Friday, March 29, 2024

Report: Hull 1-4 Arsenal (inc goals)

Arsenal: Cech, Bellerin, Mustafi, Koscielny, Monreal, Coquelin, Cazorla, Ozil, Iwobi, Walcott, Alexis

Subs: Ospina, Gibbs, Holding, Xhaka, Elneny, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Lucas

Arsenal made it three Premier League wins a row, as goals from Alexis Sanchez (2), Theo Walcott and Granit Xhaka saw them run out 4-1 winners against Hull at the KCom Stadium today.

Arsene Wenger continued with Alexis Sanchez up front, Petr Cech came in for David Ospina, and the only outfield change he made from the team which drew 1-1 with PSG on Tuesday was the return of Theo Walcott who replaced Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

The game began in fairly tentative fashion, with both sides trading possession and trying to feel each other out. It was the 13th minute before we saw the first chance of the game and it was a good one. Arsenal worked it well through midfield, it came to Walcott inside the area, he squared it for Alexis on the penalty spot but he hit his shot over the bar.

Most of the pressure was coming from the visitors and in the 17th minute the Gunners were ahead. Walcott crossed the ball from the right, keeper flapped at it and palmed it into the path of Alex Iwobi who finished first time – although it did seem to go in off Alexis. 0-1.

Not long after it might have been two but for a brilliant tackle on Alexis as he was about to shoot, while at the other end a mistake from Shkodran Mustafi allowed Hernandez a sight of goal, but under pressure from Koscielny he pulled his shot wide.

Ozil set up Walcott for a shot but his finish was tame, and the German was guilty of a bad miss in the 27th minute. The ball was fell to Iwobi in the box, his left footed shot was saved well by the keeper, but the rebound fell to the Arsenal number 11 who put it over the bar when it looked easier to score.

Santi Cazorla was the first man into the referee’s book, a 34th minute foul on Elmohamsandwich saw him booked. Robert Snodgrass forced Cech into a save as Hull looked to get back on level terms, but the home side were down to 10 men.

Walcott got free down the right, pulled it back for Coquelin, his shot was ‘saved’ by Livermore who got the red card. The referee pointed to the spot, Alexis stepped up to take it and his execution was poor, allowing Jakupovic to get down and make a save. A real wasted opportunity for Arsenal.

A game that should have been almost out of reach at the half-time break was still in Hull’s grasp as the teams went in after the first 45 minutes.

The second period began with Arsenal looking to press home their advantage, but with Cazorla on a yellow card the last thing they needed was for the numbers to be evened up. The Spaniard got a talking to from the referee after just 3 minutes of the half for a foul, and he was skirting with danger.

The Gunners had plenty of the ball but found the final pass hard to come by. That was until the 54th minute when the lead was doubled. Walcott picked the ball up in midfield, played to Iwobi, kept running, and Iwobi’s return back heel gave him a sight of goal and he clipped it past the keeper to make it 2-0.

Hull made a change bringing on Ryan Mason for Tom Hundredstone. Cazorla dragged a shot wide, but Arsenal couldn’t find a way to extend their lead further. Hull were presented with a good chance from a free kick in the 65th minute, but Snodgrass hit the wall.

Arsene Wenger made his first change a minute later, bringing on Granit Xhaka for Cazorla. There was lots of Arsenal possession, but little or no end product. Rather than putting Hull to the sword, they passed it nicely but lacked any real urgency and did that old trick of funneling everything down the middle, making it easy to defend.

Ozil had a shot blocked, Walcott fizzed one over the bar and then wasted a great chance. Mohamed Elneny came on for Iwobi, and then Hull were awarded a penalty in strange circumstances.

Mbokani went down over Cech as he went through on goal, but the referee played on, then came back, booked the Arsenal keeper and pointed to the spot. Snodgrass stepped up to make it 2-1 in the 77th minute, and Hull were back in it.

It put the frighteners on for just a few minutes, because in the 83rd minute the lead was back to two goals. Alexis played the ball behind the defence for Walcott whose shot was blocked. It rebounded to the Chilean who stepped inside a defender then crashed a shot into the net to make it 3-1.

Alexis saw a shot saved when he could have passed to Walcott, before Lucas  came on for the final couple of minutes when he replaced the England man in the 88th minute.

There were three minutes of added time, just enough for Xhaka to add some gloss to the scoreline. The Swiss international pushed towards the box, Hull backed off, and he unleashed a rocket of a shot from 30 yards which swerved past the keeper and into the back of the net. 4-1 Arsenal.

That was about the last of the action, and Arsenal took the three points back to North London.

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dr Strange

boom Xhakalaka

Ibbo

If Pogba had scored that, United would’ve built a statue of him outside old trafford. ?

Anonymarse

The way things are heading he might get one in the gents

JustAGooner

That was definitely £35mn strike!

Anonymarse

A little bronze pogba in the urinals so people can urinate on him

Thierry Bergkamp

Fuck Pogba

Godfrey Twatschloch

If Pogba scored something like that the cundits would never let us hear the end of it.

mannyg

I think for all the criticisms Coquelin is getting, he’s been playing quiet well. I want Xhaka to start, too. But if we are winning than who am i to complain?

I criticise Theo a lot, but have to give him credit for coming back the way he has. Let’s stay positive!

Holyviper

He still wastes too many shots AND passes. Passes, ffs. It’s a possession based team, atleast get some of your attacking passes correct. For all of their unsuccessful and weird attempts of making glorious passes, Iwobi Ozil Sanchez and Cazorla make tons of simple successful ones. Wasteful, Opta would call it in one word.

KoalaKoalaKoala

I’m not sure what you mean by Walcott’s passes. He played a perfect pass into Sanchez (which he skied over the bar) around 5 mins before the first goal. Then his cross provoked the first goal, forcing the goalkeeper to make a diving save, leaving Iwobi/Alexis to finish the job for the second. Finally, he put it on a plate for Le Coq, who sadly wasn’t allowed to score his first goal because of that pricky CB who handball-ed it. He played in a few other dangerous crosses here and there – and yes, he also misplaced a few passes… Read more »

Godfrey Twatschloch

Agreed! He deserves credit when he plays well.

PFo

1. Alexis and Sanchez are the same person. 2. Saying Theo didn’t misplace more passes than Alexis isn’t really the highest compliment, as Alexis is hardly the best at avoiding giving the ball away; he plays high risk/high reward football, so sometimes he forces it and coughs the ball up, or dribbles too much. But he makes up for it with lots of moments of brilliance and endeavor. Walcott almost never does this. Credit where it’s due for his goal (though I’m not 100% sure his chip was going in before the defender headed it) and for a couple of… Read more »

Spooner

TLDR. Jesus.

Mach iii

Brilliant post, I see it too. I don’t think he’d make any other top 6 team.

Alexis is a lion. TH TH14 was a lion. TW14 is a Bambi buck. A herbivore attacker.

KoalaKoalaKoala

1) Oopsie! That was supposed to say Alexis & Ozil. I Must’ve got confused since he ended up dropping in all of Ozil’s spaces today! 😉 2) Yep, I agree that Theo is never going to be the most majestic passer in the game, but if he stays out wide and on the last shoulder, his passing profligacy shouldn’t matter as much. His crossing should be more of a concern, and so far this season it has looked top-notch (IMO at least). He has traits that the other players don’t have, like his movement in behind. It’s just a shame… Read more »

clins

i get you point..he does waste some shots and in possession he is not the best at arsenal . but with all the creative talent at arsenal we need someone like that . nobody apart from him and iwobi are interested in shooting . the same goes interms of creating chances …while everybody seems to be creating chances nobody wants to finish them off. walcot even if inferior to them provides different dynamic to the team . nobody makes those runs in behind like him to get to better positions .it also helps by stretching the opponent and creating space… Read more »

leftfootedprince

No on else in the team pings those long range passes like xhaka. That shot too,xhaka offers unique qualities to the team.I hope wenger starts him against chelshit.

PFo

Why would anyone thumb that down?

Ducks sake

Because Chelshit is a pathetic attempt at an insult?

Theoptimist

sp*rs trolls – because even their blogs are shit. They spend all day putting thumbs down on every comment.

DAMOBOT

Its easy to point out good players, the question is who drops out? One the brave make such calls

Paul

Only one? 🙂

Maniac

That Xhaka goal… just wow.

Anonymarse

Somebody thumbed this down by mistake

CB

Papering over the cracks. I said before the match it was a rubbish team and Wenger doesn’t have a clue. Sanchez will never be good up front, Walcott is rubbish.

I was proved right (wasn’t I?…).

Anonymarse

If u say so 🙂

CB

Check out the comments on the team sheet post just before the match for loads more. I’d love people to support the team before the match and think afterwards if they really know as much as Arsene and his coaching team. But perhaps too much to hope for.

Anonymarse

I noticed 🙂

If we keep winning most people will come around eventually

Maniac

I thought Walcott was actually really impressive today. Made good runs, had a few decent shots, one of which was a goal, and generally linked up quite well with the rest of the team. Despite a rough start to the season with a lot of criticism going his way you can see he’s worked hard to turn it around and has quite rightly earned a place in the first XI.

Holyviper

Still wastes TOO much possession for a partially tiki-taka team. He’s useful, but irritating.

Ducks sake

Tiki taka is for pussys. Winning is for champions.

Hope that helps

PFo

Theo Walcott: useful but irritating. That pretty much sums it up.

PFo

And yes, tiki taka is for pussys(sic), not champions. What has that Pep fellow ever won, anyway?

Ducks sake

Well he’s not tiki takiing now is he? Every Man City pass goes forwards instead of that boring shit he had at Barca going backwards and sideways until the defence fell asleep with boredom. The style of play he’s implemented at Man City is a lot different. It’s very direct. Also I think Pep has a lot to proove this year. That Barca team seems pretty easy to win with, Luis Enrique is doing just as well or even slightly better than Pep. The Bayern team were treble winners when pep took over. They went backwards from that. Not saying… Read more »

Chamakh

Think Walcott has been pretty good in every game he has played and has gotten a lot of positive feedback, don’t really know what you mean with a “rough start”?

clins

wlacot has been impressive. he’s been tracking back and helping us defensively. thats a good improvement by him. and in attack he is starting to get assiss and goals

sanogo's missed kick

Sarcasm is a dying art.

dr Strange

Walcott had a decent game but Alexis is way better on the wing. Rather we played Walcott up front and got the most out of Alexis. Of course I would like us to actually play one of the stikers we have up front…. We need to play to the strengths of our players instead of experimenting. Xhaka is a dm and that´s where he´s best. Better than both Coq and Cazorla. He´s not box to box. Yoy experiment in preseason or the coca cola or whatever it´s called now cup where you can afford to make mistakes not when there´s… Read more »

PFo

I completely agree, but criticism is never going to be popular with the folks on here after a 4-1 win (when, in truth, we were only ok, hardly thrilling stuff for much of the 90). The one thing I will say is that Wenger was always going to ease in Xhaka and Perez, with his track record of expecting new players to take half a year to adjust to the league. I’m willing to bet that the starting 11 at the beginning of December will be a bit different than the current team (injuries permitted, of course).

bubbles

you might think you’re getting thumbed down for the criticism. But no, it’s becos the match was indeed thrilling

dr Strange

Sorry I´m going to correct myself here. Walcott had a good game and is looking like he gives a shit so kudos to him and keep up the good work Theo!

Was thinking about Alexis when I wrote decent. He works like a devil but looks lost up front and if we don´t change our game to suit his strenght up front then it´s pretty useless playing him there.

mannyg

Okay, i may have thumbed you down, but i failed to see the sarcasm. Let me explain myself, though, a lot of arsenal fans are seriously THIS negative after a win and it’s quite annoying. So if you were being sarcastic. Apologies, CB.

CB

Np. I hoped I’d made it outrageous enough that it was obviously crazy. We do have a squad of men this season (feel sorry for Elneny as he is good and not getting much play, he’d be first choice for lots of PL teams) and are on the up. Let’s hope people can start supporting again.

Fletcher

Attention seeking comment nothing more. ..

CB

Yes to an extent it was, though worth it if it makes people think as we moved second in the league (for a while at least).

Mikeh

No. You couldn’t have been more wrong if you tried actually.

CB

Agreed!

Gunnerjoe

Me thinks lots of people have missed the sarcasm

paullus

Made me rock hard.

Granit(e) hard!

Absolutely, it shouldn’t surprise really. he has been threatening since he came into the squad, and i think he will score lots of long range goals in his career with arsenal……. if you can ping the ball from deep to runners up front with pinpoint accuracy like he can, consistently, then he does have the potential to pick which corner of the net he wants from far accurately, ……but, boy, what a goal!.

ali

I was mighty impressed by Xhaka’s goal, but what was with his celebration? Was he “silencing the crowd”? His detractors? I don’t think he has many of the latter, and if it was the former, I think he could show some class and do without the pantomime.

cygan'sbaldspot

Iwobi > Ox and it’s gonna stay that way

David C

Agreed! I would have sent Ox on loan and kept Campbell, but I don’t want to complain because that was a great win. Iwobi is so tricky in the neat ways he stops/starts. Iniesta is the best I have ever seen with that dribbling style.

Unrelated, but I can’t believe how much whining there is in the comments section on Arseblog now. How were people not happy with that performance?

arsepedant

Because some people just aren’t happy unless they’re unhappy, and unfortunately a few of them live here.

Bob Davis

What a screamer that was! That’s why Wenger should be starting Xhaka from now on!

A very handy 3 points! I thought it was going to be one of those games where we concede in the 93th minute. We got a few decisions that went for us and Cazorla was lucky not to get the second yellow.

Cazorla should have taken the penalty and the game would have been in control. Ozil looks like he could do with a rest and I hope he does get one what with Chelshit game coming up soon.

Bring on Forest!

loose_cannon

Agree Ozil looks like he needs a rest, this is where having Wilshere would have been ideal! Maybe we could start Iwobi at 10, really impressed with him today.

clins

think wilshere had a bad game today for bournmouth. he gave away ball many times and one of his wild foul resulted in goal
he has got to improve

PFo

Cazorla was lucky (whether or not he deserved a second yellow, we’ve all seen them given a hundred times, especially as the other team were already down to 10). I thought at halftime that we’ll be lucky not to lose Santi (or Coquelin, who was on a yellow too, no?) to a second yellow, so surely Wenger would for once be proactive and substitute him off at the break, right? Silly me. It ended 4-1 but it could have been a disaster if the ref hadn’t decided to be lenient.

Holyviper

We’d still score some then. Our attacking was lethal today. They played super tight after going down 10, would opened up if we wen’t down 10 too.

PFo

You might be right. Then again, things like sending offs change games, and the crowd would have come much more into it if Cazorla had been sent off, giving them momentum. The point is, after he had already had a “last warning” talking to at the end of the first half, it was really a big risk to keep him on, especially given our options on the bench (and him having played the full 90 in two intense games in the last week).

ConfusedGoon

Xhaka can shoot

mozilla

Xhaka goal was so beautiful, i might want to take it our for dinner ///

Pearson

Disciplinary hearing for Xhaka.
First written warning for shooting from outside the box.
Nice one Gunners, lets go on an unbeaten run now.

Xxxrob

Watch elnenys debut game again… Took like 5-6 shots from outside the box. Then the coaches got in his ear. Won’t be long til they’ve done the same with Xhaka I’d bet hah
some hit

rohit

🙂

GUN

Loved Sanchez’s celebration after our third goal.

Dennis

I want to say it bodes well for contract talks, but I’m not sure if that’s wishful thinking…

NewSeason

Unconvincing for large periods of the match but I’ll take the 3 points gladly.
Anyone have any idea what’s our best midfield combination?

Big sheezy

I’d like to see xhaka, elneny and ozil, what a buttery smooth possession oriented midfield that would make.

dr Strange

Xhaka and Elneny behind Iwobi, Özil and Alexis.

Anonymarse

Anything with Santi in it seems to work pretty well

Ozil's Brother

Best mid-field so far; Coqy Xhakalaka

Chamakh

Thought we played well 11 vs 11? Only after the missed penalty and the red card the team went down a shift for a while.

Obasang

I fear for Xhaka. He took a shot from distance and scored. Probably gonna get even less playing time from now on

Jo

Arsene did look quite upset.

Balls

Where are all the naysayers now? Lol

Naysayer

Nay

Armchair Expert

Good win in the end but why the fuck are we making things difficult for ourselves? It’s almost like we don’t like winning comfortably these days.

Anonymarse

It’s what we do 🙂

Big sheezy

Alexis’ work rate is world class, the rest of his game is shit. Hopefully the team is getting into their stride.

rohit

What are you talking about?

Big sheezy

Can’t pick out a decent pass, first touch is suspect, and decision making is lacking. How many buildups broke down when the ball got to sanchez? Go watch the game again and count them. There’s a reason he wasn’t wanted at barca.

Paul

He did score the decisive goal (again) didn’t he?

moonie

Trolling / Wow.

Big sheezy

Not trolling, I support the team but to watch quick one,two touch passing break down every time it gets to him is frustrating. If he tries to send on a one touch pass, it’s going to be a turnover. Otherwise he takes three, four touches and everything breaks down. Watch the game again, it’s obvious if you’re looking for it. Barcas passing game always broke down with him. Love his workrate, but ronaldo,messi? Laughable

eternalflamini

Beyond parody.

James

I <3 Iwobi

Guy's class

Bertieme

Brilliant going forward, but needs to be more aware of his defensive responsibilities.

rohit

I have been watching that Xhaka goal on repeat since you posted the link here, blogs. When was the last time we saw a long-range goal like that from an Arsenal player?

Holyviper

Ramsey in the CL?

Anonymarse

That Ramsey goal was amazing

David C

and with his left foot if I remember right!

PFo

That Ramsey goal was on another level, with all due respect to Xhaka.

Docj

Elneny vs Barca?

Funky Gonner

Alex Iwobi was absolute class today. Great link up play and constantly looked a threat. Our MOM.

Vonnie

Yes, very good going forward but he was pretty awful at defending. I like him a lot, and he’s got loads of potential, but all this hype is really annoying when he’s got so much still to learn.

Clay

I think he is better in the middle than on the wing

Don't Say My Name

So you must of missed his assist for Walcott’s goal

Funky Gunner

Alex Iwobi was absolute class today. Great link up play and constantly looked a threat. Our MOM.

Paul

The feeling when Sanchez scored, coupled so quickly with the feeling when Xhaka got his worldy is why I love supporting Arsenal. 

eternalflamini

Lots of great performances but for me, Iwobi, 19 years of age. Bloody hell. Bloody fuckin hell.

Eissek

He’s 20, but yeah he looks like hes going to be great.

Bob's Mexican Cousin

Is it me or he put our new striker on the wing in order to leave our best winger as a striker?

Nice win, want to se xhaka from the start

Paul

Theo was very good!

spectator

Theo IS very good.

Paul

Lately he has been I’ll give you that…

PFo

Whoa, let’s not let the heady feelings of a 4-1 win at mighty Hull allow us to get carried away. Back to reality, please!

Jo

Coquelin was a beast today!!!!!

Cracked

He’s not a striker yet, but Sanchez is getting better up front.

Thumb me down all you like but he’s scoring goals.

Anonymarse

Just have to wait and see if he keeps doing it.

Pinching Iwobi’s goal was a bit off though.

Paul

He always did though…

RuminatingGooner

He did score when he was playing wide. He is a threat anywhere in the final third.His contribution AS A Striker should be considered and not only goal. His tendency to hold the ball longer should be lesser and link and pass and ensure he is in the box. He is improving but he needs to up his the anchoring role.

PFo

There were many, many times today where we’d have the ball in a dangerous(ish) position in the final third and yet would have no one in the 18 yard box, with Sanchez deep or wide or anywhere but in the centre forward position. mobility is great, but a bit more positional discipline would also greatly help. This is not to say he didn’t have a good game, just that I don’t see him playing his best at CF, plus his dropping deep tends to get in the way of Ozil and Cazorla. Personally, I like him starting on the right… Read more »

Chamakh

He also seems to work well together with Walcott and they can interchange positions at times, a nightmare for a defender.

Trez

Great game. Iwobi was superb. Certainly ahead of Ox in the pecking order
Coq had a great game as well.
Ozil still a bit sluggish. Needs to get back to his best
Mustafi was superb. He’s slowly starting to settle.
We were on top before the red card and had some beautiful combination play.
Nice to see Theo get a 100 goals.
Super goal from Boom Xhaka laka.
Only criticism is our lack of ruthlessness in our finishing. We could’ve easily scored 6-7.

Alex

Özil = 59 sprints, 10 kms, 110 passes, 94% pass accuracy.

Trez

So?? Still didn’t have a good game by his standards.

Paul

He’ll do me right now! Some negative people..I don’t know…:-(

PFo

Don’t let things like statistical facts get in the way of people’s initial impressions!

John C

Nothing really learned today, big win against a team that came up from the Championship, spent no money and have a caretaker manager.

A big win is the minimum we can expect against a team like Hull with 10 men for 50 minutes.

Stewart Robson's therapist

This is the Premier League. Every game is hard-fought. We do not have a divine right to win football matches just because we are Arsenal, and complacent comments such as this are just plain daft.

John C

Far from complacent, the opposite in fact, just pointing out that Hull are not the benchmark we should be judging ourselves against.

Paul

We have now had three wins on the spin whilst trying to get up to the Arsenal speed and skill level.
The other big teams (apart from Citeh) have all lost a game now.
I am feeling confident right now. COYG!

The Only Olivier is Giroud

So beating them 4-1 away from home is still shit? The same team that nearly held Mega Mourinho United with their Galacticos scoreless? I must have been missing the regular 9-0 pastings City and Chelshit are dissing out in the Prem against these teams.

The Only Olivier is Giroud

Either my app is lagging so things are looking weird or I replied to the wrong comment somehow. You know who that was meant for 🙂

John C

I didn’t say shit, i said we haven’t learnt anything, there’s a difference.

Please read again.

Stewart Robson's therapist

It IS complacent to suggest that a big win is the minimum Arsenal should expect against Hull, or any team.

John C

No, it’s isn’t given the circumstances of the match and the comparative quality each side possess

Espen

Yes, Hull is shit. They have been spanked by everyone else but Arsenal. 2-1 against Leicester (H), 0-2 against Swansea (A), 0-1 against Manu (H) and 1-1 against Burnley (A). Arsenal should have dominated against Hull just like Manu who spent some f…ing money. And we should change manager like Chelsea. Just look at their game against Liverpool.

PFo

Straw man.

PB70

I learned that you are a whiny cunt. What’s the maximum we can expect against a team like Hull with 10 men for 50 minutes?

John C

What does the 70 stand for? your IQ?

Paul

Only people with a knowledge of what constitutes an average to good IQ level score will know whether the above comment is a “put down” or not?? 🙂

John C

Because you don’t know the answer, here’s a link for you!

http://www.brainmetrix.com/iq-definition/

Paul

Thanks John, fancy a side bet on who has the largest IQ and salary?

John C

Out of who?

ManxGunner

So you’ve basically woken up today and thought that, whatever the result, there was pretty much zero chance you’d be happy with it?

John C

Where have i said that? I’m happy with it, good win, 3 points but doesn’t tell us much about where is the is given the circumstances.

John C

where we are* given the circumstances

ManxGunner

At the moment, what it tells me is that we’re likely to pick up a lot of points against the bottom 13 teams, which should hopefully get us to 60-70 points, therefore it’s just about finding form against the best 6 teams…

However when you look at Liverpool losing to Burnley and Man Utd struggling against Hull, there’s not much wrong with that.

Granit(e) hard!

That’s what Leicester thought, and look what happened to them at hull. History’s shown you can’t take any game for granted in the premier league mate, especially against teams fighting to stay up. We always crucify the team when they lose, so its only fair to give them credit when its due.

John C

I don’t care what happens to Leicester, today was a good win but we haven’t learnt anything from it. It doesn’t indicate where we are as a team, beating a team that finished 4th in the championship last year, and had 10 men isn’t a sign we’re going to beat Chelsea next week.

Gunner73

I think we learnt that we didn’t take Hull for granted, played well and won away from home against a team that has started the season very well after a tricky midweek champions league game, that we’re improving as the games come along, and that we have a very deep squad with great options. I think all that indicates where we are as a team at this moment in time. It’s also been confirmed to me that some people are just never happy.

PFo

You’re right, of course, but people don’t like to consider reality when their football team has just won 4-1.

Stewart Robson's therapist

Well, that’s not patronising at all.

PFo

And calling someone patronising (though probably fair) doesn’t address the truth or otherwise of his claims. The point is that the initial comment above–that we haven’t really learned anything new today, since of course we have the quality to beat a team like Hull easily on a good day (or a bad day for them), but we haven’t seen anything from the team that should make us especially optimistic against a much, much better team like Chelsea (especially given how dire we were against the last good team we played, four days ago)–is correct, but it has all too predictably… Read more »

Stewart Robson's therapist

We know nothing about the bigger picture yet, as you correctly say, so speculating about it is pointless. What we do know is that Arsenal played well today and netted a good win, and since that’s all we know, that’s what I’m focused on. The team I support won a game, and I will enjoy that victory. And while I don’t necessarily accuse you of this, there’s a growing perception among Arsenal fans (peddled by idiots like DT) that it is somehow wrong to celebrate isolated wins. I refuse to accept that ridiculous notion. What world are Gooners living in… Read more »

BenGooner90

Big win against a team that beat Leicester on the opening day and held Utd till the 90th minute. Whatever way people choose to look at it we won today, comprehensive scoreline and Alexis bagging a couple. How anyone can remain negative after a 4-1 win away from home is beyond me. Also, what Wenger said the other day abut the maturity of the squad really showed today. So many Arsenal teams of old would have crumbled after conceding the penalty, but we kept our heads down and scored a couple more to make it comfortable. Impressive all round.

eternalflamini

Loads of people were slating Wenger for the team he put out, especially his decision to play Sanchez upfront. Perhaps time to grudgingly accept he may know a thing or two about football?

PFo

He obviously does know LOTS and LOTS about football. He’s a managerial great. AND he can STILL be wrong about playing Sanchez up front (and that was STILL a pretty average display from us, overall). Losing one game never proves Arsenal/Wenger sucks, and winning one game never proves Arsenal/Wenger are brilliant.

Mustrum Ridcully

No, many if these naysayers would not be happy until Arsene resigns or retires. If you start from the position that Wenger should GI, no matter what happens, you will use this as evidence that you are right.

Sadly, this seems to be the quality of argument by some people in here. Let us gave reasoned and evidence based arguments rather than prejudicial judgments.

I guess I am hoping for too much!

PFo

Painting your opponents as all 100% Wenger outs, unreasonably unwilling to look at the evidence regardless of the results of the team, is not itself an argument that’s based on any evidence. It’s a straw man and an ad hominem. I love AW (as much as it’s reasonable to love another man that I don’t know). As a non-Brit who had a choice of which football team to support as a kid, I switched my allegiance to Arsenal after supporting a different team (who will remain nameless) for 15+ years, because I liked what Arsene had made Arsenal stand for,… Read more »

Stewart Robson's therapist

Xhaka’s goal reminded me of the one Giroud scored against Man United a couple of seasons ago. Beautiful.

Dazzlo

If Pogba is worth £92.25 million, Xhaka must be worth at least double that.

Anonymarse

Or pogba is worth 15m

Pearson

You assume that Mourinho knows the value of money?

Özorlexisey

Congrats Feo for the landmark goal. Was a game without stress to the viewers.Santi is our very own ronaldinho,deadly technique and always smiling. He should be fixed on the spot kick duties.
#BoomXhakaLaka
Next league game against those blue cu*ts,hope we win that game big.

Dom47

Good win, although we dominated possession and attacked in long periods our passing was not fluid, and we struggled to make meaningful chances.

Xhaka should start matches, Cazorla needs to be smarter as a senior member of the squad. He could have been sent off and things could have been different.

I would have liked to see Lucas earlier, if not from the beginning, i.e. to replace Iwobi at an hour mark, Iwobi is getting enough gametime as it is.

Getso gunner

Iwobi is fantastic, deserve to be given the first goal

Getso gunner

Xhaka better than Pogba? Absolutely Yes

Joblow

Gunners for life!!!

Kaine

We have a big squad. All won’t play, it’s up to the players to take their chances when they get it, like Xhaka did.
Great job iwobi and theo.
??he’s got the moves like Xhaka ??

Shwooooz Caprooooz

Congratulations to the team on the win, but to fair, the performance was anything but convincing.. We still look wobbly at times at the back and for whatever reason slow down games in the 2nd half. Also Wenger’s decision to bring on Elneny instead of Perez was a real strange one, esp given that the game wasn’t out of reach and we were against a team down to 10 men.. And morever what’s wrong with the Cazorla – coqeulin axis..ot worked so well last season and now it looks so suspect.. We have to learn to kill games off, before… Read more »

Stewart Robson's therapist

He brought on Elneny because Cazorla was on the verge of getting sent off, it made perfect sense.

Kevin of j town

Iwobi is some player; great decision making for one so young. heir to ozil in that playmaker role behind the striker?

shokim

What a screamer from Xhaka that was! Gonna watch it on repeat lalala~

RuminatingGooner

That goal from Xhaka!!! What I have been longing for since a loooong time!!! Ooof!!!

Granit(e) hard!

Apart from the nice score line, i thought we played with a bit more rhythm and fluency, and moved the ball a lot quicker than the last two games no?…sign of maybe we are beginning to get our grove on?

ManxGunner

Good result, looked to be gelling as a team as well, especially with Iwobi in who is a fantastic player (although may need to learn to switch on defensively…) Baffles me how Cazorla didn’t take the penalty, however got nothing against Alexis wanting it, despite none of his pens ever filling me with confidence. Loving the depth we have at the moment. Our subs were a £35m pound CM, a great squad player whose so comfortable on the ball and our new striker. First time in a while we could get our usual amount of injuries and might not capitulate!… Read more »

Andy Mack

We won’t know if we stand a chance against Chavski until they announce the officials.
We could get Mike ‘Blind Man’ Dean again!

Granit(e) hard!

Dean and Costa?…..that’s a nightmare!

Anonymarse

He’s not blind he’s a spurs supporter

Muchadoaboutnot

Xhaka has given Wenger the reason why he is not a bench player.

Mark

You gotta give Wenger credit on the stubbornness scale by pretty much sticking with the same lineup with the exception of Walcott from Tuesday even though this game was ripe for rotation. You could tell early on that Carzola didn’t have his normal bounce to him which is understandable with three matches in 8 days so don’t know why Elneny or Xhaka didn’t get the start. Interesting too to see Sanchez at striker again, though it did work better today. Would have far preferred to see Perez at striker with Sanchez/Iwobi on the sides. It was the first time that… Read more »

Kevin of j town

Cazorla is arguably the most important player at Arsenal at the moment

ramgooner

John Terry is a cunt.

Anonymarse

Difficult to argue with that one

Laslo Panaflex

Why is it with a man advantage and a 2 goal lead against (with no offense to Hull) an inferior opponent, I still need a couple of glasses of whiskey? And it’s only 9am here in San Diego! Life of an Arsenal fan, I suppose.

ScotchEggsRules

A good and thoroughly deserved win. Can anyone remember us having so much luck in front of goal in a single 90 minutes?

Indian Gooner

Second in the table.
Three wins on the trot in the PL.
And still people are complaining. Cheer up guys. Take it easy.
And before I leave..I have got to say.. Boy I love Iwobi.!This kid’s got some talent.
And please start Xhaka.. Just for the fact that he provides something extremely different.
And tell you what.. Theo could be our main catalyst along with Alexis if we are to fight for the Title this season. He just has got to have his shooting boots on..till the end of the season.

Abhi

Get the fuck in there! Missed the game..I don’t care so long as the Arsenal wins!

Abhi

Oh Lordy I love YOU..and everyone else

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