Cardiff preview: injury scare

Hello.

Tomorrow we have a game against Cardiff and things aren't looking good.

Arsene Wenger held a usual press conference today and, among other things, touched on the squad condition. While Ozil and Ramsey were expected to miss the game, this list was drastically expanded.

Giroud and Gibbs, for instance, are definitely out. Though both have short-term problems (ankle and calf respectively) their absence may prove costly.

While Giroud can be substituted by Bendtner (that's not to say the Dane will be a complete replica of the Frenchman) or even Podolski (who is another type of forward altogether), replacing Gibbs won't be quite as easy, seeing as Monreal is a doubt because of his illness.

The Spaniard is, unfortunately, not the only doubt. Vermaelen, Rosicky, Walcott and Wilshere have question marks floating over their heads too. If none of these can help us out tomorrow (and I dread the idea), we'll be down to bare bones. The squad will basically pick itself for the clash against Cardiff.

Of course Gnabry can slot in on the right, but central midfield can become a true headache for the manager, especially should Monreal prove unavailable, forcing the manager to play Flamini at full-back. This situation looks all the more depressing, considering we had an almost clean bill of health just a week ago.

We may see the effects of the Newcastle game here. I've touched a couple of times on how much of a physical challenge that was, and it was probably silly of me to expect us to come through unscathed. Not that anyone could have predicted such a down fall, but still.

On a lighter note, Cardiff wasn't all that successful for the last ten games, netting only nine points (only two of them away from home) and sitting only two places above the relegation zone. They should not be taken lightly, of course, but they won't be as tough as some of our recent opponents. If we had a better injury situation, I suspect the manager would look at this game as a chance to rest a couple of key players. As it is, he doesn't have much choice.

In his press conference, Arsene was also quizzed on whether we can expect new signings, but, though he was as elusive as ever, I got the general feeling we won't be happy customers in January. Which doesn't make much sense in light of recent events. We'll get a chance to discuss it in more detail after the Spurs game, so I'll leave it here.

Hope we get the three points tomorrow to start a New Year in a positive way.

Oh, and Happy New Year everyone

Newcastle 0-1 Arsenal: resilience

Good day to you.

Yesterday Arsenal have picked up a second straight win on the road, this time triumphing over Newcastle.

It was a game of few chances. Arsenal battled hard, but was mostly denied by a very physical and tactically astute Newcastle side. Our work rate ensured the teams were more or less equal, but it always felt (for me) like they could step up the rhythm, while we struggled to cope even with how things were.

Newcastle pressed high up the pitch, trying to deny us space and force errors, but came up short with chances of their own. We, on the other hand, always looked dangerous, when we broke through their ranks, but failed to make it pay.

In the end of the first half, Newcastle almost scored. Almost, because Szczesny was brilliant in goal. He first punched away a distance shot, then got a hand to the ball from a resulting corner.

The second half was again a scrappy affair. We looked more exhausted, being fouled all over the pitch also didn't help, especially as the ref considered we weren't.

When he finally saw Cazorla cringe in pain from a nasty foul, we scored. Walcott swung in a delicious free kick, Giroud got in-between defenders, rose up high to meet the ball and sent it home from close range. He was as happy as Podolski was in the last game.

We could have been further ahead moments later. Wilshere put Walcott through, the Englishman's shot was blocked, his header was cleared off the line and Giroud failed to get a proper foot to the ball with the goal at his mercy.

We fell back after that and soaked up the pressure for the remainder of the game. Jenkinson and Arteta came to shore things up (Arteta substituting Gibbs, something that hints at an injury) and Bendtner subbed a tiring Giroud.

The best moment for Newcastle came when Szczesny tried something fancy, but mercifully, Remy's header went wide.

Apart from that moment of madness, we coped well against a very physical Newcastle side. There were a couple of tricky loose balls in the box, but never any danger. We held on in the end.

Afterwards, Arsene said:

« It was a very intense game against a good Newcastle team. We got a big physical challenge today. Overall I felt that we were in control of the game until we scored the 1-0. We missed a second chance that would have certainly sealed the game. In the last 15 minutes we have shown another aspect of our team - resilience, fight. We threw our bodies in the box. You have seen today a technical aspect of our team that was quite good but as well a mental aspect that was needed in a game of that stature».

In other words, we have shown (once again), that we are fighters. The ability to get results, when things aren't going your way is what separates champions from everyone else. And we've shown, we can do that. Repeatedly.

The downside is that we've lost Ozil and probably Gibbs. The former will miss games against Cardiff and Spurs, while no word had been said on the latter, but I suspect, we will hear something far from ideal, regarding his health, rather soon.

So, another win under our belts, a very good defensive performance and we remain top of the league as 2013 draws to a close.

I'll be back tomorrow with Cardiff preview. In the meantime, have yourselves a good Monday

Newcastle preview: more of the same

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Until then

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

Evevning everyone.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Newcastle is up next

West Ham preview: kick on

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Until then