Post Match Q&A

First rule of Penalty Club is that you do not talk about Penalty Club. On a more serious take, I think it is indicative of the club having more players willing to attack the box and draw those fouls. For a long time it felt like we really only had Ox available to run at a defender but now we can reasonably expect that type of forward thinking from Ox, Walcott, Welbeck, and even down to Alexis, Özil, Cazorla, and Rosicky. It can also be traced back to a more counter-attacking system that is really putting an emphasis on throwing punches instead of just dancing around the perimeter

 Welbeck, and even Ox over Theo at the moment. I like Theo a lot, but his lack of defensive nous is hurting us, especially when he's playing with Hector who is closing the gap to Per and leaving the flank open. The winger must help and Ox was much better at that at the Etihad. Welbeck would be the same. Theo on the other hand makes teams set up differently and not commit as many players forward. Welbeck or Ox do not have Theo's pace but are both pacy enough to punish a team that does commit numbers forward while also being much better at link up play with the midfield to their technical superiority over Theo. Theo is indubitably a better finisher than both but has been very rusty in front of goal since coming back and Welbeck's defensive effort is more

Primarily, Santi Cazorla. He was sensational against City - scoring, assisting and generally controlling the game, but relatively quiet today. Secondly, willing runners. Against City, when we counter attacked we had Ramsey, Chamberlain, Sanchez, Giroud and Cazorla all willing to get forward and today we only had Welbeck who looked willing to break away in attack.

It's hard to choose as everyone was fantastic but I think I have to choose Özil. Even without that assist which should be x-rated as the dirtiest and kinkiest kind of football porn ever (trust a German to produce porn like that) I think he had an outstanding game. He interchanged positions with Theo and Santi with consummate ease and exceled in each role. Far too often he is lazily accused by the media - and some of our fans who are foolish enough to believe them and ironic enough to lecture you on "watching players" when you point out his statistics - of not working hard enough and not putting in a shift. The action-man performances of Alexis this season have delighted the media because they love a player who can put himself about which

There is really only one answer to the question...Rosicky. His work rate at 34 is outstanding alone but his vision to spot the pass to Özil for our second goal was amazing! The run he made for the third goal, the no look pass to Giroud and the technique on the volleyed finish were outstanding. He is truly a little Mozart

The Coq. He’s taken his chances as they’ve come and he looks like a half decent player. Arsene said words to the effect of this in an interview - “Sometimes looking internally can be a blessing in disguise”. I think Arsene bought Coquelin back from loan because he felt he had to and you have to credit a player who was looking at the end of his Arsenal career, that has taken the opportunity given to him with both hands. Also worth remembering that Flamini is basically fit now so today Coq kept him out of the starting line up on merit alone. Arsene has always had a knack for cultivating young talent and I’m glad that he is showing faith in a player that could now go on to cement a place in our 1st Team Squad. There are also rumours floating around the interwebs that he’ll be offered a new contract, if he keeps up this form then I don’t see why we shouldn’t keep him. And a quiet nod to Nacho, keep proving the doubters wrong

I’ve been a fan of Debuchy since he was at Lille and I love him to bits as a right-back but today he delivered a performance at centre-back that is worthy of praise.  The way he coped with the pressure, of playing in an unfamiliar position, was remarkable. AS for Bellerin, his mind is clear and looks like he’s ready to improve and just look forward to the future and what’s ahead of him – I liked his performance today, was deadly in the final third and got an assist as well. But, he still needs to improve defensively. He definitely has the potential to become a top class modern day fullback

 Arsene keeps banging on about how its difficult after a World Cup, and I do really believe that is the case. Many players have not had much rest at all and it is beginning to show a lot. Additionally, there are more teams that are capable of going anywhere and winning (eg. Southhampton, Swansea, West Ham this season) so the league is much tighter

If Szczesny is fit then he goes straight back in.  He's the number one, has a good history in the side and that's just that.  However if Ospina gets back to fitness I don't think it's as clear cut, Martinez at this point has more experience of playing behind our defence and I think deserves to stay there ahead of another newbie in the squad.

Arteta has been fantastic in the past two games, both on the ball, as ever, but defensively, he's really been good. I think we really miss his organising skills; Flamini, for all his pointing, just doesn't glue the side together in the same way, and just isn't very good on the ball. I don't think Arteta can play more than once a week at this point, and I really think getting a defensive midfielder that can pass is the most