Arsenal 2-1 Liverpool - When is a crisis not a crisis?

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 the warrior decides to win a header
and rip his opponent's head off while he's at it

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.

Man of the Match: Lukasz Fabianski

Arsenal 0 - 0 Manchester United

A frustrating evening all round as two teams who needed a win but couldn't afford to lose played out an an uneventful goalless draw that did neither team much good.

As frustrating as it was, positives can be taken and of course it could have been worse. In the second minute Mikel Arteta (otherwise pretty solid) was criminally caught in possession 30 yards from goal by Robin van Persie but thankfully Arsenal's no.1 fan's shot was tame and comfortably saved.

Arsenal were the more adventurous of the two sides but neither team wanted to commit too many men forward after embarrassing weekend results. It was a little worrying how much we were struggling to create chances. Mesut Özil has been coming in for some stick lately but he looked classy last night and was desperately trying to make something happen. I think he would really thrive if the players around him were driving into the box with pace. I'm sure that with Theo or Ramsey in the team he would be creating good chances for them to finish but with Giroud ahead of him he has to be much cleverer to create good opportunities.

Shortly after van Persie's miss, Olivier Giroud missed the chance of the game; a free header, six yards out in the middle of the goal. He failed to make decent contact, the ball travelling well wide off his shoulder. It was an embarrassing and costly miss in a game of few chances. I've sung Giroud's praises in the past for what he brings to the team - how he holds up the ball and how midfielders driving forward can play off him - but at the moment he brings little more than atrocious finishing, sluggishness and disappointed looks. What's more he looks tired. There is no use bemoaning our lack of a January centre-forward signing now, but I think we need to try someone else there in the coming games, be it Podolski or Bendtner. No player should be picked regardless of form and currently what he is producing just isn't even close to good enough.

Fortunately for us, the player Olivier was brought in to replace wasn't fairing much better. After van Persie's early miss he also shanked a right-footed shot well wide and had a second half header quite brilliantly saved by Szczesney.

The main positive from the game was of course our clean sheet; our 11th in our last 12 home games.  We did look the better side, taking more shots, winning the vast majority of aerial duels, having more possession and passing better than our opponents but those stats rather hide the fact that we just didn't look too dangerous.  Cazorla and Özil looked the most likely to make something happen and De Gea made a couple of good stops from Santi. As I've previously mentioned, we don't really look like getting in behind teams so that leaves shooting from range (not a tactic to rely on), getting the ball out wide and crossing it in (which Vidic dealt with well, albeit a bit grabbily and foulily) or trying to work our way through the middle tippily and tappily (which is bloody brilliant when it works but oh so difficult to pull off).  Last night we did a bit of each but none quite came off. The closest we came was the aforementioned Giroud miss and Koscielny's header which was stopped on the line by Valencia.

We are of course still in a good position, 2nd in the table with games against Sunderland, Stoke and Swansea next up in the league. The time for missed opportunities must now be behind us or not only will we fall away from Chelsea and City, but we could be caught by Liverpool or (whisper it) a Spurs side managed by Tim Sherwood...

 Man of the Match: Wojciech Szczęsny

Liverpool 5 - 1 Arsenal: Omnishambles

Grim. Brutal and grim... and bollocks. So what went wrong? Well everything really...

As Michael Owen gleefully reminded us four or five hundred times, Liverpool were quick out of the blocks against Everton and they repeated the trick against Arsenal and we were completely unable to contain them. There were some alarming individual errors that culminated in us shipping 4 goals in the first 20 minutes. The first of which was by the usually error-free Per Mertesacker - he let the ball bounce past him, seemingly unaware of Suarez behind him and then brought him down. It was as poor as it was uncharacteristic and from the resulting free kick, Mrtn Skrtl scrd hs frst gl f th gm #nvwlbantz.

Whilst no Arsenal player covered them self in glory or anything other than horsesh*t for that matter, Mesut Özil had a particularly nightmareish game, twice conceding possession poorly in the build up to a Liverpool goal. He is a great player and I really hope he shows that on Wednesday, and for the rest of the season for that matter. These individual errors/lapses in concentration were so disappointing but they were far from the only differences between the teams... The Liverpool players were just so much more determined and hungry for the win; they looked so much quicker. The ease in which they managed to get in behind us was alarming and not something that we ourselves can really threaten to do without Walcott in the side. At times it felt that the only thing that could save us would be some poor finishing, early runs and offside flags but there was no saving us on Saturday - we were well and truly (and deservedly) battered.

Before the game I was of the opinion that we were considerably stronger than Liverpool in defence and midfield and if we could control the game in the middle and cut the supply to the forwards (as we did at home) we could win the game. Pffff, not even close.

We did score a goal, but I can't remember taking so little pleasure in an Arsenal goal. It was a consolation akin to being given a toaster after getting sacked from your job, evicted from your home and left by your wife.

I found the best way to deal with the pain unbearable agony of the game was to hurl abuse at Daniel Sturridge (that f*cking dance) and Michael Owen, who was just insufferably smug, barely containing his laughter. Honestly, from the level of joy he was expressing you would have thought someone was tickling his balls with a feather duster for 90 minutes.

The manager and the players are making the right noises: "f*cking embarassing" according to Szczesney; "Was a really poor performance today from me" admitted a worryingly sluggish Giroud; "We won't let that happen again" said Mertesacker; Areta told us that “the manager was really upset at half-time, but that’s normal because it wasn't good enough for this football club. It was the angriest I have seen him.” Indeed Arsène was so angry that he fell over.

However... we aren't suddenly a terrible team. Using the examples of Mertesacker and Özil who both made errors leading to Liverpool goals; Mertesacker is not suddenly completely unaware of what's happening around him and Özil isn't now a sloppy passer who often gets caught in possession. This does need to be a wake-up call to them and the rest of the team as they fell well below the very high standards they have set themselves this season.

Next up are three home games against United, Liverpool and Bayern Munich and a reaction is needed. United, as everybody knows have been utterly shambolic this season; their match against Fulham yesterday was as bizarre as it was hilarious - they were so very dominant with 31 shots, 649 passes and 81 crosses yet drew 2-2. Whilst their lack of success from those crosses is staggering, we will need to defend any crosses a lot better than we did against Liverpool.  Liverpool's visit next weekend is of course all the more important now as the FA Cup remains our best chance of silverware and now there is a mental barrier to break down; we need to show that the last game was an anomaly and that we can better Liverpool.

As Arsène said in his post-match press conference: "People will raise questions. We only have one way to respond and answer to that - which is on Wednesday night." For the love of all that is holy, please let us do just that...

Monthly Awards: January

Player of the month: Santi Cazorla. I've loved Santi from the first time I saw him play in an Arsenal shirt and he was excellent during his first season.  I wear his name and number on the back of my Arsenal shirt and even tried to name my kitten Santi Catzorla (vetoed by my better half.)  He struggled a bit with injury earlier this season and wasn't quite so effective, but he is back to his devastating best now with 5 goals in January and he really looks like he's enjoying his football as much as ever. Just have a look at this moment of beauty from the little man.

Best result: Arsenal 2 - 0 Tottenham - A great day to be a Gooner.  It's always a pleasure to beat that lot and this game was no exception. It was more comfortable than our 1-0 victory earlier in the season and contained two hugely enjoyable goals and some excellent spud-baiting from Theo Walcott.

Worst result: Southampton 2 - 2 Arsenal - Thankfully this was an easy decision as it was our only slip-up in January. Our first-half performance was disappointing, with the midfield struggling to get a foothold in the game and Nacho forgetting on a number of occasions how to play football. We were outplayed by an impressive Southampton side but started the second half brightly.  A needless and reckless challenge from the fiery Flam left us with ten men and unable to push for a winner. It was not a good moment from Mathieu and results in a 4-game ban. That said, this Southampton side is a very good one and I think a draw at their place is no disaster.

Quote of the month: This month's quote comes from Tim Sherwood; Arsenal fan, simpleton and current Tottenham manager, who resided over Spurs's North London defeat (in which they were outnumbered in midfield.)

Goal of the month: Santi's goal against Spurs. The fans actually voted for the other goal from this game, when Tomas Rosicky closed down Danny Rose, jacked him up real good and sped elegantly and floppy-hairedly into the Spurs box before dinking over an overrated Frenchman. It was a great moment and so well-deserved for Tomas but I'm still pipping for Santi's sweetly-hit left footed strike. It came after a fine run and well-weighted pass from the impressive Serge Gnabry and it was the start of an impressive and very important run of goalscoring form from Santi.

Moment of the Month: Nicklas Bendtner's late strike against Cardiff.  We left it late and it wasn't looking good but in the 89th minute, the Great (at this particular moment) Dane slammed home following Sagna's parried header to grab us a couple of vital extra points. Unfortunately he went off injured but come the end of the season, who knows how important that goal will be?

Top goalscorer: Santi Cazorla (5 goals)

Talking points:

Spurs Fans reacted with outrage as Arsenal decided to reduce the allocation from their 15% entitlement citing safety reasons. The Spurs fans did their best to prove Arsenal right by ripping up chairs and throwing coins at an injured Theo Walcott. Bizarrely there was more post-match talk about whether Theo should be banned for reminding the Spurs fans of the score (which was also brazenly glaring out of the scoreboard) than the behaviour of the Spurs fans. Liverpool fans will also receive a reduced allocation this month.

Puma Sponsorship Deal  - mo' money, mo' money, mo' money for Arsène to spend on more Mesut Ozils and ... Kim Kallstroms?

January transfer window - I really wasn't expecting much from the transfer window and won't dwell on our lack of activity. On deadline day, Arsène had the choice between loaning a 31-year old, crocked, Swedish midfielder or nothing and Kim Kallstrom narrowly came out on top. I like the Swedes - so much so that I'm currently preparing an article on Anders Limpar but my first choice Swede probably would have been Zlatan...

Attacking Options - The injury to Theo was a real blow. He was excellent in December and really impressed through the middle against Tottenham. Bendtner has made important contributions against Hull and Cardiff this season but there are of course question marks over whether he is someone we can rely on regularly were Giroud to miss a few games. Whilst Podolski is a terrific finisher and very well-liked by Arsenal fans there is another sizeable question mark over him and whether he can be a success in the middle. It's true that our strike-force pales in comparison to Manchester City's but that may not be decisive. We have managed to find goals from all over the pitch when we've needed them this season and although Giroud is not a clinical finisher, he brings an awful lot to the team.  That said, it would be a great help if he was as good at finishing as he is at being handsome.

Arsène's contract - I wrote last month that I was surprised more hadn't been made of Arsène's contract drawing closer to expiry but Ivan Gazidis recently moved to reassure fans that there is nothing to fear: "We are comfortable and relaxed. Arsene will be extending with us and at the right time we’ll announce it.” Lovely.  I think that a lot of people whose faith in the boss may have been waning have re-found their belief this season and will be very glad to see his contact extended.

Defensive record - Right then, lets finish on a great, big, juicy positive.  At the time of writing (one game into February) we have conceded just one goal in our last 11 home games (a bit of a worldie from Everton youngster, Gerard Deulofeu.)  Now I'm no expert but I reckon conceding so few goals makes it easier to score more goals than the opposition...think about it.  A bizarrely large amount of football fans and pundits have been underrating Per Mertesacker for quite some time but his consistency and level of performance are making them look sillier and sillier. Koscielny continues to stake his claim as one of the best defenders in Europe and the full-backs and goalkeeper have all been impressive too.  If the defence can keep it up then maybe, just maybe we can do something special this season.