Sheer Relief and Joy! Those were the feelings shared by gooners all over the world at the final whistle yesterday. After getting dumped out of the FA Cup at the hands of Blackburn and all but knocked out of the CL at the hands of Bayern, three points were needed more badly than ever before. Thankfully the team delivered those 3 points against relegation threatened Aston Villa and lifted spirits at the Emirates after what has been a truly turbulent week.
The match couldn’t have started any better for the Arsenal. Cazorla opened the scoring after just 6 minutes. It was a low and powerful shot from the little Spaniard after his initial shot was blocked by a Villa defender. That early goal was crucial as it calmed the nerves of the edgy Emirates crowd. As we have seen before the crowd gets quite nervous and frustrated if the team doesn’t score a goal within the first 15-20 minutes which actually adds to the pressure the players are already in.
After the opening goal we all hoped that the players would build on that and kill the game as soon as possible. But this Arsenal side seems incapable of doing that as has been proved time after time. Despite enjoying lion’s share of the possession, Arsenal just couldn’t get that 2nd goal. Giroud had a frustrating time of it once again, missing some great chances. It is commendable that he gets into those goal scoring positions so many times and it is because of his good movements that he does that every game but he needs to start putting those chances away. He needs to start scoring some goals regularly. We need to see him celebrating more often rather than the usual sight of him getting frustrated after yet another missed opportunity.
In the first half Villa had some dangerous opportunities. Szczesny made a couple of decent saves to keep out Agbonlahor and N’Zogbia. The lack of confidence among the players was clear and without that 2nd goal the danger was always there. First half ended at 1-1.
Arsenal team came out for the 2nd half and was pressing for that 2nd goal right from the start. Giroud missed another chance as he decided to shoot rather than pass the ball to Wilshere who was in a great position. Wilshere was clearly frustrated and shouted at Giroud for that. Afterwards Giroud had a good header saved by Guzan. Arsenal had corner after corner but couldn’t get any joy out of those set pieces. The tension was growing and so was the fear of a Villa equaliser. It came from a counter attack.
We had a free kick and we put men forward for that. Villa broke and Weimann ran from inside his own half, all the way to our goal and hit a powerful shot past Szczesny. A keeper of a premiership club should be able to save a shot like that. It was terrible, terrible stuff from the young Pole and sadly it’s becoming too common. He needs to improve and improve fast. We don’t even have a capable number 2 to provide him some competition.
So after dominating the 2nd half Arsenal conceded a goal and had around 20 minutes to get the winner. The players really went for it and got the reward when Wilshere found Nacho who made a great run into the box, he then pulled the ball back into the center of the box and the incoming Cazorla found the back of the net with a clinical finish. It was a brilliant goal and the celebrations were wild. The substituted Jenkinson was celebrating as well which was a great sight. In the end Santi saved the day!
In the league we’ve been unbeaten for 5 games now. At the moment we are just a point behind Spurs, who play on monday against West Ham. Next week we have to go to White Hart Lane to take on the scum. Hopefully West Ham will beat them so that we can go ahead of them at their own ground. But no matter what happens in that game we now have a decent result going into the North London Derby. Everton losing yesterday was also good as it gives us some breathing space in 5th place. At the end of the day Arsenal won yesterday and that’s the most important thing. God knows we needed this win and we needed some scope for celebration.
So enjoy this victory everyone! Till next time!
banglagooner 