Reviews

I wrote pre match that I wanted to see Arsenal have a go at Manchester City and not just sit back, what I guess I took for granted was our defensive stability that has served us so well this season as well as the end of last season. After a positive start we had reverted back to our old ways. Individual mistakes, players not covering others all of that on top of profligacy meant that we were never going to be able to win the game. One of the few positives was the return of Theo Walcott, he may not have been at his best in the build up but as usual his movement and finishing gave the team something it had been missing for weeks now. He had tucked away Özil's cutback to make it 1-1 but his second to pull the game back to 3-2 was a peach. Curling high past the City keeper. His return along

I began to think about why Koscielny seems a lot less eye catching this season compared to previous campaigns and it could be because of our approach to games. We are a compact unit now so the strength is the team who defend small spaces together. In the past we played a high line and left dangerous gaps for the opposition to exploit. We relied on Koscielny to sprint and make last ditch tackles which made him standout. Our midfield, our greatest strength was off the pace. Probably due to a combination of tiring legs and Everton's excellent play. I was a little surprised that Ramsey and or Özil were not rested against Hull City the week previous given the fixtures coming up but the boss knows far more than I do. Given the importance of the Champions League I wonder if Arsene will rest any against Napoli.

It is one of my pet hates watching professional players hitting balls into a box with no team mates anywhere near the ball. Speaking of full backs it appears that Monreal had another quality game and I have to say, I really like the guy. I think he offers us more end product than Kieran Gibbs and gives us better width. Which I guess is strange when you consider that Gibbs grew up as a winger while Monreal has always plied his trade at left full back. Gibbs has a far higher ceiling and has been fantastic this season so I expect him to remain as first choice. Unlike Jenkinson, it seems as if Monreal can slot back in without the need for game time. Although that may be a tad harsh as Monreal has featured heavily from the bench this season, often to close out games where as Jenkinson has hardly featured.

Going back to Ramsey for a moment, you can see why Arsene played him as the number 10 when Cesc left and we failed to get Cazorla. His pass to Theo Walcott this pre season against Manchester City, one amazing pass to the same player I think away at Olympiacos when he was younger along with a few to Özil already this season. He has concentrated so much on his remarkable run of goals

I do have an issue with our team though. I have had this issue for a while now. When you look at this team, it is built to play in front of opponents. We are designed to play football outside of the penalty box. Even more so when you remove Theo Walcott from the team. Giroud is a striker who faces his midfielders, he is one of the best at bringing midfielders into play but when given the ball to feet with no support, he is virtually neutralised. He doesn't have a burst to escape a defender and his top speed is slow. Unless he plays it off in two touches, he tends to take too many and get dispossessed. Giroud has had a fantastic season so far, he is one of the best at what he does, he just cannot do everything

Arsenal had no shots on target at half time and that was not a surprise. It is easier to create chances against a top side when they have run out of batteries. In the 59th minute Tomas Rosicky got lucky with a misplaced pass that found it's way back to him, his second attempted pass was much sharper and into Özil's feet on the right edge of the box. Özil picked out Giroud in the box and the big Frenchman's awareness was so good that in a crowded penalty box he managed to fight for an aerial

When on the ball we passed quickly and didn't take too many touches in possession and that is why Liverpool found it difficult to cope with us in the first half. We were playing very well but as we know, it means nothing without a goal. That goal came courtesy of Santi Cazorla. I hope someone took my pre match betting advice about Cazorla scoring his first of the season. His header from the right of the penalty spot was the header of an experienced centre forward. His header smacked the post but he was on hand to control a powerful volley in on the rebound. Santi Cazorla made it look so easy when it was anything of the sort. Just replay the goal and watch his body shape when he hit that ball, technically perfect.

Without having the ammunition to score, we needed to keep it tight and not make mistakes but it was just that, that cost us the first goal. Ramsey's tackle looped high in between Jack Wilshere and Carl Jenkinson, both players hesitated not knowing who will deal with it. Jenkinson had moments earlier been in a similar position but decided to head it wide to touch line, it didn't reach as far as he wanted giving a Chelsea player the chance to pick the ball up and continue an attack. Perhaps that was on his mind when he decided to try and head to Fabianski. Jenkinson did not generate the amount of power needed and Azpilicueta read it, got there first and poked past Fabianski.

The referee had a big call to make when Lewandowski picked up a yellow card for catching Laurent Koscielny with his elbow. The question I have, is what was the booking for? I thought the rules were that if a player intentionally caught an opponent with an elbow then he should be dismissed. Is there

Giroud had flicked a fraction behind Jack but instinctively Wilshere flicked out his heal and continued his run but the best part of the goal for me (I guess we all have our own favourite part) is Giroud's final assist. There is plenty of talk about Dennis Bergkamp doing the rounds at the moment due to his book and his, well Bergkampishness. Look at Giroud's body position, his understanding of where Jack is running to and the weight of his flick. Tell me that is not Dennis Bergkamp conjuring something up for a Freddie Ljungberg diagonal run? I don't say that lightly but if Bergkamp had produced