Tomas Rosicky scores in Arsenal win over Sunderland and agrees new deal

Arsène Wenger had contract news and in the absence of him finally confirming that he will prolong his 17½-year association with Arsenal beyond the end of the season, it was probably the next best thing. Tomas Rosicky, the manager said, had reached agreement on a new deal. Like Wenger, Rosicky's current terms are set to expire in June.

"Tomas Rosicky will stay," Wenger said. "We have an agreement with him and it will come out soon. I am absolutely adamant he has to stay at the club."

Rosicky's worth to Arsenal is lost on nobody who watches him regularly, least of all Wenger, who has come to reach for him in the very biggest matches like some sort of charm.


It was a surprise that he omitted him for Wednesday's Champions League last-16 first-leg defeat at home to Bayern Munich, but the Czech Republic international returned here and he was central to the over-running of Sunderland.

His goal was a beauty, stamped with Arsenal's first-time passing that slices through opposing teams when it is in sync, as it also was on Olivier Giroud's opener. Rosicky started the move, which took in contributions from Santi Cazorla and Jack Wilshere before he swapped passes with Giroud and clipped the ball over the advancing Vito Mannone.

It carried shades of Wilshere's goal against Norwich City from October and it technically made the game safe although, in reality, Arsenal were comfortable from the moment that Giroud turned the ball home after incisive work by Lukas Podolski, Rosicky and Wilshere.

Rosicky was billed as "Little Mozart" when he signed in May 2006 from Borussia Dortmund but the 33-year-old has evolved into the all-round midfielder who brings balance, organisation and urgency to the team.

"When he arrived, he was less a tactical player and more the Mozart from Prague," Wenger said. "He was purely a creative, offensive player. But today, he is a real organiser as well. He gives a real structure to the team.

"He is one of the players who plays the game of give-and-move and he is a great accelerator of the game. He always makes things happen, not with individual dribbling but with individual acceleration of his passing and his runs. His goal was one of the top goals we have scored."

Wenger was more forthcoming on Rosicky's contractual situation than he was about his own. When asked whether he could give any update concerning his longer-term future, Wenger replied that there was "nothing at all" before seeking to cut short the briefing. He has fudged the issue since last summer.

Wenger has never left it so late before re-signing and although Ivan Gazidis, the chief executive, has maintained a confidence that the Frenchman will commit to the continuation of another cycle at the club, there are those who question his motives for waiting. What if Arsenal were to win the title? Is Wenger leaving open the possibility of going out on a high? Does the decision even depend on a trophy?

The doubters, though, have been drowned out by the repeated suggestions, and not only from Gazidis, that Wenger is ready to sign. The manager has dropped a couple of hints himself, even if they have come in his carefully qualified language, and as good a time as any might be around the occasion of his 1,000th Arsenal game – the potentially pivotal league fixture at Chelsea on 22 March.

Arsenal's other ongoing contractual drama concerns the 31-year-old Bacary Sagna, whose deal also runs out in June. Wenger is happy to break the general club policy for 30-somethings and give the defender two more years but resolution remains some way away.

Sunderland return to north London on Sunday for the Capital One Cup final against Manchester City at Wembley and Gus Poyet can only hope that his players are more attuned to the occasion. "Sometimes, a good kick in the backside at the right time is good to wake you up," the manager said. "This game changed plenty of things in my mind."

Man of the match Olivier Giroud (Arsenal)

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Arsenal vs. Manchester United: Simulating Premier League Tie Using FIFA 14

Arsenal and Manchester United fans will be fearing the worst heading into the Emirates clash on Feb. 12.

The Gunners, fresh from their 5-1 humiliation against Liverpool, need three points to continue their charge for the Premier League title. United arrive after yet another abysmal result, this time coming in the form of a 2-2 draw against Fulham, and they need a positive score to keep their hopes of fourth place burning just about.

While the away supporters' sense of dread is certainly justified, hope can be taken from United's 1-0 win over Arsenal earlier in the season.

We excitedly decided to simulate the match using FIFA 14, but boy, did we make a mistake.


Arsenal vs. Manchester United: FIFA 14 Highlights

1' Decent start from Arsenal, who control possession and slowly move forward.

22' Smart play on the edge of United's area sees Mesut Ozil flash a shot at David de Gea's goal. The Spaniard meets a powerful strike with a smart save.

40' No action to report whatsoever. United barely exit their half, while Arsenal look content to keep the ball without threatening.

HALF-TIME: Arsenal 0-0 Manchester United

55' More of the same in the second half. United make a rare journey into Arsenal's box, but Ashley Young's weak effort drifts wide.

67' This is a terrible, terrible (virtual) game of football. Jack Wilshere, Ozil and Santi Cazorla set up a tea party on the halfway line and tell the rest of their teammates they aren't allowed to play.

Jon Super/Associated Press
79' A digital pigeon has just flown into the Clock End. Probably. Elsewhere, the writer of this article can be heard screaming from afar.

85' Lukas Podolski meets a Cazorla cross, but he nods the ball softly into De Gea's hands. That was kind of the German.

FULL-TIME: Arsenal 0-0 Manchester United

Now, usually when there's a lack of action I would bring you a highlights video from the entire game. Unfortunately, Ozil's first half shot was the only moment of note throughout. Join me in weeping, please.

Instead of overrated videos (who needs them?), here's a selection of statistics to drill home the tedium.

Arsenal vs. Manchester United Match Statistics
Arsenal Manchester United
0 Goals 0
4 Shots 2
3 Shots on Target 0
59% Possession % 41%
0 Yellow Cards 0
0 Red Cards 0
0 Offsides 0
2 Corners 0

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A Cultured Left Foot: Arsenal Need To Send Liverpool’s Season Down The Tubes

It was a template that Christian Gross should have followed. No fuss, no need to show his ticket to the press, just the inspector and get on with the job. What was on Arsène’s Walkman that day? Not for him the soulful brashness of Beyond The Pail, of that there is no doubt; an altogether more cerebral affair than the one on the right hand sidebar of this post as well. Although I think he might have a secret hankering after John Cooper Clarke’s Mancunian intonations. And yes, Tube Station was a late addition; not that I needed any particular reason to do so but it worked for me and never let it be said there isn’t some adaptability to the news in the blog. No, it can be as manufactured as anyone.

So to Anfield. The lunchtime kick-off evokes memory of Robert Pires‘ (link 1 on his first name, 2 surname, 3 here) finger-wagging celebration; a similar moment of Arsenal genius would be most welcome today.

The talent is certainly there to conjure such moments, Cazorla and Podolski both showed that in last season’s win in the corresponding fixture. Both sides are much improved since then, Liverpool sit fourth, Arsenal top. Few would have given any money on the latter and the players are revelling in showing their severest critics wrong. With the run of fixtures coming, it is important to remember that by the end of March, Arsenal will have played what might reasonably be termed the ‘big’ matches; City and Chelsea will both still have to go to Anfield. At that point, being in contention, within a two-point gap of the leaders if not top, still leaves a title challenge in place.

It is asking a lot the players, depending a lot on niggles and knocks being managed through until the current walking wounded have recovered. Sometimes that certainty of playing breeds confident performances, the sort which have seen Arsenal unbeaten at Liverpool for six years. Surrender in 2007 was abject, even Peter Crouch was made to look a world-class striker as the defence went AWOL. No such fears today with the combination of Mertesacker and Koscielny looking to continue their astonishing record of thirty-odd games without defeat when they have played all 90 minutes together. Arsenal are looking to win their third consecutive win at Anfield for the first time in forty years, Alan Ball’s brace sealing a 3-1 victory in 1974. A quick search didn’t reveal that game from the highlights on YouTube so this from 1975 at Highbury will have to do.

Mertesacker‘s observations on the psychology of the England and Germany resonate in this match. Today’s programme notes from Brendan Rodgers gloss over that record, trying to push it out of minds; it doesn’t work when the graphic shortly afterwards shows clearly the home sides failures in the past four attempts at the fixture. Would they have limited it to four if Liverpool had won them? I doubt it, why should they? Anything which gets players thinking about such records helps doubts surface in adversity, even in a small way. It is up to Arsenal to reinforce them with their own performance.

That graphic highlights the differences between the two clubs this season. Both are scoring a goal every six shots (roughly); Liverpool having more shots, have found the net more frequently but defensively, Arsenal are miserly. As a rough measure, it encapsulates the efficiency of Arsenal this season. It is rare for a lead to be dropped, perhaps that is why the performance and result at Southampton a few weeks ago, bit so deeply; it was so unusual that you sat up and took notice of the combination. The squad has learned to win ugly but also to avoid defeat when not playing well. That obduracy serves title contenders well and it is something they will need to draw upon in coming weeks.

The decision for the manager is whether to stick or twist the XI which beat Crystal Palace. It was, he freely admits, a subdued performance but that is not so much of an issue when you win. Today, there needs to be an energy, a drive from midfield of the sort provided by Tomas Rosicky and Jack Wilshere. It is dangerous to take the manager’s comments at face value but the latter’s inclusion seems unlikely from kick-off. The former though is having come on as substitute for Lukas Podolski. I think Rosicky’s zip in midfield is going to be crucial; let’s hope it works better than the one on the manager’s coat.

Whilst Podolski offers more of a goal threat, he has given the impression of coasting at times since returning from injury. No faulting his application against Coventry but I felt he was missing on Sunday. There but not fired up; he wasn’t alone in that of course and Arsenal won so did it matter. Efficiency. Today it will. Whilst we can look at the lapse of concentration from Kolo Toure last week and point to the weakness, it would be folly to ignore the strikers. Arsenal need the whole of XI on the pitch to be focussed and applying themselves, back to front will need a continuation of the defensive work that has served them well.

The other question for me is left back. Nacho Monreal recovered from St Mary’s and on Sunday got forward well early in the game but I wonder if Wenger will consider Kieran Gibbs pace more of an attribute today in counter-attack. We know that whichever does not start will slot into the left midfield as a late substitute if Arsenal are winning but whilst the Spaniard has seemed to nail the position down, I suspect the manager will prefer Gibbs today.

It leaves the line-up,
Szczesny; Sagna, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Gibbs; Arteta, Rosicky, Oxlade-Chamberlain; Cazorla, Özil; Giroud

A good result today will do wonders for the PR side. It will help maintain the players confidence as well and that is no bad thing with games ahead. Crucially, a bad result does not signal a collapse or anything else. I think the performance will tell us more in those circumstances. Recent seasons have seen Arsenal sides freeze in the headlights in the big games, something repeated in Manchester this time around. Those poor performances ought to inspire, serve as a motivation on top of those reasons already in place. A win today would be a way of silencing some of the doubts and you sense that is something the players want to do. So go out and do it.

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Will Arsenal hit buffers? Or is Arsène Wenger's train bound for glory? | David Hytner

Asked if Arsenal will fold in February, Wenger quipped: 'Some people have been expecting us to fall apart since August'.

Arsène Wenger has reverted to quips, his tried and trusted defence mechanism and a sure sign that he wants to diffuse the hostile line of inquiry. The Arsenal manager gave his latest offering on Friday, on the eve of the Premier League visit to Liverpool, when it was put to him that his team had tended to fall apart in February. "I must say that some people are very patient with us because they expect us to fall apart since August," he replied.

Arsenal have previous for hitting the buffers at around this time of the year, although not over the past two seasons, when it has been the start that has been the problem. Either way, the perception has taken root: Arsenal do not and cannot stay the course. The charge has been levelled at Wenger with wearying frequency this season and it has sometimes seemed as though people have been waiting for Arsenal to slump. But they remain at the top of the table. Might they yet go all the way?

1 Defensive stability

When Wenger was asked about the key difference between this season and those of the recent past, he plumped immediately for the solid foundations that he has at the back. "The main difference is there," he said. "We could always score goals, we could always master the domination of the game. If you look purely at the numbers, our defensive record is much more stable. It is vitally important, especially going into the big games."

Only Chelsea have conceded fewer league goals this season but the most eye-catching statistic involves Arsenal's in-form central defensive partnership of Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny, whose contrasting styles have come to dovetail so well. Arsenal have not lost a league fixture that the pair have both completed since 22 January 2012.

Arsenal have benefited from their consistent presence – the club captain, Thomas Vermaelen, has been pushed to the fringes – while Steve Bould, the assistant manager, has had an influence with his work on the finer defensive details in training. The rest of the unit have also grown, with the goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, in particular, enjoying an excellent season.

2 Mesut Özil

The Germany attacking midfielder is famed for his timing – former coaches speak admiringly of the sweet sound that his connection with the ball makes – and it was right on so many levels when he joined Arsenal on the final day of the summer transfer window. The club's support, not to mention the players, had been desperate to see a marquee addition and, at a stroke, all of the anxiety could turn to excitement.

Finally, Wenger had spent big – a club record £42.5m – and Özil, a card-carrying Real Madrid superstar, brought a lift, particularly with his early performances. He was wonderful against Napoli in early October. Overall, he has not been Arsenal's star man – he has arguably not been in their top five – and Wenger would certainly like to see him score more goals. But he has fired the collective belief and there will be more to come from him. Arsenal hope that it is during the run-in.

3 Olivier Giroud's strength

There has been plenty of muttering about what Arsenal might do if Giroud, below, were to be injured, especially after the failure to sign reinforcements up front last summer and again in January. The France centre-forward has sometimes been Wenger's only option to lead the line, because of injuries elsewhere, and he has shouldered a heavy physical burden, having started in virtually every Premier League and Champions League game.

But perhaps it is time to recognise how he has thrived on the responsibility and back him to maintain his remarkable levels of stamina. He is Arsenal's top scorer with 14 goals in all competitions and he is on course to better his return of 17 from his debut season at the club, and so continue a trend from his career. Giroud previously spent two seasons at Montpellier and Tours and his second season at each club was markedly better than the first. At Montpellier, his goal tally jumped from 13 to 21; at Tours, from nine to 21. It has not merely been the numbers this season. Giroud's muscular hold-up work has brought balance to the team.

4 Continuity and momentum

It might sound like the most basic of requirements and hardly be cause for acclaim but the club's retention of their players last summer, after the traumatic departures during the previous two close-seasons, represented something to build on.

Commitment to the cause has underpinned the encouraging results and if Wenger's, as yet, unsigned new contract has been a sideshow – his current terms expire in June – there has long been the confidence behind the scenes that he will renew.

The recently announced £30m-a-season kit sponsorship with Puma has added the sense of upward trajectory while Mertesacker and Tomas Rosicky are ready to sign new deals.

As for Bacary Sagna who, like Rosicky, is out of contract in the summer, Wenger says that the club is "ready to give him more than one year because he is a defender". The 30-year-old, though, continues to keep his options open. "We are not close at the moment," Wenger added.

5 Nobody is invincible

Wenger said as much, amid the general clamour to anoint Manchester City as the champions-elect. City's attacking football has been beautiful to watch this season and yet they were outmanoeuvred and beaten by Chelsea on Monday to reinforce Wenger's point. Teams are cutting each other's throats. To quote the famous commentary line: It's up for grabs now.

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Key Talking Points Ahead of Liverpool's Clash with Arsenal

Arsenal’s trip to Anfield will be one of the most crucial fixtures the Gunners face this season. Both teams have an enormous amount to play for, and are set for an enthralling encounter. Heading into the game, there are four big questions that need answering. 

 

Can Arsenal Stay Top? 

Chelsea’s victory at the Etihad ensured that Arsenal stayed top of the Premier League. This weekend, they must win at Anfield to be certain of remaining at the top of the pile. 

In a best-case scenario, an Arsenal win could see the Gunners end the weekend with a five-point lead over their closest rivals. Given the harrowing fixture list that awaits Arsene Wenger’s team, that sort of cushion could prove invaluable.  

What will the result be in this game? Liverpool win....draw....Arsenal...win Submit Vote vote to see results. What will the result be in this game? Liverpool win 28.4% Draw 11.0% Arsenal win 60.6% Total votes: 155

Are Liverpool Still in the Race for the Title?

Liverpool have largely been written off as title challengers. However, a win over Arsenal would see them move to within five points of the league leaders. With 13 games still to play, making up that gap would seem entirely plausible. 

Liverpool are widely believed to be embroiled in the race for Champions League qualification rather than the Premier League trophy. However, the best way to ensure a top-four finish is to stay close to the summit for as long as possible. If Liverpool can keep the pace in the title race, Champions League qualification could come as a welcome runners-up prize. 

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5 Things Arsenal Must Do to Keep Their Title Challenge on Track

After Manchester City’s defeat to Chelsea at the Etihad, Arsenal are arguably in an even stronger position in the race for the Premier League title. The Gunners now sit two points clear of both teams at the top of the table.

However, there are still 14 games to go. That’s more than enough time for title dreams to crumble. Arsenal fans have a lingering cause for concern: they have a history of collapsing from contention at this stage in the season.

If they are to finish top of the Premier League, there are five things Arsene Wenger’s team must hope for and aspire towards. Some will be dependent on their own performance, others on the interference of the fates.

Go to the next slide to discover the key components of Arsenal’s continued title challenge.

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Arsenal Need Their No. 10s to Win the EPL Title

Arsenal winning this season's English Premier League title will depend on the play of their No. 10s. That means Mesut Ozil, Santi Cazorla and Tomas Rosicky must all deliver big in the final 14 games.

All three are at their best in that pocket of space between the midfield and forward lines. That is the area that belongs to the classic No.10. Think Dennis Bergkamp. 

These are the players manager Arsene Wenger builds his brand of attacking football around. They are the technically-gifted schemers who attack a defence between the lines.

Threading passes between the lines to forward-breaking runners is the essence of what Gunners fans have come to know as so-called "Wengerball."

With one or more mercurial No.10 pulling the strings, Arsenal remain a force going forward, even if they are not well stocked in the striker position.

Finding credible cover and support for natural centre-forward Olivier Giroud has been a season-long concern. Despite Giroud's steady improvement this season and undoubted value to the way his team attacks, it is a problem Wenger is obviously mindful of.

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