Things have been damn cold here in the great NW. As I sit here in my Arsenal beanie, enjoying the match from earlier today, the temp outside reads 14* F. Yeah. A bit chilly. Love it though. We already got our first snow (a dusting really) on Monday. Another reason for moving back “home”.

Weather aside, it has been an absolute pleasure getting to watch our boys this year. Regardless of the lack of writing on my part, there hasn’t been a weekend that has gone by that I still didn’t find the time to garb up in my gear, parade my child around town in his and watch The Arsenal continue their push toward another Champion’s League qualification and tightening our hold on the title. 

I suppose the long time fans can’t be too surprised. They enjoyed the bigger, glory years. The seamless football dominance and towering figures enshrined on the Emirates walls. I will admit I am jealous. But knowing so much Arsenal “defeat” (if you can call consistent Champions League qualification that) has made this year an absolute joy to take in. Cap it all off with Ozil facilitating the beautiful style of play that got me hooked on soccer, Rambo literally playing out of his mind and Giroud taking that next step in his hold up play… boy, it’s just been rich.

And depth? Well, it should be on the way with Walcott on the mend, Poldi close to game time and the Ox recuperating. Even our midfield has grown crowded with the stellar play of Rambo (quite nice having options for Wenger when it comes to cycling his players). The biggest difference for me this year has been the apparent confidence exuded by Arsenal. You could argue that the Ozil signing had a lot to do with that but I think that his arrival (and elevated type of play) really just put us over the top. This started last year for me when you saw a team stick it out, pull off an incredible run and develop the kind of understanding on the pitch that makes a manager’s job easy. 

Right. The match. As much as I despise seeing Bend-over on the pitch it was quite nice seeing Giroud get a well deserved rest. I really thought Ozil and Rambo would also see themselves on the bench (not to mention hoping that TV5 would garner a start) given the amount of minutes they have played this year. I guess that whole talk of give ’em some rest, long road ahead, lots of matches to be played yadda yadda yadda was a load. OR, it could be that Arsene wanted to see us secure the win early and then run out some of our other lads. 

Possession was off the charts to start. It almost looked WAY too easy. Much like you would expect a title team going up against a first year back, championship level team. BUT too many missed chances as well early on. The quick goal had me thinking Bend-over could see more than one goal in this one. But after Ozil’s strike was rebounded (gifted) to his feet and he couldn’t quite turn it in you knew that rustiness isn’t that easy to rub off. It is a bit sad that the expectation is so low that a single goal from Bend-over is considered over-achieving but it is what it is with that lad. 

Toward the end of the first half you could see things start to wear off a bit in the attacking prowess. Part of this could be the result of having Monreal and Jenks out there (they just haven’t received the minutes they need to add loads to the attack). Rambo, of course, almost lashed one in at the 32nd minute (really a beautiful strike and a better save). Really great to see that kind of confidence just oozing out of Rambo; the boy deserves it after all the doubters. 

It really has become something that Arsenal are putting together the kind of build up that they do in scoring goals. Reminiscent of Barca? A little bit… It becomes very apparent how much understanding there is between the players when you throw in someone who isn’t getting the regular minutes (looking at you Bend-over). Too often you see him a bit too out of position or not hustling with the sort of effort we have become accustomed to in Giroud. Hard to complain when he does find goal with that ugly noggin and ridiculous top knotty thing (is it supposed to help his arrow dynamics or something??). 

Nevertheless, another piece of evidence: The oh so beautiful touches between Rambo and Ozil in the second goal just after the start of the second half. Just a fantastic one-two followed by a clean, cool Ozil finish. No coincidence that Ramsey was, yet again, involved in another Arsenal goal (perfectly weighted pass to Jenks in the first has to count too). 

Later on, a bit of an odd change if you were looking to give a few some rest. Honestly, I would argue that Jack come on for Ozil or Rambo (just to give them some rest) vs. Rosicky. I can’t argue with the Walcott change; Bend-over was clearly tired and Walcott needs time to acclimate to the league speed and touch (have to like that his time also comes with Ozil and Rambo still on the pitch). I have a feeling that with some time the paring of Walcott and Ozil will also make a fairly lethal combo given his speed and Ozil’s placement. The options are enough to make this fan giddy once the team gets a few more pieces healthy. The final change of Arteta for Rambo was a welcome one, even if I had wished he gone off earlier. Either way, it’s nice to see quality come on for quality these days. 

Lastly, these are the games we have either dropped or allowed our opponent to get back into the match by allowing the equalizer. But this year is playing out a bit differently (at least right now) than the last few years. We are finally seeing these types of game through to the end and pulling out the 3 points we deserve. The confidence and authority with which Arsenal are playing against these types of teams is exactly what you could expect of a title team… whoa there, it’s still early… And it’s ARRRSENAL! ARSENAL FC! WE’RE BY FAR THE GREATEST TEAM THE WORLD HAS EVER SEEN…