Liverpool Crush Arsenal; Sturridge, Streling, Skrtel Score

 5-1 

Liverpool hosted Arsenal today for a wild Premier League match-up.  Arsenal came into the match at the top of the table with Liverpool eight points behind.  Playing at Anfield, Liverpool had a very danger attack and had the Gunners on their heels all day.

Liverpool could not have gotten off to a better start and scored in the first minute of the game.  An early set-piece allowed centerback Martin Skrtel to get forward.  Gerrard delivered the free-kick into the box and Skrtel was able to score with a volley off his shin (1').  The centerback scored again off a set-piece just minutes later.  This time from a corner-kick, Gerrard delivered the cross and Skrtel scored a well placed header floated to the back-post (10').

Liverpool then scored two more quick goals to stretch the lead.  Jordan Henderson tackled the ball off Özil in midfield and got the ball to Suarez pushing forward.  Suarez then played the ball across the face of goal for Raheem Sterling crashing the far-post.  Sterling finished with an easy tap-in to put Liverpool up three goals (17').

Daniel Sturridge scored the final goal of the first-half shortly after when Coutinho played him in-on-goal.  Coutinho's through-ball was weighted perfectly to allow Sturridge to split two defenders and beat the keeper with a first-touch finish (20').

Liverpool added one more goal in the second-half when Sterling scored his second of the match.  A long ball from the back by Cissokho put Sterling behind the Arsenal defense.  His first shot was stopped by keeper Szczesny, but the rebound came right back to him and Sterling finished with the extra chance (52').

After an hour of play, Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger made all three substitutions at once, likely to save some players for the midweek match against United coming up.  The five goal deficit was obviously too much to overcome, but Arsenal did manage to get one back.  Gerrard missed his tackle on Oxlade-Chamberlain in the box to give Arsenal a penalty.  Mikel Arteta scored from the spot for the last goal of the match (69').  Aside from winning the penalty, Oxlade-Chamberlain was essentially non-existant though.  Fellow winger Santi Cazorla was also not a factor today in one of Arsenal's worst performances all year.

Today's win could be the most important match all season for Liverpool who still have a chance at the league title.  If they can continue to score goals at the current rate, very few teams will be able to keep up.  Arsenal are starting to show signs of slowing down and will look to bounce back against Manchester United on Wednesday.  Liverpool travel to Fulham next as the battle at the top of the table heats up.

Arsenal Edge Aston Villa, Back in First

 1-2 

Arsenal and Aston Villa were the last two Premier League clubs to play the round of 21, getting the lone Monday night fixture.  Right now the team to beat, Arsenal have been superb this season.  However, Aston Villa is one of the few teams that has beaten Arsenal this season, winning 3-1 at the Emirates Stadium on opening day.

Aston Villa initially had only three defenders in the starting line-up today with Clark, Baker, and Vlaar in front of keeper Guzan.  Before the defense was really tested though, Baker was knocked unconscious  by a shot from Arsenal's Gnabry.  The shot struck Baker in the head and the medical staff administered an oxygen mask before carrying him off on a stretcher.  When play resumed Leandro Bacuna replaced Baker and Aston Villa shifted to a four-man defense.

The extra man in defense did not help Aston Villa slow down Arsenal's attack and the Gunners scored two goals in a minute.  First fullback Monreal rolled a cross into the box for Jack Wilshere.  With his first touch, Wilshere controlled the ball before rolling the shot to the far corner of the net (34').  Immediately after Wilshere setup Giroud with a well placed early cross.  Giroud's first touch was perfect and gave him just enough space around defender Lowton to get a shot on goal (35').

Aston Villa saw very little of the ball in the first-half and only held possession 30% of the time.  The second-half was better for Villa as they managed to surpass Arsenal in attempts on target.  One of those attempts was successful in fact, closing the lead to one goal.  Lowton played a cross into the box and Benteke scored with a diving header at the far-post (76').  Unfortunately for the home side an equalizer was not produced and Arsenal claim another road win.

Today's win puts Arsenal back in first place in the league table.  Manchester City, Chelsea, and Liverpool also won their matches keeping the points difference the same as it was last week.  Arsenal get Fulham at home over this coming weekend while Aston Villa go to Anfield for a test against Liverpool.

Arsenal Eliminate Tottenham From FA Cup

 2-0 

The Premier League took a back seat to the FA Cup this weekend and the biggest matchup of round three was easy the Arsenal-Tottenham London Derby.  Arsenal continue to lead the Premier League while Tottenham sit just eight points behind the leaders in sixth place.

Arsenal had to shuffle their starting eleven some with Giroud, Gibbs, and Ramsey unavailable.  Today Walcott got the start at center forward for the Gunners and did well in his preferred position, although he did not score.  Instead it was Santi Cazorla who put Arsenal in front thanks to the setup by Serge Gnabry in the first-half.  Gnabry made a good run into the box with the ball and played Cazorla behind Tottenham's defense with a through-pass.  Cazorla went for power and hit the shot first-touch to beat keeper Lloris at the far-post (31').

Tottenham created a few chances with Soldado and Adebayor in the attack, but overall Arsenal was outplaying the Hotspurs.  Arsenal added another goal in the second-half when defender Danny Rose was caught in possession and lost the ball to Rosicky.  The ball was stolen right at the midfield line and Rosicky had no one except keeper Lloris between him and the goal.  Lloris was forced off his line and Rosicky finished with a chip-shot over the keeper coming out to make a play (62').

Following the second goal, Tottenham had lost all motivation and went out quietly.  The Hotspurs can focus on the league now and host Crystal Palace in the next fixture.  Arsenal advance to the next round of the FA Cup with the win today and will hope for a more favorable matchup, perhaps against a non-Premier League club.  Their next ELP match will be a road test against Aston Villa.

Arsenal Lose to Napoli, Survive Group F

 2-0 

Arsenal came into today's Champions League match against Napoli on top of Group F with just one match left in group-play.  Napoli was even with Borussia Dortmund and needed a big win to pull ahead of the German club.  Arsenal won the previous match against Napoli two-nil in London back in October, so the pressure was all on the Neapolitan club.

Napoli was not particularly good in the first-half and starting center-forward Gonzalo Higuaín did not get involved.  Arsenal were not much better and the half ended scoreless.  Shortly into the second-half Napoli manager Rafa Benítez introduced Lorenzo Insigne which pushed up José Maria Callejón next to Higuaín in the attack.

Together Callejón and Higuaín were more effective and managed to break Arsenal's defense.  Higuaín scored the first goal of the match when he linked up with Callejón around the Arsenal penalty box.  Higuaín was able to turn away from defender Mertesacker to get the shot away that beat the keeper (73').

Arsenal went deeper into the hole when captain Mikel Arteta was shown a second yellow card following a tackle from behind.  Arteta had to pass on the armband and Arsenal had to play the last fifteen minutes down a man.

Unfortunately for Napoli the other match between Dortmund and Marseille did not play out in their favor, and now they had to win by three goals.  Napoli got one more in stoppage-time when Callejón was able to float a shot over the keeper, but there simply was not enough time for a third (90 +3').

Arsenal and Borussia Dortmund advance to the knockout rounds, along with Chelsea who finish on top of their group with a win today over the Romanian team from Bucharest.

Özil, Deulofeu Score in Arsenal-Everton Draw

 1-1 

League leaders Arsenal were back at the Emirats Stadium today as Everton came for the last match in the fifteenth round of the Premier League.  The Gunners won their last three league matches while Everton have gone unbeaten since early October.

Shots were scarce in the first-half and fouls outnumbered the shots 13-8.  Possession was heavily in favor of Everton, but the better chances went to Arsenal.  Only two shots tested keeper Tim Howard and the first-half ended scoreless.

It was obvious Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger was unhappy with his team as the second-half continued and he made all three changes at once replacing Cazorla, Ramsey, and Wilshere for Walcott, Rosicky, and Flamini with about twenty minutes remaining.

Everton boss Roberto Martínez also made changes to his squad, one proving to be an important change.  Just after Gerard Deulofeu entered the match Arsenal scored the first goal of the match.  Rosicky played a ball into the box that Walcott headed down for Giroud in front of goal.  Giroud completely whiffed his shot, but fortunately Mesut Özil was right behind him and finished from close range to break the dead-lock (80').

The late-goal was not a heart-breaker for Everton though, and the visitors responded moments later.  Substitute Deulofeu also benefited from a whiffed shot, Lukaku's attempted bike-kick, that set him up in front of goal.  Deulofeu did well to separate himself from defender Gibbs before scoring the equalizer (84').

The game ended in a 1-1 draw with each team earning one point.  Arsenal remain in first place and Everton stay just outside the top-four of the league standings.  Everton host Fulham next weekend while Arsenal travel to Italy for a Champions League match before a crucial league game at Manchester City.

Arsenal Keep Winning, Beat Southampton

 2-0 

The English Premier League returned this weekend after a week off for World Cup Qualifiers.  League leader Arsenal hosted a surprising third-place Southampton at the Emirates Stadium in London.  Earlier Liverpool and Everton ended the Merseyside Derby in a 3-3 draw giving Southampton a chance to take second place with a win.  However it was Arsenal that would take three points and stretch their lead in the table.

Southampton were pressing high up the pitch to pressure Arsenal's defense with their keeper often coming out to play sweeper.  On one occasion in the first-half keeper Artur Boruc was caught trying to do too much and had the ball stolen off him by Olivier Giroud.  Boruc had two chances to clear the ball, but instead he twice cut the ball back to his other foot and the Arsenal striker picked his pocket and scored easily (22').

Arsenal created more chances overall, but offsides were a problem for Giroud and Mesut Özil throughout the match.  Southampton struggled to create chances but saw good things from Jay Rodriguez and substitute Osvaldo, though the two could not find the equalizer.

Late in the match another mistake by the Southampton defense ensured Arsenal's victory.  José Fonte was caught pulling the jersey of Per Mertesacker during an Arsenal corner-kick.  Fonte was given a yellow card for the offense and a Penalty was awarded.  Giroud scored from the spot for his second goal of the match (86').

Arsenal remain the team to beat in the Premier League who sit on a four point cushion over Liverpool.  Up next the Gunners host Marseille in a Champions League matchup before playing Cardiff next weekend in Wales.  Southampton have another tough test ahead as they travel to Stanford Bridge to play Chelsea.

Aaron Ramsey and Arsenal Top Borussia Dortmund

 0-1 

Premier League leader Arsenal F.C. travelled to Germany for a Champions League match against Borussia Dortmund this evening.  The two clubs were at the top of their table, each with six points, heading into the match.  Dortmund won the previous meeting in London giving Arsenal the motivation for payback.

Through the first-half Dortmund were more threatening than the visitors with Neven Subotić and Henrikh Mkhitaryan coming the closest to scoring.  After half-time Dortmund turned up the pressure and had Arsenal scrambling to stop the constant attacks.

But just when it looked like Dortmund would score at any moment, Arsenal stole all the momentum with an unexpected goal.  Mesut Özil played a chipped cross to Olivier Giroud at the back-post and he kept the play alive by heading the ball back in front of goal.  Aaron Ramsey was in place and finished with a header to give Arsenal the lead (62').

Borussia Dortmund were stunned by the goal conceded and were less threatening as the match played out.  A number of costly offsides against Dortmund killed promising attacks and the substitutes brought into the match were ineffective.

Arsenal are now at the top their Champions League group as well as the Premier League table.  Two more matches remain in group play and Arsenal should be able to reach the knockout stage.  Borussia Dortmund have some catching up to do in the remaining group matches if they wish to return to the final for a second year in a row.

Arsenal Stretch League Lead, Beat Liverpool

 2-0 

First place Arsenal hosted second place Liverpool today with the latter looking to take over the top spot.  Liverpool came into the match two points behind Arsenal with a chance to overtake the Gunner if they could come away with a win.  It was not to be for the Reds, however, as the league leaders proved they deserve to be in first.

Santi Cazorla got Arsenal started with a header that came off the post.  The rebound fell right for him though, to give him a second chance.  Liverpool keeper Mignolet laid out trying to stop the initial header and when the follow-up volley from Cazorla again came his way, he could do nothing from the ground to stop the goal (19').

Following the goal, Arsenal had all the momentum and put pressure on the Liverpool back three.  Liverpool were not completely out of it, but Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge were slow to really get into the match.  After half-time Liverpool abandoned the 3-5-2 for the more common 4-4-2, and brought Philippe Coutinho into the match, but the changes did not slow down Arsenal.

Aaron Ramsey scored a second goal for Arsenal with a well struck half-volley.  Using one touch to settle the ball, Ramsey set himself up for a clean shot outside the 18 yard box (59').  Coutinho and Suarez came alive late in the match, but could not create the spark to get Liverpool back in the game.  Instead Arsenal, for the most part, continued to control possession and forced keeper Mignolet to stay active.

With the win Arsenal extend their lead in first place.  Chelsea also lost today 2-0 against Newcastle giving Arsenal a solid five point buffer over the Blues and the Reds in the Premier League standings.  Next weekend Arsenal will travel to Manchester for a game against United while Liverpool host Fulham.

Chelsea Knock Out Arsenal From Football League Cup

 0-2 

Cross-town English giants Arsenal and Chelsea squared off in a Capital One Football League Cup match today, the latter coming off a win against Manchester City just two days ago.  Not surprisingly Chelsea manager José Mourinho rested everyone used in the weekend match except defender Gary Cahill.  Similarly Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger sat all but three players from the weekend match.  The changes to Arsenal's line-up proved to be more costly than Chelsea's as the defense was not always on the same page.

For the second game in a row, Chelsea scored as a result of a bad header by an opposing defender to their keeper.  Chelsea defended an Arsenal corner-kick successfully and managed to break out on a counter-attack.  Carl Jenkinson attempted to play a header back to his keeper, but he did not get enough power on the ball and César Azpilicueta was ready to poke the ball in for Chelsea (25').

Mesut Özil and Olivier Giroud were inserted into Arsenal's line-up in the second-half, but could not produce a goal.  Instead Chelsea extended their lead thanks to Juan Mata.  With his first touch Mata settled the ball before ripping a shot from just outside the penalty box to beat the keeper (66').

This fourth round meeting knocks Arsenal out of the tournament.  The clubs have two Premier League meetings with both still serious contenders for league champions.  There is also still a chance Arsenal and Chelsea meet in the Champions League and you can bet Arsenal would love to return the favor.

Hat-Trick By Suarez Puts Liverpool Over West Bromwich

 4-1  

West Bromwich Albion travelled to Liverpool for what turned into a rather one-sided affair.  Luis Suarez scored two goals in the first-half to give Liverpool an early lead.  First Suarez nutmegged Jonas Olsson in the box for a clear shot that he placed inside the far post(12').  Minutes later Suarez scored again when a cross from Aly Cissokho was perfectly headed to the upper 90° from outside the box (17').

Liverpool completely dominated the first-half and could have stretched the lead further, but Sturridge and Henderson could not quite get the right touch.  Liverpool carried the momentum into the second-half and Suarez completed his hat-trick with another header finish.  Gerrard delivered the cross on a free-kick and picked out Suarez at the near-post for his third goal of the match (55').

West Bromwich got one back when a penalty was awarded following a foul by either Lucas or Cissokho in the box.  The two converged on Billy Jones in the box and the sideline official called the foul.  James Morrison finished from the spot, but it would be West Brom's only goal (66').

Daniel Sturridge did finally manage to score despite his previous misfortunes.  From twenty yards out, Sturridge was able to chip the shot over the keeper and under the crossbar for the final Liverpool goal (77').  West Brom keeper Boaz Myhill was not really off his line, but the shot was placed perfectly to stay out of his reach.

Liverpool remain in second place, two points behind Arsenal who also won today against Crystal Palace.  Next week Arsenal will host Liverpool and Crystal Palace will host West Bromwich.  Liverpool have a chance to take first place, but Arsenal will be looking to extend their lead in the table.

Arsenal Two-Nil Over Napoli, Top Group

2-0

Arsenal had a convincing win against Swansea City over the weekend and the Gunners took that momentum into the Champions League match against Napoli.  The Italian club finished second in Serie A last season with Juventus winning the league.  Today Napoli travelled to London and were sporting interesting black and gray camouflage uniforms.

Arsenal got off to a hot start and scored twice in the first fifteen minutes.  Olivier Giroud helped Aaron Ramsey get forward with an overlap pass on the right side.  Ramsey then found Mesut Özil making a trailing run into the box.  Özil hit the shot first-time running on to the ball for the first early goal (8).

Özil then got behind the Napoli defense and setup Giroud in the box.  The pass came back across the goal from the end-line for Giroud who finished easily from close range (15').

Napoli prevented Arsenal from scoring further, but never found the quality on the attacking side.  Possession was heavily in Arsenal's favor and keeper Szczesny was only forced to make one save.  Arsenal's attack wasn't as threatening in the second-half either, but the two goal lead was more than enough for the home side.

Arsenal are on top of the Premier League and following today's win sit on top of their Champions League group.  It has been a great start for the Gunners, but there can be no slowing down if they hope to win either competition.