Arsenal 1 -1 Manchester City - Marauding Mathieu provides much-needed redemption

An ultimately satisfying and fair result as the players showed great determination, and that mental strength Arsène is so fond of, to come from behind and take what could be a valuable point in our battle to ensure we are playing Champions League football next season.

• The first half performance was a little disappointing.  Whilst we were far more solid defensively than in recent games, yet another individual error against a big side lead to a goal. Podolski first dillied then dallied before being robbed of the ball and throwing himself on the floor to try and win a free-kick. Dzeko's shot came off the post and back to an untracked David Silva for a tap-in. It was so frustrating and irritatingly familiar. The better the opposition the more likely we are to be punished and we are making far too many individual errors at the moment.

• The penalty shout was the only time we really threatened in the first half. A good ball from Santi fed Rosicky who pushed the ball past Zabaleta and went to ground. Whilst there was some contact Rosicky probably initiated it and the fullback was clearly trying not to bring him down so Mike Dean got a difficult decision correct. Rosicky was perhaps a little lucky to escape a second yellow card for a mistimed sliding tackle.

• A lazy narrative started at 1-0 that City were cruising towards an inevitable victory and I think some Arsenal fans may have feared another capitulation but the response from the players was truly excellent. They fought back to take a point with great determination and the the discipline to not allow themselves to be caught out on the break and actually looked the more likely side to win the game.

• Lukas Podolski - what an enigma! Another good assist today following a goal and assist against Swansea but his defensive "contribution" was so poor. As mentioned, he conceded the ball in the build-up to the City goal and beyond that he rarely offered any protection to Gibbs and conceded needless free kicks. He was lucky not to concede a penalty against Swansea for needlessly barging a player in our box (as he did against Liverpool in the cup.)  I don't think liability is too strong a word but when he is on the pitch, there is always a good chance that he can create something in the final third. Surely the most high risk player in the squad.

• Santi Cazorla played extremely well in the second half. His guile, flair and creativity is needed more than ever without Özil, Ramsey and Walcott and he will need to be on top form if our push for the FA Cup and a Champions League spot are to be successful.

• Matthieu Flamini personified Arsenal's redemption this week with his own individual turnaround. He was the unfortunate man to concede the costly late own goal on Tuesday night but showed great desire and a cool finish from a difficult chance to get his team back on level pegging on Saturday. Perhaps there is an advantage to not being considered an attacking threat; you can surprise the opposition defence. I had a little chuckle at Gary Neville's description of Matthieu as a marauding midfielder as he continued to push forward after his goal and created real problems for City - clearly he was desperate to drive his side on to the win.

• Olivier Giroud held the ball up much better than he had been doing lately and gave the ball away very rarely. It was a more impressive performance that in recent games but he still doesn't look much of a goal threat against the top teams. One occasion that really stood out was his complete lack of awareness to try and get on the end of an excellent Sagna cross. He must gamble more by making aggressive runs towards goal when we get the ball out to the wings and give the wide players something to work with.

• Much has (understandably) been said and written about Arsenal's atrocious form in the big games away from home this season but we can take some encouragement at least from not losing to the big teams at home with wins over Liverpool in the cup and league and draws against City and Chelsea at home. It's difficult to gage the gap in quality between ourselves and the sides above us as the league table and our early season form combined with the injury troubles we've had suggest that perhaps we aren't really too far off but of course our head-to-head record suggests otherwise.

Man of the Match: Matthieu Flamini - It could easily have gone to Santi Cazorla whose second half performance was extremely impressive but I just felt Mathieu's individual bouncebackability after the midweek own goal was enough to get him over the line.

Arsenal 2 - 2 Swansea - Gunners Swan-diving towards 5th place?

Well that was a roller-coaster of emotion... a roller-coaster that you get on, start building up some speed and then the person next to you is sick on you... all over you. But then the sick flies off you in the wind and you start to think "actually this is going to be ok" until right near the end of the ride when the roller-coaster implausibly and without sense crashes and you're horribly maimed... and then Paul Scholes starts kicking you. I've never been very good at metaphors.

We dominated possession early on and just as we were starting to build up some confidence we were hit by Swansea's first meaningful foray into our half. An excellent but unchallenged cross from deep by the Swansea left-back Neil Taylor was met high and powerfully by Wilfred Bony who rose above Thomas Vermaelen. It was the last thing we needed and potentially a damaging blow to our confidence.

The score stayed level until half-time as the players struggled to make any inroads through the Swansea back-line. Mertesacker headed into the side-netting, Oxlade-Chamerblain fired well wide after making some space for himself and Cazorla had a decent effort saved but we didn't really look like scoring.  We did work the ball out to the overlapping full-backs a few times but no players were making decent runs into the box and really giving them anything to aim at.

Wenger saw the need to make a change early in the second half and brought on Lukas Podolski for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. Podolski offered very little defensively but was decisive going forwards. In the 73rd minute he equalised from close-range after Gibbs beat his man brilliantly and pulled the ball back to him. And just a minute later he delivered a sensational low cross into the pass of Olivier Giroud to fire Arsenal into the lead.

The End

What happened at the end of the game was farcical; freakishly bad fortune really. Mertesacker challenged Leon Britton in the area only for the ball to bounce off the on-rushing Szczesney's leg and then off Flamini into the open net. It was as cruel as it was ridiculous. Had it not have happened we would be savouring three crucial, hard-earned points but in the end we are left swallowing sadness and regret.

"The result is very disappointing but the spirit we put in and the effort we put in was great and we have to take it on the chin." - Arsène Wenger

It's a hard one to take on the chin to be fair. Arsène bemoaned the way we tried to shut up shop rather than keep attacking but I don't really agree; I just felt we needed to shut up shop more effectively and not concede a hideously unlucky goal.

Paul Scholes had some choice words for Arsenal following the match and while on the one hand it felt like being kicked while you're down, on the other I think he raised some fair points. He labelled this a typical week for Arsenal and there was a sense of familiarity after our thumping at Stamford Bridge and that very Arsenal-esque own goal last night.  He also said that Jack Wilshere has not developed since he was 17 because of a lack of role-models however I do think this is a little unfair as he has had serious injuries and Arsène Wenger's record of nurturing young players is still very good, taking Theo and Ramsey as recent examples.

As well as highlighting Arsenal's lack of physical strength and leaders he also criticised the discipline of Arsenal's midfield and I think this is where he speaks with real authority and reason:

"It's like they go out with no discipline. It's almost as if it's 'OK, you four, five midfielders, you go out there, do what you want, try to score us a goal, play some nice one-twos, a bit of tippy-tappy football, don't bother running back... Sometimes, as a midfield player, when you're up against it you just have to say 'look, come in beside me for five, ten minutes', try and stop the flow of attacks... And these [players at Arsenal], they go 2-0 down and they just carry on what they're doing. 'I'll have a wander up front, try a one-two, lose the ball'. Nobody bothers sprinting back. You wonder why they're in the position they're in?" - Paul Scholes on Sky Sports

That's pretty tough to argue with and is a damning indictment of how the manager sets up his team and coaches them.

Kim Kallstrom came on and did fine; played one good long ball. Given our injuries, Oxlade-Chamberlian's unreliability in a deeper position and Arteta's fatigue, he maybe needed but I doubt he can significantly improve us.  The title was of course gone on the weekend and now the only relevant section of the league table is below:

Those next two games are hugely important and we will not have any key players back for them so we will need to regroup and improve quickly or "our Champions League spot" will be there for the taking...


Man of the Match: Kieran Gibbs - This is not to say he was flawless. He needs to be more disciplined defensively. I remember Tony Adams complaining that Arsenal's fullbacks play like wingers and he has a good point but it certainly worked out well for us when Kieran made an excellent assist for Lukas Podolski.

Chelsea 6 - 0 Arsenal - What a load of boll-ox

The scene was set for Arsène Wenger to take a glorious victory on his 1000th game in charge at Arsenal. He took his side, still in the title race, to Stamford Bridge to face José Mourinho's Chelsea; he has never recorded a win over the Portuguese and following Mourinho's disrespectful "specialist in failure" comment, now more than ever, he had a point to prove. A few days before the game Arséne was given a golden cannon to commemorate his staggering milestone but yesterday his players served him up a golden pile of shite.

Rather than breaking Chelsea's record of going years under Mourinho without a home defeat or getting his first win over his rival, Arsène watched his side fall to their equal worst defeat under his reign (along with that 8-2 loss at Old Trafford). The fact that it was Chelsea's biggest win under Mourinho was a damning indictment of just how bad Arsenal were.

"It was a nightmare and I take full responsibility for it." - Arséne Wenger

While the buck ultimately stops with the manager, I think the blame should be shared pretty equally between him and the players. I'll pre-empt my blame-flinging by saying that chewing over what went wrong isn't entirely productive and that the most important thing post-game is for the players and manager to put things right on Tuesday... but they were so dreadful that frankly they deserve an absolute slating. It's so easy with hindsight to say the manager should have played so and so instead of whoever but I was very surprised not to see Matthieu Flamini in the starting line-up.  I have seen Oxlade-Chamberlain impress in central midfield, notably against AC Milan, Bayern Munich and Crystal Palace but it is a far riskier selection than the experienced and more reliable, Flamini; a player who offers so much more defensively and is so much steadier in possession. Matthieu was not started in our hammering at Anfield either and I just feel that this was a lesson Arsène has failed to learn.

Whilst the manager is willing to take full responsibility and he no doubt got it wrong yesterday, the players should be equally willing to take the blame. The level of capitulation, the lack of focus and guts were shameful. The list of individual errors by the Arsenal players if written in size 12 font would stretch to the moon and back 4 times over. Early on, a ridiculously careless and uncharacteristic pass from Laurent Koscielny nearly resulted in a Samuel Eto'o goal. Olivier Giroud then had a chance to put Arsenal in the lead after a well-weighted Rosicky through ball but he failed to beat Cech. Moments later Eto'o scored a brilliant finish on his left foot highlighting the difference in their finishing ability. The chance came from a pathetic individual error from Oxlade-Chamberlain and sadly, he was just getting started.  The second goal saw Santi caught in possession and within seven minutes the game was over. It was painfully similar to our start at Anfield; we set up the same way, committed a litany of ridiculous errors and were punished by a more dynamic, clinical and organised team.

Whilst it was unacceptable to lose the game inside 7 minutes, what was even more disappointing was the way the team capitulated from then on. The third goal came from a penalty conceded by Oxlade-Chamberlain; with the ball travelling wide of the post for a goal kick, Alex deliberately handled the ball. It was the single stupidest moment by any Arsenal player in Wenger's 1000 games in charge. After initially not awarding the penalty, the referee consulted with his official and gave it, sending off the wrong player, Kieran Gibbs, despite protestations from Arsenal players and a clear admission of guilt from Oxlade-Chamberlain. It was embarrassing all round. Whilst some made an argument that a red card should not have been awarded as the ball was travelling wide, Oxlade-Chamberlain did try to stop a goal with his hand so I feel a red card was the right decision (were it given to the correct player.) Hazard scored the penalty and Oxlade-Chamberlain had an absolute shocker until being hauled off at half-time. As an aside, the referee and his assistants also seemed shaken by their mistake and managed to get several very simple decisions completely wrong.

Chelsea's fifth goal was also extremely embarrassing as it constituted of two more extremely poor individual errors; first Tomas Rosicky's sloppy pass on the edge of our box gifted possession to Chelsea and then Szczesny failed to make a simple save from a tame long-range effort from Oscar. I was cross with our keeper after the Spurs game where a very poor error nearly handed Tottenham an equaliser. While you don't want your goalkeeper to dwell on his errors too much, his attitude and on-pitch selfie suggest he's got some serious growing up to do and I would suggest he is far from the world-class goalkeeper he thinks he is.

In conclusion, we were shambolic; Arsène set his team up wrong against a manager who almost always seems to get it right; the players were dire and we don't seem to be learning from our mistakes in the big games (particularly away from home.) The title looked unlikely but it is now definitely beyond our capabilities. Whilst injuries to key players have of course hindered us, that is no excuse for such a low level of performance. The manager has developed some wonderful teams and players in his time at the club and this is partly down to how much faith he places in his players - he sticks by them through rough patches of form and rarely castigates them but on his 1000th game in charge those players that he has so much faith in, let him down badly when they should have been breaking their backs to win that game.

Man of the Match: n/a.

Tottenham 0 - 1 Arsenal - Rosicky Rocket keeps Spurs in our shadows

A defensive performance more gritty than an HBO drama, with particularly heroic performances from the BFG and Koscielny was enough to secure all three points following Rosicky's 2nd minute thunderbastard.

It was our least convincing victory over Spurs this season but completed a clean sweep of three wins which will hurt for Spurs fans who've sat through 270 minutes against Arsenal without a single Spurs goal. They will be looking at Chadli for not changing that but I guess if you have players as bad as Chadli in your team, it serves you right. It was actually our first win in the league at White Hart Lane since 2007; far too long to go without a win there but it's great to put that one to bed.

Rosicky's early goal was a thing of beauty; as sweet a hit as you'll see and it continued his habit of scoring against Spurs - his third goal against them in the last two seasons - what a very good habit to pick up. The lovely, floppy-haired hero had this to say:

“It’s one of the best…against Tottenham for sure. I’m delighted by a goal like that. Most importantly, we won the game.” - Tomas Rosicky. Source: SkySports

We really should have gone two up but first the referee's assistant wrongly flagged Podolski offside when he and Giroud had a 2 on 1 against Lloris and then Oxlade-Chamberlain wasted an excellent chance on the break with a dink gone wrong. At this point Tim Sherwood suddenly realised how ridiculous his gillet looked and threw it on the floor. Perhaps he realised that it was most likely his last North London derby and he shouldn't make himself look like a bit of a boob. Something he remembered until a late handbaggy incident with a puzzled/unmoved Bacary Sagna.

In fairness to Tim Sherwood I think he did learn his lesson from the last North London derby and set his team up much better; not allowing them to get overrun in midfield. Spurs lacked incisiveness though and for all their possession and hard work they failed to create any good chances with the highly-rated Christian Eriksen anonymous. The vast majority of their shots were hopeful and Szczesny had no difficult saves to make. He did however drop two clangers in the second half in quick succession, the second of which, but for an excellent block from Koscielny, would have cost him his clean sheet. He was all smiles and selfies after the game but those lapses in concentration must stop.

The BFG. Is he really only 6'6''? He played
like he is at least 8 feet tall... at least

We weren't particularly adventurous in the second half and made some defensive substitutions as we looked to hang on to our lead rather than extend it. Mike Dean and his assistant somehow failed to see some Vertonghen grappling in the box and Podolski lashed a shot into the side-netting. Our best chance of the second half fell to Per Mertesacker whose spinning shot was excellently saved by Hugo Lloris. It was a shame as Per's performance meant he would have deserved that moment. The team worked extremely hard and whilst being unimpressive going forward were strong in the challenge. Santi Cazorla for example completed 4 tackles and 8 turnovers - an unexpected bonus.

The big positive from the game was the performance of the centre-back partnership. They were under quite a bit of pressure at times, particularly from Emmanuel Adebayor who was obviously desperate to make a difference but they stood tall (bloody tall in Per Mertesacker's case). Koscielny made a crucial block from Chadli, passed the ball extremely well, made 3 tackles and 15 clearances. Per made 3 blocks and 20 clearances, including a staggering 17 with his head and he also won 7/8 of his aerial duels. It's a partnership that has grown into something rather special.

"They were exceptional for the whole game... Today you needed to be top because Adebayor was sharp and up for it, like he always is against us. He had a great game and overall we needed a good defensive performance and that of course goes through our two centre backs." - Arsène Wenger on Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker. Source: Arsenal.com

Elsewhere, just one word on Manchester United: lol.


Men of the match: Per Mertesacker & Laurent Koscielny. Near perfect.

Behind Enemy Lines: Tottenham - Arsenal Preview... from a Spurs perspective

I'd like to thank Toby for very bravely stepping into the firing line of the Gun Show and previewing the North London Derby for us. Please be gentle with him and remember that he chose to support Tottenham at a very young age (under the influence of his father) and despite this terrible mistake he is a really good guy! You can follow him on twitter @tobypratt where he had a very enjoyable war of words with Sir Alan "1-1 at Newcastle" Sugar.

Impressions of Arsenal

This is a hard one. At times Arsenal have looked fantastic. Despite my obvious dislike of the Woolwich Wanderers, you have a very talented squad that has the ability to play a delicate, quick and decisive game. More defensively solid this year, my worst fears have been quashed by some vital injuries, which may have cost you a Premier League title. Theo Walcott posing as a hippy signalling the end of his season was unfortunate for all concerned and as Spurs fans we can also appreciate the loss of an inspiring Welshmen.

Any Arsenal supporter who has doubts over Arsene Wenger needs to take a reality check, despite the lack of trophies, you have a set of football principles that the team abides by and can be extremely entertaining on occasion. Complaints of not signing another striker may be justified, but how many affordable players are available who would dramatically improve your squad? Consider this, Roberto Soldado cost £26million. You should appreciate what you have. Put it this way; would you rather our last nine seasons over yours? During this period we have a single Carling Cup triumph and one Champions League campaign to savour. Precisely.

From a football perspective, it’s a shame that your challenge for league glory has petered out, as it’s vital for the good of the game that sides like Arsenal and us (one day, maybe) compete with the financially doped clubs Chelsea and Manchester City – Liverpool and United do not count. From a Spurs perspective, it’s brilliant and long may it continue.

Thoughts on Tim Sherwood

Fans are split on him.

Seen by some as an opportunist, tactically inept and outspoken Harry Redknapp wannabe; I lean towards the opinion that Tim Sherwood is an ambitious, tactically flexible and honest young coach who has the potential to be successful. He’s gaining experience on the job and has made some mistakes along the way, like many a Spurs manager before him. However, I get the impression that unlike the others, he is not afraid to learn from them.

His post match press conference after our latest capitulation last week was met positively by the majority of supporters. The club has lost a bit of its soul in recent years with the Chairman focusing on financial gain over building a football side that can compete for top honours. Despite his words being a little strong for some of the more delicate members of our squad, Sherwood spelled out many of the problems the club face at this time. Although focused on the playing staff, I hope the Tottenham board were listening as he was clearly including them in his thoughts.

Despite appearing to be an Arsenal supporter in his younger days, Tim clearly cares about the club and wants to integrate academy players into the first eleven when possible, rather than selecting more established players out of position. Bentaleb and Fryers have had their critics, but the former has looked assured in the majority of games since his debut in December.

The problem for Sherwood is that the job at Spurs has come too early for him. When it was announced he would be taking over from AVB with an 18-month contract, many were shocked, but it was hardly surprising. None of our wanted men wished to take over mid season and Tim Sherwood was astute enough to secure a decent payday for when a ‘big name we’ve been crying out for’ inevitably starts in July for pre-season.

If he has the patience to work under a Van Gaal type for a spell or cutting his cloth with a Championship side, in the long term I believe Sherwood would make an excellent coach at White Hart Lane. Due to Daniel Levy’s preference to get rid of the manager rather than question deeper issues surrounding the club, we may well miss out on potentially a very capable manager.

Would you rather have Sherwood or Moyes?

Moyes is a bit of a non starter for me, Everton was his level and as a club we are aiming higher than that. With time Moyes should be able to rekindle some of the winning mentality instilled into a fairly average group of players by Sir Alex Ferguson last season, if only you could bottle the stuff? Let’s face it, he’s on a long contract and a trained monkey could get United challenging for silverware, with a David Gill type making sure you don’t spend silly amounts of money on Marouane Fellaini, oops.

For a Spurs fan, a far more pressing question is Sherwood or AVB? Andre Villas Boas managed to overcomplicate what is really a simple game, played by stereotypically simple folk. The excellence of Gareth Bale covered the cracks in his methods, which is clear to see now. If the second “Welsh Wizard” (with the first being Cliff Jones) hadn’t played so well last term, Andre would have been handed his P45 long before he was finally invited to leave Hotspur Way for good, with his match preparation manuals and so on in hand. Transforming Bale into a world class player was his legacy at Tottenham, but ultimately what cost him his job.

Power struggles between the coaching staff and board are commonplace at N17 and AVB, after seemingly winning support this summer, lost it big time. He wanted a Director of Football, which he got, but his chosen transfer targets weren’t secured in the summer. Villas Boas fell out with the tabloid media as well, which in British football is the equivalent of signing your own death warrant. A new face was needed, but nothing dramatically has changed.

Thoughts on Emmanuel Adebayor

I know he is not the most popular man around your way, but he is a changed man from that fateful day in Manchester. Personal and professional traumas have made Emmanuel Adebayor a leader and one of the more influential voices in the Tottenham dressing room. Since being back in the first team after a bizarre falling out with Villas Boas, he appears to have found a new lease of life and is really enjoying himself at Spurs. We will be taking over paying all of his extravagant wages from former club Manchester City this summer, so those more sceptical may point to that he is playing to save his footballing career in England.

How much are you enjoying United’s downfall?

Greatly. I have been told that traditionally we have had a respectful relationship with the Red Devils, with some memorable games from yesteryear. However, since the Premier League’s inception we have been second-best to them, like so many of the top sides. We are undefeated in two seasons against Manchester United, which should be seen as an achievement, but really highlights the end of a dominant era for the red side of Manchester.

Key battles / where will the game be won or lost?

Contrary to our coach’s sentiments, we lost the last encounter in the midfield; as in we didn’t have one. The likes of Sandro, Dembélé and Bentaleb need to be disciplined to ensure your creative, counter attacking style is nullified. With a shed load of injuries at the back, Giroud has the opportunity to put a few more past our strongest performer this season, French captain and compatriot Hugo Lloris. It will be a massive blow for us if he leaves this summer.

Hopes and expectations for the rest of Spurs season

There are very few. As fourth place is beyond us (and bearing in mind this was written before Thursday), a Europa League run or perhaps triumph [oh dear - ed] would give our supporters something to cheer for and restore some faith in the team moving forward. It would be reward for what has been another truly frustrating season for us mere supporters, or customers as many fans feel like.

Despite the negatively surrounding the club, fifth or sixth is about right for us in the league, dreams of a top-four challenge were kept alive by the media desperate for a competitive fight for Champions League qualification. Realistically this hasn’t been the case since our embarrassing performance at the Etihad, at least we weren’t the only team to concede six there [touché - ed].

As nobody is convinced Tim Sherwood will be at the club once the players return from Magaluf, Miami and other popular holiday destinations for Tottenham players; it is hard to see how much the rest of this season will go towards a better campaign next time around.

What will the game tell us about Spurs?

Not a great deal. Some of the players will be playing for their long-term futures at the club, whether they realise this in time is anyone’s guess. The atmosphere should be electric, unless we get humiliated, which in current circumstances could well happen. Despite this, a small part of me feels that the game offers a great opportunity for the squad to undo some of the damage inflicted on us in a few telling games this season.

Predictions

As we’re at home, a narrow victory for us. In recent years the goals have dried up in the North London derby, but being the optimist I’ll go 3-2 to the Spurs. If Sherwood has learnt from the FA Cup tie from earlier this year, I think we should have the edge. This is a hopelessly optimistic prediction, as I can’t face writing what I really think will happen.

Arsenal 4 - 1 Everton - Mesut Magic and Mikel's Massive Cojones

It would be hard to overstate the importance of this game; at 12.35 I took my seat and turned to my Dad and said we "have to win this game." Now the "must-win game" has become a bit of a cliché; used whenever a team who has a point to prove, but in this-case with the league looking increasingly unlikely and the Champions League even more so, there was a real sense of make-or-break at the Emirates on Saturday; the players needed to stand up and be counted and boy, didn't they do just that?

For me, the key moment came halfway through the second half; with the scores level, Oxlade-Chamberlain showed quick feet to skip past Barry in the box and was tripped. Mark Clattenburg pointed to the spot and Arteta stood up to take the penalty that could knock his old club out of the competition. He buried it in the bottom left hand corner only for the referee to book Giroud for encroaching on the area and make Mikel retake the penalty. The pressure must have been immense and I immediately started fearing the worse but Arteta showed superb level-headedness and absolutely enormous cojones to slam the ball into the top-right corner of the net. The sense of elation and relief was immense and thankfully he didn't bother with any of that muted celebration nonsense.

Mesut Özil had come under fire in a big way for Arsenal recently and even for Germany last week but he was a joy to watch on Saturday, working hard defensively, scoring a superb opener (winning me a tenner in the process) and then laying a brilliant fourth on a plate for Olivier Giroud.  He wasn't the only player to excel; Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was dynamic, driven and effective. He did make a couple of sloppy errors but busted a gut to achieve immediate redemption on both occasions. Santi Cazorla completed a trio of excellent attacking midfield performances, surprisingly strong in the tackle and extremely incisive with his passing. When all three of these guys are in the starting line-up and playing like that, you wouldn't give the opposition defence much hope.  I think Arsène must be very tempted to play the three of them again on Tuesday.

Özil opened the scoring at the end of our first meaningful attack, with a very cool finish across the goalkeeper after excellent work and a perfectly-weighted ball into Mesut's path. The crowd roared as his name was announced, a rather different reception to that of the German fans on Wednesday night.  There is no doubt that he is a man with a point to prove and his reaction on Saturday after being taken out of the firing line by Arsène for a couple of weeks was very positive indeed.

Everton hit back a little against the run of play with a quick and incisive break. Had Flamini not had been booked he may have tried to tackle Barkley and perhaps Per and Bacary Sagna were a little slow to be caught behind Mirallas and Lukaku but Barkley did do extremely well.

Fortunately, the Arsenal players kept their heads and went on to produce an excellent second half performance. I  would say, with the possible exception of the first half of our home game against Napoli, that it was the best half of football we've played this season... so far.  Two big contributors to our strong finish were Olivier Giroud (who scored two goals) and Tomas Rosicky (who was involved in both of those goals and didn't give the ball away once); both of whom came off the bench to great effect. Our third goal arrived after Rosicky played a well-weighted ball to the overlapping Sagna, who took his time and expertly picked out the near-post run of Olivier Giroud for our decisive third goal.  The sun was out, the Arsenal fan's were singing "We're going to Wemberley" and the sense of joy was immense.

This delicious cake still needed icing though and it was duly provided with an excellent counter-attacking move; Santi Cazorla tackled McGeady, then two first-touch passes from Rosicky and Özil left Giroud with a tap-in. It was one to add to Arsenal's list of superb team goals and the pace and incisiveness of the move was reminiscent of previous great Thierry Henry and Robert Pires inspired teams.

A 4-1 scoreline was arguably a little flattering but there is no debating the fact that it was an extremely impressive performance, especially when you consider what a strong side Everton are and how well they played on their last visit.  One minor complaint is that we didn't create much from 13 corners. Yaya Sanogo didn't manage to make the same impact he did in the last round of the FA Cup but we looked stronger after Giroud's introduction. I expect Olivier to start against Bayern after 4 goals in his last 3 games.

After the full-time whistle, the fans stayed behind to applaud the players, who wandered round the pitch returning the gesture. Per Mertesacker, in particular, felt the warmth of the crowd following signing his new contact, with his BFG song ringing out loudly.

There was more good news to come on Sunday. Initially most Arsenal fans were unhappy to draw Manchester City or Wigan. However, surprisingly, two hours later Wigan had defeated the oily Citizens 2-1 with a heroic performance. It means that Arsenal are now favourites to win the FA Cup and Samir Nasri was really unhappy, which makes me very happy.

This gives us a huge chance to win our first trophy in 9 years, to get that monkey off our back and get some success under our belts. No pressure lads, but this is huge, now go out there and make it happen; get that trophy our season deserves.


Man of the Match: Mesut Özil - It looks as though the rest has done Mesut the world of good. He was excellent on Saturday - full of running, great passing and one superb finish - issuing a reminder to Arsenal fans of how lucky we are to have a player of his ability in our team and making those in the press who are so desperate to write him off look a little foolish.

An honourable mention for runner-up Mikel "massive cojones" Arteta for his penalties and 92% pass completion rate.

Monthly Awards: February

A fairly brutal February saw us slip up in the league, suffer our heaviest defeat of the season and lose the 1st leg of the Champions League tie against Bayern giving us a mountain to climb to stay in the competition... a really big Everest-style mountain. The big positive was an FA Cup win over Liverpool putting us through to the quarter finals of the competition, which certainly seems our best chance of silverware this season.

Form:

Player of the Month: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. Although no players excelled in February, the Ox's return from injury was very welcome indeed. A brace at home to Palace on one of his few games at centre-midfield was impressive and highlighted his dynamism, showing why Arsène believes his future could be as a box-to-box midfielder. He then excelled when deployed on the right against Liverpool in the cup, first scoring after a blocked Yaya Sanogo volley and then creating a superb assist for Lukas Podolski. This was such an encouraging goal because the Ox showed his pace to get in behind the defence, something we've been lacking without Theo in the side, and giving Özil a chance to show off his ability to play a perfect through ball.

Top Goalscorer: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (3 goals).

Goal of the Month: Tomas Rosicky vs Sunderland. When it works it's oh so very nice... Intricate, one-touch passing triangles and a cheeky dinked finish from the wonderful Tomas Rosicky. What's not to love?

Best Result: Arsenal 2 - 1 Liverpool.  Some much needed redemption after a hammering at Anfield. Our defending was far more focused and resolute and our second goal was superb.  We rode are luck as Webb failed to award Liverpool a nailed-on penalty and we were also indebted to our cup goalkeeper, Lukas Fabianski, but ultimately we scraped through to the next round and it was a great relief. An honourable mention to the 4-1 win over Sunderland; we played some lovely stuff but Sunderland did not show up at all.

Worst Result: Liverpool 5 - 1 Arsenal. Our normally solid defence conceded four in the first 20 minutes. We were sloppy, slow and lacked focus; whereas Liverpool were clinical, lightning quick and got in behind us with unnerving ease... and Daniel Sturridge did that insufferable dance. Let's move on...

Quote of the Month:

"I am very pleased for Rosicky because today Bergkamp got a statue and I think Rosicky took the Bergkamp role well. Certainly Dennis will have been pleased to have seen him play" - Arsène Wenger after the Sunderland Match.

Talking points:

Mesut Özil received some pretty fierce and often overboard criticism from many quarters; fans and pundits alike seemed to be queuing up to tear pieces off of him. He was poor against Liverpool, twice making poor errors in the build-up to Liverpool goals and despite starting well against Bayern, he took a very soft penalty which was easily saved.  Arsène dropped/rested him against Sunderland and I am sure he will be looking to bounce back and show his tremendous quality in March.

Olivier Giroud apologised on twitter to his wife, family and friends, manager, team-mates (who didn't seem too bothered) and the Arsenal fans. Not for missing a sitter against United but for glamour-model romping.  That day, he was rested/dopped in favour of Yaya Sanogo for the Liverpool cup game. It was a gamble that by and large paid off but it was still surprising to see Sanogo retaining his place for the Champions League tie. It suggests that Arsène was not impressed by either or both of Giroud's extra-cuccricular activities or recent form. Hopefully it was a wake-up call to the big forward, who performed well on his return to the side against Sunderland, bagging an early brace.

Arsenal's chances of silverware took a real hit with two slip-ups in the league while our rivals seem to be improving and a 2-0 home loss to Bayern. Given Szczesny's red card and the quality of the opposition, the result was no surprise but conceding a second late-on was a killer blow to our hopes of progressing. The one shining light is of course the FA Cup. Everton in the Quarter Finals is of course a tough draw but the fac that we are playing at home should give us real hope. With Chelsea, Spurs, Liverpool and United out, Everton and Manchester City are our biggest threats.

A Statue of Dennis Bergkamp was unveiled prior to the Sunderland victory and, comical placement of the pole aside, it is a fitting tribute to one of the greatest players to have graced the planet, let alone Arsenal Football Club.

Beautiful edit by @UKILFC

Stoke 1 - 0 Arsenal: Bad blood and bad football

More stamps than a Philatelist Convention at the Britannia Stadium

With the possible exception of defeats at the hands of Spurs or Manchester United, a loss against Stoke is about as painful as it gets for me.  There was plenty of bad blood and just as much bad football yesterday as an uninspired Arsenal team fell limply in battle against an "up for it" Stoke.

I don't want to bore on about refereeing decisions as our performance was poor and we didn't deserve a win so I'll quickly air my grievances and then get onto the football. Charlie "I would never intend to injure a fellow professional" Adam attempted to injure Giroud with an extremely nasty late stamp. The man has so much previous, that at any other club he would be considered a disgrace.  Giroud was actually penalised in the first half for being on the receiving end of a very nasty challenge from Whelan. Olivier took a right kicking and although his response was perhaps a bit flouncy, the Stoke fans absolutely slated him, presumably because in their warped minds, being on the receiving end of horror-challenges from Stoke players makes you deserving of abuse.

As for the penalty, Koscielny has an unfortunate knack of conceding them and he was perhaps a little reckless in jumping in with his hands up but it seems harsh that a game's result is decided by an accidental handball.

But enough of the excuses; we were well below par and didn't deserve to win the game.  At this stage of the season and given the extremely difficult run of fixtures that await us it felt like a monumental blow.  Arsène admitted as much after the game:

"It is not slightly worrying, it's a big worry for us to lose a game like that.  It is a massive setback of course" - Arsène Wenger

That's not to say that this was an easy game by any stretch of the imagination, as Chelsea and United also suffered defeats at the Britannia Stadium this season, but with such a tight four-horse title-race, the time for setbacks has to be gone. We simply must be brilliant and take almost all remaining points to stand a chance of winning the league and sadly it just looks a little unlikely now, with some bookmakers even stretching our title odds to 20/1.

The biggest surprise the team sheet threw up was the exclusion of Özil for Lukas Podolski.  Lukas would have been desperate to show he can play a big part for the remainder of the season but unfortunately it didn't happen for him yesterday (or any of our midfielders or attackers for that matter).  The one player that did make a real difference was Oxlade-Chamberlain; twice his bursts of pace down the right and low crosses created good chances but unfortunately Giroud's (admittedly tricky) effort was tame and then Sanogo's late effort was high and ugly.

Arsène also pipped for Wilshere and Arteta in the middle with the combative Flamini perhaps surprisingly (given the nature of the opposition) left on the bench. Jack was excellent last week against Sunderland but struggled to impose himself on this game and looked decidedly disappointed upon being replaced late on by Yaya Sanogo.

It's of course much easier to say who should or shouldn't have played with hindsight and I must say I wasn't unhappy with the teamsheet when I first saw it but perhaps Flamini and Arteta would have performed slightly better (although perhaps not) and Oxlade-Chamberlain's performance will probably earn him a start against Everton. I would also be surprised not to see Özil restored to the team for the hugely important FA Cup Quarter Final. He has been rested for a couple of games and I am sure will be desperate to prove his quality following some fairly strong criticism from some quarters.

So it was a bitterly disappointing result which left us very bitter and very disappointed as it came at a time when we couldn't really afford to lose and we lost to my least favourite team and to one of my three least favourite managers. The others being José "classless press masturbatory aid" Mourinho and Tony "anti-football and nobody's masturbatory aid" Pulis, seeing as you asked.  Mark Hughes has become the first manager to defeat Arsenal with four different teams.  But ho-hum, a win in the FA Cup next week would be a huge boost so lets focus on that. Plus, at least our manager didn't headbutt anyone...


Man of the Match: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain - Slim pickings for this one but despite not having a long time to make an impact, the Ox did just that.