Early Christmas For Arsenal

This match was supposed to test the sincerity of our title challenge. It was a test for sure, but not for Arsenal. And the scoreline suggests that Wolverhampton was found wanting in this test. They still haven’t come to terms with the premiership and if they don’t manage to do so soon enough, they will have to say ‘bye-bye’ to it. Arsenal scored goals for fun and this is not the first time that they have done so, this season. Arsenal’s attack is second to none but clean sheets have been hard to come by this season.

An 11Gunners‘ postmortem of the wolf hunt..

Arsenal started the match in a very un-arsenal way and it looked like they are gonna repeat their mistakes yet again. They have been inconsistent against small sides when playing away from home and this looked another addition to the same series. But the wolves were determined not to let that happen and they made it sure by scoring goals. But they forgot the side of pitch they had to score those and ended up on the wrong side, literally. Had they scored them where they should have, they could have salvaged some points from this tie.

In fact, first 20-30 mins of the game looked like going their way as Arsenal never looked like getting into their grooves. But they dug their own grave and allowed Arsenal to settle down and play the only way they know to play – The Arsenal Way.

First goal was an own goal conceded by Ronald Zubar at 28 minutes from a corner and Eduardo was sportive enough not to claim it. Eduardo’s contribution continued as far as extracting own goals from the Wolvers was concerned. They committed too many men up front when they attacked us 7 mins later and Ramsay raced through the middle of the park when he was given a opportunity to break free. Eduardo came in for support and Ramsey slid the ball for him at the edge of the penalty area. Eduardo chipped the ball only to flick Joddi Craddock’s head on its way to the top corner. A top quality finish by Eduardo-Craddock combine.

Arsenal had started to come into its own and the signs were not ominous for the Wolvers. Early Christmas gifts for Arsenal just eased them into the game. From here on it was nothing but “The Arsenal Way”.Fabregas scored 1 more for Arsenal at the stroke of half time and sealed the 3 points. It was served on a platter by the Dutchman for the Spaniard.

The second half was much more interesting for Arsenal fans though more goals were scored in the 1st half. The silky-one touch passes were a treat to watch and Arsenal kept pressing forward. The goal of the game was scored by Andrei Arshavin at 66 min when he volleyed a rebound from an Arsenal corner. It was vintage Arshavin who followed it up with his famous “Shut your mouth” celebration. Nasri and Rosicky were substituted for Arshavin and Eduardo later in the match.

The present attack that Arsenal have at the moment looks like the best in the world at the moment. When players like Rosicky and Nasri wait for their turn on the bench, then it gives an indication of the kind of fire power that is present in the squad. But the same can’t be said about the defensive side of Arsenal and we could not keep a clean sheet, yet again.A late goal was let through by our leaky defense and Wenger needs to address this issue in January.

This victory has ensured that Arsenal will cover serious ground when Chelsea clash with Man Utd tomorrow. If Man Utd lose points tomorrow, the gulf between us and Red Devils will become less than 3 points with Arsenal having a match in hand. And if Chelsea lose points then the gulf  between them and Arsenal will be 3 points at max with Arsenal having a match in hand. So today’s result was very important one for Arsenal. Amen to that. Keep Gunning for now..

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