Lewis Grabban's equaliser left Arsenal forced to settle for a 1-1 draw at Norwich and also denied the visitors the chance to move level on points with leaders Manchester City.
Arsenal are in fourth position and two points behind Manchester City but what was arguably more frustrating than the result was the Gunners picking up yet more injuries at Carrow Road. Laurent Koscielny lasted just 11 minutes before leaving the field with a hip problem, while Alexis Sanchez and Santi Cazorla also sustained injuries. Hopefully they are all only minor injury setbacks and not much game time will be missed but the trio will need assessed before the extent of any damage is known for sure.
What is for sure is that Arsenal cannot afford to pick up any more injuries. The squad is already being tested to the limit with injuries previously sustained and there isn't too much depth to call upon so we need to hope that the trio are all back in time for the next league match against Sunderland.
Arsenal started the game in dominant mood and early signs looked encouraging, with Mesut Ozil seeing his effort cleared off the line. The visitors continued to push forward and only an excellent save from Norwich goalkeeper Ruddy prevented Sanchez from opening the scoring.
The Gunners did finally break the deadlock on the half hour mark when Sanchez took advantage of a poor clearance from Ruddy to set up Ozil, who beat Norwich's number one with a precise chip.
Norwich hit back to level the scores two minutes before the break when Grabban latched onto Robbie Brady's fine pass to score from close range. The Canaries almost added a second goal soon after but Wes Hoolahan sent his effort over the bar.
Petr Cech came to Arsenal's rescue with a fine stop in the second half to keep the scores level. A header deflected off substitute Gabriel on its way to goal but Cech made a superb save down to his left to tip the ball wide at full stretch.
Both sides tried to find a winner with Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud and Norwich's Jonny Howson both wasting opportunities to score.
Norwich will undoubtedly be delighted with a hard-earned point but it definitely feels like another case of two points dropped by the Gunners.
OPPOSITION VIEW
Norwich fan Adam Edwards was pleased with the efforts shown by his side and felt a draw was a fair result.
"It was an end to end match with both teams squandering good chances with poor last minute decisions," said Edwards. "Arsenal may have expected to perform better but a draw was a fair result based on the game.
"Norwich definitely gave Arsenal a game when they could have played for a draw. With a little luck Norwich could have won."
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
Realistically our chances of winning the title are slim and this result is another example of why. Although at times this season we have been brilliant, we haven't take advantage enough on other occasions. After Manchester City's slip-up against Liverpool the other week we failed to win and couldn't capitalise. Manchester City beat Southampton recently and had we beaten Norwich we would have moved level on points with them. Instead, it was another missed opportunity. Obviously we are still well and truly in the title race mathematically but we need to be mentally up for it as well if we are to have a chance. Manchester City aren't going to slip up too many times so we need to make sure we focus on ourselves and stop dropping silly points.
Manchester City face a tough trip to Stoke next time out and, although we can't guarantee a slip-up from them, we need to make sure we do better in front of goal and make sure we get nothing less than maximum points from the visit of Sunderland. Without being disrespectful to West Brom, Norwich and Sunderland we should really have been looking at getting nine points, or at worst seven, from those three games. Instead we have only one point from two of the games, which isn't good enough.
On the plus side, Ozil again showed glimpses of the top class player that he is but we need more options up front to take the pressure off Giroud. But before we start worrying about the transfer window, as it's not even open yet, let's focus our attention on making sure there are no slip-ups and that we beat Sunderland....and beat them well!
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
Sunday, 29 November 2015
Wednesday, 25 November 2015
Sanchez Revives Gunners European Dream
Alexis Sanchez struck twice as Arsenal kept up their hopes of qualifying out of the group stages in the Champions League with a 3-0 win over Dinamo Zagreb.
Man of the match Mesut Ozil capped a superb performance with a goal, meaning the third-placed Gunners face a make or break clash away at Olympiakos in their bid to progress from Group F.
Arsenal not only need to beat Olympiakos but also have to better the 3-2 scoreline by which they lost to the Greeks earlier on in the competition. It is certainly going to be a tough ask from the Gunners but, in truth, we are lucky to even still be in with a chance after winning only two of are opening five games. So I am delighted that we still have a chance, no matter how slim, of progressing so we are not out of it just yet.
The performance against Zagreb was much more like the way we should've been playing throughout the competition. Whilst it was a really impressive performance it was also hard not to feel a sense of frustration as to where on earth this performance had been in some of the other group games.
A fine passing move released Alexis Sanchez down the left and the Chilean's cross was met by the diving header of Ozil for Arsenal's opener after 29 minutes.
Arsenal made their dominance count by doubling their advantage just four minutes later. Nacho Monreal intercepted the ball before racing into the box and teeing up Sanchez to fire home from close range.
Zagreb goalkeeper Eduardo denied Ozil to keep the score down to 2-0 going in at the break.
Arsenal continued to pile on the pressure in the second half with Eduardo again being called into action to keep out Santi Cazorla and Olivier Giroud.
Another positive for us Arsenal fans was the introduction off the bench of Aaron Ramsey. With all the injuries we have, it is a big relief to see the Welsh midfielder back in action and hopefully he will get back to his best over the next few weeks.
Arsene Wenger's men put the result beyond doubt as Sanchez added his second and Arsenal's third 21 minutes from time. Joel Campbell set up Sanchez with a fine reverse pass and the Chilean kept his composure, going round Eduardo and calmly stroking the ball into the empty net.
Ozil and Sanchez especially were superb. If we had done this in the away game against Zagreb then our Champions League campaign would not be facing the same tension as it now does, but we have to accept the situation and make sure we put in one hell of a performance to stay in it.
GROUP F
In some ways the task of qualifying out of Group F look completely manageable, but in other ways they seem very nerve-racking. Of course, we are more than capable of beating Olympiakos, even comfortably, if we can hit top form in Greece. But we are also capable, as we have seen in the past, of imploding and not getting the job done, so it will depend which Arsenal side turns up on the day. It will certainly been tense and exciting that is for sure...we just need to make sure we win, and win by enough goals, to stay in the competition. I love the Champions League and really hope we can do a number on our Greek opponents in the final round of group matches.
Arsenal are three points behind Olympiakos ahead of the showdown in Athens. The Gunners' goal difference is better but, if we finish level on points it is the head-to-head record that will be decisive. With Olympiakos winnning 3-2 at the Emirates earlier on in the Group F campaign, Arsenal need to win by two goals (or by one if we score three) if we are to make it through to the last 16.
Although we know exactly what we've got to do to progress, so do Olympiakos. They know even a draw is enough and may set up tactically with that in mind. We need to attack but cannot go to gung-ho and risk leaving ourselves too open at the back. We need to get it tactically perfect in Greece but the main thing is that, going into the final group game, the dream is at least still alive.
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
Our chances of being in the last 16 of the Champions League really could go either way. It is so tough to call and I feel 50-50 about it. But, following the victory over Zagreb, we must now, temporarily, put the Champions League out of our minds and once again focus on the Premier League.
In our last league match we suffered a frustrating 2-1 loss at West Brom and, if we are serious about a Premier League title challenge this season we really can't afford too many more slip-ups.
We travel to Norwich in our next league game and, despite losing to West Brom and dropping to fourth, we are only two points behind surprise leaders Leicester.
It was disappointing that we couldn't take advantage of Manchester City's slip-up last weekend and we must ensure we don't do this again. Without being too disrespectful to Norwich, this is a game that would be absolutely inexcusable not to win. We need to prove we can challenge for the title and that we are not once again going to end up finishing third or fourth...so let's try and start to prove this against Norwich with a top performance and convincing win.
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
Man of the match Mesut Ozil capped a superb performance with a goal, meaning the third-placed Gunners face a make or break clash away at Olympiakos in their bid to progress from Group F.
Arsenal not only need to beat Olympiakos but also have to better the 3-2 scoreline by which they lost to the Greeks earlier on in the competition. It is certainly going to be a tough ask from the Gunners but, in truth, we are lucky to even still be in with a chance after winning only two of are opening five games. So I am delighted that we still have a chance, no matter how slim, of progressing so we are not out of it just yet.
The performance against Zagreb was much more like the way we should've been playing throughout the competition. Whilst it was a really impressive performance it was also hard not to feel a sense of frustration as to where on earth this performance had been in some of the other group games.
A fine passing move released Alexis Sanchez down the left and the Chilean's cross was met by the diving header of Ozil for Arsenal's opener after 29 minutes.
Arsenal made their dominance count by doubling their advantage just four minutes later. Nacho Monreal intercepted the ball before racing into the box and teeing up Sanchez to fire home from close range.
Zagreb goalkeeper Eduardo denied Ozil to keep the score down to 2-0 going in at the break.
Arsenal continued to pile on the pressure in the second half with Eduardo again being called into action to keep out Santi Cazorla and Olivier Giroud.
Another positive for us Arsenal fans was the introduction off the bench of Aaron Ramsey. With all the injuries we have, it is a big relief to see the Welsh midfielder back in action and hopefully he will get back to his best over the next few weeks.
Arsene Wenger's men put the result beyond doubt as Sanchez added his second and Arsenal's third 21 minutes from time. Joel Campbell set up Sanchez with a fine reverse pass and the Chilean kept his composure, going round Eduardo and calmly stroking the ball into the empty net.
Ozil and Sanchez especially were superb. If we had done this in the away game against Zagreb then our Champions League campaign would not be facing the same tension as it now does, but we have to accept the situation and make sure we put in one hell of a performance to stay in it.
GROUP F
In some ways the task of qualifying out of Group F look completely manageable, but in other ways they seem very nerve-racking. Of course, we are more than capable of beating Olympiakos, even comfortably, if we can hit top form in Greece. But we are also capable, as we have seen in the past, of imploding and not getting the job done, so it will depend which Arsenal side turns up on the day. It will certainly been tense and exciting that is for sure...we just need to make sure we win, and win by enough goals, to stay in the competition. I love the Champions League and really hope we can do a number on our Greek opponents in the final round of group matches.
Arsenal are three points behind Olympiakos ahead of the showdown in Athens. The Gunners' goal difference is better but, if we finish level on points it is the head-to-head record that will be decisive. With Olympiakos winnning 3-2 at the Emirates earlier on in the Group F campaign, Arsenal need to win by two goals (or by one if we score three) if we are to make it through to the last 16.
Although we know exactly what we've got to do to progress, so do Olympiakos. They know even a draw is enough and may set up tactically with that in mind. We need to attack but cannot go to gung-ho and risk leaving ourselves too open at the back. We need to get it tactically perfect in Greece but the main thing is that, going into the final group game, the dream is at least still alive.
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
Our chances of being in the last 16 of the Champions League really could go either way. It is so tough to call and I feel 50-50 about it. But, following the victory over Zagreb, we must now, temporarily, put the Champions League out of our minds and once again focus on the Premier League.
In our last league match we suffered a frustrating 2-1 loss at West Brom and, if we are serious about a Premier League title challenge this season we really can't afford too many more slip-ups.
We travel to Norwich in our next league game and, despite losing to West Brom and dropping to fourth, we are only two points behind surprise leaders Leicester.
It was disappointing that we couldn't take advantage of Manchester City's slip-up last weekend and we must ensure we don't do this again. Without being too disrespectful to Norwich, this is a game that would be absolutely inexcusable not to win. We need to prove we can challenge for the title and that we are not once again going to end up finishing third or fourth...so let's try and start to prove this against Norwich with a top performance and convincing win.
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
Sunday, 22 November 2015
Gunners pay the penalty at Hawthorns
A wasted opportunity. A missed penalty, frustration and more injuries. The 2-1 defeat at West Brom did little to lift the mood for the Arsenal players and fans.
Arsenal could have gone top with a win and Manchester City's shock 4-1 home defeat by Liverpool would've been an added bonus, but we couldn't do our own job properly and that was frustrating.
When Olivier Giroud opened the scoring before the half hour mark I thought it would be our day but, despite dominating for decent spells of the game, two goals in five minutes turned the game on its head. Santi Cazorla also missed a penalty as the Gunners slumped to an away defeat.
Losing Francis Coquelin to a knee injury after just 14 minutes was very frustrating, not just because he is a key member of the side but also we don't exactly have top class cover in the defensive midfield position. Mathieu Flamini doesn't often fill me with much confidence and Mikel Arteta sustained a calf injury against the Baggies. It leaves us in a difficult position but at least City's defeat meant we didn't lose any extra ground in the title race.
Arsenal started the game on top with Alexis Sanchez seeing his free-kick well saved by Boaz Myhill before the Chilean sent another effort harmlessly wide.
The Gunners eventually broke the deadlock after 28 minutes when Giroud latched onto Mesut Ozil's excellent cross to flick a header beyond Myhill.
Arsenal wasted the chance to double their advantage when Gibbs fired a shot over the bar and that miss proved costly as West Brom went on to take the lead with a quick-fire double. James Morrison got on the end of Chris Brunt's free-kick to loop the ball over Petr Cech in the Arsenal goal to level the scores. West Brom then moved in front soon after as James McLean's cross went in off Arteta.
Arsenal went agonisingly close to levelling the scores within two minutes of the restart as Ozil's first-time shot hit a post. The visitors continued to push forward and Gibbs' effort was well blocked by Morrison as Arsenal failed to find that all-important equaliser.
The Gunners refused to give up and when Ozil's perfectly-weighted pass found Flamini, it looked like it could end in a goal until Jonny Evans came in to stop the attack with a superb last-ditch tackle.
Arsenal really should have levelled the scores through substitute Joel Campbell and it is still baffling as to how on earth he didn't score. Cazorla lofted the ball into the box for Campbell but the Costa Rican sliced his effort off target when it looked easier to score.
As the visitors continued to push forward in search of a goal they were almost caught out by their opponents but, fortunately, Jonas Olsson's header hit the bar.
Arsenal were given the perfect opportunity to level the scores after being awarded a penalty seven minutes from time following Brunt's foul on Sanchez. But Cazorla slipped as he went to take the penalty and ended up slicing his effort over the bar.
Arsenal were rapidly running out of time and, after Laurent Koscielny's deflected effort was saved by Myhill, the defeat was confirmed.
OPPOSITION VIEW
West Brom fan Mike Beddoes was pleasantly surprised to see his side take all three points from the Gunners.
"It was a complete surprise to beat Arsenal in all honesty," said Beddoes. "When the first goal went in I began to think it was going to open the floodgates for Arsenal.
"We'd held on for so long once we went ahead that my heart sank when the penalty was awarded. Luckily he (Cazorla) slipped when taking it, so good fortune was on our side for once."
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
Without being too disrespectful to West Brom, losing this game was inexcusable and I am truly gutted by the result. We seemed to show a lot of attacking intent but we just didn't make our chances count enough and this is becoming the case too often. Giroud took his goal superbly but we need someone to be banging in the goals more regularly.
We must now temporarily forget about the league and turn our attention to the Champions League. The visit of Dinamo Zagreb is a huge game and we can't afford any more European slip-ups. We have to make sure we start strong and claim all three points, whilst also hoping Bayern Munich make no mistakes and beat Olympiakos. Do that and we will keep our Champions League dream alive going into the crunch final group game against Olympiakos. Fail to do so and we are out, it really is that simple, so we must produce a huge performance against Zagreb and get our season back on track.
As for the league we travel to Norwich next. We must make sure produce two big performances in the coming weeks to get our season back up and running and to avoid the campaign simply fizzling out. There is no reason for us not to be fired up for these two games so let's go make it count.
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
Arsenal could have gone top with a win and Manchester City's shock 4-1 home defeat by Liverpool would've been an added bonus, but we couldn't do our own job properly and that was frustrating.
When Olivier Giroud opened the scoring before the half hour mark I thought it would be our day but, despite dominating for decent spells of the game, two goals in five minutes turned the game on its head. Santi Cazorla also missed a penalty as the Gunners slumped to an away defeat.
Losing Francis Coquelin to a knee injury after just 14 minutes was very frustrating, not just because he is a key member of the side but also we don't exactly have top class cover in the defensive midfield position. Mathieu Flamini doesn't often fill me with much confidence and Mikel Arteta sustained a calf injury against the Baggies. It leaves us in a difficult position but at least City's defeat meant we didn't lose any extra ground in the title race.
Arsenal started the game on top with Alexis Sanchez seeing his free-kick well saved by Boaz Myhill before the Chilean sent another effort harmlessly wide.
The Gunners eventually broke the deadlock after 28 minutes when Giroud latched onto Mesut Ozil's excellent cross to flick a header beyond Myhill.
Arsenal wasted the chance to double their advantage when Gibbs fired a shot over the bar and that miss proved costly as West Brom went on to take the lead with a quick-fire double. James Morrison got on the end of Chris Brunt's free-kick to loop the ball over Petr Cech in the Arsenal goal to level the scores. West Brom then moved in front soon after as James McLean's cross went in off Arteta.
Arsenal went agonisingly close to levelling the scores within two minutes of the restart as Ozil's first-time shot hit a post. The visitors continued to push forward and Gibbs' effort was well blocked by Morrison as Arsenal failed to find that all-important equaliser.
The Gunners refused to give up and when Ozil's perfectly-weighted pass found Flamini, it looked like it could end in a goal until Jonny Evans came in to stop the attack with a superb last-ditch tackle.
Arsenal really should have levelled the scores through substitute Joel Campbell and it is still baffling as to how on earth he didn't score. Cazorla lofted the ball into the box for Campbell but the Costa Rican sliced his effort off target when it looked easier to score.
As the visitors continued to push forward in search of a goal they were almost caught out by their opponents but, fortunately, Jonas Olsson's header hit the bar.
Arsenal were given the perfect opportunity to level the scores after being awarded a penalty seven minutes from time following Brunt's foul on Sanchez. But Cazorla slipped as he went to take the penalty and ended up slicing his effort over the bar.
Arsenal were rapidly running out of time and, after Laurent Koscielny's deflected effort was saved by Myhill, the defeat was confirmed.
OPPOSITION VIEW
West Brom fan Mike Beddoes was pleasantly surprised to see his side take all three points from the Gunners.
"It was a complete surprise to beat Arsenal in all honesty," said Beddoes. "When the first goal went in I began to think it was going to open the floodgates for Arsenal.
"We'd held on for so long once we went ahead that my heart sank when the penalty was awarded. Luckily he (Cazorla) slipped when taking it, so good fortune was on our side for once."
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
Without being too disrespectful to West Brom, losing this game was inexcusable and I am truly gutted by the result. We seemed to show a lot of attacking intent but we just didn't make our chances count enough and this is becoming the case too often. Giroud took his goal superbly but we need someone to be banging in the goals more regularly.
We must now temporarily forget about the league and turn our attention to the Champions League. The visit of Dinamo Zagreb is a huge game and we can't afford any more European slip-ups. We have to make sure we start strong and claim all three points, whilst also hoping Bayern Munich make no mistakes and beat Olympiakos. Do that and we will keep our Champions League dream alive going into the crunch final group game against Olympiakos. Fail to do so and we are out, it really is that simple, so we must produce a huge performance against Zagreb and get our season back on track.
As for the league we travel to Norwich next. We must make sure produce two big performances in the coming weeks to get our season back up and running and to avoid the campaign simply fizzling out. There is no reason for us not to be fired up for these two games so let's go make it count.
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
Sunday, 8 November 2015
Super Sub Gibbs Rescues Gunners
Arsenal missed the opportunity to go top of the Premier League but Kieran Gibbs came off the bench to at least rescue a point for the Gunners in a 1-1 draw against bitter rivals Tottenham.
The left-back hasn't enjoyed as much game time as he would've liked in recent seasons, but he looked really lively after coming off the bench and took just three minutes to make his mark on the game.
Although the equaliser seemed to awaken Arsenal in the closing stages of the game it could be argued that the Gunners had a lucky escape, with Petr Cech having made a string of key saves during a tight encounter at the Emirates.
Cech and his opposite number Hugo Lloris both made vital saves but both side's attacks will feel they should've done better, with only four shots on target apiece.
Mousa Dembele and Erik Dier wasted chances for Spurs in the first half before the visitors eventually took the lead after 32 minutes. Harry Kane latched onto Danny Rose's through ball before beating Cech with a composed finish.
Arsenal started the second half brightly and came close to levelling through Joel Campbell, but the Costa Rican's effort was superbly parried by Hugo Lloris.
The Gunners wasted another chance to draw level when Olivier Giroud's header hit the crossbar before the striker and his fellow Frenchman Laurent Koscielny both missed with further headers later in the second half. Those misses almost proved costly for the hosts but Cech denied Christian Eriksen before producing an instinctive top class save to palm away Toby Alderweireld's close-range header.
Arsenal finally levelled matters 13 minutes from time when Gibbs latched onto Mesut Ozil's floating cross and got just enough on it to prod the ball beyond Lloris. Ozil's cross for the goal saw him become the first player to assist 10 goals in his opening 11 games of a Premier League season. The German international also became the first ever player to contribute an assist in six consecutive Premier League games in the same season. This is a hugely impressive statistic but with the amount of chances he is creating we really should be putting more of them away.
Ozil nearly assisted a dramatic late winner for Arsenal after Giroud latched onto his corner, but the French striker's header was well kept out by Lloris to ensure the derby ended level.
OPPOSITION VIEW
Tottenham fan Anthony Rayment was delighted with his side's performance and paid particular tribute to the defence.
"People keep saying it was a mature Tottenham performance and I would have to agree," said Rayment. "A Spurs side a year ago would have lost that game after Arsenal made it 1-1.
"Tottenham's young players are on form and and as long as they can keep it up they will continue that unbeaten run. Most importantly though they are strong in defence, something that has not been said for a very long time.
"Arsenal had moments, but seem to fail in the same areas, most notably in defence. Ozil was great and they did have a lot of injures.
"Neither will win the league but both should hopefully make the top four. Gibbs goal was lucky to beat Lloris but Giroud should have had two."
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
So was it a missed opportunity or a decent derby point? With Manchester City being forced to settle for a goalless draw at Aston Villa, Arsene Wenger's men had the chance to take over at the top of the table if they could beat Spurs. Drawing the game was clearly two points dropped by the Gunners in their race for the league title. But, considering the impressive form Spurs are in, maybe a point isn't so bad after all and we are only behind leaders Manchester City on goal difference.
We should've been looking to get nothing other than a win from this game to prove our title credentials. We will find out in the coming months whether this will be a valuable point or a costly two points dropped but one thing is for sure - for once I am actually glad it is time for the international break. I am not the biggest fan of international breaks during the league season but, with the likes of Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain currently out injured, it will give players more time to recover and get fit for the next league game at West Brom.
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
The left-back hasn't enjoyed as much game time as he would've liked in recent seasons, but he looked really lively after coming off the bench and took just three minutes to make his mark on the game.
Although the equaliser seemed to awaken Arsenal in the closing stages of the game it could be argued that the Gunners had a lucky escape, with Petr Cech having made a string of key saves during a tight encounter at the Emirates.
Cech and his opposite number Hugo Lloris both made vital saves but both side's attacks will feel they should've done better, with only four shots on target apiece.
Mousa Dembele and Erik Dier wasted chances for Spurs in the first half before the visitors eventually took the lead after 32 minutes. Harry Kane latched onto Danny Rose's through ball before beating Cech with a composed finish.
Arsenal started the second half brightly and came close to levelling through Joel Campbell, but the Costa Rican's effort was superbly parried by Hugo Lloris.
The Gunners wasted another chance to draw level when Olivier Giroud's header hit the crossbar before the striker and his fellow Frenchman Laurent Koscielny both missed with further headers later in the second half. Those misses almost proved costly for the hosts but Cech denied Christian Eriksen before producing an instinctive top class save to palm away Toby Alderweireld's close-range header.
Arsenal finally levelled matters 13 minutes from time when Gibbs latched onto Mesut Ozil's floating cross and got just enough on it to prod the ball beyond Lloris. Ozil's cross for the goal saw him become the first player to assist 10 goals in his opening 11 games of a Premier League season. The German international also became the first ever player to contribute an assist in six consecutive Premier League games in the same season. This is a hugely impressive statistic but with the amount of chances he is creating we really should be putting more of them away.
Ozil nearly assisted a dramatic late winner for Arsenal after Giroud latched onto his corner, but the French striker's header was well kept out by Lloris to ensure the derby ended level.
OPPOSITION VIEW
Tottenham fan Anthony Rayment was delighted with his side's performance and paid particular tribute to the defence.
"People keep saying it was a mature Tottenham performance and I would have to agree," said Rayment. "A Spurs side a year ago would have lost that game after Arsenal made it 1-1.
"Tottenham's young players are on form and and as long as they can keep it up they will continue that unbeaten run. Most importantly though they are strong in defence, something that has not been said for a very long time.
"Arsenal had moments, but seem to fail in the same areas, most notably in defence. Ozil was great and they did have a lot of injures.
"Neither will win the league but both should hopefully make the top four. Gibbs goal was lucky to beat Lloris but Giroud should have had two."
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
So was it a missed opportunity or a decent derby point? With Manchester City being forced to settle for a goalless draw at Aston Villa, Arsene Wenger's men had the chance to take over at the top of the table if they could beat Spurs. Drawing the game was clearly two points dropped by the Gunners in their race for the league title. But, considering the impressive form Spurs are in, maybe a point isn't so bad after all and we are only behind leaders Manchester City on goal difference.
We should've been looking to get nothing other than a win from this game to prove our title credentials. We will find out in the coming months whether this will be a valuable point or a costly two points dropped but one thing is for sure - for once I am actually glad it is time for the international break. I am not the biggest fan of international breaks during the league season but, with the likes of Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain currently out injured, it will give players more time to recover and get fit for the next league game at West Brom.
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
Thursday, 5 November 2015
Gunners outclassed by Bayern
Arsenal looked a shadow of the side that had beaten Bayern Munich in October as they were outclassed in a 5-1 thrashing in Germany.
Bayern were already 4-0 to the good before Olivier Giroud's 69th-minute consolation in a match that, for large parts, Arsenal were very below par. To go from being one of the sides with the best defensive records in the Premier League this season to shipping in five goals in Europe really was poor.
Francis Coquelin and Mesut Ozil were individually excellent but the overall team performance was very sub-standard and simply not good enough. There is no denying the sheer quality of Bayern's performance and they deserve huge credit for that but the lack of fight we showed at times was rather worrying, especially given the importance of the game as we attempted to keep our Champions League dream alive.
The defeat, coupled with Olympiakos' late 2-1 win over Dinamo Zagreb, has left the Gunners' Champions League hopes hanging by a thread. It is somewhat remarkable that, after three defeats from the opening four games, Arsenal still actually have a chance of qualifying out of the group.
If Arsenal beat Dinamo Zagreb and Olympiakos lose to Bayern, Arsenal will be just three points behind the Greeks going into the final round of games. If Arsene Wenger's men manage this then they would have to go to Greece and get a better result than a 3-2 victory. Remarkably this still seems possible but rather than focus on what may be in the future, we cannot ignore just how disappointing the last performance was.
The first chance of the game fell to Giroud but the Frenchman's curling effort went wide. That early miss proved costly as in-form striker Robert Lewandowski put Bayern in front after 10 minutes. The defence gave Lewandowski far too much space, so much so that my initial reaction was he must be offside as the back four were almost static almost as if they were expecting the whistle to go. That wasn't the case and they really had given Lewandowski that much space to head home from close range.
Arsenal thought they had levelled the game two minutes later after Mesut Ozil appeared to score, only for his effort to be ruled out for handball. I thought it had hit Ozil's shoulder rather than his hand but, either way, it can't be used as an excuse as regardless of this Bayern were by far the better side on the night.
In truth, Bayern could've scored more before their second goal but fortunately Petr Cech was on hand to deny Lewandowski with two fine saves. But Cech could do nothing to prevent the hosts from doubling their advantage just before the half hour mark. Philipp Lahm's cross fell to Kingsley Coman, whose scuffed shot fell to Muller to score via a deflection off Per Mertesacker.
Cech again came to Arsenal's rescue when he denied Muller, but he was soon picking the ball out of his net for a third time following an unstoppable long-range strike from David Alaba just before half-time.
Arsenal's nightmare continued as Bayern added a fourth goal within 10 minutes of the restart as substitute Arjen Robben made an instant impact with a first-time finish.
Santi Cazorla wasted a decent chance as the Gunners attempted to salvage something from the game before Giroud finally gave the visiting faithful something to cheer about with a well-taken consolation goal 21 minutes from time. Giroud controlled Alexis Sanchez's pass with his chest before beating Manuel Neuer with a delightful scissor kick. It really was a truly great goal.
The goal appeared to wake Arsenal up and the Gunners finally began to show a bit more hunger and desire in the final 20 minutes. Wenger's men could've even added a second before the end, but Cazorla shot over when it looked easier to score following a great cut-back from Coquelin.
Arsenal couldn't find a second and instead it was Bayern who scored next as Muller netted his second in the final minute of normal time. Douglas Costa burst through the middle before setting up Muller to score to complete the rout for a very dominant Bayern side.
GROUP F
Arsenal are six points behind Bayern and Olympiakos with two games left to play. It has been a Champions League nightmare for the Gunners and the only crumb of comfort is the fact that somehow we aren't out of it yet.
If we beat Dinamo Zagreb and Bayern get a likely victory over Olympiakos then it will actually be in our own hands. We don't really deserve to qualify out of the group yet we still have a chance.
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
It is frustrating how we can go from brilliant one week, with excellent performances against the likes of Bayern and Manchester United at home, to performing very poorly in other games.
Bayern are a hard side to beat for anyone, especially away from home, but, if I had been told before the group stages started that we would take three points out of six from them I would have been fairly happy. Although we have achieved that I am far from happy as other results, and the manner of the performances at home against Olympiakos and away to Dinamo Zagreb and Bayern, were simply not good enough.
Our next game sees us return to league action with a London derby against Tottenham at the Emirates. Is this the best or worst game to have after such a poor result? If we lose it will be a nightmare week but maybe, just maybe, the poor display against Bayern can spur us on (no pun intended!) to put in the performance of our lives to get a victory against our local rivals.
If we are serious about our Premier League title challenge then this is a game we cannot afford to lose so let's make sure we go and give Spurs a hiding.
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
Bayern were already 4-0 to the good before Olivier Giroud's 69th-minute consolation in a match that, for large parts, Arsenal were very below par. To go from being one of the sides with the best defensive records in the Premier League this season to shipping in five goals in Europe really was poor.
Francis Coquelin and Mesut Ozil were individually excellent but the overall team performance was very sub-standard and simply not good enough. There is no denying the sheer quality of Bayern's performance and they deserve huge credit for that but the lack of fight we showed at times was rather worrying, especially given the importance of the game as we attempted to keep our Champions League dream alive.
The defeat, coupled with Olympiakos' late 2-1 win over Dinamo Zagreb, has left the Gunners' Champions League hopes hanging by a thread. It is somewhat remarkable that, after three defeats from the opening four games, Arsenal still actually have a chance of qualifying out of the group.
If Arsenal beat Dinamo Zagreb and Olympiakos lose to Bayern, Arsenal will be just three points behind the Greeks going into the final round of games. If Arsene Wenger's men manage this then they would have to go to Greece and get a better result than a 3-2 victory. Remarkably this still seems possible but rather than focus on what may be in the future, we cannot ignore just how disappointing the last performance was.
The first chance of the game fell to Giroud but the Frenchman's curling effort went wide. That early miss proved costly as in-form striker Robert Lewandowski put Bayern in front after 10 minutes. The defence gave Lewandowski far too much space, so much so that my initial reaction was he must be offside as the back four were almost static almost as if they were expecting the whistle to go. That wasn't the case and they really had given Lewandowski that much space to head home from close range.
Arsenal thought they had levelled the game two minutes later after Mesut Ozil appeared to score, only for his effort to be ruled out for handball. I thought it had hit Ozil's shoulder rather than his hand but, either way, it can't be used as an excuse as regardless of this Bayern were by far the better side on the night.
In truth, Bayern could've scored more before their second goal but fortunately Petr Cech was on hand to deny Lewandowski with two fine saves. But Cech could do nothing to prevent the hosts from doubling their advantage just before the half hour mark. Philipp Lahm's cross fell to Kingsley Coman, whose scuffed shot fell to Muller to score via a deflection off Per Mertesacker.
Cech again came to Arsenal's rescue when he denied Muller, but he was soon picking the ball out of his net for a third time following an unstoppable long-range strike from David Alaba just before half-time.
Arsenal's nightmare continued as Bayern added a fourth goal within 10 minutes of the restart as substitute Arjen Robben made an instant impact with a first-time finish.
Santi Cazorla wasted a decent chance as the Gunners attempted to salvage something from the game before Giroud finally gave the visiting faithful something to cheer about with a well-taken consolation goal 21 minutes from time. Giroud controlled Alexis Sanchez's pass with his chest before beating Manuel Neuer with a delightful scissor kick. It really was a truly great goal.
The goal appeared to wake Arsenal up and the Gunners finally began to show a bit more hunger and desire in the final 20 minutes. Wenger's men could've even added a second before the end, but Cazorla shot over when it looked easier to score following a great cut-back from Coquelin.
Arsenal couldn't find a second and instead it was Bayern who scored next as Muller netted his second in the final minute of normal time. Douglas Costa burst through the middle before setting up Muller to score to complete the rout for a very dominant Bayern side.
GROUP F
Arsenal are six points behind Bayern and Olympiakos with two games left to play. It has been a Champions League nightmare for the Gunners and the only crumb of comfort is the fact that somehow we aren't out of it yet.
If we beat Dinamo Zagreb and Bayern get a likely victory over Olympiakos then it will actually be in our own hands. We don't really deserve to qualify out of the group yet we still have a chance.
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
It is frustrating how we can go from brilliant one week, with excellent performances against the likes of Bayern and Manchester United at home, to performing very poorly in other games.
Bayern are a hard side to beat for anyone, especially away from home, but, if I had been told before the group stages started that we would take three points out of six from them I would have been fairly happy. Although we have achieved that I am far from happy as other results, and the manner of the performances at home against Olympiakos and away to Dinamo Zagreb and Bayern, were simply not good enough.
Our next game sees us return to league action with a London derby against Tottenham at the Emirates. Is this the best or worst game to have after such a poor result? If we lose it will be a nightmare week but maybe, just maybe, the poor display against Bayern can spur us on (no pun intended!) to put in the performance of our lives to get a victory against our local rivals.
If we are serious about our Premier League title challenge then this is a game we cannot afford to lose so let's make sure we go and give Spurs a hiding.
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
Sunday, 1 November 2015
Gunners brush Swans aside
The Liberty Stadium is never an easy place for any Premier League team to go so for us to come away with a 3-0 victory is a superb result.
Before the game I said that outside the top four Swansea is among the toughest away trips in my opinion, so to get such a positive result will stand us in good stead, especially with such a big week looming.
A crucial Champions League trip to Bayern Munich followed by a home clash with rivals Tottenham are vital and we will need to win both if we are to maintain our decent run of form and avoid the season fizzling out.
With Swansea having done the league double over us last season, I was very wary of the threats posed by this fixture, especially after such a poor showing in the recent cup defeat to Sheffield Wednesday, and some fans will undoubtedly have expected us to slip up.
Three goals and all three points...I couldn't ask for much more. Also, with Theo Walcott out injured it was important to see both Giroud and Joel Campbell scoring as we will need our forward players to be in decent form if this season is to prove to be a success.
Nacho Monreal and Campbell both sent efforts off target in the opening quarter of the match but it was Swansea who came closest to breaking the deadlock before the break. Jonjo Shelvey set up Bafetimbi Gomis with a perfectly-weighted through ball but the striker hesitated on the ball as he took it past Petr Cech, allowing Arsenal defender Hector Bellerin time to get back and clear the danger.
Gomis was denied against soon after when his header was saved by Cech while, at the other end, Giroud fired over from inside the box and Campbell shot straight at former Gunners' goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski.
Arsenal opened the scoring within four minutes of the restart as an unmarked Giroud headed home from Mesut Ozil's corner for visitors' 2,000th goal under Arsene Wenger.
It could've perhaps been a different story had Cech not come to the rescue to parry Gylfi Sigurdsson's effort from just outside the box soon after. That miss proved costly as Arsenal doubled their advantage after 68 minutes in circumstances that some deemed to be controversial.
Fabianski came to claim Ozil's cross but dropped the ball under pressure from Giroud and Laurent Koscielny before the latter controlled the ball and tapped it into the empty net. There seems to be mixed opinion as to whether or not there was an infringement on the Swans' shot-stopper but referee Kevin Friend deemed that the goal should stand.
However, it was Arsenal who doubled their lead in controversial circumstances with 69 minutes on the clock.
After a cross from the right took a huge deflection, Lukasz Fabianski came to claim the looping ball under pressure from two Arsenal players and as the ball dropped Laurent Koscielny tapped it into an empty net with referee Kevin Friend insisting that there had been no infringement on the goalkeeper.
Campbell completed the scoring when he scored his first ever Premier League goal 16 minutes from time. The Costa Rican latched onto Ozil's cross and was given too much time to control the ball before firing a shot beyond Fabianski and into the bottom corner.
Swansea tried to find a way back into the game and were almost rewarded through their captain Ashley Williams, but the defender's effort was well saved by Cech.
Arsenal nearly added a fourth in stoppage time but Fabianski produced a double save to deny Ozil and Alexis Sanchez.
OPPOSITION VIEW
Swansea fan Rob Wood felt it was a typical game of two halves, with his side controlling the opening 45 minutes and Arsenal having the better of the rest of the match.
"First half I thought we were on top, but Arsenal were obviously dangerous when they countered," said Wood.
"Gomis should have scored when clean through and we should have had a penalty from Sigurdsson's free-kick when Mertesacker handled.
"The second half belonged to Arsenal. It was a sloppy first goal on our part leaving Giroud free. This gave Arsenal the confidence to dominate the rest of the game and we didn't really get going at all in the second half."
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
The importance of this win cannot be underestimated. It is still impossible to gauge whether or not we are going to sustain our league form over the next few months and I feel 50-50 as to if this will be a superb season or the same old story. But one thing is for sure, we are playing very well in the league at the moment which is reflected by our recent results. There is still a long way to go but there is plenty of reason to be positive at the moment. I will probably be able to form more of an opinion after the upcoming Bayern Munich and Tottenham games. Staying in the Champions League will likely have a big knock-on effect on our season so we have to make sure we get at least a point in Germany. As for the visit of Spurs, it may still be early in the season but this is an absolutely must win game, not just for local pride but also for ensuring we continue to keep up the pace with Manchester City. Only goal difference separates us from leaders City at the moment, so let's hope we can sustain our title challenge.
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
Before the game I said that outside the top four Swansea is among the toughest away trips in my opinion, so to get such a positive result will stand us in good stead, especially with such a big week looming.
A crucial Champions League trip to Bayern Munich followed by a home clash with rivals Tottenham are vital and we will need to win both if we are to maintain our decent run of form and avoid the season fizzling out.
With Swansea having done the league double over us last season, I was very wary of the threats posed by this fixture, especially after such a poor showing in the recent cup defeat to Sheffield Wednesday, and some fans will undoubtedly have expected us to slip up.
Three goals and all three points...I couldn't ask for much more. Also, with Theo Walcott out injured it was important to see both Giroud and Joel Campbell scoring as we will need our forward players to be in decent form if this season is to prove to be a success.
Nacho Monreal and Campbell both sent efforts off target in the opening quarter of the match but it was Swansea who came closest to breaking the deadlock before the break. Jonjo Shelvey set up Bafetimbi Gomis with a perfectly-weighted through ball but the striker hesitated on the ball as he took it past Petr Cech, allowing Arsenal defender Hector Bellerin time to get back and clear the danger.
Gomis was denied against soon after when his header was saved by Cech while, at the other end, Giroud fired over from inside the box and Campbell shot straight at former Gunners' goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski.
Arsenal opened the scoring within four minutes of the restart as an unmarked Giroud headed home from Mesut Ozil's corner for visitors' 2,000th goal under Arsene Wenger.
It could've perhaps been a different story had Cech not come to the rescue to parry Gylfi Sigurdsson's effort from just outside the box soon after. That miss proved costly as Arsenal doubled their advantage after 68 minutes in circumstances that some deemed to be controversial.
Fabianski came to claim Ozil's cross but dropped the ball under pressure from Giroud and Laurent Koscielny before the latter controlled the ball and tapped it into the empty net. There seems to be mixed opinion as to whether or not there was an infringement on the Swans' shot-stopper but referee Kevin Friend deemed that the goal should stand.
However, it was Arsenal who doubled their lead in controversial circumstances with 69 minutes on the clock.
After a cross from the right took a huge deflection, Lukasz Fabianski came to claim the looping ball under pressure from two Arsenal players and as the ball dropped Laurent Koscielny tapped it into an empty net with referee Kevin Friend insisting that there had been no infringement on the goalkeeper.
Campbell completed the scoring when he scored his first ever Premier League goal 16 minutes from time. The Costa Rican latched onto Ozil's cross and was given too much time to control the ball before firing a shot beyond Fabianski and into the bottom corner.
Swansea tried to find a way back into the game and were almost rewarded through their captain Ashley Williams, but the defender's effort was well saved by Cech.
Arsenal nearly added a fourth in stoppage time but Fabianski produced a double save to deny Ozil and Alexis Sanchez.
OPPOSITION VIEW
Swansea fan Rob Wood felt it was a typical game of two halves, with his side controlling the opening 45 minutes and Arsenal having the better of the rest of the match.
"First half I thought we were on top, but Arsenal were obviously dangerous when they countered," said Wood.
"Gomis should have scored when clean through and we should have had a penalty from Sigurdsson's free-kick when Mertesacker handled.
"The second half belonged to Arsenal. It was a sloppy first goal on our part leaving Giroud free. This gave Arsenal the confidence to dominate the rest of the game and we didn't really get going at all in the second half."
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
The importance of this win cannot be underestimated. It is still impossible to gauge whether or not we are going to sustain our league form over the next few months and I feel 50-50 as to if this will be a superb season or the same old story. But one thing is for sure, we are playing very well in the league at the moment which is reflected by our recent results. There is still a long way to go but there is plenty of reason to be positive at the moment. I will probably be able to form more of an opinion after the upcoming Bayern Munich and Tottenham games. Staying in the Champions League will likely have a big knock-on effect on our season so we have to make sure we get at least a point in Germany. As for the visit of Spurs, it may still be early in the season but this is an absolutely must win game, not just for local pride but also for ensuring we continue to keep up the pace with Manchester City. Only goal difference separates us from leaders City at the moment, so let's hope we can sustain our title challenge.
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
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