When is a crisis not a crisis? Perhaps when you're just a point off the league leaders, have conceded just 2 goals in your last 13 home games, are still in the FA Cup and Champions League and 15 points better off than this time last season. Perhaps those members of the press and opposition fans who are so keen to draw a line under Arsenal's season need to get their tipp-ex out.
Just 8 days after a moral-damaging humping at Anfield, a focused and rotated Arsenal side did just enough to progress to the FA Cup Quarter Finals. Arsène shuffled his pack with half an eye on Bayern's visit and it could quite conceivably have gone wrong - if we had lost both games, then no doubt the manager would have really come under fire but he made some big decisions and gladly it paid off. The most notable change was a first start for Yaya Sanogo in place of Olivier Giroud and ahead of Nicklas Bendtner. But Fabianski, Monreal, Jenkinson, Flamini, the Ox and Podolski all joined him in the starting XI.
Sanogo looked to me like he really relished the occassion and certainly got stuck in, giving Skrtel and Agger a very difficult physical battle which they didn't look like they expected or enjoyed. Although he looked a little raw and had a couple of awkward moments he did extremely well overall and made an important contribution with a chest-down and volley which lead to our opening goal. While I don't expect him to get a lot of match time before the end of the season it was an encouraging performance that showed that the player could prove to be a shrewd signing over the next few seasons.
Another player who stood out in a major way was our cup goalkeeper, playing one of his last games for the club before his summer move. Fabianski made some excellent saves, particularly when rushing out to meet Sturridge and blocking from Suarez with his foot in the second half.
Flamini returned to the team after getting himself banned for four games and he was impressive alongside Mikel Arteta. I was not sure earlier in the season whether that partnership offered enough going forward but they provided much-needed protection and reliability in front of the back four and their record together makes surprisingly good reading. We've now played half of our 26 league games this season with those two starting and in those games, the side have conceded 8 fewer goals, scored 4 more, managed more shots and crosses, conceded fewer shots and taken 4 more points - undeniably encouraging stats. However, Arteta will be banned for the Bayern game which is a shame.
The Ox grabbed a lot of plaudits for his match-winning display; scoring the first with a cool finish following Sanogo's blocked shot and his excellent assist for the second - a goal that I really enjoyed. Alex slipped the ball to Özil and charged down the right flank before Mesut found him with a delicious and perfectly-weighted through ball. The Ox cut inside, looked up and pulled the ball back perfectly to Podolski who had taken up the perfect position and finished cooly. It was quick and incisive play which really showed off what those three players are all about. With Rosicky rested for the game, there is a good chance Arsène planned to start him on Wednesday but I wonder if the Ox has played his way into the team. I think with no Walcott available, his pace is all the more important to us.
There has been a lot of talk about Olivier Giroud lately; he apologised to his wife, manager, team-mates and the fans for some glamour model romping in the early hours before the Palace match. I'm not going to castigate Giroud for his lapse in morals or judgement, but I do hope whilst he is soul-searching he also finds his shooting boots.
At the full-time whistle there was a sense of delight and pride among the players and fans at having overcome a difficult opposition and a significant mental hurdle. It could of course had been very different; had Fabianski not have been so impressive or if Sturridge and Liverpool were as clinical as they were the previous weekend we could easily have gone behind. And even with a two-goal lead, we nearly let Liverpool back in with a first a needless foul in the box from Podolski to concede a penalty and then a needless foul in the box from the Ox, for which no penalty was given. Liverpool understandably felt aggrieved and it turned out to be the little bit of luck that we needed to see us over the line. Had that penalty been given and had we gone on to draw or lose the game, I'd imagine the knives would have been out and morale would have taken another significant below but thankfully we saw the game out and picked up a fortuitous but vital win. With Chelsea, United, Liverpool and Spurs all out of the competition, the FA Cup remains our best chance of silverware.
Just 8 days after a moral-damaging humping at Anfield, a focused and rotated Arsenal side did just enough to progress to the FA Cup Quarter Finals. Arsène shuffled his pack with half an eye on Bayern's visit and it could quite conceivably have gone wrong - if we had lost both games, then no doubt the manager would have really come under fire but he made some big decisions and gladly it paid off. The most notable change was a first start for Yaya Sanogo in place of Olivier Giroud and ahead of Nicklas Bendtner. But Fabianski, Monreal, Jenkinson, Flamini, the Ox and Podolski all joined him in the starting XI.
Sanogo looked to me like he really relished the occassion and certainly got stuck in, giving Skrtel and Agger a very difficult physical battle which they didn't look like they expected or enjoyed. Although he looked a little raw and had a couple of awkward moments he did extremely well overall and made an important contribution with a chest-down and volley which lead to our opening goal. While I don't expect him to get a lot of match time before the end of the season it was an encouraging performance that showed that the player could prove to be a shrewd signing over the next few seasons.
Another player who stood out in a major way was our cup goalkeeper, playing one of his last games for the club before his summer move. Fabianski made some excellent saves, particularly when rushing out to meet Sturridge and blocking from Suarez with his foot in the second half.
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Flamini the warrior decides to win a header and rip his opponent's head off while he's at it |
The Ox grabbed a lot of plaudits for his match-winning display; scoring the first with a cool finish following Sanogo's blocked shot and his excellent assist for the second - a goal that I really enjoyed. Alex slipped the ball to Özil and charged down the right flank before Mesut found him with a delicious and perfectly-weighted through ball. The Ox cut inside, looked up and pulled the ball back perfectly to Podolski who had taken up the perfect position and finished cooly. It was quick and incisive play which really showed off what those three players are all about. With Rosicky rested for the game, there is a good chance Arsène planned to start him on Wednesday but I wonder if the Ox has played his way into the team. I think with no Walcott available, his pace is all the more important to us.
There has been a lot of talk about Olivier Giroud lately; he apologised to his wife, manager, team-mates and the fans for some glamour model romping in the early hours before the Palace match. I'm not going to castigate Giroud for his lapse in morals or judgement, but I do hope whilst he is soul-searching he also finds his shooting boots.
At the full-time whistle there was a sense of delight and pride among the players and fans at having overcome a difficult opposition and a significant mental hurdle. It could of course had been very different; had Fabianski not have been so impressive or if Sturridge and Liverpool were as clinical as they were the previous weekend we could easily have gone behind. And even with a two-goal lead, we nearly let Liverpool back in with a first a needless foul in the box from Podolski to concede a penalty and then a needless foul in the box from the Ox, for which no penalty was given. Liverpool understandably felt aggrieved and it turned out to be the little bit of luck that we needed to see us over the line. Had that penalty been given and had we gone on to draw or lose the game, I'd imagine the knives would have been out and morale would have taken another significant below but thankfully we saw the game out and picked up a fortuitous but vital win. With Chelsea, United, Liverpool and Spurs all out of the competition, the FA Cup remains our best chance of silverware.