Former Gunners poppin' up to boost Arsenal's season...

The Bird Catcher eyes his quarry.

Ok, so I'll be honest. It's a bit of a stretch to say that any former Gunners are helping us directly. After all, aside from Man City, the gap between us and other rivals has stretched to a yawning wide chasm. Still, it's usually if not always heart-warming to see our former players pop up to make a tidy contribution or two. None of them did us any favours in our own title-chase, but each of has offered some savory schadenfreude of various for us to enjoy. For each of them, there may even have been some of the good ol' "North London is Red" motivation...

Iwobi's Whirling Dervish Backheel Nutmeg of Death—what's next?

He was trapped. He was pinned into the corner by a phalanx of Qarabağian defenders, with Maksim "don't meg me" Medvedev on one side and Dzon "don't you dare" Delarge on the other. They had him dead to rights. He had no options. And yet, somehow—somehow—Iwobi, like some kind of deranged Tasmanian Devil, whirling Dervish, or, at the least, a besotted Beyblade, twisted and twirled his way through those Qarabağian Quashers, executing a nifty reverse-scissor followed by a post-and-pirouette, capping it off with a backheeled nutmeg through Delarge's legs (eliciting, no doubt, a sigh of relief from the previously nutmegged Medvedev). Each of them—perhaps Iwobi as well—was left a bit flabbergasted. Was it luck? Was it skill? Was it a player in his pomp?

Arsenal 5:0 Burnley—Vote for Player Ratings & MOTM!

Well, if you're going to bid adieu to a manager of 22 seasons, you could do worse than we did today—a clean sheet and five goals in a dominant, confident outing, never truly troubled by Burnley even if the visitors might have fancied a chance at getting level on points with us. About the only element missing from the otherwise-perfect performances might be a cameo from Santi Cazorla. As it was, the margin was comfortable enough to allow Per Mertesacker a chance to come in and earn an ovation or two. Anyway, it was an inspired, organized performance that should remind us that the squad has some quality in it. Arsène may not have gotten the send-off season he deserved, but this result should warm his heart all the same. Enough maudlin stuff, though; let's get to the poll!

Arsenal 4-1 Palace—Vote for Player-Ratings & MOTM!

Arsenal blitzed Palace in the first 12 minutes through goals from Monreal, Iwobi, and Koscielny. Lacazette added a fourth as the Gunners eased to an easy victory. The only drama centered around whether or not Petr Čech would keep his 200th career clean-sheet. Sadly, he was denied this achievement in the 78th. More's the pity. Still, it's a fine result and one that restores some much needed confidence and, hopefully, momentum as we look for progress in the League Cup, Prem, and Europa. Enjoy this one. It's back to work in just a few days!

Arsenal 2-0 Brighton—Vote for Player Ratings/MOTM!

Nacho Monreal opened the scoring for Arsenal in the 16th minute during a scramble in front of Brighton's goal, and Brighton never really looked ready to answer. Alex Iwobi scored his first goal in January to make it 2-0. Arsenal were turned away time and again in a splendid performance by Mat Ryan, assisted by numerous goal-line clearances and the woodwork as well. The result is our sixth win and fifth clean sheet in our last seven outings, and we're making the most of a softer stretch of the schedule. We're now level on points with Chelsea, no small feat when we consider where we were after the loss to Liverpool. Enough of the big picture for now; let's get down to the poll to rate our efforts against Brighton!

Giroud, sexy beast cum scorpion, wins it for Arsenal [VIDEO]

Olivier Giroud delivered a stunning, goal-of-the-year wonder strike to make it 1-0, and earned for himself Man of the Match honours as Arsenal won comfortably over Crystal Palace. Alex Iwobi lofted in a cheeky header early in the second half to make it 2-0, and that was that. Petr Čechkept his 184th clean-sheet, extending his Premier League record, and Arsenal climb to third as Man City lost to Liverpool. Check out the highlights below!

Sánchez, Iwobi, and Welbeck, oh my! Arsène unlocks a lethal trio!

After what has to count as Arsenal's cakewalkiest of cakewalks, it's starting to look as if Arsène might have a few tricks up his sleeve even as the baying for his dismissal continues unabated. For the first time since doing so against Leicester way back in the old days when scoring against the Foxes was easier than scoring against Aston Villa, we put our past a Prem opponent and did so with a swaggering style that we haven't seen in ages. On one hand, we might say to ourselves, "yes, but it's only Watford", let's also say "this is the same Watford that had conceded just five times in its previous five outings." As for us, we've now scored eight in our last three. Arsène may have not found a magic potion, but he's not the snake-oil salesman some have suggested.

What could Iwobi and others achieve under Guardiola?

So. The Alex Iwobi—or should I say Alex I-WHOA-bi—hype-train is loaded up and ready to leave the station. We've queued up for this before only to be disappointed by varying measures. With the apparent fading into oblivion of one Theo Walcott, and the melting away of the mercurial Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, the insurgency of another Alex offers tantalizing if not Sisyphean delights. At a risk of proffering delights even more unearthly, what would the likes of Iwobi or Bellerín, not to mention Alexis or Özil, achieve under the managerial mastery of a certain Spanish manager? He's been promised a sinecure in the Mancunian area, but with those Myrmidons squandering any chance of a Champions League appearance, might Guardiola jettison that jaunt in favour of a London lark?

Everton 0-2 Arsenal—Vote for Player Ratings/MotM Poll!

Danny Welbeck got Arsenal off to a much-needed strong start, scoring through a beautiful sequence just seven minutes in, and Alex Iwobi opened his Arsenal account just before halftime by running onto an audaciously lofted ball from Bellerín and slotting right under Robles. The second half opened with Everton showing a bit more intent and aggressiveness, signified by Lukaku sliding into Ospina, who needed assistance but stayed in despite wincing and limping for most of the rest of the match. For what it's worth, that also signified referee Mark Clattenburg's resistance to warning or booking anyone wearing Everton blue on the day. Imagine what might have happened had Gareth Barry had been available. Be that as it may, Arsenal found a vital three points to draw just a bit closer to Tottenham and Leicester (perhaps Palace and Bournemouth can each do us a solid...).  We're back to winning ways; get down to the poll to rate our lads!


UPDATE: something has hijacked the poll. Please check back later, after I've had a chance to investigate the cause.

Pick to Click: Alex Iwobi, bagger of a brace against Bayern...

The pundits and punters will tell you that Arsenal have not won in their last six visits to Hillsborough, as if this is meant to mean something. Maybe it does, until we realise that our last trip there was January 2000 and that looking to results that are any older than three or four years old means little, if anything at all. Still, the League Cup is full of pitfalls and pratfalls, and we at Arsenal need not look too far into our own past to dredge up some painful memories. On the other hand, it's been a few years since we got such a favorable draw, having faced Prem mainstays Southampton and West Brom in recent seasons (I dare not delve much deeper into the annals than that, thank you very much). Back to Sheffield Wednesday, whom we play on Tuesday, just what have they been up to recently?