Match Review: Arsenal 4 Everton 1 - FA Cup - 08.03.14

Wembley! The famous Arsenal will be making their way to Wembley after a brilliant victory over Everton. The season that was supposed to be imploding suddenly looks pretty healthy again, as the Gunners overcame a very tricky Everton side. The final score was a little harsh on Everton and on me as I stood to win a very nice bet at 3-1! But it doesn’t matter one bit as we inched closer to a shot at FA Cup glory.

Wenger made a raft of changes to the team that were beaten at Stoke. Wilshere, Szczesny, Koscielny, Giroud, Podolski and Rosicky all dropped out, replaced by Flamini, Fabianski, Vermaelen, Sanogo, Özil and Chamberlain. A mixture of changes due to injury and rotation, the main concern being Koscielny’s injury ahead of the death run to end all death runs, but Wenger seemed positive on it after the game.

What you need in a big game like this is an early goal to settle the nerves and, surprisingly, we got it through our waste of money, flop of the season. Arteta played the ball to Chamberlain on the right and he flicked round the corner towards Cazorla. McCarthy looked to have intercepted it, but lost his footing allowing Cazorla to charge forward and play the ball through to Özil. The German was under pressure from three defenders charging back, but kept his head to slide the ball home. He was clattered after the shot, so it would almost certainly have been a penalty had the ball not gone in. You could see exactly what it meant to both him and the rest of the team as they all embraced the playmaker.

Arsenal took the initiative from there, the passing was slick and we looked dangerous every time we came forward. Sagna saw his cross tipped onto the bar by Everton keeper Joel and Cazorla had a couple of attempts deflected wide from the edge of the area. We won a lot of corners too, but failed to do anything meaningful with them. It was inevitable then, that we would be punished for not being able to fashion a second goal. Unfortunately it was a self administered punishment.

We gave the ball away with both full backs miles up the pitch and Everton broke quickly, 3v3. Barkley clipped a brilliant ball across the front of goal and Mirallas scrambled the ball back to Lukaku to score from half a yard. An infuriating goal to give away considering how much we’d controlled the game after scoring. A typically Arsenal self inflicted gunshot to the foot. It could have been worse too, as the goal sparked a period of Everton pressure until the end of the half. What should have been a 1-0 lead, ended up as parity at half time.

I thought we were comfortably the better team in the second half. Everton are a quality team so were always going to have a few good moments in the game, but overall I think we were better throughout. Chamberlain had an impressive game and he was the spark for the breakthrough. He raced clear down the right hand side and Gareth Barry brought him down in the area at the second attempt. I haven’t seen a replay of the penalty but there seemed to be few complaints. Former Everton man Arteta stepped up and cooly slotted the penalty home…but was then called back to re-take it. Apparently Giroud had encroached in the area before Arteta had kicked the ball and in an apparently new amendment to the rules, Giroud was booked. So Arteta stepped up again and this time he smashed the ball into the top corner. Balls of steel and deservedly, we went 2-1 ahead.

As expected, things got a bit nervy as Everton pressed for a second equaliser and we looked to keep hold of what we had. Giroud had been brought on for Sanogo a few minutes before the penalty and Wenger’s second change saw Rosicky replace Chamberlain, who had been great going forward, but had been giving the ball away a fair amount. Oddly, it is a sort of defensive change as Rosicky is very adept at closing down and hassling the opponents. Both the substitutes were involved in putting the game to bed. Rosicky found Sagna on the overlap and Sagna took the ball to the byline. Giroud was the only option in the middle, but just as the chance looked to be fading, Sagna fizzed the ball into Giroud and the Frenchman sorted his feet out just in time to score.

With seven minutes left, the game was effectively over. There was no comeback from a third goal for Everton, but they still tried to salvage something and it proved their undoing. Everton committed too many men forward and when Arsenal got the ball back, they broke with brilliant efficiency. Rosicky was played in down the right and with 3 on 2, it was a simple task for to play the ball inside to Özil, who expertly fed Giroud. The striker was left with the simple task of sweeping the ball home and that was that.

Wembley awaits. It now seems that the FA Cup is our best hope of winning a trophy this season. Our Premier League fate will likely be decided this month, with games against Sp*rs, Chelsea, Swansea, City and Everton. The Chelsea and City games will decide our title challenge while the Sp*rs and Everton games are vital in ensuring we slip into the skirmish for the top four. It’s a serious test for the team with only the Swansea and City games at home, leaving three horrible away games. Our performances in the big away games have not been impressive this season. The team needs to step up next Sunday, but for this weekend, it’s about enjoying another excellent cup win. Before we inevitably draw City in the semis…

Stat of the game

Mesut Özil scored a goal, assisted a goal and also created five chances. Some flop.

Teams

Arsenal (4-2-3-1)
Fabianski, Sagna, Mertesacker, Vermaelen, Gibbs (Jenkinson 88’), Flamini (Y), Arteta, Cazorla, Özil, Chamberlain (Rosicky 73’), Sanogo (Giroud 62’ (Y))
Subs
Viviano, Jenkinson, Rosicky, Giroud, Gnabry, Ryo, Podolski

Everton (4-5-1)
Joel, Coleman, Distin, Stones, Baines, McCarthy (Y), Barry, Barkley (Deulofeu 84’), Pienaar (Osman 76’), Mirallas (McGeady 76’), Lukaku
Subs
Howard, Hibbert, McGeady, Naismith, Browning, Deulofeu, Osman

Player Ratings

Fabianski - 7/10 - Not called on to do much, but seemed up to the task
Sagna - 7/10 - Lovely little assist and kept Baines quiet
Mertesacker - 8/10 - Kept Lukaku silent, including one excellent all or nothing tackle
Vermaelen - 7/10 - Looked solid, but did have the odd wobble. Understandable though
Gibbs - 7/10 - I think he’s a better left back than Baines. @ me all you want
Flamini - 7/10 - Played his part well, got a stupid yellow but was disciplined from then on
Arteta - 8/10 - Superb performance, looked fantastic playing a more advanced role
Cazorla - 7/10 - Solid showing, very glad he’s signing a new deal
Özil - 8/10 - My MOTM, the guy is a cut above and showed it today
Chamberlain - 7/10 - Very threatening going forward but gave the ball away too much
Sanogo - 6/10 - Not great this time, the ball bounced off him and he wasn’t a threat
Subs
Giroud - 8/10 - Clinical, so much so that he ruined a nice looking bet for me…
Rosicky - 7/10 - Helped set up two goals and seal the tie for us
Jenkinson - N/A

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