Sead Kolasinac once again proved his worth for Arsenal as he scored one and set up another in their 2-1 home victory over Swansea.
The Gunners didn't have it all their own way and fell behind to a goal from Sam Clucas before Kolasinac, who joined the club following the expiry of his contract at Schalke this summer, levelled the scores early in the second half. Kolasinac then set up Aaron Ramsey for the all-important winner against an opponent that has proved to be a banana skin for us in the past.
Kolasinac puts in good solid displays each time he puts on the shirt and was definitely a bargain in my eyes. He seems to show no fear and always gives his all and has already popped up with some crucial goals. Kolasinac scored the crucial equaliser in the Community Shield victory over Chelsea and also in the home win over FC Cologne in the Europa League. He's not afraid to get stuck in and looks an excellent addition and his contribution against Swansea means he now has a combined five goals and assists in his first six home matches at the club.
Kolasinac was substituted 12 minutes from time due to what manager Arsene Wenger describes as a repetition of a muscle injury in his hip, but it sounds like his withdrawal was more of a precaution with the club hopeful he will be available for the next league match. Hopefully he won't be out long as he has already established himself as a key figure in our defence.
The overall team performance wasn't perfect, but we did what was needed most and got the result and all three points. We could have put the result beyond doubt earlier in the match had we been better with our finishing in the early stages.
Arsenal wasted three chances inside the opening 10 minutes of the match. Ramsey saw an early effort blocked by the defence before Alexis Sanchez saw his low strike comfortably saved by former Gunner Lukasz Fabianski. Fabianksi was forced into another save soon after, but it was rather routine as he easily held Per Mertesacker's header.
Sanchez then sent a shot wide from distance and those missed chances came back to bite Arsenal as Swansea took the lead after 22 minutes. Tammy Abraham's well-timed pass released Clucas to run in behind Hector Bellerin to slot the ball home for his first goal for the Welsh club. The Lincoln-born midfielder missed the chance to add a second goal when he shot wide five minutes before the break.
Both teams had chances to score in the closing stages of the first half, with Fabianski producing an excellent one-handed save to tip over Sanchez's powerful effort. Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech reacted quickly to block Jordan Ayew's strike out for a corner after the Swansea man had robbed Metersacker of possession in the box.
Arsenal improved in the second half and turned the game on its head with two goals in seven minutes. Mesut Ozil's pass was blocked, but the ball rolled across the box and Kolasinac was on hand to power it home for his first Premier League goal within six minutes of the restart.
Abraham very nearly put Swansea back in front immediately as he had the ball in the net at the other end, but his effort was ruled out for offside.
Laurent Koscielny headed wide from a Sanchez free-kick soon after, but Arsenal made no mistake with their next attempt as Ramsey gave them the lead for the first time in the match. Granit Xhaka played a long ball over the top to Kolasinac and scorer turned provider as the defender cut it back for Ramsey to score his 50th goal for the club. The goal would have been all the more frustrating for Swansea fans what with Ramsey being a former player of their bitter rivals Cardiff.
At 2-1 it was still a dangerous scoreline with more than enough time for Swansea to get back into it and we really should have made more of the chances that came our way. Ramsey sent an effort high and over the bar before Alexandre Lacazette shot straight at Fabianski.
Arsenal then came close to scoring from a counter attack as Ramsey set up Hector Bellerin and the defender stretched to get a foot to the ball, but his effort hit the crossbar and bounced over.
Swansea weren't out of it yet as Abraham tried to get the Welsh side back in the game, but after a good first touch and control his shot on the turn went wide.
Olivier Giroud was unable to make a decisive impact as the substitute twice sent shots wide, with the second effort grazing the side netting, but Arsenal held on to their lead to take the points.
OPPOSITION VIEW
Swansea fan Tim James was surprised by the margin of the result at the Emirates and still believes manager Paul Clement is the right man for the job.
"This was pretty much the result I expected," said James. "We no longer have Sigurdsson and Llorente and it's difficult to see where our next goal is coming from.
"I was surprised that we took the lead and I hope this represents the turning of a corner for Sam Clucas.
"I think Clement is still the man to take us forward and I hope he gets some backing in January.
"We had our own injury worries coming into this game and I'm surprised that the result was as close as it was. I can't comment on the game itself, but there seems to be positive signs there."
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
For the third consecutive game we came from behind to win and, although that shows great character it does pose the question why we keep falling behind?
Yes, no team is ever going to take the lead in every single game and it is inevitable to fall behind sometimes, but our defence can be too vulnerable and some of the goals conceded this season could have been avoided. That is among the reasons why we are not in a serious challenge for the title and we are already fifth and nine points behind leaders Manchester City.
We need to tighten things up at the back and also be more clinical in attack. The chances we missed weren't easy sitters or anything like that, but they can still be a decisive difference between winning, drawing or losing a game.
With a trip to title favourites Manchester City up next in the league, followed by a derby match against Tottenham, we need to make our chances count. These are two huge games head and ones we need to avoid losing if we are to stand any chance of doing anything this season. If we turn up and play the way we can when we are at our best then we could maybe, just maybe, do well in these games. But I just can't see it happening, well not in both games anyway, and I fear us crumbling in one of them. So let's just hope the team can prove me wrong and go out there and put out two massive performances!
But before then our focus switches to the Europa League and the visit of Red Star Belgrade. It took a late goal from Olivier Giroud to beat them in Serbia and we will need a much-better display this time. Let's hope the team can deliver just that and put us a step closer to qualification into the knock-out stages.
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
Sunday, 29 October 2017
Tuesday, 24 October 2017
Super sub Nketiah rescues Gunners
Eddie Nketiah came off the bench to rescue Arsenal as the Gunners recovered from a goal behind to beat Norwich 2-1 after extra time in the Carabao Cup.
Arsene Wenger once again opted to favour youth more than experience in the League Cup and, whilst it was great to see the likes of Reiss Nelson and Ainsley Maitland-Niles start, I was initially concerned by the lack of seniority on the bench. I was wondering who on earth we could call on should the game not be going in our favour in the closing stages. How wrong I was! Step forward Nketiah, who took just 15 seconds to make his mark on the game.
But before Nketiah's decisive introduction it had been a very poor showing by Arsenal. Take nothing away from Norwich though, they battled valiantly and put their bodies on the line in defence and had deserved their lead.
We also got lucky with a few decisions, but this game will be remembered as Eddie's day. It may only be the League Cup, which is a competition that admittedly I fail to get too excited about until the semi-final or final stages, but you can only beat what's put in front of you and I am pleased we are into the next round.
An opposition fan did briefly have me worried after the final whistle when he showed me a tweet from a journalist stating that we may have broken a substitution rule. Original rules had stated that you can only make one additional substitution in extra time, but we made two, so I genuinely began to wonder what the backlash might be. But from what I understand the rules were tweaked at some point since their introduction, so no wrong doing has been done and let's hope that's the end of it.
Back to the match and in truth the first half was rather forgettable for us with very few decent chances. Although we enjoyed most of the possession we just couldn't make it count. Alex Iwobi curled a shot over after 13 minutes, but our best chance of the half fell to Rob Holding soon after. The defender rose highest to get his head onto Theo Walcott's corner, but Norwich goalkeeper Angus Gunn produced a fine save to tip the defender's effort over for the crossbar.
Apart from Mario Vrancic dragging a shot wide Norwich hadn't really threatened too much either, but the visitors opened the scoring with a very well-taken goal after 34 minutes. Josh Murphy latched onto a fine through ball from James Maddison before bursting through on goal and dinking the ball over debutant Matt Macey in the Arsenal goal.
Macey was in the thick of the action again soon after, but this time he came out on top by excellently parrying Nelson Oliveira's curling strike.
Walcott saw his low strike saved by Gunn as Norwich maintained their slender 1-0 advantage going in at the break.
Olivier Giroud headed over from a Jack Wilshere free-kick within five minutes of the restart and Arsenal really didn't look anywhere close to scoring.
Arsenal had a big let off five minutes later when Mohamed Elneny received a yellow card for his foul on Oliveira. Some sections of the crowd felt it should have been a red card as the Egyptian stopped Oliveira from bursting clear. There is a chance the man behind him might have been able to catch the Norwich man, but Elneny may still count himself lucky to have stayed on the field.
The Gunners survived another scare as Macey saved Murphy's header before palming away a dangerous cross from the same player soon after.
Arsenal continued to try and push forward in search of an equaliser, but Norwich battled hard throughout and threw themselves in the way to block some shots on goal.
Norwich could have extended their lead if they had been more ruthless with their chances but, fortunately for Arsenal, Oliveira, Murphy and Vrancic all sent shots off target.
It looked like it just wasn't going to be Arsenal's day as Walcott curled a shot wide and sent a header over the crossbar as the game entered its final 10 minutes.
Luckily 18-year-old Nketiah, who was making only his second senior appearance, had other ideas! The young forward had barely been on the field when a corner from Walcott was flicked into his path for him to prod home. What an introduction!
Arsenal had chances to win it in normal time, but were unable to convert them as Gunn kept out Wilshere before substitute Chuba Akpom shot wide.
Nketiah scored his second and the decisive winning goal six minutes into extra time. Walcott's low strike was turned behind for a corner by Gunn and from the resulting set-piece Nketiah powerfully headed home to send the home supporters into raptures.
Arsenal nearly increased their lead in the first half of extra time, but Gunn produced a decent save to deny Giroud.
Nketiah came close to completing what would have been a memorable hat-trick after the restart, but his shot was well saved by the legs of Gunn.
With eight minutes of extra time remaining Norwich were left incensed by the referee's decision not to award them a penalty. James Husband appeared to be fouled in the box by Mathieu Debuchy - it would have been a soft penalty had it been given, but there is no denying there was contact. Norwich had another chance soon after, but Yanic Wildschut sent his effort wide.
Arsenal finished extra time strongly as substitute Joe Willock blasted a shot over the bar before Nketiah also curled an effort off target. But the Gunners held on to book their place in the quarter final after what was a very gutsy display by their Championship opponents.
OPPOSITION VIEW
Norwich fan Sam Foulger believes there is still exciting times ahead for his side, who he felt were unlucky not to get anything out of the game.
"I wasn't there tonight, but by all accounts we played incredibly well," said Foulger. "I don't miss the biased Premier League refereeing. Elneny should have gone and a clear penalty was not given. It wasn't a corner for the goal as the ball hadn't gone out of play.
"It shows how far we have come under (Daniel) Farke to push any sort of Arsenal team. Only four changes following the derby on Sunday, so to put in those minutes was impressive.
"We are still in a process of transition under the new management structure, but there are exciting times ahead."
Fellow Canaries fan Adam Edwards was also feeling upbeat by the events at the Emirates before extra-time had kicked off, saying: "It was an unexpected scoreline following Arsenal's great performance against Everton. Hopefully Norwich's form will continue in the league."
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
We got lucky at times and needed the help of one of our young superstars to bail us out, but ultimately we got the job done by getting the result and progressing through to the next round.
I have always preferred the FA Cup to the League Cup by a big margin, regardless of how we have performed in either competition, but I'm still pleased we got the right result.
Focus now switches back to the league and the visit of Swansea, which has the potential to be a very tricky match so hopefully we can maintain our impressive home record.
With a trip to Manchester City looming next month we need to make sure we take the level of performance up several levels as that will be a different test entirely.
But for now let Eddie Nketiah have his day! He well and truly bailed us out and he deserves to take the headlines!
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
Arsene Wenger once again opted to favour youth more than experience in the League Cup and, whilst it was great to see the likes of Reiss Nelson and Ainsley Maitland-Niles start, I was initially concerned by the lack of seniority on the bench. I was wondering who on earth we could call on should the game not be going in our favour in the closing stages. How wrong I was! Step forward Nketiah, who took just 15 seconds to make his mark on the game.
But before Nketiah's decisive introduction it had been a very poor showing by Arsenal. Take nothing away from Norwich though, they battled valiantly and put their bodies on the line in defence and had deserved their lead.
We also got lucky with a few decisions, but this game will be remembered as Eddie's day. It may only be the League Cup, which is a competition that admittedly I fail to get too excited about until the semi-final or final stages, but you can only beat what's put in front of you and I am pleased we are into the next round.
An opposition fan did briefly have me worried after the final whistle when he showed me a tweet from a journalist stating that we may have broken a substitution rule. Original rules had stated that you can only make one additional substitution in extra time, but we made two, so I genuinely began to wonder what the backlash might be. But from what I understand the rules were tweaked at some point since their introduction, so no wrong doing has been done and let's hope that's the end of it.
Back to the match and in truth the first half was rather forgettable for us with very few decent chances. Although we enjoyed most of the possession we just couldn't make it count. Alex Iwobi curled a shot over after 13 minutes, but our best chance of the half fell to Rob Holding soon after. The defender rose highest to get his head onto Theo Walcott's corner, but Norwich goalkeeper Angus Gunn produced a fine save to tip the defender's effort over for the crossbar.
Apart from Mario Vrancic dragging a shot wide Norwich hadn't really threatened too much either, but the visitors opened the scoring with a very well-taken goal after 34 minutes. Josh Murphy latched onto a fine through ball from James Maddison before bursting through on goal and dinking the ball over debutant Matt Macey in the Arsenal goal.
Macey was in the thick of the action again soon after, but this time he came out on top by excellently parrying Nelson Oliveira's curling strike.
Walcott saw his low strike saved by Gunn as Norwich maintained their slender 1-0 advantage going in at the break.
Olivier Giroud headed over from a Jack Wilshere free-kick within five minutes of the restart and Arsenal really didn't look anywhere close to scoring.
Arsenal had a big let off five minutes later when Mohamed Elneny received a yellow card for his foul on Oliveira. Some sections of the crowd felt it should have been a red card as the Egyptian stopped Oliveira from bursting clear. There is a chance the man behind him might have been able to catch the Norwich man, but Elneny may still count himself lucky to have stayed on the field.
The Gunners survived another scare as Macey saved Murphy's header before palming away a dangerous cross from the same player soon after.
Arsenal continued to try and push forward in search of an equaliser, but Norwich battled hard throughout and threw themselves in the way to block some shots on goal.
Norwich could have extended their lead if they had been more ruthless with their chances but, fortunately for Arsenal, Oliveira, Murphy and Vrancic all sent shots off target.
It looked like it just wasn't going to be Arsenal's day as Walcott curled a shot wide and sent a header over the crossbar as the game entered its final 10 minutes.
Luckily 18-year-old Nketiah, who was making only his second senior appearance, had other ideas! The young forward had barely been on the field when a corner from Walcott was flicked into his path for him to prod home. What an introduction!
Arsenal had chances to win it in normal time, but were unable to convert them as Gunn kept out Wilshere before substitute Chuba Akpom shot wide.
Nketiah scored his second and the decisive winning goal six minutes into extra time. Walcott's low strike was turned behind for a corner by Gunn and from the resulting set-piece Nketiah powerfully headed home to send the home supporters into raptures.
Arsenal nearly increased their lead in the first half of extra time, but Gunn produced a decent save to deny Giroud.
Nketiah came close to completing what would have been a memorable hat-trick after the restart, but his shot was well saved by the legs of Gunn.
With eight minutes of extra time remaining Norwich were left incensed by the referee's decision not to award them a penalty. James Husband appeared to be fouled in the box by Mathieu Debuchy - it would have been a soft penalty had it been given, but there is no denying there was contact. Norwich had another chance soon after, but Yanic Wildschut sent his effort wide.
Arsenal finished extra time strongly as substitute Joe Willock blasted a shot over the bar before Nketiah also curled an effort off target. But the Gunners held on to book their place in the quarter final after what was a very gutsy display by their Championship opponents.
OPPOSITION VIEW
Norwich fan Sam Foulger believes there is still exciting times ahead for his side, who he felt were unlucky not to get anything out of the game.
"I wasn't there tonight, but by all accounts we played incredibly well," said Foulger. "I don't miss the biased Premier League refereeing. Elneny should have gone and a clear penalty was not given. It wasn't a corner for the goal as the ball hadn't gone out of play.
"It shows how far we have come under (Daniel) Farke to push any sort of Arsenal team. Only four changes following the derby on Sunday, so to put in those minutes was impressive.
"We are still in a process of transition under the new management structure, but there are exciting times ahead."
Fellow Canaries fan Adam Edwards was also feeling upbeat by the events at the Emirates before extra-time had kicked off, saying: "It was an unexpected scoreline following Arsenal's great performance against Everton. Hopefully Norwich's form will continue in the league."
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
We got lucky at times and needed the help of one of our young superstars to bail us out, but ultimately we got the job done by getting the result and progressing through to the next round.
I have always preferred the FA Cup to the League Cup by a big margin, regardless of how we have performed in either competition, but I'm still pleased we got the right result.
Focus now switches back to the league and the visit of Swansea, which has the potential to be a very tricky match so hopefully we can maintain our impressive home record.
With a trip to Manchester City looming next month we need to make sure we take the level of performance up several levels as that will be a different test entirely.
But for now let Eddie Nketiah have his day! He well and truly bailed us out and he deserves to take the headlines!
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
Sunday, 22 October 2017
Ozil stars as Gunners thrash Toffees
Mesut Ozil tried to silence his critics with a man of the match display as Arsenal bounced back to winning ways and pushed Everton further into trouble with a 5-2 victory at Goodison Park.
The German international has been criticised lately for going missing in games, with some questioning his commitment to the Arsenal shirt. But he definitely turned up with a good performance on Merseyside, scoring one and setting up another, so let's just hope he can continue this in the coming weeks and not go missing again.
We came out of the blocks quickly in the first half and produced some scintillating passing and looked the more dominant of the two sides, but we failed to make it count early on due to the brilliance of Jordan Pickford in the Everton goal. Pickford was called into action after just three minutes when Ozil released Aaron Ramsey, and the 23-year-old expertly turned the Welsh midfielder's strike behind for a corner. Pickford produced an even better save to deny Alexandre Lacazette from point-blank range six minutes later.
Arsenal were in total control, but Everton then took the lead out of nowhere and initially it felt like it was just going to be one of those days. Granit Xhaka dithered on the ball before being dispossessed and Wayne Rooney made the most of the opportunity with a superb curling effort from outside the box.
But instead of letting it deter them Arsenal tried to find a way back into the game as Pickford once again had to come to the host's rescue. Pickford parried a free-kick from Alexis Sanchez before denying Ramsey on the follow-up.
At the other end youngster Dominic Calvert-Lewin headed just wide, but it was Arsenal who continued to create the better chances in the first half. Hector Bellerin's strike from the edge of the area was saved by Pickford, but the Gunners had better luck soon after as they equalised five minutes before the break. Pickford again kept the visitors as bay as he parried Xhaka's low strike, but Nacho Monreal was on hand to power home the rebound.
The goal definitely came at the right time for Arsenal as if Everton had kept us goalless going in at half-time the second half could have been a different story. Instead, we very nearly went in front just before half-time, only for Pickford to produce another excellent save to deny Sanchez.
Arsenal went in front for the first time in the match as Ozil scored a well-deserved goal within eight minutes of the restart. There has been much talk lately about the futures of Ozil and Sanchez, but whatever happens in the coming months the duo combined brilliantly for this goal. Sanchez ran down the left and cut inside before crossing for Ozil to flick a header beyond Pickford - a great cross and a well-taken goal.
Although we looked the better of the two sides, 2-1 was always a dangerous scoreline and I was still nervous of us losing our lead. Arsenal's task was made easier after 68 minutes when Everton midfielder Idrissa Gueye was sent off for a second bookable offence following a foul on Xhaka.
The Gunners took advantage of having the extra man as Lacazette increased their lead six minutes later. A quick and flowing passing move led to Ozil picking out the France international to slot home his first away goal for the club.
Although he was only given 13 minutes at the end, it was great to see Jack Wilshere come on for his first Premier League appearance of the season. He hasn't had the best of luck with injury, but in his last few appearances he has really impressed me and I'd like to see him back in the starting line-up on a regular basis.
Xhaka thumped an effort against the crossbar before Pickford did just about enough to stop Ramsey from scoring a headed rebound in the closing stages.
There was still time for a late flurry of goals, starting with Ramsey's inside the final minute of normal time. Wilshere's perfectly-timed through ball released his fellow midfielder, who made no mistake as he slotted the ball home.
Arsenal were more than worthy of their three-goal lead, but the nature of the late goal they conceded was rather worrying and the mistake from Petr Cech should have been avoided. Monreal underhit a back-pass before Cech gifted the ball straight to Oumar Niasse, who made no mistake to score the simplest of finishes in stoppage time.
The scoring wasn't over yet as Sanchez managed to get his name on the scoresheet at the death. The Chilean confused the home defence as he dribbled across the face of goal, before he unleashed a shot into the far side of the net. It was a top finish and a great end to what was a much-needed victory for Arsenal.
OPPOSITION VIEW
Other than Rooney's superb strike there wasn't too much to cheer about for the home faithful at Goodison Park, so it was unsurprising that Everton fans Paul O'Neill and David Bridson were feeling rather downbeat with their club now in the relegation zone.
"There was a lot of hype about this match being a hard one to predict," said O'Neill. "But in truth it was always going to be a foregone conclusion and Arsenal didn't fail to disappoint.
"With Arsenal winning in Europe and us losing it was set up to be the same again. More woeful defending at times and lack of possession has been all too similar this season for the Blues.
"Time will tell if this result will seal Koeman's fate, I would say it should. He's trying to blame the red card for Everton's loss, but the game was already gone by then.
"The players certainly lack confidence and a new manager would hopefully lift them. This match was too easy for Arsenal and that's why Cech pratted about for our second.
"The crazy money in the game right now is extremely disillusioning for your hard working fan. Moshari has chucked in a quarter of billion pounds worth of transfers and Everton lie 18th. It's a crazy business.
"I don't believe for one moment Everton will go down even if Koeman stays. Our next league games are away to Leicester, home to Watford and away to Palace. We have to be looking at nine points regardless of who's in charge.
"As for Arsenal I can see them finishing fourth and Wenger maybe finally leaving. But who knows, it's a funny old game."
Bridson also found it difficult to find many positives from the match, adding: "The result goes against everything that was asked of the team before the game. We needed a big performance to merit playing for both the manager and fans, but what we were given was embarrassing.
"The ease at which the away side have been allowed to walk the ball in to the net highlights the worryingly low level of confidence at the once intimidating Goodison Park.
"Yet again we have started brightly; Rooney's sublime strike gave me hope today might be the day we would flourish and kick-start our season. But we soon capitulated and gave in far too easily to a resolute and punishing Arsenal side who were gifted acres of space in which to play.
"I've been through relegation battles before; this could be another long, hard slog if confidence is not restored quickly at this great football club."
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
It was a much-improved performance and the three points sees us in fifth place with only goal difference keeping us behind champions Chelsea.
But the top three of the two Manchester clubs and our bitter rivals Tottenham are far ahead of us and they won't drop many points, so we need to make sure we focus on our own game and build up a consistent run of form in the coming months. Whether we will though is another story.
Focus now switches to the League Cup and the visit of Norwich, which is a tie we really should be winning even if we field fringe players and youngsters, but we can't take anything for granted and need to make sure we perform on the day.
We close the month with a home league game against Swansea so let's make sure we end October strongly and don't revert back to some of the sloppy play we have seen in previous matches.
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
The German international has been criticised lately for going missing in games, with some questioning his commitment to the Arsenal shirt. But he definitely turned up with a good performance on Merseyside, scoring one and setting up another, so let's just hope he can continue this in the coming weeks and not go missing again.
We came out of the blocks quickly in the first half and produced some scintillating passing and looked the more dominant of the two sides, but we failed to make it count early on due to the brilliance of Jordan Pickford in the Everton goal. Pickford was called into action after just three minutes when Ozil released Aaron Ramsey, and the 23-year-old expertly turned the Welsh midfielder's strike behind for a corner. Pickford produced an even better save to deny Alexandre Lacazette from point-blank range six minutes later.
Arsenal were in total control, but Everton then took the lead out of nowhere and initially it felt like it was just going to be one of those days. Granit Xhaka dithered on the ball before being dispossessed and Wayne Rooney made the most of the opportunity with a superb curling effort from outside the box.
But instead of letting it deter them Arsenal tried to find a way back into the game as Pickford once again had to come to the host's rescue. Pickford parried a free-kick from Alexis Sanchez before denying Ramsey on the follow-up.
At the other end youngster Dominic Calvert-Lewin headed just wide, but it was Arsenal who continued to create the better chances in the first half. Hector Bellerin's strike from the edge of the area was saved by Pickford, but the Gunners had better luck soon after as they equalised five minutes before the break. Pickford again kept the visitors as bay as he parried Xhaka's low strike, but Nacho Monreal was on hand to power home the rebound.
The goal definitely came at the right time for Arsenal as if Everton had kept us goalless going in at half-time the second half could have been a different story. Instead, we very nearly went in front just before half-time, only for Pickford to produce another excellent save to deny Sanchez.
Arsenal went in front for the first time in the match as Ozil scored a well-deserved goal within eight minutes of the restart. There has been much talk lately about the futures of Ozil and Sanchez, but whatever happens in the coming months the duo combined brilliantly for this goal. Sanchez ran down the left and cut inside before crossing for Ozil to flick a header beyond Pickford - a great cross and a well-taken goal.
Although we looked the better of the two sides, 2-1 was always a dangerous scoreline and I was still nervous of us losing our lead. Arsenal's task was made easier after 68 minutes when Everton midfielder Idrissa Gueye was sent off for a second bookable offence following a foul on Xhaka.
The Gunners took advantage of having the extra man as Lacazette increased their lead six minutes later. A quick and flowing passing move led to Ozil picking out the France international to slot home his first away goal for the club.
Although he was only given 13 minutes at the end, it was great to see Jack Wilshere come on for his first Premier League appearance of the season. He hasn't had the best of luck with injury, but in his last few appearances he has really impressed me and I'd like to see him back in the starting line-up on a regular basis.
Xhaka thumped an effort against the crossbar before Pickford did just about enough to stop Ramsey from scoring a headed rebound in the closing stages.
There was still time for a late flurry of goals, starting with Ramsey's inside the final minute of normal time. Wilshere's perfectly-timed through ball released his fellow midfielder, who made no mistake as he slotted the ball home.
Arsenal were more than worthy of their three-goal lead, but the nature of the late goal they conceded was rather worrying and the mistake from Petr Cech should have been avoided. Monreal underhit a back-pass before Cech gifted the ball straight to Oumar Niasse, who made no mistake to score the simplest of finishes in stoppage time.
The scoring wasn't over yet as Sanchez managed to get his name on the scoresheet at the death. The Chilean confused the home defence as he dribbled across the face of goal, before he unleashed a shot into the far side of the net. It was a top finish and a great end to what was a much-needed victory for Arsenal.
OPPOSITION VIEW
Other than Rooney's superb strike there wasn't too much to cheer about for the home faithful at Goodison Park, so it was unsurprising that Everton fans Paul O'Neill and David Bridson were feeling rather downbeat with their club now in the relegation zone.
"There was a lot of hype about this match being a hard one to predict," said O'Neill. "But in truth it was always going to be a foregone conclusion and Arsenal didn't fail to disappoint.
"With Arsenal winning in Europe and us losing it was set up to be the same again. More woeful defending at times and lack of possession has been all too similar this season for the Blues.
"Time will tell if this result will seal Koeman's fate, I would say it should. He's trying to blame the red card for Everton's loss, but the game was already gone by then.
"The players certainly lack confidence and a new manager would hopefully lift them. This match was too easy for Arsenal and that's why Cech pratted about for our second.
"The crazy money in the game right now is extremely disillusioning for your hard working fan. Moshari has chucked in a quarter of billion pounds worth of transfers and Everton lie 18th. It's a crazy business.
"I don't believe for one moment Everton will go down even if Koeman stays. Our next league games are away to Leicester, home to Watford and away to Palace. We have to be looking at nine points regardless of who's in charge.
"As for Arsenal I can see them finishing fourth and Wenger maybe finally leaving. But who knows, it's a funny old game."
Bridson also found it difficult to find many positives from the match, adding: "The result goes against everything that was asked of the team before the game. We needed a big performance to merit playing for both the manager and fans, but what we were given was embarrassing.
"The ease at which the away side have been allowed to walk the ball in to the net highlights the worryingly low level of confidence at the once intimidating Goodison Park.
"Yet again we have started brightly; Rooney's sublime strike gave me hope today might be the day we would flourish and kick-start our season. But we soon capitulated and gave in far too easily to a resolute and punishing Arsenal side who were gifted acres of space in which to play.
"I've been through relegation battles before; this could be another long, hard slog if confidence is not restored quickly at this great football club."
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
It was a much-improved performance and the three points sees us in fifth place with only goal difference keeping us behind champions Chelsea.
But the top three of the two Manchester clubs and our bitter rivals Tottenham are far ahead of us and they won't drop many points, so we need to make sure we focus on our own game and build up a consistent run of form in the coming months. Whether we will though is another story.
Focus now switches to the League Cup and the visit of Norwich, which is a tie we really should be winning even if we field fringe players and youngsters, but we can't take anything for granted and need to make sure we perform on the day.
We close the month with a home league game against Swansea so let's make sure we end October strongly and don't revert back to some of the sloppy play we have seen in previous matches.
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
Thursday, 19 October 2017
Late Giroud goal keeps Gunners top
It took a superb late acrobatic strike from Olivier Giroud to settle what was a very dull contest in Serbia as Arsenal claimed a 1-0 win at 10-man Red Star Belgrade.
The win sees Arsenal continue their perfect Europa League record with three wins from as many games and the Gunners are five points clear at the top of Group H.
In a first half of few chances Theo Walcott forced a decent save out of the opposition's goalkeeper Milan Borjan, while Nenad Krsticic and Slavoljub Srnic both sent their efforts off target at the other end.
The best chances of the first half fell to the hosts as Richmond Boakye's header hit the crossbar before Petr Cech produce a fine save to push away Nemanja Radonjic's strike.
The second half wasn't much better with neither side creating too much to shout about. Arsenal youngster Reiss Nelson saw his powerful strike palmed away by Borjan as the game continued to look destined to end goalless.
Red Star Belgrade also tried to find a way to break the deadlock, but Krsticic's header was well saved by Cech. But the host's chances of holding on for a point were dealt a blow when Milan Rodic was sent off for a second bookable offence following his foul on Francis Coquelin.
Arsenal took advantage of having an extra man as Giroud popped up with the all-important winning goal four minutes from time. Jack Wilshere, who was arguably our best player on the night, was at the heart of the move. The midfielder ran at the defence and expertly span away from a tackle before playing a one-two with Walcott and flicking the ball back over the top. Walcott got on the end of it to head the ball back across goal and Giroud met it with a sublime overhead kick to score the winner.
Wilshere put in an energetic man of the match display, while young duo Reiss Nelson and Joe Willock also looked impressive. Mathieu Debuchy was fairly solid at the back in what was his first start since November 2016, but apart from that we were largely poor overall and didn't create enough.
GROUP H
Admittedly we've hardly lit up the Europa League this season and our performances have been below-par from what we would have expected considering the opposition.
Without being disrespectful to our opponents we should have done far better from our opening three games in terms of chances created and attacking intent.
Although the performances haven't been ideal, the results have been spot on and maximum points at the halfway stage in Group H is exactly what we needed.
BATE Borisov recorded a 1-0 home win over FC Cologne and, with a five point lead over BATE and our recent Serbian opponents, it is very nearly job done for the Gunners.
We still shouldn't get complacent as anything could happen, but in terms of results things are looking good. Performances however must improve!
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
I still find it hard to get too excited by the Europa League and I'll be first to admit I miss the Champions League immensely.
This should be a reminder to the players that we need to up our game if we are to get back into it. At the moment winning the Europa League seems like our best route in as we are hardly firing on all cylinders in the Premier League.
A trip to Everton, who suffered a 2-1 home defeat against Lyon in their Europa League clash, is next on the horizon. Despite their lowly league position there is no doubt this could be a very tough game.
We definitely need a much better performance if we are to bounce back from our defeat at Watford and we really need to make sure we test the goalkeeper more and make our chances count!
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
The win sees Arsenal continue their perfect Europa League record with three wins from as many games and the Gunners are five points clear at the top of Group H.
In a first half of few chances Theo Walcott forced a decent save out of the opposition's goalkeeper Milan Borjan, while Nenad Krsticic and Slavoljub Srnic both sent their efforts off target at the other end.
The best chances of the first half fell to the hosts as Richmond Boakye's header hit the crossbar before Petr Cech produce a fine save to push away Nemanja Radonjic's strike.
The second half wasn't much better with neither side creating too much to shout about. Arsenal youngster Reiss Nelson saw his powerful strike palmed away by Borjan as the game continued to look destined to end goalless.
Red Star Belgrade also tried to find a way to break the deadlock, but Krsticic's header was well saved by Cech. But the host's chances of holding on for a point were dealt a blow when Milan Rodic was sent off for a second bookable offence following his foul on Francis Coquelin.
Arsenal took advantage of having an extra man as Giroud popped up with the all-important winning goal four minutes from time. Jack Wilshere, who was arguably our best player on the night, was at the heart of the move. The midfielder ran at the defence and expertly span away from a tackle before playing a one-two with Walcott and flicking the ball back over the top. Walcott got on the end of it to head the ball back across goal and Giroud met it with a sublime overhead kick to score the winner.
Wilshere put in an energetic man of the match display, while young duo Reiss Nelson and Joe Willock also looked impressive. Mathieu Debuchy was fairly solid at the back in what was his first start since November 2016, but apart from that we were largely poor overall and didn't create enough.
GROUP H
Admittedly we've hardly lit up the Europa League this season and our performances have been below-par from what we would have expected considering the opposition.
Without being disrespectful to our opponents we should have done far better from our opening three games in terms of chances created and attacking intent.
Although the performances haven't been ideal, the results have been spot on and maximum points at the halfway stage in Group H is exactly what we needed.
BATE Borisov recorded a 1-0 home win over FC Cologne and, with a five point lead over BATE and our recent Serbian opponents, it is very nearly job done for the Gunners.
We still shouldn't get complacent as anything could happen, but in terms of results things are looking good. Performances however must improve!
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
I still find it hard to get too excited by the Europa League and I'll be first to admit I miss the Champions League immensely.
This should be a reminder to the players that we need to up our game if we are to get back into it. At the moment winning the Europa League seems like our best route in as we are hardly firing on all cylinders in the Premier League.
A trip to Everton, who suffered a 2-1 home defeat against Lyon in their Europa League clash, is next on the horizon. Despite their lowly league position there is no doubt this could be a very tough game.
We definitely need a much better performance if we are to bounce back from our defeat at Watford and we really need to make sure we test the goalkeeper more and make our chances count!
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
Sunday, 15 October 2017
Late drama as Hornets sting Gunners
Tom Cleverley's injury-time strike saw Arsenal fall to a disappointing 2-1 defeat at Watford and end their unbeaten run of seven matches in all competitions.
Arsenal failed to make the most of their spell in control of the game with Per Mertesacker's opener all we had to show for our efforts. That proved costly as Watford hit back with two goals in the final 20 minutes of the game.
The Hornets were awarded a penalty after Hector Bellerin was adjudged to have fouled Richarlison in the box, but I personally felt it seemed harsh and Arsene Wenger also bemoaned the decision. But we can't hide behind one bad decision as we still could have kicked on and either held out for the draw or, better still, pushed on to get a winner. Instead we again worryingly showed our defensive vulnerability to gift Cleverley far too easy a winning goal at the death.
Apart from a few half chances there wasn't too much to shout about in the first half, with Mohamed Elneny shooting just over from outside the box. That was until the opening goal six minutes before the break as Per Mertesacker powerfully headed home Granit Xhaka's corner.
The goal seemed to spark Arsenal into life as Heurelho Gomes parried Xhaka's strike before Bellerin sent an effort wide. Xhaka tried his luck from distance again before the break, but it failed to cause Gomes too much trouble as the goalkeeper denied him with a rather routine save.
Richarlison shot wide in the early stages of the second half before Arsenal substitute Mesut Ozil very nearly made a decisive impact off the bench. The German international's inch-perfect pass found Alex Iwobi in the box, but Gomes produced a superb one-handed save to tip his strike behind for a corner.
The same two players combined again soon after, but Gomes reacted quickly to block Ozil's shot, although the German should have done much better with his effort in the box. That wasted chance proved costly as Watford levelled the scores 18 minutes from time. There didn't appear to be too much contact with Richarlison in the box, but a penalty was given and Deeney successfully fired home from the spot.
There was still plenty time left to have turned the game back in our favour and we only have ourselves to blame for not doing so. Watford now looked the more likely to get the next goal as Richarlison sent a shot into the side netting and Etienne Capoue's deflected strike hit a post.
But we really should have taken at least a point from this game and the defending for Cleverley's winner was truly awful. Cech made a decent save before Rob Holding blocked the follow-up, but nobody could stop Cleverley from smashing the ball home. The winning goal was definitely avoidable and was a very bad one to concede and it makes the defeat even more frustrating.
OPPOSITION VIEW
Watford fan Paul Caygill admitted his side got lucky with the penalty, but was full of praise for his side's performance in the final 20 minutes of the match.
"It was an interesting game," said Caygill. "I felt we were not creative enough in the first half and gave too much respect.
"Silva got in amongst them at half-time and Deeney when he came on was immense. Yes, we may have got away with the penalty decision, but for years we suffered with similar decisions going against us.
"I felt though that getting back to 1-1 was the catalyst for the last 20 minutes and I remember saying to my brother-in-law Stephen, who I watched the game with, the decision for the penalty would either inspire Arsenal or their heads would drop.
"That last 20 minutes was probably the best performance of the season thus far and the desire and will to win is a huge contrast to last season under Mazzarri. Safe to say we would have lost that game last season."
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
Playing Watford away always has the potential to be a tricky match and they have had a great start to the season, sitting up in fourth place.
If we had put in a decent performance and simply just lost to the better side on the day it would have been easier to accept. Instead we failed to make our possession count and didn't test Gomes anywhere near as much as we should have done.
I am sure we'll bounce back to winning ways soon, but the defensive frailties are rather concerning, as against tougher opposition there is even less margin for error and we need to stop conceding such sloppy goals.
Focus now switches to the Europa League and the trip to face Red Star Belgrade. I still find it hard to get too excited by our Europa League fixtures, but it is a competition we definitely need to take seriously as it could be our best route back into the Champions League.
A tough trip to Everton awaits in our next Premier League game and, although winning is crucial, the next games for me are much more about the performance. We really need to up our game, tighten things up in defence and test the opposition goalkeeper a lot more than we have been doing lately.
We need to sort things out and quickly and make sure we get maximum points from our trips to Serbia and Merseyside!
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
Arsenal failed to make the most of their spell in control of the game with Per Mertesacker's opener all we had to show for our efforts. That proved costly as Watford hit back with two goals in the final 20 minutes of the game.
The Hornets were awarded a penalty after Hector Bellerin was adjudged to have fouled Richarlison in the box, but I personally felt it seemed harsh and Arsene Wenger also bemoaned the decision. But we can't hide behind one bad decision as we still could have kicked on and either held out for the draw or, better still, pushed on to get a winner. Instead we again worryingly showed our defensive vulnerability to gift Cleverley far too easy a winning goal at the death.
Apart from a few half chances there wasn't too much to shout about in the first half, with Mohamed Elneny shooting just over from outside the box. That was until the opening goal six minutes before the break as Per Mertesacker powerfully headed home Granit Xhaka's corner.
The goal seemed to spark Arsenal into life as Heurelho Gomes parried Xhaka's strike before Bellerin sent an effort wide. Xhaka tried his luck from distance again before the break, but it failed to cause Gomes too much trouble as the goalkeeper denied him with a rather routine save.
Richarlison shot wide in the early stages of the second half before Arsenal substitute Mesut Ozil very nearly made a decisive impact off the bench. The German international's inch-perfect pass found Alex Iwobi in the box, but Gomes produced a superb one-handed save to tip his strike behind for a corner.
The same two players combined again soon after, but Gomes reacted quickly to block Ozil's shot, although the German should have done much better with his effort in the box. That wasted chance proved costly as Watford levelled the scores 18 minutes from time. There didn't appear to be too much contact with Richarlison in the box, but a penalty was given and Deeney successfully fired home from the spot.
There was still plenty time left to have turned the game back in our favour and we only have ourselves to blame for not doing so. Watford now looked the more likely to get the next goal as Richarlison sent a shot into the side netting and Etienne Capoue's deflected strike hit a post.
But we really should have taken at least a point from this game and the defending for Cleverley's winner was truly awful. Cech made a decent save before Rob Holding blocked the follow-up, but nobody could stop Cleverley from smashing the ball home. The winning goal was definitely avoidable and was a very bad one to concede and it makes the defeat even more frustrating.
OPPOSITION VIEW
Watford fan Paul Caygill admitted his side got lucky with the penalty, but was full of praise for his side's performance in the final 20 minutes of the match.
"It was an interesting game," said Caygill. "I felt we were not creative enough in the first half and gave too much respect.
"Silva got in amongst them at half-time and Deeney when he came on was immense. Yes, we may have got away with the penalty decision, but for years we suffered with similar decisions going against us.
"I felt though that getting back to 1-1 was the catalyst for the last 20 minutes and I remember saying to my brother-in-law Stephen, who I watched the game with, the decision for the penalty would either inspire Arsenal or their heads would drop.
"That last 20 minutes was probably the best performance of the season thus far and the desire and will to win is a huge contrast to last season under Mazzarri. Safe to say we would have lost that game last season."
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
Playing Watford away always has the potential to be a tricky match and they have had a great start to the season, sitting up in fourth place.
If we had put in a decent performance and simply just lost to the better side on the day it would have been easier to accept. Instead we failed to make our possession count and didn't test Gomes anywhere near as much as we should have done.
I am sure we'll bounce back to winning ways soon, but the defensive frailties are rather concerning, as against tougher opposition there is even less margin for error and we need to stop conceding such sloppy goals.
Focus now switches to the Europa League and the trip to face Red Star Belgrade. I still find it hard to get too excited by our Europa League fixtures, but it is a competition we definitely need to take seriously as it could be our best route back into the Champions League.
A tough trip to Everton awaits in our next Premier League game and, although winning is crucial, the next games for me are much more about the performance. We really need to up our game, tighten things up in defence and test the opposition goalkeeper a lot more than we have been doing lately.
We need to sort things out and quickly and make sure we get maximum points from our trips to Serbia and Merseyside!
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
Sunday, 1 October 2017
Another clean sheet as Gunners beat Seagulls
Nacho Monreal netted a rare league goal as Arsenal moved up to fifth going into the international break with a 2-0 home win over Brighton.
It wasn't the most vintage of performances from the Gunners, but Arsene Wenger's men at least kept their winning run of form going on the manager's 21st anniversary at the helm.
In terms of results things are definitely looking up with three wins and a draw in our four league games since the Anfield horror show. To an extent we are showing a decent improvement, especially with the fact we haven't conceded a league goal since the defeat at Liverpool. But looking at the bigger picture we are still realistically not where we would want to be in terms of the title race. The recent results have been just what we needed and the goalless draw at Chelsea was also excellent, but we need to keep this consistency going rather than be the Jekyll and Hyde side we can sometimes be.
Only goal difference is keeping us out the top four and six points away from leaders Manchester City isn't too bad at this early stage of the season, but if it wasn't for earlier blips we could have been in a much better position so we need to make sure kick on and have a strong final three months of 2017.
Back to the match and, although there are no easy matches in the Premier League, some may say we should have really won a fixture like this by a bigger margin. Brighton goalkeeper Mathew Ryan produced some decent saves to keep Arsenal out, but with 25 shots on goal we should be making it count more. When we face the sides currently above us in the table missing the number of chances we did could come at a bigger cost. That said, it was still a good performance and we did what mattered most and got another maximum three-point haul at the Emirates.
Arsenal started strongly and came very close to opening the scoring inside the opening two minutes of the match, but Alexandre Lacazette's powerful strike cannoned back of a post.
The Gunners continued to attack and create chances with Alexis Sanchez and Alex Iwobi forcing saves out of Ryan, albeit it rather routine ones.
But the hosts made no mistake as Monreal opened the scoring with his first league goal in over four years after 17 minutes. Shkodran Mustafi saw his shot cleared off the line before Hector Bellerin's follow-up was blocked, but Monreal was on hand to chest the ball down and score. Brighton appeared to be unhappy with the goal, with some feeling the ball had gone out of play in the build-up, but it seemed okay to me.
Although Arsenal were in control Brighton almost found an equaliser against the run of play, but Solly March's effort hit a post before Lewis Dunk somehow sent the rebound off target.
Iwobi and Sanchez were both denied by Ryan, who then produced an even better save to keep Arsenal out four minutes before the break. Arsenal broke quickly following a Brighton corner and Bellerin passed through to Sead Kolasinac, who in turn set up Ramsey, but the Welshman's effort was superbly kept out by the legs of the goalkeeper.
Davy Pröpper tried to get Brighton back into the game on the stroke of half-time, but the Dutch midfielder sent his shot wide.
Arsenal started the second half strongly with Brighton defender Shane Duffy getting himself in the right place to block Lacazette's effort. At the other end, Dunk's long-range strike was saved by Petr Cech in the Arsenal goal.
Although we were in control of the match 1-0 is far too dangerous a scoreline, so I was relieved when we doubled our advantage through Iwobi after 56 minutes. Great build up play from Lacazette and Ramsey set up Sanchez, who then provided a sublime back-heel assist for Iwobi to fire a shot high and past Ryan.
It could have been three soon after had Dunk not produced an excellent challenge to divert Sanchez's strike behind for a corner. Arsenal continued to dominate with March heading off the line to deny Kolasinac.
Brighton wasted two late chances to get themselves back into the game as substitute Glenn Murray headed into the side netting, while Pröpper curled an effort wide.
OPPOSITION VIEW
Brighton fan Kevin Ticehurst believes his side can still hold their heads high despite the result.
"We didn't disgrace ourselves," said Ticehurst. "We made it hard work for them and on another day we might have scored.
"The first half was a lot better than the second, apart from the last five minutes where we gave it a good go."
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
As much as I love watching my country play, I do find the early season international breaks rather frustrating and I wish we could resume league action sooner to try and continue our winning momentum.
Instead we must wait nearly a fortnight before the trip to Watford and, although it has the potential to be a tricky away match I feel it is one we should be winning.
There are some pluses to the looming international break though as it should give Laurent Koscielny, Mesut Ozil and Danny Welbeck longer to recovery from their injury problems, with none of the trio set to travel with their countries.
Seven games in and we have had a rather mixed start. Four wins, along with an impressive draw at champions Chelsea, gave us reasons to feel positive, but the earlier losses to Stoke and Liverpool show we can still be fragile and have plenty of things to work on.
Let's just hope the right Arsenal turn up when we take to the field at Vicarage Road in around two weeks.
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
It wasn't the most vintage of performances from the Gunners, but Arsene Wenger's men at least kept their winning run of form going on the manager's 21st anniversary at the helm.
In terms of results things are definitely looking up with three wins and a draw in our four league games since the Anfield horror show. To an extent we are showing a decent improvement, especially with the fact we haven't conceded a league goal since the defeat at Liverpool. But looking at the bigger picture we are still realistically not where we would want to be in terms of the title race. The recent results have been just what we needed and the goalless draw at Chelsea was also excellent, but we need to keep this consistency going rather than be the Jekyll and Hyde side we can sometimes be.
Only goal difference is keeping us out the top four and six points away from leaders Manchester City isn't too bad at this early stage of the season, but if it wasn't for earlier blips we could have been in a much better position so we need to make sure kick on and have a strong final three months of 2017.
Back to the match and, although there are no easy matches in the Premier League, some may say we should have really won a fixture like this by a bigger margin. Brighton goalkeeper Mathew Ryan produced some decent saves to keep Arsenal out, but with 25 shots on goal we should be making it count more. When we face the sides currently above us in the table missing the number of chances we did could come at a bigger cost. That said, it was still a good performance and we did what mattered most and got another maximum three-point haul at the Emirates.
Arsenal started strongly and came very close to opening the scoring inside the opening two minutes of the match, but Alexandre Lacazette's powerful strike cannoned back of a post.
The Gunners continued to attack and create chances with Alexis Sanchez and Alex Iwobi forcing saves out of Ryan, albeit it rather routine ones.
But the hosts made no mistake as Monreal opened the scoring with his first league goal in over four years after 17 minutes. Shkodran Mustafi saw his shot cleared off the line before Hector Bellerin's follow-up was blocked, but Monreal was on hand to chest the ball down and score. Brighton appeared to be unhappy with the goal, with some feeling the ball had gone out of play in the build-up, but it seemed okay to me.
Although Arsenal were in control Brighton almost found an equaliser against the run of play, but Solly March's effort hit a post before Lewis Dunk somehow sent the rebound off target.
Iwobi and Sanchez were both denied by Ryan, who then produced an even better save to keep Arsenal out four minutes before the break. Arsenal broke quickly following a Brighton corner and Bellerin passed through to Sead Kolasinac, who in turn set up Ramsey, but the Welshman's effort was superbly kept out by the legs of the goalkeeper.
Davy Pröpper tried to get Brighton back into the game on the stroke of half-time, but the Dutch midfielder sent his shot wide.
Arsenal started the second half strongly with Brighton defender Shane Duffy getting himself in the right place to block Lacazette's effort. At the other end, Dunk's long-range strike was saved by Petr Cech in the Arsenal goal.
Although we were in control of the match 1-0 is far too dangerous a scoreline, so I was relieved when we doubled our advantage through Iwobi after 56 minutes. Great build up play from Lacazette and Ramsey set up Sanchez, who then provided a sublime back-heel assist for Iwobi to fire a shot high and past Ryan.
It could have been three soon after had Dunk not produced an excellent challenge to divert Sanchez's strike behind for a corner. Arsenal continued to dominate with March heading off the line to deny Kolasinac.
Brighton wasted two late chances to get themselves back into the game as substitute Glenn Murray headed into the side netting, while Pröpper curled an effort wide.
OPPOSITION VIEW
Brighton fan Kevin Ticehurst believes his side can still hold their heads high despite the result.
"We didn't disgrace ourselves," said Ticehurst. "We made it hard work for them and on another day we might have scored.
"The first half was a lot better than the second, apart from the last five minutes where we gave it a good go."
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
As much as I love watching my country play, I do find the early season international breaks rather frustrating and I wish we could resume league action sooner to try and continue our winning momentum.
Instead we must wait nearly a fortnight before the trip to Watford and, although it has the potential to be a tricky away match I feel it is one we should be winning.
There are some pluses to the looming international break though as it should give Laurent Koscielny, Mesut Ozil and Danny Welbeck longer to recovery from their injury problems, with none of the trio set to travel with their countries.
Seven games in and we have had a rather mixed start. Four wins, along with an impressive draw at champions Chelsea, gave us reasons to feel positive, but the earlier losses to Stoke and Liverpool show we can still be fragile and have plenty of things to work on.
Let's just hope the right Arsenal turn up when we take to the field at Vicarage Road in around two weeks.
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
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