Da Gunners!

It seems like Arsenal vs Manchester City is becoming the best rivalry of the modern Premier League. It’s not quite on par with the old days of Arsenal vs Man Utd but it’s up there. Something about the usually sound City team seems to leak a few goals against the Gunners, and we know full well about Arsenal’s dedication to silly concessions. So in the past few years we’ve seen high scorers, tough battlers and a couple of hidings. Arsenal’s last seven games at the Etihad had yielded a single point and included a 6-3 loss last season.

Pellegrini took no half measures in his selections, starting Aguero for the first time in seven weeks and Kompany for the first time in six. Demichelis started at the back with no Mangala risks to be taken in this game. Yaya Toure is still away at the African Cup of Nations. Meanwhile Aaron Ramsey returned for the Arse, who named as full of a strength team as they could muster with injuries abounding as always.

Right from the kick off this game was played at a ruthless pace. City passed the ball around patiently but swiftly… until they lost it and Arsenal counter attacked with pace and then lost it and City rushed back into the Arsenal half where they could slow it down but lose it and then Arsenal and their pace and you get the picture.

The penalty was soft but probably fair, Cazorla took it nicely. Yet when Arsenal scored, City had had 70% of possession for pretty much zero decent chances. Their own lack of invention was a big issue, but credit has to go to the Arsenal defence and midfield, who played deep and extremely well organised. Everyone chipping in for the good of the team. It’s like Wenger spiked the team drink bottles with Club Spirit (and Adderall).

See this one, for example. James Milner gets to the line, but there are 10 Arsenal player inside the box. See the guy closest to the penalty spot? That’s centre forward Olly Giroud. The Ox is the only guy forward, no doubt waiting for a counter attack. There was a blatant foul by Bellerin on Milner just before this, but still. So much of defending is just about dedication to the task. Having the awareness to be in the right place. Arsenal had a very specific plan and whether or not winning a soft penalty was a part of it, it sure helped. Presumably they were set up to be happy with a draw and suddenly they’re playing for the win.

And where was Sergio Aguero? Arsenal took care of him in impressive fashion. The guy was probably still off the pace given his injury layoff, but for him to be such a non-factor was strange. He barely saw the ball at his feet, and the closest he came to a decent chance was a couple challenged headers he couldn’t do anything with.

It didn’t help that his workrate was way down, often content to just stand on the last man, but Arsenal did a lovely job of isolating him. Here’s one. Fernando has the ball, and Aguero is buried beneath a clump of Gunners. The only option is to go wide. Aguero was practically in the pocket of Koscielny and Mertesacker and when he dropped deeper, Coqeulin, Ramsey and Cazorla had a similar line set up. They boxed him in.

Pellegrini saw the graffiti on the wall. He changed things up with Jovetic on at HT for Milner. Immediately the game was very open and very City dominated (with the odd Arsenal counter in there). More a new half thing than a Jovetic thing. But then Arsenal seemed to have ridden the stormy seas out, so City bring on Lampard, Arsenal bring on Rosicky, and before either can do anything Olly Giroud scores a header from a free kick. Lovely curled ball that Hart couldn’t attack and Fernando let Gorgeous Giroud do what he wants.

There were still at least two potentially trademark horrific defensive clearances from the Gunners that each rolled/flew safely clear of their own goal. When it’s your day, it’s your day.

It seemed like City had a lot of trouble with the pace up front from Arsenal. That could be something to worry about when they come up against Eden Hazard in a couple weeks in what now looks like a must win for the Citizens. They’re 5 point back now and cannot afford that margin to expand.

Santi Cazorla. What can ya say? He was the best player on the pitch, gliding past defenders, slipping beautiful passes to Sanchez, getting stuck in without the ball. Plus he had a goal and an assist. He was outstanding. Man of the Match.

But save some credit for Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny too, and especially young Francis Coquelin. On the ball he’s a little dodgy, yet I get the feeling that Arsenal fans, long clambering for a defensive midfielder, couldn’t care less. His positioning was especially great and as a CDM that means a lot. Half of your job is being in the way. Obstruction. Well, he was very obtrusive.

And a final shout out to Arsene Wenger. He cops it when they lose, he should be allowed to live it up when they win. Be as stubborn and self-vindicated as you want this week, buddy. You did good.

QPR U OK?

Rumours were that anything short of a win against Manchester United would spell the end of ‘Arry Redknapp’s time at QPR. Ooof, that’s a tough task. Did you know that ‘Arry’s third on the win list by Premier League managers, behind Sir Alex and Arsene? That’s royalty there! Tactically naïve, bargain hunting, speech impedimented royalty.

QPR’s away record is the worst in EPL history at this stage – they’ve lost every game. Yet at home the R’s have been pretty decent. Loftus Road is a small pitch, tiny in fact. It means that with a compact and organised backline it’s extremely difficult to get through them. There’s always cover and there’s barely any room. Which means they can play a higher line and really cramp the entire pitch. Soak up some attack and hit ‘em on the counter and from set pieces (and with Charlie Austin – who has 13 of the R’s 23 EPL goals). The number of times they were able to pick off sloppy sideways passes from Man Utd was very conspicuous.

Likewise you can imagine how that tailor-made strategy won’t work away from home. It’s entirely dependent on the small field. You’d still expect at least a single point in 12 away games but tactical variations have never been ‘Arry’s strong point.

The game against United was a stale affair for a lot of it. Charlie Austin had a couple of close snapshots, while Falcao got a start and, clearly lacking in confidence, couldn’t quite finish any of the handful of half chances came his way. Fellaini came on at half time but the game really changed when James Wilson came on from Johnny Evans. It meant United went from a 3-5-2 formation to 4-4-2 with a diamond midfield. Angel Di Maria dropped into the hole after being pretty ineffective up front and Carrick played at the base of midfield. Rooney and Fellaini in the centre. Maybe it was the extra man on attacks, maybe Di Maria playing from deeper, maybe the impact of Wilson or maybe just the state of the game but it really opened up after that. Fellaini scores after a lovely pass from Wayne Rooney picked out Antonio Valencia.

But while plenty are arguing that LVG oughta go full time 4-4-2 (because we all know better than him, of course), playing with a more stretched back four, Man Utd got caught out several times down the flanks, their left side (Daley Blind) especially. QPR sent a couple guys wide for the overload and that gamble paid out several times with Blind consistently being drawn centrally by the runners, creating space for an overlap by the second guy… only for poor crossing, a very solid day from Marcos Rojo and some sloppy shooting to let them down. As time ran out, United hit them on the counter attack and ma boy Jimmy Wilson sealed it. Some abysmal defending from Rovers though, with zero reaction/anticipation of the rebound of Wilson’s initial shot, Jimbo sliding in a slick finish. Wait for the England rivalry between him and Harry Kane in a few years.

Phil Jones taking corners? Hmm, ok then.

And nice to see Mary Fellaini giving compatriot Adnan Januzaj a little hug after his goal. Poor Jazzy's been struggling to find time in LVG's winger-less formations. Hey, but at least his buddy's scoring them.

Other Ponderings

So… do people like Alan Pardew all of a sudden?

You’d have to say that Chelsea were the big winners this week in every way. Smacking 5 past Swansea in Wales and moving 5 points clear. Oscar and Costa doing most of that damage. Nobody’s gonna stop them in Blighty – how about a European run?

Andy Carroll. Put that man back in the England squad. He’s more than just an aerial threat, ya know?

Next home game for Spurs, chuck a tenner on a 2-1 win. It’s always the case.

Aston Villa haven’t scored an EPL goal since their 1-1 draw with Man Utd on the 21st December. It’s been 522 playing minutes since Benteke hit the net in that game.

How about that Everton-WBA game? Lescott gives away a penalty for a dumb handball against his old team and for some reason Kevin Mirallas takes the kick instead of specialist Leighton Baines (who’s only ever missed one in the Premier League and it was against David De Gea). So naturally Mirallas misses. He was subbed off at half time.

(The penalty was two minutes before the break. Either he injured it taking the kick or an injured player was allowed to take an important penalty.)

By the way, it’s no surprise that Everton struggled backing up after the Europa League. They’ve got a great starting XI and not a whole lot of depth. Thursday night games before weekend clashes just slaughtered them. What is a surprise is that they’ve continued to struggle since. Confidence doesn’t seem too low (aside from Romelu Lukaku) but they do seem confused as to how they’re trying to play. The match against West Brom was a clear example – lots of possession, very few chances.

Sneaky sneaky, Liverpool’s 6 games without a loss in the League is tied with Southampton for the best active streak. Both Borini AND Lambert scored this week!