Six-One, Part Two

One has been hoping for Olivier Giroud to score in the 6-1 Premier League defeat of Southampton a little more than a week ago but last season Ligue Un topscorer did not oblige.

This morning the same scoreline was repeated and much to my delights, the Frenchman found the net with a sublime finish after a through ball.

Given it was only against Coventry City in the COC but for me a goal is still a goal and to a striker getting your name on the scoresheet for your new club for the first time will ease the pressure.

The optimist in me will say it will be the first of many for Giroud and together with Andrey Arshavin who also found the net in his first outing for The Gunners this season, it gave positive vibes to everyone connected to the team.

With The Ox also netting a wonderful goal, Ignasi Miquel finding the net again and a brace for Theo Walcott, Arsene Wenger could be forgiven for grinning from from one end to another in his sleep later.

Never mind that Giroud saw his penalty saved by Joe Murphy earlier in the second half. It will serve as a reminder to him that despite scoring it does not mean his work will be easy from now own.

Still, I believe he will be very influential this season for us.


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A Deserved Point

Arsenal came away from The City of Manchester Stadium with their heads held high after forcing a draw against the cash-laden Manchester City.

Central defender Laurent Koscielny netting eight minutes from time in his first start of the season, capitalising on an error by Joleon Lescott who had given the home side the lead five minutes before the interval.

Just like their match against Montpellier in the Champions League on Wednesday morning, The Gunners rode their luck at times but their dominance in the first half should have borne fruits.

However, Gervinho failed to continue his good form recently. The most glaring error being his heavy touch that gave the chance to City goalkeeper Joe Hart to gather at his feet after Aaron Ramsey had put him through.

After a five star performance at Liverpool, Abou Diaby returned to his old frustrating self with a performance that could be described generously as average.

However it was the defence, especially the BFG Per Mertersacker who deserved the praise as they continued to work together well to thwart the home side's attacks.

Despite playing for the first time with Koscielny this season, the pair combined well. Vito Mannone who could be faulted for his positioning when Lescott headed home, also performed well keeping Edin Dzeko and Sergio Aguero from getting on the scoresheet.

The quick passing by The Gunners gave them the edge but their failure to finish the little openings that came their way put them under pressure after the break as City opted to sit deep and launch quick counter attacks.

But a point is as good as three given the fact that the gulf between the two sides in terms of spending power certainly backed the home side to come away with all the points.


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Six Against The Saints

History repeated itself, at least score-wise as Arsenal hit Southampton for six again at The Grove last night.

A dominant performance by the home side saw two own goals from Joos Hooiveld and Nathaniel Clyne conceded as Kieran Gibbs dominated the left flank.

A wonderful free-kick by Lukas Podolski and a brace from Gervinho gave the home fans the feel good feeling. A late strike by Theo Walcott against his former club put the icing on the cake.

Only the howler by Wos Szczesny in his first match of the season that gifted The Saints their consolation goal spoiled the evening a little as it was the first one Arsenal conceded this season.


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Clean Sheets Galore!

It took three matches for mad redo1 to start writing about The Gunners this season. But it was worth the wait, after two win-less starts against Sunderland and Stoke City but with two clean sheets, the trip to Liverpool was always going to be a big test.

With Brendan Rodgers undergoing his baptism of fire in his first season in charge of the red half of Merseyside, his counterpart Arsene Wenger is facing another challenge to keep the trust of the majority of Gooners worldwide especially with the loss of a certain Dutchman to a major rival earlier and the subsequent inactivity as the transfer window drew to a close.

But at the final whistle blown by Howard Webb, it was the Frenchman who looked like a manager who had won more than just a game of football.

His two signings, Lukas Poldoski and Santi Cazorla had just opened their goal accounts with The Gunners and the third, Olivier Giroud who despite missing another glorious chance for the third consecutive match, looked lively throughout.

But the biggest talk from the match was a certain Abou Diaby who struggled against Sunderland and Stoke but gave an almost perfect display in the middle of the park as he outshone the home side recent acquisition, Nurin Sahin.

Many Gooners would feel he should not be in the first XI at Anfield but Wenger's decision to stick with the former Auxerre player paid dividends as he put himself almost on every blade of the Anfield turf.

With the combination of Poldoski and Cazorla looks like beginning to click with each complementing one another. It was the Spaniard who slided the ball to Poldoski for the opening goal while the German returned the favour to put Cazorla in the clear for him to unleash his fierce left foot shot which Pepe Reina turned into his own goal.

Three clean sheets in the first three opening matches which is a new Premier League record is most welcomed as we look to the future with an almost new attacking unit and at the same time a stronger back-line, a testimony of Steve Bould's influence who looked good beside Arsene in the dug-out.

With the Premier League taking a break due to internationals, it is hoped that all Arsenal players involved will come back unscathed from their national teams commitments.

Ironically the next league fixture coming from the break is against Southampton, who fell victim to a certain Dutchman's clinical finish as they lost 3-2 to Manchester United.

If you ever had been dumped by a girl, and despite your best effort from time to time again you saw her with her new boyfriend, enjoying her life then it was a similar feeling seeing the no.20 scoring a hat-trick for his new team.

There was nothing much you can do, except hoping history will repeat itself for the Dutchman after turning out for the Dutch national side a few seasons ago.

I think many Gooners would say 'Ameen' to that.


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