Premier League leaders Arsenal continue to get stronger with every passing week as they produced yet another solid performance to see of Cardiff City 3-0. The City Stadium has been the pitfall for both Manchester giants this season but the Gunners have a newfound resolve about them this season and a certain Mesut Ozil in their ranks. The German, much like Arsenal, was quiet for most of the game but produced two killer passes at vital moments to seal the three points.
The first came on 26 minutes when he delivered a cross for Aaron Ramsey to head in his umpteenth goal of the season while the clincher was a pass to Mathieu Flamini in the 86 minute. There was still time for the visitors to find a 3rd goal on the night as Ramsey got his 13th goal of the season in added time to provide the exclamation mark for Arsene Wenger’s side.
Kim Bo-Kyung’s dramatic equalizer against Man United last weekend handed him a place in the starting line-up for Cardiff, in place of Peter Odemwingie as Malky Mackay clearly prepared for the strength of Arsenal’s midfield. Peter Whittingham and Don Cowie stuck to the touchline on either side, with Jordon Mutch and Gary Medel supporting Kim on the centre. The back-four remained intact as Ben Turner and Steven Caulker had Andrew Taylor and Kevin Theophile-Catherine on either side.
A full-strength Arsenal side had Mesut Ozil, Santi Cazorla and Aaron Ramsey supporting lone-man Olivier Giroud up front. Jack Wilshere and Mikel Arteta were the midfield generals in the centre, shielding the formidable back-four of Bacary Sagna, Per Mertesacker, Laurent Koscielny and Kieran Gibbs.
The Gunners made a blitzkrieg start in their game against Marseille in mid-week and Wilshere came mighty close to repeating that as he clattered the woodwork with a powerful strike from outside the box just after the minute mark.
A long break in play followed as Mertesacker and Sagna clashed heades trying to win an aerial ball. Cardiff had a chance the minute play resumed as Catherine played a sublime cross into the box which Campbell unfortunately headed wide.
A fairly disjointed game had two flashes of real activity on either end before the midway point of the half. The first occurred when Giroud blindly accepted that he was in offside position when he clearly wasn’t and by the time he realized that Cardiff cleared the danger, much to Wenger’s chagrin. At the other end, a Whittingham delivery had Szczesny scrambling to clear the ball inside the box as the home side briefly threatened.
But when you have a man in form like Ramsey in your line-up you can afford to be ponderous in your play. Ozil pinged an in-swinging cross from the left and the former Cardiff man arrived into the box on time to plant a glancing header into the far corner past a helpless David Marshall.
The home side weren’t able to get hold of the ball for long periods, thus depending on set-pieces to create chances and one such free-kick had Arsenal desperately clearing the ball as Kim and Mutch came very close to turning the ball past Szczesny. The Gunners did have one great chance to extend their lead before the break as Ramsey was put through by Giroud but the Cardiff defenders did enough to ensure the shot went wide of the goal.
An inspired start to the 2nd half made up for the mundane 1st period as attack was the name of the game. Ramsey twice danced his way into the Cardiff area, with Giroud almost tapping in the 2nd goal from one such run. The home side responded immediately and should have drawn level but for a stunning save from Szczesny. Taylor’s cross from the left deflected off Kim to reach Campbell at the far post and but for the Polish keeper’s fingertips the header had a goal written all over it.
That was the trigger for the home side to be rejuvenated as they began to press higher up the pitch, giving Arsenal very little time on the ball. Malkay used the opportunity to throw Odemwingie into the mix, but intriguingly in place of Campbell.
The home side were clearly on top as they restricted Arsenal to such an extent that Wenger brought on Mathieu Flamini, in a full-arm jersey for those who care, and Nacho Monreal to shore up his side.
For all of Cardiff’s improvement they weren’t working Szczesny a great deal, with the Pole only having to keep out half-chances from Mutch and Whittingham. The game was then sealed four minutes from time when Ozil turned provider for the 2nd time in the evening with a delicately weighted through ball down the middle for Flamini, who somehow had broken into the box to strike a sweet shot past a stranded Marshall.
Ramsey was determined to grab all the headlines on his return to Wales as he then doubled his tally in added time. Substitute Theo Walcott played a neat one-two with Ramsey on the right, which ended with the midfielder finding the roof of the net from a tight angle and amidst a slew of Cardiff defenders.
The Gunners are now seven points ahead of nearest challengers Liverpool, who travel to Hull tomorrow. Wenger’s side have been the most consistent of the teams fighting for the Premier League and the fact that they are able to routinely pick up points when not turning in coruscating performances will be the most reassuring aspect for the manager. Cardiff weren’t out of the game until the dying minutes but unlike their game against Man United last week they weren’t handed an equalizer late in the game, which has thus left them just above the relegation zone in 17thspot.
Teams:
Cardiff: Marshall, Theophile-Catherine, Caulker, Turner, Taylor (Cornelius 87′),Whittingham, Medel, Kim (Noone 75′), Mutch, Cowie, Campbell (Odemwingie 65′)
Subs: Lewis; Hudson, Cornelius, Odemwingie, Noone, Gunnarsson, Bellamy.
Arsenal :Szczesny, Sagna, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Gibbs, Arteta, Wilshere (Monreal 81′), Ramsey, Ozil (Walcott 90+1′), Cazorla (Flamini 77′), Giroud
Subs: Fabianski, Vermaelen, Monreal, Rosicky, Flamini, Walcott, Gnabry.
Score: Cardiff 0-3 Arsenal (Ramsey 29′ 90+1′, Flamini 86′)
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