I won't lie; I was very nervous about this game. But thanks to Ben Foster, PEA, and a typically thuggish Troy Deeney, we got out of Vicarage Road with three points--barely. I loved the Giroudesque goal Auba conjured up simply by hustling at top speed towards a keeper who tried to do too much. And for me, there's no controversy at all about Deeney's whacking Torreira in the head with his forearm. The TV commentators called the red "harsh" and seemed to think it mattered that Deeney's intentional clubbing of an opponent who'd already passed the ball was with his forearm and not his elbow, but that was only because the elbow hit Lucas's shoulder. The intent was there, Torreira was knocked to the turf but did not make a meal of it, and the fat boy got exactly what he deserved.
I did not expect it to be goalless from there. I was sure Watford would scrounge a goal and I figured we'd bag one or two more on the break. But poor finishing from both sides, and uninspired play from Arsenal, made the game a real nail-biter. Leno made some very good saves, and we got in some vital blocks, none more impressive than AMN's when Leno was rounded. Foster did really well too on a couple of occasions.
My impression, before reading pundit ratings, was that this was not a good game for Ozil or Mikhi. Monreal is showing his age (but I still love him). Mavrapanos was not convincing. Iwobi is still missing that final product, but looked lively and did his job. Auba was dangerous all game. Ramsey looked to be our best player and his being taken out was likely with Napoli in mind. Kos is wonderful. For once, I have no complaints about Mustafi. Xhaka and Torreira were effective; Guendouzi when he came in, not so much.
They're all must-win from here on in. Damn. I hope we get some help against the other Champions' League chasers.
We went to a DC United game last week, a 0-0 snoozefest against Montreal that featured one shot on goal combined. No Rooney, big problem.
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