Arsenal moved to the top of their Champions League group after a tricky 3-1 win over Olympiacos at the Emirates tonight.
Arsenal were without the ill Per Mertesacker, meaning Koscielny continued in defence alongside Thomas Vermaelen, Francis Coquelin came into midfield in place of Abou Diaby, while Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain played on the right hand side.
The away team set up defensively, to frustrate Arsenal, and it certainly worked, not helped by a succession of sloppy passes from Arsenal. Oxlade-Chamberlain had a difficult first half, not much came off for him, while the discipline of the visitors meant we found it almost impossible to create chances.
The best moment of the first half from our point of view was a free kick from wide, just on the edge of the Olympiacos box. Santi Cazorla went for it from a tight angle and forced the keeper into a good save.
The game was pretty dull but sprang to life in the last 10 minutes of the half. Firstly, Olympiacos should have been ahead when Koscielny and Vermaelen both missed a header and a cross fell to Machado inside the 6 yard box. Somehow he scooped it over the bar.
A rash Vermaelen challenge, becoming something of a trademark now, gave the Greeks a free kick in a dangerous position but the save was easy for Mannone in the end.
With just a couple of minutes of the half remaining Arsenal were ahead. A good move down the left saw Podolski pull it back, Arteta came onto it and when it broke to Gervinho the Ivorian took a touch and shot low into the far corner from the edge of the box.
That should have been enough to go in ahead but once again Arsenal were sloppy. Vermaelen’s lazy pass gave them a shooting chance from distance, and then when Oxlade-Chamberlain lost it again down the wing, Olympiacos fashioned a move for the equaliser.
A cross from our right from Mitroglou inside the area, he timed his run and jump perfectly, getting away from both centre-halves and headed into the far corner to make it 1-1. Not quite a goal they deserved to score but probably one we deserved to concede.
The second half was much better from Arsenal though and we came out much brighter. Santi Cazorla should have scored after being set up by the energetic Gervinho but skewed his shot wide from inside the box.
Gervinho then turned provider for Lukas Podolski as Arsenal went in front. He got to the end line, pulled it back for the German who turned and shot from close range, the ball going in underneath the Olympiacos keeper to make it 2-1 Arsenal.
We should have been further ahead when Laurent Koscielny headed a Mikel Arteta free kick over the bar from 6 yards but it was clear that the Gunners were making the best chances while Olympiacos were restricted to speculative efforts from distance which, if they didn’t go high or wide, hardly troubled Mannone.
Theo Walcott came on for Oxlade-Chamberlain and the England international almost set up a rampaging Thomas Vermaelen after a good ball from Cazorla only for the keeper to claim.
Giroud and Ramsey then replaced Gervinho and Podolski and the Frenchman was really unlucky not to score. Firstly, he flicked a Walcott cross towards goal only for Megyeri to make a great save, and then when set up by Cazorla his goalbound shot hit a defender in the face and deflected out for a corner.
He had a hand in the goal that sealed the game for us though, flicking on a Mannone goal kick into the path of the Aaron Ramsey. The Welshman ran on and scooped a delicious finish over the keeper to make it 3-1.
Definitely deserved on the second half performance but we’ll need to avoid the sloppiness against West Ham on Saturday. All in all, a good three points and a good reaction to that poor spell in the first half.
We just won ugly didnt we?
Aye, Ramsey put some sparkles on it tho.
Though Coquelin showed his youth a bit – he’s a good player, but still quite raw. Gave away the ball too easily in that first half. It’ll be interesting to see how Wenger handles that third midfield position.
It was definitely sub-par. On the other hand we should praise the team for grinding out a good result and eventually finish an organised Olympiakos team off.
Also quite impressed by the substitute choice and our young fullbacks!
Definitely agree on the great performances by Jenkinson and Gibbs. Those two have performed fantastic all season. Both of them very well could be starters for England.
Verm wants to do a Song everytime he plays so he can get into barca.
Every arsenal captain gets sold every summer.
Oh, Ramsey is better when he comes from the bench, or stays on the bench.
You are demented
Not quite Acropolis Now, but that’ll do nicely.
Good win but we made hard work of that, should’ve been a comfortable win. What the fuck is Verm doing with those ridiculous forward runs? He played as if it was the Champs league final and we were chasing a goal. Could’ve easily been caught out a couple of times.
Otherwise very pleased with the result. Gerv was excellent. Giroud so unlucky. Could’ve easily bagged a goal or two at the end. Hope the Coq hasn’t gone limp.
Where are all you Ramsey haters now? What a brilliant finish! Great win, we deserved to be level at the end of the half, maybe even worse, but that second half performance was excellent. We pretty much shut them down, and scored a few goals.
Mandatory terry = cunt
Not a Ramsey hater, but I’ve always maintained he’s much better as a sub. See how much more effective he was today?
So, which celebrity dies tomorrow?
Well done to the whole team, a little shaky in the first half but much better in the second.
Poor Ollie can’t catch a break, poor lad. It’ll come, chin up!
Already checking the American press for celebrity deaths !!! COYG
Heh 🙂
Here’s hoping its piers morgan, or rudolf. Or both.
Not Rudolph the Red Nosed Raindeer I hope?
My cat just died I had named it “lady gaga”……..damn you ramsey.
20 minutes, but Giroud really impressed me
10 minutes actually.
I noticed that even though he doesn’t score much and abit unlucky in terms of finishing, he does always seem to forge out a brilliant chance for himself and others around him.
He provided a nice assist for Ramsey. One of these days…
Ye agree dos’ent look like his confidence is gone and was very unlucky not to score also great header to lay on the Ramsey goal, hope he starts against west Ham
agreed. think he needs to start a game and then score. It’s a bit much to ask when he has always only 10 minutes to prove he can do it. It’s not like Gervinho converts every chance and he’s our top scorer (and really should think about a different goal celebration imao)
Haha I love his goal celebration. Though I can see it getting old.
I’d be happy to see that celebration another 30 times this season
Giroud and ramsey (most bashed arsenal players mind you) combine for an absolute beauty of a goal. Once again proving to us that giroud is useful to us and would he have started then i’m 100% sure he would have been on the score sheet. His movement inside the box is supremely astute. Enough of that, I enjoyed this win, come on you arsenal.
Think Giroud did great the last 20 minutes when he came on. Deserves a start at West Ham, I just know the goals will come!
Agreed. I wouldn’t mind seeing Gervinho take the ox’s spot on the right, with Giroud in the middle.
Also, it’s worth noting how dangerous Theo was when he came on. He played well.
That run from the middle to receive that pass from the midfield and then to have the presence to cross it to Giroud was classy!
Theo and Giroud have earned the right to be starting against West Ham. Wonderful subs.
Poor game from Ox and Coq. Feeling dangly maybe?
I agree with Theo starting, I think he deserves it for now, but there’s a dilemma whether to start Giroud or Gervinho, since one shows promise and gets into great positions, while the other has been netting quite a few goals recently. But Giroud did great today, and very unlucky not score, but he assisted Ramsey in the end, so that should up his confidence.
Theo and Giroud combined really well when they came on… But I think the forehead is unstoppable at the moment.
That should’ve been ‘undroppable’ stupid feckin autocorrect
What’s wrong with ‘unstoppable’? Both are right, he’s finishing well. Want to compare him to the Overmars/Pires of yore, but I don’t think he’s there yet.
Soon, Fivehead. Soon.
I’ll correct it for you, Forehead*
Actually it is fivehead. Normal people have foreheads
Ramsey just scored. Somone famous is about to pop it. I really hope it’s Stu Pidity
I hope Le Coq’s alright!!
His climax looked painful
Someone stupid just gave me a thumbs down, I must have hurt his feelings.
It’s Arseblog. Everyone gets thumbed down for something. They’re called “opinions”, and they make me cry.
Nah!, I don’t think it was arseblog mate. Seems like a cool dude.
Sounds like you’re the one who’s feeling got hurt.
*whose
I’m sorry. I don’t know why I do that.
Who? me? seriously???
Sorry am I hurting your feelings again?
…Problem?
I seriously have no idea what you’re getting at mate! Good win today, Have a lovely evening!
Bit of a tease, wasn’t funny. I’ll work on it. Have a good night yourself!
good second half performance but just thought Vermaelen was very sloppy coq following him. The captain need to stay rather than venture forward.
Jenkinson we dont need to say anything aftermatch about him do we.
And i love Cazorla control of the ball looks so easy to take on the opponent.
There was this moment when Cazorla was offside and managed to get the ball out of the air with his heel. I was wowed.
“Real character”
well done boys! nice to see that composed finish from ramsey. overall he’s looking confident and playing very nicely this season.
they say you can tell how good a manager is by the way the team play at the start of the second half. Well done steve bould!
Someone should just stuff a cucumber down Piers Morgan’s mouth to make him shut the fuck up
Can’t see why he’s criticizing Giroud. Olivier is class, great buy.
Does this guy ever shut up?, I mean jesus christ! this piers morgan needs to just shut up and concertrate very much on his day job.
What is his day job?
I think he practises sucking the life out of everyone with his tweets.
Discussion of that smarmy little public schoolboy cunt is banned. Arseblog, make it so…
he hacks phones mostly
Being a total bellend prolly. Tbf he does a pretty good job at it
I stopped using Twatter for football stuff , So I never hear what that cunt has to say . Lucky me
Well, make sure you get it peeled first, ok?
Thanks for the quick report as always, Blogs. Much better today from the team. Not the most convincing performance, but far and away greater than the “run towards our own goal for 45 minutes” mentality that made up the second half against Montpellier. Probably deserved to be level at half-time, definitely deserved to win it in the second half. We played much better than salford did against a worse team, and got a better result too, so happy tonight. Giroud needs some of that luck they’ve got over at the Middle Eastlands, though (cheating bastards) – very unlucky not to… Read more »
I also thought the referee was way too soft, football is a physical game somebody oughta repeat that to him nice and slow!.
The red was a total cunt. He gave us nothing tonight.
*REF fuck you iPhone, stop overruling me!!
Think the ref did allright. Not biased, perhaps a little inconsistent in what actually constitutes a foul in open play, as is common amongst the whistleblowers. Fun fact; the handball incident in Olympiakos(Yes, it is spelled with a “K”) box in the first half was as good as a blueprint of the incident where Man City got their penalty tonight. Neither situation should reward a penalty kick, of course, but there you go. Strange game, football.
Arsenal’s play showed a lack of experience in the first half, but much better in the second. Olympiacos going for it played into our hands, by opening up space for Walcott and Ramsey on the flanks. I wasn’t worried after Podolski scored as we looked like we had a grip on it. Ramsey iced the game with a goal late, which he took well, but two quick Gerrard-esque passes shortly after he came did his team no favors. If he cuts that out and plays like he did after that he’ll be much more appreciated by his team and fans.… Read more »
Carzola just makes it look so easy. When we were in a pinch and he received the ball, the pressure just melted away. Always seems to maintain the correct amount of possession without overrunning it much too. I hope Jack learns a thing or two from him.
But yeah i agree Santi can’t last 90min doing that alone. Rosicky is another one of those players who does that kind of thing well.
Lovely to see Rambo with a nice finish. I think he deserves it.
It seemed that he’d had a rollicking for being careless in possession at the weekend though, he couldn’t get rid of it quickly enough for the most part tonight!
Olympiacos set up well- player in front of back four made it difficult so well done to grab the win. Great little cameo from Rambo at the end as well, will help his confidence no end.
#PrayForPiersMorgan
Actually…Fuck that.
#PrayThatPiersGetsFrimponged
For the first 20-30mins I cursed Gervinho a thousand times…but he came good. I think Giroud did his best…you can’t fault him. …and Jenks was shining as always…COYG
Ramsey has been thrice the player that Cleverley is this season and yet the media are still wanking over mediocre Scholes wannabe.
Ramsey shouldn’t have any haters to begin with. Love you Rambo.
In unrelated news…just watched the dortmund vs man city highlights….very exciting game till city were gifted a point..and benzema scored an awesome goal for Madrid.
number of fouls against Arsenal – infinity
the ref lost me for real
Giroud was splendid! Chamberlain had a bad day,walcott nows plays like he’s tired of sitting with squillaci…Bouldie plz have a chat wiv Verm!..not impressed with his adventurez when the team is ahead..Good Lord! He made me break my remote tdy!..
What celebrity is going to die tonight then? As Rambo scored. Fucking beauty at that 🙂
Anything personal against Vermaelen ? He might get through some difficult times but still is one of the best center back of the league.
WIthout trying to sound controversial, I would disagree,
He’s a monster, and captain material, but he can be responsible for some soft goals. Don’t get me wrong; I love Verm and I’m glad to have him in the team, but sometimes he can make some baffling decisions – like tonight, running forward when he should have stayed back.
All in all, I’d say the same about Verm that I do about Walcott – whatever you think of him, I’d much rather he play for us than against us.
He may sometimes do some mistakes and I agree that his run forward tonight could have been avoided. Nevertheless, I believe he only goes through a difficult period as all players do at some time in their career. His potential to run forward / shoot well, his determination (added to his defensive abilities) make him one of the best according to me in terms of completeness.
I’d agree that his determination is often far over and above what is expected. I’m glad to have him on board, and hopefully with us for the rest of his career.
I actually prefer the Mert-Kos combo. Either way I just love to see the BFG playing! Seriously love that bloke!!
He’s got to be more disciplined.
There’s no need for him to go charging forward with 5 minutes to go and us winning 2-1. If we needed a goal, ok, but not in those situations.
I think verm understood the importance of a third goal and that might have motivated his marauding forward runs. Needs to be more careful though.
Blogs, if you’re still reading, quick question – do you think he should be captain?
I love the guy, but I’m leaning toward Mikel being the one to lead them out.
I would have given it to Arteta but I can see why Vermaelen got it.
I would have chosen Arteta over Verms, too, because he’s a consistent starter, doesn’t make many mistakes, has experience and I can’t see him ever getting benched.
Verms, on the other hand, could easily find his spot snatched away by Kos or Per, thanks to his bouts of sloppy play. But you can’t really give the captaincy to Arteta when Verms has been with us longer, and is a fan favorite. (Also a good leader.)
He’s our third best cb. He should rotate with bfg. Arteta for captain.
Mikkeym – I love Vermaelen too, great character and he gives his all. But that doesn’t mean he’s beyond criticism. Those two crazy forward runs he made when we were 2-1 up and looking comfortable were irresponsible. We very nearly gave possession away in midfield the second time and it wouldn’t been a dangerous situation, with a centre back in the opposition’s half. I was fuming at that point, it’s a risk that he shouldn’t even be thinking of taking.
Giroud actually did well to divert that ball to ramsey, a certain mr. robin would have raised his arms way up in the air as if to wave to his family on the stands. Thankyou giroud. He may not be scoring but he’s getting us some crucial goals.
how glad I’m I that the trolls will get off Ramsey’s back.Get Lost!!!
Piers Morgan laying into Giroud at every opportunity, what a cunt
Come on you Gunners!!!!!
Giroud def needs a few starts and im sure he will get some goals. He was on 10 minutes and had a few chances already. His positioning is great. Theo was bright too. I wish he knew he makes a much bigger impact coming off the bench. We could’ve done better. Nonetheless it is a win.
Girouds layoff to Rambo was good..we will need him and BFG for the hammers physical play.
Chambo was not at his best today, has to be said. Didn’t connect most of his passes and many of them were quite predictable. Le coq needs to relax when on the ball, just turn make a simple pass and keep doing that till an opennig presents itself. Arteta is god at this. Cazorla just makes it all look real easy, pulls it back with his left and passes with his right. On the Second half I felt the half time team talk really came through, we kept pressing and it was also nice to see early substitutions unlike the… Read more »
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Lukas Podolski ,he scores when we wants!!!
Please let it be Robbie Savage who meets Ramsey’s goal curse
My top five for Ramsey to kill:
1.Fergie
2. The Dutch Skunk
3. Na$ri
4. Piers Morgan
5.Robbie Savage
Honourable mentions: Adebaywhore, Cashley, Terry
How in the world did you forget Joey Barton?
True, although I did write that list straight off the bat. I think Barton could move into 4th, although I would prefer him to move in front of a bus…
Good result, average performance but alas, 3 points in the bag.
The subs were great and all offered something to the game.
My concern lately, and it has been mentioned, is Vermaelen and his bombing forward. It’s irresponsible and has the potential to cause us unnecessary pressure.
Bould needs to grab him by the ear and say listen mate, you are welcome to get forward on corners and freekicks.BUT IF YOU BOMB FORWARD IN OPEN PLAY I WILL BITE YOUR COCK OFF.
Fucking ramse.. Oh wait..
Anyway i think verm wants to do a song everytime he plays so he can get into barca.
Every arsenal captain gets sold every summer, right?
Thumbs down, iloveyou
We dont fucking love you, you twat!. Ramseys goal should have killed off your interntlet privilleges!
I hope you get frimponged in your sleep.
Was the Emirates incredibly quiet or is it just me? The home crowd needs to be more audible… I thought the greek fans overpowered us this night at regular intervals… Not cool at all.
That’s mostly because of our sloppy play and they way they overpowered us in the pitch at regular intervals…but mostly only in the first half.
Verm going forward is fantastic ! We need to attack. When your CB attacks a few times a game he usually catches the other team by surprise. Just have Gibbs rotate over when he sees it no big deal at all. How many times is Gibbs going forward? Just rotate for those 2-6 times a game Verm Or Kos goes forward. Mixing it up is good!
you said it, it’s fine if there’s cover but it never looks like he organises with someone to cover him, looks like he just charges off and if theres no cover or the players around arent aware it can fuck us.
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