Arsenal and Man City Miss Out, End Even

 1-1 

Earlier today Chelsea were stunned by Crystal Palace in a 1-0 loss.  John Terry scored an own-goal and Chelsea missed out on claiming any points.  Manchester City came into the later match against Arsenal with a chance to take the top spot if they could beat the Gunners at the Emirates Stadium.

City had a better start to the game and enjoyed the majority of possession in the early stages of the game.  David Silva was able to create the first goal of the match when Arsenal gave up possession in midfield.  Silva had space to dribble a long way towards the Arsenal goal and picked out Edin Dzeko running to the back-post.  Dzeko's shot was partially blocked by keeper Szczesny before coming off the post.  The rebound off the post then came back to David Silva who managed to get a foot on the ball to score (18').

The rest of the first-half featured a series of four yellow cards, three of them going to Manchester City.  Fortunately for both clubs, no one was shown a second yellow and both clubs finished with eleven men.

Arsenal regrouped during the half-time break and came out in the second-half with more intensity.  Their improved play paid off quickly and the Gunners managed to level the score.  Lukas Podolski delivered a skipping cross into the box and Mathieu Flamini was able to slip in front of defender Demichelis to get a shot at goal for the equalizer (53').

After conceding the goal, Manchester City played more conservatively bringing in Milner and Javi Garcia to secure the midfield.  Arsenal on the other hand went for more aggressive changes and brought Oxlade-Chamberlain and Yaya Sanogo on to the pitch.  However neither side could produce a go-ahead goal and the match ended in a draw.

For the moment Chelsea remain at the top of the table, but Liverpool will have a chance to take the lead tomorrow when they face Tottenham at Anfield.  The title race is anything but certain though, as just five points separate the current top-four.

Arsenal Collapse Against Bayern Munich in Champs League

 0-2 

For the second straight day an English club was reduced to ten men and conceded two goals in a Champions League match.  Manchester City fell 0-2 to Barcelona yesterday, a similar result for Arsenal playing Bayern Munich today.

The intensity was high at the start of the match as both clubs looked primed to score.  Arjen Robben for Bayern and Yaya Sanogo for Arsenal made their presences felt early, however it was defensive mistakes that set the tone for the match.  Two penalties were given in the first-half, one for each team.

First Mesut Özil dribbled into the box and made a move on Jérôme Boateng that forced the defender to commit a foul.  Boateng was shown a yellow card and Arsenal won a penalty.  Özil got to take the shot from the spot and tried to sneak it down the middle.  Keeper Neuer wasn't fooled though and made the save to deny the penalty (9').

After half-an-hour Arsenal defender Kieran Gibbs could not continue and had to be replaced by Nacho Monreal.  Things then got worse for Arsenal when their keeper missed a challenge on Robben and was shown a red card.  Robben was able to win a ball played over the top before keeper Szczesny could break up the play and was caught by the keeper coming off his line.  Along with the red card, a penalty was given and David Alaba was called up to take the shot.  Alaba missed wide left from the spot though, and the score remained level (40').

Playing the entire second-half down a man, Arsenal were forced to drop inside their penalty area and defend constantly.  Similar to Barcelona, Bayern were able to keep nearly all of possession and work a pair of goals against a depleted English side.

Captain Philipp Lahm was involved in both goals, producing the final pass each time.  First Lahm played a square-ball along the edge of the box that Toni Kroos struck first-time.  The shot from Kroos had just enough curl on it to bend around the reach of the keeper and slip back inside the near-post (54').

Then near the end of the match Lahm played a chipped ball into the box to pick out the run of Thomas Müller who came in late off the bench.  Müller was left unmarked and drove the header down to beat the keeper for Bayern's second and final goal of the match (88').

The German club now has a huge advantage going into the replay in Munich on March 11th.  Two away goals will need to be matched by Arsenal when they meet again, and the defense needs to be perfect to stop the dynamic Munich attack.

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.

Arsenal's Ramsey Nets Two in Win Over Sunderland

1-3

The Premier League returns after taking a week off to fit in all the World Cup Qualifiers around the globe.  Arsenal travelled to Sunderland today and were able to debut their latest signing.  German International and former Real Madrid midfielder, Mesut Özil started for the Gunners and seemed to mesh perfectly with his new club.

In the early moments of the match, Özil set up Giroud in the box for a goal.  Defender Gibbs played a long ball out of the back that Özil trapped well before laying across the face of goal.  Giroud made a good near-post run and scored with his first touch, sliding the shot past the keeper (11').

Jozy Altidore played less than twenty minutes for the United Stated in their qualifying matches, but was in the starting line-up today for Sunderland.  His chances were limited as Arsenal controlled a vast majority of possession, but he looked fit and had one good shot from distance that was saved by keeper Szczesny.

Sunderland made a change at half-time taking Vaughan out for Craig Gardner who proved to be an improvement.  A penalty was awarded to Sunderland when defender Koscielny missed his tackle in the box, and Gardner scored from the spot to tie the game (48').  Arsenal took the lead back though when Aaron Ramsey scored with a very well struck volley.  Rightback Jenkinson picked him out in the box with a cross and Ramsey blasted his volley past keeper Westwood (67').

Moments later Sunderland had a chance to again equalize when Jozy Altidore got tangled up with Bacary Sagna.  Altidore broke away from Sagna, who was holding him back, and put the ball in the Arsenal net.  However, the referee called the foul on Sagna before the goal was scored and Sunderland only got a free-kick instead of a goal.

Aaron Ramsey then scored a third goal for Arsenal to seal the deal when Giroud slotted a through-ball for his run into the box.  Ramsey did well to slip through defenders and score his second goal of the match (76').

Though it is still early in the season, Arsenal may have found the perfect player to put them back at the top of the Premier League in Mesut Özil.  One the other side, American Jozy Altidore is making his second run in the Premier League and has a chance to help a good club as well as take the next step as an elite striker.