Arsenal ran away 5-1 winners tonight at home to Bournemouth tonight, leaving ourselves in a great position to land a top-four spot.
Tottenham were the only team in the top six to drop points in the midweek fixtures, having lost to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge tonight, with our win seeing us close to within four points of our noisy neighbours.
As much as closing the gap on our rivals is a huge talking point, the main one has to be the fashion that we demolished Bournemouth tonight however.
We opened the scoring in the opening five minutes of the match with some lovely football. Sead Kolasinac put Ozil through on goal with tons of space, for him to bounce the ball into the ground and over the incoming Boruc, who probably went to ground a little early in fairness.
That goal was just the beginning, as we continued to pile forward, with some positive movement and passing leaving our opponents dizzy and unable to get any decent rhythm going, but of course it wasn’t to last.
Bournemouth found themselves let back into the game thanks to a mistake by Guendouzi, who loses the ball in a terrible spot to Gosling, who puts Mousset through on goal to pull one back.
We find ourselves 2-1 up at half-time, but in reality we should have been home and hosed already.
Thankfully we picked up where we left off in the second half, continuing to pile pressure on the Cherries. We scored shortly after kick-off, although I have to laugh at how… We took what I can honestly say is the worst attacking free kick I have ever seen, but six passes later Laurent Koscielny was putting the ball away inside the six-yard box. Funny but awesome all at the same time…
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who thought he may have scored earlier, only to find out that Koscielny’s shot had already passed over the line, bagged himself our fourth goal, bursting through on goal only to round the keeper in fine fashion and tuck away.
PEA made way for Lacazette to take up the role as CF later on in the game, and you could tell the Frenchman was eager to get himself on the scoresheet, and he did just that. We earned a free kick just on the edge of the box, and he stamped his authority down to line up the ball, and he didn’t disappoint. He curled the ball around the wall into the left of the goal, although upon closer inspection… Koscielny is seen barging a large section of the wall out of his way!
The onslaught carried on throughout, with our team finally putting in a complete performance, and despite Guendouzi’s mishap to concede the goal, our whole squad played well tonight. No complaints about our defending for once from me…
As I predicted, it would be an easy game, but Emery and his staffs were spot-on in choosing the correct tactic. It is obvious that they always tailor the setup based on the opponents, instead of keep using 4-2-3-1 with no 10
Ozil’s excellent goal reminds me of how he finished Sanchez’s assists two seasons ago with great composure. I always rate his finishing skill much higher than his nice ideas. He is my MOTM due to the opening goal and his assist that unsettled Bournemouth
All players looked great tonight, apart from Guendouzi’s and Leno’s bad decisions. Three consecutive wins are perfect before facing the spuds
Nobody bottles it like Spurs – Nobody!
On another note…#prayforbournemouth. I bet you any money that we are going to win on Saturday.
…Mhki….man of the match for me…..no more from me…
Both mhiktaryan and Ozil played good. Ozil tracked back as well. Good stuff.
A win against spurs and we are only 1 point behind them. Such nice rhoughts.
Please beat Spurs on Saturday… Please….
As for today, everyone played well and made it look easy. Guendouzi needs to release the ball sooner in general, but besides for that he also had some great balls played to our attackers. Ozil MOTM, with Miki a close 2nd. And our defenders looked very comfortable for once too. Okay, now back to stressing about Saturday!
I missed Ozil’s goal, and parts of the first half because of a poor stream, but it seems he had a very good performance again. Three in row for Ozil! Question is, does he start against Spurs though?
Three quality performances in a row, but all at home, and against weak opposition. So I guess he should be performing in these types of games, but with Spurs, it’s a quality team, away from home. The kind of game Ozil usually disappears in. He’s played four times this season in big games, with three poor performances, and an average one against Liverpool. If Emery does start him, then he must bench either one of Laca or Auba, because we have a much better balance with just one main striker, and Ozil behind.
Does Ozil deserve another shot in a big game?
Nah…..He did well today but it was against Bournemouth….. Mkhi and Guendouzi actually controlled the game today not Ozil…..I am just happy he is interested now, Emery has done a good job motivating these players…. thumbs up to him
…. Ramsey will start on Saturday not him…
Definitely, Emery deserves some credit for motivating the players. He’s done well. I believe our fixtures after playing Spurs (Away) and United (Home) would be very favourable to our top 4 target. Hopefully, we’ll win most if not all of them.
Yes, Guendouzi is the deep lying playmaker today
I have never considered Ozil as a playmaker, because he is rarely able to dictate the tempo nor control the game, unlike Cazorla or Xavi
Nonetheless, he has nice ideas and very unselfish, hence he is an ideal assist creator
You seem to understand very little about football – there are different kinds of playmakers. Not every playmaker controls the tempo of a game – Pogba/Ozil/James Rodriguez etc are players who provide the final ball – they aren’t very adept at controlling the tempo and will only chip in if the CM cannot fulfill his function.
You foolish. The work of a striker/ AM is to attack. Why don’t you demand the defenders to score but you always demand OZIL to defend? Very unfair. We don’t know how to utilize him as Real used to. He played and made the difference in big games
Yes he does make the difference in big games, like Leicester, Bate and now Bournemouth. All big games, well done Ozil!
I don’t think Ozil would start in the Tottenham game, because it is on the day after tomorrow and Ozil doesn’t seem to be fit enough to play again after just two days
Besides, Emery usually selects the tougher and braver players for a tough away game
Emery would most likely use 3-4-2-1 and Ozil is usually not good in that formation, because he sucks as a winger. Today’s game is different, probably due to Bournemouth’s lousy defense
So He picks the braver and tougher players, but actually our away form isn’t great, so maybe he needs to change to something that works….. just a thought.
he started these games recently b/c he’s not playing against Spurs. You said it yourself, away game against tough opposition. I’ll praise Ozil when deserved, but I’m not going to have high hopes he will perform when it really really matters. These home games against mid-table matches are his forte.
Subbing Mikhi after 60 mins and letting Mesut play the 90 is the biggest tell of who will start Sunday..
Three magic words creep closer; ST TOTTERINGHAM’S DAY!
Beat them on Saturday first before thinking of that, I love our result but I’m gutted to see Chelsea and United picking the points too
Well I agree Eddie. I’m gutted too but what can we do about that? Little. So let’s beat Spurs and United in our next 2 games and we’ll have an even better chance of finishing in the top 4.
Well said kofiken, just like to know how fourth official Jon Moss, one of the worse may I add, held up just 2 minutes injury time at the end of the game. This was after several substitutions, 3 second half goals and a couple of long injury stoppages notably Kos’s near the end of the game. I was absolutely flabbergasted and voiced my opinion unlike the 99.9% of Arsenal supporters in the ground, they just seemed to accept it. Are there any real fans left anymore?
Great point on the paltry two minutes Kenny. I see the ongoing and main problem to be that refs, foolishly and timidly, try to “manage” games. In other words to keep away any areas of controversy. It seems to be a conspiracy of silence in the media generally how refs so VERY often blow for full time when the ball is in the air, fresh from a goal kick OR just after a corner has been cleared of goal danger. These amount to dishonesty in my book, born out of a fear of having to possibly enforce a contested opinion. Example: If a ref blows for time a milli second before a corner leads to a goal all hell would break loose. So INSTEAD of enforcing the law and it being done without fear or favour , they bottle it and ALWAYS let the corner be taken even when , say, 4 minutes of injury time is shown on the board and the corner is taken bang on 4mins 39 secs. This is blatant manipulation of the actual precise time when the final whistle SHOULD be blown and is done to avoid controversy. ANYTHING to keep the players sweet. This is wrong headed thinking but is , disgracefully , backed up by the football authorities and also by a conspiracy of deliberate silence about this , by the Prem and FA etc. Even us fans blithly accept this manipulation and we should NOT. I have constantly railed against this cheating and also ALL cheating whether from players, managers, coaches, the authorities. Unlike you Kenny, I do NOT believe refs are actually biased in favour of one or more particulars teams( though it seems there are clear double standards from the Prem league and FA). BUT this false “management ” of games shows they are keen to put an absence of possible controversy before applying the strict rules. Once the rule of law – or football “laws” – in this case is blithely broken and regularly so, then the game is in effect at the whim of the refs who “manage” matches. THIS IS A DISGRACE!
The obvious solution would be to remove timekeeping from the refs and use a buzzer as in rugby. But that would be too honest and simple for the clowns who run football to bring in. Sigh!!!
Yes jon, I Absolutely agree with your point. Last night with the several substitutions I pointed out plus three goals scored plus Kos’s injury taking up two or three minutes, and there were others, there should have been at least four minutes possibly five minutes injury time. We could have scored another goal if not two which could be the difference at the end of the season in Champions League football and Europa Cup place. Unfortunately like always nothing will be said and PGMOL will not answer any questions about it anyway. I’m sure you remember like me Jon when Clive Thomas blew the whistle when a Brazilian corner was in the air and disallowed the goal that followed. Now there was a Ref with real bottle.
You know Kenny I almost mentioned that very occasion with Clive Thomas and only didn’t as so many on here will have no idea who he is or was. He was a stickler for the rules and I firmly believe all refs should always be. This so called “managing” of games is a charade and dishonest farce. The trouble is that players have too much power. Decades ago, the authorities SHOULD have backed up the refs far more fully and punished cheating players , esp divers far more seriously. A mere booking is a slap on the wrist and a waste of time as it will never stop it being repeated . A draconian ban of two months or more for video proven divers should be brought in NOW, and their wages withheld. If necessary pass a rule that says all contracts MUST include this clause or players are not eligible. They are a bunch of cringing cowards, those administering and running the game. It could very easily be cleaned up EXCEPT there is no will to do so. All they care about is money.
A draw or loss against the spuds could bring Arsenal out of top four again
But I believe Emery already has a good plan and probably the fresher players like Ramsey/ Suarez would start
Bless you Mr Jon?
Absolutely great performance by the lads. I was very impressed with how clinical we were as compared to our last game. Looks like we may be seeing the Mkhi of Dortmund soon! Ozil was on song too. Perfect way to prepare for the North London Derby. I’m very confident we’ll beat Spurs on Saturday. COYG!
Was watching man U today, they look ominous. What the palace fans did do that gunners would be proud of, is boo Sanchez every time he got on the ball. He was diving at every contact though 😉 becoming more like the Chilean Neymar with all that money getting to his head
The livestream I used was so poor i missed virtually 80 percent of the entire match. Can anyone suggest a very reliable site to stream matches please?
It was every stream mate ,I went through about 6 different sites ,I think they are all streamed from 1 place so when one is down they all seem to be down
But the one I’ve used for probably 6 years is iraqgoals
I see. Thanks Xxnofx.
If you get fibre optic broadband I suggest you try First Row
Nice game from everyone, Mhiki picking up the pace, Ozil doing what we know he can do and picking up the pace as well. You can save your they’re weak teams búllshít on your memory card if you nothing good to say about his performances lately.
I’ve been saying it and I’ll keep saying it, Playing Ozil and Iwobi together will really help them both and the team a lot.
Though today he performed superbly before Iwobi came on, I thought he made a few final passes that was wasted.
The team seems to play better and smoothly with him.
Thumbs up to everyone, Aubameyang despite his goal still needs to be a killer in front of goal, lost quite a few chances too.
Now the game on Saturday just got tougher because they lost today, if we win it then it becomes a 4 team race for the last top 2 spots, I hope we win, please and please we need to win our next two games, please we can’t lose any more games
What a night!! Very happy indeed…..
Especially after Trippier’s OG (assisted by Giroud) then hearing the Chelsea fans sing You’re fuc*ing sh*t….. hahahaha
Ooh to
Ooh to be
Ooh to be a Gooner ?
3 points in the bag ?
3 points, 5 goals, Ozil & Mkhi in the goals & assists…. buzzing John!!
Ok ok I’ll give you that – you said last night the points were in the bag! Maybe I should start listening ?
Was it ever in doubt ? when I said to you are you predicting 5-0 you should have said yes it was 5-1 but you would look like a genius right now ? I’m gonna give MKH more stick ever since I’ve said that he’s been excellent Sue?
I do usually jinx things though, if I’m watching a game & say oh such & such is so crap, you can guarantee he’ll go & score!! So I don’t like to say too much ??
Damn it I should have said yes ? next time I will!!
You carry on with the stick John! He’s looking gooood!!! Always liked him when he was at Dortmund
Hope he assists a couple on Saturday… Trippier can score for us too if he likes ??
Ok, I’ll do the talking ?? haha can’t predict Saturdays game though, it’s gonna be very tough and they’re gonna be more up for it having lost 2 in a row.. message from Emery has to be do not lose at any cost ? no I agree he was brilliant at Dortmund he just hasn’t brought that form to England as of yet ?I haven’t seen any goals yet ?
? It’s going to be a feisty affair for sure! Looking at Kane earlier – it looks like he’s growing horns on his forehead ??
You can’t blame him for not bringing that form to England (playing for Maureen as a Manc ??) has doing so much better for us!
Just saw Trippier’s OG again… gets better the.more you see it ?
Haha you notice that too ? yeah that’s true mouri tends to squeeze the life out of players ? well let’s hope he keeps us the form Sue ? I’ll see all the goals in the morning, I’m watching scum now ? I hope Coco is an arsenal fan Sue ?
Scum?? Oooh I don’t like that film. There are some films I never want to watch again… that obviously, Hostel, silence of the lambs… sick sh*t like human centipede!!!
She sure is, bless her! Sits on my lap when they’re on.. although she makes a sharp exit if I get a bit arsey ??
I’m a fan of Ray Winstone though ? oh don’t even talk about Human Centipede I went paler than a ghost after that film ? I like silence of the lambs though quid pro quo Clarice ? hostel was just gore ? haha gets out of the room Sharpish Sue ?
I don’t like him (after watching Nil by mouth)
Awful wasn’t it… there are some sicko’s out there coming up with that idea for a film!!! Hostel was pretty sick too!
Don’t get me wrong I like a good horror, just more of a slasher flick than a sick one!!
Yeah he isn’t everyone’s cup of tea is he ? I like Eva Green too but not so much her acting ? yeah the writers mind took a walk off the map with that one ? slasher like Halloween, nightmare on elm Street etc ?
Haha bet you couldn’t tell anyone what any of her films are about ?
Yes those sort of films!!
Just saw the table.. 4th & 4 points behind the spuds ? City were lucky earlier! I thought they were going to draw!!
No probably not hahaha ? my bloody valentine is good Jensen Ackles (Supernatural Dean Winchester) is in it ? well Sue they only got themselves to blame if they don’t get it to a point by Saturday, I’m just hoping we do ?man city don’t Impress me like they do most people Sue everyone drools over them but I think Liverpool are better and harder to beat! True as well Liverpool only lost once all season. They had a fantastic game against Chelsea but they look like they’ll slip up.
Ha and that one loss was against City ?
I still hope they win it… might go down to the last day again ( Aguerooooooo!!)
You know I never watched Supernatural.. I bet you’re thinking how could you not watch that?!! I like Orange is the new black.. they’ve just finished filming the last ever season ?
Very true, but Liverpool probably should have had 3 or 4, hit the post twice and out possessed Man city away, not many do that ? anyway Kane could yet miss Arsenal game through suspension ?oh I don’t think I’ve seen that Sue ?
??? nice one Sue, about Trippier
??
Sorry John, have to agree with Sue about Ray Winstone and Nil by Mouth, disgusting movie, not only that, with all the money he has, continually does adverts for gambling making kids suffer from their addictive parents also telling us all he’s a genuine eastender by supporting West Ham. Wonder if he knows the actual east end which stretches from Aldgate to Stratford is dominated by Arsenal and Spurs fans. The majority of West Ham’s support comes from east of Stratford Broadway, Plaistow. Hornchurch etc and as far out as Basildon and Chelmsford
Good game, nice performance from everyone, let’s keep the team spirit and everyone in the fold. Even if we lose but play well it will be acceptable to me. Or maybe a draw against Spurs. Till then.
I had to read through the comments twice searching for Th14. Sincerely hope that he is ok. ?????
Waited till now for MOTD & who are on first? Bloody Liverpool ?
I’m watching it now ,I expect arsenal will be on at the end ,I can’t wait till then, listening to shearer and Linaker,would rather listen to Durham on talksport .
That wouldn’t surprise me Dan! Shearer does my head in! At least Murphy isn’t with him. I bet Wrighty will have a huge grin on his face!!
That says it all when you’d rather listen to Durham
1st time this season I am optimistic about top 4. Bravo Emery!
Mesut Ozil, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, … all others
let’s show what you can do at Wembley!
and then ManUtd!
Hell Yeaahh
Does anybody know how many tickets Tottenham gave us for Saturday’s NLD
Another 22 games unbeaten run?
Top 4 is secured if Tottemham & Man U lose to Arsenal.
Well done team and well done Emery.
I was glad Jenks wasn’t at fault for the goal, not surprised Guendouzi was weak in receiving the ball, once he builds his strength up then those things will be cut from his game. Shame it happened where it did but again, another learning experience for him. A clean sheet would have been nice but mistakes can help progression, hope he learns from this and keeps his growth up ^.^
How determined was Laca to score? He was fired up!
Praise to Emery, this was pleasing football and I had my doubts before hand when seeing the formation. Keep it up, more of this please ^.^
Midkemma, so glad you are now giving Unai Emery the credit he is due. Who thought at the start of the season Arsenal would be in this position at this stage of the season?
Good positive vibes going into the next three games against Spurs, Rennes and Manchester United, which will greatly impact on the remainder of the season. One match at a time, with the pleasant prospect of a number of players, in form and competing for positions.
Looking at the body language of the players over the last three matches, there is no evidence of the claim by some that “Emery has lost the dressing room”!
Ozzie, I always gave Emery praise in coaching, I have been bored out my head by his football and I found his tactics simplistic.
During the first six months I was saying it was Emery honeymoon period and backed him.
I was frustrated with boring football and I will speak against boring football, I have pride that Arsenal are entertaining yet if we turn into Stoke City then I feel it would be a big negative.
All I have asked for was entertaining football and to believe we can compete/have ambition. Winning with Jose style football would bring about moans from me as well. I want to be entertained.
You make some fair points . I just think though that any new manager coming into a club where so many players coasted for so long , needs a decent time to totally change that . It is starting to show fruit I think. AND WHATEVER HAPPENS IN THE REST OF THIS SEASON, I REMAIN CONVINCED HE IS THE RIGHT MAN FOR US. I HAVE NEVR DOUBTED THIS, NOT FOR A SINGLE SECOND, EVEN THOUGH SOME OF OUR PLAY HAS NEED TEDIOUS TO WATCH. My reason for not doubting was because I always knew what a Herculean task it would be . And it has been. But we are 4th now entering March and when you compare our squad to Chelsea/ United/ Spuds, we are doing so well to stay with them. Thats my take anyway.
I don’t think it has been the player fault so much as Emery picking the wrong tactics.
He got it right and look how enjoyable it was, it wasn’t the first enjoyable game either was it? Spuds thrashing? 😛 That was a good day.
I think he has been at fault for not putting the right balance out on too many occasions, this is where the too many def players moan comes in, we lacked the correct balance and we paid the price.
Torreira and Guendouzi CM behind Ozil and Mkhi was spot on, two thumbs up 🙂
Our attacking talent is very high, higher than some people think (i believe), it has just been hindered by no solid base to build persistent attacking from.
I’m not about to say we should have kept Wenger, think of what Wengers teams could have achieved if we had Torreira&Guendouzi partnership working hard?
I hope Emery keeps the attacking balance.
Great team performance, Ozil outstanding, best game I have seen Mkhitaryan play, could have been 10 but happy with the routing 5 . Only down thing Geundouzi still slow for me and as i stated in earlier posts he would be found out, and he was. Thank goodness it was yesterday and not Saturday.
Well done Arsenal , 3 out 3 at home. Great!!!
We look a better side without Mustafi, Lichtsteiner, and xhaka playing
Great performance,now lets take the momentum into the next two games against bigger clubs,with or without Ozil.
well done Emery for being brave enough to pitch Jenkinson in for this one too, we are in a much better position than I thought we would be in at the start of the season so Credit where its due Emery has done well considering the tight fisted board and owners that continue to hold on to the the purse strings at this great club.
Ozi La La ! ! !
That’s how we call him here
Class & Composure
Understand Your Team
Understand Your Players
Understand Your Opponent
Understand The Fixture
Understand Several Tactics
Unai Doing Fine
Though I don’t trust his back 3 yet for a sterner opposition
Emery is punching above his weight, considering the fund made available to him. I wish us goodluck come end of the season.
After reflecting on the London derby I eas disapointed,but then I thought ,the spuds have lost good,Chelsea won ,sarri is staying good for us sll in all a good for the real gunners:)