Arsenal 0 - 0 Chelsea: Snorey Bore Draw - thoughts on the game and on Mourinho

Well that didn't live up to expectations.  José 'Grinch' Mourinho ruined Christmas for millions of football purists who tuned in to watch what they hoped would be a great game. Had Mike 'Scrooge' Dean had given a penalty for a clear foul on Walcott or red cards for reckless challenges from Mikel or Ramires then it may have been different but as it was viewers were treated to a dour scoreless draw - the equivalent of expecting a Super Car for Christmas but receiving a pink bicycle with no handlebars... or wheels... Thanks José and Mike Dean, thanks a lot.

There is not a lot to discuss given the dullness of the game but I will touch on some comments from the "Special C**t One":

“You know, they like to cry. That’s tradition. 

“Today it was important not to lose. But it wouldn’t have been a big surprise if we had won. Arsenal showed a lot of frustration. But we weren’t aggressive, sharp enough to score a goal.” 

In reference to Boring Boring José chants - “I agree. I played against them 10 times and I never lost. Funny, funny Jose? 10 times they don’t win once.”

Classless and smug words from a classless and smug man.  It would be terrific to have got one over on him but sadly it wasn't to be. There would be no better way to shut him up than for us to win the league.  In order to do so though, I think Olivier Giroud is going to need to find his shooting boots. He's missed some good chances in some key games and they could have been decisive.

Christmas isn't looking quite as merry as perhaps it could have been we are sitting 2nd in the table behind a Suarez-inspired Liverpool on goal difference alone and if you had offered me that at the beginning of the season I would have bitten your arm off (Suarez-inspired pun). Anyway, have a fantastic Christmas one and all.

Man of the Match: Per Mertesacker

Some thoughts on the Everton, Napoli & City games

Apologies for the recent radio silence, but any of you unfortunate enough to work in sales at Christmas time will understand.

So the last 3 games haven't quite gone to plan then. The question is whether it is just a blip during a seven day period into which three tricky games were mushed or whether we should be more concerned - some would have you believe it's a four horseman type scenario; that our inevitable implosion has begun and that our title challenge is over, if we ever really were challengers that is. Personally, I'm a glass half-full kinda guy and I think we'll be just fine.

Arsenal 1 - 1 Everton

An ultimately fair but disappointing result against an excellent Everton side.  Almost won at the death by a sensational Giroud volley.

Positives:

• Despite being dominated for large periods of the game we did not often look like conceding and it took something a bit special to eventually break us down.
• Walcott came off the bench and provided an assist (with his head, unusually)
• Koscielny's defensive performance was truly outstanding and he negated the threat of the in-form Lukaku comfortably.

Negatives:

• Everton dominated possession, particularly in the first half and managed more shots.
• Having taken the lead late on, it was bitterly disappointing not to hang on for the three points. Perhaps Gibbs could have done more to close down Deulofeu but it was a wonderful strike.

Napoli 2 - 0 Arsenal

Positives:

• We've qualified from a very tough group; qualification from which was far from a certainty.
• Progression was more comfortable than the scoreline suggested - we never looked like losing by three goals.

Negatives:

• One more point would have secured us top spot in the group. Second spot got us drawn against the side that knocked us out last year; the all conquering European Champions, Bayern Munich. Were we a little more clinical we could have got that point in Napoli and we certainly should have taken a point at home against Dortmund but we went a bit unnecessarily gung-ho!
• We conceded two goals, albeit very good goals, for the first time since October.
• The extremely poor decision to send of Mikel Arteta means we will be missing his influence and protection in the first leg against Bayern Munich.

Manchester City 6 - 3 Arsenal

Ugh, that left a terrible taste in the mouth. Neutrals will point to the fact is was extremely entertaining. For us Gooners though it was a bit of a nightmare.

Positives:

• Almost everyone will lose here. Points would have been a bonus.
• Theo scored twice on his first start in 3 months, the second goal was a fine finish. He celebrated the first with a cradle celebration following the lovely news that his wife is expecting their first child. Let's hope baby Walcott is born into a world where Arsenal are champions and not this cretinous City team.
• Samir Nasri didn't score.

Negatives:

• The defensive performance was truly woeful. It was frightening how open we were and given City's outrageous home form it showed naivety. Perhaps if Flamini and Arteta were both in the side we would have been a bit more sensible but we weren't helped by countless individual errors and we were out-muscled and outmanoeuvred at every turn. We also completely failed to defend set-pieces. Given that we only conceded one goal in November, it was disappointing and surprising that our defending was such a fucking omnishambles.
• Koscielny went off injured - permacrock/dullard Michael Owen feared the worst but apparently the injury wasn't as bad as he feared.
• It was an absolutely outrageous performance from all three officials - I know it sounds like straw-clutching given the scoreline but Jaysus they were so very bad.  Four poor offside decisions, two poor penalty decisions and a terrible free-kick decision (in the build up to City's 4th). Of course our defensive performance was dire but the officials made the outcome inevitable when perhaps it wouldn't have been.
• Jack Wilshere. He has bags of ability but it was a terrible game for him, capped off by flipping off the City fan's for which today he has been charged by the FA. Yes they're insufferable ball-sacks but don't get yourself banned for making that point.  Leave it to us fans; we're more than capable.
• Our Big F***ing German had a big F***ing go at Mesut Özil for not thanking the travelling supporters. Mesut has since apologised on Facebook (possibly with Per looming over his keyboard).

So what now? Well it's time to bounce back - a rest and then a home game against a stuttering, beatable Chelsea. There is no better way to show it was just a blip and that we are bang in that title race than giving Mourinho's team a good seeing to.

And on another positive note, thank god for spurs! They've always been there to cheer us up in our times of need.  Here's spurs "players" Assou-Ekotto and Emmanuel Adebayor (remember him?) showing their bitter disappointment after their employers lost 5-0 at home to Liverpool yesterday.

Aaand now AVB has been sacked.  Total meltdown on the Death Star!

Arsenal 1 - 1 Everton Player Ratings

Man of the Match Laurent Koscielny

Arsenal 2 - 0 Hull City Match Report: Kittens swept aside

Another comfortable victory and another clean-sheet with a number of players rested - a good day at the office all round.

Arsène rotated more than a rotisserie chicken, making five changes to the side that beat Cardiff with Jenkinson, Monreal, Flamini, Rosicky and Bendtner all starting. Any concerns that the changes made would cause us to lose fluency lasted less than two minutes as once again Arsenal came flying out of the blocks.

A superb ball from Aaron Ramsey found Carl Jenkinson near the touch line; his whipped cross was excellent and Bendtner headed powerfully down into the bottom corner. The goal obviously meant a lot to him and it immediately vindicated Arsène's selection choices. It also gave the crowd no time to get on Bendtner's back; a large section of Arsenal fans feel the need to sigh, tut, tell the person next to them "I told you he was shit" or just yell abuse every single time he has a bad touch, misplaces a pass or misses a shot. Some of the people near me were talking as if it was a miracle that he had scored, as if he was a blind one-legged 98 year-old footballer. Tedious.

We thoroughly dominated the first 25 minutes, playing some great football with Cazorla, Ramsey and Özil in particular enjoying lots of possession in the final third. Hull seemed focused on damage limitation and managed to withhold the onslaught until half time. As the half time whistle blew, there was a sense that, given our domination, we had let the Tigers off a little easily.

I'd imagine Hull's gameplan for the second half was something like "let's just stay in this, keep it tight and maybe we can sneak an equaliser but for the sake of fuck lads lets not concede a goal at the beginning if the half again..."  Then they conceded again at the beginning of the half. A quite beautiful Ronaldinhoesque no-look pass by Ramsey slipped in a grateful Mesut Özil who finished neatly and confidently at the near post.

The rest of the match made comfortable viewing. The greedy side of me would have loved another goal or two but our performance was once again extremely impressive and we've built up a level of consistency which will no doubt delight the manager.  He can also be pleased with yet another clean sheet and the players that came into the side, particularly Monreal who I thought was excellent.  We have a difficult run of fixtures coming up and rotating effectively is a tricky but essential challenge for Arsène. So far though, he's got it just right.

As the fans filtered out of the stadium, the news of Everton's late winner against United was greeted with a large cheer. Since we lost the battle between good and evil a few weeks ago, we have bounced back with three straight league wins and United have slipped up 3 times leaving them 12 points behind us. I'd be amazed if they came back to mount a title challenge, if I were a United fan (shudder) I would be worried about finishing outside the top 4. But happily I'm not, I'm a Gooner and I'm loving the football my team are playing and I think we are serious challengers this year.

Man of the Match: Aaron Ramsey

Monthly Awards: November

Player of the month: Aaron Ramsey - he just won't give anyone else a look in at the moment.

Runner-up: Wojciech Szczesny -his new contract looks like a good decision on the back of 5 clean-sheets in 6 games in which me made some truely excellent saves.

Goal of the month: Aaron Ramsey vs LIverpool - A terrific dipping half volley from just outside the box. Scorcher.

Runner-up: Jack Wilshere (1st) vs Marseille - Didn't waste any time by cutting in from the right flank and curling a beauty into the top, far-corner.

Top Goalscorer: Aaron Ramsey (4 goals)

Most Assists: Mesut Özil (4 assists)

Best Moment: The Cardiff fans response to Aaron Ramsey's brace was extremely admirable and impressive.

Best result: Borussia Dortmund 0 - 1 Arsenal - A Ramsey goal gave us a vital and extremely impressive win. A superb defensive performance, with Mertesacker in particular excelling; only the second team to get a clean sheet there in 60 games.

Worst result: Man U 1 - 0 Arsenal - A painful defeat in which we conceded the only goal of the month to the one player we wanted to see score against us the least.

Traitorous D-bag of the month: Robin van F*ckyouIneverloveryouanyway

Controversy of the month: Flamini's sleeves. Those shirts are well expensive, Matthieu!

Quote of the month: "Sometimes it was like they were defending with four legs."- Jurgen Klopp

Cardiff City 0 - 3 Arsenal Match Report

Aaron Ramsey ensured he remained talk of the town on his return to Cardiff with another exceptional performance and two more excellent goals.  Both goals were greeted with applause from the home fans and the second even with chants of "there's only one Aarom Ramsey."  Following Aaron's non-celebration it was a lovely display of class and respect from the home fans who were clearly proud of the player they helped develop. And what a player! 

The game nearly got off to the perfect start as Wilshere almost followed up his superb mid-week curler with another - this time his effort hit the woodwork but it was another encouraging moment from an in-form player, growing in confidence.

Arsenal could have gone behind after a clash of heads between Bacary Sagna and Per Mertesacker left the big German needing treatment on the sidelines. While he was off the pitch, Cardiff sensibly played the ball out wide and whipped in a cross which Frazier Campbell headed narrowly wide.

Olivier Giroud could have given Arsenal the lead early on but spurned the opportunity, thinking he was offside. A long ball was flicked on by Özil with Giroud well offside however the linesman did not spot the flick so play continued with Giroud through on goal. Giroud stopped and by the time he realised play had continued, a defender was back to block his shot.  The morale of the story there is play to the whistle, kids! Olivier claimed that the linesman raised his flag quickly before changing his mind, in which case I have some sympathy for the striker but it was an extremely embarrassing moment for him. All that said, he should have been offside so a goal would not have been a fair one and it didn't affect the outcome of the game.

Arsenal did manage to take the lead through Aaron Ramsey.  His first goal was a well-guided powerful header from an excellent Özil cross.  Aaron's celebration contrasted quite notably to his shushing of Stoke and Swansea fans.  I've been impressed with the way he has carried himself in the last few seasons; the way he didn't publicly criticise Shawcross or react angrily to the Stoke fans' incomprehensible booing and now for the respect he shows towards Cardiff.  I wouldn't be surprised at all if he finished his career there à la Craig Bellamy.

We were for the most part in control of the game but were reliant on another excellent save from the on-form Szczesny who dived low to his right to keep out another Frazier Campbell header and earn another clean sheet - his fifth in the last six games.  It was another disciplined defensive performance and I was impressed by the team's energy levels and pressing given their midweek exploits against Marseille.

We had some good options on the bench on Saturday and two of the substitutes made a real difference. First Flamini broke forward and latched onto an excellent through ball from Mesut Özil; his second superb assist of the game. Flamini did his best to break the back of the net and made the points safe.

Ramsey's second came on the break in injury-time to add further gloss to the scoreline. With Cardiff pushing forward they left themselves open at the back and vulnerable to the pace of another substitute, Theo Walcott, who I'm guessing is not someone it would be fun to defend against after running around for 90 minutes.  He broke clear before cutting back to the man of the moment who took a touch before hammering home into the top corner.

Cardiff are not an easy team to beat so convincingly. Just ask either of the two Manchester teams who both dropped points against them.  Fortunately the standards are a little higher at Arsenal...

Sunday brought further joy as Spurs drew with United, leaving them 9 and 10 points behind us respectively and Liverpool lost to Hull (our opponents on Wednesday.)

At the moment Chelsea and City look like our most likely challengers for the league, both of whom we face in December.  But a third of the way through the season we can be delighted with how things are going.  Next up is a very winnable game at Hull on Wednesday.  Keep it up lads!

Man of the Match: Aaron Ramsey

Arsenal 2 - 0 Marseille Match Report: Wilshere shines in comfortable victory

Another victory, another clean sheet and another assured performance, however Dortmund's victory over Napoli means that despite having racked up 12 points in 5 games, qualification into the last 16 isn't yet guaranteed.  Poor old Marseille further enhanced their status as group whipping boys and the difference in class was clear.

There were signs against Southampton that Jack Wilshere was getting back to his best with a very strong performance and almost an exceptional goal.  Last night deployed out on the right, he wasted no time when after just half a minute of the match, he cut in side and curled a beauty into the top corner. It was a sensational goal and a sensational start to the match.  Jack has received some criticism lately, particularly from supporters of the national side but it takes someone of very little patience or a very short memory to write off a player off such obvious potential and quality. He took his goal tally for the season to four last night - a very encouraging figure which I am sure he can build on. His goals were well timed last night as Ramsey came close a couple of times but along with Özil was denied by some good saves.

It should have been 2-0 before half time after Ramsey flicked the ball over his man before being taken out on the edge of the box (probably just outside). The referee pointed to the spot but when Özil stepped up, his penalty was soft and comfortably saved. It was a mixed bag from our record signing last night; he missed a penalty and had some sloppy moments but he also showed a few moments of quality and created 5 chances, including the assist for Wilshere's second goal of the game.  After a lovely slide-rule pass from Ramsey, Özil played a neat ball with the outside if his foot across the area to the well-positioned Wilshere, who finished confidently with the inside of his left boot.

"I liked his first goal. Before, he rushed a little bit. He's starting to think 'what Ramsey can do, I can do as well'. He's calm in front of goal and especially the first goal shows that." - Arsène Wenger on Jack Wilshere

The team's performance was one of dominance; it was a comfortable game as we bossed possession (67.3%) and it was very disciplined too - we only conceded 5 fouls and picked up no yellow cards, even with Flamini starting. It was perhaps a sign of how strong a team we are at the moment that there was a feeling of having let Marseille off a bit lightly - perhaps we could have been a little more urgent and clinical but ultimately is was another encouraging performance.  We also showed a little strength in depth by bringing in Rosicky, Flamini and Monreal and Walcott made his second substitute appearance of the week.  The game shouldn't have been too physically demanding and the team should be fighting fit for their tricky but ultimately winnable trip to Cardiff on Saturday.

So what does this mean for our hopes of going through? In short, presuming Dortmund beat Marseille in France, Arsenal will need to avoid defeat by three goals in Napoli. It would be surprising and upsetting if we managed to lose by three goals against a team we beat with such style and brilliance at the Emirates stadium.

Man of the match: Jack Wilshere

Arsenal 2 - 0 Southampton Match Report: A tale of two Poles between the poles

After what seemed to be the longest international break in living memory, it was great to be back watching 'proper' football and even better as Arsenal were back to winning ways.  We faced a Southampton side that have improved vastly upon the team that we hammered 6-1 at the Emirates last season; so much so that they sat 3rd in the table at the start of the weekend.

Before Saturday's game, Southampton had conceded just 5 league goals, giving them the meanest defense in the league, making it all the more suprising that the game hinged on a rather calamitous error from Artur Boruc - with Olivier Giroud closing him down, he first dillied and then dallied before Giroud tackled him and played the ball into the open net.  Being the heartless sort, I laughed pretty hard but I don't think the same can be said for Boruc's team mates or manager. Boruc also let in a howler against Stoke goalkeeper, Asimir Begovic and he certainly has a lot of making up to do.  Garth Crook's reaction was perhaps a little harsh: "He should be fined two weeks' wages for that." If I was fined two weeks' wages every time I made a blunder I would be without a roof over my head pretty soon... although I imagine its a bit different for professional footballers.

Our Polish goalie on the other hand put in another commanding performance, dominating his area and making some good saves and picking up his 3rd clean sheet in four games for us - a statistic I take great encouragement from.  It is also worth noting that Mathieu Flamini's protection wasn't needed for those games.  Our back four all played extremely well and are showing the kind of organisation and reliability that comes from having a settled and focused defence.  Another encouraging statistic was that we won an extremely impressive 28/32 aerial duels.

Although our first goal came from a howler, it could easily have come from a moment of brilliance. First Jack Wilshere's exquisite chip with his right foot came back off the post and then Aaron Ramsey channeled his inner Kanu to back heel against the same post after some sensational build up play.  Jack was played through the middle in the number 10 role which Özil normally occupies and I thought he played very well - he had a tough physical battle with the unit that is Victor Wanyama but his class shone through.

The game was pretty even and Southampton look a very handy team but I think the Arsenal side of 2013 has a new found resilience and I have much more faith in the team to see their way through difficult situations.  Of course, situations are much less difficult when the opposition gifts you two goals, as they did yesterday.  The second goal came from a penalty after Jose Fonte needlessly tugged Per Mertesacker's shirt after an Arsenal corner.  Per's reaction was priceless.

"Overall we could not take our chances today but we took advantage of their mistakes" - Arsène Wenger

With Arteta and Özil both having been subbed off, the responsibility fell to Olivier Giroud to take the penalty - he cooly dispatched it for his tenth goal of the season.  I've spoken at length on this blog about Olivier Giroud's contribution to the team this season and I'm delighted for him.  Another positive came in the form of the returning Theo Walcott.  We have coped admirably without our wide men; Podolski, Walcott and the Ox but it is fantastic to have one of them back.  It may take him a while to get back to full fitness and form but I can't wait to see his runs in behind being rewarded regularly with Özil's through balls.

We only have until Tuesday to wait for our next game, where hopefully we will dispatch Marseille and seal qualification to the knockout stages of the Champions League. Until then, let's just enjoy being four points clear at the top of the table.

Man of the Match: Artur Boruc Olivier Giroud

Golden Gunners: Nwankwo Kanu

Next in our Golden Gunners series is the enigmatic and incredibly likeable Nwankwo Kanu. Signed in 1999 not long after Anelka's move to Real and just three years after major heart surgery, Kanu represented a bit of a gamble from Arsène Wenger, but one that happily paid off.  In Kanu's three year spell at Inter, he managed just 12 games and one goal but Arsène looked back to his impressive spell at Ajax (in which he scored 25 goals in 54 appearances and won a Champions League medal) and decided he was worth the risk.

During his first full season at the club (1999-2000) he was at the peak of his ability, having picked up his 2nd African player of the year award, he went on to win many plaudits for his languid and unpredictable style, wonderful close control and touch with his enormous, size 15 feet. He scored 17 goals in 50 appearances that season, including a highly memorable and quite ridiculous hat-trick to turn defeat into victory against Chelsea.

Kanu won the double with Arsenal in 2002, the FA cup in 2003 and was part of the title-winning Invincibles team in 2004 although by this time, in his last season at the club, he rarely played, making just the minimum of ten appearances required to receive a winners medal.  Despite falling out of the first team picture at Highbury, he remained popular with supporters and players and enjoyed a very warm reception whenever returning to play against Arsenal.

Kanu is the second most capped Nigerian footballer, scoring 13 goals in 86 appearances and his list of honours is remarkable, including Champions League, UEFA cup, three FA Cup, two Premier League and Olympic gold winners medals. His popularity is Nigeria is understandably immense, made more so by his philanthropic work: after his major heart surgery, he set up the Kanu heart foundation, first to help young Africans with heart defects and then extended to helping the homeless.

In a 2008 poll of Arsenal fans, Kanu was voted Arsenal's 13th greatest former player, above such players as Merson, Smith, Dixon, Petit, Sol Campbell, Anelka and Keown - remarkable given he made almost half his Arsenal appearances from the bench.  He is actually second only to Shola Ameobi in the list of most used substitutes in Premier League history. In my opinion this level of appreciation is a bit much but there are a few reasons that he finished so high. Putting aside the voting being weighted heavily towards more recent players, Kanu was immensely likeable; creating his own gunners celebration especially for us; he was so exciting and unusual to watch and capable of moments of inspiration and sheer brilliance.

Here are a few such moments which I rate as his best goals for the club:

4) This Backheel goal against Middlesbrough.

3) Cheeky as you like against Deportivo - puts the goalie on the floor without touching the ball

2) This glorious goal against Spurs - makes Luke Young look like a right mug.

1) And of course that hattrick goal against Chelsea

Although Kanu's 44 goals in 198 games for the club are not overwhelming, he is much-loved by Arsenal and Nigeria supporters because he was so entertaining.  Just look at the way Arsène chuckled after that goal against Deportivo or those audacious goals against Tottenham and Middlesbrough - he was an absolute joy to watch.

Manchester United 1 - 0 Arsenal Match Report

Matches can be won and lost on such narrow margins.  In Dortmund last week we so easily could have gone behind as Szszesny helplessly watched two first half efforts drift narrowly wide of his post and we went on to win the game. Yesterday van Persie's header could so easily have not bounced off his shoulder and looped over Kieran Gibbs and under the crossbar but unfortunately it did and it proved decisive.

The defensive performance against Dortmund was widely praised, and rightfully so, and at the heart of that was the immense Per Mertesacker. Unfortunately he had to sit out the game at Old Trafford with a bug alongside another outstanding mid-week performer, Tomas Rosicky. Rosicky may have dropped to the bench anyway to accommodate Mathieu Flamini but Mertesacker's absence was a worry. Thomas Vermaelen's performance on a ground where he dropped a clanger last year was encouraging and there is no doubting his attitude and commitment.

Question marks were raised over whether we would have defended the corner better with Per but Giroud had been nodding plenty of those away lately.  I don't want to focus too much on debating the strengths and weaknesses of zonal marking because frankly it bores me but I haven't seen enough evidence to worry that we are particularly vulnerable from set pieces this season.

Our midfield performance in the first half was disappointing; we were sloppy in possession and failed to find any rhythm or fluency which Arsène worryingly blamed on nerves. We dominated possession after the break but struggled to create any clear-cut chances. Cazorla, Özil and Ramsey were all unable to find anything good enough to break United's resolute defence and Bacary Sagna's excellent crosses looked our most likely avenue but first Giroud and later Bendtner didn't do enough to get on the end of them.

It was a bad day at the office for Olivier Giroud who completed just 25 of 41 passes. With our current injury troubles, Wenger's attacking options from the bench were limited; he brought on Wilshere, who looked good, Gnabry, who was bright and Bendtner, who unsurprisingly didn't turn the game on its head.  Hopefully after the international break we can get some key attacking players back to fitness and if we find ourselves in a similar position, Arsène will have some better options at his disposal.

van Persie's celebration made difficult and infuriating viewing but at least now he has dropped the ridiculous pretence that he holds any respect or gratitude for the club where he made his name.  We can only hope that come the end of the season we are the ones celebrating like lunatics while he looks on, filled with regret and bitterness.

The result brings United some hope that they can challenge for the title; had they lost I think they would have been, rightly or wrongly, ruled out of the race. We missed an opportunity to really kick them while they were down and keep a nice big, juicy 5 point lead at the top if the table with our first win at Old Trafford in five years.  It was of course bitterly disappointing but fortunately Spurs, City and Chelsea all slipped up and we go into the international break two points clear.

I didn't see anything to change my opinion that Arsenal are strong enough to win the league and I am confident we will put this result behind us with three wins in our next three league games against Southampton, Cardiff and Hull. Then let's make damn sure get some sweet revenge in the return game in February.

Man of the Match: Bacary Sagna

Manchester United - Arsenal Match Preview

"Bad luck old chap."

Oh what a difference a season makes! This time last year United were nine points clear of us and I was swallowing sadness as my former hero was scoring traitorous goal after traitorous goal for them.  Olivier Giroud was still struggling to find his feet and Arsenal fans knew that despite some good additions to the squad in the form of Santi Cazorla and Lukas Podolski, we weren't title-challengers.  United had beaten us on their turf in a game where we were completely dominated and our captain was even kind enough to gift van Persie the opening goal.

Fast forward a year and the fortunes of both clubs have changed dramatically... United are the team being mocked from all sides, the all-conquering Sir Alex Ferguson stepped down and was replaced by Moyes, whose summer transfer activity and slow start certainly hasn't endeared him to the Old Trafford faithful.  Arsenal on the other hand sit proudly on top of the table after their best start to the season in many years and their most eye-catching transfer of all time.

A few words on Robin van Persie then... even now, more than a year after his transfer, I struggle to mention him without spouting out a string of the crudest expletives that I can muster.  I adored the man, I loved watching him in an Arsenal shirt and his departure hurt me more than that of any former player.  Call me bitter but I want to see the man fail; I want to see pain and regret in his eyes as often as possible and there is no better opportunity than this Sunday to show what a terrible decision he made.  Although he was firing on all cylinders this time last year and Olivier Giroud still looked a bit lost, a glance at their figures this season suggests that we have found a more than adequate replacement:

These figures take into account League and Champions League Football and as you can see the two strikers are tied on goals but you can also see Giroud has been superior to van Persie in almost every other department, although to be fair van Persie is playing in a much weaker team (snigger).  While he may not have van Persie's eye for the spectacular, that ability to create something out of nothing; Giroud creates so many more chances and brings a lot more to the team.  I would hazard a guess that the Arsenal midfielders prefer playing with Giroud.

One area that we certainly should have the better of United on Sunday is the midfield, where United look far from convincing and Arsenal have an embarrassment of riches.  No one man typifies Arsenal's turnaround more than Aaron Ramsey and it so easily could have been very different if he had joined United instead of Arsenal.  Fortunately for us, Arsène Wenger convinced young Aaron that he was the man to develop him into a world-class midfielder.  What the two of them have achieved together is remarkable - Arsène has shown an outstanding ability to nurture talent through his career but Ramsey could prove to be his greatest success story - to mentor him following his horror injury at the hands of the Orcs, to see past his poor form last season and to extend his contract and to guide him to where he is now is just remarkable.

United's attack is of course very strong.  Whereas Ferguson would often deploy a five-man midfield against us with largely successful results I expect Moyes to play both Rooney and van Persie on Sunday. It's an intimidating strike force but we can be very much encouraged by impressive clean sheets against Napoli, Tottenham, Liverpool and Dortmund.  

As Carl gleefully pointed out in his excellent preview, our recent record at Old Trafford makes grim reading. We may be brought crashing down to earth by that traitorous Dutch helmet and co. but we are more than good enough to really kick them while they are down and complete a fantastic week's work with a most satisfying victory.  While we can never underestimate United, I can't remember the last time I felt so optimistic before a game against them.  I would love it... I would just love it...

Prediction:
Manchester United 0-1 Arsenal


If you missed it, do please give Carl's preview (from a United fan's perspective) of the game a look.  It really is an excellent read.

Behind Enemy Lines: Manchester United - Arsenal preview... from a United perspective

My sincere thanks to Carl for braving Gooner territory to preview this game for The Gun Show. It's interesting to hear what fans of the opposition have to say on our team as well as their own, particularly when they support United and their team is looking a bit mince. Over to you, Carl...

Impressions of Arsenal

Growing up as a Manchester United fan in the all conquering 90’s, Arsenal were the first team to truly challenge our unequivocal dominance. Being accustomed to success, the triumph of Wenger’s team in 1998 came as a shock to the system. The broody mix of Gallic power and craft along side an ageing rock of defenders pierced United’s invincibility.  Then followed the extraordinary mix of pace and skill of the Henry–Pires era, which was frighteningly good, and made me sick to my stomach watching.

The demise of Arsenal over the last ten years is akin to seeing a once swaggering lothario, who you grudgingly respected, slowly succumbing to alcoholism. Trudging wildly from one embarrassment to the next, the 8-2 defeat being the nadir where said lotahrio turned up pissed at a wedding, punched the groom, then fell on the cake, losing the once held respect of everyone in the room. It’s a darkly amusing, yet sorry sight. It came to a point when looking at the scoreboard that day that I actually felt sorry for Arsène. That is a thought that, from a United fan, should strike shame into any Arsenal supporter.

This season I’ve started hating Arsenal again. They seem to have finally formed some kind of identity and balance to the side and have grown in confidence with their big name ‘Galactico’. I still think they lack that second key striker and a couple of back-up centre backs to truly challenge for the league. You could see them losing a couple of games around Christmas and the whole thing falling apart again. That would be a shame in some sense, as they’ve only just got back on the wagon.

Thoughts on David Moyes

The main problem for David Moyes is his face. There’s not really a lot he can do about that; it’s his face. But I believe it has caused him no end of trouble.  He seems to have two main facial expressions. First is his gormless, crooked grin stare, which was largely seen early on in pre-season when posing for badly judged PR shots. The one of him sat behind the desk at Carrington with a does-this-chair-fit, work placement posture was particularly cringe inducing. The second is his befuddled, angry stare. It’s the kind of stare you’d have if you’d just walked into the living room to find your dog dry humping the chaise longue [I had to google this.  You learn something new every day - ed]. This scowl doesn’t project any sense of control; it just makes him look baffled and frustrated.

Of course it is ludicrous to suggest that Moyes facial signals have a huge contributing factor in how United perform on the pitch. But knowing how well the media like to weave narratives, particularly the ‘downfall of United’ story they have been waiting so patiently for, a picture of Moyes’ troubled expression on the touchline lends particularly well next to an ‘end is nigh’ headline.  This perception slowly feeds through to the players, and they immediately have a get-out clause for a bad performance. I’m only half joking here.

Moyes is an above-average manager. He hasn’t proven anything otherwise in his career to date. Of course he has a chance to disprove it now, but there is no evidence to suggest he will. Above-average managers can win trophies with good teams: Mancini and Houlier are two recent cases in point. But they don’t win Champions Leagues that often and they certainly don’t usher in, or continue, periods of dominance.  And that’s fine in some sense; all periods of dominance eventually end. What’s important is that in 5 years time Manchester United are still in a position to compete at the top. And unless it goes catastrophically wrong over the next few years (with the Glazers at the helm, don’t discount it) they probably will be. Whether that will be with Moyes or someone else may depend on how quickly he can get a face coach.

Key battles

A big question for United is whether both RVP and Rooney play. Van Persie's absence from the starting line up midweek would point to him starting, and with United having home advantage they will probably both play. Against Arsenal's vibrant midfield Moyes may be tempted to go with three in midfield but given Rooney's form he'll be a vital big game asset.

The pairing of Cleverly and Jones in centre midfield against Fulham, while both are shaky in possession, gives United much more mobility than with the leaden-footed Fellani, and gives Rooney the freedom to break forward more often. Carrick's fitness is a real concern as he is far and away the best passer; his pinpoint passing from deep will be key to getting the ball quickly to Rooney and the channels, instigating a bursting attack. Arsenal may get lots of possession high up the pitch so this will be a key route of attack for United.

One of the few plus points for United this season, along with Rooney's return to form, has been the improvement of Patrice Evra. His drive and overlapping runs have been a real outlet on the left. More often in recent seasons his surging bursts have led to a disappointing end product, but so far this season he has assisted 3 goals. In Sagna he has a worthy opponent, and with the likelihood it will be Kagawa on the left alongside Evra, who will be keen to drift inside, it is a battle Sagna should edge.

What the game will tell us about Manchester United.

As with all games against the big sides this early on in the season, they only really mean anything retrospectively.  However, if United lose they will be 11 points behind Arsenal. A Fergie-led United side would sneer at that feeble challenge, like a boxer allowing his opponent some free shots in the early rounds to gain confidence, and then pummelling them into submission later on. But this is a disjointed, confused Manchester United side. That swagger and confidence has now been called into question.

And make no mistake, the big battle for United this season will be to finish above Arsenal. With Man City looking like clear favourites, finishing above Arsenal will probably mean 2nd or 3rd and will be an on par performance for Moyes this season. It would be the acceptable ‘transition’ season to build from. So what would a victory against Arsenal on Sunday tell us about that possibility?  In the last season Arsenal finished above United, back in 2005, United won 2-0 at Old Trafford and romped to a 4-2 win at Highbury. Since 2005 United have won eight of their Premier League meetings to Arsenal’s four. In the last three seasons where Arsenal have won (twice in 2006-07, once in2008-09 and 2010-11), United have gone on to win the league. So if the recent stats tell us anything (and they don’t), a losing team will ultimately prosper.

Prediction

1-1

Arsenal have a deceptively poor recent record at Old Trafford. Their memorable title winning victories of 1998 and 2002 hide the fact that they have only three wins at Old Trafford in Premier League history, and they have never won by a scoreline greater than 1-0. The one time they scored more than once at Old Trafford in the Premier League they lost 8-2. In that sense Sunday could prove a substantial opportunity to put a marker down for Arsenal; that a new regime at Old Trafford serves as a precedent to disregard their poor Old Trafford form.

Arsenal will want to prove their title credentials but avoid defeat and United will want to keep their tame unbeaten run going. United will hopefully learn the lesson of their hammering at the hands of City and keep it much tighter between midfield and defence.


Check back again on Saturday if you would like to read the Gun Show's very own Arsenalcentric, van Persie-slating preview of the game...

Borussia Dortmund 0-1 Arsenal Match Report

In terms of results, last night's game was certainly one of Arsenal's greatest European nights. Dortmund have become one of the most formidable and highly regarded teams in Europe. Their home form is spectacular, better than any other team in Europe's top leagues... unfortunately for them though they came up against a ruthless Gunners side whose away form is equally impressive.

Before the game, a huge amount of respect was exchanged between the two bosses with Klopp even referring to our manager as Sir Arsène Wenger. Dortmund showed their class by putting their former star, Tomas Rosicky's shirt from the first game in their museum. As the teams emerged into the stadium to the yellow wall of 80,000 fans it was easy to see why Klopp described his club as "worth falling in love with."

That respect continued into the first half with the Arsenal players, seemingly having learnt their lesson from the first game, careful not to commit too many men forward and leave themselves open. Dortmund's pressing was relentless and impressive - it's hard to recall many matches where our midfielders have had so much trouble imposing themselves on the game and Arteta in particular looked frustrated. At half time, we hadn't managed a single shot and sneaking a win seemed unlikely. Keeping a clean sheet also seemed like a very tall order after narrow misses by Subotic and Mkhitaryan.  Before the game, Klopp had spoke of the serenity of Arsenal but I for one felt very far from serene in that first half.

If we were hoping that the balance of play would change in the second half, the first ten minutes suggested it wouldn't. Such was the speed and intensity of Dortmund's pressure, it felt as though they had a couple of extra players.

Miraculously, shortly after the hour mark, something rather wonderful happened - after some good work from Rosicky, Mesut Özil lofted a cross to Olivier Giroud who expertly nodded the ball into the path of Aaron Ramsey whose brave header gave us the only goal of the game and a vital three points.  He had been working tirelessly alongside Arteta to help shield the back four, finding almost no opportunities to get forward but obviously got bored of not scoring for an hour or so and decided to rectify that.  This quite brilliant GIF shows the reaction of the Dortmund fans.

It was a very lonely night for Olivier Giroud but he worked hard throughout and his superb assist for Ramsey was a great example of what he brings to the team.  I read a stat after the weekend that Robin van Persie had created just five chances in nine games whereas Giroud had created seventeen in ten games.  Since then, Robin van F*ckyouIneverlovedyouanyway missed a penalty and Giroud provided an assist for a match winner in Dortmund.  While it would be a stretch to say Giroud is as talented, he certainly brings an awful lot to the team and is far superior to that traitorous Douche in many ways.

Robert Lewandowski is of course an excellent player - full of clever movement, hard work and clinical in front of goal, but my goodness what a helmet that man is! Very lucky to be playing after an elbow on Koscielny in London, he slid through the back of Aaron Ramsey in the first half, spent the 2nd half trying to get our lego-haired skipper sent off and after a great Rosicky challenge indulged in some play-acting that Ashley Young would have been ashamed about... I joke, I joke - Ashley Young has no shame.  It's seems a pity though that Lewandowski will almost definitely follow Mario Götze's footsteps to Bayern in the summer.

Despite his obvious talents, Lewandowski and his team-mates were unable to break down a very disciplined and organised Arsenal back line.  Koscielny was terrific and Per Mertesacker alongside him was my man of the match - he was absolutely immense, as he has been for quite some time.  He has been so underrated for so long - it always amazes me when people express their doubts about him - he just oozes class through the way he reads the game, his positioning and decision-making, the way that he doesn't just win defensive headers but works out long in advance who to head the ball to.   The team defensive performance was all the more impressive given that Dortmund has scored in 60 of 61 of their last home games.  We finished last season by grinding out narrow wins and conceding very few goals.  We drew on those performances last night and it is so encouraging to have kept clean sheets in big games this season against the likes of Sp*rs, Liverpool, Napoli and now Dortmund.

"Sometimes it was like they were defending with four legs." - Jurgen Klopp

I'm not sure that last night was quite a symphony of beautiful football but it was certainly a great result - one that will no doubt have raised some eyebrows across Europe and it puts us in with an excellent chance of qualification from an extremely difficult group.  After the game, Arsène praised his side's focus and maturity which contrasted nicely from our naivety in the last Dortrmund game.  A friend texted last night to say he thought it was our most impressive result in years.  My reply was "until Sunday..."


Man of the Match: Per Mertesacker

A Manchester United supporting friend of my mine will kindly and bravely be previewing Sunday's big game with me.  I hope you will give it a read and be gentle with him!

Arsenal 2 - 0 Liverpool Match Report: Football in Formula 1 speed

Well that will do nicely!  After a couple of home defeats in other competitions, the visit of Liverpool promised to be an important clash for both teams. At kick-off, following Chelsea's defeat, Arsenal and Liverpool were first and second in the league respectively and there was a lot of discussion on whether either team can stay in the hunt for the title.  The result and performance thankfully suggested it looks far more likely for Arsenal and the five point lead at the top of the table certainly gives us hope.

With a late injury to Jack Wilshere the team rather picked itself.  There were some concerns given the injury to Mathieu Flamini that we would struggle to contain the on-form partnership of Suarez and Sturridge but Mikel Arteta produced his finest display of the season in front of a solid back four to help keep an invaluable and impressive clean-sheet.  Given our outstanding offensive play and the two superb goals it would be easy to ignore Mikel's performance but a glance of the stats shows you just how impressive he was.  He completed a fantastic 100 passes, 29 more that the second highest (Özil) including a vital ball to Sagna in the build up to the first goal, he had 13 ball recoveries (equal most with Skrtel) and he won more tackles than anyone else on the pitch (7).  The only negative I can remember was letting Henderson run unchallenged into the box, although perhaps that was a deliberate ploy given how shambolic Henderson is.

He wasn't the only Spanish midfielder putting in his best performance since returning from injury though, no Sir.  Santi was superb and got a much deserved and beautifully taken goal in the 19th minute.  A well-weighted ball down the right flank found Sagna who pulled his cross back behind the near-post run of Olivier Giroud to the big target man Santi Cazorla, who played a clever headed one-two with the post before showing his class with a beautiful volley past Simon Mignolet.  It sounds silly and I know its a cliché but the first goal was always going to be vital and from then on our superior quality in the middle of the park paid dividends.  As Nick predicted in his excellent preview a few days ago, Arsenal's midfield were too good for Gerrard, Lucas and Henderson and I thought this was where the game was won.

A lot has been made of this Suarez and Sturridge partnership but yesterday Koscielny did a very good job of handling Suarez, excluding one moment where Suarez turned him and left him for dead.  Thankfully Sturridge was extremely poor - his most notable contributions being missing a free-header and taking an absurd dive in the first half, which annoyingly went unpunished by the referee.  The Arsenal fans sang: "Are you Suarez in disguise?"  They also gave the bitey, diving, racist, former transfer-target some more grief with chants of "You should've signed for a big club." 

Liverpool brought Coutinho on for Cissokho at half-time but he was returning from injury and did not look sharp at all.  We looked open at the beginning of the second half and our defensive performance, although encouraging, wasn't as convincing as the clean sheet suggested.  The game was taken out of Liverpool's reach by a quite superb strike from the best Welsh footballer plying his trade in England or Spain at the moment, Aaron Ramsey - he controlled a short-ball from Özil, looked up to find he had time and space 20 yards from goal and struck the sweetest of dipping half-volleys.  There isn't much left to be said about Ramsey this season - his transformation has been extraordinary and we are lucky to have him, and for that matter, a manager who was able to bring the best out of him.

It would take too long to single out all of the players who deserved praise today but I will say what a joy the team performance was to watch. I enjoyed Özil's statement that we played at "Formula 1 speed" and certainly there was no handbrake is sight.  Now let's hope the team continues to spoil us by keeping it up in two big games against Dortmund and Manchester United in the next week

Man of the Match: Mikel Arteta

Behind Enemy Lines: Arsenal - Liverpool Preview... From a Liverpool Perspective

Today we turn our attention to Saturday's top of the table clash with Liverpool and Nick Price has very kindly agreed to share his thoughts and predictions for the game with us.  He is a Liverpool fan who writes an excellent blog on The Premier League - highly recommended reading.  Also, be sure to give him a follow on twitter @pricenick.

Impressions of Arsenal
As always with Arsenal, they’re a terrific team to watch but there’s still doubts over whether or not they can sustain their run of form, especially when they hit a daunting set of fixtures. The Mesut Özil signature seems to have inspired confidence in the team and instilled pride and excitement through the stands, just what was needed after an otherwise embarrassing summer of inactivity despite having more cash to ignite than Monty Burns. He’s the best player to have been imported into the Premier League, and it’s testament to Arsène Wenger’s standing in the game and the way he sets his team out that he could convince him to come. 

But, and it’s a big but, his signing alone can’t cover the deficiencies in the squad. I’m a Mathieu Flamini fan but he’s not exactly a brilliant practitioner of what he does - he’s just a bloke who does his job well enough more times than not, which probably isn’t enough for a team competing for multiple trophies. Olivier Giroud is playing as beautifully as he looks, but when he gets injured or goes off the boil, who can come in and pick up the slack? Add to that, Wojciech Szczesny still looks as likely to pull out a stunning save as he does to have a complete brainfart, while the back four is merely alright. 

You’d expect Chelsea to step things up some more over the course of the season, and there’s clearly much more to come from the Manchester clubs, so Arsenal need to maintain their form and bank points now before the other big sides pick up the pace.

Thoughts on Brendan Rodgers
There are lots of parallels between Wenger and Rodgers, way back from them being no great shakes as professional players to the way they like to have their teams control games, and you can throw pretty much the same praise and criticism at both. 

They both embarrass themselves in press conferences, they both tend to make changes too late in the game when things aren’t going well, they both doggedly stick to their philosophies for better or worse, and they’re both offensively ugly; but, they both give youngsters a chance, they both want their players to keep the ball, and they both promote attractive football, which endears them to supporters. I like both, though many don’t. 

Rodgers is a good fit for and reflection of the status of the club at the moment. Liverpool can’t attract the very best players anymore and are having to reply on youngsters with big potential if they are to get back into the top four on a regular basis. I’d be as delighted as I would be surprised if Liverpool do qualify for the Champions League this season, but things are looking on the up and there’s a more discernible playing style and overall strategy under Rodgers than there ever was when Kenny Dalglish came back. 

Key battles
It’s all about the midfield. It’s not being too facetious to say Lucas Leiva, Steven Gerrard and Jordan Henderson would struggle against Ozil and two tuckered out koalas, but Liverpool’s three in the middle are disjointed and, in spite of the possession stats, are not exactly imposing themselves on games this season. Lucas and Gerrard in particular seem to get absolutely knackered around the hour mark, leaving Henderson to run around like a wild dog chasing the ball for the last third. It’s as perplexing as it is worrying, and any team that presses against those three can control the middle.

Giroud versus the back three of Sakho, Skrtel and Toure will also be fascinating. I can see one or two of those getting dragged about by midfield runners, leaving space for Özil et al to slide in a sexy through ball.
On the more positive side, Sturridge and Suarez will force chances versus any defensive combination you can pick, provided they don't get wound up.

What the game will tell us about Liverpool
If Liverpool get a win, then it’s not unreasonable to presume they’re capable of being direct rivals for the top four with Arsenal, but nothing more than that. A point would be a good result and suggest top four is an achievable goal but by no means something that should be expected. 

I can’t see Liverpool getting turned over, but a close defeat wouldn’t be unexpected nor necessitate great introspection.

Prediction
I’ll go for a score draw or a narrow Arsenal win with plenty of chances for both sides.