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.
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