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.
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!
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...
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
No comments:
Post a Comment