition of a big team became blurred. Today only two teams in the PL look a cut above the rest: City and Chelsea. United was number 3 not long ago, but, seeing as they wobble through their second consecutive campaign it's really hard to call them a big team. In my view, a big team should be consistently challenging for the title. United are fighting for Champions League places at the moment, those who say otherwise are either short-sighted, United fans, or both.

Liverpool look to be a one-off. They had an uncharacteristically good last season (due to Suarez's brilliance, I suspect) and now they sit 6th or 7th in the table, about where they should be based on the last decade or so. Much like United, few would call this current Liverpool side "big".

Which leaves only two teams unturned: us and Tottenham. As much as it pains me to admit it, we also can hardly be called a big team. At the moment (and this has actually been the case for the last ten years), we are behind Chelsea and City. We have inferior squad to both these outfits and, while there were a couple of occasions during that last decade when we've challenged for the title, it will mostly go down in history as a consistent scrap for Champions League places. We have definitely showed signs of improvement last season by topping the table for 2/3 of the campaign and our current form suggests that with one or two summer additions we should be challenging again next season, for now, though, we are not particularly likely to win the title. I don't exclude it, stranger things have happened, but still.

And Tottenham. No, I don't think they can be called a big team based on the above criteria. Having a few good players doesn't make them Chelsea-esque and so calling them a big team will be a mistake. They don't, and haven't for a long time, challenge for the title. Full stop.

However, there is another matter to take into consideration: even if Tottenham can't be called a big team, tomorrow's game is a derby and derbies screw with the odds. They have very special atmosphere and rules of logic rarely apply to the results. You can go the whole season undefeated and then lose in a derby and no one will bat an eyelid, however good you've performed up to this point.The chips are down when a derby kicks off.

Based on that, and also the last year's derby experience, I won't be surprised should we stick to a cautious approach tomorrow. In other words, I expect us to deliver something along the lines of City's game, only to a lesser extent, because Eriksen and Kane aren't nearly as scary as Silva and Aguero. So this is how I think we should shape for the game.

The back five

If you told me six weeks ago that Ospina, Bellerin and Monreal would become regular starters, I would have, at the very least, snorted at such an assumption. Now, however, I sincerely hope all three will start and I see no reason why they shouldn't. All three have, with their respective performances, shown the place belongs to them and so Chambers, Gibbs and Szczesny found themselves benched.

Do they have an edge over the current Hispanic trio? The only edge I can think of is experience (in case with Chambers) and a better understanding of a derby atmosphere (Szczesny and Gibbs). But I don't think these are convincing enough reasons to omit Ospina, Bellerin and Monreal. If our Spaniards can do it at the Etihad, they can do it anywhere. All three are in brilliant form, so all three should keep their places. As should Mert and Kos. Moving on.

The midfield

The good old "Don't fix what isn't broken" adage should apply here exactly like it applies to our defense. Coquelin, Ramsey and Cazorla are firing on all cylinders and, what's important here, they form a really sound defensive unit. Bearing in mind we are likely to sit back most of the game, such a trio in midfield provides the team with a good shielding ability, while having the capacity to quickly explode and become deadly on the counter. The continued absence of Arteta and Wilshere (the Englishman will resume full training next week and I expect him to be involved against Boro) also robs us of options, leaving Flamini and Rosicky as the only other alternatives to Coq and Ramsey respectively. Flamini is, frankly, unconvincing, while Rosicky may be needed elsewhere, so sticking to the same trio should do the trick. And no, I don't consider swapping Cazorla for someone else, the Spaniard is ridiculously good at operating behind the striker and that's where he must play. At least while his form lasts.

The attack

The main question is whether Alexis will be involved and if he will, then to what extent. Arsene, during his presser today, said the following:

"The latest is that Alexis is not ready. He is not far away, the Leicester game is a possibility. He is of course very difficult to keep quiet! He is training but it's light training. He wants to have a go [on Friday], but I think he is too short [of fitness]."

It's good to know Sanchez is willing to play and, if he's ready, I think he should make the bench, but if he's not (and it very much looks to be the case), he should be given extra time to recover. We have a lot of offensive players available (no pun intended), even without Alexis and Oxlade, so no point risking the former for a short-term gain, especially since there are important games coming up. Besides, Welbeck is back in the group to give us another option.

Assuming Alexis won't make it, we still have an interesting dilemma of who to field either side of Giroud. I'm sure the Frenchman will start, but playing both Ozil and Walcott can be detrimental to our defensive set-up, if we choose to utilise one. As such, I'd prefer to introduce Rosicky for Ozil, as Walcott can be devastating on the counter, something that'll play to our strengths. Rosicky, meanwhile, can compensate for Theo's defensive shortages in his usual manner: by harassing and tackling and pressing and intercepting and forcing mistakes and whatnot. That being said, I badly want to see Mesut on the pitch and so I secretly hope we go all guns-blazing and take the game to Spurs, which will allow Ozil to shine.

The verdict

We definitely have enough to beat Spurs. Our goalkeeper is yet to concede a PL goal, our defense is so solid Wenger openly admitted he is reluctant to introduce any changes, our midfield is rocked by Coquelin and Cazorla and our attack looks scary even without the Ox and Alexis (which was unthinkable up until December). If we show up with the right attitude, we have more than enough quality to beat Tottenham.

So come on you Gunners.

And I'll be back here with a review on Sunday. Until then

Follow me on Twitter (@AlexBaguzin). And subscribe to all updates via email using the form on the right-hand side

P.S. Coquelin and Akpom have signed new long-term deals, confirmed by Arsene during the press conference. Now Bellerin is the only youngster left

A catch-up post

Good evening everyone.

It's been a long time since I've last written here. Unfortunately, the Internet connection in Thailand was so slow that even Twitter refused to work properly, hence my prolonged absence. Now I'm back and there is a fair bit of catching up to do. So I'll start with

Transfer activity

Surprisingly, we've done what was required with minimum fuss, namely: brought in a central defender, Gabriel Armando de Abreu, also known as Gabriel Paulista. As far as I know, the "Paulista" bit merely indicates Gabriel waslatter's  up in Sao Paolo. It's not his surname and he made it clear he prefers to be called Gabriel. Much like Alexis Sanchez.

With name intricacies out of the way, the most important thing for now is that we've bought a quality centre-back from Villareal. For a meagre sum of around £12 million we've landed a 24-year-old centre-back at a time when every other PL club found it tough going (I have United in mind). We've also made sure Gabriel was granted a work permit, which is no small thing. The Brazilian has already made the bench and I expect him to be involved against Boro in mid-February.

Our other acquisition is not as flashy, simply because it's a youngster we are talking about: Krystian Bielik. He's joined Arsenal from Legia Warsaw and, as he's only 16, I'm not expecting him to make a sustained impact even next season. He's likely to be restricted to sub appearances for now, then we'll see what happens.

Meanwhile, Sanogo and Campbell have joined Podolski in the "out" transfer column, though both, just like the German, have left on loan. Sanogo will represent Crystal Palace for the remainder of the season. It's the perfect solution for all parties Arsene so craved for and it seems it'll work out. Sanogo has already opened his goalscoring account there with a goal against Southampton in the cup.

Campbell has left for Villareal as part of the Gabriel deal. Before that he has signed a new long-term contract, though. What this could mean we can only guess. The optimist in me hopes it's the sign of Arsene believing Campbell has a future at the Club. A small nagging voice adds we can be protecting our investment here by potentially increasing Campbell's transfer fee.

The actual football

We've played two games while I was away: Brighton in the Cup and Aston Villa in the Premier League. We've won 3-2 and 5-0 respectively, thus ensuring safe passage into the next round (we'll face Middlesbrough at the Emirates on the 15th February) and catching up with Southampton in the league. Now we are a mere point behind third-placed United and six off City.

The first game (Brighton) saw a much changed Arsenal side. Szczesny, Chambers, Gibbs, Flamini, Rosicky, Ozil and Walcott all started, while Akpom made a substitute cameo. We went ahead ninety seconds into the game when a low cross from Chambers found Walcott in the box and the Englishman scored his first goal since returning.

Arsenal doubled the lead around the half hour mark when Rosicky's clever through ball found an unmarked Ozil and the German slotted the ball home. Brighton then scored a goal of their own, but we've quickly recovered when Rosicky (our live wire that evening) did this. Absolutely stunning stuff from the Czech.

From what I gather (I haven't seen the game) we could have been further ahead through first Akpom and then Sanchez, only for the former's tame effort to be blocked and the latter's to hit the bar. Brighton scored another fifteen minutes from time, but we've managed to cling on and get the win. Replays are evil, good thing we avoided one of them. Deservedly so, I should add.

The Villa game was marvellous in a sense that it was a comprehensive win, with all doubts over the results resolved long before the final whistle blew. The squad that faced the Villains sported two changes from our win against City: Theo for Oxlade and Ozil for Sanchez. Both were forced, but I'm pretty sure no one regretted them. Bar Villa fans, of course.

Frankly, it was a complete performance: from Ozil's mad flick to Bellerin's fierce stoppage time shot we've been brilliant throughout. Again, I was only able to watch the extended highlights and I highly recommend you do the same on the official site. This performance was a thing of beauty. I'm even considering watching the full game.

The contracts

Finally, a couple of words on the contract situation. This summer we have Bellerin, Coquelin, Flamini, Arteta, Diaby and Akpom to juggle, while Walcott's (and Giroud's?) deal(s) expire(s) next summer. For all I know we should let Flamini and Diaby go, offer a short-term deal to our captain and tie down everyone else for as long as humanly possible.

With Flamini and Diaby it's more or less clear: the former has fallen behind Coquelin in the pecking order (and deservedly so) and really seems to have given everything he can. I do realise it's harsh to say this, after all, Flamini's signing almost two years ago was mostly a positive thing: even this season he had decent spells. However, he's definitely less of an all-round performer than Coquelin and that has already cost us a couple of times and can cost us again.

Diaby is another story altogether: the Frenchman's career at Arsenal has been blighted by injures to such an extent that there's is a joke in circulation, which actually goes the other way around: "Abou Diaby, a professional hospital patient, whose career has been blighted by appearances for Arsenal". Sad, but true. I do not see how even Arsene will be able to continue to protect his compatriot, when the latter only featured twice in the last two seasons.

As for our youngsters, all should receive new long-term deals and there's good news on that front, with Coquelin's contract "being 99% complete" and Akpom also rumoured to have signed a new 4-and-a-half-year extension. The former has proved he can be very useful to the squad, so much so I'm not sure we need a top-tier DM anymore. Bottom line is, we'll hold out till summer alright. As for Akpom, it's hard for me to make a definite judgement on him, but he seems to be held in high esteem by Arsene and that is good enough for me. I even think Sanogo, Campbell and Poldi could all have gone on loan to clear room for Akpom.

Don't think I need to elaborate why we need to sign up Arteta, Walcott and Giroud, as all of them have been brilliant for Arsenal and continue to deliver still, but I definitely need to touch on Bellerin. The Spaniard has matured rapidly over the course of the season, starting with "a bit of a nightmare" away at Dortmund all the way to scoring a cracker of a goal last weekend. Not only is he brilliant at going forward (and has end product to his game in the final third), he's been able to successfully marry this ability to getting back into position in time. As such he has cemented his place in the squad ahead of a fully-fit Chambers and few would argue the Spaniard doesn't deserve this. So sign him up, Arsene.

Phew, that's it for today. Back tomorrow for the preview of the North London derby and normal service will resume from that point onwards.

Until later, have a good evening

Follow me on Twitter (@AlexBaguzin)

Manchester City 0-2 Arsenal: impeccable

Introduction

Looking back at our comprehensive 2-0 win at the Etihad, I'm starting to question how we could have undergone such a complete transformation in the space of mere seventeen days. I say "seventeen" because we've lost to Southampton 2-0 on the 1st of January. At the time I've written this, questioning the ability of the team in general and dreading our next away game. I had serious misgivings at how our campaign might go after that toothless performance and a visit to the reigning champions in just over two weeks did little to calm my nerves.

But that's football for you. It's fickle, a lot depends on chance and, though no one in their right mind would say we were lucky to beat City, it just goes to show how quickly things can change and how complete turnarounds can happen in a matter of days.

A plan with three phases

The second thing I've carried out of this game (bear with me, I'll get down to an actual review soon) was no less enlightening: we had a plan, not just for this game, but for all away games against the big teams this season.

The first part of it was our visit to Stamford Bridge at the 5th of October. We set out not to concede first and foremost and try to hurt Chelsea on the counter. Our plan went to pieces due to several factors, I suspect:

1. The team had barely entered a third month of playing together. Welbeck, Sanchez and Chambers all started (the latter at RB), while the introduction of a rather unfamiliar 4-1-4-1 with Ozil on the wing did little to help matters of gelling
2. A moment of magic from Hazard. Had the Belgian not taken three or four players out of the picture single-handedly and forced Kos to foul him, we would not have found ourselves a goal down this early. Which, in it's turn, would not have led to our frantic search for an equaliser

Nevertheless, we looked very good defensive-wise. Very compact and solid. That's why I christened the result "A dignified loss". It didn't even feel that much of a loss.

The second part of our "sit-back" plan unfolded at Anfield. Then I wrote this:

"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."

That day something went awfully bad and our defense was a leaky cauldron (Harry Potter fans anyone?), but, amazingly, we still could have won the game. We SHOULD have won the game.

Two days ago our plan was put in action once again and this time we've pulled it off impeccably.

The squad

Too little happened for an actual review, so I'd stick with discussing the interesting things only.

First of them, of course, was squad selection. Astonishingly, I guessed everyone right. Ospina continued in goal (and had so little to do, I'm starting to think we'll never find out how good he is. And I'd prefer it this way), Bellerin started at right-back with Monreal at left-back (the system is actually real), Coquelin was handed a 4th consecutive start with Ramsey alongside him, while Cazorla and Oxlade were both picked ahead of Ozil and Walcott respectively. We deployed a 4-1-4-1 yet again and this time both the system and the players implementing it worked wilke clockwork.

The stats

We saw very little of the ball - just 35% (like against Liverpool) - and only pulled off three shots on target (like against Liverpool!) - and (like against Liverpool) scored twice. The only major difference to the Anfield game was the "shots allowed" stat (4 against 10). But this particular bit resembles our encounter against Chelsea (we've only allowed 3 shots on target against the Blues, two of which happened to be goals). Meanwhile, City had only one shot on target to bolster in the entire first half, despite dominating possession and territory.

Our goals

The first one was a penalty, coolly tucked away by Cazorla. However, the build-up to the goal is of more interest. Monreal played a one-two with Giroud and burst into the box to receive the return pass, where he was unceremoniously stopped by Kompany. Mike Dean awarded us a penalty (first time he did that since a 4-0 win over Blackburn in 2010), Cazorla stepped up and made no mistake. This goal allowed us to fall back and defend with vigour, knowing we had the lead.

The second goal happened as a result of a foul on Alexis Sanchez, after the Chilean's run was stopped with a foul. Cazorla curled the free-kick into Giroud's path and the Frenchman nodded home without anyone even trying to stop him. We even could have scored a third in injury time, but Flamini failed to pull the ball back for Giroud, who was ready for a simple tap-in.

The defensive performance

We rocked. Arsenal have made a total of 108 defensive actions during the game, 25 more than anyone else this season. However, the most important thing was how we shut out City's players and thus nullified their threat. Bellerin dealt with Milner like no one's business, Monreal stopped Navas time and again, Sanchez terrorised Sabaleta all day long and Aguero was last seen during the warm-up. There were conflicting reports of either Koscielny or Mertesacker finding him in their back pocket later in the dressing room, but these reports are unconfirmed. Please let us know if you've seen Sergio, his family members are worried.

However, the stand-out defenders on the day were Coquelin and Cazorla. The Spaniard made three interceptions, 10 ball recoveries, completed 10 dribbles (out of 14) and 54 passes (out of 59). He also blocked three crosses, though I don't know how many tackles or clearances Santi has made. Oh, and let's not forget he has a goal and an assist to his name.

Coquelin, meanwhile, had two successful tackles (out of two), made 6 interceptions, 11 clearances (6 of them headed) and 10 ball recoveries. Francis also completed 33/38 passes. Frankly, he had a screamer of a game. For more stats, look here. It's my preferred source of info for these things.

The aftermath

We have (deservedly and comprehensively) beaten the reigning champions at their place. Our defensive display was the best since that against Bayern almost two years ago. We took our chances in attack. The players who needed to step and produce (Bellerin, Monreal and Coquelin) stepped up and produced. We are three points off Soton, one behind United and still in front of the likes of Spurs, West Ham and Liverpool. Moreover, if we win our next game (Aston Villa at home) and City loses to Chelsea away, we'll be a mere five points behind the Citizens. The race is on.

I'll leave it here. Oh, and one last thing. Tomorrow I'm going away and won't be back till Feb 5th, but, as of yet, I'm not sure how it will affect the frequency of my writing here. Check back here every couple of days anyway, in case something interesting pops up and I'll be able to report it.

Until later

Follow me on Twitter (@AlexBaguzin)