Crystal Palace 0 - 2 Arsenal Match report: Return of Chamakh

Well that wasn't the stress-free walk in the park I had envisioned.  I was hoping for a comfortable win full of beautiful, free-flowing football and dozens of Arsenal goals against a very weak Palace side but it wasn't to be as we rather ground out a 2-0 win.  The sending off of Arteta in the 65th minute when we were one goal up made for an uncomfortable finish but we did take all three points in a game where we really couldn't afford to drop any.

Palace look a Championship side and unfortunately it felt like I was watching a Championship game.  This wasn't helped by the pitch -  it's a wonder the players could even see each other over that long, dry grass, let alone play the ball across it with any zip resulting in countless under-hit passes, in the first half especially.

The first half was more or less devoid of incident and entertainment.  We dominated proceeding early on without creating clear-cut chances but suffered a blow inside the first ten minutes as Mathieu Flamini was subbed of for Serge Gnabry after injuring his groin.  Hopefully it is not too serious as he has been instrumental in our team's success so far this season and was notably not involved in either of our defeats.

Gnabry's performance was a mixed bag - he was sloppy at times but looked very dangerous at others.  He looks raw - he is obviously extremely talented and he has a very good chance of making the grade at Arsenal.  Hopefully, he will make another positive impact on Tuesday night in the Carling Cup.  Serge created the break-through after the interval by winning a penalty after beating his man in the box and being brought down by a rash challenge.  Arteta's penalty was excellent, stuck powerfully into the side of the net.

Arsène said after the game that if Arteta's ban wasn't just ruling him out of a Carling Cup game he would have appealed the decision, however I can't say I have any complaints.  Once Chamakh had knocked the ball towards goal and there was a coming together I fully expected the captain to see red as he was the last man.  Unfortunately I don't think there is a rule that allows refs to take into account whether the player running through on goal is a shambolic footballer whose finishing is almost as bad as his hair so I think Arteta (whose hair looks even better when compared to Chamakh's) had to go.

From then on, it was squeeky-bum time.  Giroud looked increasingly isolated and a little fatigued and Palace came very close to scoring.  In fact, if it wasn't for two super-saves from our in-form goalie, Wojciech Szczesny, we could have been looking at a very embarrassing and morale-damaging draw or even loss.  The first was tipped onto the bar and over and the second was exceptional as he got a very strong hand onto a powerful Jedinak volley from the resulting corner.

As time was running out for Palace, they understandably threw more players forward in search of an equaliser which left them pretty open at the back.  We managed to punish the home team in the 87th minute when our counter-attack found Ramsey in the box.  He cut back and produced an excellent chipped cross for Giroud to nod home.  Olivier looked delighted after what was a tough afternoon for him and I'm sure he enjoyed his goal after missing two headed chances (both from excellent Sagna crosses) earlier in the game.  The goal demonstrated how fit Ramsey is - he just keeps going to the final whistle and even then you get the impression there is more in the tank.  It also demonstrated how clinical he has become and how much his decision making has improved.

All in all, it was the result we wanted but maybe not the performance we had expected.  We were indebted to our goalie and should be hopeful going into some very tricky and important games over the next two weeks.

Man of the Match: Wojciech Szczesny

Olivier Giroud vs Marouane Chamakh Infographic

As we will be playing against our old friend, Marouanne Chamakh on Saturday I thought it would be interesting to do a statistical comparison between him and Olivier Giroud and you may be suprised to learn that Marouanne Chamakh has scored with an incredible 100% of his shots this season.  Unfortunately for Marouanne and Palace, he has only taken one shot in his first 8 games...

On a serious note though, Olivier Giroud has been outstanding.  This time last year he had just one goal and one assist but he has grown into an extremely important player for us.  This summer we were of course chasing Suarez and Higuain but Giroud appeared unphased and has proven himself more than capable of leading the line for the club.  His link up play has been terrific, never more so than for his part in Jack Wilshere's extaordinary goal against Norwich.  He has forged a terrific understanding with him team mates and could be instrumental in our push for silverwear.

Arsenal 1 - 2 Borussia Dortmund Match Report

Our first guest contributor on The Gun Show is my good friend Louis. I had to sit this one out after failing to get out of working last night and managed to arrive in the pub just in time for the final whistle - In the parlance of our times, #FML. Over to you Louis: 

Hello Gooners! This is my first report for the Gun Show… sadly not a happy one.

Last night wasn’t great. I went into this game being pretty smug as we sit top of the Premier League and honestly thought we have the skill and pace to beat Borussia Dortmund - I was wrong.

There was real buzz and sense of optimism around N5 as all the fans converged in local pubs and towards the stadium hopeful of a great night of European football between two of Europe's most exciting teams. The first thing I noticed was the terrific noise coming from the away stand. Dortmund fans were jumping and singing loudly - I also noticed that every song they sang was basically a rip off of English football chants from the 90’s. Just saying.

We started pretty shakily - we looked nervous and Jurgen Klopp looked like a tramp in a suit (I’m not bitter). He was serving the second of a two match touchline ban, sat up in the rafters eating prawn sandwiches. The midfield was missing a key figure, Mathieu Flamini, who was ruled out with concussion after going tête-à-tête with Tettey on the weekend. He’s proven to be a key signing for us this year.

16 minutes in, our strong defence, doing their job correctly scuffle for the ball and Ramsey made a classic mistake of over-playing on the edge of his own box. He was tackled and Dortmund pounced to take the lead. A moment of overconfidence from the best Welsh footballer on the planet.

A few minutes later Giroud made an exceptional run down the right wing, barging off a strong challenge from one defender and striding forward only to be completely taken out by Mats Hummels right on the edge of the box. Wilshere then landed awkwardly in the Dortmund box and stayed down for a good 5 minutes… why Wenger kept him on is beyond me.

As the half wore on we began to see some real fight from our boys - we were attacking hard and 40 minutes into the game we got our reward as Sagna (who wasn’t having a great game thus far) crossed a superb ball into the danger zone. Our big French striker Olivier Giroud frightened the Dortmund goalkeeper, the ball bounced high and Giroud struck a close range volley into an empty goal. There was fist pumping at the Clock end as the Emirates erupted in celebration, shutting those noisy Dortmund fans up in the process.

We started the second half looking stronger. With the perk of Dortmund manager Klopp, being unable to address his team in the dressing room in the half-time break, this game was ours to win.

There was a moment of controversy as Lewandowski elbowed Koscileny fully in the face conceding a free kick, the referee ran over shaking his head but only issues a yellow card. Maybe this referee needs to consult his rule book , as a deliberate elbow to the face is a sending off offence.

Nearing 70 minutes, Santi struck an unbelievable ball that beats the keeper but sadly caught the corner of the crossbar. We started to hound Dortmund relentlessly and looked the more likely to find a winner but when you have everyone forward, it leaves big gaping holes at the back and Dortmund are as good as any team on the counter attack.

Kevin Grosskreutz's cross found Lewandowski, with Sagna miles behind play for a perfect sidefoot finish that Wojciech Szczęsny could never stop. With just eight minutes left, Dortmund held up the ball at every opportunity and a frustrated Mesut Ozil picked up his first yellow card as a Gunner.

Not what poor old Arsène expected on his birthday, but as he said "We put ourselves on the back foot with the first goal and were naive for the second... We can only look at ourselves as not being mature enough in those situations. If you can't win the game, don't lose it."

It’s not all doom and gloom for us Gooners though as we go into our next match against Crystal Palace, which should be a walk in the park. I’m not worried about the Champions League, as we remain joint top of our group, albeit with some very tough away games at Dortmund and in Naples to come. Lessons were hopefully, learnt.

Man of the Match: Tomas Rosicky

Arsenal 4 - 1 Norwich City Match Report: That was fun!

I don't know about you but I woke up feeling pretty content this morning; probably because Arsenal spoilt me rotten yesterday.  Those lucky enough to be in the Emirates Stadium last night were treated to some absolutely glorious football.  Arsenal fans were left revelling in the beauty of the goals, unleashing an unbearable twitter storm of smugness that no doubt left our rival fans as angry as this guy.

Arsenal fans finally had a chance to see Santi Cazorla and Mesut Özil on the pitch together as Aaron Ramsey started on the bench after playing two full international games.  Santi understandably isn't quite at his outstanding best yet but the signs are good and Arsène is now starting to have some really tough selection choices.

The first goal, scored by an impressive Jack Wilshere, was outrageous - first time, intricate, improvised passing and movement at its best leaving Norwich players stunned and helpless.

"A mixture of technical quality, speedy thinking, quick reaction and as well being calm in front of goal.  It had nearly everything you want to have, combined speed and calm and relaxed attitude.  It was a great goal." - Arsène Wenger

One negative to the game was an injury to Matthieu Flamini - after a nasty clash of heads a rather groggy, double-visioned Matthieu was withdrawn for Ramsey at 1-0 for his own safety.  On the bright side, he would then have seen six more Arsenal goals instead of three...

After Flamini's departure we lost a bit of a grip on the game and Norwich came back into it and actually our second was a little against the run of play.  Olivier Giroud picked up his second excellent assist of the game with a terrific dinked cross onto the head of Mesut Özil.  His header was top-drawer, especially when you consider it was the first headed goal of his career.

A well taken Norwich goal from Jonny Howson after an unconvincing Mertesacker clearance gave us a slightly edgy finish but a now customary moment of Aaron Ramsey brilliance put the result beyond doubt.  It was his 9th Arsenal goal of the season and probably the best.  He was exceptional after the break and clearly enjoyed playing in the centre of midfield again.

Our fourth was another excellent team goal - substitute Tomas Rosicky picked out Aaron Ramsey at the back post who pulled back to put the ball on a plate for Mesut Özil, who gratefully gobbled up his second of the game.  It must be nice for Mesut to be receiving such excellent assists rather than giving them - I'm sure he didn't get that level of service at Real Madrid!

Arsène has some tricky decisions to make going into the Dortmund game.  Our last Champions League home game was of course the terrific win over Napoli which was built on a very solid foundation provided by Flamini and Arteta but Wenger must be tempted to bring Aaron Ramsey into the centre of midfield where he has been his most effective.  The Flamini head injury might make that decision for him but picking between Wilshere, Cazorla and Rosicky isn't an easy decision either although I would guess he will plump for Wilshere given his performance yesterday.  It's nice to have these decisions to make as all three substitutes yesterday played well (yes, Bendtner was very good!) and players of the calibre of Vermaelen and Monreal can't get a game at the moment.  When the Ox, Theo and Lukas 'thumbs up' Podolski are back we really do have a formidable squad.

Match of the Day made particularly entertaining viewing as points were dropped by Liverpool and Manchester United (remember them? They used to be title-challengers? Ask your parents).  An old and bitter Scottish fella reluctantly praised Arsenal before ruling out a title-challenge.  It's his last season on Match of the Day apparently so let's make sure he goes out looking silly.

Arsenal are such a joy to watch at the moment and thankfully we only have to wait until Tuesday for the Great British Bake Off Final Dortmund game.

Man of the Match: Mesut Özil

Golden Gunners: Ray Parlour - the Romford Pele

"It's only Ray Parlour" - Tim Lovejoy

 

First up in our Golden Gunners series is a real favourite of mine - the Romford Pele, Ray Parlour.  In a recent poll, Ray was voted the 19th greatest player in the club's history (excluding current players) and in his thirteen years at the club he certainly won a lot of fans for his dynamic, passionate and hard-working displays.  He also won a lot of trophies; he was part of both double-winning teams and the 2003/4 invincibles team. He won three league titles, four FA cups, one league cup and a European Cup Winners' Cup in 466 appearance, scoring 32 goals along the way.

Ray Parlour earned himself one of the great football nicknames on the training ground; after a wonder goal, Marc Overmars dubbed him the Romford Pele and soon after dropped that gem in a press conference: "Of course we can win the league, we've got the Romford Pele!" Quite rightly, it caught on.

Parlour made his Arsenal debut as a 19 year old under George Graham who he cites as a major influence in his career but it was under Arsène Wenger that he really excelled. Finding a player of the calibre of Dennis Bergkamp training hard in the morning before the rest of the squad had arrived inspired him to work harder still. His development was no doubt further aided by Arsène Wenger's training regimes and through playing alongside some of the best players in the world.

Ray was loved by his teammates for his shenanigans off the pitch - he was central to the team morale and togetherness. In Martin Keown's last season at the club, the league was won but Keown needed a few more appearances to get his winners medal so for the last few games of the 2003/4 season Keown came on for a few minutes on the left wing to devastating effect... In the final game of the season at Highbury, two substitutes had been made and the third was of course expected to be Keown. Then Ray Parlour started warming up, pretending that Arsène had told him he was going on. The look on Keown's face was priceless until the Arsenal bench burst out laughing.

His pranks weren't always so well-received. When Glenn Hoddle, the then England manager sent Ray to see his spiritual healer, Eileen Drewery following a calf injury and she placed his hands on his shoulders he said: "short back and sides, please, Eileen.” He didn't play for England again, finishing his international career with just 10 caps, a number which definitely doesn't reflect his quality.

On the pitch he was a man for the big occasions and he had some pretty special moments, like this thunderbastard against Valencia and hat tricks against Werder Bremen and Newcastle. He also put in a man of the match display in the 1998 FA Cup Final against Newcastle with two assists. Those of you with great memories may also recall that he captained Arsenal to that incredible 5-1 win against Inter in the San Siro.

Of all the great moments that Ray Parlour produced, I think the one that sticks out the most was his glorious 25 yard curler against Chelsea in the 2002 cup final. 70 minutes into the game the deadlock was yet to be broken when Ray scored one of the greatest FA cup final goals to drive arsenal towards victory. A few days later the league was won at Old Trafford, with Parlour picking up another man of the match award, to complete a second Arsenal double in 4 years.  If Parlour had not have scored that all important first goal, we may well have lost that game but he did and it was fucking glorious.

Underestimate Ray Parlour at your peril. Just ask Tim Lovejoy...

If you would be like to share your thoughts on your favourite Gunners or any great Arsenal matches or moments then please do contact me at thomas@thegunshowblog.co.uk.

W.B.A. 1 - 1 Arsenal Match Report: Jack's game of two halves

Well, all good things must come to an end and Sunday saw our 10 game winning streak stopped at the Hawthorns. A point here is no disaster and we can be proud to sit top of the table going into the international break.

Jack Wilshere continued to grab headlines after his cheeky mid-week ciggy. In the first half he was caught in possession more times than Pete Doherty and went down more times than Linda Lovelace but he raised his game after the break to show some of that mental strength Arsène likes so much.  He scored the equalising goal and played a superb ball to Olivier Giroud which would have resulted in a winner if it wasn't for some good work from Boaz Myhill.

When Claudio Jacob headed the Baggies in front in the 42nd minute it was the first time we conceded the opening goal this season and we knew we were in for a real test.  Our first half was uninspiring, lacking our recent zip and fluidity. It could have been worse had the impressive Wojciech Szczęsny not pulled off a stunning save following a wicked buttock deflection off Matthieu Flamini. With Jack and Rambo on the wings our narrow attacks were snuffed out without too much trouble.  Hopefully when the international break is over, we will have Cazorla available again and the Ox, Theo and Podolski shouldn't be too far behind.

The second half was more open and Nicolas Anelka thankfully spurned two good chances to put the match out of our reach. Thomas Rosicky came on for Aaron Ramsey and had a positive impact, laying the ball off for Wilshere's goal and providing a bit more pace and decisiveness.

Overall a draw seemed a fair result to me and it is a decent point, especially considering their win at Old Trafford the previous weekend.  We have a host of challenging games coming up against Dortmund, Liverpool, Chelsea and United.  If we come out of those games with some good results then we must be considered serious title-challengers.

Despite not taking all of the points yesterday, there was one rather large consolation for the better half of North London as our neighbours were hammered 3-0 at home by West Ham. I've always liked Sam Allardyce...

Man of the Match: Wojciech Szczęsny

Arsenal 2 - 0 Napoli Match Report: Arsène has his cake AND eats it

On the 17th anniversary of Arsène Wenger taking the reins at Arsenal, his side came out convincing winners against an on-form Napoli who were supposed to provide our toughest challenge yet.

After the Swansea victory, Arsène declared that result "better than any cake." Now let's take a moment to appreciate the magnitude of that statement... Imagine you could have any cake in the world, maybe a multi-layered vanilla and honeycomb cheesecake or a racing-car shaped sponge cake with cream cheese icing that is the size of an actual racing car... Arsène would rather have a win over Swansea; just imagine how happy he must be now!

Napoli started the season well with five wins and a draw in the league and an impressive win over Dortmund but they obviously haven't come up against a team of our calibre as they were thoroughly outplayed last night. Alan Smith busted out one of my favourite football clichés (when applied this way round) with his declaration that it was "men against boys."

Our first half performance was one of complete dominance - as well as we've played in recent memory. The passing and movement were far too quick and precise for Rafa Benitez' team to deal with and it didn't take long for the first goal to come. Some top drawer hold-up play from Olivier Giroud allowed Aaron Ramsey to run clear down the right. He was quick and composed and picked the right ball when he pulled back to Mesut Özil on the edge of the box. The first-time finish was sensational - guided powerfully into the top corner with the inside of his magical left boot. It was his first goal for the club and it will be hard to better.

A shell-shocked Napoli were struggling to get a firm foothold in the game when they failed to clear by the right touch line.  The ball quickly came to Mesut Özil who skipped into the box and played a perfectly-weighted ball with the outside of his foot into the path of the excellent Olivier Giroud who slammed home for the 2nd and final goal of the game.

The second half was less explosive but very professional and organised as we cruised top down and music blaring to the final whistle. Napoli never seriously threatened and were reduced to shooting from outside the box. I probably needed us to reduce the intensity after watching the finale of Breaking Bad and the first half of the match in succession.

We were the first team to keep a clean sheet against Napoli this season and although they were without joint top-scorer and former Arsenal target Gonzalo Higuain, this reflects very well on our team's defensive performance. The back four were solid and Flamini didn't give the talented, silly-haired Hamsik a look in.

There were too many positives to list so I won't try - I'll just finish by wishing Arsène a very happy Anniversary and hoping that he gets a very tasty and well-deserved cake after that big, juicy Champions League win.

Man of the Match: Mesut Özil