By Walter Broeckx
Koscielny didn’t make it in the end and so we had one change as Mustafi took his place.
Arsenal starting line up: Cech, Holding, Mustafi, Monreal, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Ramsey, Xhaka, Gibbs, Ozil, Alexis, Welbeck
On the beach: : Ospina, Bellerin, Gabriel, Coquelin, Iwobi, Walcott, Giroud.
Southampton with the brightest start in the match but Arsenal clear a cross and a shot from distance goes wide. Arsenal then with a long spell of possession but no real goal mouth incidents to mention. A long period with no real chances in the match. In fact no chances at both ends so far. After a corner the Ox plays the ball to Ramsey but his effort goes wide. 0-0 after 15 minutes.
Gabbiadini tries to counter but his low cross is gathered by Cech. The Ox tryin to find Welbeck with some crosses but not the right distance to find him. The Ox cutting inside but his goal bound effort is blocked by a defender. Arsenal now pressing Southampton back against their goal but can’t find much space. A dangerous cross from Southampton is cleared in the end by Mustafi. Still 0-0 after 30 minutes.
The flag stays down and suddenly Southampton with a good chance but Cech with an excellent save. Welbeck at the other end with a backheel pass to Özil but a defender comes sliding in to cut out the danger. The ball came in front of his right foot so he tried to take another touch. The Ox then sitting down on the pitch with what looks like a injury. Bellerin has to come on after 35 minutes. Mustafi with a tackle on the ball judged as a foul by Moss in a dangerous position in front of the Arsenal goal but the fee kick goes wide. A similar tackle earlier on at the other end going unnoticed. Redmond a bit later with a shot from distance that has to be tipped over by Cech. A profession foul on Welbeck who was almost away is punished with a yellow card against Ward Prowse. That could have been a good attack for Arsenal. Mustafi with a header but too soft to trouble the keeper. Bellerin with an excellent cross but Welbeck can’t make a proper connection with his head. Arsenal ending the half strong but still 0-0 after a very close and closed match after 45 minutes.
WardProwse using his arm against the face of Monreal but no second yellow card from Moss. Ramsey with an effort but Welbeck in an offfside position diverts the ball away from the goal. That might have crept in without his contact. Alexis with a pass to Özil but he misses his back heel attempt. Arsenal with most of the ball but Southampton defending in numbers and leaving no space. A fluent attack on the hour. Alexis combining with Özil who gives it back to the Chilean who cuts out two defenders and shoots the ball past the keeper. GOAL!!!! 0-1 to The Arsenal after 60 minutes.
Gabiadini thinks he got away but offside. Another great attack finds Bellerin whose cross is taken away frorm Özil by Welbeck who just touched the ball with his head. Alexis was fouled in the build up but just outside the penalty area I think. Bellerin then takes the wrong option on the next cross when both Alexis and Özil being in a better position. The assistant then gives a completely ridiculous offside against Mustafi who was not even close to offside. At the other end WardProwse at the end of a cross but his header from close range goes over. A bit of a dangerous situation when a Southampton cross keeps bouncing around in the penalty area but Arsenal can clear in the end. Moss then with a yellow card against Özil for a foul at the side line. Mustafi and Southampton player clash heads and both need treatment but can continue. Arsenal still 0-1 in front after 75 minutes.
Xhaka with some dangerous defending out of his penalty area but getting away with it. Boufal attempts a shot from the edge of the penalty area but only finds row Z. After 80 minutes Giroud comes on for Welbeck. Arsenal attack and after the dangerous attack seems lost a bit Özil keeps it in play, feeds it to Alexis who crosses the ball to Ramsey who heads it in front of the goal and Giroud finishes it off with a nice header. GOAL!!!! 0-2 after 83 minutes.
A Southampton player then slips and a foul is given against Arsenal? Luckily Arsenal can clear the free kick. Arsenal then almost give the ball away but win it back but the Southampton keeper is first on the ball when a defender plays it to him. A possible foul on Xhaka is not given and Boufal shoots in the side net. Özil is taken off after 88 minutes and Coquelin comes on. Giroud with a backheel pass to Ramsey but he was taken by surprise. Cech has to be attentive in extra time for a corner that slips through some players. Moss gives a yellow card against Bellerin who was kicked a few times but no foul given and he then kicked the ball away in anger.
Arsenal win 0-2 and move up to 5th place in the league.
Well done Walter the BOLT ——-
I’m with Menace on this one. Amazing speed Walter. It takes Giroud to 10 league goals which means that Arsenal have three players in double figures when it comes to League goals. And of course we’re fifth. Fourth might be too much to ask for, but it is good to see us gearing up for the Cup Final.
No idea who the co-commentator was but he said Arsenal were ‘floundering’ in the first half.
A good performance I thought, especially 2nd half, and we can still snatch fourth. I can see Liverpool losing to West Ham at the weekend in which case at least a draw at Stoke will see us in with a good chance.
Tony,
what I like seing is Ramsey getting better and better and, I’d say getting ready for another FA Cup final.
We need his engine if we want to win.
Apart from that other players are getting their mojo back as well, it is not as we were to rely on only him.
But he owns a part of the FA Cup…
Excellent write up Walter.
Overall we player very well, with some good attacks and several periods of real domination. If our finishing was a little more composed we could have knocked in another two or three.
Moss – the bandit with selective vision!
But well done the team.
Excellent piece, Walter.
I just don’t get how Moss didn’t give a red card to Xhaka for…breathing. He will be demoted to Conference for that negligence.
There was a handball from Long that even Jon Champion was confused about – he said that nobody was complaining.
Another clean sheet for Rob Holding and our captain Petr Cech. That should be a fine boost for the game against the Orcs.
Great win guys. So happy. Was watching it in my house with my wife and her friend. My wife is so spiritual about us winning, every arsenal win means some gifts to her.
This Moss guy, is not happy with us. What can be our offense with him?
Congrats to all associated with the club. I love the Arsenal.
Got married on the 8th of Apirl with Arsenal shirts. Was awesome.
Congratulations to the team for another great win, keep it up.
@ Josif, the commentator was bamboozled and said Long tried to whack the ball with his arm but somehow he missed the ball completely. Hence why no players complain. Funny stuff.
What a shame Ox got injured again.
It seems whenever he starts to show his best game he gets an injury.
Can this be fixed somehow? Or is he a 5-game-a-time player?
Pleased with the performance, especially the second half. Mustafi was immense and so were Nacho and Holding. Question is who sits when Kos gets back?
WOO HOO , HOO ! Great win over a difficult team .
Thanks for the match report , Walter . Just managed to catch some of the highlights and post match comments . Both goals were well made and taken.
Happy with the three points and the clean sheet.
Up the Gunners !
Just watched highlights as i fell asleep last night, i was so tired.
Anyway a composed win with a few scares.
Great result. Managed to get the highlights. Fantastic goals. Nothing much to say about Alexis, just pure class. As for OG, I am a big fan of his. You give him the service, he will give you the results. Great team work like again.
Decent, solid performance, in line with some…but not all lately.
Moss really is a shit referee, a damning indictment on those who put him there.
FIF used to claim his decisions favoured Arsenal…He seems to be going out of his way to disprove that lately. Like his boss, an embarrassment to refereeing
Congratulations boys, good 3 points.
On to the orcs on Saturday for another 3 points. Hope the ox is ok.
COYG
@Kwesi
My answer is Gibbs. He had a decent game, but we are only able to really attack on the right hand side. He is very defensive, and does not provide us with a lot of options going forward. I would move Monreal to the left wing back position. His crossing is better than Gibbs’, as is his understanding with Alexis. I would move Holding to the left of the three defenders, which is the position he initially played in this formation, and I would play Mustafi on the right. He has played right back for Germany before, and should be perfectly suited to this role. I believe that this formation will bring the best out of Mustafi.
Thanks Arsene Wenger for keeping the focus. It ain’t over until its over. The Top 4 positions are still attainable if we continue to win our matches because I don’t think City, The Poo and Manure will avoid dropping points in their last few games.