Gunners march on!

Arsenal 4-0

 

Arsenal comfortably made it through to the next round of the FA Cup on Friday night with victory over League One Coventry.

Having lost his record of never having been knocked out of a cup competition by lower league opposition with defeats in the FA Cup and League Cup to Blackburn Rovers and Bradford City last season, Arsene Wenger showed Coventry utmost respect by fielding a very strong line up. Fabianski started in goal, behind first choice centre backs Koscielny and Mertesacker, who had Wilshere, Oxlade-Chamberlain and £42 million pound man Ozil in front of them, while upfront, Bendtner returned from injury to replace Giroud.

It was therefore unsurprising that from the very first whistle, the Gunners superiority was clear for all to see. They could have even taken the lead within the first few seconds of the game, had Podolski managed to connect with Jenkinson’s excellent cross. Nevertheless, with 15 minutes played, Arsenal took control of the game, following excellent play by Wilshere, who stole possession in midfield and played the ball to Ozil. The German was coolness personified as he took time to assess his options, looked to his left and played a perfect pass into the feet of Podolski. The Arsenal number nine was through on goal and as the goalkeeper advanced off his line, Podolski duly rounded him and fired into the empty net for his fourth goal of an injury hit season.

It seemed the match was already over. Coventry hadn’t yet even crossed the half way line as Arsenal dominated possession. However the Gunners could not afford to relax and rest on their laurels as the FA Cup is always ready to throw up a surprise. This was emphasised during Coventry’s first foray into Arsenal territory as Carl Baker’s excellent solo run took him from inside his own half, past the Gunners midfield and Per Mertesacker, to the edge of the Arsenal penalty area, from where he unleashed a shot with forced Fabianski to tip the ball over the bar.

The Gunners clearly needed a second and duly found it in the 27^th minute, thanks to their German connection. Over the last year and a half, Arsenal have repeatedly attempted to recreate the famous corner technique from the George Graham era, in which the ball would be played in to Steve Bould at the near post, for the centre back to flick it on towards the back post for a team mate to head home. This was a move which worked to great effect in the early 90s, causing confusion amongst the opposition. Unfortunately, the modern day Arsenal had so far failed to pull off the move. Until Friday night that is, when Serge Gnabry’s corner delivery was flicked on at the near post, by Mertesacker. The ball sailed towards the back post where Podolski was free to head home his second of the evening.

Arsenal were now in complete control and were creating chances at will, but without testing the goalkeeper. In fact the Gunners would end the first half with twelve attempts on goal but only two on target. The first period therefore petered out on the field, but in the stands there was a different story. In the 35^th minute of the game the travelling Coventry supporters all head up banners asking “When?” as a symbol of their collective frustration at having to travel 35 miles to “home” games at Northampton’s ground following a dispute over staging games at the Ricoh Arena they used to call home. In a moment of solidarity, which is rarely seen at football matches, the Arsenal fans responded to this protest by giving the travelling supporters a standing ovation, which was returned once the protest had finished.

With minutes to go before the end of the first half, the fans were united once more as some of the floodlights failed. With the lights dimmed, supporters around the ground decided to help out by shining the lights from their mobile phones, in what turned out to be a magical scene, while the home crowd mockingly asked their club to “pay the bill.”

The good humour in the stands seemed to have extended to the field of play in the second half, as Arsenal appeared to have lost that all important intensity to their game. The away side began to grow in confidence and in fact had two clear opportunities to reduce the deficit. First Leon Clarke raced clear of Gibbs and advanced on goal, before forcing Fabianski into a fine low save. Then, Oxlade-Chamberlain lost possession in the middle of the park, the ball was played into the Clarke, whose shot had Fabianski beaten, but came back off the post.

The Gunners had survived and in the final fifteen minutes of the match took control once more. In the 84^th minute Giroud, who had replaced Podolski up front, put the result beyond all doubt with a neat finish, following excellent work by Gibbs on the left flank. Five minutes later and another substitute, Cazorla, made it 4-0 with an effort which bounced off the ground and into the net.

This was a somewhat comfortable evening for the Gunners in a game they were expected to win. It will be a match which will always be remembered for the first appearance of a player who was born after Wenger took over at the club. The highly rated Gedion Zalalem taking that honour and showing that he is not fazed by the big stage at all and more than capable of playing at this level. If the young man enjoys the career that many expect him to have, those at the Emirates on Friday night will always be able to say they were there the night he made his first team debut.

With the January transfer window now entering its final week, the focus will fall on Wenger once more, as the Arsenal faithful watch on in the hope new additions are made to the squad. The common consensus is that the Gunners need to build on their fine start to the season by signing another striker. Bendtner’s apparent lack of sharpness in front of goal on Friday did nothing to quell this view, while Wenger frustratingly poured cold water over rumours a fee has been agreed for Julian Draxler. As rumour after rumour is dismissed by the manager, it increasingly appears as though Wenger will not be adding to his forward options mid season. Only time will tell if he is to regret this decision.