The London Derby between Arsenal and Chelsea has countless highlights. But on this day, December 10th, 9 years ago Michael Essien scored a screamer that nearly made Stamford Bridge explode. Sure, it was only an equalizer, but the 84th minute rocket was huge for Chelsea at the time as they were trying to keep pace with runaway leaders Manchester United. The game was back and forth, with pushing and shoving and loads of talent on the pitch.
It’s been a season of stunning upheaval in the EPL. Leicester City have sat proudly astride the Premier League in November and boast the most lethal striker in the division in Jamie "chat s*** get banged" Vardy. The Chelsea team that won the league at a canter last season have become so accustomed to the bottom half of the Premier League table that they’re thinking of releasing a Drake-inspired charity single called "Started At The Top, Now We’re Here (In 14th)." But at least in this swirling maelstrom of change, we can rely on one anchor of stability: Arsenal are fourth.
Vlad Dragomir arrived at Arsenal in June, signed from ACS Poli Timisoara in Romania for £71,000 ($107,000). The 16-year-old Arsenal phenom was largely an unknown at the time, a central midfielder who liked to get forward on the ball and whom Wenger thought had a bright future. The only other thing we could tell was that young Vlad was a fan of posting copious selfies to his Instagram account (to be fair, what 16-year-old isn't).
After a 2-0 victory in the Emirates against Bayern Munich in the last Champions League match, you knew Pep Guardiola's lads were going come out firing against the Gunners from North London. In all honestly, a 5-1 drubbing against the leaders from the EPL wasn't really that much of a surprise considering in Bayern's last 5 home matches, they have outscored opponents 24-3. The best goal from the match was David Alaba's beautiful curler that honestly put the nail in the coffin in the 44th minute.
The agony and the ecstasy. No it’s not a soap opera, just another champions league campaign for Arsenal football club and Arsene Wenger. Defeating a giant on the back of defeats to Dynamo Zagreb and Olympiacos feels commonplace, but this result demonstrates the gunners are developing into a formidable outfit.
The battle for the 2015/16 Premier League title is well and truly under way, and already we’ve seen fan protests over ticket prices, a new messiah and Diego Costa being suspended. Some things never change, but one this is certain: come May 15th, we’ll have a Premier League champion. It’s time to cast an eye over the pre-season English Premier League title contenders and see how their challenges are shaping up with just over a quarter of the season played.
When Arsenal are playing well, their passes are crisp, they're holding possession and they score beautiful goals that keep Arsene Wenger from actually getting a legit striker. With that said, this Arsenal goal vs Norwich in 2013 was a masterpiece. The Jack Wilshere and Olivier Giroud link up displayed tikki-takka football at its finest and it arguably was the best goal of that 2013 campaign. Lets break it down.
The outside back position, where Nacho Monreal and Hector Bellarin play for Arsenal, could be considered the black swan of soccer. It’s a position known to see lots of 1v1 action, where there’s a fine line between being a hero or an Internet GIF.
However, sometimes a duo comes along that changes not only how a team defends, but how they attack as well.
Left back Nacho Monreal and right back Hector Bellerin are two of the biggest reasons Arsenal have made their claim that they will be in the hunt for the Premier League title early this season.
An Alexis Sanchez goal in the first five minutes of the match vs Manchester United set the tone for the Gunners as they marched their way to a 3-0 victory in the Emirates this weekend. Alexis Sanchez continued his tear netting this ridiculous back heel to put the Gunners up 1-0. Only a minute late Mesut Ozil added to the tally and the route was on. It was a vintage Arsenal performance as the Gunners played with pace and creativity, while Manchester United looked stuck in the mud. The result was what Arsenal needed after coming off a Champions League loss to Olympiakos.
If Arsenal have exhausted their summer budget and are forced to make some cuts to save money, they know where to find a pilot.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain may just be their best bet, as te took part in Arsenal's flight simulator challenge a few years ago.