FLAM'S THE CHARM: TOTTENHAM HOTSPURS 1-2 ARSENAL

"He scores when he wants;
He scores when he wants;
Mathieu Flamini,
He scores when he wants!"

Arsenal secured safe passage into the fourth round of the Capital One Cup after a Mathieu Flamini brace saw the Gunners beat Tottenham 2-1 at White Hart Lane. The win, Arsenal's 75th over perennial rivals Spurs, put a end to a run of two consecutive away defeats in Europe and in the league, and it came at a venue where we had lost our last three matches prior to yesterday night. It was Spurs' boss Mauricio Pochettino third North London derby, and he was unbeaten going into this one after a win and a draw in last season's corresponding fixtures.

THE LINE-UP:

Arsene Wenger had suggested he would rotate his squad once again, and he made no less than 10 changes to the side that started last weekend's game at Chelsea. David Ospina, seemingly Arsenal's cup goalkeeper this season, played in goal; there were expected changes at full-back with Debuchy and Gibbs coming into the team and Per Mertesacker made his first appearance in a month alongside Calum Chambers. There were enforced changes in midfield owing to the absences of Santi Cazorla (suspension) and Francis Coquelin (knee problem), with club captain Mikel Arteta and, perhaps surprisingly, Mathieu Flamini making his first appearance of the season. Quizzed on his team selection after the game, Arsene said he wanted to strengthen his side in the middle of the park, no doubt conscious of the quality of the opposition:

"First of all I wanted to rotate the team a little bit and he (Flamini) had worked very hard recently. I saw in training he was focused and had come back to a good level and I also thought I wanted to strengthen a bit the midfield with Arteta who had not played in a long time. I wanted a second player to strengthen a bit defensively and that meant Flamini and Arteta together gave some defensive guarantees."

Joel Campbell also made his first start of the season and only his third start for the club overall, with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain providing width from the left and Olivier Giroud as the lone striker.

THE SET-UP:

As was expected,Spurs' high press posed problems for Arsenal's midfield. With the home side playing a high line there was precious little space for the Gunners to put those passing combinations together as is the norm. Figures show that this was possibly Arsenal's poorest game in possession, posting a passing accuracy of 71% while we normally average 84%-90%. It's for that reason that I had opined in my match preview that, tactically speaking, this game would perhaps have suited Theo Walcott more, and especially so after realizing that Spurs fielded Federico Fazio (who is over 6' 5'' tall and really slow) and Kevin Wimmer at centre-back, which is a largely untested defensive pairing. We also struggled to keep possession in Spurs' final third, a side-effect of having to play without Mesut Ozil and Cazorla. Ramsey was given Ozil's no. 10 role yesterday, and the difference was clear to see. Ozil prefers to float around the pitch, keeping possession and knitting our attacking play together while waiting for moments to pick a final pass. Ramsey, meanwhile, only really came alive in an attacking sense with the introduction of Alexis Sanchez halfway through the second half. He did create four chances overall, which isn't bad.

One positive for Arsenal's attack was Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who I thought provided a great outlet with his pace and power. His directness has endeared him to the Gunners' faithful, and it was evident here yesterday with seven successful dribbles, by far the most of any other player (Debuchy was second with three). Say what you will about his end-product though, which was again wanting yesterday. There was a brief cameo when Chamberlain turned Andros Townsend inside-out before leaving Erik Dier for dead, then played a cross-field pass which went over everybody and out for a throw-in. Sums it all up really.

Defensively, the raft of changes made by Arsene Wenger perhaps told on the team's overall defensive play. Spurs preferred to make in-roads down the flanks via Andros Townsend on their right, and Danny Rose and Nacer Chadli down their left. General consensus has it that Debuchy at right-back had a poor game as Danny Rose gave him trouble to no end especially in the first half, exposing the French defender's poor positional awareness time and again. Joel Campbell did leave Debuchy exposed at times as well, perhaps a by-product of the lack of understanding between the two players given their limited playing time. However, such was Spurs' preference for attacking wing play that Debuchy actually finished the game with six tackles, more than any other Arsenal player. Spurs' dominance down our right also told as Campbell was second on tackles completed, with five. Overall, Arsenal made only six tackles in central areas (Mertesacker-0, Chambers-1, Flamini-2, Arteta-1 and Ramsey-2), but sixteen tackles in wider areas (Debuchy-6, Campbell-5, Gibbs-4, Oxlade-Chamberlain-1).

THE GOALS:

“I tried to be a bit creative today. I had the opportunity, I felt that there was maybe a possibility so I went forward [for the first goal] and the ball came back to my feet. I scored with my left foot, which was also a nice surprise.”-Mathieu Flamini.

One of Oxlade-Chamberlain's trademark dribbles saw him go past Erik Dier (it was a theme) and take aim, and his only shot on target the entire game proved too difficult for Michel Vorm to handle. The Spurs' keeper could only parry Chamberlain's attempt and Flamini was on hand to sweep the rebound into the roof of the net. 1-0, and aren't we all glad that he gambled and it paid off. This goal meant that we have now scored in 40 of our last 41 North London derbies.

"He scored two good goals, especially the second one. I think on the second one he made an early decision to go for it and just focused and finished with a great goal."-Arsene Wenger.

I'll be the first to admit, the last person I would want a volley to drop to would have been Flamini. As it were, the ball fell to him just outside the box after an up-and-under clearance from Fazio, and Flamini connected sweetly with his right foot as he volleyed in first-time at the near-post. Chambers was unfortunate to score an own-goal in between our two goals, but fortunately it counted for precious little.

"The two goals were for them (the fans). They’ve always supported me, they’ve all been behind me and they’ve played a big role in my career. It was important for me to celebrate with them and nobody else. It was the first time I’ve scored two times in a game. It’s good to score against Tottenham in a derby in such an important game for Arsenal and the fans."-Mathieu Flamini.

MAN-OF-THE-MATCH:

Could only be one guy, couldn't it? Mathieu Flamini scores a brace, his first in Arsenal's red and white, his second definitely a contender for Arsenal goal-of-the-season, and he scored with his only attempts on goal, a lesson on efficiency for Giroud and Walcott. But it goes beyond this for me. In his post-match interview on Arsenal Player, Arsene Wenger pays homage to Flamini as a "fighter and a winner", saying:

"He is a fighter and he is a winner as well. I told him at the start of the season it might be difficult for him to be a starter but he decided to stay and he did fight. I fought to keep him but he is at an age where you always consider what it is important at that age, which is to keep focused and stay in the team. If they do not manage to do that it is better you let them go, but he wanted to stay."

We've now been drawn away to Sheffield Wednesday in the fourth round to be played some time next month. Enjoy this one Gunners, we go again on Saturday at Leceister. Till then :-)

*Quotes and images courtesy of Arsenal Media*

LOOKING AHEAD: TOTTENHAM HOTSPURS vs ARSENAL (CAPITAL ONE CUP)

"It is an opportunity for Arsenal to win an important game and for the players who play for the club to defend our club and qualify."


Our tasking run of four away games in the space of ten days rolls on with a 3rd round Capital One Cup tie at White Hart Lane. It's fair to say we've made a disastrous start to this testing run of fixtures, gifting Dinamo Zagreb their first win in the UEFA Champions' League group stage since 1999 before Diego Costa and match official Mike Dean ensured Chelsea beat us 2-0 at Stamford Bridge on Saturday. Halting a run of consecutive defeats tonight will be critical before we take on high-flying Leceister City, Olympiacos in the Champions League on Tuesday and Manchester United in the league next weekend. Nothing like a North London derby to kick things off then eh?

Spurs, meanwhile, have made a indifferent start to the season, with two wins and three draws, but have remained unbeaten since their opening day defeat at Old Trafford. They had happier times in Europe though, beating Azerbaijan side Qarabag in a 3-1 win which featured a brace from new signing Son Heung-Min. We're due a win over Spurs, having picked up a solitary point from the two corresponding league fixtures last season, but it's five years to the day we beat them 4-1 in this round of the (then) Carling Cup, and a repeat of the same would be highly welcome considering how the past week has gone. Only Koscielny, Gibbs, Rosicky and Wilshere remain from the 18-man squad that took on Spurs that night by the way.

In terms of team news, Francis Coquelin will miss tonight's game after suffering a knee injury at Stamford Bridge, but Per Mertesacker is ready to return to the fold after recovering from a chest infection that has kept him out for a month. Santi Cazorla will be serving his one-match suspension after his sending-off at Chelsea, but Gabriel is available for selection after his red card was rescinded following a successful appeal by the club. The Capital One Cup has, over the years, provided Arsene Wenger with the platform to "blood" Arsenal's youth into the senior team by giving them some much needed first-team action, but given our current form and the opposition at hand, it is likely that squad rotation will be kept at a minimum.

"...at the moment the youth-team players, many of whom are ready to play for us, are away on loan. The next players who have the talent are not completely ready to play at that level. With the difficulty of the opponent as well, you do not want to throw them into a game where they look out of place."- Arsene Wenger.

I think we'll see a line-up similar to the one that took on Dinamo Zagreb, with Aaron Ramsey returning to a central role alongside club captain Mikel Arteta, in the absence of Santi and Coquelin. Debuchy and Gibbs will likely be given a second chance to stake their claims for regular starting berths at fullback, and Oxlade-Chamberlain will be afforded the same opportunity on the right. I think the manager's first selection dilemma will be at the heart of defence. Gabriel has had a good run partnering Koscielny/Chambers over the past month, but with the return of first-choice centre-back Mertesacker and with a difficult game at Leceister coming up, the German might need game time tonight to gain some match-fitness. Giroud will probably get the nod at centre-forward, but I tend to think that this will play right into Spurs' and Mauricio Pochettino's game plan. His sides are typically difficult to play through and the Argentine prefers to play a high line and win the ball back high up the pitch whenever they can. Playing Theo would then either force Spurs to sit deep and reduce the space in behind rather than letting them use a high press whenever we are on the ball; or run the risk of getting balls played in behind them as Theo likes to hang on the shoulder of the last defender, using his pace and movement to good effect.But anyway.

With Nabil Bentaleb, Mousa Dembele and Ryan Mason all out through injury, Pochettino will likely field a partnership of Erik Dier and Dele Alli, both of whom have impressed so far. Son Heung-Min has scored three goals in the space of a week and will run in between the lines and make up the numbers in the box for Spurs, definitely the one to watch out for. He does like to take his man on and poses a great threat on the counter-attack, so it worries me that Coquelin is missing out tonight.

Christian Eriksen, Spurs' most creative attacking outlet last season is only just returning from a knee problem and has not started a game since early August, but will probably return either on the left or in the #10 role just behind Harry Kane. Speaking of whom, our last visit to White Hart Lane might have gone south thanks to a brace from Kane, but the young English striker is yet to find the net for Spurs this season and will hope to turn the tide against the enemy tonight. All in all both sides will field slightly changed line-ups from the start, and bearing in mind that weekend opponents Leceister made ten changes to their starting line-up against West Ham yesterday, we would do well to keep our squad fresh too.

Enjoy the game people :-) 

*Quotes and image courtesy of Arsenal Media*

COSTA WITH THE ASSIST, MIKE DEAN WITH THE FINISH- CHELSEA 2-0 ARSENAL

“In every game there’s aggravation, he gets away with it because referees are weak. We are also guilty because we reacted to it, but every time somebody touches him he goes down like he has been killed. I think the two sendings-off for us and Diego Costa stays on the pitch, that’s a shame. I wouldn’t like to be Mike Dean tonight, I can’t understand how he dealt with the situations.” - Arsene Wenger.

The Gunners' away day blues continued this week as we were sentenced to a 2-0 reverse at Stamford Bridge thanks in no small part to some suspect officiating from one of the most experienced match officials among the current crop, Mike Dean. Prior to this week Arsenal were on a decent run away from home, winning seven and drawn one of their last eight, and with their last away defeat coming seven months ago. Arsenal's first away game of the week,our Champions' League opener away to Dinamo Zagreb, featured a daft sending off in the dying moments of the first half, and a goal conceded from a set-piece early in the second, resulting in a 2-1 loss. Little were we to know that yesterday would follow the same script.

The home side, meanwhile, were in desperate form domestically... Chelsea had won just one and lost three of their first five fixtures and were languishing in 17th on the log. Their 2-1 loss at home to Crystal Palace was followed up by a 3-1 reverse at Goodison Park; the first time Chelsea suffered back-to-back league defeats since March 2006. Jose Mourinho has never suffered three consecutive league defeats. A 4-0 win over Maccabi Tel Aviv in midweek had done little to restore the Blues' confidence ahead of this London derby, and many had argued that there was no better occasion for Arsene Wenger to get his first ever league win over Jose Mourinho, and for Arsenal to pick up three points at a ground where they hadn't since 2011.

THE LINE-UP:

Arsene had made six changes to the starting line-up for the game in midweek; giving starts to David Ospina, Mathieu Debuchy, Kieran Gibbs, Mikel Arteta, Alex-Oxlade Chamberlain and Olivier Giroud, but with none really staking a claim for a regular starting berth, the manager reverted to the same line-up that beat Stoke 2-0 last weekend. Gabriel continued to partner Laurent Koscielny in the continued absence of Per Mertesacker, who only resumed training this week after recovering from a chest infection. Theo Walcott was selected ahead of Giroud to lead the line for the third league game running, and Jose Mourinho perhaps foresaw this when he picked Kurt Zouma and Gary Cahill for this one, leaving club captain John Terry on the bench.

THE SET-UP:

The manager's choice to persist with Theo up front was interesting but not entirely unexpected. Whisper it, but I believe it's beginning to grow on Arsene. The forward's pace and movement have brought him numerous goal-scoring opportunities against different types of opposition, and this if not his finishing must have given Arsene the confidence to pick him for this one. Chelsea might have been privy to the threat that Theo possesses, but that did not stop him playing on the shoulder of the last defender to good effect. Ozil and Cazorla took turns to either loft balls or thread them in behind Chelsea early on in the game, one of which led to our first attempt on goal in the 29th minute when Begovic made a comfortable save from the Englishman.

Ramsey also covered a lot of ground, making up the numbers in the final third and coming in-field to allow Hector Bellerin to provide the width from the right. Both teams traded possession for large periods in an opening half that was rarely punctuated by any goal-scoring chances of note, and we were more than happy to be compact and maintain our shape whenever the Blues came forward. I thought Bellerin did well defensively up against Eden Hazard, and, at times, Diego Costa who drifted to that flank particularly often. Coquelin, interestingly, did not make any tackles today but he did injure his right knee as he challenged for an aerial ball in the 21st minute and had to be taken off at half-time.

“It is a little knee injury. I don’t know how long it will be … certainly not for midweek … I don’t know yet how long.”

Truth be told, this won't be a match that will be remembered for the football or the goals. An altercation between Costa and Gabriel resulted in yellow cards for both, and the 47- year old adopted Spaniard then did his utmost to first instigate contact from Gabriel, and subsequently get Gabriel sent off when he and the likes of Cesc Fabregas and Branislav Ivanovic goaded referee Mike Dean into it like the babies that Zlatan Ibrahimovic said they were last season. Arsene Wenger readily admitted that we were at fault for our part in the whole debacle, and I agree wholeheartedly. Gabriel was rather daft to get himself involved in a fight that wasn't his to begin with, and was rightfully sent off for his troubles. How though, in the name of all that is holy and just, did Costa not receive his marching orders as well? Prior to all this, while challenging for a cross with Koscielny, Costa had decided that he didn't like the French defender's facial features and tried in earnest to change this by pushing both hands into Koscielny's face before then barging him to the ground. How the officials spotted Gabriel's petulant flick on Costa but failed to see this is also beyond my comprehension. 

Having found ourselves a man down on the stroke of half-time, it now became crucial that we keep the play tight and not give any soft goals away, which is why we did exactly that. Much like we did against Dinamo Zageb, this time it was Zouma who was left unmarked at the far post to nod the ball home on 53 minutes. With Coquelin off the pitch and the unfamiliar partnership of Koscielny and Calum Chambers in defence, there would have been slight concern about our ability to see the game out had Chelsea decided to go for the jugular. In truth, Chelsea took the pragmatic approach and preferred to control the game by holding on to possession, which perhaps was symptomatic of the indifferent start they've made to the season. Cazorla and Ramsey, moved to central midfield in the second half, still worked their socks off... Santi was 5/9 on tackles, Ramsey 4/8. The pair also combined to make four intercepts and sixteen ball recoveries.

The Gunners began to pick up a head of steam with sustained pressure and a flurry of corners in the Chelsea final third, and it was then that Santi picked up his second booking and subsequent sending off. With the Spaniard already on a yellow, he slid in looking to win the ball back from Fabregas right outside the Chelsea box but slightly mistimed the tackle and caught Cesc on the ankle. Another sending off which,as per the laws of the game, could not be contested. Arsene lamented that Mike Dean was harsh in sending Cazorla off, and you can understand his complaint when you realise that Santi only committed two fouls and was booked for both. With the Gunners reduced to nine, Hazard scored a second after a heavy deflection from Chambers, and Mourinho swiftly sent on John Obi Mikel for Fabregas. Typical Mourinho substitution, and typical Chelsea goals to win against Arsenal, a set-piece and a deflected goal. But anyway.

MAN-OF-THE-MATCH:

Difficult to say given the circumstances in which the game was played, but Hector Bellerin shades this one for me. He marshalled Hazard well for the most part, and was the main attacking outlet on the right especially after Gabriel's sending off. He also made the most clearances of all players (7), and in this form I fear for Mathieu Debuchy.

A difficult defeat for the Arsenal to take, the second away defeat in a week, and with two more difficult away games at Spurs (Capital One Cup) and Leceister this coming week things will not get easier any time soon. We also have suspensions and injuries to contend with after today's red cards and Coquelin's knee problem, so we're really up against it. Also, anyone else a little worried about Alexis now? No one was dispossessed more often than the Chilean (5). But anyway.

Till next time folks.

*Quotes and image adapted from Arseblog.com*

*Stats courtesy of FourFourTwo StatsZone and WhoScored.com*

OF MISSED CHANCES AND DROPPED POINTS

"If I wanted to be critical I could say that that there is too big a difference between the number of chances we created and the number of goals we scored but that will come quickly once you win your games at home."- Arsene Wenger after 2-0 win over Stoke City

“I think we created enough chances in the first 20 minutes to go one or 2-0 up. It was very disappointing to not be in that position. We had the chances but we didn’t take them."- Mikel Arteta after away loss to Dinamo Zagreb.

These two quotes above are enough to paint the picture of Arsenal's start to the 2015/2016 football season. I could have picked a few more, but I'm sure you get the point. Indeed, it's an issue which all fans have picked up on especially since the 1-0 win over 10-man Newcastle late last month. We have played six games so far, winning three, drawing one and losing two, and that is bang on average form for supposed title-challengers. It gets truly depressing when you consider the fact that we have made 137 attempts on goal in these six games and have managed just five goals (excluding own goals). This as per this tweet by @1DavidWall. Before last weekend's win against Stoke, no side in the entire division had attempted as many shots as we had, and we went on to register 29 shots during that game... the most attempts by any club in a single game so far this season.Only 12 of the 29 shots were on target, and only two of the 12 were scored. In total, we are scoring a goal after every 27 shots. TWENTY-SEVEN.

A lot needs to be said about the profligacy of our striking duo of Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud, but it would be folly to rely on the pair as the "be-all-end-all" source of our goals. Arsene Wenger, on several occasions during the transfer window, called for more goals from the plethora of creative talent behind the main striker, the likes of Ozil, Chamberlain, Cazorla and Ramsey. I already mentioned this in one of my earlier posts, but it's worth mentioning once again that aside from Giroud (16) and Alexis (25), only Ramsey managed to get into double figures in terms of goals scored... well, barely. He had 10. Six games into the current campaign, Alexis, Cazorla, Ramsey, Ozil and Oxlade-Chamberlain have combined for a total of 78 attempts on goal, and only one of the 78 found it's way to the back of the net. Scary, eh? All in all, only Theo (2), Giroud (2) and Owen Gole (2) have scored in our EPL and Champions League fixtures. Ozil, for instance, has been singled out by the manager as one of the players from whom he expects more goals.

“He had a very good performance. He was important getting out from the back, getting out of tight areas. It is a pleasure to watch the quality of his passing and the intelligence of his passing. What I told you is what I want from him more is a few more goals this season. For the rest of the build-up in the game he was magnificent."- Arsene Wenger speaking after the 2-1 win over Crystal Palace.

Wenger set a target of 10 goals for the German, and in light of this you would think perhaps he would make more of an effort to get on the score-sheet with some form of regularity. Instead, he has not had more than one effort on goal in all but one of his five appearances so far this season, making only six attempts on goal in four EPL games+ one UCL game. Alexis Sanchez, meanwhile, has had 28 attempts on goal so far this season, but 13 of those have been blocked.

Now to Theo and Giroud. The pair have a combined 38 attempts on goal, resulting in four goals.That sounds miles better than the midfielders' conversion rate, but it still could have been so much better. One needs not look beyond our weekend win over Stoke to get a further illustration of this point. Theo scored after his seventh attempt on goal, and Giroud did too but after another glaring miss.

I won't sit here and claim that our inability to hit the target was to blame for our defeat yesterday, but as the captain put it, it was certainly a contributing factor. Pretty approach play and creation of chances only  count for so little if no goals are scored. That is, after all, the only stat that counts. I guess the only positive here is that Giroud and Walcott are finding these goal-scoring opportunities to miss... what would really be worrying is if they had nothing to go on, no service into goal-scoring areas. I invite you to consider, if you will, one Roberto Soldado who spent a couple of seasons at Spurs and flopped before returning to the Spanish La Liga. Soldado hardly got the opportunities to finish off, and this is no absolute reflection on the quality of the player but just an example to illustrate how bad things can get. The sooner we can work on our chance conversion though, the better. With five games in the next 18 days against the likes of Chelsea, Spurs,Leceister and Manchester United,we cannot afford more missed chances.

SHOULD HAVE BEEN MORE: ARSENAL 2-0 STOKE CITY

"In the end we had a clean sheet and that’s always the most important goal. We know we’re going to score goals and we know we’re going to create chances as well. We create chances so we just have to put them away."- Theo Walcott.

"If I wanted to be critical I could say that that there is too big a difference between the number of chances we created and the number of goals we scored but that will come quickly once you win your games at home."-Arsene Wenger.

If someone, for whichever reason,had not managed to watch yesterday's 2-0 win over Stoke City, he/she would be forgiven for finding satisfaction in the final result. I mean; the first two goals scored at the Emirates, third consecutive clean sheet this season, both recognized strikers on the score-sheet, that's good right? Let me put it this way. Arsenal had 69% possession against Stoke and had an astonishing 29 attempts on goal, with 23 of the 29 shots coming inside the penalty area. No side has registered more attempts on goal in a single game this far into the league season. We had nine big chances to score yesterday (one-on-one situations or attempts from very close range) and only found the back of the net twice. Arsenal have had 17 big chances in the first five league games, that is five more than any other side, and only scored with two of them

THE LINE-UP:
Arsenal had failed to score in five of their last six games at the Emirates before yesterday,and a lot has been made in the aftermath of the transfer window where we failed to bring any forwards in as well as news of Danny Welbeck's long-term injury, about our ability to threaten opposition defences with only Theo Walcott and Oivier Giroud to call upon. Well it was the Englishman who got the nod to lead the line for the second game running, flanked on either side by Aaron Ramsey and Alexis Sanchez, and the trio of Mesut Ozil, Santi Cazorla and Francis Coquelin behind him. We're now accustomed to seeing Ramsey starting from the right at the expense of Oxlade-Chamberlain, and that particular selection dilemma continues to plague Arsene Wenger. Ramsey continues to prove himself undroppable at least in the manager's eyes, but with Coquelin and Santi doing likewise, the Ox will have to force his way into the first-team picture or look to take his chances as injuries and/or suspensions inevitably take their toll on the players.

THE SET-UP:
After our 1-0 win over Newcastle a fortnight ago, Arsene Wenger said his choice of Theo over Giroud was informed by the hope that Newcastle would come out and attack Arsenal, leaving pockets of space for Theo to profit from at the back. The same line of thought was perhaps applied to this game, seeing as how Stoke with Mark Hughes at the helm has been slowly making the transition from "rugby-style" Tony Pulis football tactics to a more fluid possession-based style that is easier on the eye. If so then the plan worked a treat, with the Potters refusing to sit deep meaning that there was bags of space to play the ball into behind their back line as Santi did for Ramsey earlier on and, most notably, Ozil did for Walcott to score. One also has to wonder exactly how much Stoke are missing Steven Nzonzi, and with Marco van Ginkel still finding his feet they did look very lightweight in the face of constant Arsenal pressure.

Coquelin had another storming game, with five successful tackles (led all players) which all means that no one in the entire division has completed more tackles than Coquelin (19). Some, however, may have noticed that he also picked up possession in the final third a lot more often than usual, which resulted in him creating two goal-scoring chances for his team-mates, and as per this article, continues to refine and improve his all-round game. 

It's probably just me, but after every game I play on FIFA I like to look at the possession statistics, and the passing accuracy of my outfield players... I'm just that kind of guy. I suspect Hector Bellerin is too as he spoke about the good tidings that come with maintaining possession and dominance on the ball. It allows you to control the tempo of the game, and as Bellerin says, it allows you to play the game as you wish. So it certainly warmed my heart to see every outfield player bar one posting passing accuracy stats of well over 80%, with Laurent Koscielny of all players boasting a 90.4% passing ratio after 83 passes (led all players). That's a knock-on effect of maintaining possession of the football, when it allows your centre-back to get involved in the team's build-up play to such an extent. Koscielny ended up having two attempts on goal as well, one of them a screamer from about 30 metres which Stoke keeper Jack Butland did well to save.

One positive with Aaron Ramsey starting from the right and coming in-field is that it leaves young Hector Bellerin to overlap on the right to great effect, and but for some terrible finishing should have had at least two, perhaps three assists yesterday. He still had a great game, with four key passes, 5 crosses (2 accurate), as well as a tackle, 3 interceptions and 2 clearances.

Now, as mentioned above, we had 29 attempts on goal yesterday, the most of any side in a single league game so far. In fact, no side has created more goal-scoring chances or had more attempts on goal than Arsenal, yet 11 teams have scored more goals than we have (5). Remove own goals from that figure and we're left with a paltry return of three goals in five games. Sanchez had the most attempts on goal yesterday, eight, but only two found the target. It is worth mentioning though that the Chilean did strike the post twice, and these do not count as shots on target (weird right?) The profligacy got to alarming levels with Theo, who should have had at least a hat-trick... first he volleyed over after Sanchez first hit the post in the 3rd minute, then he headed over after an inch-perfect delivery from Bellerin from the right. He had two more opportunities one-on-one with Butland which he contrived to miss, and the trend would continue when Giroud came on for Theo as with his first touch he shot wide from close range and one-on-one with the keeper once again. Theo's movement and pace allowed him to have eight attempts on goal as Stoke struggled to deal with him, and it perhaps is encouraging that he finds himself in goal-scoring positions with such regularity,but he really needs to improve his chance conversion rate. Arsenal, overall, had the second-worst shot conversion rate prior to yesterday's game, and that certainly would not have been helped by our performance in front of goal against Stoke. One shudders to think how such profligacy in front of goal would be detrimental against Chelsea next weekend.

THE GOALS:
After missing absolute sitters, Theo ironically scored the most difficult chance he had. With Stoke threatening to make inroads into our half, Coquelin slid in and won the ball from Joselu, which set up Ozil to chip the ball over Stoke's retreating back line for Theo. His first touch was exquisite, his second clinical as he rolled the ball through Butland's legs and in.

Giroud, also after missing another sitter, connected with a header from a Santi Cazorla free-kick to seal the points late on. If only he would be this ruthless more often.

MAN-OF-THE-MATCH:
I noticed on Twitter that Arsenal fans voted for Mesut Ozil as their man-of-the-match, but I disagree. Well, I had three contenders for my man-of-the-match vote, Bellerin, Ozil and Cazorla. Ozil and Cazorla registered assists, and Walcott should have been kind enough to finish the chances put on a plate for him by Bellerin. Ozil, meanwhile, has created 76 chances in 2015, more than any other player in the Premier League, and created eight chances yesterday (led all players), and made 66 passes with 88% accurate.

Having said all that, my man-of-the-match was Santi Cazorla. 109 touches (led all players), 83 passes (led all players), 89% accurate, seven crosses, five accurate, four attempts, one on target, one assist and seven chances created, the Spaniard continued to re-define the deep-lying playmaker role in a very Pirlo-esque manner. Just hope he can bang a few in now and then.

*Image adapted from Arsenal media*
*Quotes adapted from Arsenal.com and Arseblog*