Match Reaction vs Fulham (home).

[Power n Glory]

Merts was only 98% today, but Kos was 102% so another great show by the defence. Monreal reads the game very well but Sagna continues to wreck his past record now that he can suddenly cross a ball.

Pods and Ox looked desperate to impress, good sign. Jack and Flam did okay in the middle, good second half from Santi and the goals of course. Giroud put a big effort in again but he's still below par and a very quiet and often careless performance from Ozil who seems to have lost that smile he had. Wonder what's going on there?

Fulham are really awful and we made them look PL quality in the first half. Easily overcame them in the second but in truth we'll need to play a lot better than this against the better teams. 3 points though thus leaving the money bag comedy clubs still trailing.

When teams defend in numbers like that, we need a lot of movement to create space, aggressive drives forward and shots to get ahead. Gnarby played well even though he got some stuff wrong but wanted to see more of what he was doing from Cazorla and Ozil because the cute passing and lay offs just weren't working. Cazorla stepped his game up but Ozil looked disappointed because he probably knew he was off today. He needs to take more risks. Early in the first half he laid off a pass for Giroud from a great move but Giroud couldn't make up the ground to get on the end of the pass. Oz should have just blasted it in the roof of the goal instead of going for the cut back. He'll learn.

Good to see us see out the game comfortably and with a clean sheet. Defence solid again and Monreal is putting in solid performances on that left. Laying in good crosses and another assist today plus he's good on defence. Impressed with him and glad he wasn't injured.

[IBK]

When teams defend in numbers like that, we need a lot of movement to create space, aggressive drives forward and shots to get ahead. Gnarby played well even though he got some stuff wrong but wanted to see more of what he was doing from Cazorla and Ozil because the cute passing and lay offs just weren't working. Cazorla stepped his game up but Ozil looked disappointed because he probably knew he was off today. He needs to take more risks. Early in the first half he laid off a pass for Giroud from a great move but Giroud couldn't make up the ground to get on the end of the pass. Oz should have just blasted it in the roof of the goal instead of going for the cut back. He'll learn.

Good to see us see out the game comfortably and with a clean sheet. Defence solid again and Monreal is putting in solid performances on that left. Laying in good crosses and another assist today plus he's good on defence. Impressed with him and glad he wasn't injured.

Delighted with the win - especially after a frustrating first half. But can we step it up against the best teams for the rest of the season - settling for the squad we've got?

[Blink 1nce Quince 2wice]

Ozil's look of disappointment (probably at his own performance) is becoming a little too familiar. Someone mentioned he needs to look to shoot more and I would agree making the point (a few months ago too) that he needs to understand how his role has changed from the Galaticos egos of Madrid. That partly means more of the goal threat should come from him directly. It is worrying when a player of his qualities misplaces a simple pass. Particularly as it is arguably his greatest asset. He'll work it out in time though...

Gnabry was good and has an interesting game. So often Sagna is way ahead of him but you can Gnabry to be sensible enough to not sell Sagna out. Still, I'd like to see Gnabry forward a little more and taking a few more risks at times.

I agree that Arteta is the first choice man. Always has been for me and remains so.

[Power n Glory]

5 minute patch of power play does it again.

Awful first half. Much better in the second, if still hugely wasteful in the final third.

Good games from Szczesny, Monreal, Koscielny, Wilshere, Gnabry and Cazorla who stepped up in the second period.

I hope all the people constantly saying Flamini is the much better option over Arteta have seen how much Arteta is missed in recent games. Flamini is supposedly a ball-winning terrier, but Fulham had periods where they dominated the possession and when we did have the ball, Flamini doesn't set any tempo and can also be erratic and loose with his passing. Arteta - or a ball distributor who is superior to Arteta - is essential for us. Flamini can be useful in some games, but he should be no more than a decent back-up option.

Anyway, another useful win, Wilshere getting back to his best with a run of influential performances, Gnabry impressive again and defensively solid once more.

Oh, and Koscielny is a monstrous player.

Arsenal .

82/84 passes for Flams today. That's pretty good. I think the team on a whole didn't press enough and were too comfortable letting Fulham attack us. We're missing Ramsey because he's the one with the most tackles per game.

[IBK]

Ozil's look of disappointment (probably at his own performance) is becoming a little too familiar. Someone mentioned he needs to look to shoot more and I would agree making the point (a few months ago too) that he needs to understand how his role has changed from the Galaticos egos of Madrid. That partly means more of the goal threat should come from him directly.

Gnabry was good and has an interesting game. So often Sagna is way ahead of him but you can Gnabry to be sensible enough to not sell Sagna out. Still, I'd like to see Gnabry forward a little more and taking a few more risks at times.

I agree that Arteta is the first choice man. Always has been for me and remains so.

Perceptive point. 42M for Arsenal rather than 'Galacticos' team means that you should be making the difference, not simply being a good link man.

[The Emirates Gallactico]

It's these sort of routine 2 - 0 wins that win leagues. Man Utd have been doing this for years; rarely did they consistently pummel teams 4 or 5 nil.


Great run we're on, what is it now, 5 or 6 straight wins. It's just our fucking luck that the year we hit this great form is the same year Man City and Chelsea decide to be good. FFS. Just not fair.

[Blink 1nce Quince 2wice]

Before it is mentioned.... I know it is not all about goals and Ozil is certainly no goal machine. However, he was last playing in a Mourinho team and now he is supposedly the main guy (talent, fee, experience and prestige wise) in a Wenger team. For even just that reason alone his role has changed.

Fortunately we are in a place where we aren't just relying on one midfielder to drag us through all the time, be it Cazorla, Ramsey, Ozil or Wilshere. It would be nice to be less reliant on Giroud at some stage too!

[Blink 1nce Quince 2wice]

I was quite hoping that Liverpool would beat City last month (despite Liverpool being ahead of us at the time).....for this exact reason. City just keep winning. I think they have won 10 prem games in a row now or something like that....

They were lucky against Newcastle....very lucky, but still squeezed out a win.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Seven in a row, they drew against Southampton. I'm sure Citeh are thinking the same of us right now though too tbf.

[Blink 1nce Quince 2wice]

Perhaps 10 in 11 then rather than 10 in a row....

I'm sure they are thinking that, but their squad is much better equipped to cope and I think that they probably expect us to blink first. Their record in the big games (which may prove the difference) is better than ours I suspect too.