Three Things: Arsenal Win 2-0

Arsenal trudged through a 0-0 stalemate in the first half where they dominated possession but couldn’t break through a very well-organized Crystal Palace defense. Soon after the second half kickoff, Oxlade-Chamberlain broke the deadlock with a lovely touch and finish from a clever Cazorla chip. It was his first goal since late 2012 and came in his first start in six months. In the 50^th minute, Jerome almost equalized on a header that Szczesny blocked from close range. Arsenal continued to dominate possession from here until Ox sealed the victory in the 72^nd minute after a back heel to Giroud was returned before Ox charged toward the net, pushed right and slotted past the Crystal keeper.

Arsenal thus kept up their record of clean sheets at home, now standing at six straight. They had 73% of possession, 11 shots in total with 6 on goal and 9 versus 14 fouls. They also continued their trend of beating teams outside the top six, only interrupted by the tie against Southampton last Wednesday. Now they come into the first real challenge of the second half, with games against Liverpool at Anfield, Man United at home, Liverpool in the FA Cup at home and then Bayern at the Emirates. A victory over Liverpool could secure the three-way race most see unfolding between the Gunners, City and Chelsea and a follow-up win against the struggling Man United could all but seal their fate outside the top four. A continued march in the FA Cup then stands in their way followed by an unlikely continued push in the UCL.

1. The Ox: Oxlade-Chamberlain has been the next great thing for some time now, but after a fairly impressive maiden season, he saw a drop off in form last year before the injury in the opening game that has kept him out until now. But with a performance like this, he may be able to fill-in for all the injuries and suspensions in the midfield that lacks Flamini’s leadership for two more games, Ramsey’s frenetic box-to-box play for four to six more weeks and, bizarrely, new signing Kallstrom’s steadiness and experience for at least a month (he had a back injury when he was signed on loan). Ox brings the pace missing since Walcott’s season-ending injury, a more direct attacking approach and a surprisingly steady presence in the center of the pitch.

2. Midfield Strength in Numbers: even with Flamini, Walcott, Wilshere, Ramsey and new signing Kallstrom on the sideline, Arsenal were still able to dominate Crystal’s well-organized, double-tiered line of defense that has been picking up substantially more points since Tony Pullis’ appointment. One strength of this Arsenal team is the lack of reliance on a central striker as the only source of goals – as was the case Van Persie’s last season at Arsenal. Midfielders are scoring regularly when that was not the case earlier in their career, including Wilshere chipping in goals, Ramsey having a breakout season and now Ox adding two himself. Podolski has also scored a number since returning and Walcott before his injury. It appears that the way the team sets up its attack, with Giroud an exceptional holdup and one-two player, sets these players through with chances to score that they take. Each provides a different threat and this helps keep teams off balance.

3. Defensive Fortress: Arsenal lead the league in the least number of goals conceded at home (6), number of clean sheets (11 for Sz), 9 straight hours without a goal at home and the second fewest conceded goals (1 behind Chelsea’s total of 20, without ever “parking the bus” in a game). Mertesacker and Koscielny still maintain their record of being undefeated when playing 90 minutes together for well over a year and even without Flamini in the side, only allowed Crystal one real opportunity to score. It is not only the dominant possession that makes the Gunners so strong, but the ways the entire team helps on defense and the pressing that makes it difficult for teams to build-up their attack. This is backed by the leadership of Mertesacker and Flamini on the pitch and the way the entire team seems to be disciplined in their roles across the pitch – with the exception of the games against Southampton and City. In fact, it is the major reduction in defensive errors that cost them dearly the past three seasons that has perhaps been most impressive. It will be interesting to see if they can keep it up as they run into the two tough run of fixtures that await them in the February and March.