After the defeat against Everton I was livid. I’m not sure why really, but watching the game and seeing us concede a goal just before half time was a killer. We had played well for the first part of the first half and the frustrating thing was that we didn’t push on to score a second goal which in their current state, would have probably buried Everton and their fragile Premier League form.

For whatever reason, we took our foot off the gas and let Everton back into the game. It was a game I previewed and said would be tight – I incorrectly predicted a 2-1 for Arsenal – but I wasn’t a million miles away. With the game carefully poised at 1-1, anyone could have won the game.

Unfortunately it was Everton and it was yet another Merseyside team who beat us – our first defeat since the opening day of the season against Liverpool.

We were extremely unlucky not to get a point in the end despite our below par performance, with two shots saved on the line and stone wall penalty not given to Alexis Sanchez – and despite the disappointment it’s important to put things in perspective.

Yes, we’re not in the best position in the league after all the big teams won last night – we currently sit in 3rd on 34 points, with Chelsea top on 40, Liverpool above us on goal difference and Manchester City only a single point behind in 4th. Tottenham are 3 points behind in 5th, with United another 3 points behind them in 6th.

So if you take Chelsea out of the equation, then there’s only 4 points separating 2nd and 5th place in the Premier League.

If it wasn’t for Chelsea then I don’t think half the Arsenal fans would have been so disappointed and angry at losing to Everton. It’s the first time we’ve lost in 4 months and only the second time in the league. But Chelsea’s unbelievable form of 10 wins in a row is making them firm favourites.

Since the opening day defeat to Liverpool, our response has been nothing sort of outstanding.

In those games before the Everton loss, our record was 10 wins and 4 draws from 14 Premier League games – quite a response.

If you wanted to be picky, you would look at the games against Boro, Tottenham and United were we should have been braver and maybe won them, but at the same time 10 wins and 4 draws is nothing to be ashamed of.

Another positive is that the team looks much more capable of genuinely challenging for the  title this season. Defensively we have weaknesses (as Gabriel showed midweek) but the form of Koscielny and Mustafi has been excellent. Monreal and Gibbs are fighting for the left back position and Bellerin and his replacement Jenkinson have been doing okay.

One player we do miss though is Santi Cazorla. There is no-one in the team like him and probably along with Özil, Sanchez and Cech, is only one of 4 players in our squad that is irreplaceable. That is a worry going into the busy Christmas period when a massive player like that is missing. You’ll remember his injury a couple of seasons ago pretty much derailed our title challenge then.

We have a massive game on Sunday where the winner takes the spoils. With both teams under pressure I can see that game ended 1-1. It’s a game where each team can’t afford to lose and a draw would suit them both.

We as most Arsenal fans expected, the Manchester United game was a disappointment.

Once again, Arsenal bottled it at Old Trafford and looked scared against Manchester United. There’s no denying that the home side dominated the game – creating the clearer chances and they were denied a stone wall penalty in my book.

But with seconds remaining in a game Arsenal were lucky to still be in, a darting run from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain found Olivier Giroud at the far post to head home emphatically – from Arsenal’s first attempt on target.

So was it a good game or bad game for Arsenal?

We played extremely poorly yet took away a point – so it depends on your viewpoint.

For me when I saw the starting line-up I was shocked at the inclusion of Aaron Ramsey. The whole starting eleven looked strange and didn’t sit right with me – and it showed – as we plodded through the entire match second best.

I thought that Xhaka should have started alongside Coquelin and if you’re going to play Özil behind the front three with Alexis in the middle, then Walcott and Iwobi are a much better combination with the Chilean. The only way Ramsey (for Iwobi) would have worked was if Giroud was up top and Alexis replaced Walcott.

So what are your thoughts on the match? Were Arsenal lucky to nick a point or was playing poorly and not losing a sign of potential champions? Vote above and leave your comments below!

[ Credit: joshjdss / Flickr ]

As Arsenal overcame Sunderland 4-1 at the Stadium of Light, it was clear that Arsene Wenger had somewhat of a headache when it comes to his attacking selection.

Mesut Özil is a guaranteed started in behind the front three, while the same could be said for Alexis Sanchez who has been our best player so far this season.

So who else should play, if everyone is fit?

We look extremely strong up front this season so in theory we shouldn’t struggle for goals – and so it proves without our 23 goals in 10 league games this season – only one behind “free scoring” Manchester City and Liverpool on 24.

Potentially, we have the option of Alexis Sanchez, Olivier Giroud, Theo Walcott, Danny Welbeck, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Alex Iwobi in the attacking roles – which is six into three positions. And it could be argued at it’s five into two as Alexis is pretty much undroppable.

So what is our best attacking lineup?

Leave your comments in the section below and cast your vote now!