Our string of festive victories came to an end yesterday as we went down 2-0 away at Southampton. We started the game with our first choice back four but a makeshift midfield left us struggling to control the game as we like too. Not to mention not having a single fit striker apart from Giroud who's stupidity to get sent of the other day is proving costly. Alexis started the game upfront but never really got going.
However the most disappointing part of the game was that we gifted them both their goals quite literally. The first was poor defending from Kos combined with a SZCZ moment that reminded me more of Almunia. The pole came tearing out of his goal and forced Mane wide, but as Koscielny decided to linger in the middle rather than go to him Mane lobbed SZCZ and with a lot of spin and a strong wind blowing goal-wards the ball bobbled over the line.
The game continued and bar an effort from Cazorla that was well saved by Forster we offered very little. Then another moment of madness from the Pole in goal gifted Tadic with the easiest goal he'll ever score. A ball in it hit Debuchy and rolled to the feet of SZCZ who was on the floor at the time and instead of letting the Frenchman clear up, SZCZ poked the ball away from him and straight to Tadic.
The atmosphere in the away end was poisonous, the point proven when a fan (somehow) managed to reach the dugout and confront Wenger. Obviously not something we like to see but its so easy for our fans to turn at the moment. One moment we a string some wins together and all is well. The next we lose and it's back to tit for tat within our own ranks.
I don't know what to make of Arsenal at the moment really. Blowing hot and cold. We have Hull in the cup on Sunday and in my opinion this is a good chance to rest the likes of Sanchez who clearly is exhausted.
In other news Lukas Podolski's time at the club appears to have come to an end. The German International has made it quite clear before that he wants to be playing football and at his age I can understand that. Still I will miss him and I think he's a good option to have and in recent times has been underused in my opinion. At the moment it is unclear whether it is a loan with a view to a permanent move or just a straight forward transfer, either way it appears he's played his last game for the gunners. I wish him all the best.
We came unstuck the other night against and very good Southampton side who broke with pace and quality and on the face of it considering how long it took us to get into the game a point was probably fair. West Ham somehow did us a favour at Stamford Bridge keeping Chelsea two points away. Tottenham, naturally, didn't fare as well and City jumped to top of the table.
With a huge game tomorrow in which Chelsea travel to City where we can hope that a dull draw will be on the cards (HA) we have a chance to re-take top when we take on Palace this afternoon. I'll come onto our transfer which quite honestly have baffled me later.
The boss has admitted that we're stretched in the middle of the park with Wilshere out, Flamini out and Ramsey out. I think we'll probably go for Arteta and Rosicky in the holding roles. On the flanks I think we'll have Cazorla and then I'm not so sure on the other side. Gnabry has shown a lot of promise but he was struggling against Southampton the other night. With the typical Pulis brand of brutality I think the power of the OX or Podolski would win out. Obviously depending on who would depend on which side Cazorla plays.
We'll need to be on our game though as Palace have been picking up points here and there. They do have a few dangerous players in the form of Jedinak and Puncheon. Chamakh up front should pose no surprises, but the defence will have to be sharp. With the run in we have coming up we need to make sure we don't slip up at the first hurdle.
This presents us with an opportunity make sure regardless of the score tomorrow we'll still be in the top 2 and potentially with a bit of luck go top and with the run we have coming up every point is going to count.
I want to end with a brief bit about our new signing which is just honestly baffling. News began to emerge yesterday that he was injured in his first training session but as the day wore on it actually came out that he had a back problem before we'd bought him. We were told about this and still brought him in. Now bringing in an injured player to cover for injured players is beyond stupid and I personally can't believe Wenger went ahead unless we're missing something...
Anyway on to the football after the madness of the window. COYG!
It was strange thinking about Arsenal playing on a Friday night, it's happened in the past but not very often. However when you look at the stats maybe we should play on Fridays more often. Anyway we beat Coventry fairly comfortably and our reward for that is a 5th round tie at home against Liverpool. Looking at the rest of the teams in the cup we could feel hard done by but that's the cup and with City taking on Chelsea in the same round the winner of our tie will certainly fancy their chances.
Tomorrow gives us a chance to extend our lead at the top of the table, for a day albeit, against a Southampton side who have been a bit of a surprise package in this league and I think Pochetino has done fantastically well. It will be a hard game for us but then every match in this league is hard, Southampton have pace and power and they use them well when they click. They made it hard for us earlier in the season until their goalkeeper decided to show Ronaldo how it's done and gifted Giroud the opener.
Playing before your rivals or playing after when you're top really makes no difference the simple fact is if you win, you will remain top. We can't go into it hoping that other teams drop points, we go in knowing a win will do the job. Looking around I can't see our North London Rivals taking anything from City, baring a miracle and baring a miracle of biblical proportions I can't see West Ham taking anything from Chelsea either so we treat it as we do every other week.
Following this game we have Crystal Palace then we hit the start of a truly horrific run of fixtures which reads: Liverpool, Man United, Liverpool, Bayern Munich. And that's just the prelude to the quite ludicrous run we have in March but I'll rant about that nearer the time.
In other news there's good news that Ramsey, Vermaelen and Arteta are all back from injury and are available for the game although Wilshere is a doubt for the match. According to all the right people we are still working on contract talks with Bacary Sagna who I think deserves exactly what he's asking for, he's been a servant for the club and this will be his last big contract and I'd love for it to be wit us. He's a fan favourite and the best right back in the league.
Transfer news is slow around us in this window, like most windows to be honest. We shelled out a fortune on Ozil and I really can't see us repeating that despite our obvious need for a striker. I think there is concrete interest in Draxler but firstly I'm not sure he's what we need to kick our season on and secondly I think a January move is far more likely for the young German.
So we take on Southampton tomorrow night and let's hope that we can do the business to keep our title surge going. COYG.
Tomorrow the proper football returns after the dullness of internationals and Arsenal are very much back to business. We sit top of the table at the moment and the only way to guarantee we stay there for this week at least is to take three points against Southampton.
Southampton have been the surprise package this season and if results go their way this weekend they could even end up top. Underestimating them is dangerous and they have already taken points against the top teams. Their defence is water tight and it will take a lot of effort to get through them, but the way we've been attacking this season if anyone can we can.
Ahead of the game we're boosted by the news that Theo Walcott is back fit again and although I doubt he'll start he's a good option to have providing pace and (sometimes) penetration. At points during his absence we've missed him so having him back is only a good thing. Aside from that the rock in midfield Flamini is out suspended due to his 5 yellow cards. As much as this is a pain with the role he plays it's to be expected now and then. With that in mind I think the team will be: SZCZ, Sagna, Koscielny, Mertesacker, Gibbs, Ramsey, Arteta, Rosicky, Ozil, Cazorla, Giroud.
Southampton have striker Pablo Osvaldo back from a slight injury and expect England players Lallana and Lambert to be in the starting line up. Gaston Ramirez faces a late fitness test. Boruc in goal has been fantastic this season and we'll be pressed to get passed him and the Saints solid back line. I think Clyne could give Gibbs a tough test but luckily Gibbs has pace too so hopefully will cope.
Tomorrow is gonna be a difficult game against an in-form team but we're top of the table so we must be doing something right. Hopefully we can pick up three points and get back on track. COYG!
Apologies for missing our disappointing defeat to United last weekend. I'm going to admit I was hopeful that we'd take something from there especially after the bizarre results which included Chelsea, Tottenham and City all dropping points in games they all should have won. But in football you can't win everything and eventually something had to give just annoyingly it had to give there.
We all knew that eventually we'd overplay or it just wouldn't click or whatever. But the most important thing about losing is how we respond. In football every teams loses, it's just a fact but the best teams, the title contending teams, respond by putting in a real performance. Players have left for internationals which may or may not be at the best time following the defeat but when they return we face Southampton at Home which would normally be a match we'd expect to win. However Southampton sit 3 points behind us in 3rd which is just ridiculous and I expect they will eventually drop away but while they're playing the way they are it's dangerous.
The second best attack (due to City's 7-0) vs. the best defence in the league. Should be interesting but on our day we have more than enough to break them down with the quality we have in our ranks. Reports suggest that Walcott may be back which will give us pace down the flanks, something we have lacked in one or two games this season but how he will perform after a decent spell on the sidelines is anybody's guess. It'll be tough but first we have a number of players that need to come through internationals.
In other good news SZCZ has signed a new deal at the club and although it has not been disclosed it is a long-term one. For a goalkeeper 23 is nothing and he's career has a long way to go yet and the fact that he's happy to spend them with us is fantastic. He's had problems but as a keeper that's to be expected and he has learnt from them and become a better player because of them and being a keeper that's the most important thing. He has an advantage over his counterparts in that he might get another 17 years out of football if he has a very, very good poke and that gives him a long time to become the polished article which I think he can be.
Anyway that's about it, I'll be back Friday with all the news and build up to the Southampton game. Till then.
