A typical Jekyll and Hyde performance for the Arsenal resulting in a 2-2 draw away to Swansea and the prospect of a replay at the Emirates. After falling behind we managed to get the lead heading into the final minutes of normal time before Swansea managed to level things up. Lets get into the game.
The Good
We looked very good going forward in the second half. The passing was quite crisp and the movement from the front 3 was good. Poldi scored a very well taken goal after he came on for Rambo.
A really good performance from Gibbo going forward which was rewarded with a cracking volley after a 1-2 with Giroud put him in. reminiscent of Poldi’s goal in the Champions League.
The effort of Jack Wilshere in the middle of the park was really good to see. The young lad really does get through an awful lot of work and seems to cover an unreal amount of distance. I’d love to see the stats in comparison to the other midfielders in the Premiership.
Szcz looked good in goal and dealt well with everything that was asked of him. Couldn’t fault him for either goal in my opinion.
The Bad
Sagna was poor for me today. He has looked slightly out of sorts in recent weeks and I wonder if Jenks would have played today had he been available for selection.
The entire first half was very uninspiring. The malaise that was present in the Southampton performance seemed to have carried over into todays game for the first 45 minutes.
Cazorla was MIA for much of the game. As against Southampton he didn’t seem to be featuring very much as an attacking creative force. Most of his play seemed to be in the middle of the park with Arteta. Hasn’t been at his best for the past month bar the Newcastle game.
Arsene Wenger – I thought the selection of the team to begin with was poor. I have time for Aaron Ramsey and thought he played quite decent today but he is never going to be a left winger. Surely we could have shifted Santi out with and played Rosicky from the start. We didn’t see the Ox at any time today and the first substitution didn’t happen until the 71st minute despite being the goal down.
The Ugly
Our defending is an insult to the most basic of Sunday league teams at times. Merte was too easily beaten by Michu(who else!!) for the first and Kozza was too far out of position to cover for him. The second came about from a set piece of course and our failure to clear the ball let Danny Graham finish at the back post.
The two goals apart, Swansea created numerous chances and just seemed to have far too much time on the ball. Surely the pressing game we saw deployed so effectively at times last season should be used against the Swans, it always seems to work for other teams against us.
The draw for the fourth round was made after the game and we have been drawn away to Brighton should we get through. Much like our Bradford quarter this a game we should win on paper. Lets manage to get past the Welsh club and have a real go at the FA Cup this season.
Come On You Gunners!!!
