A slow, static first half followed by a frantic, frustrating second half.
We did everything right except for score. Our passing was on-point and we were reasonably well organised but I can’t help but wonder why we continuously try this ‘over to you’ passing routine when teams now know how to play against it.
So many times this evening I wanted to scream: ‘just shoot!’ at the TV and so many times we didn’t. I don’t know whether it’s how they’ve been told to play, whether Swansea City had just parked the bus that well, or whether it’s a confidence issues, but someone needs to have a word.
The shots we did have made Lukasz Fabianski look like a world-beater, as they were right at him.
Saying that, our record is still impeccable and the best thing at this point is to just swallow our pride, realise where we went wrong and move forward.
Strong and made some good runs forward. He got in behind Jefferson Montero a couple of times, which was slightly better than Calum Chambers earlier in the season. Could work on crossing the ball sooner, though.
Per Mertesacker 6
Although he didn’t have a huge amount to do, especially in the second half, he made some good interceptions.
Laurent Koscielny 6.5
As with the BFG, he didn’t have a huge amount to do but he got forward a bit more than usual today so I’m guessing he was getting frustrated.
Nacho Monreal 7
He made some good runs into the box and looked eager.
Francis Coquelin 6
This wasn’t the best game for him and Arsene Wenger took him off correctly. As ever though, he made a couple of decent slide-tackles.
Santi Cazorla 7.5
He had a quiet game in the first half but came into it in the second.
Aaron Ramsey 7
He’s a trier is Aaron Ramsey and, even though you could tell he was getting incredibly frustrated with his miskicks and misplaced passes, he kept plugging away, making the right runs and putting through the right passes.
Mesut Ozil 7.5
Some unreal passing as always but he really needs to work on his confidence in front of goal. As much as we all joke about his habit of passing-instead-of-shooting, in matches like this evening, it cost us.
Alexis Sanchez 7
Not a fantastic game but not horrendous. Although he had a couple of chances that he really should’ve scored. It just wasn’t his day.
Olivier Giroud 6
Arguably should’ve been kept on but he wasn’t having a great deal of luck.
SUBS
Jack Wilshere 6
Came on and instantly made a difference going forward. He played like he had a point to prove. However, his lack of confidence to shoot on his right foot could’ve cost us today.
Theo Walcott 5.5
He was making all the right noises and getting in the right places but when it actually came down to actually shooting, he kicked the ball right at Lukasz Fabianski.