We didn't start the Fire. We stopped the Fire. Rooney again led the way as we overcame a feisty Chicago bunch that played pretty well for a team that was eliminated from the postseason some time ago. The play was going mostly our way in the first half, but a disallowed goal (VAR is going to change things) left it scoreless at the half. Then the Fire got a very nice individual goal to make our playoff chances dim a little. Wayne Rooney was having none of it. He was barely onside when he redirected a shot, causing the Fire keeper to fumble it. and he stuffed in the rebound. He scored a penalty when our relentless pressure forced a foul in the area. Job done, and we're in pole position. We still have to win three of our last four to guarantee a spot in the playoffs, and have tough opposition, but who would bet against us now? Nick DeLeon is back too to give us some depth. These guys are legitimate contenders for the MLS Cup--but first they have to punch their ticket.
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Fulham actually tried to play with us, and as pretty much anyone could have predicted, it backfired in spectacular fashion. Laca and Auba's strikes were beautifully taken, but Ramsey's delicious backheel at the end of a gorgeous lightning team goal in which he played a role three times will almost certainly be a goal of the season finalist. What a magnificent performance. Let's hope everyone plays us this open.
The international break means Emery can continue to work with most of our players to fine tune a system that they all have confidence in. It's a new start for Iwobi, who has graduated from "promising" to "pretty damned good". Torreira is every bit as valuable as we expected. The center back situation is still worrying, and Koscielny can't be expected to fix that when he comes back. If we can't acquire another quality CB, we'll have to bring Chambers back sooner rather than later. I still don't know why we loaned him out. If Kolasinac can't learn to handle his defensive duties better, we have insufficient cover for my man Nacho. On the right, the Bellerin-Lichtsteiner consortiom seems more than adequate, and maybe Jenkinson can revive his career here. Stefan is near his expiration date.
I have always liked Elneny and we're not getting a lot out of him now. He doesn't really suit Emery's style, so he doesn't play much. Mkhitaryan seems in decline to me. Otherwise, we seem in reasonably good shape in midfield. It looks as though Aaron is intent on leaving. (If he does go, that means the currently injured Carl Jenkinson will be the last of the vaunted "British core." Ox is laid up for a year on Liverpool's dime, Theo is having a very respectable run in Everton's attack, Keiran Gibbs is in the Championship with West Brom, and Jack Wilshere has taken his dodgy ankles to West Ham.) I hope he stays; he's real class and still has an awesome engine. Ozil isn't going anywhere. I hope he starts playing to his potential; he's far below it now. Iwobi has arrived, and Smith Rowe is waiting in the wings to feature more regularly. Welbz has turned into a reliable winger who provides defensive cover and a scoring threat.
Up top, we have two of the more dangerous strikers in the league, and they are working really well together. While I would have said last year that our team was "top heavy" because of the offensive threats, Emery has changed the character of the team. This is who we are now. Unai said it himself early on: he'd rather win 5-4 than 1-0. I don't know if the crowd was right when they sang "We have our Arsenal back" yesterday, but I really like the Arsenal we have now, whether we got it back or it's a whole new version. Long may it continue.
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