Stoke City 0 - 0 Arsenal

By Richard Butler

STOKE AWAY. Two words that install fear into every Arsenal fan. How can one team and one ground have caused us so many sleepless nights over the years?

Of course this is not the same physical, long ball Stoke team of the Tony Pulis era. But while they play much better football these days under Mark Hughes, the presence of Ryan Shawcross in the team means events from the past will never quite be forgotten.

But the improved spectacle now being offered at the Britannia is wasted on these home fans. They are stuck in a 1980s time-warp. The sick chanting and booing aimed at Aaron Ramsey, who's only crime is to have had his leg shattered by that thug Shawcross, showed the Stoke fans for what they really are; uneducated morons.

This was not Ramsey's best game of the season, in the circumstances how could it have been, but the way he has fought back from such an horrendous, career threatening injury deserves respect. The guy has developed into one of the best box-to-box midfielders in European football and has, of course, scored the winning goal in an FA Cup final.

This summer he will playing for Wales in the European Championships, the first time his country has qualified for a major tournament since 1958, and it was the performances of Ramsey that went a long way to helping them achieve that goal.

Shawcross, on the other hand, is stealing a living as a professional footballer. He has been described as an old fashioned centre half. Basically this means he would not look out of place in local, park football. But I have seen much better players than him playing in Sunday League.

Apparently the main reason for the Stoke fans hostility towards Ramsey was his refusal to accept a written apology sent to him by Shawcross in the aftermath of that 'tackle' in 2010. But by accepting the apology it would have been condoling that kind of behaviour on the pitch.

And it is not like Shawcross has learnt from it. Over the years I have still seen him flying into tackles and injuring other players with his recklessness. So, Stoke fans, if you really want to boo anyone, boo Shawcross. The guy is a disgrace. But then again you deserve each other.

But I digress...

Coming just four days after a tough trip to Liverpool, and missing the creative genius of Mesut Ozil, this was always going to be a big ask.

In the past we would have capitulated. Indeed the corresponding fixture here just over a year ago saw us 3-0 down at half time. But this team has a tougher, more resilient look to it these days. And in the final reckoning this could well go down as a very good point.

Lets remember that Manchester City were blown away here a few weeks ago. Chelsea and Manchester United were also beaten, while Leicester were held to a draw. None of the big sides ever find it easy here.

So in sub-zero temperatures and with a hostile home crowd this was all about standing up and being counted. It was a test we passed with flying colours.

In fact had it not been for two great saves by Stoke goalkeeper, Jack Butland, either side of the break, both to deny Olivier Giroud, we would have got the result we wanted.

The first chance, just before half time, was the big one. In a game like this the first goal is vital, and had we gone in front at that stage there is no doubt we would have gone on to win.

As has been the case in recent weeks the chance was created by Joel Campbell. Needing someone to step up in the absence of Alexis Sanchez, the Costa Rican has done just that with a series of top quality performances.

But when his lovely defence-splitting pass had sent Giroud clear, the Stoke goalkeeper was out quickly to deny the Frenchman. Cue the same old 'Arsenal need a world class striker' cliché.

But Giroud did very little wrong. He opened up his body well as Butland came out and was simply denied but a very good save. We could have spent £90 million on another striker in the transfer window but there is no guarantee that they would have scored in that same situation.

Giroud's second half header was also unlucky. Again Butland showed his international pedigree with a smart save down to his left. Sometimes you just have to praise the goalkeeper. On another day both chances would have gone in and Giroud would have been the hero. But that is the life of a striker.

Talking about goalkeepers. The £10m Arsene Wenger invested in Petr Cech last summer might just prove to be the best £10m ever spent. You do not realise the importance of a world class goalkeeper until you actually have one. And Cech is still one of the best in the business.

His double save in the second half not only ensured we left here with a point but also showed his value to this team. Without Ozil, Sanchez, Santi Cazorla, Francis Coquelin, Jack Wilshere and Danny Welbeck, we lacked the creativity to win the game. But without Cech we would have lost it. And in the final analysis that could prove to be the difference between finishing first and second in such a tight title race.

So despite only two points out of a possible six over the last week or so it is hard to feel too disappointed. The frustration is over the late goal conceded at Anfield as four points would have been an exceptional return from two such tough away games.

But two is by no means a disaster. We are still top and have played two home games less than City. With their away form even more shaky than ours, that could just prove crucial in the final reckoning.

It was suggested that we may have better winning at Anfield and losing here as three points is better than two. But I believe not losing either game will be far more important in the long run. Avoiding defeat at Stoke is also a sign that this group have grown together this season.

With some key players due to return imminently things are looking good. Beat Chelsea at the Emirates next Sunday and that momentum could well propel us over the line.

And who knows, in May we may well look back on Stoke away as the game that won us the title!  

Liverpool 3 - 3 Arsenal

By Richard Butler

TWO POINTS dropped or one point gained? That is the question following this exciting draw at Anfield last night. 

Of course  it is disappointing when you concede a last minute equaliser. But over the 90 minutes there is no doubt that a draw was the most we deserved.

Two years ago we arrived at Anfield sitting on top of the league and were favourites to lift the title. But after a poor start that day we were blown away, 5-1. That result was the start of a mid-season collapse that saw us drop out of the title race. A couple of weeks later we lost 6-0 at Chelsea. After the opening twenty minutes last night, I feared a repeat was on the cards.

But this Arsenal side are made of sterner stuff. Not only did we twice draw level before half time, and all this despite not playing particularity well, but early in the second half we even managed to get our noses in front.

At that stage it looked as though we would go on to take a very important three points. But the longer the game wore on the more likely a Liverpool equaliser became, and although disappointing, it was not really a shock when Joe Allen scored in the final minute. It had been coming.

It is strange how often there is a late goal when we play Liverpool at Anfield. Of course none is more famous than the one Mickey Thomas scored in 1989, but in recent years there have been several.

We lost to an injury time goal in 2004; in the 4-4 draw in 2009 both sides scored in the last minute; in 2012 Robin van Persie scored a late winner; while last year Liverpool equalised in the 97^th minute. So we should have known what to expect.

Many fans were bemoaning the substitutions but hindsight is a wonderful thing. If we'd kept a more attacking line up searching for the 4^th goal and conceded, Arsene Wenger would have criticized for not shutting up shop.

He made defensive substitutions in a bid to shore things up and he gets accused of sitting back and inviting pressure. Unless we win every single game it seems some people will never be satisfied.

But it is hard to criticize anyone last night. It was simply one of the games of the season. From first minute to last it was played at a high tempo and was more like a basketball match. Real end-to-end stuff with a strange mixture of Champions League attacking coupled with Sunday League defending.

It led to an exciting game but possibly explains why English clubs have had such a poor recent record in the Champions League.

So while it has to be looked on as two points dropped, I prefer to look at the positives. Manchester City were held at home by Everton, Spurs lost and we are still top of the table with one game less for the others to catch us.

And what about the performance of Olivier Giroud. He gave a master-class in centre forward play. Okay so he missed an open goal in the first half, just after he had made it 2-2, but he did what all great strikers do; he made up for it with a goal of real quality.

The turn and finish to put us 3-2 ahead was the touch of a genius. Roberto Firmino, who had scored twice early on for Liverpool, tried a similar thing just before the break, but his effort hit the top of the crossbar. Giroud showed him how it should be done.

Of course we needed a fourth goal. I always felt we had gone in front too early. We were stuck in a dilemma; go for the killer goal or hold on to what we had. And once Christian Benteke came on I feared the worst. Not because he is particularly good or that he has ever done much against us in the past, but because it gave Liverpool an outlet.

So it was no real surprise when the big Belgium created the late equaliser, heading down for Allen to score.

If I am being over-critical I would say Petr Cech was slow reacting and should have pushed it around the post. But the guy has saved us so many times this season that that would be extremely harsh. So instead I will blame the wet pitch which added pace to the ball. And Hector Bellerin who was obscuring his view.

But despite the late drama many positives came from the performance. Aaron Ramsey once again showed how much more effective he is playing centrally. In the absence of Santi Cazorla, the Welshman has scored four times in 10 matches. From the same position, Cazorla has not scored in open play for more than a year.

The way he took his goal last night; the third man run into the area and instant finish, is what we miss when he is stuck out wide. As good as Cazorla has been I would like to see him pushed wide on his return, possibly in place of the off form Theo Walcott.

In fact since we lost Cazorla, Francis Coquelin and Alexis Sanchez to injury in November we have won seven out of nine matches in all competitions and lost just once. The squad, it seems, is far stronger than it was given credit for.

The emergence of Joel Campbell has been a major feature of those matches. Again last night he was magnificent. Adding creativity to work rate, his performances have meant that we have hardly missed Sanchez at all. In fact now that Sanchez is fit again it would actually be a risk to drop Campbell.

His two assists at Anfield showed exactly what he brings to the team. And rarely can a player have given so much for the cause. Giroud was awarded man of the match but Campbell was surely not far behind.

So another potentially tough away game is out of the way. But its straight on to another this weekend with the trip to Stoke City. It is extremely harsh of the fixture computer to give us these two away matches back-to-back in the same week, while City have two at home, but that is the way it is.

While traditionally we have struggled at Stoke, I am confident this time will be different. We now have a mental strength in the squad sadly lacking in previous years and we have the quality to get the result we need.

 

Often when we have been poor defensively this season we have really tightened up in the next match. I can see a much more cagey affair at the Britannia with us nicking it 1-0. Four points from these two away matches would be a great return and set us up nicely for the title run in.

So back to the question posed at the start: two points dropped or one point gained? I guess only time will tell.