Mesut Ozil is such a difficult player to stop when he is in good form and Ludogorets found this out as the German hit a hat-trick in Arsenal's 6-0 win.
Alexis Sanchez produced an excellent performance, including the opening goal of the game, while in-form forward Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain also added their names to the scoresheet.
In attack the Gunners were excellent and, although many will argue that they were playing a much weaker opponent, the hosts still impressed against the Bulgarian champions.
With the group stages now at its halfway stage, the Gunners top Group A and look likely to qualify and after a seventh successive victory in competitions things are looking up for Arsene Wenger's men.
I refuse to get carried away with our impressive form as I know all too well how quickly things can change, but I certainly can't complain with how things are at the moment and we really do look good.
It took Arsenal 13 minutes to break the deadlock at the Emirates as Sanchez raced into the box and lobbed the ball over Vladislav Stoyanov for a great goal.
Although Arsenal controlled much of the game, it could have been a very different story had goalkeeper David Ospina not come to the host's rescue after the opening goal. The Colombian shot-stopper twice reacted quickly to deny Jonathan Cafu and preserve Arsenal's slender one-goal lead. Those saves proved crucial as Arsenal doubled their advantage four minutes before the break. Walcott, who was previously denied by a decent save from Stoyanov, latched onto a pass from Kieran Gibbs and curled a great strike beyond the goalkeeper.
Arsenal put the result beyond doubt within two minutes of the restart, with Gibbs once again the provider as his low ball was fired home by Oxlade-Chamberlain from close range.
The hosts added a fourth just 10 minutes later as Santi Cazorla's ball over the top set up Ozil, who took the ball away from his man with a great first touch before slotting the ball under Stoyanov for his first goal of the evening.
Arsenal continued to push forward with Oxlade-Chamberlain forcing a fine save out of Stoyanov before Arsenal added a fifth goal seven minutes from time. Substitute Lucas Perez, who came off the bench shortly after the hour mark, crossed for Ozil to confidently slot home.
Ozil completed his hat-trick just four minutes later with Perez again the provider. The summer signing sent in a cross, which Ozil met with a sweetly-struck volley into the bottom corner.
Six well-struck goals and a great three points for Arsenal and we'll be looking for more of the same when we travel to Bulgaria next month.
GROUP A
A top two finish looks very likely for Arsenal, but the race for top spot is still very tight.
Arsenal's 6-0 demolition of Ludogorets puts them top on goal difference, but PSG's 3-0 win over FC Basel keeps them level on points with us. The group could be decided by the home clash against PSG next month, but we need to make sure we stay consistent until then and are ready to take advantage of any slip ups by the French giants.
There is still plenty to play for in Group A, especially in the race for top spot, and we can't take anything for granted. But things are looking good so far, so let's hope we can keep it up.
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
It was a very encouraging performance albeit against a weaker side, but you can only beat what is put in front of you and we certainly did that in style.
Many people seem to expect us to do our usual and not last the pace, with it supposedly only being a matter of time before we slip up. So we need to make sure we prove our doubters wrong and show that we can in fact mount a serious title challenge in the Premier League and progress much further in the Champions League compared to previous seasons.
Focus now returns to the Premier League and the visit of Middlesbrough and this will certainly not be as easy as some fans may think. We cannot take the newly-promoted side lightly and must make sure we are at the top of our game in order to get three points.
I will not be able to blog for a few weeks due to my pending wedding and honeymoon, but I'll still be keeping a very close eye on the Gunners' upcoming matches and lets hope we can continue our rich vein of form.
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
Wednesday, 19 October 2016
Sunday, 16 October 2016
Walcott at the double for Gunners
Facing a side in their first match under a new manager is never easy and it can sometimes bring renewed belief to a team.
Swansea are always a tough team to face anyway and, with Bob Bradley taking charge for the first time, it had the potential to be a very tricky encounter and so it proved with us edging it 3-2 despite having 10 men.
Theo Walcott struck twice to take his tally for the season to seven in all competitions, but it was birthday boy Mesut Ozil who netted the decisive goal with a delightful volley.
Granit Xhaka's straight red card meant playing the final 20 minutes with 10 men and we could have fallen apart at this point, but we managed to hold on to the victory when in a previous season we might have lost it.
It is still far too early to really tell which direction our season is heading, but results are encouraging and as things stand we are second and only behind leaders Manchester City on goal difference so let's hope we can keep up the good work.
Arsenal started brightly and came close to opening the scoring after 12 minutes when Shkodran Mustafi's header hit the crossbar while, at the other end, Leroy Fer failed to take advantage of the space he was given and blazed his effort over.
The Gunners broke the deadlock after 26 minutes and, although Walcott took his goal well, Swansea will have been really disappointed with their defending. Walcott passed to Sanchez, who then lofted the ball over to Hector Bellerin and the Spanish full-back headed back across goal. Jordi Amat controlled it poorly and failed to clear the danger, allowing Walcott to nip in and score from close range.
Sanchez saw his lob sail just off target before Bellerin's shot was well blocked behind for a corner by former Gunner Lukasz Fabianksi. But it wasn't too long before Walcott was adding his second goal. The Swansea defence again failed to clear the danger properly and Walcott controlled the loose ball before turning and sending a shot beyond Fabianski from close range.
Swansea reduced the deficit seven minutes before the break as Gylfi Sigurdsson dispossessed Xhaka and curled a shot beyond Petr Cech in the Arsenal goal.
The visitors then wasted the chance to level matters before the break as Amat sent his header straight into the grateful hands of Cech.
It was hard to know which way this game was going to swing as Fabianski kept out Walcott's first-time strike to keep the Swans in the game. But birthday boy Ozil gave Arsenal some breathing space after 57 minutes. Sanchez sent a deep cross into the box and Ozil met it with a finely struck volley into the top corner.
Swansea refused to give up and cut the gap to just one goal after 66 minutes. Barrow had been giving Nacho Monreal a torrid afternoon and he once again got the better of the Spanish defender before sending in a low cross for Borja to slot home.
The visitors' hopes of a comeback were further boosted when Arsenal midfielder Xhaka was sent off with 20 minutes still left to play. The Switzerland international saw red for a clumsy trip from behind on Barrow.
Swansea had chances to make the extra man count, but were unable to make the most of them. Wayne Routledge crossed for Barrow in plenty of space, but the 24-year-old didn't get enough on his header and it was comfortably saved by Cech. Barrow continued to cause a threat though and got the better of Monreal once again before crossing into the box for Sigurdsson, but the midfielder fired over.
At the other end Walcott then missed the opportunity to complete his hat-trick when his shot hit the inside of a post.
Swansea wasted two late chances to snatch a point as Fer headed straight at Cech, who also produced a diving save to keep out Federico Fernandez.
Arsenal finished the game on top and created a few chances in injury time as Fabianski kept out Bellerin before Walcott somehow skied over from Oxlade-Chamberlain's perfectly-timed pass, but it didn't stop the hosts from holding on for the win.
OPPOSITION VIEW
Swansea fan Lisa Phillips saw enough positives from the game to not be too disheartened by the result.
"I thought we played well even though we didn't have many chances," said Phillips. "Arsenal probably deserved the win, but it was nice for the Swans to have an exciting game for once."
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
I am refusing to get carried away with our start to the season but, at this stage, I'll take being second and behind only on goal difference.
We need to be consistent to give ourselves any chance of a serious title challenge, but some of the early signs are encouraging so let's wait and see what happens.
Focus now switches to the Champions League and the visit of Ludogorets. We will definitely go into that one as firm favourites, but we must make sure we don't underestimate any of our opponents this season. Let's keep plugging away and keep on winning!
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
Swansea are always a tough team to face anyway and, with Bob Bradley taking charge for the first time, it had the potential to be a very tricky encounter and so it proved with us edging it 3-2 despite having 10 men.
Theo Walcott struck twice to take his tally for the season to seven in all competitions, but it was birthday boy Mesut Ozil who netted the decisive goal with a delightful volley.
Granit Xhaka's straight red card meant playing the final 20 minutes with 10 men and we could have fallen apart at this point, but we managed to hold on to the victory when in a previous season we might have lost it.
It is still far too early to really tell which direction our season is heading, but results are encouraging and as things stand we are second and only behind leaders Manchester City on goal difference so let's hope we can keep up the good work.
Arsenal started brightly and came close to opening the scoring after 12 minutes when Shkodran Mustafi's header hit the crossbar while, at the other end, Leroy Fer failed to take advantage of the space he was given and blazed his effort over.
The Gunners broke the deadlock after 26 minutes and, although Walcott took his goal well, Swansea will have been really disappointed with their defending. Walcott passed to Sanchez, who then lofted the ball over to Hector Bellerin and the Spanish full-back headed back across goal. Jordi Amat controlled it poorly and failed to clear the danger, allowing Walcott to nip in and score from close range.
Sanchez saw his lob sail just off target before Bellerin's shot was well blocked behind for a corner by former Gunner Lukasz Fabianksi. But it wasn't too long before Walcott was adding his second goal. The Swansea defence again failed to clear the danger properly and Walcott controlled the loose ball before turning and sending a shot beyond Fabianski from close range.
Swansea reduced the deficit seven minutes before the break as Gylfi Sigurdsson dispossessed Xhaka and curled a shot beyond Petr Cech in the Arsenal goal.
The visitors then wasted the chance to level matters before the break as Amat sent his header straight into the grateful hands of Cech.
It was hard to know which way this game was going to swing as Fabianski kept out Walcott's first-time strike to keep the Swans in the game. But birthday boy Ozil gave Arsenal some breathing space after 57 minutes. Sanchez sent a deep cross into the box and Ozil met it with a finely struck volley into the top corner.
Swansea refused to give up and cut the gap to just one goal after 66 minutes. Barrow had been giving Nacho Monreal a torrid afternoon and he once again got the better of the Spanish defender before sending in a low cross for Borja to slot home.
The visitors' hopes of a comeback were further boosted when Arsenal midfielder Xhaka was sent off with 20 minutes still left to play. The Switzerland international saw red for a clumsy trip from behind on Barrow.
Swansea had chances to make the extra man count, but were unable to make the most of them. Wayne Routledge crossed for Barrow in plenty of space, but the 24-year-old didn't get enough on his header and it was comfortably saved by Cech. Barrow continued to cause a threat though and got the better of Monreal once again before crossing into the box for Sigurdsson, but the midfielder fired over.
At the other end Walcott then missed the opportunity to complete his hat-trick when his shot hit the inside of a post.
Swansea wasted two late chances to snatch a point as Fer headed straight at Cech, who also produced a diving save to keep out Federico Fernandez.
Arsenal finished the game on top and created a few chances in injury time as Fabianski kept out Bellerin before Walcott somehow skied over from Oxlade-Chamberlain's perfectly-timed pass, but it didn't stop the hosts from holding on for the win.
OPPOSITION VIEW
Swansea fan Lisa Phillips saw enough positives from the game to not be too disheartened by the result.
"I thought we played well even though we didn't have many chances," said Phillips. "Arsenal probably deserved the win, but it was nice for the Swans to have an exciting game for once."
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
I am refusing to get carried away with our start to the season but, at this stage, I'll take being second and behind only on goal difference.
We need to be consistent to give ourselves any chance of a serious title challenge, but some of the early signs are encouraging so let's wait and see what happens.
Focus now switches to the Champions League and the visit of Ludogorets. We will definitely go into that one as firm favourites, but we must make sure we don't underestimate any of our opponents this season. Let's keep plugging away and keep on winning!
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
Sunday, 2 October 2016
Kos controversy as Gunners win
Arsenal certainly left it late and made hard work of it, but it's the result that counts and Laurent Koscielny's late goal gave us what feels like a massive 1-0 win at Burnley.
We didn't play with the same attacking style as we had shown in the recent victories over Chelsea and FC Basel, but you can't always win pretty and at least we ensured we came away from Turf Moor with all three points as Arsene Wenger celebrated 20 years in charge of the Gunners.
We had a large amount of possession, but credit to Burnley who did well shutting us out for most of the game until Koscielny's late intervention. The goal itself caused some controversy with sections of the crowd, especially the home supporters, believing it should have been ruled out for handball and offside. At first glance, it did look as though it had hit the defender's arm but that also he couldn't really have done much to prevent it. After seeing the replays, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's shot does deflect off Koscielny's arm, but it was purely accidental. It is cruel on Burnley, who had battled valiantly, and whilst the goal is up for debate I certainly won't be complaining at the result. Big relief at us getting this win; luck appeared to be on our side and for that I am grateful.
The first half wasn't very easy on the eye and neither side did much to excite the supporters. Theo Walcott saw two early efforts go wide while, at the other end, Sam Vokes somehow headed off target when left unmarked in the box.
Arsenal improved slightly after the break with Alexis Sanchez forcing a save from Tom Heaton in the Burnley goal, but it was the hosts who had the better chances to take the lead before the goal. Petr Cech was at full stretch as he kept out Johann Berg Gudmundsson's effort before Michael Keane saw his header hit the crossbar.
Walcott sent another shot wide as it looked increasingly like it was going to end in frustration for Arsenal, but deep into stoppage time the Gunners finally scored the decisive goal. Substitute Oxlade-Chamberlain's effort was touched into the net by Koscielny and I'm sure we haven't heard the last of the debate about this goal, but it won't change the result.
Just how significant could this result be? It is only one game and it won't make or break our season, but often when seasons go right or wrong certain games are looked back on. For us it was one where fortune favoured us on the day, but for Burnley it will be remembered as the point that got away.
OPPOSITION VIEW
Burnley fan Martyn Biddulph was full of praise for his side and felt they deserved more out of the game.
"We set out on Monday to get in Watford's faces and dominate the midfield. It worked on Monday but obviously Arsenal was always going to be a different ball game.
"Every single player in Claret and blue worked their socks off from start to finish today and were tremendous minimising the threat of Ozil and Sanchez.
"Obviously conceding that late on was an absolute sickener and felt undeserved after an outstanding defensive performance. If teams want to see how to play 4-5-1 against a big team show them that Burnley performance.
"Impossible to pick a fault out there unless you look at the referee and the less said about the goal the better. Hopefully we will meet again in the league next season and keep battling on."
Fellow Clarets' supporter Chris Horner was disappointed by the referee's decision to allow Arsenal's winner, but he still remained upbeat despite the result.
"I thought Arsenal controlled large amounts of the game and possession, but Burnley defended well and ultimately deserved a point," added Chris Horner. "The decision by the officials not to disallow the goal was incorrect in my opinion and cost Burnley a point that could make a major difference at the end of the season.
"It was a bit gutting with the timing of the goal coming as it did, but we can hold our heads high as we played well enough to keep Arsenal at bay for 92 minutes."
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
We now head into an international break having stretched our unbeaten league run to six games and, although the Burnley victory could be seen as fortunate, this is still good form and we need to keep picking up positive results.
It is a few weeks before we return to action again and the visit of Swansea will certainly be a tough test, so we need to make sure we produce a performance more like we did against Chelsea and try not leave it quite as late as we did at Turf Moor.
That result saw us close the gap on leaders Manchester City to four points, but we need to produce more consistent performances if we are to give ourselves any hope of keeping up the pace. Whatever happens I'll be backing the lads the whole way!
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
We didn't play with the same attacking style as we had shown in the recent victories over Chelsea and FC Basel, but you can't always win pretty and at least we ensured we came away from Turf Moor with all three points as Arsene Wenger celebrated 20 years in charge of the Gunners.
We had a large amount of possession, but credit to Burnley who did well shutting us out for most of the game until Koscielny's late intervention. The goal itself caused some controversy with sections of the crowd, especially the home supporters, believing it should have been ruled out for handball and offside. At first glance, it did look as though it had hit the defender's arm but that also he couldn't really have done much to prevent it. After seeing the replays, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's shot does deflect off Koscielny's arm, but it was purely accidental. It is cruel on Burnley, who had battled valiantly, and whilst the goal is up for debate I certainly won't be complaining at the result. Big relief at us getting this win; luck appeared to be on our side and for that I am grateful.
The first half wasn't very easy on the eye and neither side did much to excite the supporters. Theo Walcott saw two early efforts go wide while, at the other end, Sam Vokes somehow headed off target when left unmarked in the box.
Arsenal improved slightly after the break with Alexis Sanchez forcing a save from Tom Heaton in the Burnley goal, but it was the hosts who had the better chances to take the lead before the goal. Petr Cech was at full stretch as he kept out Johann Berg Gudmundsson's effort before Michael Keane saw his header hit the crossbar.
Walcott sent another shot wide as it looked increasingly like it was going to end in frustration for Arsenal, but deep into stoppage time the Gunners finally scored the decisive goal. Substitute Oxlade-Chamberlain's effort was touched into the net by Koscielny and I'm sure we haven't heard the last of the debate about this goal, but it won't change the result.
Just how significant could this result be? It is only one game and it won't make or break our season, but often when seasons go right or wrong certain games are looked back on. For us it was one where fortune favoured us on the day, but for Burnley it will be remembered as the point that got away.
OPPOSITION VIEW
Burnley fan Martyn Biddulph was full of praise for his side and felt they deserved more out of the game.
"We set out on Monday to get in Watford's faces and dominate the midfield. It worked on Monday but obviously Arsenal was always going to be a different ball game.
"Every single player in Claret and blue worked their socks off from start to finish today and were tremendous minimising the threat of Ozil and Sanchez.
"Obviously conceding that late on was an absolute sickener and felt undeserved after an outstanding defensive performance. If teams want to see how to play 4-5-1 against a big team show them that Burnley performance.
"Impossible to pick a fault out there unless you look at the referee and the less said about the goal the better. Hopefully we will meet again in the league next season and keep battling on."
Fellow Clarets' supporter Chris Horner was disappointed by the referee's decision to allow Arsenal's winner, but he still remained upbeat despite the result.
"I thought Arsenal controlled large amounts of the game and possession, but Burnley defended well and ultimately deserved a point," added Chris Horner. "The decision by the officials not to disallow the goal was incorrect in my opinion and cost Burnley a point that could make a major difference at the end of the season.
"It was a bit gutting with the timing of the goal coming as it did, but we can hold our heads high as we played well enough to keep Arsenal at bay for 92 minutes."
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
We now head into an international break having stretched our unbeaten league run to six games and, although the Burnley victory could be seen as fortunate, this is still good form and we need to keep picking up positive results.
It is a few weeks before we return to action again and the visit of Swansea will certainly be a tough test, so we need to make sure we produce a performance more like we did against Chelsea and try not leave it quite as late as we did at Turf Moor.
That result saw us close the gap on leaders Manchester City to four points, but we need to produce more consistent performances if we are to give ourselves any hope of keeping up the pace. Whatever happens I'll be backing the lads the whole way!
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
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