Sunday's match against Hull was billed as a warm-up to the FA Cup final due to take place next month. Arsenal vs Hull two teams who have enjoyed success amidst the throws of knockout football yet who have stuttered at times to find consistent league form.
Hull are not to be underestimated, boasting a strong midfield with players such as Huddlestone, Livermore and Meyler who, if required, are able to play flowing passing football.
Our FA Cup hopes are boosted by the fact that Hull's strike partnership of Long and Jelavic are both cup tied and therefore ineligable to play in May, however both started at the K.C. stadium last weekend which was some initial cause for concern given Long's pace and Jelavic's physical presence.
As was evidenced with Swansea's Wilfried Bony our defense can be suceptable to well-placed crosses, however fears were allayed with the inclusion of Koscielny who is now fully fit and should spend the rest of the season cosied up next to his big German soulmate.
The one time Long did find himself in space, running in behind Koscielny, he wasted the effort by attempting a shot from a difficult angle, miscuing and sending the ball into the stratosphere.
As well as this boost to our defense, our midfield saw the return of the messiah, the ethereal Mesut Ozil. Anyone who doubted his jaw-dropping quality will have to think twice about their appraisal as the German clearly made a huge difference, allowing Ramsey to adopt a more creative role safe in the knowledge that Ozil and Cazorla could back him up.
The young German should have had a penalty early on. In a move spookily similar to that against Bayern, Ozil, running down the left side of Hull's penalty area, pulled a neat turn with the inside of his left boot jinking between two Hull defenders. Looking at the replay it was clear that Elmohamady's leg made contact and Arsenal were unlucky not to get an early opportunity to take the lead.
After seeing off some retaliatory pressure from City, Arsenal found their flow, playing the kind of football we haven't seen since Christmas. Suddenly our one touch passing was back, and Ramsey and Ozil's willingness to cover every blade of grass in search of space ensured that Hull's back four were always busy.
This coupled with Giroud's physicality meant that holes soon began appearing deep in Hull's half. Ramsey pulling the strings followed the run of the ball between Ozil and Cazorla, running in close to the Spaniard ensuring he lost his marker before pulling away in between the centre back and left back. A well timed through ball from Santi found the Welshman in space, before he slotted it home to the rupturous applause of the away fans.
Another classic goal to add to the several we have scored this season. It really is upsetting to think how different our season may have been had even half of our injury list been fit. Any combination of Ozil, Ramsey, Wilshere and Walcott would have been worth at least an additional 4 points in the second half of the season, keeping us within reach of the title. Add a proven, pacey goalscorer in the Summer and we're even more dangerous.
The game settled back into a more regular rythym and Hull began to find their feet after Ramsey's opener. Meyler and Long combined well to create space for Livermore, whose shot cannoned off the post next to an outstretched Szczesny. A close call for Arsenal and a reminder to keep pressing for a second.
A second Arsenal goal came in somewhat controversial circumstances. Perhaps it's our bias but Arteta's 'foul' on Jelavic would have been very soft, if anything there was less contact than between Ozil and Elmohamady so at least the referee was being consistent.
As it happened, Arteta's tackle disposessing Jelovic was the springboard for an old-school good ol' fashioned rip-roaring adventure in counterattacking. Finding the ball at his feet Giroud did superbly to cut back freeing himself of the attentions of Hull's defense. Positioned between the right side of the penalty box and the touchline, the HFB saw an onrushing Ramsey (who had sprinted 60 yards once Arteta had won the ball back) chippping in a cross aimed for the Welshman. As it happened Ramsey's chested control fell a little long, which would have ended the move had Podolski not arrived just in time to launch a laser-guided volley into the bottom right corner. Harper didn't even move.
Such is the potency of our German winger, who now has 4 goals in two games, that Giroud's dry-spell is not affecting our results.
After some fairly uninspiring midfield play between the two sides, Arsenal struck again and yet again through another pacey, technical move. Monreal, whose involvement did initially cause me some worry (let's face it he's no Kieran Gibbs) had an outstanding game, keeping Meyler in his back pocket all game and doing well when turning defense into attack.
For our third goal Monreal made a good, penetrating run down the left flank before cutting the ball back towards the edge of the sixteen-yard box. The clever cut back found Ramsey ina few feet of space, however the Welshman's shot was saved by Harper despite his blocked vision. However the Hull keeper failed to hold on to the ball and as it squirted free of his grasp, Podolski was at hand, yet again showing his experience in positioning, to tap it home.
3-0 to Arsenal and by this point we were cruising. Giroud could have added a fourth (I currently have a bet that he will score 16 or more league goals this season - he's on 14) when a strong gust of wind held up a back pass. Giroud met Harper just as the Hull keeper tried to clear, the ball reboudning off the Frenchman's sculpted thigh and towards goal. The angle was tight and the ball about to escape Giroud's reach for a goalkick when he managed to get a toe to it, however the ball lifted and agonisingly struck the crossbar.
A let off for Hull but annoying for Giroud whose hard work and persistance should have earnt him a goal.
With 20 minutes to go Wenger decided to mix things up replacing a battle-wearied Giroud with the Ox. His impact was immediate and urgent and with his first real impact on the game should have had a penalty (that's two we should have been awarded in this game alone). Cutting between two players, the Ox's quick feet proved too much for Davies who added the finishing touch to another foul by Rosenoir which had already threatened to stop the young Englishman mid-stride. Again the referee waved away the claim, however there was not much of a response from the Arsenal players or fans considering our comfortable lead. Had the game been tighter however, then the referee's poor decisions at either end of the match would have been a huge talking point.
On a side note I think there is a real danger of referees achieving too much autonomy in the modern game. The culture of respect is such a worthy one, considering that referees are often terribly abused during games, hounded and threatened by players, fans and coaches alike, but there is a worry it could go too far the other way. A referee should be accountable for their decisions, either give them the technology to get it right or allow criticism.
Ban abusive gestures and remarks by all means but managers and players should be allowed to air their honest opinion about the referee's perfomance after the game otherwise a poor referee is able to hide behind a screen of immunity.
It is my opinion that this shift in treatment is beginning to affect the game at lower levels aswell. Playing weekly Sunday League and 5-a-side matches I have witnessed a paradigm shift in the way referees treat the players they are officiating.
I would never condone swearing or shouting at a referee, hoever there have been several occasions where the sentence 'I'm the referee and what I say goes' has been uttered without a hint of irony. The referees are there to officiate a game, not dictate it and there should be an open forum for discussion with the referee to give them an honest appraisal, especially at amateur level where the quality of refereeing is about as consistent as the players themselves.
Perhaps it is because there is such a strict control on what managers can say in their post match interview that words can often boil over into malice. Mourinho's post-match interview following Chelsea's defeat to Sunderland is a prime example. If there is a way for managers to be honest then perhaps a simple "the referee was poor from our perspective" would suffice as opposed to a lengthy tirade laced with sarcasm.
Back to Hull and given how convincingly we won away from home there is real hope for our first silverware in almost a decade. This has to be the year. The return of Ramsey and Ozil has been a massive boost which will hopefully see us through to fourth place and a trophy which would, let's face it, be a marked improvement from last year. Although we would barely scrape into European places yet again, I think it would be a minor miracle considering our injury list and run of fixtures in February, whilst winning the FA Cup would allay the tension which has gripped the Emirates for half a decade.
In exciting news, for your chance to win a signed Santi Cazorla boot follow @thelovelyreds on twitter and RT our competition message. The competition runs until Friday 9th May at which point a winner will be announced. Good Luck!
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