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- Written by Chris Reidy
Today saw a Hull City side coming to the Emirates on the back of a fantastic win against Liverpool.
It is fair to say a few eyebrows were raised at the sight of Nicklas Bendtner’s name on the team sheet this evening but it took only two minutes for the striker to justify his place.
Always in control, a second goal yet again a couple minutes after kick off killed off the game for Arsenal and saw them retain their place at the top of the league going into and busy and challenging winter period.
Wojciech Szczesny – 6 – Will be happy with another clean sheet. Slight lapse of concentration in the last ten minutes which needs to be cut out before it is costly.
Carl Jenkinson – 7 – Coming into the side after not starting for over a month in a disappointing show against Chelsea, he linked up beautifully with Ramsey to deliver an assist for the opening goal. Showed some rustiness and nerves at times.
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- Written by Liam Moyles
At the start of the season this fixture would have been put down as 3 guaranteed points. However, Cardiff has proven they are no pushovers with two very good performances against the Manchester clubs.
Szczesny – 8 - Great save to deny Campbell. Got down quickly. Always alert. Sign of a great keeper.
Sagna – 6 - In the summer I wanted Wenger to replace Sagna. Thankfully, Wenger knows best. Need to sort out his contract situation.
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- Written by Shane Thomas
I don't think many people had Arsenal vs Southampton pegged as a “1st vs 3rd” clash at the start of the season. Ultimately two inexplicable errors from the away side were crucial. Arsenal took advantage, and have recovered from their defeat at Manchester United to extend their lead to 4 points at the top of the league.
Wojciech Szczesny - 7 – Another strong performance from Szczesny, who is having a fine season so far. He made some important saves – especially in the first-half – and claimed crosses competently.
Bacary Sagna – 8 – He is another who appears to have gotten his groove back this season. He defended stoutly, and his positioning was key to the win. His forward runs gave Arsenal their “out-ball”, and helped to create space for his teammates.
Laurent Koscielny – 8 – Koscielny came back from a horror show for France last week to perform excellently today. He made a series of excellent interventions, and made more successful clearances than any other player on the pitch (10).
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- Written by Chris Collins
There are benefits to being an admirer of a club rather than a die-hard supporter. The losses are disappointing, but rarely traumatic, and when the ninety minutes have passed, life resumes as normal and objectivity remains largely intact.
The natural, emotional responses of the fanatic can hinder good judgement, for a couple of days at least, until the memory of the defeat begins to diminish.
In a haze of hurt and disappointment, the inclination of the die-hard is to highlight problems and propose solutions. All or nothing thinking sets in, and in the midst of the gloom, old doubts resurface. In these moments there is a danger of unconscious scapegoating, as the desire to explain and understand the reasons for defeats and setbacks goes into overdrive.
- Details
- Written by Shane Thomas
It has to be said that the Arsenal squad were reportedly hit by a sickness bug. It goes some way towards explaining the performance, as Arsenal looked sluggish, while Manchester United were sharper in possession, defended with alacrity, and deserved their 1-0 win.
Wojciech Szczesny - 6 – He was pretty blameless for the Robin Van Persie goal, and was knocked unconscious after a nasty clash of heads with Phil Jones. Kept goal competently.
Bacary Sagna – 7 – He was arguably Arsenal's best player. He had numerous tussles with Wayne Rooney, when the England man drifted to the left flank. However, Sagna defended solidly, and put over a couple of sumptuous crosses in the second-half, which deserved better from his teammates.
Laurent Koscielny – 6 – The Frenchman made some good clearances, and also passed the ball tidily from defence. However, Koscielny was never altogether comfortable when dealing with Rooney
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