Gunner Watch : Gunners to visit the Citizens with an advantage!

Frankie Lampard's penalty on Monday night was a big goal.

Not only did it ensure Man City's fall and the end to their unbeaten record (and any chances of coming even close to the Invincibles), it also gave us a huge advantage going into Sunday's game.

If you recall, a couple of weeks back, Arsenal's youth team almost beat the Citizens in the Carling Cup. A midfield comprising of Frimpong and Coquelin with the experienced Bennayoun almost broke through the City midfield which had players like Nasri and our young defense fiercely resisted sharp runs by Aguero and co.

Now, it was more of luck than Man City deserving that win the other night, but well, what's gone is gone. My entire point on mentioning that night's match was to prove a simple point - Citizens are beatable. Chelsea did it this Monday and so can we. All we need is a good game plan and In Arsene, we trust. Now don't we?

Chelsea's modus operandi wasn't all that complicated. They pressed hard for the ball, poured men on counter attacks and kept doing so for large spells in the match. It won't be that difficult for Arsenal to keep the ball, given our style of play. Pressing is not a problem with van Persie's supreme run of form. However, all that said, it won't be a walk in the park either.

As we saw in the last match, having four center backs will obviously give us a much needed advantage in attacking and defending set pieces. With news coming in on Santos about his injury, it is quite difficult to not imagine Arsenal going in with the same makeshift back-4 similar to last week.

Now this game, given its gravity is sure to set Wenger thinking. As usual, don't expect Arsenal to man-mark. Wenger definitely won't let that happen and endanger Arsenal playing on the backfoot. Against their midfield threats of Nasri and Silva, the only change we might expect is both Song and Arteta playing a little deeper into our half. Dzeko, Aguero and Balotelli have all been in a good run of form recently and it might be a blessing in disguise to play 4 center backs.

Silva and Nasri play creative passes so we need a compact back line, something which center-backs do well. That was why I mentioned about the blessing in disguise. With a compact back line and Arteta and Song sitting on top of them, we will be better placed to hide gaps and prevent Aguero or Balotelli to make those threatening runs they made with a wide Chelsea defense on Monday.

Besides the defense, don't think there will be much change in the front four either. Lol, who can replace RvP at the moment? Gervinho and Walcott on either sides and Ramsey supporting RvP. With Micah Richards out and Gael Clichy suspended, they'll be forced to play second choice full backs. Don't expect them to stretch the game much and our wingers can take advantage of their lack of match practice. We might as well expect Chamakh playing a role this Sunday if scores are against us by the hour mark.

A likely replacement of Walcott with Rosicky / Arshavin and Gervinho with Chamakh might be on the cards. If Wenger decides to take it to City, we might see Song making way for Chamakh to play a nice little 4-1-3-1. Bennayoun might also be making yet another appearance in the later stages of the game.

Expect a match filled with crosses and we trying to stretch the game while preventing them from doing so. A lot of through balls - hope Ramsey weighs his balls to Walcott and Gervinho's runs better than against Everton. We won't probably see a spectacle like RvP's one against Everton, but it will take a GOOD goal to beat Joe Hart. Last year, same fixture we had won 3-0 and Bendtner was a surprise name in the scoresheet.

Here's hoping for a crushing Arsenal victory. 55-45 to Arsenal at the moment
My prediction : 2-1 or 1-0 for Arsenal.

Gunner Watch : 125th Year celebrations and 3 good points.

Wenger started the game with a formidable 11. Injuries to all four recognizable full backs meant Arsenal had to start with 4 center-backs. Predictably, Vermaelen switched over to the left and Djourou played down the right.

The game came against a backdrop of Arsenal’s 125^th anniversary celebration and the Gunners took to the field to a sea of red and white, including the big Gunner legends from the last four decades. As usual, Arsenal started the game pretty aggressively with Walcott and Gervinho making fine runs throughout the first 45. Ramsey saw a lot of the ball but wasted two golden opportunities with over-weighted through balls to both the wingers.

Robin van Persie, on the brink of smashing the record for the highest number of goals in a calendar year, was a disappointment in the first 45 but he did exactly what was needed when it mattered most.

On the whole, we played well and there were plenty of positives to be taken out from the match. A clean sheet never harms the confidence of the defenders. Besides that, both Gervinho and Walcott showed excellent form and sharpness throughout the match and is a great positive going into next weekend’s match against City.

Ramsey’s confidence on the ball was visible and good to see. Arteta performed well as usual against his former side. The Toffees  started the game confidently but were soon put on the backfoot as Arsenal pressed on. Despite the huge number of chances first half ended 0-0.

That was just the build-up to the second half as Arsenal pressed on the gas and shifted gears to a more attacking form. Both Ramsey and Arteta pushed up more and Song played considerably well infront of the center backs. He showed excellent presence of mind going up too.

On the whole, it was a good performance and 3 points undoubtedly, well deserved.

Some negatives did creep up. Crosses from the full backs or the wingers lacked quality. The occasional cross did catch the eye but they were either too close to Howard or were cut down by the first defender.

Despite Ramsey’s confidence, he did miss out on a few opportunities. Walcott’s decision making before the goal also came under sharp criticism from the commentary team when he let go of an easy opportunity trying to be provider in front of the goal, but made up for that with absolute brilliance in the early part of the second half.

Everton had a few good chances of their own in the early part of the second half with Cahill and Phil Neville coming close but Vermaelen’s marking and Szszesny’s alertness saw us through the little phase of Everton’s dominance.

Having 4 center backs had its own advantage as we poured in the big lads for every corner and set piece. Another positive which came out of the match was the way the team dealt with the frustration of not being able to break the dead lock with patience and intense work rate.

Picture Courtesy - Yahoo! Sports UK

Come 70^th minute and a moment of sheer skill and ability saw Captain Fantastic seal yet another goal and the victory for Arsenal. Song turned provider and I don't think there was a better goal van Persie scored this season. With that he notched up 33 goals this calendar year and is 2 away from the elusive record!

With next week’s much important fixture in mind, this performance shall give us some indication of what we can look forward to. David Moyes had arranged a very attacking formation for Everton,  probably due to our apparent defensive weakness  but Djourou and Vermaelen filled in the void more than satisfactorily.

A 1-0 scoreline isn’t what you normally associate with Arsenal but we’ll take it. With those 3 points, we have broken into the top 4 for the first time this season. Just a small indication of the level of improvement, Arsenal had accumulated 7 points in their first 7 games and have since then managed an impressive 22 out of 24.

Up next, Man City away next Sunday. Predictions?