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.

Foxriver11: Arsenal welcomes Stoke a la Rambo style

Foxriver11: All eyes were set on the Manchester derby taking place later in  the evening but at Islington a few hours before masses gathered to welcome a Stoke side unlike many that Pulis used to show us was gonna be entertained by gooners who wanted a bitter sweet revenge for the in-form Ramsey.

Yes, the same Aaron Ramsey who was booed off the pitch when Shawcross horribly tried to end a career of a budding talent. But years passed on to that incident and Aaron rose again like a phoenix rising from the flames giving his all for a team that were trying to find a balance, a foothold for a position that was always doubted of their worth by the English media. His mental strength was the thing that Arsene Wenger grew so fond of speaking to the press about his team overall on a regular basis. So when the season where he actually began to show his potential on the pitch started, gooners all over began to anticipate the horrors that would hold for the Welsh captain when he faced the team that almost ruined him.

Another much speculated player so far has been the arrival of Mesut Ozil, many have compared his signing to the Ice Man one of Wenger's classiest signings ever. I had failed to grasp the intensity of what this meant, but now reading the similarities in their signing and class, I am beginning to understand the similarities these players have. Besides being World class players, both came at a time where Arsenal actually were pretty balanced in the attacking midfield department, but were in deep crap at both their strikers and defensive positions but the influence that world class players have on a pretty average team can be phenomenal to say the least.

Arsenal forced to make a very late change to the side that beat Marseille mid week Walcott replaced by young German Gnabry on the right hand side because of an abdominal muscle problem to the English forward. It wasn't long since Arsenal found their rhythm in the half before Wilshere was fouled by Charlie Adam disrupting the flow of the game, but what was surprising was the way Arsenal nicked the 1st goal of the game. SET PLAY against stoke, Ozil whipped in an attempt on goal which was parried on to Ramsey who seems can't make any mistake now, 1-0 to the gunners. The Emirates crowd exploded with promise of more to come. Steven Nzonzi then eluded BFG to send a shot towards SZCZ. Cameron was the quickest to react and stoke equalized 1-1.

Arsenal stepped up to the pressure after the goal and were rewarded soon after a Ozil corner led to a Goal by Per Mertesacker’s looping header, second time lucky for the BFG who had a similar effort saved moments before 2-1 to the gunners. In the second half, Stoke dictated the tempo for most of the match, but Gnabry who was rising in stature in the half tried an audacious long ranger at Begovic, who had saved the effort comfortably, remained untroubled for the first 20 mins. Thankfully the gunners scored again against the run of play from another set piece. Set piece against stoke, this never fails to rub the smile off my face. Anyways it was Wilshere being fouled for the 9^th time in the match that led to the free kick which was taken by Ozil who had a looped ball for Bacary in the box who made no mistake and looped it over Begovic, 3-1.

Gibbs and Flamini just grew into the game and controlled the Stoke moves before it turned to serious threats, clever interceptions and Koscielny controlling the long balls completely negated the Stoke threat. Miyaichi, Monreal and Arteta got a run in before the clock ticked down, Arsenal fans were high and running, singing we are top of the league as the whistle blew. Its true not many games have been played to celebrate in that manner, but considering our previous starts to the seasons we deserve all the cheer and spirit we get from the fans.