Well, it wasn't for want of trying.

That was a quote by @SianyMacalarny yesterday after the final whistle, one which probably sums it up. Arsenal 0-0 Sunderland, not what we wanted, but what we got. We all know it was a missed opportunity, United slipped up in midweek, etc. etc. There was no spark, little creativity, but putting it in perspective, we lacked Fabregas, Van Persie, Walcott, Song; the creative burden can't fall simply on Nasri, Arshavin and Wilshere. Sure, it's disappointing, we hit the woodwork, should have had a penalty and had a goal wrongfully disallowed and yes, that all sucks; but the team gave their all. They really looked to have tried their hardest and their's no point hating on them for it, at the end of the day isn't that all we ever ask of them?


Anyways, time to analyse I suppose. Szczesny seemed decent in his first game since the Carling Cup final, one or two moments where communication could have been a bit better, but that's the kind of thing that comes with experience. Koscielny and Djourou were both solid, another clean sheet and Sunderland were pretty much shut out, both picked their times to get forward quite well and had Gyan in their pocket all day long. Sagna was good old Bac really, solid as always and put in a few decent crosses. Clichy was a bit of a tricky one, he was very bright going forward, combining well with Arshavin and putting some good balls into the centre, but he struggled with Sessegnon at the back and we could have conceded early on but for Szczesny.


Denilson and Diaby in front, well... Denilson looked good off the ball, he fit into the backline when a defender goes forward and tried to stop attacks, but if he wants to succeed at this level, he has to do better with possession, admittedly Sunderland looked to be tight and stifle the midfield, but he always looks to pass sideways or backwards rather than looking up, never a good sign. As for Diaby, he tried some off his trademark runs from deep , but couldn't carry them off, often losing possession. These two shouldn't be together, the transition from attack to defense doesn't flow well through a Denilson - Diaby pairing. Ahead of them young Jack Wilshere was in the advanced role. As always, he never stopped trying, but I think a bit more experience wouldn't go amiss before he can handle that role on his own, allthough he was productive, a lot of things didn't come off for him, promising as always though.


So in attack, we started with Arshavin-Bendtner-Nasri as expected. Where to begin? Arshavin had a goal ruled offside, which wasn't, he also should have been awarded a penalty, which wasn't; and should have scored from a Chamakh cut-back (I like the sound of that). Lively, combined with Clichy well and as always looked to set players running, it looks like some semblance of his former self is re-appearing, that can only bode well. Bendtner looked to get into dangerous positions, forced a cracking finger-tip save from Mignolet and tried an over-head kick into the hands of the 'keeper. Good effort, no end product on this occasion though. Let's hope he's saving the goals so he can score a bucket-load in the Nou Camp. Nasri wore the arm-band, looked lively and motivated and forced Mignolet into a few decent saves, created a few oppurtunities for others as well.


Denilson and Diaby came off for Chamakh and Rosicky respectively. Rosicky settled into the midfield, did a bit of leg-work, that was about it. As for Chamakh... what a difference a goal makes! Hit the bar, created oppurtunities for others, good effort from the Moroccan, if he's truly back then it couldn't have come at a better time.


So, the post-match fallout. It's fair to say that Wenger wasn't pleased with the decisions, I for one don't blame him. I don't know how many points we've dropped this season due to poor officials, but it would seem to be quite a few. Never mind that though, FIFA have got rid off the biggest threat to modern football; snoods. You can check out the rest of the post-match chat here.


The boss has also been speaking about Tuesday, saying that nerves on the big stage won't be a problem and that our defence will be key. I have to say, the Koscielny-Djourou partnership at the moment is looking solid and Szczesny is looking promising as well. Thank god we have no Silvestre this time around. In nicer news, the U-18s thrashed Chelsea 4-1 yesterday, Josh Rees and Zak Ansah both bagging a brace. Check out this in-depth match report on the official site.