We lacked Santi Cazorla's creative passing from deep without question but I'm not entirely sure that was the main reason for our flat performance. I thought we got the ball into our front players in decent positions many times over the course of the 90 minutes, the problem was that our attacking players were just off the pace on the day. Alex Iwobi was pretty decent in the first half, probing and finding spaces in the pockets between midfield and defence as he does so well, but his teammates were off their game. Mesut Ozil who had struck a hat-trick a few days earlier was not at his best and neither was our main scoring outlet from the right Theo Walcott
AV Post Match Podcast – EP82: Barcelona (a) – Hot Barcelona Tapass
In today's Arsenal Vision Post Match Podcast: Elliot (@YankeeGunner), Paul (@PoznanInMyPants) and Tim (@Stillberto) talk about the Barcelona match, defensive errors, goal scoring issues and much more in this weeks Arsenal Vision podcast.
AV Post Match Podcast – EP66: Newcastle United (h) – Hard Fought 1-0
In today's Arsenal Vision Post Match Podcast: Elliot (@YankeeGunner), Paul (@PoznanInMyPants) & Tim (@Stillberto) discuss the hard fought victory over Newcastle United at the Emirates. Giroud, Elneny, all that and much more in this weeks Arsenal Vision Podcast
Newcastle United (h) – Performances need improvement, Cup changes & Tough fixtures ahead
How we could do with a winter break at this stage. While it would benefit all the teams in the league, I think it would be massively beneficial for us right about now. I get the feeling that we are not physically ready for some of the games coming up while City with this win under their belts have winnable games. So if I was a betting man, I would predict Arsenal to drop a place or two for now but with players coming back or coming in from the transfer market I suspect we will find another late run of form as we have done so often so we will come back again for the home straight
Southampton (a) & AFC Bournemouth (h) – Bottle or Fatigue? & Another Özil Pass-terclass
Arsène said post match that the team started with the trauma of the Southampton game in their system as the visitors started brighter but we wrestled control of the game and that is when Mesut Özil stole the show once more with a ridiculous array of passes that sliced open Bournemouth. The German was once again on another level to those around him on both teams
Manchester City (h) – Has Walcott been working on his shooting at London Colny?
Walcott's goal moments later was a thing of absolute beauty. It's not the first time that he has taken a pass intended for someone else and then gone on to score. He did the same in our home victory last season to Aston Villa. Last weekend against Aston Villa his whipped finish into the far corner was wrongly disallowed, on Monday night he did it again so I wonder if he has been working on it behind the scenes at London Colny. At the start of the season when he was given his chance as a central striker many of his shots were very tame often quite powder-puff. I remember screaming out for a whipped effort rather than a soft curling shot that was easy to save.
Norwich (a) – Arsenal injury nightmare continues as Gunners draw
Alexis along with Özil have been our best attacking players over the last few matches and he hasn't looked tired one bit, in fact he looked like he was returning to his best after a wobble. So I don't blame the manager for not taking him out of the team. If the player gets the go ahead from the medical staff, the player says he feels fit and of course his recent performances show that he is winning games for you then what do you do? When players get injured for the most part, I think we can manage until they return as long as it is not all of your players in the same position or if that player is Alexis Sanchez because he is different to everyone else. I guess it depends on the duration of the injury. Luckily we have Oxlade-Chamberlain and Ramsey back along with Joel Campbell who looks better than the bit part version we witnessed until now.
Newcastle United (a) Post Match Thoughts: Koscielny and Walcott impress as Arsenal cruise to quarter final
As talented as our ball players are, and we have many who can play out in wide areas, Theo's movement, pace and finishing is vital in this Arsenal team. His sixth of the season having missed a large chunk through injury
Partizan Belgrade (a) Post Match Thoughts: Arsh, Jack & Lukasz just Fab
Fabianski wasn't finished there as he denied Iliev's effort from point blank range in stoppage time. That save along with the penalty save made a big difference to the outcome of the game