Everyone concerned with Arsenal will be happy and relieved tonight because we desperately needed to stop the rot. After a fantastic December and festive period, our Premier League title challenge seemed to have hit the skids with just three points taken from four EPL games and no goals in the last three.
So it was vital for the Gunners to stop the rot and even a point would not have done the trick, so a couple of goals, a clean sheet and a win over Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium was just what the doctor ordered for Arsenal. As Mathieu Flamini said after the match, reported by Arsenal.com, the team really needed the confidence boost that and early goal quickly followed by another provided.
He said, “It was good to get back to a victory today. The first half we definitely needed those goals. It was a good team effort and I’m happy for the team and the fans.”
But he also knows that this was just a small step for Arsenal if we are to overhaul the current league leaders Leicester City. I am not too sure if it is good that we play them next as we could maybe have done with another game or two to really get our best game going again.
Flamini said, “Of course it is going to be another big game. First we need to recover because it was a tough game today and we played well. It is is a big game next week and we have to win it.”
If Arsenal are to win it then we are going to have to play better than we did against Bournemouth you would feel. The Foxes are flying and although the Cherries were full of energy and desire from start to finish today, the way Leicester dispatched Man City was a worry.
Wenger does have a week to prepare and that time will also allow key players Alexis Sanchez and Francis Coquelin to continue their return to full form and fitness. But will Arsenal be able to produce a performance improved enough to beat in form Leicester?
I’ll take a win any day.
The win against Bournemouth was not our most convincing…but a win is a win.
Who would have believed 6 months ago that we’ll be saying that Arsenal will be having a title decider against Leicester.
I really want Arsenal to win, but you’ve got to love the way Leicester are playing at the moment, and how they’ve turned their fortunes in less than a year.
somehow ranieri has motivated his players to not be happy w the success they already have. wish wenger knew how to do that. every time we lead in PL, we slack off. we need a ramsey to attack and also to defend. and no more flam pls! coq is not back to full, but still better than coq. great to see ox finally hit the post and it went in! good for him. keep shooting ox! (on frame).
maybe bc at 2:0 AW told all to defend first, but i noticed when we counterattacked , only 2-3 players ran up: i pray for the day when our players will be as committed as those of LCFC. a couple of times today, cherries got good shots off against us bc monreal & one other were like 10 yards away when they took a shot. whats that about??
Win against Leicester and we are back on track. Its Man city vs Tottenham again, so any result between them will have effect to us, a draw between them +our win will be a dreAm come true.
OT. Where is El neny??? 2 consecutive games without making even the squad.
@muda
His wife had a baby. So he’s with them…
Don’t you find it annoying that our players can never make an immediate impact, if they’re fit enough they’re injured, if they’re not injured they have the flu, if they don’t have the flu they’re having a baby…
@goonerlad
I think dude was working on that way before he thought of coming to AFC…Cut him some slack.
@NY_Gunner
No no no, it is Wenger’s fault!! Spend spend spend on new contraceptives!!!
I know but there always have to be an excuse for our signings, I just want to be like the other clubs where they get immediate results as soon as they buy a player. Why haven’t we still used Gabriel for example ?
We banged Leicester 5-2 at their place. Weird that no other team has come close to doing that. Liverpool are the only other team to beat Leocester in the league this season, and that was a scrappy 1-0 win.
Shout out to our defense. 2 clean sheets in a row.
———- Cech
Bellerin Boss Gabriel Nacho
For the remainder of the season. When Coq will start, they wont be overrun so easily.
sorry mert; thanks for the service. if we’re playing away from home and sitting back all the time, u can come back and play.
I am beginning to worry.
Because sanchez came here last season and we saw some major improvements in oxs performances.
It seems now they are no longer interested.
What the heck is happening
Sanchez is still regaining his form, don’t forget he’s been out for a few months. But Ox is well, Ox, typical British player Wenger likes to protect. I get he’s still only 22 but if he was more openly criticized by the fans like Ozil was I bet you he would’ve progressed a lot quicker, all his best performances came after being benched for a period of time. Same goes for Theo, look how well he was playing when he was arguing for a better contract. Fact is, our players need pressure to play well and NOT comfort. Without pressure they end up slacking and being lazy. Look how well Bellerin is doing, he’s so consistent because he has a point to prove, he left Barca to make a career and show he’s good enough to play at the top level, Ox should have the same mindset, he should believe in himself and prove the manager he’s worthy of being a starter instead of a squad player. The manager must give the young players intent and force them to be determined otherwise they’ll end up being average.
more stick, less carrot pls monsieur wenger!
I agree that Wenger has favorite players but disagree that nationality has anything to do with it. Ox has a high ceiling. The talent and potential are there. He has just been extremely disappointing.
When Boss and Gab build this partnership along others it will be water tight defence, no more internet explorer.
I am a Gabriel fan. The change is long overdue. Nonetheless, I admit Gabriel has been shaky the last few games. Yesterday he had a bad first half but was much better in the second half. I hope Wenger sticks with him.
its simple. if the players and manager want to prove us wrong they need to beat leicester, united, and the spuds. Enough of the same almost and if only we hear ever year.
@reddb10
They need to go out and win our remaining EPL matches…
you can thumb me down as many times as you like for this but tbh
aaron ramsey is the most concerned about the team performance and result
He doesn’t look too concerned to me.
once coq replaces flam , hopefully ramsey can go help out the attack a bit more. today ramsey looked like he was ready to toss his toys out of the pram.
Unless Leicester City blow up I’m afraid we’ve already shot ourselves in the foot with January’s results.
They will, believe that. Bigger question is: how much will we lose points on our away trips?
we cant do anything about jan now. lcfc play each game as it comes. dont know what ranieri has that wenger doesnt. maybe they need to do a drug test on leicester (just jokin). if our players show hard work and courage, i’ll take what we can get.
[and then wenger should quit, greedy b*stard]
Ramsey’s too much of a glory hunter to be worrying about anything else other than him scoring! Still shooting when he should pass.
we dont shoot enough. i’m happy w ramsey shooting, as long as its on frame and the other option wasnt a huge amount better.
You are right about Ramsey and glory part. In some games he practically parks himself inside the box and waits. The thing is……..
We would not mind that aspect of his play so much if he were actually scoring goals.
Beat Leicester we’re back in with a shot. Don’t beat Leicester, we can’t win the title.