Written by Alistair Bayliss
There was a certain level of class and efficiency about the New Year’s Day victory over Birmingham City, to which the faithful followers of the North London side have now become accustomed to.
Arsenal were faultless in possession, strong into the tackle (whilst fair) and were defensively stable throughout – a fact that will please Arsene Wenger almost as much as the three goals that completely ruined the previously excellent home form of Birmingham City.
Whilst most will sing the praises of the ever impressive Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri, few would give the same credit to the two centre-halves Johan Djourou and Laurent Koscielny, both of whom did not put a foot wrong from the first whistle to the last. The only blemish on the entire day for Arsenal was the booking given to Djourou for an apparent foul on Cameron Jerome, which upon closer inspection proved to be a ridiculously harsh and fundamentally wrong decision from referee Peter Walton.
Both defenders were dominant in the air, even when 6’8’’ Nikola Zigic was introduced with twenty minutes to go. Arsenal’s centre-backs made forward runs from any Birmingham City player immediately unthreatening, and as a consequence of that, Arsenal were allowed to squeeze the game and make their superior technical ability count.
The performance of Koscielny demonstrated that he is becoming more and more assured and comfortable in the rough and tumble style of the Premier League. He has received a lot of criticism from various media sources already this season, probably because of the two red cards he has picked up since arriving at the North London club. However, both of Koscielny’s dismissals could have easily been avoided had there been a more lenient official appointed on both occasions.
It does have to be mentioned that there mitigating circumstances which almost certainly contributed to the result, Birmingham City were not helped by having a gruelling test against Manchester United earlier in the week. Arsenal definitely benefited from playing the Blues last night. Whilst this does have to be taken into account, it is important to recognise that Arsenal brought out the weaknesses that Birmingham possess in a much more effective manner than Manchester United did. Quick, incisive passing is pivotal to cutting open a deep lying defence, and Arsenal did this brilliantly.
This game marked the penultimate game of Arsenal’s hugely difficult Christmas period. Manchester City are next for the Gunners, who will enter the game in similarly excellent form. Should they manage to bag a victory on Wednesday evening, Arsenal will undeniably be in a very good position to press on for the Premier League title.
This article was first published on Gunnersphere.com – you can follow Ali Bayliss HERE on Twitter
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