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Fulham (a) – No points for artistic impression / Theo / Set piece joy

I have slapped my knee with envy every time I have seen top sides fail to play well but then score from a well worked set piece so our goal was pleasing from that respect. And it was a well worked set piece, clearly something that had been worked on at training. Just look at the two runs from both centre backs and two players who finished as the best Arsenal players on the pitch. Koscielny sprung

Fulham (a) Thoughts & Line Up: Turn the small margins in our favour and win

2-0 up and strolling, the game got turned on it's head by some lovely Fulham attacking and some forgettable Arsenal defending. Being Arsenal, the twists and turns did not end there. We scored the equaliser and had a chance to win the game from the spot in stoppage time but Arteta had his spot kick saved. After his pressure kick against Norwich I have forgiven him and promised not to harp on

 

Everton (h) – Late thoughts on Emirates stalemate

Aaron Ramsey was once again the best player on the pitch and he deserves so much credit for grabbing his place and fighting to keep it. His engine is actually quite ridiculous when you consider how much ground he must have covered a few days ago against Norwich. It is too early to say whether or not he has taken that next step in his development but should he keep this up until the end of the season then Arsene will need serious convincing that another box to box midfielder should replace him whether that be

Everton (h) Thoughts & Line Up – I Hope We’ve Learnt From Rocky Balboa

Walcott and Podolski will not start out wide together, it just will not happen. Arsene will want to win the all important midfield battle so I expect Santi to be pushed back to the left with hopefully (prays to Dennis) Rosicky coming back in to the number 10 role. Ramsey and Arteta have formed a very good relationship in the engine room so I do not expect that to be broken up which could mean a place for

Podolski is Rosicky’s Polar Opposite & Can He Be Wenger’s Center Forward?

My very first impression of Podolski during that friendly was that the difference in technique between van Persie and Podolski was pretty large. I hadn't watched him closely before so I wasn't really sure what I was expecting. It is a bit unfair to compare any strikers technical qualities with van Persie's

Norwich (h) – Controversy as Arsenal awarded correct decision

Mikel Arteta, you can lose any guilt you may feel over the Fulham penalty miss because this was a major pressure situation and you buried it. That said, I still think Lukas Podolski should be first choice if on the pitch. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain deserves a lot of credit for his taking the situation by the scruff of the neck and assisting the winner. We were passing it outside of the area and Norwich had the whole team behind the ball, without dribblers, it is so hard to pass through a team with that mindset. Without Gervinho on the pitch we lost the ability to pull people out of position. Chamberlain was positive, direct and this victory could well be down to that one moment when he took the pass from Cazorla and then drove straight at the heart of the Norwich defence. I still cannot

Rosicky, Ramsey frees Arteta & Zelalem

There was a lot of hype about 16 year old Gedion Zelalem who had received international clearance to play for the youngsters. He is labeled the new Fabregas which is bloody unfair on the kid. You can see why though in some ways. A good 2-3 years younger than the rest of the players on the pitch, more in some cases yet looks remarkably composed in possession and makes good choices.

West Brom (a) Thoughts & Line Up: A Great Time To Apply Pressure

Gervinho's recent resurgence, I am intrigued to know how he starts the game. An in form Gerv is a very useful player, not just for himself but for the team. He drags defenders around and will make space for the best player in our team, Santi Cazorla who is likely to be drifting in from the left to add extra creativity. I have read plenty of people wanting Oxlade-Chamberlain to start ahead of Gervinho and after his good display at Swansea I can understand that but the reason for Gervinho's inclusion is because Arsene wants one of his wide forwards to play as a part time striker. Look at the moves that both Theo Walcott and then Gervinho made last week. Oxlade-Chamberlain

A Theory On Recent ‘Cup Final’ Performances, 70 min subs & Sacrificing Myself

Yet I am a believer that we thrive from our performances rather than any type of unbeaten run. Arsene Wenger's teams are largely built upon our 'brand of football' it is what often defines us. It is why we stick to our style of play, it is often why we do not change because we are searching for the

Enjoying Arsenal, Enjoying Santi & Enjoying the understanding

Like I said in my post match article, I think the team have found a fluidity in their play that has been missing for most of the season. The team was set up to play to van Persie's strengths, that as well as Song creating the most amount of goals last season meant that we had to start again from scratch, even more so when you consider that Podolski, Giroud and Cazorla had never kicked a ball