Arsenal Wins Ugly; Man U with a Little Help From a Friend

Arsenal won a tough 1-0 victory at home over QPR that might just have saved the season. The losses to Norwich and Schalke last week had the squad in dire straights and on the brink of seeing the positive energy the early season had elicited dry up. The win Saturday was less than convincing and only came as the result of a missed offsides call on Arteta as he headed the ball into the frame before kicking it in onsides after the rebound. But it was arguably a deserved victory, almost taken away in the last five minutes by two gilded chances gone missing by QPR. With Wilshire back in the fold, the Gunners looked dangerous at times, but are still having trouble putting the ball in the net -- or even creating quality chances. What happened during the international break? It is hard to say really, but Cazorla has not quite been up to his early form, we seem to miss Diaby in the middle, Ramsey is regressing to his silly back heals, runs away from goal and flubbed opportunities, Gervinho seems to have lost a step and we miss the quality crosses from Gibbs down the left flank (Arshavin showed that he might still be our best crosser). Watching the game, it is clear we need another striker up front, as Gervinho is not the man for the job and Giroud is just not getting the job done. Hopefully, we can nab Llorente or some other striker in the the January window and pick up enough points until then to keep ourselves at the edge of the race. 

Next weekend will be a huge game, as even a point will show the EPL that Arsenal can in fact compete. It is a big ask, but the wide open style Man U has played this year could play into our hands. The question will be whether we can keep Van Persie and Rooney from tearing up our back line. It is true that we have looked shaky on defense at times, but we do have the best defensive record in the EPL at present. That's right -- Arsenal have the best defensive record in the EPL! We already have four clean sheets this season and have only ceded two goals once all year (against Chelsea). Many of the goals we have given up have been sloppy, including the two against Chelsea. The main problem right now is putting the ball in the net. We had two against Liverpool, six against Southhampton and three against West Ham, but have managed one or zero in our six other matches. That profligacy in front of goal has cost us countless points already this year and put us on the brink of already being out of the title race (which Sir Ferguson was happy to confirm in an interview last week). Yet a surprise win at Old Trafford Saturday would put us right back in the thick of things. And the return of Wilshire certainly has lifted spirits at the Emirates. 

The question that now emerges is what is our optimal starting 11. Hopefully, Szczesny is back soon, as I'm still unimpressed with Manone, even as he has done an adequate job starting for us. While Jenkinson has acquitted himself well, I think we saw the benefit of Sagna as our right back and there is no question Gibbs is a far superior option to the slow (and often clueless) Santos. In the middle of defense, I think Mertesacker has claimed one of the two spots next to Vermaelen, though I hope to see Kos challenging for that spot again soon. Moving to the midfield, things get a little more muddled. Diaby deserves to get back in the lineup upon his return from injury, at least in some games. His feathery touch, driving runs and decent shot have been sorely missed in my estimation. Arteta is indispensable and will continued to start, probably in the middle pushing back to defend. I like Oxlade-Chamberlain over Ramsey, but Wenger seems to disagree. Then we have Wilshire and Cazorla to find spots for. I wonder if moving Cazorla to the wing is really the best option, but I suppose Wilshire will want to play down the middle. In the front, I think Gervinho is more effective as a winger, that Giroud and Podolski can both slot in in the middle and that Walcott (unless he's gone soon), Cazorla or Chamberlain can play on the right (Gervinho obviously can play there as well). We actually have a lot of options right now, but maybe the best is as follows ...

Szczesny
Sagna   Mertesacker  Vermaelen  Gibbs
Arteta 
Diaby Wilshire (or Cazorla)
Cazorla (Chamberlain/Walcott) Giroud  Podolski (or Gervinho)

Obviously Ramsey doesn't fit in here, but he can be a sub, can play for Diaby when he is injured, or on either wing (though I'm not terribly convinced by him on either side of the pitch). One can see why we could let Walcott go with these selection issues, but he seems to be finishing better than anyone on the squad right now. Cazorla has had two lovely goals, but really could have had five or six more, including one last weekend when he had an open shot at either corner. One of our midfielders is going to have to come good with some goals, whether it is Chamberlain, Diaby, Wilshire or Cazorla. Right now we rely too much on the front three and they aren't getting the job done. Podolski still puts in good shifts, but he doesn't seem to be creating or getting in scoring positions as effectively as he did early. And to reiterate my point from earlier, Giroud just isn't living up to the billing and we need more support. Watching Mirallas play for Everton, I have to say he could have really helped the team this year, but que sera sera. 

As to the other games this weekend, two Sunday were decided by poor refereeing (and ours as well, though Gooners will not apologize after all the bad calls we have suffered in recent years). The first was the Liverpool-Everton game, which should have been won by Liverpool at the death but for an absurd offsides call. From what I read, the referee took his time in making the decision and one wonders if Suarez's reputation didn't hurt the team once again. It was an awful call and really inexplicable. But maybe a draw was fair, as Suarez could very well have seen red for a nasty foul on Distin. In the other game, the marquis contest of the weekend, Chelsea was wronged not once, but twice after drawing even from 2-0 down. The first was a ridiculous sending off of Torres for a "dive" after he was clipped. The second was a missed offsides call on the Hernandez goal that gave United the win. On top of these two clear errors were several questionable free kick choices, a missed yellow or two against Man United and post-match concerns that he might have racially abused both Obi and Mata. Mark Clattenburg is not immune to controversy and, in fact, seems to cultivate it. He made the ridiculous call of a goal when Nani stole the ball from Tottenham keeper Gomes on a dead ball in 2010. In 2007, he appeared to listen to Liverpool's captain Gerrard before turning a yellow into a red against Everton defender Tony Hibbert. And he has been charged with shady business dealings in the past. Hopefully, he will soon be out of the game. But as is too often the case, Manchester United got another TWO decisions that could prove decisive in the title race. It is utterly ridiculous how often this happens and one has to believe that the way Fergie bullies the refs has an influence. Games should be decided on the pitch by the players, not by the refs. The good news, of course, is it moves the Gunners closer to the leaders, but one certainly does tire of the ways Man U wins games ... with a little help from their friends.