Arsenal vs. Tottenham

1-0, Premier League, Emirates Stadium, 01.09.2013
Giroud 23

This season the first North London Derby came along early, and very much to our liking. We played circles around Tottenham, with all their new signings, for the better part of the game, emphasising the fact that their best player definitely was their 'keeper!

In the very first minute, however, Koscielny had to make an important block to prevent a disastrous start to the game. Two minutes later Cazorla saw his sizzling free-kick saved by Lloris  ín the Tottenham goal and the resulting header was sent over the bar by Giroud. Merely three minutes later we got another free-kick in a decent position as Walcott was brought down just outside of the 18-yard-box. Once again Cazorla stepped up to take it and fired inches wide of the post!
   Mertesacker was then called into action as he made the second important block in front of the goal for us following a shot from Soldado. Ten minutes then elapsed before what would become the winning goal was scored. Rosicky passed the ball to Walcott, who made a brilliant cross for Olivier Giroud to put into the back of the net! It was not the Frenchman's first goal in a North London Derby, but it could  very well be the most important one so far! Needless to say he has had an amazing start to this season, much like Ramsey who shone in the midfield in this game, and this could very well prove to be his (and Ramsey's) season!
   The just mentioned Welsh midfielder created our next decent chance to score as he advanced skillfully down the right-hand side and played a great ball to Walcott, whose shot was saved by Lloris. At the half-hour mark our own 'keeper (Szczesny, that is) had to make a save as Townsend fired a fairly long-distance shot away. In the Fenerbahce game earlier this week Ramsey proved to be quite the goalscorer, unfortunately that was not evident in this game as he fired high over the bar when Walcott found him with some space at the edge of the 18-yard-box.
   Before the end of the half Szczesny made another decent save following a Townsend shot and for the first time in five years we got to see Flamini take to the pitch as an Arsenal player when Wilshere had to go off due to a stomach bug. The Frenchman provided plenty of experience and showcased great dedication and skill in the midfield, all in all I believe he will prove to be a very good signing!

There was plenty of pace right at the start of the second half, our first chance came along as Ramsey fired a shot wide from way outside the 18-yard-box. A while later, roughly twenty minutes into the half, Giroud finished a great counter-attack with a strike that was deflected wide. Two minutes later Tottenham fired wide as well through Paulinho.
   With twenty minutes to go Walcott got in a position he usually scores from, but this time he did not manage to put the ball over the 'keeper, as the ball was just out of his reach. That could have proved costly, as approximately five minutes later Tottenham got ridiculously closed to scoring following a free-kick, the only thing in their way being one of Szczesny's hands! A truly stunning save by our Polish 'keeper!
   As we approached eighty minutes played Monreal replaced Rosicky and immediately got close to scoring as Giroud played a wonderful ball to Walcott in the box, whose shot was saved by Lloris (again) and the rebound was placed just wide by the Spanish full-back!
   The final minutes included tons of Tottenham pressure, luckily we brought on Sagna at the beginning of the added time to help out with the defensive work and in the end we held firm to grab the win!

There is hardly any need to express the fact that winning this game granted us more than the three points and I dare say that the Villa loss is well and truly behind us. Now there is a bit of a break from club football, our next game being away against Sunderland on the 14th of September.

Injury Update:
- Koscielny was back in action in the league in this game, doing a great job at the back!
- Podolski will be out for two to three months following a hamstring injury picked up in the Fenerbahce game, obviously a huge disappointment.
- The reason behind Sagna starting on the bench was due to a stomach bug (probably the same Wilshere has picked up), but it was nothing severe (which I dare say it won't be for Wilshere either).