Stoke 1-1 Arsenal- Match Report.

Arsenal haven't had many welcoming visits to the Brittania Stadium in recent seasons, and the booing of Aaron Ramsey and the jeering of Arsene Wenger gives the impression that yesterday's visit wasn't much appreciated either.

Arsenal's unimaginative build up play and inability to find a killer pass in the second half was over shadowed by Newcastle's hammering at Wigan, which meant that Arsenal's display changed from an average performance to a battling display and a well earned point. It could have been a lot worse without Robin Van Persie equalising after Peter Crouch had opened the scoring though.

The Gunners came out of the blocks quickly, Rosicky fashioning an early chance for Van Persie, forcing Begovic to make a good near post save. However, rather typically of his last few performances, Sagna gave the ball away needlessly in the wide area. Stoke supplied the cross and there was Crouch to nod in at the far post. Arsenal needed to react quickly before Stoke had time to park the bus. Rosicky put in a brilliant cross, Van Persie duly applied a finishing touch, prodding the ball into the net. You would have thought Arsenal would use their initiative and go on to find a second, but they couldn't, and Stoke really did go on and park the bus by then.

Carrying on the fluid passing in the second half proved difficult for Arsenal, and the only half chance was when Yossi Benayoun was bundled over in the box, it may have been given on another day. The only other talking points were the booing of Aaron Ramsey, as he really did want to break his leg in two places didn't he, and the mocking of Arsene Wenger from the Stoke fans. They still can't grasp why Arsenal are third from playing football on the floor, and why they are fourteenth, by permanently playing the ball in the air.

Wolves win vital.

With Spurs slipping up and Chelsea having a tricky encounter against Fulham tonight, Arsenal would surely be very close to securing a Champions League place if they win away to Wolves on Wednesday night.

On paper, you would have thought Arsenal would breeze past Wolves, who are bottom of the table and are destined for the Football League Show. However, this is Arsenal, and nothing ever is a breeze when Arsenal are involved.

On another note, if it wasn't for the boo's ringing around the Emirates every time he touched the ball, you wouldn't have even realised Samir Nasri was playing, he was that anonymous. Before the game he was spotted by the cameras praying, presumably for more money.

Nasri's poor performance against Arsenal on Sunday clearly got to him:

http://www.metro.co.uk/sport/oddballs/895584-samir-nasri-makes-10k-bet-with-piers-morgan-that-arsenal-will-remain-trophyless

Vital win for Arsenal.

Arteta gestures a friendly hello to his old team-mate. 

A great win for Arsenal mean they go above Tottenham, and maybe more importantly six points ahead of Chelsea and into third position.

With Chelsea losing to Man City, and Spurs only able to get a draw at home to Stoke, it was a great opportunity for the Gunners to take advantage. They certainly did that with a very resilient performance over Everton. The final score was 1-0, with Thomas Vermaelen getting the only goal of the game.

Arsenal came out the blocks quickest, maybe Everton feeling the after affects of playing a FA cup quarter final tie on Saturday. Arsenal were able to profit from the good start, when Vermaelen headed in from a poorly marked corner kick. Later in the first half, Everton had a clearly on-side goal disallowed by the linesman, a lucky escape for Arsenal.

In the second half chances came few and far between, the only real chance falling Van Persie, who uncharacteristically slashed the ball against the post. Some would say it was a scrappy victory, but who cares, you've got to win ugly sometimes.

Why getting Sky Sports is a bad idea.

At the start of the season my Dad and I thought it would be a good idea to get Sky Sports (so we didn't have to frustratingly watch Arsenal on a rubbish Internet stream). Oh how we were so wrong to do so.

My weekend now depends on eleven men that I have and never will meet, leading to tension and frustration in my house. My dogs sit petrified under a table as I scream at a television, using a lot of the vocabulary I learn from inside my Dad's car.

It's bad enough listening to Arsenal's games, but watching it takes it to a whole new level. We have already decided to get rid of Sky Sports next year, as it is a hindrance to our household. I guess I'll have to put up with listening to Robbie Savage on 5 live, which isn't much better.

Miyaichi doing well.

On-loan Ryo Miyaichi at Bolton.

Ryo Miyaichi was the only player who really stood out for me today after watching a very drab encounter between Bolton and QPR, Arsenal fans will be glad to hear.

The only threat for Bolton came through Miyaichi, assisting a late winner for the trotters. He took the ball down in a congested area, surged passed a couple of players and put through a beautifully weighted pass for Niko Klasnic to finish.

He was the shining light in the middle of mediocrity, and thoroughly deserved man of the match. Hopefully he can carry on the progress like Jack Wilshire did at Bolton.

Arsenal agree 10.9m deal for Podolski.

Now an Arsenal player, Podolski is one step closer to signing for Man City.

One thing I've gathered about Lukas Podolski from the very little I've seen of him, is that he's got a great left foot. As far as I'm aware Arsenal have already got one of them, so Wenger must see something else in the German striker.

Here's a selection of his goals:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uz7Vf0weUfk

Liverpool 1-2 Arsenal - Match Report

Luis Suarez's reputation not getting any better. 

Arsenal kept up their momentum today after a 2-1 victory over Liverpool.

After a blatant dive and conceding an own goal, you might have thought it wasn't going to be Arsenal's day, but they showed the same sort of resilience and fighting spirit that they had shown against Tottenham last week. Again Arsenal had to come from behind to win, with two superb goals from Robin Van Persie proving to be decisive.

Szczesny - We can challenge Tottenham.

In recent years, I think Arsenal fans have taken for granted the fact that they have finished above Tottenham so many times, but it has become more difficult to see that happening this campaign. If we had lost Sunday's game against Spurs, we could have said our good-bye's to finishing above them there and then, but we didn't, so we still have hope.

Wojciech Szczesny earlier in the season said, ''I'm confident we'll finish above Tottenham.'' It may have been foolish to say this so early on in the season, but even now in February he stands by his word. He admitted they 'needed' the sort of performance they showed in the North London derby, and he believes they can use their momentum to over-take Spurs before the end of the season.

''We needed that performance and that result - it came at a very important time for us because we were really pushing on,'' the pole said.

''After what we have done, we believe we can challenge Tottenham because we are seven points behind them now and we have the momentum. I hope we can challenge them.''

Although it would be very depressing if Arsenal didn't succeed in finishing above Tottenham, at least we will have the 5-2 result to compensate.

Rosicky finally gets the credit he deserves.

Rosicky in seventh heaven after scoring a collectors item.

Tomas Rosicky has often been compared to Andrey Arshavin, a waste of space in the Arsenal squad, but I can tell you now that if he had gone to Zenit St Petersburg, all the Arsenal supporters would have missed Rosicky a whole lot more than they will miss Andrey Arshavin.

I have always rated Rosicky as a player, but he has never been able to prove his undoubted talent due to constant injuries. In the last few games, Arsene has opted for Rosicky over Ramsey, and now he is really showing what he is capable of. He can run with the ball through a wall of players with his burst of pace, cut a whole defence open with one pass, a role that no player has really filled since the departure of Cesc. Maybe it is his time to do so.

From being called an enigma by the media, to being many people's man of the match against Tottenham, it just shows how 90 minutes of football can change everything.