Arsenal 5 Leyton Orient 0 - Ol' St. Nik With The Treble

Hehehe

   
     What a response.

     I can't say I expected to win by five goals, but I think we all knew that those lads have the potential to but five past a League One side. They did so in brilliant fashion, with Bendtner snagging a hat-trick.

     Like the scoreline, out starting XI was unpredictable. In stead of Arshavin starting, Colin Henderson came into the side from the reserves, a 19 year old central midfielder. Instead of playing centrally, he moved to the left hand side. So our lineup looked like this.

                    Chamakh

  Henderson                    Bendtner

                      Rosicky

             Denilson     Diaby

Gibbs     Miquel     Squillaci     Eboue

                      Almunia

     I want to say we started brightly, but the match as a whole wasn't very bright. We commanded the entire match, and seven minutes in we found the back of the net.
     A deflected Henderson pass found Rosicky who drove into the box and squared it for Chamakh who's shot found the bottom left hand corner. Great to see him score, but great play from Rosicky. Hopefully his goal will wake him from his slumber and start some good form.

     The match continued to be played in the Orient half, but Arsenal didn't seem to have the desire to score more. It was all simple, conservative probing, without the final ball.

     Apparently it wasn't needed, though. In the 30th Gibbs put in a cross for the Big Dane and his towering header found the far post, and it was 2-0. Fantastic from him, he needs goals to really set him up for the run of games he's about to have with van Persie out injured.

     But he didn't stop there. In the 43rd Rosicky made a tackle in Orient's final third, and Bendtner picked it up on the left hand side. On the edge of their penalty box he waited for an opening and when he found it he curled his shot into the far post to make it 3-0. A brilliant goal from a confident striker, and it was similar to the one he scored against Ipswich, minus the control from the long ball and cut inside. None the less, it was brilliant and let's hope he continues with his great form.

     Half time came and went and from the restart we continued from where we left of. Diaby and Rosicky were still bossing the midfield with ease, but there wasn't much for the highlight reel. Diaby had a give and go with Chamakh and the frenchman put his shot inches wide. Unlucky for the man who completed all of his 69 passes against the O's.

     Then Rosicky came off injured, looking like someone dropped an anvil on his head. Wenger said this regarding Rosicky:

"He is good, he had an elbow on his head. He was a bit dizzy so we took him off."

     Haha. He looked a little more than "a bit dizzy".

     So Nasri came on to replace Tomas and my god I was scared shitless. I think Wenger knows how lucky this Arsenal side is regarding injuries, so why risk Nasri with such imortant matches ahead? We could've put Clichy on instead and played with a 4-4-2; we were 3-0 up and cruising.

     Immediately after the substitution we were awarded a penalty. Gibbs drove into the box via great play and was taken down right before he was going to pull the trigger. Bendtner stepped up to finish his hat trick, and he did so. His penalty was brilliant and he buried it with confidence.

     In the 66th Wilshere and Clichy came on for Diaby and Bendnter. Now i thought we were really pressing our luck. Three starters on the pitch in a match we were winning 4-0? I could see Bendtner coming off, but I saw no need in bringing WIlshere on. DIaby could do with 90 minutes under his belt.
With the dominant Wilshere and Nasri on the pitch, pace was injected into the match and the team looked to get in behind Orient's defense for once.

     In the 75th, Eboue was down the right flank and fizzed a ball across their penalty box. It was behind Nasri, Chamakh dummied it which Wilshere by suprise so he missed the ball, and it fell to Clichy at the back post. His one timed shot was one of a striker's as his driven shot found the inside of the far post. It would've been very easy to rocket that ball over the bar, but well done Gael. And i was surprised he didn't go bonkers with his celebration; it was his first goal at the Emirates. After he had scored, he just stood there. I suppose he didn't really know what had happened.

     After that, the game was over, and no real chances arose. Luckily there were no injuries to the first team players, via me knocking on wood when they came on. Five nil to the Arsenal, and a mature performance from the Gunners.

     Tonight I saw a different Arsenal than usual. Their passing was very, very good, despite any real intent to split the Orient defense in two. In fact, more passes were made in this match than the Barcelona match. Strange when a second string side plays a League One side.

     Some were afraid that we would struggle because of what happened Sunday. I see it like this: Most of the players that played tonight did not play Sunday, and they are all players that are fighting for a starting position. As a result of the first team's poor display, they really wanted to show what they were made of and prove that they are worthy of a starting position. It almost seemed as if the entire starting XI (barring Miquel and Henderson) thought on the same wave length.

     Denilson: "Alright. The lads played like shit Sunday. Let's show the gaffer we're better than them."
     Rosicky: "It's about time Arsene realizes i'm better than Cesc."
     Bendtner: "I am the best striker in the world. You are all nothing to me."
     Squillaci: "Arsene doesn't play me because I am a corpse. We need to make a stand"
     Eboue: "I stampede into the opposition and throw myself to the floor. What more does Arsenal want from me?"
     Diaby: "Joey Barton is a cunt."
     Almunia: "I swear I don't smoke pot Wenger, I just look like I do."
     Henderson: "..."
     Miquel: "..."
     Chamakh: "Cluck cluck cluck"
     Denilson: "This isn't how I planned this conversation to turn out"
     Cesc: *Yawn*

     Cue player ratings...

• Almunia - 6.5 - Had nothing to do all night really, but made a poor decision in the first half to come out and pressure an Orient player with no foreseeable danger, and his mistake forced Miquel into a goal line clearance.

• Eboue - 7 - Ebullient Eboue. Went down the right hand side well, but was caught out of position on the rare occasion by Cox. Other than that, he defended well when he had to.

• Squillaci - 6 - Seemed to be on a different planet. Always slow to react and looked like a nervous, inexperienced player, oddly enough. Despite earning a clean sheet, his defending was very poor.

• Miquel - 8 - Had a very good match, I was very impressed. He read Orient's attacks well, and snuffed out the danger.

• Gibbs - 7.5 - Went forward and defended well, his brilliant dribbling in Orient's penalty box earned us a penalty and Bendtner's hat trick.

• Diaby - 8.5 - Completely bossed the midfield, with his physicality and passing. We were camped out in Orients half thoroughout the match and you can mostly thank Diaby for that. He completed every single one of his passes last night - you cant argue with those stats.

• Denilson - 7.5 - Had a good match. His passing was okay, and his defensive positioning was better than I'm used to.

• Rosicky - 8 - The highest rating you'll ever see me give Tomas, I think, but he deserves it. He set up the first goal to get us rolling, and made the tackle/assist for Bendtner's second. Also, he helped Diaby dictate the play. I would've liked to see him be a little more direct next time and deliver some Cesc-esque passes.

• Henderson - 7.5 - I'm being a little bit generous to the young lad, being his first start for Arsenal and what not. His delivery from set pieces looked good, and looks like a very intelligent player. I also understand he was being played out of position, so that probably factored into his performance along with nerves. I hope to see more of him though.

• Chamakh - 7.5 - His rating is only this high because of his goal. Other than that, I thought he had little effect on the match. He didn't hold the ball up well, and we lacked a real target man for us to play off of and get behind the Orient defense. He's looked very tired, actually. It's all odd.

• Bendtner - 9 - He had a brilliant match. Not only his goals, but his overall play was fantastic. His passing was great, his movement was great, and his confidence was clear. Well done Nik.

• Nasri - 8 - Hard to judge him, but his prescece upped the pace of the match which lead to better possession on our part, and Clichy's goal.

• Clichy - 8.5 - He played well in an advanced position, and put some good crosses in the box. And of course, his goal was amazing for a left back.

• Wilshere - 8 - He helped our passing game, but I just wish he would shoot more!

• Wenger - 7.5 - He put this side out with a mission, and despite the pain the players would have felt after Sunday, they played very well and got the job done. My only complaint was that he put three starters on, when perhaps only one was needed. His gamble payed off though.

     Anyway, we're on to the quarter finals of the FA Cup! We now to got United immediately after our match against Barcelona. Brilliant. Either the squad will be on an emotional high, or emotional low. Either way, it will be interesting to see Wenger's team selection for that one.
     Also, I forgot to mention that on the poll I put up on the site, many of you said van Persie is our most important player after Fabregas. Whats funny is that he's injured now.

     I'm not too worried. Nik can get goals as he proved last season, and his confidence is erm... fairly high.

     I myself would have chosen Djourou, because the partnership that Koscielny and Squillaci has is very vulnerable. We have other players that can score goals, but only a couple that can defend well, with Vermaelen out injured.

     Oh and Kolo Toure has been suspended by City because he tested positive for a drug test. Hahaha. Good stuff.
     Also, if any of you have heard "Sir" Alex Ferguson's kind words regarding Martin Atkinson, he's been handed a two match ban, on top of a two mach ban already handed out last year for other stupid comments he's made. If the FA proves him guilty, the bans will come into effect and he'll miss the match against us in the FA Cup. Hahaha. Brilliant stuff.

     That should do it for today. I'll have a preview for Sunderland soon, so check back, or follow me on twitter for updates- @TheProudGooner

     Cheers.