Arsenal Looking To Round Off Excellent Season

Match Review: Hull City 1 Arsenal 3 - Premier League 04.05.15

The league title may have proved a step too far for Arsenal this season, but on Monday night they turned on the style and sent out a reminder that this side can produce some truly magic football. Not many would have predicted that we would be the closest challengers to Chelsea this season, but the team is showing signs of taking the next step and mounting a serious challenge for the title after being also-rans for so long.

A big part of our recent excellent form has been a settled and consistent team line up and shape. Ramsey is proving to be very effective out on the right and Özil is finally settled in the number ten role, while Wenger seems to have also settled on his preferred back five. Monreal has well and truly displaced Kieran Gibbs and Bellerin has seized the right back spot on the back of Debuchy’s injury troubles and the manager’s belief that Chambers is better suited as a centre back or holding midfielder.

Hull’s 5-3-2 formation stifled us for the first twenty minutes or so. With wing backs, three midfielders and two strikers pressing from the front, the home side clogged the centre of the pitch and forced us into long balls on a number of occasions. It seemed their game-plan was to make it as difficult as possible for us to play through the middle and force us to try and bypass the midfield up to where their three centre backs were trying to prevent Giroud from holding up the ball. For a while, it worked and we had plenty of possession in our own half, but struggled progress up the pitch with any sort of momentum.

Unfortunately for Hull, they were only able to hold the plan together for limited time, before their trio of former Spuds combined to help us force the breakthrough. Özil robbed the lumbering Huddlestone and as we broke forward with pace, Livermore bundled Sanchez over on the edge of the area. The Chilean took the kick himself and the ball flashed beyond Harper with the help of the ever hilarious Michael Dawson.

The goal lit the fuse for us and from then on, the first half consisted of Hull desperately trying to contain a rampant Arsenal attack. Once we started making inroads in the middle of the pitch, attacking runners started pulling the Hull back three apart. The second goal was a perfect example of us analysing and then exposing the weakness of the opposition’s tactics.

Hull’s forward two were lazy and failed to pressure Cazorla as he moved forward from his own half and as the back three focussed on Giroud and preventing passes into Alexis and Özil, Cazorla caressed a ball over the top to meet Ramsey’s run between the wing back and centre back. Ramsey’s first touch was exquisite, allowing him to turn and fire into the far corner via a deflection. Giroud’s run was important in creating the space for Ramsey and Cazorla’s pass to find him was world class.

Such was the level of football we were playing that I don’t think the players or fans would have wanted the half to end. We looked able to carve Hull up at will and with just a minute left of the half, another incisive move effectively killed the game. Hull lost possession just inside the Arsenal half and like lightening we sped forward and with the home team caught with players committed to their attack, Ramsey had time to slide a perfect pass through for Alexis to round Harper and roll the ball home.

There were only two slight disappointments that I had with the game. The first was that we were robbed of a clean sheet by an appalling refereeing decision. Meyler won the ball off Cazorla, but then overran the ball and went steaming through Koscielny. It was a clear foul, yet Lee Mason ignored it and allowed Hull to play on. The ball was crossed into the box and headed in by Quinn, who found space where Koscielny would have been, were he not lying in a heap following Meyler’s ‘challenge’. I’m not sure we could have done much to prevent the goal other than not lose the ball in the first place. Koscielny was not able to cover his position because he’d been taken out of the game by the foul and there was no time for anyone to cover in his absence. English refs strike again.

The second was that we didn’t manage to score a few more goals. Our attacking play warranted more, but it seemed the luck we benefited from in the first half counted against us in the second. Alexis, Cazorla and Wilshere (brought on for Ramsey) all went close and the latter should have had a penalty when his shot was blocked by a handball on the line. However, I’m just being greedy really. Overall the performance was sensational and full of promise. The way we passed with speed and precision and you could see the confidence in the team, particularly when Mesut Özil produced a crazy flick pass that defied description and all logic. I could watch that one flick on a loop for the rest of my life and never get bored.

Although the inevitable questions about challenging for the league next year came in the post match interview, Bellerin and Cazorla gave the right answers. Despite the title being the goal the club is working towards, the focus has to remain solely on finishing this season the right way. We have three very winnable home games remaining, as well as an interesting trip to Old Trafford. If we win the home games and avoid defeat in Manchester, we’ll secure second place ahead of our second consecutive FA Cup Final. We have tremendous momentum at the moment and it’s imperative we keep it going for these last five games and round off what would be an excellent season.

Teams

Hull City (5-3-2)
Harper, Elmohamady, Chester, Dawson, McShane, Brady, Huddlestone, Livermore (Y) (Meyler 45’), Quinn (Jelavic 81’), N’Doye (Y), Aluko (Robertson 65’)
Subs
McGregor, Rosenior, Bruce, Meyler, Hernandez, Jelavic, Robertson

Arsenal (4-2-3-1)
Ospina, Bellerin, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal, Coquelin, Cazorla, Ramsey (Wilshere 68’), Özil, Alexis, Giroud (Walcott 86’)
Subs
Szczesny, Gibbs, Gabriel, Rosicky, Wilshere, Walcott, Flamini

Player Ratings

Ospina - 7/10 - Didn’t have anything to do really, goal wasn’t his fault
Bellerin - 6/10 - A little off colour and gave the ball away a lot
Koscielny - 7/10 - One mistake in the first half, but otherwise solid
Mertesacker - 7/10 - Didn’t have anything to do really
Monreal - 7/10 - Solid as usual
Coquelin - 7/10 - A pretty easy game for him, but was as blocky as usual
Cazorla - 9/10 - Ran the game with space he was given from deep, MOTM
Ramsey - 8/10 - In great form and provided a great goal and assist
Özil - 8/10 - Contravened the laws of the universe with his flick to Alexis, unreal
Alexis - 8/10 - Two goals and a brilliant performance to go with it
Giroud - 7/10 - Occupied the Hull back three allowing others to play and do the damage
Subs
Wilshere - 7/10 - Looked sharp when he came on, good to have him back
Walcott - N/A

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