Arsenal 2 - 0 West Brom

This was a win so dominating that it makes me wonder how we could lose to those guys the last time we played them.  Of course, we don't always beat teams we dominate either.  It's great to see Alexis having fun out there.  While it was fantastic to see Arsenal pinging it around and launching wave after wave of attacks, I can't help but think that West Brom looked like a team with nothing to play for.  I also thought the lack of end product was not encouraging.  We'll have to take more of our chances if we're going to get the 10 or 12 points that see us into third place.  I'm thinking that the game at the Etihad is going to be a great game to watch, with end-to-end action.  Hart and Cech will probably be busy.

I like Ozil a lot.  But one first half sequence today is all too typical for him.  He made a poor pass under pressure, then went to ground as though trying to get a foul call.  Giroud fought hard to get the ball back, and would have had Ozil gotten to his feet instead of sitting and complaining.  When he did pop up and challenge for the ball Giroud knocked loose, he was late and came in with his boot high, and the foul was on him.  If he'd just kept playing he'd have been there first.  He does a lot of things really well.  I especially like the way he does the simple thing with the ball to keep a move going.  But he has to up his intensity.

I'm still annoyed at Watford's beating us in the FA Cup.

Four games to go.  Win them, and the only way we don't play Champions' League is if both Liverpool and Man City win their European cups.  Sunderland and Norwich may be poor, but they're fighting to avoid relegation.  City will be tough.  Villa will be loose, and are just the sort of team we slip up against this year.  But it's the last game and everyone will be focused.

Leicester-West Ham was one of those games in which the referee (Jon Moss, the guy who called our game today) made himself the star.  I hate that.  Fair result?  Maybe--we'll never know.

I Can't Fucking Believe It. OK, I Totally Believe It.

What a limp performance today.  Palace was really crap, and should have been blown away.  All the possession we had in the first half produced very few real chances, then a superb looping header from Alexis resulted in the goal that really should have just been a launching point for a plastering of a very passive Palace.  We actually looked better in the second half, but again, could not make that final ball count.  Hennessey didn't have to do anything out of the ordinary, either.  Their goal was very well struck, but who was closing down their most dangerous man as he cruised across with the ball on his right foot?

We've seen this so many times before, just this season.  I love this team, but boy are they soft.  The dishonor roll today has to be topped by Ozil and Bellerin, both of whom had really poor games.  Elneny looked underwhelming too.  I can't fault Gabriel this time, but why is Per not getting any games?  Wenger ought to be able to prepare them for games like this (and the last one, etc. etc.) in which they are in control and have to see things out.  He has to make some tactical changes.  I liked bringing Giroud in; he's great on defensive headers and can hold the ball up.  But Ramsey was not an inspired choice, to say the least.  Taking out a defensive mid for (in essence) an attacking one was precisely the wrong way to go.  Throwing Walcott in to try to win the game was an obvious move but he does not look particularly strong these days.

I have a lot more opinions on what went wrong, but I just want to forget about this game and this season.  We absolutely need a win at the Etihad now, as well as to win the other games, but who thinks we're going to do it?  Not me.  United may well pass us too, and if they don't, Liverpool may win the Europa League to snatch the fourth place "trophy" away.

If ever a squad needed a tough manager, it's this one.  Ozil was jogging around when we didn't have the ball (and sometimes when we did)  There have been stories that he's "worked on his body language" to convince the fans he's giving 100%!  What bullshit.  He's obviously not doing his full job, and needs to be taken to task for it.  He's better than that, or he should be.  It's no fluke that he's not getting more assists.  He's just not that dangerous anymore.  Ramsey had fresh legs; with a one-goal lead, he should have sprinted back and clogged the middle to prevent the tying goal.  I didn't look for him, but I bet he was still upfield.  (Apologies if he at least tried and failed.)

If there's no Champions' League, it gives plenty of reason to can Wenger, and the coaches he's surrounded himself with as well.  Steve Bould may be a legend, but he has not stiffened the defense.  Clean house a bit, as Tottenham did, and cut Walcott and Wilshere loose.  Another solid CB is a good idea.  (Chambers has to start producing or he's surplus to requirements as well.)  What the offense needs is concentration.  Crosses in particular seem to be a lost art for us.

Ah...it's a really nice day...outside.

Fuck.

Incredible Night in Europe

I like Dortmund, I don't like Liverpool, and I definitely do not want an English team to win the Europa League and take one of the EPL's four Champions' League spots.  So I am not happy with the result at Anfield.  But mein Gott, what a game!  I could tell there were going to be a lot of goals in the game, but seven?  I have to hand it to the Liverpool supporters.  They groaned when corners didn't clear the first man or the ball was given away, but they never gave up on their team even when they needed three goals in a half hour.  The traveling fans were stunned when it happened.

This is the kind of home win that energizes a club, the sort that Arsenal doesn't often get (but remember the Leicester game?).  Yeah, the Reds could still go out (I hope so), but they look pretty damned formidable at this point.  We better finish above City and hope they don't win ECL.

I'm watching PKs to decide the Sevilla-Bilbao tie now:

...Sevilla, winner of the last two tournaments, nets all five penalties to win 5-4.  Villareal and Shaktar Donestsk complete the semifinal cast of characters.

The Champions' League seemed almost sedate in comparison, despite the Real Madrid comeback at home against Wolfsburg, City's drab surprise win over PSG, and Barca's ouster by Atletico in front of a delighted throng at the Vicente Calderon.  Suarez once again showed what a complete dick he is by elbowing and diving up a storm, and managing to evade punishment.  How is that guy allowed to continue playing?  Bayern is the fourth contestant in those semis.

And, of course, Man U beat West Ham in their replay to become the presumptive favorites for the FA Cup.  I will never understand how we got beat by Watford.

A very entertaining week, even if it didn't bring the results I wanted (other than Barca going out).  Let's hope we're focused Sunday and Palace is dreaming of FA Cup glory.  We really need to win out, especially against City.

St Totteringham Is Not Looking Good

I don't think he'll make it to his holiday this year.  Spurs demolished Manchester United in about seven minutes yesterday to put Champions' League in serious doubt for United and make second place the likeliest spot for Tottenham at season's end.  I was hoping for a draw, but this was my second favorite result.  I want Champions' League more than I want to finish above Spurs.  It's about time, for both clubs, that this idiotic fluke ends.  Really, who cares?  It would be annoying to see Tottenham win the league, but if Leicester falters and they win out, they'll deserve it.

Would Carroll have scored three times with Mertesacker on the pitch?  I doubt it.  But Carroll has not been a world-beater this year; who knew?  Yet at halftime...but that's madness.  I looked at stats, and Arsenal gave the ball away an astonishing number of times, far more than West Ham.  That was our main problem.

So, ECL is in our hands, but those hands have not been exactly safe.  The showdown with Man City looms as the biggest game remaining.  I think it's important to finish above them.  Besides, it would be so crazy to see City and Chelsea not in the top three, and Leicester in the top spot.  We'll know soon whether Dortmund can end Liverpool's Europa League dreams; I hope so.  If the Reds win that cup, they'll take the fourth Champions' League slot, making the City game a must.  The commentators noted that City has a dreadful record against the top five (other then themselves) this season.  It was astonishingly bad, something like 0-2-7, with just us left to play.  We do seem to match up well against them for some reason, so fingers crossed.  If we win that game and take care of business against the lower ranked squads, it will give the Spuds something to think about besides Leicester, and of course we'd cruise into third.  But a single slip-up could actually put us into the Europa League should Liverpool win that cup.

Tottenham is about to build a new stadium.  My guess is that they'll use Delli Alli, Harry Kane, Christian Erickson, or Eric Dier for part of the down payment.  It's their pattern.  They've been very fortunate to have sold a few players at or near their peak to keep their squad fresh and strong.  (An argument can be made that the Bale money was mostly wasted, but they did get Lamela with it.)  Not every excellent young player fulfills his potential.  (Tell the Gunners about it.)  Arsenal would have been advised to sell Walcott and Wilshere years ago when other teams were interested.  Now you'd have a hard time getting serious money for either one.  Tottenham will be sorely tempted by a 60M pound offer for Kane or 30M for Alli.  They really are a selling club, even more than Arsenal was when we were getting laughed at for it.

West Ham 3 - 3 Arsenal ...and some other great games

Wow, what a game!  I can't be upset after that display from both teams.  The result was fair, I thought.  The Hammers had a perfectly good goal chalked off wrongly for offside, so maybe we were lucky at that.  That damned Andy Carroll got us again, with help (twice!) from Gabriel, who deflected his last two past Ospina.  I don't want to be too hard on him, because no one on defense looked brilliant today for either team.  This was a day for pressing and surging forward once the ball was won, and scrambling back when it was lost.

I thought Wenger had lost it when he took our two defensive mids out for attacking players; I figured the Hammers would score a couple more times.  But it didn't backfire.  My main complaint is about tactics.  With a two goal lead, protect the ball, please.  It's the first half, so it's too early to go into a shell; but make sure you don't give it away in your own half.  Sheesh.    So, one point off West Ham.  Funny, before the first game this season I was bragging to a Man U fan that "We own West Ham."  Not any more.

The outlook is now cloudy.  City hosts us later, so they could very easily pass us in the standings.  Man U and Tottenham play tomorrow; one or both will lose points.  I want a draw, but I don't know which I'd rather see lose.  It's not going to be easy for West Ham to finish above us now, though, so it's just the Manchester clubs we need to stay ahead of.

What a season.  The miracle of Leicester, the collapse of Chelsea, the blossoming of Tottenham.  Villa relegated, probably with both Northeast clubs, who will be playing the Tyne-Wear derby in the Championship next season.

Europe had some real entertainment value this week.  For me, the highlights were PSG-City and El Kloppico in Dortmund.  I was also delighted to see Juve down AC Milan today, behind some fabulous goalkeeping by Gigi Buffon.  Serie A is not what it used to be; the Bianconeri have gone 21-1-0 in their last 22 games.  My rooting interest in Europe is to see Liverpool and City not win the titles, because they'll keep us out unless we can pass Spuds.  Even just Liverpool could bump us should City finish ahead of us.

Leicester, Man U, and Szczesny

Leicester was almost denied, but managed to make their superiority count by defeating Southampton in Leicester 1-0.  This puts them seven points up on Tottenham with six games to play, and eleven up on us, though we have a game in hand.  Tottenham has the goal difference advantage, so if Spuds go 6-0 and Foxes go 4-0-2 or 3-3-0, Tottenham wins the league 55 years since the last time,  But that's not terribly likely based on what I saw today.  Spurs did look unlucky to drop points at Anfield, but for them to win out might be asking too much.  And Leicester does not look like folding, particularly at home.

Manchester United was clearly superior to Everton today and deservedly came away with three points, but they didn't dominate and don't look like a squad that's going to take maximum points from the rest of their games.  That's good, because Man City just might.  The fourth place trophy is the only one in our grasp--in fact, third place is ours if we go 6-0-1 no matter what anyone else does--and it's important to keep room between us and United and West Ham.

I've supported Roma for a while, and now that Szczesny plays for them, I try to watch them when beIN carries them.  He looked really good for most of the game, snagging whipped-in crosses, blocking shots, and most impressively, making a fabulous reflex save on a header from four feet away.  I was thinking, we could really use him when the Cech era is over, or if we have to sell him, we could get real money for him.  Then he did something Arsenal fans will not be surprised at.  On a long, looping cross heading beyond the far (left) post to a forward well marked, he ran for the ball, waved at it ineffectually as the Lazio attacker got enough on it to send it bouncing across his goal, and watched from far, far away as another Lazio player slid in and tucked it inside the right post.  All he had to do was stand in his goal and nothing bad could have happened.  Fortunately, Roma was up 2-0 at the time and went on to score twice more, so the derby was won and Champions' League status became more probable.  You have to wonder how much first team experience he needs before he stops doing stupid stuff like that. He's really good, but decisionmaking is a weak point.

Arsenal 4 - 0 Watford

That fool Gomez looked pretty foolish today.  I wish we could have scored two of today's goals in the FA Cup game against these guys, but I'm told that's not the way it works.  Watford looked like a team that knew it had ridden its luck last time and was happy to get out of town without suffering even more indignity today.  It was great to see Alexis score, and for him to get a few minutes off at the end.  I saw the Chile-Argentina game last Tuesday and he was running his socks off in that too.  Iwobi took another step forward, and the Campbell-Walcott connection late on was heartwarming.  We could very easily have been awarded a couple of PKs as well.  Watford had its moments, but there weren't many of them and they came after the competitive portion of the action was over.

Bottom line, it's hard to draw many conclusions from this win.  Watford really looked sloppy and out of sorts.  But some individual performances were very impressive.  I haven't looked at the blogs yet, so these are just my impressions.  Coquelin was imperious in midfield.  He pretty much shut Watford down through the middle.  Of course, Elneny gets credit too.  He really does look like a smart addition.  Bellerin was awesome.  Not only did he perform his defensive duties, he scored and participated in several very dangerous maneuvers down the right.  Monreal had just as good a game, but in his quiet fashion, which is how I like defenders to do things.  Ospina did what was required of him very well, but that wasn't much today.  Everyone else looked good today too, including the subs, but maybe that was their opponents making them look good.  Anyway, a thoroughly enjoyable game, just the way I like them when I have a strong rooting interest.  Early goal, two goal lead at the half, and out of reach before the hour mark.  Perfect.  And no injuries, at least that I could see.

Tottenham and Liverpool drew in what was a real barnburner, one of the most entertaining games I've seen this year.  It was all action, and the ref let 'em play and got the calls right, which wasn't easy.  I was sure Spuds would win this one, but am very happy to see them drop points.  Their schedule is favorable, but that doesn't mean much this year, so if they drop two points more than we do the rest of the way, we'll finish above them.  That's my goal now.  Leicester is not going to collapse; I don't see us catching them.  Man City won big too, so we have to win six of our remaining seven games to be assured of finishing above them (and West Ham and Man United).  We play the Hammers (who also drew today against Palace) and the Citizens at their place, so this isn't assured.  Draws in both those games would probably be enough to assure Champions' League status.  But we have to take care of business against everyone else and hope United doesn't win out.  Good weekend already, and maybe some opponents will drop points tomorrow.