With the two starting wingers injured for the oh-so important match against WBA, a high-flying yet out of form outfit, the major weight of carrying the team forward fell on the middle three. Many a times before, these 3 extremely talented players, touted to be the arguably the best midfield in EPL, haven't simply connected. The free-flowing passing and the cut-through-5-defender runs of Cazorla seemed lost. Worry not gooners, came the voice of the ever-reliable Wenger, who, once again seemed to find the missing nuts in the Arsenal midfield engine. It was nowhere near the best these 3 can produce, but it was a welcome change from the few underwhelming performances of the past month. Szczesny was rarely troubled, in part due to the uninspiring performances of the opposition, and partly due to the excellence of our defense in tackling the threat of the likes of Lukaku, Odemwingie, Gera, Long, Brunt, etc. quite easily.
Now regarding the elephant in this room, was it a dive from Cazorla? Yes, most probably. Was the injury act afterwards disgraceful, definitely. The two things most Arsenal fans are proud about Arsenal today are the fact that we are consistent without sugar-daddies and that we are known for our fair play. Arsene rightfully apologized in his own way afterwards, and one can only hope that the dive was a one-time act. Two coolly taken penalties from Arteta following the two controversial decisions in the Arsenal's favor made sure the poor finishing from the forwards of our team wasn't to make this game into a stalemate. But I still wish we had a better penalty taker, as I could see Arteta throwing away future penalties against better stoppers like Cech, Neuer, Casillas, etc. Coming to the front line, which was the only thing that went wrong for Arsenal today. Finishing was poor throughout, mainly from Gervinho and Giroud. Podolski couldn't live up to his finishing fame either. It was very clear just how much a poacher and finisher in the mold of Huntelaar is needed to finish the hoards of chances coming up from the wing and the midfield.
Moving on the cup quarters at Bradford City, no Arsenal fan could see us losing this tie, given the position of Bradford City. All gooners will be hoping that this team finally ends the trophy drought, given the fact that the only top team remaining is the troubled Chelsea. But we'll have to wait till the January end to know for sure.
P.S.-
1) Ever seen a Belgian dive? What is with them? Does their model democracy teach them to not dive too?
2) Rumors about a 19-year old french striker named Ludalix being already signed going around. Thats what we need now! Also, a rumor has surfaced about C. Ronaldo. Yes, I typed that right, Cristiano Ronaldo.
3) Arshavin, Eisfeld and DIABY, where are you people?
4) Walcott, sign da ting!
