Category: General

There´s a London derby in Store for Arsenal on today as the Gunners look to get back to winning ways when they welcome Crystal Palace to the Emirates Stadium.

Arsene Wenger saw his men slip to second in the Premier League midweek as the team only secured a draw on the road to Southampton. However, Arsenal had won their previous five league games and remains unbeaten in seven Premier League games. While Wenger will be pleased that his team has that solid record, he will want to get the three points over a struggling Crystal Palace and will see anything less as a disaster.

With Manchester City now top and looking formidable, the Arsenal team is playing catch up for the first time in months and Wenger will know any further hiccups could prove disastrous. To keep the squad fresh the French tactician added veteran Spartak Moscow midfielder Kim Kallstrom to bolster his options in the middle of the park. Unfortunately, Kallstrom picked up a back injury during his first day with the club and will be missing for at least a few weeks, ruling him out of a club debut in this match.

While fans will be frustrated that the club let another window go by without spending, Wenger will feel his current crop of players has enough to down Palace at home. Tony Pulis has settled the club since becoming manager but the team is still short of goals (just 15 this season in the Premier League) and there are tough times ahead with clashes against top of the table teams on the horizon.

With Palace finding it tough and Arsenal getting into the winning habit, this should be an easy three points for the Gunners, and anything but a comfortable victory would be a disappointment.

Arsenal travel to the south coast on Tuesday night to take on Southampton at the St Mary´s Stadium, for what promises to be a tough challenge for the Gunners. While the Saints have struggled to maintain their blistering early season form, Mauricio Pochettino has a well organized team that plays attractive football, so Arsenal could have a test on their hands.

However, there are plenty of omens playing into Arsene Wenger´s hands when he sends his team out to the field. Firstly, Arsenal are playing 24 hours before their main title rivals, giving the team a chance to extend its advantage at the top of the Premier League. There is also the small fact that the Gunners are unbeaten in their last nine against Southampton (a run that stretches back to 2002).

It has been a difficult week for the south coast club as chief executive Nicola Cortese was dismissed and then Dani Osvaldo clashed with Jose Fonte on the training ground. Arsenal will look to take advantage of the tension and unease surrounding the Saints at the moment, while if any team can make the most of Southampton´s open style it is the North London club.

Pochettino will call back the often dangerous Ricky Lambert and goalkeeper Artur Boric, but will be without Gaston Ramirez and Dejan Lovren who suffer from ankle injuries. Things are looking better for Wenger as aside from the long term absence of Theo Walcott, the Frenchman seems to be getting his key players back just in time for the run in to the end of the season.

Aaron Ramsey, Mikel Arteta and Thomas Vermaelen will hopefully be back to the squad, but are not expected to start, while Wojciech Szczesny and Olivier Giroud should come back into the starting 11 after sitting on the bench against Coventry in the cup. Jack Wilshere though will not make the trip as he struggles to recover from a knock to his ankle.

Arsenal swept Coventry City aside in a routine FA Cup Fourth Round win that sent the team through to the next stage of the competition.

A first half brace and goals from rested substitutes Oliver Giroud and Santi Carzola helped Arsenal to a cruising 4-0 victory in a match that was never in doubt. Arsene Wenger named a strong starting lineup that included Jenkinson, Mertesacker, Koscielny, and Gibbs in defence, and Wilshere, Ozil, and Podolski in attack. The Frenchman also handed rare starts to number 2 Fabianski and striker Bendtner, while Oxlade-Chamberlain made a first start since injuring his knee on the opening day of the season.

The Gunners started the game with intent and in the opening exchanges both Jack Wilshere and Lukas Podolski went close. The home team looked in the mood and any lingering tension inside the Emirates was quashed when Podolski rounded Coventry stopper Joe Murphy in the 15^th minute to slot home at an angle.

The German doubled his tally and Arsenal´s lead in the 27^th minute when he headed home a Per Mertesacker flick on from an Ozil corner. A goal made in Germany indeed.

Coventry´s tough season (the club was deducted 10 points at the start of the campaign) was highlighted by the 5,000 strong away contingent as they protested the club moving from its home in Coventry to play at Northampton for home games. It was perhaps an ideal time to offer their thoughts on the subject with the TV cameras in attendance.

The Gunners continued to press throughout the first 45 minutes, with Podolski close to completing a hat-trick, but ultimately the score remained at 2-0 as the teams headed to the changing rooms at halftime.

16-year old midfield prospect Gedion Zelalem was handed his Arsenal debut when he replaced Oxlade-Chamberlain with 20 minutes left, while Cazorla replaced Bendtner in the same exchange. While Coventry found the odd opening to test Fabianski, the home team was comfortable at 2-0, but put gloss on the victory in the closing stages.

Giroud replaced Ozil and quickly found the net to make it 3-0 after 84 minutes, while Cazorla made it 4 with a neat finish from a Murphy parry from Gibbs´ shot.

Santi Cazorla hit twice in the second half to give Arsenal a comfortable if unspectacular victory over Fulham. It was another indifferent performance from the Gunners but the team had more than enough to see off a Fulham team that has struggled this season, especially away from home. While the fans in the Emirates would love to see Arsenal at full flow, there are encouraging signs to be taken from a team not playing to its full potential but still winning.

Indeed, in many respects Arsenal never had to get out of first gear as Fulham represented an easy target, with the Cottagers never claiming a win in any competition at Arsenal. However, it was a frustrating first half for the players as they struggled to complete their usual fluent style of passing. Although, with Fulham barely registering a threat during the first 45 minutes, Arsenal were content to have the most of possession and await an opportunity.

… That came in the second half as Arsenal emerged with much more impetuous, going close when Jack Wilshere combined with Mesut Ozil to put the German international through down the right side of the penalty area. Ozil sent a scuffed shot wide of the flailing arms of Fulham stopper Maarten Stekelenburg only to see Brede Hangeland (back after a four month layoff) clear the danger.

Arsenal continued to press but were met by a determined group of Fulham players, with Oliver Giroud blasting over when presented with a chance on the edge of the box. Fulham only offered the odd foray forward, such as a Steve Sidwell volley that forced an acrobatic save from Wojciech Szczesny. Despite that reminder, Arsenal were in control and the Emirates faithful could sense a goal coming.

The breakthrough came in the 57^th minute when the impressive Cazorla was the recipient of some neat work by Wilshere and Giroud. The Spaniard collected the ball from Giroud in a busy area and drilled a low shot into the bottom right corner to give the home team the lead and to calm any nerves emanating around the Emirates.

The lead was doubled five minutes later when Nacho Monreal´s cross was headed away by Burn, but the clearance could only find the feet of Cazorla. The midfielder wasted no time in driving a quality shot low into the Fulham net to give Arsenal a 2-0 lead after 62 minutes. While Fulham pressed sporadically to get back into the game Arsenal spent the last half hour or the match hunting a third, although it never came.

The Gunners helped themselves to a routine away win over Aston Villa on Monday evening to reclaim the top spot in the Barclays Premier League. A quick-fire first half double put Arsenal in control and despite a late rally from Villa the team saw out the match and came away with three points.

Arsene Wenger has not tasted defeat at Villa Park since 1998 but had to endure an indifferent second half from his troops as they made tough work of an Aston Villa team in woeful home form. Having said that, the Gunners were not unduly worried by the home team during the opening 45-minutes as Wozniak Szczesny had little to do. Bacary Sagna had plenty of space down the right in the early exchanges and whipped in some dangerous looking balls that ultimately came to nothing, despite Oliver Giroud glancing one header beyond the post.

Villa were feeding off scraps and had yet again set up on the counter attack at home. Relying on pace the home team was mostly cut out when breaking forward, although Fabian Delph did drive a shot wide of the Arsenal goal and Karim El Ahmadi volleyed over to give the North London club a timely reminder that the game was still in the balance. Villa´s Nathan Baker took a Gnabry shot full in the face and lay idle on the floor as medics attended to him, stopping the game for six minutes. The news is good for Baker as he has concussion and went to hospital as a precaution.

Arsenal finally made a breakthrough on the 34^th minute with a well worked goal. Mesut Ozil cut the Villa defense with a quality pass that found Nacho Monreal down the left and the Spaniard in turn found Jack Wilshere in the area. The England man controlled neatly and clinically found the bottom corner to give Arsenal a 1-0 lead.

The match had barely restarted when Arsenal doubled their lead thanks to Wilshere´s lofted ball to Giroud. The Frenchman grabbed his 12^th goal of the campaign with a tidy finish into the roof of the net to give the Gunners a 2-0 advantage after 45 minutes.

In the second half the game continued in the same vein but now Villa looked more dangerous on their forays forward, but Arsenal remained a goal threat at the other end. Monreal was cut out in timely fashion by Villa captain Ron Vlaar but was hurt in the challenge and was replaced by Kieran Gibbs after trying to shake off the problem.

Villa´s danger man Christian Benteke was having a quiet night but on the 74^th minute the Belgian pounced to claw one back for the hosts and to make the last 25 minutes tight. A bouncing awkward cross from Matt Lowton was met by a diving Benteke who headed into the far post to give Villa hope. The game went into another gear as the tempo went up and so did the tension, with Villa pursuing a second goal but unable to get it as Arsenal held on to take the points and 1^st place in the league.

Two Goals from Santi Cazorla (31′) and Tomas Rosicky (61′) help Arsenal beat Tottenham 2-0 in the FA Cup.

Watch the best moments in the game in the video below:

Video Highlights

Arsene Wenger reaction

Match Details

Date: 4 January, 2014 (17.15)
Stadium: Emirates Stadium, London
Referee- Mark Clattenburg
Attendance: ~60,000
Arsenal Starting Line-up: Fabianski, Sagna, Vermaelen, Koscielny, Monreal, Arteta, Wilshere, Rosicky, Cazorla, Gnabry, Walcott
Spurs Starting Line-up: Lloris, Walker, Chiriches, Dawson, Rose, Lennon, Bentaleb, Dembele, Eriksen, Adebayor, Soldado