Yes. It's hard not to sound bitter. No matter how many times I watch it back I can't see how it's not a foul for us on his first yellow. Should he not challenge for the ball? Eyes on the ball and the player backs in to cause, what looked a nasty fall. My first reaction was worry that he'd got injured. The second is soft at most. He's trying to play the ball. VERY harsh
It is usually around the Christmas mark when Arsène flips open his book of rotation so to see both full backs come in as well as Ospina behind then and Mikel Arteta in the defensive midfield position was somewhat of a surprise to me. Now before I go on any further with this I want to say that I fully understand the managers reasoning behind the changes. Playing away from home on a Wednesday in Croatia only to face Chelsea away from home on Saturday lunchtime is about as
Arsène Wenger has shuffled his pack a little bit as the Gunners prepare to face a Dinamo Zagreb in hot form, with the Chelsea game looming around the corner, Arsène has been forced into making a few changes to the team that dismantled Stoke City on the weekend. Arsène Wenger had already shown his intentions before the game by leaving Hector Bellerin and Aaron Ramsey at home.
Champions League football returns for another year, it is quite amazing how we take it for granted these days such is the consistency of our participation in this competition. But participation is not what Arsène Wenger wants I imagine, he wants to win the one competition that has escaped his grasp so far. But this is no Mickey mouse competition and there is a reason why only a handful of clubs have a strangle hold over the trophies for the most part. But regardless of the odds, Arsène Wenger will want his squad to give it there best shot and that starts in Croatia against Dinamo Zagreb who are undefeated in 41 games, that is a hell of a lot of games. Maybe we can end that by kicking the Zagreb players all over the pitch, pulling their forward down when he is running through on goal
So let me stop reminiscing of days gone by and let me focus on our Welsh wonder. Let me start off by saying that I think it is quite obvious that Aaron Ramsey is better in central midfield. His partnership with Mesut Özil, his running from deep and his underrated ball winning ability makes him a top central midfielder, no question. But the most important thing is the bigger picture and the bigger picture is the team. Arsène tried to fit Ramsey back into the middle against West Ham and pushing Santi Cazorla wider but the balance was not correct. Maybe it would have improved over time, maybe Coquelin and Ramsey could develop together but we did not really have the time or room for error to allow that to play out. The introduction of Francis Coquelin into the side means we
You recoil with horror yet his is all very sensible, particularly in a Moneyball sense. You know, cleansing your mind of the biases that deny the hard data, emancipating yourself from the kind of reflex devotion to your team that bookmakers prey on. Think of the Tottenham fan betting that this will be the season they break the top four, or a Liverpool supporter convinced that 2015-16 is their year. They're danged fools, right?
I don't want to be a danged fool, and with nothing to say in the face of this common sense I accepted the possibility that I too might learn to enjoy a goal by someone I don't like. And I have to admit it feels great.
In today's Arsenal Vision Post Match Podcast: Arsenal continue to win the XG league (whoo hoo) with another createy game at the Emirates, this time Stoke City were battered into next week without the final score being a true reflection of what happened on Saturday afternoon in North London. Paul (@PoznanInMyPants), Elliot (@YankeeGunner) and James (@GoonerFanatic49) talk strikers, chances and Gabriel's gang role.
Whether or not our chances were directly down to Theo's movement, the team looked very creative and inventive. I enjoyed watching Alexis Sanchez, he seemed far more rounded in his performance. His mixture of beating his man and finding the pass seemed far more balanced than usual. His driving runs inside from the left caused Stoke problems for the entire match
Theo and Giroud on the pitch at once gives us a better chances of scoring, plus they have always seemed to compliment each other pretty well whenever they have played together. The biggest change for me would be in midfield, I would start either Mikel Arteta or Santi Cazorla as our deepest option which I know is almost blasphemy in the eyes of some. I am just not sure whether tough tackling, hard as nails 'DMS' are needed in every single home game. In a game where our build up play could be more of a determining factor to the result than a battling in midfielder, I wonder if one of the Spaniards dictating from deep which would allow Ramsey
On the 1st goal, Cech has to take the blame. If you come out for a cross, you must get something on it. Thats a cardinal rule of goalkeeping. If he had stayed on his line and the header was on target, ultimately resulting in a goal, then we could blame the marker on the set piece. As for the 2nd goal, no blame on Cech. The defence switched off as soon the Ox lost the ball. By the way, this is becoming a bad habit he needs to cut out of his game ASAP. We saw him lose the ball in dangerous positions against Monaco last season and more recently against Everton in pre-season, both errors leading to us conceding needlessly, just like today