Keep on rollin'

Norwich 1 - 2 Arsenal 

A good team performance coupled with another man of the match display from our fearless leader ensured another 3 points, adding to the momentum that this team has been building up over the last few months as we quietly keep climbing up the table.  Robin will rightly get all the plaudits for his brace, the second a fantastic chip over the keeper, but there are several unsung heroes in this team now - players who are quietly going about doing their job in a more professional, efficient and more productive manner than we have maybe seen them do in the past.  Needless to say though, we are The Arsenal, and as such, we are required to make ourselves our worst own enemy and only an Arsenal defender of experienced international quality could self destruct.  Koscielny has been playing very well recently so Per duly obliged to provide the moment of madness that we still fear is in this team.  However, unlike recent seasons, this team appears 'mentally stronger', to use a phrase Arsene clearly gets royalties for such is the frequency he puts it to use, and the win having to come from behind is more proof of that.  

The Good

Norwich played well, buoyed on by passionate home support they harassed us and closed down the space, all in a fair manner it must be noted.  We responded to this and our confidence is clearly growing as shown by 20 shots on goal with 14 of those on target. Just as important it means that this team, despite losing it's creative fulcrum in Cesc, is now finding it's feet and opening up teams again and again.  I lost count of the number of times Gervinho, Walcott and Ramsey created chances, either for each other, or for Robin.  Theo in particular is having more consistent games and it is good to see him taking on fullbacks and creating chances though his partner in crime  on the opposite flank clearly needs to work on his finishing. Both these players bring energy not only to the team but also to the crowd and that can only ever be a good thing.

It's also noticeable that while Arteta didn't have his best game for the club, his intelligence is key and his ability to play in the defensive midfield alongside Song is vital for the ability of this team to defend in open play at the moment.  He knows where to be at the right time to intercept passes, he knows when to keep possession and slow the play down and he knows when to attack, with all these qualities no more evident than in the last ten minutes as our front four tried to get the third goal while Arteta and Song hung back.  

Another calming 90 minutes for Vermaelen under his belt, a more controlled display from Santos and a new position for Koscielny without a foot put wrong all meant that Szezesny had a relatively quiet game.  Should we get our fullbacks fit there is even the chance that we may be able to play a settled back 5 at some point this season but until then I'll be happy for them to just work hard and concentrate for 90 mins each game without putting a foot wrong...or almost! 

The Bad 

Per oh Per......although to his credit, he performed admirably for the rest of the game.  At least it wasn't as bad and costly as a certain Mr Terry's fall from grace!

A bone to pick with Norwich's Grant Holt who found it very easy to throw himself either to the ground or into our players in the last ten minutes as he looked for free-kicks and penalties. If he hadn't done so maybe Norwich could have made more of what were promising attacking situations.  

The Sensational

Robin Van Persie.  

World class.  Special.  Exceptional.  Leader.  We are running out of superlatives to describe just how amazing a player we have as our captain.  Even the statistics (31 goals in 29 games this calender year) are finding it hard to keep up with him and make people realise how special he is. 

Every fan right now is just praying that he stays injury free.  For the sake of Arsenal football club this season, we all hope that Robin can just keep on rollin'.