Arsenal 1 - 1 Leicester

First, credit both keepers for making some excellent saves.  Martinez also came outside his area to clear dangerous outlet passes at least twice too.  The result, I think, was unlucky for us.  Nketiah's infraction was borderline red.  He didn't leave in the boot and the player he fouled wasn't hurt.  But those are often given, so I can't complain too much.  Disallowing the Vardy goal would have been harsh.  I thought Perez slowed the ball's progress slightly with a grazing touch, but it wasn't obvious and apparently the VAR authorities weren't interested in that anyway, or so they say.  Before the game, I hoped for a win but I was not terribly confident about it.  A point doesn't do us much good, but maybe we can win three of the last four and that will suffice.

I was really happy with how we played.  The pace was fast, and there were misplaced passes from both sides.  Players were hitting the ground, Mustafi got kicked in the head and slammed to the turf, there were a lot of fouls (but few cards), and no one was moaning.  It's a damned shame we had to play short for 24 minutes, but the Foxes were getting chances when we had 11 out there in the second half, so I'm not sure we'd have done better had Eddie stayed on.  Kolasinac was decent but he really doesn't know what to do with the ball when he has it.  I liked Xhaka's play a lot.  It's funny how Saka seems to play better on the left.  Tierney once again was excellent.

No complaints, just a few regrets.  On to the NLD!

Wolves 0 - 2 Arsenal

This was a real test.  Two superbly taken chances won the points for the Arsenal.  Saka's was prettier, a lovely sweeping high volley just inside the near post, but I enjoyed Lacazette's even more.  The first touch was perfect, and the rocket off the inside of the far post unstoppable even though the keeper was in position.  The Gunners made Molineux look like a comfortable place to go, and deserved the three points from this hard-fought contest.

Four wins in a row definitely has improved my mood.  I really don't see us overhauling United or Chelsea, but it's not impossible.  What I really want is a European place, and Europa League will do if the ECL is out of reach.  We need the games for our young players and squad players.

Five games to go, including a high stakes North London derby:  Leicester, Spuds, Liverpool, Villa, and Watford.  Two teams at the top, two fighting for their PL lives, and rival Tottenham.  I think we'll be up for it.  The three at the back system we've been having success with does seem to have made us harder to break down with balls into the box.  Our GK has looked commanding on high crosses too.  Tierney and Soares are dangerous on attack and are proper fullbacks too.  (Hector is taking a while to regain his pre-ACL form.)

Midfield is still a worry but the back three gives the fullbacks more license to help the engine room.  I hope Torreira is close to 100% because we sure could use him.  If we can keep Auba, we have plenty of attacking firepower, though we never did fill that Giroud-shaped hole up front.

Please, boys, don't burst my bubble!  Sixth place should do it, maybe seventh, depending on a lot of things with the ruling on City and the FA Cup results.  Heck, why not just win that?

Arsenal 4 - 0 Norwich

Sure, we got two absolute gifts, easily converted by our top scorer, but pressure forces mistakes.  It wasn't total domination by any means, but the Canaries took Man United to OT in the Cup game a few days before.  Goals for Xhaka and Soares (on his debut!) were most welcome too.  We were due an easy win.  Martinez was sharp when he had to be.  The Arteta project is one I hope we follow through on.  Ozil and Guendouzi are being shown that they are not needed in their current frame of mind.  I'll miss the Frenchman, but am sick of the German.  How can he want his career peak to end like this?  Arteta is showing faith in the players, young and old, who are committed to his vision for the team and show it every day in training.  They are responding, too.

On to the Semis: Sheffield United 1 - 2 Arsenal

It was an ugly game, with injuries, niggling fouls, haphazard officiating, and other assorted annoyances.  But in the end, a tough opponent was seen off and we're going to Wembley again.  The bad news is that we'll face City, who thrashed us at the Etihad not long ago.  Maybe they'll be overconfident, or de Bruyne will miss the team bus.

Credit Mikel for realizing he had to use three center backs to counter the aerial threat.  It wasn't hugely convincing, but it was just good enough.  (Mustafi, Kolasinac, and Luiz may not have been the three I trust most, but they managed not to concede a PK.)  I'm getting very peeved at the way opponents foul to stop our counterattacks but the refs don't always pull out a card.  These days, the counter is our best shot at scoring.  Our passing is ponderous and frequently mistimed or off-target, so buildups generally go nowhere.  That's worrisome, because we have some real talent out there and we ought to be able to find more space for Pepe's shots or Saka's runs.  

I still believe in Arteta's ideas, and eagerly await his molding of our young midfielders into slicker passers and better defenders.  We're not winning the league any time soon unless Stan has a dramatic change of heart in Arsenal's favor, but better days are coming if we keep the faith.

Southampton 0 - 2 Arsenal

I didn't get a chance to see this one, but it was great to beat the Saints and get back to winning ways.  Willock needed that goal, and hats off to Eddie for working hard to pressure their keeper into a dreadful error. 

Unmitigated Disaster: Brighton 2 - 1 Arsenal

It takes just a few minutes of good offensive play to beat Arsenal these days, and that's all the Seagulls needed today.  After Pepe's goal, I was screaming for Arteta to replace Lacazette with a midfielder, but he didn't and we paid the price.  I have no idea what those substitutions were supposed to accomplish.

Leno's looked like season ending injury.  Another nail in our coffin.

A Day to Forget: MC 3 - 0 ARS and JUV 0 - 0 NAP* (2-4)

Don't blame it all on David Luiz.  We were second best all game.  Tierney kept allowing their forward to get open inside him in the penalty area.  All of our center halfs were shaky.  Only Bernd Leno can be proud of his performance; had he not been in top form, it could have been 6-0.  I liked the way our youngsters kept at it.  Eddie was a real handful.  Joe Willock was fairly anonymous, but Saka and Guendouzi were lively.  Xhaka, Mari, and Mustafi going down injured was a blow; for City, Garcia's horrific injury will be a downer despite the scoreline.  Dreadful stuff all around; even the weather was filthy.

Arteta will have a lot to discuss with his men and little time to do it.  I don't know who's left at CB; Rob, Calum, and Sokratis?  Do we even have Mavropanos healthy?  We could still have a very successful run-in.  Arteta will not let anyone give up.  And if Luiz gets another minute, I'll be surprised.

A poor game was followed by the usual PK nonsense in the Copa Italia final in Rome.  The only bright spot was that this game played 80% concurrently with Arsenal's, so I saw a lot less than half of it, and I allowed myself to be distracted from the mess in the Etihad for a while by the mess in the Stadio Olimpico.  I would have hated to waste another hour + on these flaming bags of poo.