West Ham 1-2 Arsenal: Signs of progress

Match Report | Match highlights | Wenger's thoughts

I'm not one for unnecessarily bringing hopes up by overrating the positives. I don't think, for instance, that defending that lead till the death is a huge step or a turning point. West Ham were impressive until we sucker-punched ourselves into the lead - that doesn't mean we were assured as such. The impressive defending that spanned across the calendar year of 2013 looks to me like a one-off, not something we've taken heart from and progressed.

Francis Coquelin was impressive. I for one always rated him whenever I saw him on the pitch, but I assumed he might have regressed since he barely got games in for Freiburg and Charlton. However, I don't really think this might be some sort of career landmark moment for him. He was an emergency player and performed admirably as one. I would like to give him a run of games, for he certainly seems calmer than Mathieu Flamini, but asking Wenger to give someone a chance has become foolish thought nowadays. The man hardly ever rotates.

However, the only positive that I found was about our attack starting to click. I know that many were fans of the Welbeck-Alexis-Giroud trio, but I personally prefer Oxlade-Chamberlain into the mix. The forward trio we had out there, sandwiched with Santi Cazorla in the middle produced one of the finest attacking displays this season.

West Ham at home, particularly this season, are not to be undermined. Manchester City faced them and couldn't find a goal because the likes of Cresswell and Song were so influential. For this jaded Arsenal side to find three valuable points and legitimately claim that we could have won by more is not to be scoffed at. With the defence yet to settle down, I have a feeling our attack may have to carry us for the games to follow.

On a final point to this alarmingly microscopic match report - don't for one second bear any illusions of Arsenal stumbling into the title race. From an Arsenal perspective Chelsea are impossible to overtake, while although Manchester City are not different class as such, we still have a lot to work to do and a lot of fine margins to reach before thinking about them. Imagining Arsene Wenger remedying the minutiae is laughed at for a reason.

Speaking of Arsene Wenger, here's a superb Arsenal Truth piece that goes miles into describing him.

Until then, Happy New Year!

-Santi [Follow me on Twitter @ArsenalBlogz ]

Arsenal 3-1 West Ham: Fourth place trophy recovered

So, despite the majority of problems surrounding Arsenal Football Club, we're in control of fourth place. A scary first half performance turned into a much more controlled, composed second half display as we dispatched Allardyce's side away, quite comfortably in the end. Thoughts: 

Podolski was, is and always will be inconsistent in a 4-3-3...
I know that Podolski is a fan favourite. I know that people are in disbelief that Wenger doesn't play him more often. I know that he had a cracker of a performance against West Ham. But I, unlike a lot of Arsenal supporters, am not convinced.

Despite his goals and assists, Podolski strikes to me as a player who is the jack of being a winger and a striker, yet the master of none. At times he'll convince you that he's capable of playing as a striker/winger, but at times he'll demonstrate that he's not capable of playing in both positions. I firmly believe that Podolski is not a pure winger, neither is he a pure centre forward.

If we want to bring out the best of Lukas consistently, it's not going to happen in a 4-4-3. To me Podolski always performs better in the space between a right back and a centre back down the left channel. While I used to say that Podolski has the potential to be lethal in our 4-3-3 system as a left winger, I really don't believe it now.

If we want Podolski to thrive, I'm convinced that the answer is playing him as a second striker in a 4-4-2. Alongside Giroud, an expert in laying off balls to people beside him, I think Podolski will perform well consistently.

However, I don't think we should employ a 4-4-2 now, especially after building a team suited to adjust a 4-4-3. I'm not sure that it would be the best idea for our creative midfielders to thrive, and if we look to play a diamond midfield, it would put undue pressure on the lone holding midfielder, especially seeing that our holding midfielders (Flamini, Arteta, Kallstrom) don't have a Yaya Toure physique.

Giroud's goal deserves praise...
I have been one of the rare people who support Giroud, yet want him dropped for a lot of matches. My answer is logical; while I'm sure that Giroud has a place in the team for Arsenal for future years to come, his mental and physical condition has been shot to pieces by Arsene Wenger.

Wenger has got it all wrong with Giroud. Ever since he's come to Arsenal (in 2012), Giroud has been thrown in the foray continuously by Wenger and expected to replace Robin van Persie. With utter disregard to his fatigued mindset and his tiring legs, Wenger has horribly mismanaged Giroud, so much so that I thought he was beyond repair now.

Don't get me wrong - I still want Giroud in the club. He's shown enough qualities in the first half of the season (when he wasn't tired) that has convinced me to think he'd be a strong backup option. We need Kanus and Wiltords on the bench to make a difference in turbulent times, and I think Olivier can be one of them.

However, Giroud's goal (and his performance afterwards) has led me to believe that he can still finish this campaign strongly. My earlier mentality of "Aargh, Wenger's killed the guy, best for him to limp towards the finish line and start afresh" has changed now. To me, Giroud seems like one of those guys with a fickle mind. With confidence, Ollie looks reborn.

As soon as he got the crucial goal that gave us the lead, Giroud immediately looked rejuvenated. With adrenaline coursing through his veins, stamina returned from nowhere as Giroud put in a remarkable shift after scoring a goal Messi would be proud of.

For me, this changes nothing. Giroud will still be fit as backup in a club like Arsenal, but he'd be a significant upgrade over the likes of Chamakh, Park and Sanogo. Perhaps we'd see a much more potent strikeforce under a new manager in the next season. That is, if Wenger leaves of course.

Ramsey makes us tiki-taka... 
When the Welshman was brought on, I didn't have high hopes. Indeed, I actually tried as hard as I could through social media to downplay his return, as I felt that undue pressure might affect his performances. Instead, the complete opposite happened.

I really had forgotten how good Ramsey was. Perhaps it's conceivable I was trying to downgrade his quality over the months to not get my hopes up like I had with Jack Wilshere. Perhaps I didn't want to believe that he's our saviour of the season.

Be as it may, Ramsey had an absolute screamer. As soon as he came on the team felt alive, reminiscent of how we were in the first half of the season. His mere presence just changed everything, including the scoreline, where he gave a sublime assist to Podolski's clincher. I'd feel much more comfortable about the FA Cup Final if Ramsey were properly fit.

Kallstrom's debut was overrated...
Personally, I didn't see the fuss in Kallstrom. While other people applauded him for a "fantastic" full Premier League debut, I thought he was completely average. Had a handy scapegoat like Arteta or Denilson played like how Kallstrom did, they would have been roundly criticized for an "anonymous performance."

Of course, I don't want Kallstrom to seem appalling just so I could berate Wenger for buying him. I already have the Denilsons, the Diabys, the Frimpongs and the Meridas to do that. However, it seems like the Arsene fan club are desperately trying to hype Kallstrom's performance in the hope of believing that their beloved Wenger had a grand master plan in place when he loaned in Kallstrom. Believe me, he didn't.

Even if Kallstrom surprises the whole world and bags more assists than Ozil in the coming month, there is no denying the fact that he was signed by Wenger just for the sake of signing somebody.

Santi Cazorla thoughts... 
Of course, he was brilliant. Completely deserving of the MOTM award. However, don't expect him to consistently perform like he did. Ozil's imminent return means that he'll be shifted to the left flank again, where we'll be mixed results from him. Again.

Obviously I want Cazorla to perform well for Arsenal. He's the most cheerful-cum-talented Arsenal footballer in the team. However, I won't for one second believe that him shifting to the left would flourish his form. He will have his good games, but would never find consistency.

Ozil's return will be a psychological boost...
 I expect the team's performance to raise a level once Ozil takes to the field. And that's not because he'd be providing assists all over the place. It'd be because his mere presence would lift the team.

I don't think we are set to see any superb comeback from Ozil. I think we'll be in for more of the same. However, it is impossible to shake off entirely the possibility that his return could provide a huge fillip to Arsenal. Let's see.

Token of gratitude to Tony...
After Crystal Palace beat Everton, fourth is completely in our hands.Yes, it's not where (m)any would like to be right now considering how many days we were topping the pile, but I am relieved to see that at least we're now on course to getting the consolation that seemed to be slipping from our grasps. Even though I loathe the coconuts out of Pulis, he has earned my gratitude.

Having said that, we might move a step further as well.

Third might be a possibility...

After City slipped up against Sunderland, they're now only 4 points ahead of us, albeit with a game in hand. However, it's interesting to note that their end-of fixtures include the aforementioned Palace and Everton, games where they are likely to drop points. Plus, you know, it's the Premier League. Anything can happen.

I'm not saying that City's slip-up means snatching third is a plausible option. I'm just saying that fighting for third is much better than fighting to stay at fourth. However weird it may sound, we must play the rest of the season with an objective of overhauling City rather than fending off Everton. It's what football (and our motto) is all about - moving forward.

--

Right, that's that. I'll be out of town for a good couple of weeks and might not get the Wi-Fi to post any other blogs. It may well be the end of this month before I start posting again.

-Santi (Follow me on twitter: @ArsenalBlogz )

Arsenal vs West Ham: Match Preview

You know what's embarrassing? That we're looking at this game as a potential banana skin.

West Ham are 11th in the table. We're 5th in the table and playing them at home, which has become a real fortress. Despite injuries and fatigue, we should we walking over this team.

We won't, though. That's how low Wenger has got us.

Granted, we have just played a physically and emotionally draining 120 minutes against Wigan. Players like Ramsey and Chamberlain who were just back from injury aren't fit to play this game, especially because they also played an awful lot against Wigan. Mertesacker and Sagna deserve a breather too.

But here's the thing - isn't it purely our fault that we are in this position? No one told us to drag the game on to extra time, we were the one's who created the mess. We had Wigan in the FA Cup semi final - that's as easy as it gets. Yet we made hot water out of it.

We knew Ramsey and Walcott were out in January. Arsenal bloggers everywhere have been saying that our medical staff is one of the crappiest in the league. Yet, instead of adding much needed depth, we've signed Kim Kallstrom.

Kallstrom has been proving to be useful in these times. With Ramsey, Flamini, Ozil and Wilshere out, he's almost guaranteed a start today. But consider this - had we bought more players in January (say a striker and a centre back), wouldn't they have been useful as well? I, for one, have been crying out loud for a striker and a centre back. Both of them would have been mighty useful today. In addition, I'm firmly of the opinion that had we got these players, they would have helped us today in keeping our title hopes alive, rather than our top four hopes.

I had said that the performance rather than the result was what terrified me against Wigan. I am utterly convinced that we're going to see a similar performance today. Whether it's enough to grab three points (or even one point) remains to be seen.

I expect we'll line up with Szczesny - Sagna - Mertesacker - Koscielny (if he makes it) - Gibbs - Kallstrom - Arteta - Rosicky (if he makes it) - Cazorla - Podolski - Giroud. I also expect us to come out with a 0-0 draw if we play anything like we did on Saturday.

In a broader sense, I genuinely think we'll finish fifth this season. We actually are fortunate that we have an easy run-in while Everton have Southampton, United and City, but I don't think Wenger will take advantage of that luck.

Martinez looks possessed to get fourth. Wenger, on the other hand, looks beaten. While I don't think in any way that finishing fourth is good for the club (the board needs a bigger jolt than that to change things around), I honestly am worried that Everton will overtake us for good this season.

The players need to prove me wrong, starting today. I'm not very hopeful though.

-Santi (Follow me on twitter: @ArsenalBlogz )

West Ham 1-3 Arsenal: Merry Christmas!

This game was a perfect example of how fickle an Arsenal supporter can be over the course of 90 minutes. After all the mixed emotions that I witnessed (which I yet vividly recall), in the end I can only say I'm glad it ended on a happy note.

It started with the team sheet. While I knew that Wenger's appalling man management skills meant that Ozil and Giroud were set to start, a little part of me hoped that Wenger would have the teeny-tiny foresight to realize that Mesut and Ollie needed to be benched for a game like this. That little part of me was killed off when Wenger yet again decided to overplay them, and field Cazorla on the wings. I believe that the only reason that Santi had a good game was because he took matters into his own hands, opting to drift into the center rather than stay on the flanks.

Despite practically everyone's wishes, Podolski was benched again, with Arsene opting to play Giroud ahead of him. Why Wenger thought that Giroud would perform well after missing great chances against Chelsea just 3 days ago is beyond me. Even though Arsene's hand was forced on overplaying Giroud earlier, he should be giving him some rest now, especially due to the arrival of stand-in strikers like Walcott and Podolski.

Honestly, Wenger is making horrible decisions regarding the man managements of Ozil and Giroud. He's failing to find the balance between form and fitness between the two players, instead choosing to start them in every match. Ozil is coping with it well - he had another good game yesterday - but that is because he is a professional. Robin van Persie and Mesut Ozil are world-class players, which is why they could perform consistently, even though they were overplayed by Wenger.

Of course, not every professional footballer can handle being sent to the field twice every week. Witness Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri and even Jack Wilshere to some extent, who used to suffer injuries due to constant overplaying by the manager. Ozil and Giroud are dangerously close to entering that dreaded 'red zone', and unless they are benched for fresher legs like Rosicky and Podolski, we might witness Arsene plunge us in another injury crisis.

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. The good news is that we have Jack Wilshere back from his ban to cover up for Aaron and provide more options. The bad news? I don't think that Wenger is going to use those options.

I had said in the match preview that it would be Wenger's team selection that would catch my eye rather than the final result, and so it proved. Wenger's failure to rest Ozil and Giroud, playing Cazorla on the wing and overplaying Ramsey has led to a bad game by Giroud, Ramsey getting injured and we almost bottling this match.

Giroud missed a handful of chances in the first half, sometimes looking downright lazy by failing to move his foot half an inch more to poke the ball home. And while the goal we conceded in the second half was against the run of play and a sloppy one really, it was actually a blessing in disguise, because it finally gave us motivation to go on and snatch this match.

Arteta failed to clear the ball away in the box, instead handing it to Nolan through a poor clearance. He shot straight at Szczesny, who inexplicably failed to catch that ball. It fell straight at Cole's feet, leaving him to tap the ball in. Advantage West Ham.

I actually think that Wenger wouldn't have got Podolski on had Ramsey not been injured. Even though his loss is a blow to the club, at least we can focus on the silver lining - how Podolski's introduction changed the match.

After Walcott scored what I felt was a fluke equalizer, Podolski stole the show by assisting Theo's header and getting a goal himself. Right from when he came on, he was lively and dangerous, the mark of a striker. His goal showcased a striker's instinct and lethal finishing. He's now got 3 goals and 1 assist in his last 125 minutes of Premier League action, indicative of his usefulness to the team. I've already said it a million times - we should try Podolski as a striker and see how that works out. If he thrives in that position, we can get a really good winger like Marco Reus or Angel Di Maria to replace his vacated position. If he doesn't, tough luck, but we can concentrate on getting that striker.

However, I don't want Arsene to not buy anyone in January and say that we have Podolski and Giroud as striker, with Walcott, Cazorla, Podolski and Oxlade-Chamberlain as wingers. Wenger needs to make up his mind - either Podolski should be played as a winger or as a striker. If Arsene sees Podolski as a winger, then we need to buy a striker, and vice versa.

It's good that we got 3 points, especially since Everton, Spurs and Liverpool slipped up on the same day. It's even better that we got it in dramatic fashion, coming from behind to get the win, something we haven't been able to do this season. Amazingly, this is the first time that we've won a game after trailing in this season, something that would hopefully give us a boost in our coming matches.

Compared to our title rivals City and Liverpool, we have a really low goal difference. The one point lead we have at the top currently is paper-thin, and we need to make sure that we maintain that distance at least. If we ever go level on points with either City or Liverpool, we'll slip behind them in the table. That would be a tremendous shame, considering that we have 6 easy matches coming up.

Such is the competitiveness of EPL that we have absolutely zero margin for error now. To keep our lead, we have to win all of the 6 matches that we are playing, starting with a trip to Newcastle. With Liverpool facing a match against Chelsea - unbeaten at their home ground also - the chances of either team dropping points are high. We need to take advantage.

Let's enjoy being on top of the pile for the moment. Be back on Sunday with a match preview.

-Santi (Follow me on twitter: @ArsenalBlogz )

West Ham vs Arsenal: Match Preview

With Liverpool looking set to surrender their lead at the Etihad, we already have a chance to get a 3 point lead in the table by winning at Upton Park today, the home of West Ham. It's a game that we really should be taking three points out of, even after rotating our squad to rest the big guns.

This Arsenal side have struggled against the top teams, yet we are high up in the table. The lead - that we are almost certain to retain by the end of today - would almost completely be down to getting results against teams that we are supposed to be getting results. Bar the humiliation against Villa and the point-gained-rather-than-two-lost at the Hawthorns, we have defeated every team that aren't heavyweights in the league, such as Stoke, Swansea, Cardiff and Tottenham.

These were coupled by points won against Everton and Liverpool, which have ultimately got us in this position. While I still maintain that merely beating mediocre sides will not guarantee us the title, it has got us in a good position thus far, and we need to maintain that level of consistency until reinforcements arrive in January.

Personally, I'm confident that we are going to batter West Ham today, especially if we take the lead in the game. Once we break the deadlock against the Hammers, I really don't see any way back for them. However, if West Ham indeed take the lead, we might be in a bit of a pickle. In this Premier League season, we've conceded first only against West Brom, Manchester United and City, gaining only one point from these matches. It's safe to say that we might find it difficult to bounce back if we trail, which is why we need a focused defence today.

This is a match which allows room for rotation, keeping in mind that we face a much tougher task against Newcastle at St. James' Park 3 days later. Personally, I would be glad if Ozil and Giroud are dropped for Cazorla and Podolski, and Flamini and Arteta are played in center midfield. I feel that a major reason of Santi's form dropping is down to the fact that he's been fielded out wide, and benching him is certainly not the answer.

Ozil needs a rest for the Newcastle game, and Giroud needs a kick in the backside, a reminder that even his position in the starting lineup is not guaranteed. Maybe a run-out for Gnabry won't hurt either, as his pace might inflict damage to the West Ham back four. Some changes in our back four - like Jenkinson and Nacho Monreal coming in - won't be a bad idea either, even though I doubt that the manager is going to do that.

All in all, I would like to see a lineup of Szczesny, Jenkinson, Mertesacker, Vermaelen, Monreal, Flamini, Arteta, Santi, Walcott, Gnabry and Podolski. Cazorla - under pressure to step up his performances and pleased to get freedom in the center - will put a good show against a team that he has already performed fairly well. Gnabry was impressive against Swansea back in September, and I think that he and Theo will really bother the Hammers' defence. Even though I am highly dubious on Podolski's potential to solve our striker issues, I would at least give him a crack in that position, see if he can surprise any of us. As much as I like Giroud, 2 goals in 11 appearances is simply not good enough - he NEEDS to be benched.

However, I am quietly confident that Wenger is not going to bench Giroud. In fact, I think that he's going to play Ozil too, even though he isn't really required in this game. I've said it before, I'll say it again - Wenger is a horrible man manager. For instance, playing Cazorla out of position and then benching him is not the mark of a competent tactician at all. He's giving players like Szczesny, Ozil and Giroud too many games to play, which would make them complacent and might lead to injuries due to overplaying.

I think Wenger will give Flamini a starting position in this game and play Cazorla too, but I'm sure that Santi is going to start on the wing, a perfectly ridiculous decision if you ask me. It's getting increasingly clear throughout this calendar year that Cazorla cannot perform well as a winger, and to continue playing him there or benching him is destroying a quality player.

Sometimes I fear that Cazorla is set to go the same way as Arshavin. Arshavin's case was as clear as day to many people - he was a world-class player who needed to be given special attention to thrive. Wenger should've built the team around him and fielded him in the center attacking position or as center forward. However, Arsene foolishly pushed him to the flanks, and ruined the career of a promising player capable of producing magical moments.

I'll be honest - I have no clue why Wenger is treating Cazorla or even Podolski in such a manner. If treated right, these two players can be devastatingly effective for the club, yet the manager is ignoring their strengths and playing them in incompatible positions (or in Podolski's case, not playing them at all).

We have strength in depth, especially in midfield. A player like Mesut Ozil is not required to be starting in games like these. If Arsene does indeed start Mesut and should he suffer an injury, I will never forgive him, especially when there are players like Cazorla raring to take his place for ONE game. While the final result seems something of a given today, it is Arsene's team selection that will really catch the spotlight for me.

I think that Arsenal are going to win this match by a 2 goal margin, and Liverpool are going to lose convincingly at the Etihad. That would mean that our lead at the top is set to be reinstated, and possibly extended when Liverpool face Chelsea at the weekend. For me, rotation is key to finishing December strongly, coming through unscathed and to be in a healthy position ahead of a decisive January.

Let's begin with three points at Upton Park.

P.S. Check out this post I wrote for Arsenal India Supporters. Merry Christmas!

-Santi (Follow me on twitter: @ArsenalBlogz )