Credit to Swansea for doing a number on us, but that really was very poor from Arsenal in a 3-1 defeat at the Liberty Stadium.
It was actually looking okay when in-form full-back Nacho Monreal gave Arsenal the lead after 33 minutes, but within 60 seconds Swansea, who are now out of the bottom three with that win, were back in the game through the first of Sam Clucas' double.
I had missed a lot of the first half due to work, which I was planning to catch up on, but I've seen the goals and that's more than enough as reliving that rubbish doesn't really appeal.
For some reason I actually felt fairly hopeful in the second half and, when Henrikh Mkhitaryan came on to make his debut on the hour mark, I wondered if we could turn the game back round. It wasn't to be as Cech gifted Jordan Ayew Swansea's second goal and we didn't even threaten much of a comeback after that. Instead we conceded a third as Clucas grabbed his second of the evening four minutes from time.
I'm not quite sure what Olivier Giroud's introduction off the bench means for his future. Reports suggested he is set to sign for Chelsea and if true it would be sad to see him go, even with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's alleged impending arrival from Borussia Dortmund. If Giroud really was leaving, why was he in the squad? The fact he even played indicates to me he is staying, but god knows what is happening.
Carlos Carvalhal was dismissed by Sheffield Wednesday just before Christmas and fast forward a month and the new Swansea boss has now beaten both Liverpool and us. He seems to have turned things around a bit and given Swansea hope of survival and the Welsh side always have been a tough nut to crack on their own turf. But that is no excuse as with the squad at our disposal we should have done a lot better than that.
Although the result is shocking it is the performance that hurts the most. We didn't test Swansea goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski nearly as much as we should have done and we seemed void of ideas, especially in the second half. There was no real hunger and desire to turn the game back around again as I thought we would at least start to test Fabianski more to get back into it, but we didn't.
Swansea started brightly with Ayew's shot deflecting behind for a corner before Alfie Mawson saw his effort superbly blocked by Aaron Ramsey. Mohamed Elneny produced an excellent tackle to deny Clucas as Swansea continued to push forward, but it was Arsenal who scored the first goal of the game.
It had taken us 30 minutes to even register a shot on goal when Alex Iwobi saw his strike turned around a post by Fabianski, but it wasn't too long before we were ahead. Monreal latched onto a fine pass from Mesut Ozil before guiding the ball beyond Fabianski, but instead of build on the lead we instantly let it slip. Clucas got on the end of a defence-splitting pass from Alfie Mawson before curling an effort beyond Cech as the sides went in level at 1-1 at half-time.
At 1-1 it wasn't a disaster for Arsenal and I expected a big response from us and a decent second half. Instead we looked void of ideas and didn't really create all that much, but Swansea also deserve some credit for nullifying any threat.
But not long after Mkhitaryan entered the action, Swansea took a surprise lead in calamitous circumstances. Shkodran Mustafi passed the ball back to Cech, which in itself was a mistake and careless from the defender, before the Gunners' goalkeeper sliced his clearance straight to Ayew for an easy finish.
Arsenal barely even looked like finding an equaliser even though there was still plenty time to turn the game around. If we had played like I know we have the potential to then that game was more than capable of being turned on its head, but instead we faded with a whimper. Mkhitaryan maybe should have done better with his headed effort that was straight at Fabianksi, but it wouldn't have counted anyway as the linesman had already flagged for offside.
Swansea put the result beyond doubt late on as Ayew crossed for Clucas to score from close range to pile more misery onto Arsene Wenger's men.
OPPOSITION VIEW
Swansea fan Tim James was pleasantly surprised by the result and believes the players are reacting well to their new manager.
"Did we swap kits or something? Because both of those teams were unrecognisable," said James. "Seriously. Sam Clucas. Sam. Bloody. Cluuuuucas. Something has clicked in him against Arsenal and it’s come at just the right time.
"Jordan Ayew played possibly his best game in a Swansea shirt. Okay, a bit of luck for the second goal; but he worked so hard for us all game.
"Mawson was excellent again; which makes me nervous that Arsenal might come in for him in the summer, cause by whatever deity you believe in, they might just need him!
"It’s too early to judge Carlos Carvalhal yet; but the players have reacted well to him. Heads are starting to lift again.
"They say it’s the hope that kills you; well going by this game, I may just die with a smile on my face."
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
The quicker we forget about that game the better, but we do need to take lessons from it too.
Why did the second half go so badly? Only Wenger and the players will know, but it simply isn't good enough and they need to be showing a lot more hunger, desire and pride for the shirt than what we saw at the Liberty Stadium.
Being 23 points away from leaders Manchester City is totally unacceptable and we are already eight points behind fourth-placed Liverpool, so we need to put everything we can into the Europa League if we are to have any remote hope of a return to Champions League football.
A Wembley win and a trophy at the end of the month would be nice, but nothing will paper over the cracks of what has in large parts been a poor season. When Wenger goes I want his reign to be looked back on fondly and for the good times to be remembered, so I think this summer could be time for a change and to start a new chapter. This simply can't go on and, let's just hope the increasingly likely arrival of Aubameyang can give us a dramatic change in fortune, because we are in a mess!
I think we'll have Wenger for one more season though and let's just pray we can turn the performance around and play much better when we host Everton in our next league game.
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
Tuesday, 30 January 2018
Wednesday, 24 January 2018
Granit fires Gunners into final
Some may say it's only the League Cup and, although there is some truth in that, it doesn't stop our 2-1 aggregate semi-final win over Chelsea feeling very sweet!
I can't deny I will always prefer the FA Cup and it still hurts that we got eliminated in round three by Nottingham Forest, but the Carabao Cup presents a great chance of silverware and must be taken very seriously.
We will be huge underdogs against Manchester City in the Wembley showpiece, but there's always a chance and you just never know on the day. At times the semi-final looked like it was going to go against us, but we upped our game in the second half.
Facing Chelsea is always difficult whether it is a league game, in the cup, or a friendly. Any game against Chelsea means something and both sides always want to get one over on each other, so I'm delighted we got the bragging rights this time thanks to an own goal and Granit Xhaka's winner.
Nacho Monreal put in another solid performance and had a key role in the equaliser, while Alexandre Lacazette was one of the players to impress me the most in this cup clash. The French striker didn't get a goal, but he put in strong physical performance and never gave up as he continually tried to battle for the ball.
The teams went into the game with the tie level after a goalless first leg and Chelsea started brightly, opening the scoring through Eden Hazard after just seven minutes. Pedro had already seen his headed effort ruled out for offside before setting up Hazard to calmly shoot past David Ospina in a one-on-one.
Arsenal tried to hit back with Jack Wilshere forcing a low save from Willy Caballero in the Chelsea goal, but the Gunners didn't have to wait too long to equalise following a lucky own goal after 12 minutes. Monreal's header deflected in a pinball like fashion off both Marcos Alonso and Antonio Rudiger before hitting the back of the net.
Willian dragged a shot wide for the visitors before being forced off through injury on the half hour mark, with former Everton midfielder Ross Barkley coming on in his place.
The hosts wasted chances to take the lead before the break, with Xhaka's free-kick being tipped over the crossbar by Caballero before Mesut Ozil's shot on the turn deflected just wide.
There was a slice of good fortune about Arsenal's winner on the hour mark, but they all count and I was delighted to see Xhaka's effort hit the back of the net. Lacazette did well to work space down the wing before his cross deflected off the leg of Rudiger for Xhaka to score from close range.
Arsenal really should have put the result beyond doubt 15 minutes from time and, although Alex Iwobi could have done better, I think Caballero deserves a lot of credit for a decent save. To be fair to Iwobi he seemed to be working harder to get the ball and I thought his performance was improved compared to other recent games. But when he latched onto a pass from Ozil and found himself unmarked, his first-time shot was saved by the legs of Caballero.
Alonso flashed the ball across the face of goal, while Monreal cleared the danger from a loose ball at the far post as Arsenal hung on to their lead.
I expected more late drama considering the calibre of the opposition, but Alonso couldn't keep his late free-kick down and we showed more physicality in the second-half to clinch the win. Chelsea had probably bossed the first half, but we started to come into our own in the second and now on we march on to the Wembley final.
OPPOSITION VIEW
Chelsea fan John Feeney believes his side are lacking creativity and lost to the better team on the night at the Emirates.
"Chelsea started the brighter of the two teams and fully deserved their early lead through Hazard," said Feeney. "Although both of Arsenal's goals were quite fortunate due to the deflections, they were the better team for most of the game and had quite a few chances, which forced good saves from Caballero.
"I thought Wilshere was impressive for Arsenal and they managed to control Chelsea quite easily after Willian was forced off injured - hitting long balls towards Hazard and Pedro was a clear sign that this team is lacking creativity at the moment and could do with a change away from the five at the back."
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
There is no doubting that Manchester City are firm favourites for the final and we'll have to face Pep Guardiola's men twice in a week with the league game looming soon after.
It is great to have a cup final to look forward to despite the fact it is in a so-called "lesser" competition, but I am delighted that we have the chance of silverware to at least give us something to cheer about in what has been a frustrating season.
We don't have a game at the weekend so have a bit longer to prepare for our next one - a trip to Swansea. This match could see new signing Henrikh Mkhitaryan make his debut for the club after he joined in a swap deal, which saw Alexis Sanchez move to Manchester United.
Yes, Manchester United got the better deal and I am gutted to see Sanchez go, but Mkhitaryan could yet be a good fit and I don't want to pass much judgement on him until he's at least played a few games for us.
Whatever happens for the rest of the season and yes, I know there will be more frustration to come, let's at least pause for a minute and say...We are going to Wembley!
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
I can't deny I will always prefer the FA Cup and it still hurts that we got eliminated in round three by Nottingham Forest, but the Carabao Cup presents a great chance of silverware and must be taken very seriously.
We will be huge underdogs against Manchester City in the Wembley showpiece, but there's always a chance and you just never know on the day. At times the semi-final looked like it was going to go against us, but we upped our game in the second half.
Facing Chelsea is always difficult whether it is a league game, in the cup, or a friendly. Any game against Chelsea means something and both sides always want to get one over on each other, so I'm delighted we got the bragging rights this time thanks to an own goal and Granit Xhaka's winner.
Nacho Monreal put in another solid performance and had a key role in the equaliser, while Alexandre Lacazette was one of the players to impress me the most in this cup clash. The French striker didn't get a goal, but he put in strong physical performance and never gave up as he continually tried to battle for the ball.
The teams went into the game with the tie level after a goalless first leg and Chelsea started brightly, opening the scoring through Eden Hazard after just seven minutes. Pedro had already seen his headed effort ruled out for offside before setting up Hazard to calmly shoot past David Ospina in a one-on-one.
Arsenal tried to hit back with Jack Wilshere forcing a low save from Willy Caballero in the Chelsea goal, but the Gunners didn't have to wait too long to equalise following a lucky own goal after 12 minutes. Monreal's header deflected in a pinball like fashion off both Marcos Alonso and Antonio Rudiger before hitting the back of the net.
Willian dragged a shot wide for the visitors before being forced off through injury on the half hour mark, with former Everton midfielder Ross Barkley coming on in his place.
The hosts wasted chances to take the lead before the break, with Xhaka's free-kick being tipped over the crossbar by Caballero before Mesut Ozil's shot on the turn deflected just wide.
There was a slice of good fortune about Arsenal's winner on the hour mark, but they all count and I was delighted to see Xhaka's effort hit the back of the net. Lacazette did well to work space down the wing before his cross deflected off the leg of Rudiger for Xhaka to score from close range.
Arsenal really should have put the result beyond doubt 15 minutes from time and, although Alex Iwobi could have done better, I think Caballero deserves a lot of credit for a decent save. To be fair to Iwobi he seemed to be working harder to get the ball and I thought his performance was improved compared to other recent games. But when he latched onto a pass from Ozil and found himself unmarked, his first-time shot was saved by the legs of Caballero.
Alonso flashed the ball across the face of goal, while Monreal cleared the danger from a loose ball at the far post as Arsenal hung on to their lead.
I expected more late drama considering the calibre of the opposition, but Alonso couldn't keep his late free-kick down and we showed more physicality in the second-half to clinch the win. Chelsea had probably bossed the first half, but we started to come into our own in the second and now on we march on to the Wembley final.
OPPOSITION VIEW
Chelsea fan John Feeney believes his side are lacking creativity and lost to the better team on the night at the Emirates.
"Chelsea started the brighter of the two teams and fully deserved their early lead through Hazard," said Feeney. "Although both of Arsenal's goals were quite fortunate due to the deflections, they were the better team for most of the game and had quite a few chances, which forced good saves from Caballero.
"I thought Wilshere was impressive for Arsenal and they managed to control Chelsea quite easily after Willian was forced off injured - hitting long balls towards Hazard and Pedro was a clear sign that this team is lacking creativity at the moment and could do with a change away from the five at the back."
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
There is no doubting that Manchester City are firm favourites for the final and we'll have to face Pep Guardiola's men twice in a week with the league game looming soon after.
It is great to have a cup final to look forward to despite the fact it is in a so-called "lesser" competition, but I am delighted that we have the chance of silverware to at least give us something to cheer about in what has been a frustrating season.
We don't have a game at the weekend so have a bit longer to prepare for our next one - a trip to Swansea. This match could see new signing Henrikh Mkhitaryan make his debut for the club after he joined in a swap deal, which saw Alexis Sanchez move to Manchester United.
Yes, Manchester United got the better deal and I am gutted to see Sanchez go, but Mkhitaryan could yet be a good fit and I don't want to pass much judgement on him until he's at least played a few games for us.
Whatever happens for the rest of the season and yes, I know there will be more frustration to come, let's at least pause for a minute and say...We are going to Wembley!
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
Sunday, 21 January 2018
Blistering start sees Gunners down Eagles
With transfer uncertainty surrounding the club, it was good to see an improvement on the pitch as Arsenal beat Crystal Palace 4-1 at the Emirates.
The Gunners blew their London rivals away with four goals inside the opening 25 minutes and Nacho Monreal in particular was excellent during that dominant spell with his header and two assists.
2018 hasn't been great for us in the Premier League so far because after the credible 2-2 draw against Chelsea, we lost at Bournemouth, as well as being eliminated from the FA Cup by Nottingham Forest. So this result came as a big relief and the first-half display especially was a lot more like how we should be playing.
If, and it's a big if, we can pull off some of the rumoured transfers and contracts then this month might not be so bad after all, although we are still too far off the pace in the league and this can't be ignored.
It is looking increasingly likely that Alexis Sanchez will move to Manchester United in a swap deal that will see Henrikh Mkhitaryan join us. Although the Armenian midfielder is a decent player and could be a good fit, it is obviously disappointing to be losing a player of Sanchez's calibre. Maybe Arsene Wenger should have done more to tie him down to a contract before the season started, but you also can't force a player to stay. I'll still be sad to see him go, but we proved against Palace we can fire in the goals without him. What is more encouraging is the news that Mesut Ozil and Jack Wilshere appear to look likely to sign new contracts at the club. The situations could totally change before the end of the month and it is hard to tell whether it will happen, but at least we have hope.
The transfer rumours of Borussia Dortmund striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang coming to Arsenal appear to be strengthening and if we pull this one off it would be superb. It still wouldn't fully make up for selling Sanchez to a rival, but he is a great player and it would help soften the blow. I am normally an optimist, but I won't believe this one until it is officially confirmed by the club as we've been through this before and I don't want to get my hopes up yet. It would be one hell of a signing if we can secure it though!
Back to the match and it took just six minutes for Arsenal to open the scoring. Alex Iwobi's shot was tipped over the crossbar by Palace goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey. From the resulting Granit Xhaka corner Monreal broke free of his marker to head home.
Monreal was involved again as the Gunners doubled their advantage four minutes later. Palace failed to clear their lines and Monreal ran into the box before passing for Iwobi to score from close range.
Three minutes later and it was 3-0 and Arsenal were in dreamland. Why can't we be this clinical all the time? From another Xhaka corner, Monreal put a low ball back in for Laurent Koscielny to poke home an easy finish.
It was excellent to see Alexandre Lacazette back among the goals and hopefully his 22nd-minute strike can be the start of a good scoring run for the France international. A great team move ended with Wilshere passing for Ozil, whose backheel set up Lacazette to place a low strike into the bottom corner. It could have been five soon after had Iwobi not shot straight at Hennessey.
At the other end, Bakary Sakho shrugged off the defence before shooting straight at Petr Cech in the Arsenal goal.
Monreal was having a superb first half, but the defender was unfortunately forced off with a hamstring problem after 34 minutes. The post-match comments from Wenger indicate the Spanish full-back was only taken off as a precaution, which is a relief.
Monreal's replacement Ainsley Maitland-Niles has impressed in some of his performances this season, but he far too easily gifted possession to Palace shortly before half-time. Fortunately for Arsenal it didn't lead to a goal as Wilfried Zaha's shot deflected wide.
Crystal Palace wasted a great chance to score their first goal of the afternoon on the hour mark. Christian Benteke latched onto a fine pass from Sakho, but Cech spread himself well and excellently blocked the shot.
Arsenal tried to add to their lead in the second half, but Mohamed Elneny saw his shot parried by Hennessey, while Hector Bellerin's volley was later blocked by the defence and went behind for a corner.
Palace managed to grab a consolation goal 13 minutes from time after Maitland-Niles again casually gave the ball away, and from the attacking move that followed Palace won a corner. From Yohan Cabaye's resulting corner, Benteke headed the ball on and Milivojevic excellently controlled the ball with his chest before firing a volley past Cech.
Arsenal nearly went down the other end to restore their four-goal advantage, but Lacazette slipped as he shot which allowed Hennessy to block the shot. The French striker had another chance from the follow-up, but it was at too nice a height for the goalkeeper, who made a comfortable save.
Lacazette was also denied in stoppage time when he went down in the box - the Palace player appeared to get the ball and the man, but there didn't look to be too much in it and nothing was given.
OPPOSITION VIEW
Crystal Palace fan Chris Want wasn't too worried by the result as he doesn't think it will define their season.
"Palace have been on form recently, but the Emirates is always a difficult place to go," said Want. "Arsenal blew us out of the water in the first 20 minutes.
"We improved after half-time, but it was too little too late. I felt as a Palace fan that with our recent good form, and Arsenal's recent poor form, that we had a chance, but Arsenal completely outclassed us.
"Our season won't be defined by these type of games though, thankfully."
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
The result, along with Tottenham's 1-1 draw at Southampton, means we are now three points behind our fifth-placed bitter rivals.
We are five points behind Liverpool so if we are to have any hope of a top-four finish there is no margin for error and we can't be dropping any more points. Even if we were to achieve fourth, it wouldn't really be good enough as in too many games we have been below par.
Our last league game of January sees us travel to Swansea, but before we can even start thinking about that we must focus all our attentions on the League Cup semi-final second leg.
Yes, admittedly it isn't all that great a competition, but it is still silverware and we need to take it very seriously. Winning any trophy is a good feeling and any win against Chelsea is always sweet, just like any defeat to them hurts. This isn't just about the cup, it is about bragging rights over Chelsea and we need to make sure we beat them.
We may not have got an away goal, but we also stopped them scoring and have home advantage with the tie locked at 0-0 going into the second leg. Like us Chelsea scored four in their last match so both defences will need to be on top form. It is a hard one to call, but let's hope we can do it.
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
The Gunners blew their London rivals away with four goals inside the opening 25 minutes and Nacho Monreal in particular was excellent during that dominant spell with his header and two assists.
2018 hasn't been great for us in the Premier League so far because after the credible 2-2 draw against Chelsea, we lost at Bournemouth, as well as being eliminated from the FA Cup by Nottingham Forest. So this result came as a big relief and the first-half display especially was a lot more like how we should be playing.
If, and it's a big if, we can pull off some of the rumoured transfers and contracts then this month might not be so bad after all, although we are still too far off the pace in the league and this can't be ignored.
It is looking increasingly likely that Alexis Sanchez will move to Manchester United in a swap deal that will see Henrikh Mkhitaryan join us. Although the Armenian midfielder is a decent player and could be a good fit, it is obviously disappointing to be losing a player of Sanchez's calibre. Maybe Arsene Wenger should have done more to tie him down to a contract before the season started, but you also can't force a player to stay. I'll still be sad to see him go, but we proved against Palace we can fire in the goals without him. What is more encouraging is the news that Mesut Ozil and Jack Wilshere appear to look likely to sign new contracts at the club. The situations could totally change before the end of the month and it is hard to tell whether it will happen, but at least we have hope.
The transfer rumours of Borussia Dortmund striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang coming to Arsenal appear to be strengthening and if we pull this one off it would be superb. It still wouldn't fully make up for selling Sanchez to a rival, but he is a great player and it would help soften the blow. I am normally an optimist, but I won't believe this one until it is officially confirmed by the club as we've been through this before and I don't want to get my hopes up yet. It would be one hell of a signing if we can secure it though!
Back to the match and it took just six minutes for Arsenal to open the scoring. Alex Iwobi's shot was tipped over the crossbar by Palace goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey. From the resulting Granit Xhaka corner Monreal broke free of his marker to head home.
Monreal was involved again as the Gunners doubled their advantage four minutes later. Palace failed to clear their lines and Monreal ran into the box before passing for Iwobi to score from close range.
Three minutes later and it was 3-0 and Arsenal were in dreamland. Why can't we be this clinical all the time? From another Xhaka corner, Monreal put a low ball back in for Laurent Koscielny to poke home an easy finish.
It was excellent to see Alexandre Lacazette back among the goals and hopefully his 22nd-minute strike can be the start of a good scoring run for the France international. A great team move ended with Wilshere passing for Ozil, whose backheel set up Lacazette to place a low strike into the bottom corner. It could have been five soon after had Iwobi not shot straight at Hennessey.
At the other end, Bakary Sakho shrugged off the defence before shooting straight at Petr Cech in the Arsenal goal.
Monreal was having a superb first half, but the defender was unfortunately forced off with a hamstring problem after 34 minutes. The post-match comments from Wenger indicate the Spanish full-back was only taken off as a precaution, which is a relief.
Monreal's replacement Ainsley Maitland-Niles has impressed in some of his performances this season, but he far too easily gifted possession to Palace shortly before half-time. Fortunately for Arsenal it didn't lead to a goal as Wilfried Zaha's shot deflected wide.
Crystal Palace wasted a great chance to score their first goal of the afternoon on the hour mark. Christian Benteke latched onto a fine pass from Sakho, but Cech spread himself well and excellently blocked the shot.
Arsenal tried to add to their lead in the second half, but Mohamed Elneny saw his shot parried by Hennessey, while Hector Bellerin's volley was later blocked by the defence and went behind for a corner.
Palace managed to grab a consolation goal 13 minutes from time after Maitland-Niles again casually gave the ball away, and from the attacking move that followed Palace won a corner. From Yohan Cabaye's resulting corner, Benteke headed the ball on and Milivojevic excellently controlled the ball with his chest before firing a volley past Cech.
Arsenal nearly went down the other end to restore their four-goal advantage, but Lacazette slipped as he shot which allowed Hennessy to block the shot. The French striker had another chance from the follow-up, but it was at too nice a height for the goalkeeper, who made a comfortable save.
Lacazette was also denied in stoppage time when he went down in the box - the Palace player appeared to get the ball and the man, but there didn't look to be too much in it and nothing was given.
OPPOSITION VIEW
Crystal Palace fan Chris Want wasn't too worried by the result as he doesn't think it will define their season.
"Palace have been on form recently, but the Emirates is always a difficult place to go," said Want. "Arsenal blew us out of the water in the first 20 minutes.
"We improved after half-time, but it was too little too late. I felt as a Palace fan that with our recent good form, and Arsenal's recent poor form, that we had a chance, but Arsenal completely outclassed us.
"Our season won't be defined by these type of games though, thankfully."
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
The result, along with Tottenham's 1-1 draw at Southampton, means we are now three points behind our fifth-placed bitter rivals.
We are five points behind Liverpool so if we are to have any hope of a top-four finish there is no margin for error and we can't be dropping any more points. Even if we were to achieve fourth, it wouldn't really be good enough as in too many games we have been below par.
Our last league game of January sees us travel to Swansea, but before we can even start thinking about that we must focus all our attentions on the League Cup semi-final second leg.
Yes, admittedly it isn't all that great a competition, but it is still silverware and we need to take it very seriously. Winning any trophy is a good feeling and any win against Chelsea is always sweet, just like any defeat to them hurts. This isn't just about the cup, it is about bragging rights over Chelsea and we need to make sure we beat them.
We may not have got an away goal, but we also stopped them scoring and have home advantage with the tie locked at 0-0 going into the second leg. Like us Chelsea scored four in their last match so both defences will need to be on top form. It is a hard one to call, but let's hope we can do it.
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
Sunday, 14 January 2018
Quickfire goals see Cherries punish Gunners
Alexis Sanchez being left out of the squad more or less confirmed his departure is looming and a frustrating 2-1 defeat at Bournemouth compounded Arsenal's woes in what has been a largely poor season.
Sanchez looks set to join one of the two Manchester clubs and with his future at the club looking bleak it was maybe understandable that he was left out. If he had played would his head have been in the game? Well that is up for debate, but something that isn't is his footballing ability and how he can change the game in the blink of an eye, so maybe it could have been worth a risk.
Mesut Ozil was missing through injury and the absence of the duo was definitely felt and also being without Laurent Koscielny, Nacho Monreal and Olivier Giroud didn't help matters either. But the starting 11 that was put out should still have been good enough to put up a better challenge against Bournemouth than the one that we did.
Manager Arsene Wenger got it wrong and paid the price in what was a poor display, but the players must also take responsibility as they are in control of what they do with the ball on the pitch. Other than Jack Wilshere, who once again put in a decent shift, not enough of the players showed enough hunger and desire to get the result. When we went 2-1 down there was still 15 minutes left to turn things around, but we didn't look close to doing so and that was so frustrating to see.
Even finishing fourth is fading further away as we are now eight points behind Chelsea and even fifth-placed Tottenham have a five-point cushion over us, which is simply not good enough.
We are now three league games without a win and five in all competitions, although three were draws including a very good 2-2 against Chelsea, but this doesn't mask the frustration of a side clearly lacking in confidence. For a side that has often in the past played great football to watch, we seemed to be struggling for ideas and didn't really get going in attack for long enough spells in the game.
It wasn't the greatest game to watch, but it was more the manner of the performance than the actual result that hurt the most. Both of Bournemouth's goals were avoidable and soft ones to concede and we didn't create nearly enough in attack.
The best chance of the opening 15 minutes fell to Ainsley Maitland-Niles, who after taking a couple of touches hit a decent strike against the crossbar.
Asmir Begovic kept the scores level with two decent saves as the Cherries goalkeeper parried Alex Iwobi's deflected strike behind before blocking Danny Welbeck's shot.
At the other end Adam Smith shot straight at Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech before the Gunners survived a claim for handball when the ball appeared to hit Iwobi's elbow.
Calum Chambers produced a superb diving block in the box to deny Bournemouth's Dan Gosling before Arsenal took the lead within seven minutes of the restart. Iwobi released Hector Bellerin with an excellent through pass and, although Begovic got something on the full-back's shot, he couldn't stop it from squeezing over the line. It was a tad fortunate, but they all count, and we really should have been more composed on the ball to preserve our lead.
If it had been one of those days that ended with a scrappy 1-0 win I'd have taken it, but instead of galvanising us the goal didn't seem to even kick us into gear.
Bournemouth then stunned us with two goals in less than five minutes. Callum Wilson produced a great striker's finish to get on the end of Ryan Fraser's ball into the box to fire home. It was a great pass and Wilson did well to get there ahead of Cech, but maybe the Arsenal goalkeeper should have done better with it.
There was definitely no denying that Cech and his defence were at fault for the second and what a sloppy goal it was to concede. Arsenal failed to clear and Wilson controlled the ball before it fell to Ibe, who was in the right place at the right time to beat Cech with a low finish for his first goal for the club.
Jack Wilshere shot wide as Arsenal tried to muster a response but, in truth, we barely created anything in the final 15 minutes and the lack of fight and desire to try and get back on level terms was very disappointing to see.
Rather than looking at which fixtures to be wary of in a run of games, we now find ourselves wondering where the wins are going to come from as confidence is low at the moment. We need some big wins soon to have any chance of finishing in the top four, although I fear the race for fourth is realistically nearly already over anyway.
OPPOSITION VIEW
Bournemouth fan Liam Searle was delighted with the result in a game he had expected to be tougher, but felt Arsenal had bottled it in the second half.
"Well compared to the fairly sure position we were in for the return fixture in August, we had less reason to be cautious and it showed," said Searle. "Late in the first half it felt like the pressure our defence was under was starting to lower and typically Fraser looked like the best chance of nicking a goal, whether from him directly or through one of his many decent balls into the 18-yard box.
"And then Bellerin scored. At which point it felt like a valiant attempt to secure a brave draw had gone to pot right up until the point Wilson scored, from the very sort of cross I'd praised Fraser for all season. Even then, Ibe did even better, scoring from a pathetically easy move which suggested Arsenal hadn't got a handle on the game. That even Jamie Redknapp noted that in the commentary is quite damning on how simple it was.
"I was slightly nervy as a Bournemouth fan at the end, but when Wilson scored it felt like Arsenal had bottled it, and in hindsight Arsenal offered nothing for most of the second half.
"Four points off the bottom three now, and when I'd have been happy with a draw this was a great example of those last few wins giving the team a little boost."
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
With Sanchez likely to leave and the future of Ozil uncertain, Wenger must enter the transfer market and make a few big signings if we are to have any chance of turning our season around.
Manchester City lost their unbeaten run in a 4-3 defeat at Liverpool, but they are still worthy of their place at the top of the league and to be 23 points behind them is quite frankly embarrassing.
I'm not saying we should be matching City as very few teams are, but we should at least be putting up a better fight in the title race instead of not being anywhere close to being in it and, even fading very fast out of a race for the top four.
Wenger's time at the club is reaching a close, whether it is this summer or next, but for however long he is still in charge he needs to improve and change his tactics. The players must take responsibility for their own performances once on the pitch and some of them need to take a long hard look at themselves, but Wenger also isn't helping and we are in a downward spiral and it hurts.
The League Cup and Europa League are still possible. Is that good enough on its own? No, of course not, but we need to take them both very seriously and try to somehow lift the spirits within the squad so Wenger can at least bow out on a higher note than he's at now. We are in disarray and our next match sees us travel to Crystal Palace and I don't feel as confident as I normally would ahead of this sort of game, which shows the rut we are in.
Our home form has been far better than our away performances so we should get a result, but I am taking nothing for granted, and Wenger and the players need to up their game massively as it is going to be a long final four months of the season.
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
Wednesday, 10 January 2018
VAR used as Gunners draw at Bridge
VAR stole some of the headlines as the first leg of Arsenal's Carabao Cup semi-final against Chelsea ended goalless at Stamford Bridge.
In some ways I think the use of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) is a good thing as it will help reduce controversy and wrong decisions ruining big matches. But the flip side is the delay that it causes as the time taken to reach the decision was maybe longer than most would have wanted. At least it meant no penalty decisions cost us this time, but here is my take on them!
Referee Martin Atkinson referred to the VAR after Victor Moses caught Ainsley Maitland-Niles boot in the first half. The decision was no penalty and I have to say I agree with the decision even though it went against us. There was maybe a very slight clip of the boot, but definitely not enough contact. VAR was needed again very late in the second half after Danny Welbeck's challenge on Cesc Fabregas, which again resulted in a no penalty decision. Fabgregas didn't seem to appeal much at the time and that's because I don't think it was a foul and there wasn't really that much in it.
The decision for Alexis Sanchez not to be included in the starting line-up also raised several eyebrows. After not being in the squad at all in the FA Cup defeat at Nottingham Forest I was sure he would start, and being forced to settle for a place on the bench made many wonder if there was more truth in the rumours linking him with a move to Manchester City. Arsene Wenger's post-match comments indicate it was nothing to do with transfers and it was more a case of needing to defend more and to bring him on for the last 30 minutes. Regardless of tactics and what the competition is, this was a semi-final and he shouldn't be left out. Obviously I hope he stays, despite him not being in the best of form of late, but I'm not sure whether he will...time will tell!
Wenger also confirmed after the match that Francis Coquelin will join Valencia. Although he hasn't been in the team as much of late and we can't blame him for leaving to get more game time, it is sad to see him go. When he returned from a loan spell at Charlton and burst into the first team he put in a string of solid displays and, if it hadn't been for Jack Wilshere's return to the side, I would have been calling for him to start a lot more. He will be a loss so we best make sure we replace him. Speaking of Wilshere, he limped off shortly before the hour mark, although Wenger doesn't think the ankle injury seems too bad at first glance so let's hope he isn't out for very long. Either way Wenger absolutely must enter the transfer market and bring in a few players before the end of the month!
As for the match, a goalless draw away at the Bridge is a pretty decent result. Yes, it means we didn't get an away goal, but in two games at Stamford Bridge this season Chelsea have failed to score against us and at least the defence was a lot more solid than it was in the recent shambles at Nottingham Forest.
Both sides had chances in the first half, but it was Arsenal's David Ospina who was the busier of the two goalkeepers. Alvaro Morata shot into the side netting from a tight angle before Ospina twice denied Moses.
At the other end Alexandre Lacazette blazed an effort over the crossbar following a fine pass by Wilshere, while Alex Iwobi's strike was acrobatically pushed away by Thibaut Courtois in the Chelsea goal.
Moses' challenge on Maitland-Niles was then referred to VAR before Chelsea wasted the final chance of the first half. Cesar Azpilicueta crossed for Fabregas, who had time and space to get a decent header in, but his effort was straight into the arms of Ospina.
N'Golo Kante saw a powerful shot blocked by one of his own players early in the second half before very nearly setting up a goal. The French midfielder's cross was flicked on by Marcos Alonso before Andreas Christensen somehow sent his header over the crossbar.
Morata's shot from outside the box was well parried by Ospina before the Colombia international raced out to prevent the Spanish striker from scoring soon after.
Ospina nearly gifted Chelsea a goal when he came out and missed a corner, but an unchallenged Christensen sent his header wide.
Although Chelsea were having the better of the chances, Arsenal were still very much in the match so it was a shame to see Iwobi poorly waste his opportunity. Iwobi ran at the defence and got himself into a good position, but his shot didn't match the build-up as it tamely rolled straight at Courtois.
Chelsea continued to create chances with Willian's shot outside the box forcing a diving catch from Ospina before Arsenal's number two goalkeeper got down well to save Alonso's long-range effort. At the other end Granit Xhaka tried his luck from long-range, but his effort was comfortably saved by Courtois.
As the match entered it's final minutes Fabregas' low ball in was deflected onto a post and behind before VAR deemed that Welbeck's challenge on the Spanish midfielder was fair, so the game ended goalless.
OPPOSITION VIEW
Chelsea fan John Feeney believes it was a complete contrast to the more entertaining league match the two sides had played out earlier this month.
"It was quite a tame game in comparison to the league match as both teams were sloppy and gave away a lot of possession," said Feeney. "Arsenal were generally the more defensive of the two teams and stuck to their game plan well - Mustafi and Xhaka stopped quite a few breaks and half chances.
"Chelsea still had some good chances to win the game such as Christensen having two clear headers on goal and will be disappointed to not build a first leg lead, especially as Arsenal had more of their first choice players missing."
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
We didn't get an away goal, but we also stopped Chelsea scoring, so the semi-final tie is still very much alive ahead of the second leg at the Emirates.
Chelsea are more than capable of scoring in the second leg, which would give them an away goal, so we need to make sure our attacking game is much better in the next meeting.
It was good to see the defence much tighter and a goalless draw against the Premier League champions is a decent result, but we didn't do enough in attack and need to hope that home advantage wakes our forward players up more in the second leg.
This semi-final is still very hard to call and I have no idea which way it will go, but at least we have given ourselves hope and not faded out with a whimper like we did in the FA Cup recently.
The prospect of silverware, albeit a smaller trophy in the League Cup, is still possible so let's keep our fingers crossed that we can reach the Wembley final.
We must now focus our attention back on the Premier League. Sixth place and 23 points away from leaders Manchester City is quite frankly not good enough. We are two points off bitter rivals Tottenham and five off fourth-placed Liverpool, so if we are to have any hope of a top four finish nothing other than two wins will do from the next two matches against Bournemouth and Crystal Palace.
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
In some ways I think the use of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) is a good thing as it will help reduce controversy and wrong decisions ruining big matches. But the flip side is the delay that it causes as the time taken to reach the decision was maybe longer than most would have wanted. At least it meant no penalty decisions cost us this time, but here is my take on them!
Referee Martin Atkinson referred to the VAR after Victor Moses caught Ainsley Maitland-Niles boot in the first half. The decision was no penalty and I have to say I agree with the decision even though it went against us. There was maybe a very slight clip of the boot, but definitely not enough contact. VAR was needed again very late in the second half after Danny Welbeck's challenge on Cesc Fabregas, which again resulted in a no penalty decision. Fabgregas didn't seem to appeal much at the time and that's because I don't think it was a foul and there wasn't really that much in it.
The decision for Alexis Sanchez not to be included in the starting line-up also raised several eyebrows. After not being in the squad at all in the FA Cup defeat at Nottingham Forest I was sure he would start, and being forced to settle for a place on the bench made many wonder if there was more truth in the rumours linking him with a move to Manchester City. Arsene Wenger's post-match comments indicate it was nothing to do with transfers and it was more a case of needing to defend more and to bring him on for the last 30 minutes. Regardless of tactics and what the competition is, this was a semi-final and he shouldn't be left out. Obviously I hope he stays, despite him not being in the best of form of late, but I'm not sure whether he will...time will tell!
Wenger also confirmed after the match that Francis Coquelin will join Valencia. Although he hasn't been in the team as much of late and we can't blame him for leaving to get more game time, it is sad to see him go. When he returned from a loan spell at Charlton and burst into the first team he put in a string of solid displays and, if it hadn't been for Jack Wilshere's return to the side, I would have been calling for him to start a lot more. He will be a loss so we best make sure we replace him. Speaking of Wilshere, he limped off shortly before the hour mark, although Wenger doesn't think the ankle injury seems too bad at first glance so let's hope he isn't out for very long. Either way Wenger absolutely must enter the transfer market and bring in a few players before the end of the month!
As for the match, a goalless draw away at the Bridge is a pretty decent result. Yes, it means we didn't get an away goal, but in two games at Stamford Bridge this season Chelsea have failed to score against us and at least the defence was a lot more solid than it was in the recent shambles at Nottingham Forest.
Both sides had chances in the first half, but it was Arsenal's David Ospina who was the busier of the two goalkeepers. Alvaro Morata shot into the side netting from a tight angle before Ospina twice denied Moses.
At the other end Alexandre Lacazette blazed an effort over the crossbar following a fine pass by Wilshere, while Alex Iwobi's strike was acrobatically pushed away by Thibaut Courtois in the Chelsea goal.
Moses' challenge on Maitland-Niles was then referred to VAR before Chelsea wasted the final chance of the first half. Cesar Azpilicueta crossed for Fabregas, who had time and space to get a decent header in, but his effort was straight into the arms of Ospina.
N'Golo Kante saw a powerful shot blocked by one of his own players early in the second half before very nearly setting up a goal. The French midfielder's cross was flicked on by Marcos Alonso before Andreas Christensen somehow sent his header over the crossbar.
Morata's shot from outside the box was well parried by Ospina before the Colombia international raced out to prevent the Spanish striker from scoring soon after.
Ospina nearly gifted Chelsea a goal when he came out and missed a corner, but an unchallenged Christensen sent his header wide.
Although Chelsea were having the better of the chances, Arsenal were still very much in the match so it was a shame to see Iwobi poorly waste his opportunity. Iwobi ran at the defence and got himself into a good position, but his shot didn't match the build-up as it tamely rolled straight at Courtois.
Chelsea continued to create chances with Willian's shot outside the box forcing a diving catch from Ospina before Arsenal's number two goalkeeper got down well to save Alonso's long-range effort. At the other end Granit Xhaka tried his luck from long-range, but his effort was comfortably saved by Courtois.
As the match entered it's final minutes Fabregas' low ball in was deflected onto a post and behind before VAR deemed that Welbeck's challenge on the Spanish midfielder was fair, so the game ended goalless.
OPPOSITION VIEW
Chelsea fan John Feeney believes it was a complete contrast to the more entertaining league match the two sides had played out earlier this month.
"It was quite a tame game in comparison to the league match as both teams were sloppy and gave away a lot of possession," said Feeney. "Arsenal were generally the more defensive of the two teams and stuck to their game plan well - Mustafi and Xhaka stopped quite a few breaks and half chances.
"Chelsea still had some good chances to win the game such as Christensen having two clear headers on goal and will be disappointed to not build a first leg lead, especially as Arsenal had more of their first choice players missing."
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
We didn't get an away goal, but we also stopped Chelsea scoring, so the semi-final tie is still very much alive ahead of the second leg at the Emirates.
Chelsea are more than capable of scoring in the second leg, which would give them an away goal, so we need to make sure our attacking game is much better in the next meeting.
It was good to see the defence much tighter and a goalless draw against the Premier League champions is a decent result, but we didn't do enough in attack and need to hope that home advantage wakes our forward players up more in the second leg.
This semi-final is still very hard to call and I have no idea which way it will go, but at least we have given ourselves hope and not faded out with a whimper like we did in the FA Cup recently.
The prospect of silverware, albeit a smaller trophy in the League Cup, is still possible so let's keep our fingers crossed that we can reach the Wembley final.
We must now focus our attention back on the Premier League. Sixth place and 23 points away from leaders Manchester City is quite frankly not good enough. We are two points off bitter rivals Tottenham and five off fourth-placed Liverpool, so if we are to have any hope of a top four finish nothing other than two wins will do from the next two matches against Bournemouth and Crystal Palace.
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
Sunday, 7 January 2018
Holders Arsenal suffer embarrassing cup exit
Poor team selection and a very below par performance cost holders Arsenal dear as they were dumped out of the FA Cup following a 4-2 defeat at Championship club Nottingham Forest.
It would have been unjust had we got anything from the game, but at 3-2 Nottingham Forest were given a controversial penalty. At first glance I actually thought it was a careless challenge and the right call, but replays show Mathieu Debuchy fairly won the ball and it was a poor decision. Had we somehow then gone on to equalise it would have been unfair on Forest, who were clearly the side more hungry to get the win.
Ben Brereton was a constant thorn in our side and Eric Lichaj's two goals, especially his sublime second, were more than worthy of winning the contest and credit to Forest for doing a job on us. I can accept cup upsets happen, but the manner of how we exited this prestigious domestic competition was nothing short of embarrassing as Arsene Wenger lost his first ever FA Cup third round tie.
The team selection left a lot to be desired and, whilst I am all for giving youngsters a chance, to not have the likes of Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil and Alexandre Lacazette even on the bench as back-up was absolute madness. I genuinely believe had they been there to call on they may well have been able to turn the tie around before it even got to 3-1, but instead we had no game changers to bring on so it was even more of a struggle. The players out there, especially the likes of senior forwards Theo Walcott and Danny Welbeck, should have done far better and it was definitely a day to forget for Arsenal.
Forest started brightly with Arsenal goalkeeper David Ospina getting down low to save Brereton's early effort before tipping Matty Cash's shot behind.
The hosts made no mistake after 20 minutes as Lichaj got the final touch to Kieran Dowell's free-kick to break the deadlock, but the lead was short lived as Arsenal levelled within three minutes. Walcott's free-kick, albeit a softly given one, was met by the head of Rob Holding, but the defender was denied by the post before Per Mertesacker controlled the ball and slotted in the equaliser.
This should have galvanised Arsenal, but instead Forest very nearly went straight back up the other end to get their second. Brereton took a good touch to get the ball onto his left foot on the edge of the box, but Ospina was on hand to deny him with a diving save before gathering the ball at the second attempt. Ospina raced out to deny Brereton again soon after, but the offside flag had already been raised anyway.
Arsenal saw a shot deflect behind for a corner before Ospina once again came to the rescue at the other end to parry Brereton's shot and Mertesacker than cleared the danger.
In the final minute of the half Lichaj netted his second of the game and what a goal it was. The Arsenal defence poorly failed to clear the danger and Lichaj took full advantage by expertly controlling the ball and unleashing a fine volley into the top corner from the edge of the box.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles flashed a shot wide in first-half injury time as Arsenal went in 2-1 behind at the break. The full-back was then involved in a move within nine minutes of the restart that I think summed up our poor display. Maitland-Niles got the better of the defender and put in a fairly decent cross, but nobody even attempted to get on the end of it which was very poor to see.
We were putting constant pressure on the Forest defence in the early stages of the second half, but with very little to show for it as we weren't really creating many chances.
Forest increased their lead to 3-1 shortly after the hour mark after the outstretched leg of Holding took down Cash in the box. Brereton sent Ospina the wrong way with the resulting penalty.
Arsenal substitute Eddie Nketiah nearly reduced the deficit soon after coming on when he cut in onto his left-foot, but his strike was well saved by goalkeeper Jordan Smith, who rushed out to stop it with his knee.
With 70 minutes played we had only mustered one shot on target and that in itself shows just how poor we were, although take nothing away from Forest as they thoroughly deserved their win.
Arsenal tried to get back into the game, but with not enough intent, as Walcott's ball across to Welbeck was stopped by a sliding challenge from Michael Mancienne.
The Gunners were given a lifeline and a possible hope of a comeback when they pulled it back to 3-2 11 minutes from time. Smith came out to gather the ball and made a mess of it, allowing Welbeck to roll the ball into the empty net for an easy goal. Back came Forest who went straight down the other end with Tyler Walker shooting straight at Ospina.
There were appeals for a penalty as Welbeck thought he'd been pushed in the box and to compound Arsenal's misery Forest went back on the attack and won a spot-kick of their own six minutes from time. Armand Traore seemed to far too easily beat the defence before a challenge from Debuchy in the box. Replays show that Debuchy appeared to win the ball fairly, but a penalty was given. Dowell stepped up and scored the penalty, albeit in controversial circumstances as there appeared to be a double touch. After checking with his fellow officials referee Jonathan Moss awarded the goal. It stopped any hopes of a comeback and, whilst a tad frustrating, we didn't deserve to get anything from the game anyway.
Forest's Joe Worrall was sent off for a rash tackle on substitute Chuba Akpom late on, but it was too late to have any real impact on the game. Arsenal's final chance of the match saw Smith excellently get a touch to Akpom's shot and Walcott chased the ball, but was unable to get on the end of it to divert it towards goal.
An embarrassing cup exit for Wenger, who was serving the first game of his three-match touchline ban, as well as for the underperforming players and a very hard watch for the fans!
OPPOSITION VIEW
Nottingham Forest fan Rob Terrace was critical of the Arsenal defence after seeing his side cause a great FA Cup shock.
"The first thing that comes to mind is how slow was the Arsenal defence? I thought their young lads weren't up for it, and it showed when the pressure came," said Terrace. "We sat back and hit them when it was needed. The defending was poor for the first, the second would have beaten any keeper, and the two penalties, the first a good decision, the second wasn't, but I don't care.
"Have I said that Per Mertesacker is the slowest footballer I've ever seen?"
It wasn't all about Arsenal playing poorly as Forest more than deserved their win and Terrace reflected positively back on what was a great match for his team.
"There are two things I always will remember from my days watching football. Anything can happen and third round day of the FA Cup is special.
"Given the recent malaise of Forest, and the departure of Mark Warburton, it would have been easy to write off the tie as a bit of a nothing game.
"We knew Arsenal would turn up with a less than full-strength side. We knew the people of Nottingham would turn out for the Reds and we hoped that the something magical we all wanted would happen. But, Christmas was a fortnight ago wasn't it?
"No-one told this young Forest side, six of the players out there products of the academy, and not a poor performance from any one of them. These are lads, raised on the stories of the great Forest teams of times past, all who want to create their own little piece of history for the club.
"The architect in chief of the Arsenal downfall, was Ben Brereton. It's difficult to remember that he 'burst' onto the scene less than a season ago, given his performance. The 18-year-old turned in a performance, that, had it been in the Premier League, would have been praised for a long time. What it will do, is undoubtedly add to the list of suitors who have been watching the forward.
He scored the best part of 70 goals over 2 seasons for the U18s and 23s before he got a chance in the first team, and this was probably his best performance in a Forest shirt. Putting a centre forward with a bit of pace and strength up against an ageing (but still very good) Per Mertesacker, and Rob Holding, was a fine move from Gary Brazil, especially given the absence of Daryl Murphy. Mertesacker and Holding spent most of the game bouncing off the striker, and chasing in his wake, as he found gaps in the opposition defence.
"As for the game. Forest did exactly what was required. A well-worked free-kick goal, a world class strike from distance, and two penalties, the first of which was for a foul on Cash, the second one, which I felt was a perfectly good tackle.
"The second penalty was even more controversial due to Kieran Dowell slipping as he hit it, and possibly kicking it twice. I'm not entirely sure he did, but it was close.
"Sometimes, Christmas does come twice, and sometimes, the unlikely happens, but, I'm still shocked that we've done this."
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
For Forest it feels like Christmas has come twice, but for Arsenal there won't even be an FA Cup Final to fall back on this season.
I love the competition and am truly gutted to be out of it in such embarrassing fashion and it also makes the League Cup semi-final harder to look forward to.
Although I want us to try and win any competition we are in, the FA Cup is by far the biggest of the two domestic cups. Winning the FA Cup a few times in recent years has salvaged seasons to an extent, but the League Cup just isn't the same. Obviously I hope we beat Chelsea over the two legs to reach the League Cup Final, but based on that performance against Forest we will have our work cut out.
It will be tough watching the rest of the FA Cup unfold in the coming months knowing we will have no further part on it. The season is fizzling out, but we still need to go out there and try and rescue what we can from what has so far been a frustrating and disappointing campaign.
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
It would have been unjust had we got anything from the game, but at 3-2 Nottingham Forest were given a controversial penalty. At first glance I actually thought it was a careless challenge and the right call, but replays show Mathieu Debuchy fairly won the ball and it was a poor decision. Had we somehow then gone on to equalise it would have been unfair on Forest, who were clearly the side more hungry to get the win.
Ben Brereton was a constant thorn in our side and Eric Lichaj's two goals, especially his sublime second, were more than worthy of winning the contest and credit to Forest for doing a job on us. I can accept cup upsets happen, but the manner of how we exited this prestigious domestic competition was nothing short of embarrassing as Arsene Wenger lost his first ever FA Cup third round tie.
The team selection left a lot to be desired and, whilst I am all for giving youngsters a chance, to not have the likes of Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil and Alexandre Lacazette even on the bench as back-up was absolute madness. I genuinely believe had they been there to call on they may well have been able to turn the tie around before it even got to 3-1, but instead we had no game changers to bring on so it was even more of a struggle. The players out there, especially the likes of senior forwards Theo Walcott and Danny Welbeck, should have done far better and it was definitely a day to forget for Arsenal.
Forest started brightly with Arsenal goalkeeper David Ospina getting down low to save Brereton's early effort before tipping Matty Cash's shot behind.
The hosts made no mistake after 20 minutes as Lichaj got the final touch to Kieran Dowell's free-kick to break the deadlock, but the lead was short lived as Arsenal levelled within three minutes. Walcott's free-kick, albeit a softly given one, was met by the head of Rob Holding, but the defender was denied by the post before Per Mertesacker controlled the ball and slotted in the equaliser.
This should have galvanised Arsenal, but instead Forest very nearly went straight back up the other end to get their second. Brereton took a good touch to get the ball onto his left foot on the edge of the box, but Ospina was on hand to deny him with a diving save before gathering the ball at the second attempt. Ospina raced out to deny Brereton again soon after, but the offside flag had already been raised anyway.
Arsenal saw a shot deflect behind for a corner before Ospina once again came to the rescue at the other end to parry Brereton's shot and Mertesacker than cleared the danger.
In the final minute of the half Lichaj netted his second of the game and what a goal it was. The Arsenal defence poorly failed to clear the danger and Lichaj took full advantage by expertly controlling the ball and unleashing a fine volley into the top corner from the edge of the box.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles flashed a shot wide in first-half injury time as Arsenal went in 2-1 behind at the break. The full-back was then involved in a move within nine minutes of the restart that I think summed up our poor display. Maitland-Niles got the better of the defender and put in a fairly decent cross, but nobody even attempted to get on the end of it which was very poor to see.
We were putting constant pressure on the Forest defence in the early stages of the second half, but with very little to show for it as we weren't really creating many chances.
Forest increased their lead to 3-1 shortly after the hour mark after the outstretched leg of Holding took down Cash in the box. Brereton sent Ospina the wrong way with the resulting penalty.
Arsenal substitute Eddie Nketiah nearly reduced the deficit soon after coming on when he cut in onto his left-foot, but his strike was well saved by goalkeeper Jordan Smith, who rushed out to stop it with his knee.
With 70 minutes played we had only mustered one shot on target and that in itself shows just how poor we were, although take nothing away from Forest as they thoroughly deserved their win.
Arsenal tried to get back into the game, but with not enough intent, as Walcott's ball across to Welbeck was stopped by a sliding challenge from Michael Mancienne.
The Gunners were given a lifeline and a possible hope of a comeback when they pulled it back to 3-2 11 minutes from time. Smith came out to gather the ball and made a mess of it, allowing Welbeck to roll the ball into the empty net for an easy goal. Back came Forest who went straight down the other end with Tyler Walker shooting straight at Ospina.
There were appeals for a penalty as Welbeck thought he'd been pushed in the box and to compound Arsenal's misery Forest went back on the attack and won a spot-kick of their own six minutes from time. Armand Traore seemed to far too easily beat the defence before a challenge from Debuchy in the box. Replays show that Debuchy appeared to win the ball fairly, but a penalty was given. Dowell stepped up and scored the penalty, albeit in controversial circumstances as there appeared to be a double touch. After checking with his fellow officials referee Jonathan Moss awarded the goal. It stopped any hopes of a comeback and, whilst a tad frustrating, we didn't deserve to get anything from the game anyway.
Forest's Joe Worrall was sent off for a rash tackle on substitute Chuba Akpom late on, but it was too late to have any real impact on the game. Arsenal's final chance of the match saw Smith excellently get a touch to Akpom's shot and Walcott chased the ball, but was unable to get on the end of it to divert it towards goal.
An embarrassing cup exit for Wenger, who was serving the first game of his three-match touchline ban, as well as for the underperforming players and a very hard watch for the fans!
OPPOSITION VIEW
Nottingham Forest fan Rob Terrace was critical of the Arsenal defence after seeing his side cause a great FA Cup shock.
"The first thing that comes to mind is how slow was the Arsenal defence? I thought their young lads weren't up for it, and it showed when the pressure came," said Terrace. "We sat back and hit them when it was needed. The defending was poor for the first, the second would have beaten any keeper, and the two penalties, the first a good decision, the second wasn't, but I don't care.
"Have I said that Per Mertesacker is the slowest footballer I've ever seen?"
It wasn't all about Arsenal playing poorly as Forest more than deserved their win and Terrace reflected positively back on what was a great match for his team.
"There are two things I always will remember from my days watching football. Anything can happen and third round day of the FA Cup is special.
"Given the recent malaise of Forest, and the departure of Mark Warburton, it would have been easy to write off the tie as a bit of a nothing game.
"We knew Arsenal would turn up with a less than full-strength side. We knew the people of Nottingham would turn out for the Reds and we hoped that the something magical we all wanted would happen. But, Christmas was a fortnight ago wasn't it?
"No-one told this young Forest side, six of the players out there products of the academy, and not a poor performance from any one of them. These are lads, raised on the stories of the great Forest teams of times past, all who want to create their own little piece of history for the club.
"The architect in chief of the Arsenal downfall, was Ben Brereton. It's difficult to remember that he 'burst' onto the scene less than a season ago, given his performance. The 18-year-old turned in a performance, that, had it been in the Premier League, would have been praised for a long time. What it will do, is undoubtedly add to the list of suitors who have been watching the forward.
He scored the best part of 70 goals over 2 seasons for the U18s and 23s before he got a chance in the first team, and this was probably his best performance in a Forest shirt. Putting a centre forward with a bit of pace and strength up against an ageing (but still very good) Per Mertesacker, and Rob Holding, was a fine move from Gary Brazil, especially given the absence of Daryl Murphy. Mertesacker and Holding spent most of the game bouncing off the striker, and chasing in his wake, as he found gaps in the opposition defence.
"As for the game. Forest did exactly what was required. A well-worked free-kick goal, a world class strike from distance, and two penalties, the first of which was for a foul on Cash, the second one, which I felt was a perfectly good tackle.
"The second penalty was even more controversial due to Kieran Dowell slipping as he hit it, and possibly kicking it twice. I'm not entirely sure he did, but it was close.
"Sometimes, Christmas does come twice, and sometimes, the unlikely happens, but, I'm still shocked that we've done this."
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
For Forest it feels like Christmas has come twice, but for Arsenal there won't even be an FA Cup Final to fall back on this season.
I love the competition and am truly gutted to be out of it in such embarrassing fashion and it also makes the League Cup semi-final harder to look forward to.
Although I want us to try and win any competition we are in, the FA Cup is by far the biggest of the two domestic cups. Winning the FA Cup a few times in recent years has salvaged seasons to an extent, but the League Cup just isn't the same. Obviously I hope we beat Chelsea over the two legs to reach the League Cup Final, but based on that performance against Forest we will have our work cut out.
It will be tough watching the rest of the FA Cup unfold in the coming months knowing we will have no further part on it. The season is fizzling out, but we still need to go out there and try and rescue what we can from what has so far been a frustrating and disappointing campaign.
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
Wednesday, 3 January 2018
Brilliant Bellerin rescues Arsenal's derby draw
The game had everything and for the neutrals would have been an absolute thriller, but for Arsenal and Chelsea fans the 2-2 draw at the Emirates was a nervy roller coaster ride.
From an Arsenal point of view it partly feels more like two points dropped than a great draw because, had it not been for some superb saves by Thibaut Courtois in the Chelsea goal, it could have been very different. There was also some grievance about Chelsea's penalty as the adjudged contact by Hector Bellerin was very soft. There was contact, but not enough to have taken Eden Hazard down and the Belgian also made a meal of it as the contact was not where he was holding his ankle. Both went for the ball and got it at the same time - yes there was contact, but it was soft, although it was a hard decision to call.
However, it wouldn't be my biggest complaint of the match! What frustrated me more was how much space we gave Alvaro Morata, which on another day could have ended differently, but fortunately for the Gunners the Chelsea striker had a shocker. We were missing key defenders Laurent Koscielny, Nacho Monreal and Sead Kolasinac, while Calum Chambers still concerns me a bit and had a difficult evening at times. The full-backs did impress me though with Hector Bellerin putting in a vastly improved performance compared to his last few months, while Ainsley Maitland-Niles looked composed and solid for large spells despite being outmuscled for Chelsea's second goal.
The future of Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil remains uncertain, but the way they combined with Alexandre Lacazette was very impressive and at times the trio looked devastating and unplayable. Courtois made two top class saves to keep them out, but there were also times where maybe we should have done better.
Chelsea felt aggrieved by Jack Wilshere still being on the pitch after an alleged dive, after having already been booked, but in truth both sides had decisions go for and against them and the match was full of action and drama.
Considering the players missing and the performance, a draw may not seem so bad and was the least we deserved, but I can't help feel frustrated by the fact we didn't claim all three points. It was a missed opportunity to have moved above our bitter rivals Tottenham into fifth and if we are to record a top-four finish we need to be winning games like this and not dropping points.
What a game it was though and it was somewhat surprising that the scores were goalless going in at half-time. Sanchez saw an early free-kick deflect behind for a corner before Chelsea really should have opened the scoring after 13 minutes. Morata raced through on goal and seemed to have all the time in the world, but he somehow shot wide when it looked easier to have scored. What was really disappointing is how Chambers appeared distracted and stood still as the ball went over the top and into Morata's path.
Arsenal saw a penalty shout turned down after an alleged foul on Maitland-Niles in the box before Courtois produced a stunning save to keep the scores level. The Belgian international got a hand to Sanchez's powerful strike before it hit both posts and Courtois reacted quickly to claim the ball before Ozil could get to the rebound.
The hosts continued to attack and Courtois was soon called into action again as he produced another great save to parry Lacazette's turn and shot round a post.
Those missed opportunities nearly came back to bite Arsenal before the break as Tiemoue Bakayoko saw an effort tipped over the crossbar by Cech before Marcos Alonso sent a free-kick off target.
Chelsea wasted the chance to break the deadlock in the final minute of the first half after a lovely backheel from Hazard set up Cesc Fabregas, but the former Gunners midfielder fired his shot over the crossbar.
The game continued to be end to end in the second half with Chelsea being denied by a double save from Cech within three minutes of the restart. Arsenal's number one saved Hazard's shot with his legs and when the ball was worked back into the box it was met by the head of Alonso, which Cech did excellently to get a hand to.
It wasn't long before Arsenal were creating chances as Sanchez headed off target from Maitland-Niles' cross, before Courtois excellently denied Lacazette following decent build-up play from Sanchez and Ozil.
Arsenal finally opening the scoring after 63 minutes when Ozil picked up the ball from Wilshere and, after a slick passing move, the latter rifled a powerful strike in off the inside of the near post.
The lead only lasted four minutes as Chelsea levelled through the Hazard penalty I already spoke about earlier. It could have got worse for Arsenal soon after had Morata not wasted another guilt-edged chance. The Spanish forward got in behind Rob Holding and Chambers, but somehow shot off target.
The goal appeared to have kicked Chelsea into gear and N'Golo Kante saw his shot from outside of the box deflect wide before Cech got down well to stop Morata's effort getting through to a team-mate.
Despite some very positive attacking play during the game Arsenal's hard work was undone through Alonso's close-range finish six minutes from time. Maitland-Niles had been excellent for most of the game up to this point, but he was outmuscled by Chelsea substitute Davide Zappacosta, whose low ball across goal was sidefooted home by Alonso.
The game had very quickly gone from looking positive for large spells to very bleak, so it was a huge relief to see Bellerin smash in an equaliser in stoppage time. Shkodran Mustafi and Sanchez both saw late efforts blocked by the defence before Bellerin smashed a shot in on the half volley to cap a much-improved performance from the Spanish full-back.
Chelsea came close to nicking it at the death, but Cech denied Morata, who really should have done better with his effort, before Zappacosta's follow-up rattled the crossbar as this pulsating clash finished all square.
OPPOSITION VIEW
Chelsea fan Paul Gedeon enjoyed what was a great game and believes a draw was a fair result.
"Just like Stamford Bridge in September, a draw seemed a fair result in what was for me one of the most entertaining matches all season," said Gedeon. "Chelsea looked ready to play and did not deserve to go a goal down after Morata's clear misses.
"Arsenal also turned up ready to take three points. The game was free flowing and 0-0 at half-time was a fair result.
"As the second half began, both teams took it to another level and despite the fact the penalty was really soft, many Chelsea fans will say it was justice as questions raised whether Wilshere, scorer of the first goal was lucky to be on the field after a questionable dive that could have earned him a second yellow.
"Zappacosta changed the game as he came on for Moses and set up the goal for Alonso who took it so well, but then Bellerin popped up for a wonder goal in stoppage time. Chelsea should have stolen it at the death with a clear Morata miss and Zappacosta woodwork strike, but all in all, a fair result, that favoured Liverpool, Tottenham and Manchester United."
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
Considering we were playing very tough opposition a draw could be seen as a decent result but, whilst there were some great positives to take from the match, it didn't hide what were some basic defensive mistakes.
Both goalkeepers produced heroics to earn a point for their sides in a game full of drama, big decisions, bad misses, great goals and questionable defending and, guess what!? Arsenal and Chelsea will play each other twice again before the end of the month with the two legs of their Carabao Cup semi-final looming.
If this is a sign of what is to come in those games it will definitely be exciting, but wasteful finishing and poor defending could be punished more by either side next time so improvements will be needed.
But before we can even think about that our focus must now immediately switch to the FA Cup and a trip to Championship side Nottingham Forest. I love the FA Cup and want us to go all the way, but being higher league opposition is no guarantee of progression and we must not take Forest lightly. I believe we should have far too much for them, but you can't take anything for granted in the FA Cup. If our front trio can combine like they did it could be an Arsenal goal fest, but I have a feeling Arsene Wenger will rotate the squad. Whoever we put out needs to go out there and do a professional job and get a positive result to put us into round four.
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
From an Arsenal point of view it partly feels more like two points dropped than a great draw because, had it not been for some superb saves by Thibaut Courtois in the Chelsea goal, it could have been very different. There was also some grievance about Chelsea's penalty as the adjudged contact by Hector Bellerin was very soft. There was contact, but not enough to have taken Eden Hazard down and the Belgian also made a meal of it as the contact was not where he was holding his ankle. Both went for the ball and got it at the same time - yes there was contact, but it was soft, although it was a hard decision to call.
However, it wouldn't be my biggest complaint of the match! What frustrated me more was how much space we gave Alvaro Morata, which on another day could have ended differently, but fortunately for the Gunners the Chelsea striker had a shocker. We were missing key defenders Laurent Koscielny, Nacho Monreal and Sead Kolasinac, while Calum Chambers still concerns me a bit and had a difficult evening at times. The full-backs did impress me though with Hector Bellerin putting in a vastly improved performance compared to his last few months, while Ainsley Maitland-Niles looked composed and solid for large spells despite being outmuscled for Chelsea's second goal.
The future of Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil remains uncertain, but the way they combined with Alexandre Lacazette was very impressive and at times the trio looked devastating and unplayable. Courtois made two top class saves to keep them out, but there were also times where maybe we should have done better.
Chelsea felt aggrieved by Jack Wilshere still being on the pitch after an alleged dive, after having already been booked, but in truth both sides had decisions go for and against them and the match was full of action and drama.
Considering the players missing and the performance, a draw may not seem so bad and was the least we deserved, but I can't help feel frustrated by the fact we didn't claim all three points. It was a missed opportunity to have moved above our bitter rivals Tottenham into fifth and if we are to record a top-four finish we need to be winning games like this and not dropping points.
What a game it was though and it was somewhat surprising that the scores were goalless going in at half-time. Sanchez saw an early free-kick deflect behind for a corner before Chelsea really should have opened the scoring after 13 minutes. Morata raced through on goal and seemed to have all the time in the world, but he somehow shot wide when it looked easier to have scored. What was really disappointing is how Chambers appeared distracted and stood still as the ball went over the top and into Morata's path.
Arsenal saw a penalty shout turned down after an alleged foul on Maitland-Niles in the box before Courtois produced a stunning save to keep the scores level. The Belgian international got a hand to Sanchez's powerful strike before it hit both posts and Courtois reacted quickly to claim the ball before Ozil could get to the rebound.
The hosts continued to attack and Courtois was soon called into action again as he produced another great save to parry Lacazette's turn and shot round a post.
Those missed opportunities nearly came back to bite Arsenal before the break as Tiemoue Bakayoko saw an effort tipped over the crossbar by Cech before Marcos Alonso sent a free-kick off target.
Chelsea wasted the chance to break the deadlock in the final minute of the first half after a lovely backheel from Hazard set up Cesc Fabregas, but the former Gunners midfielder fired his shot over the crossbar.
The game continued to be end to end in the second half with Chelsea being denied by a double save from Cech within three minutes of the restart. Arsenal's number one saved Hazard's shot with his legs and when the ball was worked back into the box it was met by the head of Alonso, which Cech did excellently to get a hand to.
It wasn't long before Arsenal were creating chances as Sanchez headed off target from Maitland-Niles' cross, before Courtois excellently denied Lacazette following decent build-up play from Sanchez and Ozil.
Arsenal finally opening the scoring after 63 minutes when Ozil picked up the ball from Wilshere and, after a slick passing move, the latter rifled a powerful strike in off the inside of the near post.
The lead only lasted four minutes as Chelsea levelled through the Hazard penalty I already spoke about earlier. It could have got worse for Arsenal soon after had Morata not wasted another guilt-edged chance. The Spanish forward got in behind Rob Holding and Chambers, but somehow shot off target.
The goal appeared to have kicked Chelsea into gear and N'Golo Kante saw his shot from outside of the box deflect wide before Cech got down well to stop Morata's effort getting through to a team-mate.
Despite some very positive attacking play during the game Arsenal's hard work was undone through Alonso's close-range finish six minutes from time. Maitland-Niles had been excellent for most of the game up to this point, but he was outmuscled by Chelsea substitute Davide Zappacosta, whose low ball across goal was sidefooted home by Alonso.
The game had very quickly gone from looking positive for large spells to very bleak, so it was a huge relief to see Bellerin smash in an equaliser in stoppage time. Shkodran Mustafi and Sanchez both saw late efforts blocked by the defence before Bellerin smashed a shot in on the half volley to cap a much-improved performance from the Spanish full-back.
Chelsea came close to nicking it at the death, but Cech denied Morata, who really should have done better with his effort, before Zappacosta's follow-up rattled the crossbar as this pulsating clash finished all square.
OPPOSITION VIEW
Chelsea fan Paul Gedeon enjoyed what was a great game and believes a draw was a fair result.
"Just like Stamford Bridge in September, a draw seemed a fair result in what was for me one of the most entertaining matches all season," said Gedeon. "Chelsea looked ready to play and did not deserve to go a goal down after Morata's clear misses.
"Arsenal also turned up ready to take three points. The game was free flowing and 0-0 at half-time was a fair result.
"As the second half began, both teams took it to another level and despite the fact the penalty was really soft, many Chelsea fans will say it was justice as questions raised whether Wilshere, scorer of the first goal was lucky to be on the field after a questionable dive that could have earned him a second yellow.
"Zappacosta changed the game as he came on for Moses and set up the goal for Alonso who took it so well, but then Bellerin popped up for a wonder goal in stoppage time. Chelsea should have stolen it at the death with a clear Morata miss and Zappacosta woodwork strike, but all in all, a fair result, that favoured Liverpool, Tottenham and Manchester United."
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
Considering we were playing very tough opposition a draw could be seen as a decent result but, whilst there were some great positives to take from the match, it didn't hide what were some basic defensive mistakes.
Both goalkeepers produced heroics to earn a point for their sides in a game full of drama, big decisions, bad misses, great goals and questionable defending and, guess what!? Arsenal and Chelsea will play each other twice again before the end of the month with the two legs of their Carabao Cup semi-final looming.
If this is a sign of what is to come in those games it will definitely be exciting, but wasteful finishing and poor defending could be punished more by either side next time so improvements will be needed.
But before we can even think about that our focus must now immediately switch to the FA Cup and a trip to Championship side Nottingham Forest. I love the FA Cup and want us to go all the way, but being higher league opposition is no guarantee of progression and we must not take Forest lightly. I believe we should have far too much for them, but you can't take anything for granted in the FA Cup. If our front trio can combine like they did it could be an Arsenal goal fest, but I have a feeling Arsene Wenger will rotate the squad. Whoever we put out needs to go out there and do a professional job and get a positive result to put us into round four.
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
Monday, 1 January 2018
Gunners end 2017 with frustrating draw
As we enter the New Year Arsenal fans are left pondering several questions after bidding farewell to 2017 with a disappointing 1-1 draw at West Brom.
Will Alexis Sanchez or Mesut Ozil leave in January or the summer or can we somehow keep hold of either player? Will Arsene Wenger leave in the summer, at the end of his latest deal, or stay longer? Who will we buy or sell in January? Will we learn from our mistakes and what will we do differently in 2018? The list is endless.
To answer in brief I believe both players will stay in January, but that we'll lose Sanchez in the summer. It would be better to keep both players, but if Sanchez does indeed want to go as we are being led to believe there is no point in forcing things. All clubs want to keep their best players, but only if they want to stay as we need a positive dressing room. Ozil missed the match at West Brom through injury, but has been in decent form of late so fingers crossed we can keep him so let's wait and see what happens.
As for Wenger, although I believe he has been a great servant to the club and given us some great times, it does feels like it is nearly time for this chapter to close. I think he'll honour his contract and stay at least another season and whenever he goes I'll look back at his reign and remember the good times. But whether a fan is Wenger in or out I don't think it will affect any decision and the likelihood is he'll still be around next season so we need to continue to get behind the team.
I am not expecting too much from our activity in the January transfer window despite some suggestions it could be busy for us. We might see some fringe players leave, most likely on loan, but as much as I would like to see a few new faces at the club I'm not convinced it will happen. I think we might get at least one, but not a big name player...you never know though!
The more immediate question though when reflecting on our latest match is whether or not the penalty call for West Brom's equaliser was correct? Referee Mike Dean pointed to the spot after former Gunner Kieran Gibbs flicked the ball into Calum Chambers hand inside the box. At first glance I thought it was a bad call from Dean, but having seen the replays again I am now not so sure. Yes it could be argued that it was more ball to hand and it was hit at him, but why did he even have his hands out like that? It was frustrating, but either way we hadn't really played well enough to get more than a point anyway.
In truth it was a rather tedious game to watch and regardless of the penalty call we should have played far better and tested West Brom goalkeeper Ben Foster a lot more than we did.
There were not too many chances of note in the opening 45 minutes, with the first falling to West Brom striker Jay Rodriguez, whose header was kept out by a diving save from Petr Cech.
At the other end Alexandre Lacazette exchanged passes with Hector Bellerin before seeing his shot deflect wide, while Alex Iwobi curled an effort over the crossbar. Granit Xhaka failed to trouble Foster with a long-range effort, while West Brom weren't creating too much either as Chris Brunt's free-kick sailed high and over the crossbar.
The closest either side came to a goal in the first half was when Iwobi's serving effort was well parried behind by Foster as he teams went in goalless at the break.
Arsenal were forced to make a substitution eight minutes before half-time when Sead Kolasinac was forced off injured, with Ainsley Maitland-Niles coming on in his place. There was a further defensive blow in the second half when Laurent Koscielny limped off and with some big games looming we need to hope both players aren't out for very long.
West Brom had the first real chances of the second half as Ahmed Hegazi shot high and wide before Brunt's free-kick was punched clear by Cech.
Arsenal were very slowly starting to wake up more as the second half unfolded, with Lacazette's powerful low drive being saved by the legs of Foster. Lacazette was again in the thick of the action soon after as he latched onto a pass from Sanchez, but he couldn't quite divert it goalwards. Iwobi then tried his luck from long-range, but it turned out to be a rather comfortable save for Foster.
At the other end, Cech denied Rodriguez as the match entered its final quarter and Bellerin made a crucial block to deny James McClean.
The deadlock was finally broken eight minutes from time when Craig Dawson fouled Sanchez on the edge of the box and the Chilean's free-kick deflected in off McClean for an own goal.
Although it was a rather boring match we had the lead and had less than 10 minutes of normal time to hold out, and the fact we couldn't made it all the more disappointing, as West Brom equalised soon after via Rodriguez's penalty.
There was time for one final chance in stoppage time as Shkodran Mustafi's cross found Lacazette near the side of the box. The French forward managed to get the better of two defenders, but his ball in caused no danger and went straight into the arms of Foster as the match ended all square.
OPPOSITION VIEW
West Brom fan Rob Myatt felt a draw was a fair result and believes the penalty call may not have been as contentious as some sections of the media have suggested.
"I think a point was the least we deserved," said Myatt. "Despite Arsenal bossing possession, they didn't really do anything with the ball and Foster went mostly untroubled for large periods.
"When you're in a wall, you need to be brave and McClean (despite uploading Instagram stories most days about his boxing training and how hard he is) chickened out of doing the simple thing and cost us more points again this season.
"The penalty was obviously contentious but I don't think it was as clear cut NOT a pen as the commentators on 5Live made it sound (listening via the radio with a Spanish stream).
"Why was his hand out in front of his body? Defenders in Spain (my place of residence) are taught in those situations to have their hands behind their back and I think Chambers, by having them out in front, made a motion towards the ball.
"The distance is obviously an issue, as stated in the Laws of the Game, but again Chambers knew Gibbs would cross, positioned himself that close with that body shape, and allowed Dean to make that call."
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
Looking back at the first half of the season and our match at West Brom I would describe us as far too Jekyll and Hyde. How can we go from a team producing great displays to draw at Chelsea and beat Tottenham to then fail to get going for over an hour against the Baggies.
Our inconsistency is one of the main reasons why we sit down in fifth. Spurs are a point behind us with a game in hand, but we are also only three points behind fourth-placed Liverpool. Other teams have dropped points as well, but we don't take advantage enough.
Manchester City are way above the rest and even if we had had a better season so far I don't think anyone could have caught them, but it's a shame we haven't put up a more serious challenge.
The Premier League is getting more and more competitive and anyone can beat anyone, so it is inevitable points get dropped, but it is the manner in which we have dropped some of them that makes it all the more frustrating. You can't do much about a goalkeeper having a superb display like David De Gea did against us, but lacklustre displays like we produced against West Brom are definitely avoidable and need addressed.
I am hoping a new year will mean a fresh start and maybe, just maybe, we can take things up another gear and produce some superb performances, but with Arsenal you just never know what is going to happen next so I'm not holding my breath.
The visit of Chelsea is our next match and let's just hope we can perform how we did in this same fixture last season. Whatever happens I would like to wish everyone a very happy new year!
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
Will Alexis Sanchez or Mesut Ozil leave in January or the summer or can we somehow keep hold of either player? Will Arsene Wenger leave in the summer, at the end of his latest deal, or stay longer? Who will we buy or sell in January? Will we learn from our mistakes and what will we do differently in 2018? The list is endless.
To answer in brief I believe both players will stay in January, but that we'll lose Sanchez in the summer. It would be better to keep both players, but if Sanchez does indeed want to go as we are being led to believe there is no point in forcing things. All clubs want to keep their best players, but only if they want to stay as we need a positive dressing room. Ozil missed the match at West Brom through injury, but has been in decent form of late so fingers crossed we can keep him so let's wait and see what happens.
As for Wenger, although I believe he has been a great servant to the club and given us some great times, it does feels like it is nearly time for this chapter to close. I think he'll honour his contract and stay at least another season and whenever he goes I'll look back at his reign and remember the good times. But whether a fan is Wenger in or out I don't think it will affect any decision and the likelihood is he'll still be around next season so we need to continue to get behind the team.
I am not expecting too much from our activity in the January transfer window despite some suggestions it could be busy for us. We might see some fringe players leave, most likely on loan, but as much as I would like to see a few new faces at the club I'm not convinced it will happen. I think we might get at least one, but not a big name player...you never know though!
The more immediate question though when reflecting on our latest match is whether or not the penalty call for West Brom's equaliser was correct? Referee Mike Dean pointed to the spot after former Gunner Kieran Gibbs flicked the ball into Calum Chambers hand inside the box. At first glance I thought it was a bad call from Dean, but having seen the replays again I am now not so sure. Yes it could be argued that it was more ball to hand and it was hit at him, but why did he even have his hands out like that? It was frustrating, but either way we hadn't really played well enough to get more than a point anyway.
In truth it was a rather tedious game to watch and regardless of the penalty call we should have played far better and tested West Brom goalkeeper Ben Foster a lot more than we did.
There were not too many chances of note in the opening 45 minutes, with the first falling to West Brom striker Jay Rodriguez, whose header was kept out by a diving save from Petr Cech.
At the other end Alexandre Lacazette exchanged passes with Hector Bellerin before seeing his shot deflect wide, while Alex Iwobi curled an effort over the crossbar. Granit Xhaka failed to trouble Foster with a long-range effort, while West Brom weren't creating too much either as Chris Brunt's free-kick sailed high and over the crossbar.
The closest either side came to a goal in the first half was when Iwobi's serving effort was well parried behind by Foster as he teams went in goalless at the break.
Arsenal were forced to make a substitution eight minutes before half-time when Sead Kolasinac was forced off injured, with Ainsley Maitland-Niles coming on in his place. There was a further defensive blow in the second half when Laurent Koscielny limped off and with some big games looming we need to hope both players aren't out for very long.
West Brom had the first real chances of the second half as Ahmed Hegazi shot high and wide before Brunt's free-kick was punched clear by Cech.
Arsenal were very slowly starting to wake up more as the second half unfolded, with Lacazette's powerful low drive being saved by the legs of Foster. Lacazette was again in the thick of the action soon after as he latched onto a pass from Sanchez, but he couldn't quite divert it goalwards. Iwobi then tried his luck from long-range, but it turned out to be a rather comfortable save for Foster.
At the other end, Cech denied Rodriguez as the match entered its final quarter and Bellerin made a crucial block to deny James McClean.
The deadlock was finally broken eight minutes from time when Craig Dawson fouled Sanchez on the edge of the box and the Chilean's free-kick deflected in off McClean for an own goal.
Although it was a rather boring match we had the lead and had less than 10 minutes of normal time to hold out, and the fact we couldn't made it all the more disappointing, as West Brom equalised soon after via Rodriguez's penalty.
There was time for one final chance in stoppage time as Shkodran Mustafi's cross found Lacazette near the side of the box. The French forward managed to get the better of two defenders, but his ball in caused no danger and went straight into the arms of Foster as the match ended all square.
OPPOSITION VIEW
West Brom fan Rob Myatt felt a draw was a fair result and believes the penalty call may not have been as contentious as some sections of the media have suggested.
"I think a point was the least we deserved," said Myatt. "Despite Arsenal bossing possession, they didn't really do anything with the ball and Foster went mostly untroubled for large periods.
"When you're in a wall, you need to be brave and McClean (despite uploading Instagram stories most days about his boxing training and how hard he is) chickened out of doing the simple thing and cost us more points again this season.
"The penalty was obviously contentious but I don't think it was as clear cut NOT a pen as the commentators on 5Live made it sound (listening via the radio with a Spanish stream).
"Why was his hand out in front of his body? Defenders in Spain (my place of residence) are taught in those situations to have their hands behind their back and I think Chambers, by having them out in front, made a motion towards the ball.
"The distance is obviously an issue, as stated in the Laws of the Game, but again Chambers knew Gibbs would cross, positioned himself that close with that body shape, and allowed Dean to make that call."
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
Looking back at the first half of the season and our match at West Brom I would describe us as far too Jekyll and Hyde. How can we go from a team producing great displays to draw at Chelsea and beat Tottenham to then fail to get going for over an hour against the Baggies.
Our inconsistency is one of the main reasons why we sit down in fifth. Spurs are a point behind us with a game in hand, but we are also only three points behind fourth-placed Liverpool. Other teams have dropped points as well, but we don't take advantage enough.
Manchester City are way above the rest and even if we had had a better season so far I don't think anyone could have caught them, but it's a shame we haven't put up a more serious challenge.
The Premier League is getting more and more competitive and anyone can beat anyone, so it is inevitable points get dropped, but it is the manner in which we have dropped some of them that makes it all the more frustrating. You can't do much about a goalkeeper having a superb display like David De Gea did against us, but lacklustre displays like we produced against West Brom are definitely avoidable and need addressed.
I am hoping a new year will mean a fresh start and maybe, just maybe, we can take things up another gear and produce some superb performances, but with Arsenal you just never know what is going to happen next so I'm not holding my breath.
The visit of Chelsea is our next match and let's just hope we can perform how we did in this same fixture last season. Whatever happens I would like to wish everyone a very happy new year!
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
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