Credit to Bournemouth for playing with skill and energy on our pitch. They created several good chances and were unlucky not to get a goal in open play. They were, however, very lucky to get a PK for a clumsy flop after their forward (Wilson) collided with Monreal. No way was that a penalty. But the ref thought otherwise and the early gift goal was canceled out by this one. I have to admit that the 1-1 scoreline was a fair one, though.
The second half was quite different. Bournemouth had their moments, but Arsenal was superior. Monreal found Theo's head to make it 2-1, and finally Alexis sealed it in the first second of extra time at the end of a flowing move by Ozil and Giroud.
First, I have to praise Debuchy's performance in the 15 minutes he played before he went off injured. What a devastating blow. It didn't look good for him coming back soon. Gabriel replaced him and was OK. Our CBs both picked up yellows, but did quite well. Monreal was victimized by a bad call but got that assist. Xhakelneny did the job in midfield. Ozil is still excellent, but I expect magic from him every game and lately he seems to have run out of magic. His free kicks and corners are still pretty good, and he puts in the effort, so I don't want to criticize. Walcott and Ox did not have the impact I'd expect in an open game like this, but they did work hard with and without the ball and Theo scored. Alexis was magnificent. He was all over the field. The first goal was typical: he pounced on a slack backpass, rounded the keeper, and slotted it in within three seconds. He stole the ball several other times, once in our own 18 yard box. And he scored twice! Ramsey and Giroud both did well as subs.
All the teams ahead of us won, but the two closest behind dropped points, so it was not a bad weekend.
No comments:
Post a Comment