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