Match report – By the numbers – Player ratings – Video
Safe passage to round 5 of the cup was secured last night with a 4-0 win over Coventry City. Two first half goals from Lukas Podolski kicked it off, and a couple of late ones from Olivier Giroud and Santi Cazorla added some sheen to the scoreline which, perhaps, didn’t quite do the visitors justice.
We began strongly, playing most of the game in their half, and Podolski missed what would be considered a very presentable chance when he skied a Jenkinson cross over the bar from close range. But when Mesut Ozil played him in behind, he rounded the keeper and finished from a tight angle to make it 1-0.
Then, a corner routine saw Mertesacker flick the ball on at the near post in perfect Bouldian fashion, Podolski came in at the back post to nod home his second. After that there were further chances for Gnabry, and for Podolski to get his hat-trick but he blazed over with his right foot when he should have scored.
Coventry fans held up signs to mark their protest, backed by the Arsenal fans in the ground, and then half the lights went out because we can’t afford to pay the bills after spending that much money on Ozil. A quick phone call to a Pay Day Money Lender and we got them back on, but not before those in the ground attempted to give us a dig out with their mobile phone lights.
To be fair to Coventry they had a real go in the second half. Arsenal played with the handbrake on, and another handbrake on top of that in case the first handbrake didn’t work, and they really could have got back into the game. Leon Clarke will have had nightmares last night after a couple of misses. One when he beat the offside trap and Fabianski saved, a second a few moments later when the ball broke to him on the edge of the box and his shot clipped the outside of the post. In the final minutes he had an even better chance but decided, quite kindly, to simply roll the ball back to Fabianski.
At the other end nothing was happening. Bendtner worked hard but in the final third had an unfortunate night, while Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, deployed in midfield, looked tired after his first start in 6 months. The manager brought on Cazorla and youngster Gedion Zelalem for his debut, aged just 16, and as I’m sure you all know by now he’s the first player born after Arsene took over to represent the club. It does make you feel old.
Giroud then replaced Podolski and promptly showed Bendtner how it was done, firing home with his left foot to make it 3-0, and after a Jenkinson shot was saved, Cazorla was there to tuck away the rebound and add that bit of gloss to the final score. Although we were clearly the better team and deserved to win, it flattered us slightly when you look at the overall picture in the second half.
Afterwards, Arsene said:
We did our job well, especially in the first half. Coventry did fight and they had some chances at the beginning of the second half because they had a real go. Some of our players dropped a little bit because they haven’t played for a long time.
And on two goal Podolski:
He can be effective, he can score goals when he starts and when he comes on, he is always dangerous. His performances have been more convincing on the flank than in the middle until now.
Overall, it was pretty routine stuff. A game that you felt if we really went for it we could have scored a lot more, and while part of me would like to see that, there’s a common sense approach to the way we played that’s also commendable. Do we need to break our holes against Coventry for 90 minutes just to score another couple of goals? It’s really all about winning and maintaining the momentum, and we did exactly that.
Another clean sheet means that the Deulofeu goal for Everton is the only one we’ve conceded at home in our last 10 fixtures, which is a fantastic record. It was also a good night for Podolski, getting back on the scoresheet and I do agree with the manager that he remains a much better option from wide than in the centre.
Speaking of which, Nicklas Bendtner didn’t really make the most of his opportunity but, to be fair, he’s just back from injury and hasn’t played a great deal this season anyway. It strikes me that he’s most likely to have an impact as a late sub rather than a starter, assuming that we don’t bring another striker in.
Afterwards, Arsene was asked about reports that we’d agreed a fee with Schalke for Julian Draxler, and said:
Honestly, no. That is again an illusion. We have no need to take players on the flank. We don’t rule a striker out. But at the moment I cannot announce anything.
So, if I’m right, based on everything Arsene has said about the player in the last week or so, he’s a ghostly alien. No wonder it’s proving hard to track him down and bring him in. Anyway, it’s now getting to the point in the month where all the questions are about the transfer window.
“So, Arsene. Any transfer news?”
“No.”
“And what about the transfer window. Will you be bringing anybody in?”
“Erm …”
“Will there be any signings this month?”
“At the moment we are not close to-“
“Can you tell us if you’re going to spend any of that money?”
*sigh*
And so on and so forth. Let’s see what happens. I’m not hugely confident but then you just never know with Arsene. In the meantime we’ve got the weekend to recover before we hit Southampton on Tuesday night.
Till tomorrow.
