Walcott expanded lots of energy in our win and was a real outlet when we bombed forward. Our direct style seems to suit his play. Another thing I noticed in his game is that he is more confident in his
Arsenal have won 5 games in a row in the league for the first time since the 2009-2010 season.
Norwich away wasn’t going to be an easy tie and the score line suggested that but it still doesn’t tell the whole truth. We should have been leading by a clear 2 or 3 goals before Norwich had a sniff and eventually taking the lead after a defensive mistake by Mertesacker.
We showed good courage and we didn’t let their undeserved goal get to us instead we dug deep and equalised 10 mins later from a move that was started by Gervinho and ended by RVP.
2nd goal was from a type of goal we have seen often this season… Win the ball in the midfield, burst forward in numbers, put in a through pass and Gbam…. Goal!!! Ramsey, Song and RVP vital in the goal…. Plus Gervinho was there to stretch the Norwich defence.
Won’t go into details because Mean Lean is on song to do a match review. My part is picking out the key players that performed in the game.
Vermaelen
Vermaelen’s return from injury is a massive boast. Yesterday, he marshaled our defence, stood tall and helped Mertesacker after his awful mistake to remain focus.
He was incredible on the day, got tight to his player, tackled well + his aerial duels always went to his favour. Vermaelen’s passing was also very impressive, moved the ball out of defence with craft.
I asked a question on Twitter after the match;
“Is there another Center Back in the league that can bomb forward the way Vermaelen bombs forward??? “
My friend suggested UTD’s Phil Jones which I laughed at and he later mentioned Daniel Agger. Yeah, I agree… Agger bombs forward but not in the way Vermaelen does it. Vermaelen does it in the same way RVP moves when looking for holes to occupy.
I rate Vermaelen and so does majority of Arsenal fans. We missed him at the tail end of last season and if he was available, I’m positive we would have finished in a higher position.
Theo Walcott
He was the stand out performer on the day and troubled Norwich’s Left back for the full 90mins.
Walcott expanded lots of energy in our win and was a real outlet when we bombed forward. Our direct style seems to suit his play. Another thing I noticed in his game is that he is more confident in his ability and plays with a lot of freedom to express himself.
Theo was on hand to set up RVP’s 1st goal, with good burst of pace and a precise cross to set up RVP.
All of Theo’s 7 assists this season has been to RVP… There seems to be a telepathic understanding between those two and long may it continue.
Theo had a couple of shots at goal and should have scored two had it not been for the bar and Hoolahan who cleared a goal bound shot off the line.
Robin van Persie
He is the man on form, our very own talisman. Everything he touches at the moment turns to gold.
Without his goals yesterday, I doubt if we would have been over the moon today. He was at the right place at the right time to slot home his 1st goal and his movement to get himself into space plus the exquisite chip to give us the lead was a beautiful sight to behold.
Apart from the goal, RVP had an influential game. He dropped into midfield and allowed Gervinho and Theo to take up his starting position. His passing range was also top marks and he even pre-assisted his 1st goal.
Wenger I think has used all the words in his vocabulary to describe RVP though he still had a couple of strong words to notch up when asked about RVP after the game;
[on the importance of Robin van Persie]
“Van Persie is 28, Fabregas and Nasri left at 24. My dream is that Van Persie stays until the end of his career at this Club. I will do the maximum I can to try to convince him and I hope I will manage to do that.”
[on Robin’s credentials as one of the world’s best…]
“He has some competitors there but he is one of the best of course. It is always difficult to say he is the only one. He is exceptional and he has something that you cannot give to people. Today he finished with a chip on his right foot – and I have never seen a bigger left-footed player than Robin van Persie. He always makes the right decision in a fraction of a second when there is little time available. That makes him exceptional.”
Midfield didn’t click yesterday going forward but fought like warriors when on the back foot…. Our fight in midfield led to our 2nd with Ramsey dispossessing Norwich’s Center Back in the heart of the midfield, Song driving forward with the ball and releasing just in time to set up the goal.
I always pay attention to Wenger’s interview after every game and it would be good to share it on here;
[on the three points…]
“We should have got there at the start because
we missed some early chances. In the first 20
minutes we had at least three clear-cut opportunities and on top of that we were 1-0
down. That made the game difficult against a
very dynamic Norwich side. But backed against the wall we did very well again today, like we did at Chelsea. In the second half, once we got to 2-1 we controlled the game well and were never really in trouble. Overall it is a very positive win today. The team is growing from game to game, getting stronger and you feel there is some mental strength inside there.”
[on the Norwich goal…]
“I must say I was upset with the referee at the time but I will have to check that on the television. I thought that Morison brought him down with his left hand.
But I told Per Mertesacker that when you are in England facing goal, maybe in many countries you are safe but not here. That’s what he has learned today.”
[on quitting…]
“No [I wouldn’t think about quitting]. If you read [the interview in L’Equipe] you will see I said that I have two years on my contract. It was after a conversation with a journalist and he said, ‘there is no way that you will ever leave is there?’. I said the only way I would consider it at the end of the season is if I didn’t deliver what is expected from me. Then of course if you say you love the Club and you are below what people are expecting from you, that is the only way I will consider it.
For the rest of the time I am personally completely committed to the Club and will respect my contract until the end. At the start of the season when I made this interview there were of course many people questioning what I do. I was determined. The interview was two or three weeks ago. But I maintain that I am committed to this Club and will respect my contract until the last day – unless I feel that I
am not good enough.”
[on expectations…]
“I have to honestly rate the quality of my work at the end of the season and think whether or not I took the maximum out of the team. You want me to say now that if we do not get into the top four I will quit. Over 15 years I have had many questions to analyse the situation in the most honest and objective way.
I don’t question my commitment to my contract and I think I have shown that in the past. I will do that in the future too. This is the club of my life and will remain so unless I feel I do not do well enough. I don’t think that is something surprising.
I can return this question to you – what do you expect of me? We want to play football that makes Arsenal
proud and that gives enjoyment to people who come and watch us.”
[on his frame of mind for that interview…]
“No [it was no different to now]. Even when I gave an interview to a foreign newspaper after we lost 8-2, I was even more determined to put things right. It was nothing in my mind especially, just the fact that the journalist asked me if I would ever leave the Club. I said the only way I could do it is if I feel I am a pain for the Club.”
Till next…. Take care!!!
EXAMPLE OF AD POSITION
