Contract updates + dissecting Wenger's injury comments

On Ramsey's and Cazorla's deals...
Once again, it shows the club's willingness to retain their star players (as well as youth players like Zelalem, but let's face it, he isn't the elephant in the room). While renewing the contracts of Ramsey and Santi were not exactly necessary, it nevertheless comes as welcome good news to the Arsenal community. Renewing the deals of this season's best player and last season's best player has shown foresight from the board, boosted the positive atmosphere around Ashburton Grove and also been a positive by-product of Ozil's signing.

I hardly need to emphasize how important these players are. Especially Ramsey, who was one of the league's best midfielders (at 23!) before injury struck. Cazorla's renewal might not be as exciting (or perhaps, as wise), mainly because he hasn't really lived up to his expectations and is approaching the dreaded 30. However, he still remains a vital component of Arsenal's creative hub and is far from a liability yet.

While he may not be out-and-out world class, one would rarely find a player who is gifted with such a variety of traits. Two footed dribbler, passer, long striker, goal getter... the list is endless, and possibly more than Ozil's merits. These are really important players to Arsenal, so it's good to see them tied down for long-term.

Having said that, we still might witness an exodus...
Bacary Sagna has remained stubbornly quiet on his Arsenal future. I have already said that I reckon his future at Arsenal depends on whether we win a trophy the FA Cup or not; yesterday's events don't change that. The solution is literally simple - defeat Wigan and Sheffield/Hull, and in all likelihood Sagna stays. At least that's what I think.

Fabianski is departing as well, not to mention possible follow-ups from Vermaelen and Podolski. If Tommy and Poldi do leave, then I shall solely lay the blame on Arsene Wenger's door. Even though he had talented players in reserves to call upon (read Fabianski, Vermaelen, Podolski) he chose not to rotate.

Instead, he overplayed his first team members until they got injured (read Ramsey, Ozil, Walcott) and then sent out his reserves to cover their absences. It truly is frightening to imagine what happens if the reserves fall prey to overplaying as well, especially young legs like Gibbs' or Chamberlain's.

I think Arsene can convince Podolski to stay if he tries. However, if he wants to keep Vermaelen, he must rotate him in place of Koscielny and Gibbs much more often than he is currently. I don't think Wenger would handle the situation well though, another reason why I want him gone.

And that's become a real possibility now.

There really couldn't be a better time for Arsenal to announce Wenger's renewal...
Yet here we are. The club is wise enough to know that the coming fixtures (Chelsea, Swansea, Manchester City, Everton, Wigan) have a lot of potential to destroy the club's current upbeat mood. However, they have strangely chosen to announce Aaron's and Santi's deals instead. Wenger's contract remains unresolved, three months from expiration.

It's getting clear now that the board are rightly stalling over Wenger's contract. I have no doubt that Wenger wants to stay at Arsenal, but I'm having doubts that the board want to keep him. Either the board want to see how the season ends before making hasty decisions, or Wenger's holding the club to ransom (for a better deal) or there already is a mutual agreement in place regardless of how the season ends... I really don't know what's happening behind the scenes.

I'm oddly hopeful that he will depart, though. The below example is one of many that illustrates why I want him out.

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Talking about Arsenal's injury crisis, Wenger said:

[P.S. I know that the below comments were last week in the pre-Bayern press conference and that it's a bit outdated to dissect now, but I wanted to do this for a long time and work prevented me from typing this out.]

"I am concerned that this happens. If you look at our overall injury list going into such a decisive part of the season, we have no Wilshere, Ozil, Ramsey and we went to Bayern without Gibbs and Monreal. It's very difficult to find an obvious reason why."

I'd like to congratulate Wenger on noting that there were regular injury crises even though it was apparent for five years. It's shocking and almost laughable for one of the world's supposed best managers to bear half a decade of injury crises and then make the startling conclusion that maybe, maybe it isn't coincidence that Arsenal top the injury list every season.

Wenger not blaming himself for Arsenal's injury woes is yet another instance (of many) of how out of touch he is with the real world and why he's long overdue a departure from Arsenal. Getting players injured has been purely Wenger's fault (most of them, at least). Keeping them injured for more than the required time is perhaps the fault of the meds - who are hired by Wenger, by the way.

Let's analyze Arsenal's currently injured players, shall we?

Abou Diaby: A special case, but we don't need any special cases at Arsenal. Even if he makes an indispensable contribution for Arsenal towards the season-end (a tall order), the fact remains that he has still cost a bomb for Arsenal in wages. He is injury prone and always will be, and I can't believe that Wenger rejected a £10 million bid for him in 2011.

I don't hate Diaby, but I feel that his plight is a perfect symbolism to show how far the board have cluelessly allowed Wenger to carry on his flop 'Project Youth', and how much he has cost the club financially (like thousands of other duds). At Manchester United, Liverpool or Everton, Diaby would not be paid more than £15,000. At Arsenal, he's paid £50,000. 

Aaron Ramsey: Injured against West Ham in December 2013. Wenger overplayed him even when he had the chance to play Flamini. Here's an extract of my blog about that match:

"As it happened, it was Ramsey who fell prey to Wenger's incompetent man management, suffering a thigh strain which would rule him out of the Christmas schedule. I still don't know why Wenger decided to field him ahead of Mathieu Flamini, who had 12 days of rest going into this match."

Relevant much?

Jack Wilshere: Injured on international duty, which wasn't Wenger's fault, it was Agger's. However, most of his niggling ankle injuries have been a direct effect of Wenger overplaying him towards the end of the 2010/11 season, pushing him to the red zone. After he recovered (after 17 months!), Wenger threw him back on the field instead of easing him back in. Wilshere promptly got injured again.

Wenger doesn't seem to understand that young legs - while fresh - are also quite tender. He's overplayed countless amounts of youth talents who were around their twenties (Gibbs, Ramsey, Wilshere, Cesc, Nasri, Theo), so much so that they succumbed to regular injuries and/or became permanently injury prone.

There were some who survived this gross mismanagement - tougher players like Adebayor, Song - but on the whole, Wenger has been key in ruining key players.

Mesut Ozil: The number of minutes for which he's been thrown on the field by Wenger is frightening. Mourinho (at Real Madrid) always took Ozil off around the 70th minute because he knew that Ozil didn't have the legs and the workrate for it. However, Wenger threw Ozil in the English game for 90 minutes straight; flu or no flu.

Add to that the fact that the EPL does not have any winter break, and it's actually surprising that Ozil survived until March before falling prey to Wenger's man management.

Again, buck stops with Arsene Wenger.

Theo Walcott: Returned from injury in the end of November. Encouragingly eased into the game by Wenger. However, is then forced to play 90 minutes for five straight matches until he injured his anterior cruciate ligament (as pointed out by Raymond Verheijen). Enough said really.

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Clearly, Wenger is the problem. While his medical staff might be incompetent enough as well (Ramsey's injury stretched from four weeks to three months; Diaby's injury stretched from eight months to more than a year), the fact stays that they are Arsene Wenger's medical staff. In the end, he hires them and he fires them.

If Wenger is too polite/blind/stubborn to fire his staff (if they are at fault, mind you), then they can kindly sod off from Arsenal Football Club and help Moyes destroy United instead. We don't want you at Arsenal, we'd rather have progress, thanks.

Imagine if that happens, though.

P.S. Once again, I apologize for not being that active on Arsenal-related stuff recently. For two weeks, I was at work making a website which was finally launched yesterday. Give it a whirl, it's called 'Brangled Minds' and has a football section as well.

Would love to hear your feedback at brangledminds@gmail.com or the comments sections. Until then, stay safe and stay a Gooner.

-Santi (Follow me on twitter: @ArsenalBlogz )

Contract ramblings, Jack's injury and thoughts on Kallstrom, Ozil and Bendtner

It's an eventful week for an Arsenal supporter.

New juicy deals for Mertesacker and Rosicky have been agreed, and Ramsey and Cazorla could be the next. Sagna and Bendtner are edging closer to the exit door, Wenger's situation remains uncertain, Wilshere has cracked his left foot, and most importantly, one of the most exciting deals of the transfer window could be in action against Everton.

I kid, of course. Signing Kim Kallstrom is hardly a deal that would send shivers even down his own cracked spine. However, I doubt that any Arsenal supporter would positively dread watching him take to the field. Yes, he symbolizes everything wrong with Wenger's transfer policy, but I'll still look forward to what he could possibly offer to the team.

Anyway, here are my takes on the recent flurry of activities:

On Mertesacker's and Rosicky's deals...
I'm delighted. Merty, for one, has signed his last long-term contract with Arsenal, which means that his best years are secure at this club. You'd be a fool if it took you this long to understand that he's been a terrific player this season. Under the influence of Steve Bould, Per has become an expert at reading the game and intercepting dangerous passes.

I hardly need to emphasize his partnership with Laurent Koscielny as well - all I can say is that they've been superb in forming one of the most stable Arsenal backlines since the Invincibles.

However, confidence has made Mertesacker much more than just a competent defender. He's become a leader, a vocal presence and one of Arsenal's nicest guys. Although a player like Bacary Sagna, for instance, has been one of our most consistent and reliable defenders for years altogether, his silent and sombre nature has meant that Gooners have almost taken him for granted. Mertesacker's forceful and vocal nature, however, has meant that he is considered indispensable to the team.

Tomas Rosicky's signing is also a fantastic piece of business. Word has it that he has signed a 2 year contract, which means that he is almost certain to retire at Arsenal. I love the guy, his never-say-die attitude and an obsession to pass the ball forward makes him an important part of the team. He is clearly desperate to make up for lost time. His tendency to press the ball high up and put in astounding workrate game after game is a rare sight from a 33 year old.

He celebrated his new contract in fine fashion too, scoring a good goal against Norway. It goes without saying that if he can replicate this goalscoring trait in the coming three months and stay clear of injuries, he'll be one of our players of the season.

On Ramsey's and Cazorla's rumoured deals...
Arsenal are rightly tying up their key players to new deals with a hope to keep them for the foreseeable future. While Sagna's, Podolski's and Vermaelen's futures remain uncertain, players like Mertesacker, Rosicky, Koscielny, Wilshere, Gibbs, Ozil, Walcott and Chamberlain are set to stay for the next season and the one after it in all likelihood. It's delightful to add Santi and Rambo to that list.

Cazorla is awesome. While I know that he's not had much influence on our team this season due to injury (and Wenger stupidly shunning him out wide), he's just a joy to watch when in the mood. There are only so many players in the world who possess qualities like dribbling, finishing, shot power, pace and two-footedness. In a twist of cruel fate, the only other person I know with these traits is Julian Draxler.

To think that we've tied down our own Ronaldinho for our future plans leaves me salivating.

If that leaves me salivating, the news of Ramsey signing a new contract (IF the reports are accurate) would leave me choking for breath. Even though I was surprised in finding myself to be pretty much the only one unnerved by his rumoured 100K per week, I'm happy with Wenger letting go of his 'socialist' wage structure.

For the first time in a long time, players at Arsenal are not leaving the club due to money issues. The ghosts of Ashley Cole and Samir Nasri are finally disappearing.

I agree that Ramsey has undergone a transformational season. However, I'm still not sure that his superb run is one that has permanently made him a much better footballer. Seeing that he had already signed a long-term deal in December 2013, it's a bit of a financial gamble from Arsene to dish out a much juicier deal to the same player based on 6 months of form. I don't know if Ozil's high wages are forcing Wenger to give others a pay rise or that he's simply fearful of losing his key men, but either way, things are panning out positively. Oh, speaking of Ozil...

OZIL wasn't booed, Joachim Lowe was...
It's shameful to see the media relentlessly piling on Ozil's bad times by suggesting that he was the one being jeered when taken off. Ozil, on the contrary, had assisted Mario Goetze's goal and received an award before the match, why would he be booed by his own supporters then?

In an attempt to clear out another myth, I want to point out that his assist doesn't mean Arsenal are going to see inspired performances from him. Maybe Lowe's indication that Ozil might miss out on the World Cup's squad could instigate him, but I wouldn't put my money on it. Not when he's surrounded by slowcoaches like Giroud and a tactical blockhead for a manager. Still, I'll play the waiting game on this one.

Jack Wilshere won't be sorely missed...
With all due respect to Jack, I feel that his unexpected lengthy layoff won't affect Arsenal that badly. For one, we have Aaron Ramsey who is returning, not to mention Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain who can be half-decent in that role. Flamini and Arteta are options as well, not to forget Abou Diaby who might return later in March.

Kim Kallstrom, dare I add, is an option as well. I know that he isn't what fans wanted (me neither), but the fact remains that his return from injury literally makes him a "new signing", and I'm instinctively excited to see how he plays. I know that I'm sounding incredibly far-fetched and optimistic, but should he put in some Flamini-esque shifts and contribute to some silverware, it'd be a fairytale story and Wenger would be held as a messiah.

Bendtner confirms, Sagna to leave as well?
After (would you believe it) a decade at Arsenal, Nicklas Bendtner has declared that he won't be extending his contract (assuming we offered him one). In one of many frank statements, Bendy said:

"I’m not going to stay at Arsenal – first team football is what I’m after. The plan is for me to move on. I’m ready for a new challenge. To keep my spot I need to play regularly."

Honestly? I'm sad to see him go. Not because I think he has a future at Arsenal, or because I consider him as apt backup to Giroud. However, ever since he scored against Cardiff, I've subconsciously extracted him out of my mind's categories of 'deadwoods' and placed him in 'memories'. I know it's a bit weird to miss an egoistical, deluded and annoying footballer, but it's just how I feel. All I can hope is that Wenger (presuming he stays) buys a much better replacement in the summer.

Elsewhere, Bacary Sagna has remained defiantly quiet. I still staunchly believe that his future depends on Arsenal winning a trophy or not, so it's kind of unpredictable to deduce if he's staying or not. While the league is dead, the FA Cup is very much on, and I'm not ruling it out. On the contrary, I'm pinning all of my hopes on it.

Fabianski, Viviano, Bendtner; three departures have been confirmed. If we don't win anything, I believe Sagna, Vermaelen and Podolski will be added to that list. With the prospect of buying 7 players in one window looking very much possible, I don't want Wenger overseeing such a busy transfer window. He fell short of 2 players in the last summer and 2 players the summer before - there's almost a guarantee we'll witness the same dithering and indecision in the next transfer window with him at the helm.

Wenger still hasn't signed a new contract; that gives me hope. However, I'm not going to pin all my hopes on that, because factors like an unpredictable board and a stubborn manager come into play. Instead, I'll put my hopes on something much more tangible - the FA Cup tie against Everton.

There's no denying that winning the FA Cup will save our season. Lose the game tomorrow, and our season finishes just like that. Win it, and we get closer to a trophy and closer to stemming an exodus.

It's time to get serious.

-Santi (Follow me on twitter: @ArsenalBlogz )

Cardiff 0-3 Arsenal: Positives all around

A seemingly comfortable victory for us as Arsenal won 3-0 at the Cardiff City Stadium, where United only managed a point and City lost. It's a brilliant result all around, and one that we can take a lot of encouragement from.

Firstly, let's address the elephant in the room, Aaron Ramsey. I was simply dazzled by his display yesterday, and not just because of the two goals. He was absolutely outstanding all around on a day where we needed three points to consolidate our lead. His defensive workrate, his passing precision and especially his positioning was truly top class.

The first goal that he scored was pure class, a really difficult header pulled off with such apparent ease. That's a kind of header that Olivier Giroud would struggle to head in, and yet Ramsey, 14 cms shorter than him, fired it in promptly, yet had the respect to not celebrate a fine goal in front of his former fans.

His second was in much different circumstances, kind of a way to kick Cardiff when they were down. Theo Walcott, deadly pace brought on in the dying minutes, was fed wide by Aaron himself to start the move. Theo had a simple return pass to provide, which he comfortably executed, leaving Ramsey to smash home after a really good first touch, I might add.

It capped another eye-catching display from the Welshman, who is rapidly becoming one of my many favourite players at the club. He is currently comfortably Arsenal's top goalscorer this season, which is simply magnificent considering his assigned deep midfield role. He has a lot of qualities - his stamina, his finishing, his vision, his defensive abilities, you name it. He's constantly reminding me of Frank Lampard this year, and resembling THE complete midfielder.

Arsene said of him:

"He has developed and matured, not only as a player but as a person as well. A few years ago we came here in a cup game and he had a very, very difficult game. And now it shows you how much he has developed as a person as well."

What's even more exciting is the fact that he is still 23 years of age, with at least 10 years of football still in him. To me, he is the best in the Premier League at the moment, and I'm running out of ways to describe him. In fact, I think that I'm running out of ways to say that I'm running out of ways to describe him!

Since suffering that horrific leg break back in February 2010, he's come a long, LONG, way to impose his importance on the club. And it wasn't a sweet ride either. Almost immediately after returning from injury, he was forced to fill the Cesc Fabregas void, and yet managed it for some time. Around January, the death of his mentor and Wales manager Gary Speed meant a dip in form, for which he was unfairly criticized. Last season, Wenger ludicrously decided to play him on the right flank ahead of Lukas Podolski, which still seems a baffling decision to me, in a world where we signed Park Chu Young.

Poor performances were imminent, with which criticism was sure to follow. People failed to notice that a central midfielder doesn't exactly thrive as a right winger, and used him as a scapegoat for everything that was wrong with the club at the time. Still, Aaron kept his head down and gave his all in every match, after which he was given a long-term contract.

People were raging at this decision by the manager, but have been since eating their words, because he has been vastly improving post-January. After keeping it simple, yet effective in the second half of last season, he has progressed leaps and bounds, amassing 13 goals and 5 assists in the process. Cesc, in his best season for Arsenal, got 19 goals and 19 assists, and Ramsey has managed to near those amount of goals already. We haven't even gone through halfway through the season yet.

His story to glory itself is hugely dramatic, to the point of being inspirational. Ramsey's form, symbolic of Arsenal's form, has been surreal this season, which was shown yesterday at Cardiff. Even though I supported Ramsey throughout his bleak days, I never, ever, expected him to produce such top drawer displays at such a consistent level, and at this rate, I have no idea when he will stop. It's telling that even a Mesut Ozil back in form failed to wrest the MOTM award from Ramsey. We've got a real gem on our hands, I must say.

Talking about Mesut Ozil, I finally saw glimpses that made Arsene shell out £42m for him, since the Napoli game. While I had suggested that he needed to be dropped to make way for more hardworking players like Rosicky, it seems that missing a penalty against Marseille marked a turning point for him. He was fantastic yesterday, his two assists were no fluke - especially the one to feed Flamini - and if Ramsey hadn't been, well, Ramsey, then he surely would've taken the match ball home.

While I am still cautious to concede that a scintillating game against an average side is proof that Ozil is back to his Real Madrid form, I am happy that he is getting the assists to justify his selection. The best part is that even if he does under perform, we still have midfielders capable and willing to take the creativity burden upon them. It's hugely encouraging that we have gone from having Cesc and Nasri to Ozil, Cazorla, Jack and Rosicky.

Positives aren't just oozing from the Arsenal, though. Spurs and United slipping up, coupled with Liverpool crashing 3-1 and Chelsea currently losing to Southampton means that our 7 point lead may just hold true by the end of the weekend. [UPDATE: Oh well, 4 points isn't half bad either] A Sunday just couldn't get any better now, could it?

Mind The Gap? More like mind the Grand Canyon.        

-Santi (Follow me on twitter: @ArsenalBlogz )

My worries on Mesut Ozil and Aaron Ramsey

Remember the time we were singing praises of our dream midfield, which had creativity in Cazorla and Ozil, the flair of Jack and Rosicky, the steel of Flamini and Arteta and the goals from Aaron Ramsey? That was undoubtedly highlighted by Ozil's superb start to life at North London, Flamini's surprising run of form and of course, Ramsey scoring goal after goal in almost every match. After a couple of weeks in October, we had every right to call our midfield as one of the best in Europe.

Fast forward to today, and I don't know about you, but doubts are certainly beginning to emerge in my mind about this midfield. While Arteta has covered up the absence of Flamini aptly, the much awaited partnership of Ozil and Santi Cazorla isn't working out as well as one might've hoped. Wilshere has succumbed to injury once more, and Ramsey seems like a hardworking but average midfielder in the games that he fails to score. Add to that a Mesut Ozil who's performances are degrading with each "passing" game, and you've certainly got a flawed midfield.

I don't think that players like Arteta, Flamini and Rosicky are ever going to deliver half-hearted or underwhelming performances for the club. Sure, everyone has their bad days, but they're too experienced and passionate for the club to cause blunders or whoppers. Wilshere might be a bit disappointing at times, but since he's recovering from injury and has a lot to learn, I guess I could cut him some slack. However, I have had worries about Ramsey throughout his goalscoring streak, and quite recently, I have also developed some concerns on Mesut Ozil.

The loss of our wingers meant that Ramsey was constantly played on the right flank, lately against Manchester United. And while this understandably meant that his performances dropped, I always had a feeling that his performances were pretty average throughout this month. It was always the goals that covered that up, and when you view these goals, most of them are a result of selfish and solo play.

Average might be a strong word to call Ramsey. He can be called decent, but no more than that. The goals that he scored against Swansea, Norwich and Liverpool were most notably goals that had a certain amount of selfishness in them. Don't get me wrong - sometimes you need to take matters in your own hands, but Ramsey is hogging up the goals rather than looking for better options. He's a midfielder, not a striker.

Examples of his solo play could be seen when he gave the ball away on the edge of the box against Dortmund for their first goal at the Emirates, when he ludicrously shot from long range at Old Trafford, and when he tried a pretty weird strike against Chelsea. People say that Ramsey is the best in the Premier League at the moment, but when you take away his goals, what do you get?

Ramsey is a good player, but he's not a great one, and the fans are putting an unfair burden on him to score. At some point he himself seems to be putting pressure on himself to score a goal in every game, which is really not necessary. People comparing him to Cesc Fabregas could not be more wrong - Ramsey always shoots when he wants. Fabregas looks for the best option possible and performs that, whether shoot or pass. The only player who's closest to replace Cesc at Arsenal is one Mesut Ozil.

Which brings me to Ozil's dip in form. I couldn't help but notice how he constantly kept playing back passes and safe passes to his teammates, in recent games. After his brilliant start, he seems to have faded away from the game to the point of almost being invisible at times. And it's not like he's being played out of position like Aaron. Ozil has being playing almost every match in the central attacking role, but currently not living up to the £42m transfer fee.

Maybe that's the problem. The fact that Arsene is overplaying him even when he's sick suggests that the rigours of the league might be getting to him. And while that may be the case, I think that his dip in form is down to his teammates, and not him.

The absence of Theo Walcott, Lukas Podolski and Oxlade-Chamberlain means that our team has had to adjust a lot and play in different positions. I'm constantly noticing a lack of movement in the final third, which would make Ozil difficult to find a man. I know that Ozil has really good vision, but shouldn't we give him something to see?

In my opinion, when our injured trio of wingers return, there will be more fresh legs in the team. Which means that our team won't be as tired as they were before, and that there will be no problems in positioning and movement. Ramsey will get his preferred position, and Ozil will find Walcott running in promising positions. Maybe the return of Walcott and Podolski will instigate that.

Maybe.

-Santi (Follow me on twitter: @ArsenalBlogz )

Arsenal 2-0 Liverpool: Rosic-key to our success

A Santi Cazorla volley and an Aaron Ramsey screamer ensured that Arsenal clinched three seemingly convincing points against Liverpool. And while there are still problems in this squad that were evident in this game, no one can deny that the pros largely outshone the cons on a memorable night for the Gunners.

It all started at the 19th minute through a Santi strike. I thought that Arteta's pass to Sagna to start up the move was really good. He is often criticized for playing the ball too square and slowing the game down, but that sure wasn't the case when he placed an inch-perfect ball to Bac. Sagna's cross was good (Is it just me, or has his crossing markedly improved after the Dortmund game?), Santi played a one-two with the post and rocketed it in. A good move wrapped up in some style.

However, if the first goal could be classified as good, the second had to be called world-class. Olivier Giroud held up the play successfully at the right flank, (once again, and he's getting really good at that now), and he played a back pass to Ozil. Mesut flicked it onto the path of Ramsey, who fired an exceptional strike into the top corner, leaving Mignolet absolutely no chance. This was the kind of strike a player would only attempt at such sky-high confidence, but he actually pulled off that shot. And while that goal did show some selfish play, it was just reward for our domination over them.

A happy manager said:

"Today was an important win for the team, for the club, and overall nobody would dispute that we deserved to win this game. It was vital to win, I said that before the game and I don't change my mind, because had we not won people would say 'yes, Arsenal at home they cannot win the big games'. It is done, in a convincing way. We had a good solidarity, a good focus."

A simply stunning result where we maintained good control over the game and found the goals through convincing and effective play. And while we deserved to win this game, I'm a bit surprised as to how many Gooners quickly forgot how easily we could've lost it.

It is a myth that Mertesacker and Koscielny managed to keep out the threats of Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge. The SAS were a constant danger throughout the game, and were unlucky or not clinical enough to not score. Our defence was porous, and if luck wasn't on our side, we would've easily shipped in goals. Had a Henderson howler, a disallowed goal, Suarez grazing the post, a mistimed Sturridge header, Szczesny's rebounded kick and another Suarez miss gone the other side of the post, we would've convincingly lost this game for sure.

I just don't feel that most of our back four deserves credit for our win, because they were pretty below par. Suarez and Sturridge were finding spaces and causing constant problems for us, and we wouldn't have kept our clean sheet if Szczesny and Sagna weren't at their reliable best. Szczesny was simply out of this world in the game, claiming crosses and punching headers away. Indeed, if he hadn't almost gifted Liverpool a goal through a deflection, I would've rated him a Perfect 10. If rumours are to be believed, he has been given a 4 year contract worth £100,000 per week. Saturday's performance thoroughly justifies that bumper deal.

Sagna - I have no idea why he hasn't been given a contract yet. He played his 250th game in an Arsenal shirt with remarkable consistency once again. One of his few flaws - crossing - seem to be taken care of at the moment. He came back from two long term injuries and a disaster of a last season to continue being one of the best right backs in the country. I'd even go so far as to say that he has been one of our unsung heroes this season. There is actually no valid reason left to not give him a deal anymore.

While Sagna and Szczesny were at their best, I felt that the game was truly won in the midfield. Arteta covered the absence of Flamini and showed how much he still has to give for the club, Ramsey capped off another energetic display with a goal and Santi Cazorla showed glimpses that he was going back to his best. It shows how brilliant our midfield is that our worst midfielder on the pitch against Liverpool was considered to be Ozil, who got his 150th career assist for Aaron Ramsey's goal.

However, it was Tomas Rosicky who certainly stole the show. His unpredictable runs, sublime one-two's and dribbling skills made me wonder if he was getting younger every year. He was all over Liverpool, and allowed players like Gerrard no space. The Mozart was definitely the man of the match for me, and I hope he doesn't get injured any time soon.

Finally, a word to our fans, who were brilliant on this memorable night. I had expressed my doubts that we weren't turning this place into a fortress, and that the away fans were silencing us too often. Oh, not a sign of that was seen in the match. Like the entirety of Liverpool's midfield, the away fans were largely silenced by a rocking Emirates Stadium, who got behind the team they love from the start and saw us march on to victory.

This win and the Spuds drawing against Everton (hahaha) means that we are five whole points clear at the top of the table, bettering our Invincibles season by getting 25 points of a possible 30. And while this victory wiped off the memories of that damaging Capital One Cup loss, I hardly need not emphasize how important the next match is going to be for our Champions League qualification hopes. Playing Borussia Dortmund at an intimidating Westfalenstadion is certainly the kind of game that can dent our current feelings of ecstasy.

However, more on that on Wednesday. I'd just like to add three words:

Mind. The. GAP.

-Santi (Follow me on twitter: @ArsenalBlogz )