Arsenal: Cech, Bellerin, Gabriel, Mertesacker, Gibbs, Chambers, Ramsey, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Ozil, Walcott, Giroud
Subs: Ospina, Iwobi, Monreal, Debuchy, Koscielny, Campbell, The Jeff
—
Arsenal went top of the Premier League after goals from Gabriel and Mesut Ozil gave them a 2-0 win over Bournemouth at the Emirates Stadium this evening.
Arsene Wenger made four changes from the team that lost to Southampton with Kieran Gibbs and Gabriel replacing Laurent Koscielny and Nacho Monreal in the back four; Calum Chambers coming into midfield in place of Mathieu Flamini; and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain handed a start in the wide positions ahead of Joel Campbell.
The first attempt on goal came from the visitors with King providing little more than catching practice for Petr Cech, and Aaron Ramsey had to defend well when a low cross from the Bournemouth left caused problems at our near post.
Bournemouth looked well up for it, Arsenal a bit careless on the ball and off the pace, but there was a great chance to go ahead in the 24th minute when Mesut Ozil’s brilliant pass found Theo Walcott’s run, but with just the keeper to beat and the ball dropping over his shoulder, he missed the ball completely.
The German has been the Gunners creative hub this season, so it was no surprise that he added another assist to his tally after Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s strong running won a corner in the 27th minute. Ozil curled it in to a dangerous area and Gabriel got ahead of his marker and thumped a header into the top corner for his first ever Arsenal goal. 1-0.
Ramsey picked up a 31st minute yellow card for stopping a Bournemouth break despite the fact Harry Arter was not booked for the exact same kind of foul earlier in the game, giving rise to the belief – in my head anyway – that the referee was a baldy annoying prick.
The lead was almost doubled in the 34th minute from another corner. Again Ozil delivered, Gabriel flicked a header to the far post, it rebounded off the post, fell to Mertesacker and it bounced wide off his forehead from 2 yards out. Moments later Ozil was provider again, this time for Walcott but he saw his shot saved by Boruc.
Bournemouth continued to look shaky from corners and set-pieces with Ozil’s delivery dangerous throughout. There were shouts for a late penalty but the baldy prick was having none of it, as Arsenal finished the first period strongly and took the 1-0 lead with them as the referee blew the half-time whistle.
Bournemouth made a change at the break, bringing on Junior Stanislas for Mark Pugh, and there was early danger when King beat the offside trap but his low cross was blocked by Gabriel who had busted a gut to get back into the right area.
Eddie Howe’s enjoyed a bright spell in terms of possession with Arsenal forced to sit off and defend, but in the 63rd minute the lead was doubled and it was only fair that Ozil was the man to get the goal.
Arsenal drove down the right, Ozil picked it up, drove towards goal, played it to Giroud who flicked a beautiful first time pass back to him. He took a touch then finished with aplomb beyond the keeper. A truly awesome goal, from a truly awesome player. 2-0.
Giroud saw a shot saved by Boruc, Cech had make a stop from Ritchie, and Ozil set up Giroud for a good chance in he 80th minute but his effort on his right foot was tired. That was his last action as Arsene Wenger made his first change, bringing on Joel Campbell to replace the French international.
There was danger from O’Kane as the young Irishman curled a shot over the Arsenal bar, before Nacho Monreal came on to replace Gibbs who was suffering from cramp.
A fine counter-attacking move from the Gunners saw Oxlade-Chamberlain hit the post, agony for the England man who could really use a goal. At the other end Stanislas shot wide as Bournemouth looked for a way back, and there was late danger when Cech made a save.
There was also another chance created by Ozil as he set up Walcott with just Boruc to beat, but the England man’s touch was heavy and his shot easily stopped.
It didn’t matter though, we bounced back from the Southampton defeat to top the table, a nice place to be in, and the clean sheet meant a new record for Petr Cech.
A much better day than Saturday, that’s for sure. We play again in the new year.
Easy does it! Well done boys
Congratulations are in order for Cech, even if he wore shit on his shirt for a lot of those cleansheets. So glad to have him!
Chambers and Theo were really good today… Ozil is as always good. Another game another Ozist, another goal. Happy for Cech and his record. Well played Arsenal.
I believe good is an understatement for Ozil. I wished the game could go on for another 90 minutes just to watch him play.
Maybe that’s why Arsene never took him off.
Not to mention Ozil must have the patience of a saint – he could have easily grabbed half a dozen assists today had others been able to put it in the back of the net.
Agree fully that Ozil could have had assistss (plural of assists).
How come Arseblog has the video link of one of Theo’s frustrating misses and none of Per’s or Olivier’s misses??
I did link to Per’s miss!
Later on, yes for Per. Just some good fun anyway
Or is assists the plural of assist?
It is also…
if you watch him – particularly for the little chip through to theo on the right, he throws his hands up in frustration when one of his ‘caviar passes’ (7AM Kick Off) goes to waste.
can you believe we have alexis to come back to ace n to those passes?
Saint Francis of Assisti, no doubt.
Weldone lads… Couldnt have asked for anything better.. #Topoftheleague.. Wenger shouldn’t be scared of switching things up a bit when needed.
Oh and Chelsky are within 3 points of relegation
Actually, I was longing for him to be subbed from about 70th minute on. He’s exhausted, he’s our key guy, and wtf, we don’t need any more injuries!
I like Gabriel a lot, especially his “get your foot away or i rip it off” tackles. MotM Ozil then Gabriel imo.
You could see how much that goal meant to him. Love his passion and commitment!
And well taken thumper.
Gabriel Gabriel Gabriel what a player!! And chambers was wow! The intensity in his pressing was brilliant. I think he should keep that position till Coquelin comes back. Based on his performance today and that of flamini on Saturday.. i think he just pushed flamini down the stairs! I meant pecking order 😉
And he doesn’t look a ponce like the £30 million chappy at city
Yes, Ozil MotM for sure, followed by Gabriel. And Theo and Chambers and Ox did well too. But no one is talking about that ridiculous flick from Giroud. WTF was that – some kind of magic from another world? He does this game after game, but he just does not get the credit. It was first time, perfectly weighted, off the outside of his heel. Just ridiculous.
Giroud subbed in the 80th minute. Sometimes it really feels like Arsene just doesn’t give a shit about my fantasy team.
I thought he was looking tired for about 10 minutes up to that point, so I could understand it.
Shame we couldn’t have gotten a third goal so that Ozil could get subbed, but you can’t have everything.
Very decent showing from Chambers in the centre I thought. He was everywhere, in a good way.
I’d be interested to see his passing stats – I can’t remember many unsuccessful passes for him today.
His distribution in particular, was surprisingly good, almost Arteta-esque. Released the Ox a couple of times with really nice passes and there was one brilliant one to Giroud in the second half.
Agreed, and managed to turn defence into attack a few times very quickly today as well.
Very nice bounce back by our boys. Congrats to Czech wall on his record, MoM Ozil/Gabriel.
Ozil Motm… no one was even close
Gabriel made some critical tackles, I thought. No denying Ozil had a great game though.
“90+1 No Jeff, Iwobi”
Wenger Out!
Say we…are… top of the league, say we are top of the league!! Happy days. COYG
THAT BALL COULD HAVE KILLED HIM
Yes, I was pleased that Mertsacker didn’t hurt his own when the ball bounced off wide.
I think this team may have something? Well played!
Well, that was nice. Honestly though guys, I don’t think I’ve ever quite seen a player create as many chances as Ozil did today; I’m pretty sure it was greater than 10. Congratulations to Big Man Petr, and kudos to you Gabriel. Ozil’s wonderful goal was a great reward for his MOTM performance
Also, I’d been thinking; St. Mary’s Stadium is a bit like Stamford Bridge. Terrible officiating, and we just seem to play extremely poorly, or are terribly unlucky.
Shame Theo decided to borrow his shooting boots from a clown today otherwise Ozil could’ve bagged a couple more assists.
Weird, considering I thought Theo actually played quite well.
I thought Theo was poor, should have scored a couple really considering the deliveries he got.
But hey, we won.
I should qualify that by saying I thought he was poor up front, he did work hard defensively as he has in recent games, which is good to see.
Yes well blogs, you always think Walcott was poor
Are you saying he’s an option at fullback?
haha, not quite
To be fair, I think my statement should have been “…played quite well otherwise”. Pretty dreadful night for him in front of goal. If we hadn’t won I’d have probably blamed him!
You really don’t rate Theo do you Blogs…??
To me it looks like Theo has turned up the commitment this season especially the last few matches in which he has worked defensively like he hasn’t since the match vs shit that did his ACL.
I’m guessing just about everyone here thought he should have had a couple today but really, how many matches have we thought that of HFB and many others?
If missing a couple chances in a dominant win = poor despite the rest of his game being acknowledged as decent, isn’t that a bit harsh?
gunners on top.now let’s concentrate on staying there till may.coyg.
Gabriel is such a beast! Deserves to start a lot more than he does.
the entire tv crew should be banned from covering all future arsenal matches for screening unnecessary prolong off-field footages when action on the pitch are still ongoing
Yes, agreed! Irritating twats, they were!
Yoda’s grammar, you have
Are you thinking of the incredibly long one on Bob Wilson in the second half? Just pointing the camera at his face for 90 seconds of play -_-
Thank you Ozil for coming to Arsenal FC
I still pinch myself on occasion to double check I’m not having a naughty dream when Özil is in this kind of form.
So happy with today’s win, Chambers looked solid in the midfield, it’s a shame he pulled up slightly at the end.
Would love to know how many tackles/interceptions Walcott made today, left-back in disguise!
Well done to the lads all round!
-Congrats to Gabriel for his first goal and for a fantastic performance
-Second congratulations for Cech, class act and well deserved record
-On breaking records, Özil probably could’ve broken Henry’s assist record in this game alone. Brilliant game yet again, though I feel like a substitution would’ve been good for him
-Boys that came in proved their worth as well so good work to them.
Let’s keep moving forward now, COYG
Gabriel played very well, Walcott not so much.
walcott played well and made excellent runs behind their defense but he wasted great chances and he should as scored at least 2 goals.
Is it possible to be too in love with Mesut???
Yes it’s, personally I think I love him more than his mother
I’m quite fond of his mother as well.
As long as no rabbits are harmed it’s all good.
That you, Flamini?
Great to get the 3 points – great to see The Gabster going nuts after his goal!!!!
Gabster, i like that….yeah, our very own gangster!
Did anyone feel that the game was slow paced today?
Ozil was sublime today. Walcott has improved a lot over the season with his work rate.
Two very tired teams playing twice in two days, what would you expect? Very proud of our Gunners today, a good win to get us back where we belong, and that record for Petr at last.
Top of the league
Gircott trying there hardest not to finish Ozils gifts.
Ozil was simply majestic. Chambers grew into the game very well…Looked very good by the end of it.
Considering the changes a pretty simple win.
A mature showing from our boys, spent just what was necessary to win today. On the other hand, I really don’t understand why Wenger doesn’t use Jeff or Iwobi more. He could have rested Giroud and Theo after the 2nd goal as it was obvious that there is no coming back for B’mouth. Esp as Theo was really bad today, nothing went right for him. These youngsters need some experience too, and if we don’t use them now in games that we can, when will we? I never liked or found logic in how Wenger makes subs, rarely it makes… Read more »
Gibbs was utterly underwhelming today, helped Wenger realize how much better Monreal is!
Actually, Gibbs was great. But I think he wasn’t fit enough to last the whole game, or maybe he pulled up something, hope not..
was there ever a time that it was obvious there was no possible come back from bournemouth in the game?… in any pl match?…no, not for me….they were trying till the last minute for a goal, and if they had managed to pull one back? then game on!
Happy with the 3 points, but I think this is a game when we absolutely should have scored minimum 4 goals this is a type of game when you boost the GD which could bi vital come May, city dose this to this kind of teams and scoring 4-5 goals, and the chances we created we must have won with 4-0 especially after the deradfuls performance ant soton away, which not only we lost we blow our GD. Walcott should have scored a hat-rick.
Some people are just never satisfied…………..
I said I’m happy with the win and the 3 points, I’m not happy with the amount of chances we had and didn’t scored at least couple more goals, especially after the soton lose of 4-0, we need to improve our GD and with the chances we had we should have at least by 4+. We can finish level on points and lose the title on GD.
There are no “this kind of teams” in the premier league anymore. Except chelsea ofcourse.
Chambers was GOOD
Chambers was OK.
Played better than expected but don’t get carried away.
Against a better team with better energy levels, we would have been exposed.
Still a good game for him under the belt and he kept it simple.
But a mistake to think he is suddenly better than Flamini.
That said we are VERY thin in midfield.
Are you Mesut in disguise santori? Why do you need to defend Flamini when someone says Chambers played well? The two things don’t need to be mutually exclusive. I don’t think Flamini is awful but I think you overrate his ability at this stage of his career. If it was 2008 I wouldn’t be worried about him playing DM at all – these days, not so much. Not saying Chambers is better (defensively he didn’t look amazing yesterday, which is strange seeing as he’s primarily a defensive player) but Flamini is not close to the level of Coquelin before his… Read more »
Bergkamp is GOD
Soecial mention to the Ox, seems to have finally found some form and delivered a deterkined, if not spectacular, game of disciplined football.
Stop hyping him up until he actually contributes, you’ll only set yourself up for disappointment.
Yeah, Ox did well I thought. Boy needs a goal though, he does not look happy.
Be happy Ox.
What a goal by Ozil
Where would we be without mesut? I hope he doesn’t burn out over the festive period. There is simply no substitute for him
Gabriel was a cult today. Awesome all game. He managed to block and tackle all things near him, successfully, and oddly had a most shot entire game. His attacking set piece awareness is super.
In other note, that Merte moment was rather amusing
Not sure why Ox got a start ahead of Campbell.. Thank God we weren’t punished this game for his ineffectiveness. Anyone know what’s up with Merte-cielny? They haven’t been as good lately but we have a brilliant back-up in Gabriel. Him and Özil really turned up the intensity. COYG let’s hope leicester drop points so we finish the calendar year top!!
The Ox started ahead of Campbell for rotation reasons, and I think today he was very involved in the build up play today which was nice to see. and was also was one of the best performers today in my opinion showing us very disciplined showing of football in attack and defense. Campbell has looked tired in the previous games. you clearly didn’t watch the game if you thought he was ineffective lol
Well, Ox has got to get his mojo back and a goal would’ve helped him immensely – time on the pitch etc etc. Gabriel is such a passionate individual and seemed to be totally dominant in the air tonight off set pieces and yeah. Ozil. He reminds me of Socrates in his pomp during the ’82 world cup, looking completely casual but doing any damn thing he wants to. Just off planet!
Any result tomorrow will not be bad for us. i am going to watch the match totally relaxed. Leicester is 1 point behind now so if they win, we maintain status quo, if leicester loses, we go 1 point clear, if they draw, we go joint top (second) and mancity falls 2 further point behind us, and they are the real danger so no probs tomorrow because we know leicester won’t be able to keep it up the whole season…take out vardy and mahrez through injury, which can happen any time, and will happen at some point, since they are… Read more »
Ozil even assists his own assists!
Was extremely nervous for this one. Too many changes. So risky. But Gaffer did good today in hindsight with Bournemouth also looking spent. The change around held up well for us. Gabriel put in a fantastic performance. Commanding goal (almost nicked a second off of Per) Chambers kept it simple and did relatively decent too. Gibbs relatively untroubled. Good run out for him. Ox too had some influence on the game at RW. And Ramsey put ina good shift where we needed him to be strong today. Great performance. Walcott could have been less hurried with all those chances. Giroud… Read more »
Elneny to sign soon? How likely is he to come straight into the starting line-up?
chambers LANS in midfield..
Am I the only one who’s been waiting for Gabriel’s first arsenal goal.. Can’t be
Chambers: 92% pass accuracy,58 passes, 2/4 long balls, 2 interceptions, and 1 tackele.
Amazing start for the kid in the mid.
Getting carried away again.
Oooh…tackeles…only made by DMs channeling their inner Makalele.
Yup, I have my coat on already.
this deserves many more upvotes
I’ve been wanting to see him get a proper game (a start in a mostly first choice 11) at DM for a while, and it was great to see him take his chance so well. It may have been his last chance again for a while though, as it seems we’re getting a reinforcement in that position as soon as 2016 hits, but he’s a great option to have as a third choice in that position. Especially since a dedicated third choice DM seems a bit of a waste of a squad position to me.
Great news to wake up to 3 points. Thanks Man utd and Chelsea for a nice sleep.
Well, if nothing else it was a nice bounce-back from the Gunners after that disgusting embarrassment from 48 hours ago. Still, it doesn’t come close to erasing the 4-0 at St. Mary’s. and if the club truly want to win the league this year, the 4-0 should never be erased from their minds unless and until they actually win the league. Because we’ve seen this movie before, all of us: A dire performance (or series of performances), followed by a recovery that never needed to happen in the first place, just to get to the minimum goal required. Still, Ozil… Read more »
Will be really interested to see the stats for Chambers later on.
Pace of the ox was superb
3 points in the bag and top of the league again . i am ecstatic! well played lads! Ozil deserves a standing ovation from all the fans AND players….what a performance from him….those defence splitting killer passes…..how does he see them? if all his key passes were converted, and am talking just the dead sitters, with only the keeper to beat?..it could have been 6 : 0. he really is a very dangerous player! For me, all the rotated guys played well. Calum chambers played very well, and he can only get better with more game time…and from early signs… Read more »
WHAT HAPPEN ON THE BOXING DAY THEN? Are THE Arsenal like to win.the league in the hard way? Can’t believe with performances both versus Bournemoth and Man City, we can play that bad again Southampton
“Can’t win em all” seems an appropriate response.
unless you’re an ‘Invincible’ !
a thumbs up for you sir (even if the invincibles did draw a few lol)
Fine response
Good to see Arsenal get back to winning ways. Should have been 4-5 assists for Ozil today.
It’s hard to see Ozil staying with us with all the poor finishing from souls unlucky to find the end of his balls.
Looks like a revisit to the era of human and animal sacrifices has become inevitable to appease the All Seeing God.
Hello, mental hospital? I’ve found your missing patient.
So Happy we won today. Longer may it last.
Really have to echo the comments above that Ozil, Gabriel and Chambers played great but want to expand a bit on Chambers. I was concerned his lack of pace could cause him problems in that position but instead it seemed that his awareness of that weakness kept him very positionally sound. This seemed immediately to create a good partnership with the more forward-thinking Ramsey, especially because of Chambers’ good distribution. Not to say I don’t think we need reinforcements in the engine room, but Chambers may serve as excellent cover there. Arsene always said he saw Chambers in midfield. I… Read more »
I have been waiting for AW to put Chambers in the middle. I disagree about worrying about his pace there. At fullback it definitely can be a problem, but at DM I believe it is more about positional play and having him on the same side with Bellerin allows Bellerin’s great pace to make up for any time Chambers being out of position might cause problems. I would like to continue to see Chambers in the DM position next to Ramsey until Coquelin returns. I believe he can even be a long term replacement there with Arteta and Rozinsky getting… Read more »
It was definitely against a team that didn’t apply much pressure, but was great to see Chambers much more composed on the ball and assured throughout with his looking for the ball. Gabriel was really impressive coming in after not playing in a long time and looking very sharp and seems to be much more confident on the ball as well. Another great performance by Ozil, I don’t know why every team we play doesn’t have one player stick with him no matter where he goes, that’s the only way to stop him these days.
Ssssshhhhh, they haven’t worked it out so don’t tell them!
Media still giving us this nonsense that we are only going to win it because the other teams do not want to. Last season, I suppose we did not want to win it with our slow start and United were in ‘transition’, City erratic. Chelsea were lucky cos none of the other teams wanted it. Pure nonsense. The league is tougher. Look at the (FANTASTIC) game played between Everton and Stoke today. Feet of clay somewhat for both teams but the attacking array on both sides serve to illustrate the impact of the redistribution of TV money in England. Lukaku,… Read more »
I think Chambers played very well in the role. Mesut is that guy. Much better game from Ox. I really hope he gains some confidence in this game. I’m worried that he is behind Campbell in the packing order. Ramsey just lack discipline. He plays where ever he wants.
Well, i personally don’t share your assessment of ramsey today, i think he played well. apart from missing his few goal scoring chances. he did put in some crucial tackles and ball turn overs, in addition to coming back to position to provide cover when we are under attack. it might not be as rigidly as we might like, but with Ramsey, you either love him or hate him, but he is not going to change to a sitting DM, no matter how much you try ……he is a box to box midfielder, which means he likes to be involved… Read more »
Well done to Cech for breaking the record and Gabriel for getting his first goal for Arsenal. It was important to not let their heads drop after the Southampton game. I thought Ox and Chambers had a brilliant game. What else can you say about Ozil. Probably Wenger’s best purchase since Henry. Keep the same team for the Newcastle game I say.