A Fighting Draw at the Hawthorns!!!

Foxriver11: Before the game, I had voiced my concerns over what happens if Arsenal get a little too complacent after the run of form they were having! And later read about Flamini explaining what his unfinished business was that he talked off when his transfer had been completed. He talks that he had a great time with Arsenal before leaving to a different competition, but feels the guilt that he couldn't win the UCL, after reaching the finals and also the 07-08 season where Arsenal lead the league for most part before Eduardo's horrific injury played with the mental strength and Arsenal subsequently squandered their title.

                       

The game started with Arsenal on the back foot in the flair that we have in our passing. And credit to West Brom for efficiently nullifying our midfield so easily. The 1st real scare came when a shot deflected off Flamini's arse was heading towards the goal when SZCZ was going the other direction, but was somehow turned in his stride and pulled off a world class save in the end.

Majority of the first half was both teams midfield canceling each other out, while Jack was being fouled left, right and center by the WBA players and while the referee turned a blind eye towards the tackles at Arsenal players, their confidence seemed to be going down with each decision going the other way. The tone of play allowed WBA to dictate play in a manner that was a bit worrying for the Arsenal fans and WBA soon scored the 1st of the match. The game didn't make Arsenal stand up and start delivering soon, but we kept pushing gradually. And who else to score other than Wilshere, with the game he was having and the constant chants among fans about his recent smoking bout and a beaut of a volley it was too.

The game saw quite a few bookings and a few Arsenal players carrying knocks over the game. While Jenkinson was pretty decent with his track backs; he was clueless against long balls more than often, which is a worrying sign for a second right back of a team challenging for the title. The second half fared better for the gunners with Giroud and Ramsey exchanging few quick passes in the WBA third of the field.

Bacary's presence was missed, so was the tempo that Rossa brings with him. Ozil had another subdued game; he is not taking the game head-on for Arsenal like many fans keep thinking. He is more of a contributor than someone like Cesc or to some extent Rossa do when they play, they dictate how the whole team works as a unit.

The game ended by Ramsey being subbed off for Rossa and Giroud being taken off for TGSTEL (read Bentdner) but he didn't really have enough time to have any meaningful attack. 1-1 at the hawthorns isn't a bad result in any means. It was a tough result to achieve, given the kind of wins they had recently. Yet I still feel we didn't take the game by its horns too.

Gibbs received his first England senior call up this week, pretty deserving I think considering the consistency in his performances. Aaron Ramsey and Arsene Wenger win the Player of the Month and The Manager of the Month respectively, but the best part would definitely be Arsenal retaining their position on the top of the Table.

 If you observe the league table, even a noob might understand what kind of competitive league this is, rather than the constant media bickering that the league is hyped and the German or the Italian leagues being more competitive. Coming to this weekend, the International Break is here and Arsenal fans would be excited and eagerly waiting the return of some very influential players who were out with injury. Also the players carrying knocks will get enough time to charge off their reserve power and start afresh after the break. So until something major happens this week it’s Adios from moi.