Gunners too strong for Brighton

Brighton 2-3 Arsenal

Arsenal followed up their excellent performance at Manchester City with a professional display in the FA Cup away to Brighton, to become the only top side to confirm their place in the next round of the World’s oldest cup competition, following a weekend in which cup shocks rocked the Premier League.

With their game scheduled for Sunday afternoon, the Gunners were able to sit back and take in the seismic shocks on Saturday as League One’s Bradford City came back from two goals down away to Chelsea, to dump Jose Mourinho’s team out of the competition with a 4-2 win, making Mourinho’s worst nightmare a reality and forcing him to admit that what he had just witnessed was a disgrace. At the same time, Middlesbrough were beating Manchester City 2-0, at the Etihad Stadium, as the Champions were knocked out of the FA Cup at home to Championship opposition for the second successive year. These major shocks were sandwiched between Friday night’s 0-0 draw between Cambridge United and Manchester United and Liverpool’s stalemate at home to Bolton.

With every top Premier League side either being knocked out or forced into a replay, the Arsenal squad were in no doubt that they were in for a tough game. Despite making several changes to the side that had beaten Manchester City the week before, Arsene Wenger had clearly made sure his side were focused on the task at hand and the Gunners took the lead within the first two minutes of the game. Theo Walcott played the ball out wide to Calum Chambers and the young Englishman, deployed at right back for this game, played a one-two with Giroud, before scampering down the line and crossing the ball into the area towards Walcott. It was in this competition that Walcott had suffered his devastating cruciate knee ligament injury which kept him out of the game for so long, but he made sure this FA Cup memory would be one to remember as his first touch set him up brilliantly to fire a quick shot past David Stockdale in the Brighton goal, his first goal since coming back from injury.

Arsenal were in complete control, passing the ball amongst themselves with ease, applying pressure on the ball when possession was lost and generally working well together as a team. It was no surprise when they doubled their lead in the 24^th minute as Thomas Rosicky picked up the ball, cut inside and played through a wonderful pin point pass into Mesut Ozil, who tucked the ball home to also mark his comeback from injury.

The finish to the move may have been exquisite but the goal owed much to Rosicky. The Czech international was excellent on Sunday, picking up where Santi Cazorla had left off against Manchester City. Rosicky was full of running, skills and ideas as he ran the game from the middle of the pitch. At 34 years old his game time has been somewhat limited this season, but he is a player Wenger can always rely on and never seems to let the side down. His performance on Sunday indicated that he still has a lot to offer the team.

Unfortunately Rosicky’s one and only mistake provided Brighton with a route back into the game. With five minutes of the second half played, the home side were on the attack, but Arsenal appeared to have stifled the Brighton move. However Rosicky’s attempted clearance only served to balloon the ball skywards, right across the area. Chambers was underneath it, but just did not jump, allowing the Brighton player to get a jump on him and head the ball down to O’Grady, who duly fired past a static Szczesny to reduce the deficit.

Suddenly, from being on the way to a routine and controlled victory, the Gunners were now under pressure as the home crowd got behind their side and roared them on. However Rosicky had other ideas and atoned for his earlier error in perfect fashion, picking the ball up on the edge of the box, the Czech international looked one way and passed the ball in the opposite direction, towards Giroud. The Frenchman clipped the ball back towards Rosicky and he rifled a superb first time volley past Stockdale. It was an example of perfect technique and skill from Rosicky that encapsulated his supreme talent in one beautiful flowing movement.

Once again the game appeared to be over as a contest; Arsenal only had to see out the remaining minutes to secure their progress to the next round. Yet Brighton had other ideas and reduced the deficit once again with only 15 minutes left. With Wenger deciding to rest Per Mertesacker, the manager elected to deploy Monreal in the centre back role alongside Koscielny. Although Monreal has been happy to fill in, in this position this season, he is not a centre back and the understanding between the central defenders was lacking at times on Sunday. Brighton’s second goal exposed this flaw, as Monreal rushed forward to meet the man in possession, he left a gaping hole in behind him and with Koscielny not stepping up too, the ball was played through to Sam Baldock, who found himself on side and in acres of space to calmly clip the ball over the onrushing Szczesny.

This goal highlighted Wenger’s desperate need to acquire another central defender in the January transfer window and news on Monday that Gabriel Paulista’s move from Villareal had moved a step closer following the approval of his work permit appeal, was just what every Gunners fan wanted to hear. The Brazilian will provide much needed cover in this area of the field and seems to be the perfect fit, given that he is strong, quick and has plenty of potential.

Arsenal were able to see out the final 15 minutes of the game on Sunday and have now been drawn at home to giant killers Middlesbrough in the next round, which will also be a tough game for the Gunners to negotiate. Fortunately, the injuries appear to be easing, with big names either having returned already or well on their way to a first team comeback. There is real competition for places now, right throughout the team, which is having a positive effect on the players. Those who are left on the side-lines are hungry to prove what they can offer the team and when they are given the chance, they are performing at their best, while those who are in the starting eleven know they must maintain their performance level at a high standard in order to keep their place. Suddenly, as if from nowhere, Arsenal appear to be in a very healthy and positive position going into the second half of the season.