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Arsenal 3 – 1 Norwich: Arsenal set for a sprint finish

698 comments April 14th, 2013

Arsenal 3 – 1 Norwich
Match Report | Highlights | Arsene’s reaction

Anyone expecting an easy ride had clearly forgotten last year…
When these two sides met at the Emirates in May of 2012, Arsenal’s Champions League destiny had finally fallen in to their own hands – their butter-clad, slippery hands. Arsenal slumped to a 3-3 draw, and only the remarkable incompetence of Tottenham Hotspur allowed us to wrest back control of the race for fourth place.

Yesterday was very nearly the same story. Norwich took the lead through a brilliantly-executed set piece, and Arsenal toiled for much of the game.

However, eventually we managed to drag ourselves back in to the lead – and unlike last year, we held on to it too.

Arsene Wenger deserves credit…
For long periods of the game I found myself wondering how  Chris Hughton had managed to draw such impressive performances from a decidedly average XI. By contrast, Arsene’s Arsenal were performing well below the expected standard of a fleet of internationals. In terms of motivation and organisation, Hughton appeared the clear winner.

However, Arsene has enough experience to know when it’s not working. He is occasionally criticised for being too inflexible with his substitutions, but on this occasion he called for Theo Walcott and Lukas Podolski as soon as Norwich took the lead. He was brave enough to withdraw the out-of-sorts Jack Wilshere, and later gambled by switching Aaron Ramsey to right-back and deploying Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in the centre.

The conviction Arsene showed to make those changes ultimately won us the game.

Lukas Podolski is among the very best players in this Arsenal squad…
Each of the subs made a crucial impact. Walcott grabbed an assist and should have been awarded a penalty and The Ox’s direct running created the crucial second goal. The real game-changer, however, was Lukas Podolski.

No player in the Arsenal squad represents such a consistent menace to the opposition goal. On the ball, Podolski is our best finisher and ruthlessly efficient in the penalty area. Off the ball, his movement is intelligent and he shows a real willingness to play off Olivier Giroud.

Although Podolski is comfortably one of Arsenal’s best eleven players, he has not always been in Arsene Wenger’s best XI. Some whispers suggest his spell on the sidelines is explained by an ankle problem that requires surgery.

If that is truly the case, cameos like this explain why the club have decided to wait until the summer before proceeding with an operation. Podolski can make a vital contribution between now and the end of May.

Let’s credit the officials who get it right…
The penalty given to Arsenal has been described by the Norwich management and a host of pundits as “controversial”. Not because it wasn’t a foul: no-one can deny that Olivier Giroud was wrestled to the ground as he went for the ball.

Instead, the supposed controversy stems from the fact it was the linesman, rather than the referee, who awarded the spot-kick.

This shouldn’t matter a jot. The referee had a stinker of a game, and the linesman should be commended for making an immaculate call from such a distance. It’s absurd that the question of whether or not a linesman should be allowed to make such a call has become secondary to the more important question of whether or not he got it right.

He did, so hats off to him. They’re called assistant referees for a reason.

Time for a sprint finish…
If Arsenal beat Everton and Fulham this week, we could be seven points clear of Spurs before they play their next game. They’ll have games in hand, of course, but it’s always better to have the points on the board rather in deal in hypotheticals.

The match against the Toffees will be a difficult one, but Arsenal have some serious momentum now.

The cannon is rolling in to position. Time to blow away the opposition.

WBA 1 – 2 Arsenal: Rosicky the run-in expert to the rescue

1,103 comments April 6th, 2013

WBA 1 – 2 Arsenal
Match Report | Highlights | Arsene’s reaction

Tomas Rosicky is a bit like Wigan. Or blossom. Come spring, he comes to life.

It’s freezing in England. Going by the weather, you’d be forgiven for thinking we were still gripped by midwinter. A more accurate calendar is created by the form of Wigan and Rosicky. The changing of the seasons is more reliably marked by the sight of an energetic Czech midfielder darting about the Premier League than it is by any shift in weather patterns.

If Rosicky ever does leave Arsenal, perhaps he should consider joining Roberto Martinez’s side. With their powers combined they could probably go from relegation strugglers to title-challengers between March and the end of May.

For now, Arsene Wenger is eager to keep him. It’s easy to see why. Arsenal have players with greater technical gifts, but few who marry those gifts with such a degree of hard work and commitment.

Goals have been hard to come by for Rosicky, but the double he scored at the Hawthorns showed a rare predatory instinct. His first was a diving header to divert a wild strike from Gervinho. The Ivorian received praise from some for an ‘assist’, which I think might be putting it a bit strongly. Whilst Gervinho’s direct style and clever footwork certainly contributed to the goal, only Rosicky’s intervention transformed a miscued shot in to an effective cross.

His second goal was also reliant on lightning reactions. Aaron Ramsey broke well and crossed to find the number seven. After his first shot was saved by Ben Foster, Rosicky raced on to the rebound and fired smartly in to the corner.

From that point on it should have been a comfortable Arsenal victory, but that’s just not our style. With 20 minutes to go, Per Mertesacker was dismissed for a clumsy tackle as the last man. James Morrison converted the resulting penalty, and suddenly Arsenal found themselves very much under the cosh.

In their panic, Arsenal were completely incapable of retaining possession. Arsenal invited West Brom on to them, and only luck and last-ditch defended prevented the Baggies from finding an equaliser. This fixture was our final game of last season, and will be remembered for Arsene Wenger clinging nervously to Pat Rice. This game was every bit as finely balanced, and you could have forgiven Arsene for seeking a hug from the far less cuddly Steve Bould.

The last passage of the game was summed up by the final few seconds of stoppage time, as Ben Foster was allowed to dribble fully forty yards up the pitch unchallenged before launching a long ball in to our penalty area.

Fortunately, Arsenal survived. Few wins this season have been as satisfactory. It was gritty, it was grubby, and it was great. The three points take us in to the top four, with the onus now firmly on Spurs and Chelsea in their games tomorrow.

The continuing progress of our rivals in the Europa League means this pattern will be repeated between now and the end of the season. We will have more opportunities to take the initiative and crank up the pressure on the other two London clubs.

Since losing the Derby at Spurs, Arsenal have won four games, scoring ten goals and conceding just two. We have the momentum, and we have Tomas Rosicky.

The omens are good. We just need to keep it going.