Arsenal 3-1 Leicester—Vote for Player Ratings & MOTM!

After a tepid first 30 minutes to start the match in which Leicester not only scored but looked likely to score again, Arsenal finally came alive as Özil found an equaliser just before halftime. On the hour, Aubameyang came on and almost immediately bagged a brace, latching onto Bellerín's pass (from an absolutely perfect through-ball from Özil) and then tapping home from Özil himself, who had started the move by dummying to Lacazette and slipping through the defense to find Lacazette's pass. Özil is now the highest-scoring German in Prem history—Klinsmann had 29—and Arsenal have now won ten in a row! Let's get down to the poll...

Bournemouth 2-1 Arsenal—Vote for Player-Ratings & MOTM!

Arsenal largely dominated proceedings at Dean Court but were indeed lucky to escape numerous close-calls, including a penalty-shout against Iwobi who appeared to extend his arm to deflect Bournemouth corner during their spirited charge to close the first half. However, Kevin Friend saw nothing in it, and we went into halftime in a scoreless draw. It wasn't until Héctor Bellerín, running onto Alex Iwobi's well-weighted through-ball, found a way past Begović, his shot squirting through the Bosnian to finally seize a lead. It didn't last long as Bournemouth found the equaliser through—what else? Sloppy defending on a counter-attack. A scant three minutes later saw Ibe, who had tormented the Arsenal defense all afternoon, slash one home, right through three players including Petr Čech. It's a grim result, to put it mildly. Let's get down to the poll to give 'em what they deserve...

Arsenal 3-1 FC Köln—vote for Player Ratings and MOTM!

Arsenal overcame an all-too-familiar shaky start, conceding a silly but stil-exquisite goal when Ospina was forced to come off his line to clear the ball only to see Cordoba score from 50 yards out. From there until halftime, it looked as if Köln could get away with sitting back to defend the lead. However, Kolašinac came on in the second half and electrified the Emirates with a stunning strike, doing his level-best to channel Lukas Podolski, and from there, Köln crumbled. Alexis and then Bellerín got in on the action, and Arsenal come away with a much-needed Europa League win. That's two on the bounce as we prepare to invade Stamford Bridge. Enough for now; let's get down to the poll to rate the lads!

Shakespearean tragedy: can Arsène out-fox foes to finish top-four?

Let's face facts: defeating Man City this weekend does little if anything to change our fortunes in the Prem. That said, there has to be some kind of boost in confidence and determination from having won. For those inclined to wonder about these things, Arsenal have now defeated Guardiola at Camp Nou, Allianz Arena, and Wembley, surely, the only club to stake that claim. However, if there's no carry-over to the Emirates, well, we're whistlin' past the graveyard. Enter Leicester. After a brief resugence under new skipper Craig Shakespeare, the Foxes have risen from the relegation-fray for now. Their Champions League adventure came to a cruelly close ending. Waste no time lamenting their losses, though; we simply must take maximum points from here on out.

About this 3-4-3 of ours, is it the Arsènor's New Clothes?

It was a shift borne of desperation. Having conceded 25 goals across nine fixtures, some kind of shake-up was desperately needed, if only for the sake of shaking things up. After all, it's one thing to conceded five to Bayern. It's quite another to concede three to West Brom. Or again to Crystal Palace. Whatever the case, the shake-up had to happen. The only real question was whether this would happen in the squad or the front-office. With Arsenal's fortunes fading fast, we at least got the former. Whether the latter is still necessary is an open question. For now, let's take a closer look at how well this 3-4-3 worked. After all, we won two in a row for the first time since January. Surely, there's something in it?

Brilliant Bellerín, scintillating Sánchez...woeful Walcott?

We waltzed to a comfy win over West Brom, but they sit comfortably above relegation, so it's hard to take much of meaning from the result. Still, there's something stirring in the Arsenal squad, and it might be just enough to secure a top-three finish even after a shambolic second half of the season saw us slip from the top of the table. With four matches to play, we're two points above Man City (who look like they're focusing on the Champions League, four above Man U, and five below Tottenham. Driving this little resurgence has been the superb play of Héctor Bellerín and Alexis Sánchez. The former was the only Gunner named in the PFA team of the year. The latter has erupted for five goals and three assists in his last six appearances. With the two of them rampaging on the right, we might still salvage a third-place finish.

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?

Bellerín? Ballon D'or? Bellerín D'or. Done. Dusted.

¡Bellerííííííííííííííííííííííííííííííííííííííííínnnn!!!!!!!!! Holy ecstatic orgiastic surges of gloriousness, Batman. How many times has a player been abused so thoroughly by his opposite only to end up the conquering hero? Time and time again, it seemed, Douglas Costa would unleash some filthy abuse on our still wet-behind-the-ears right-back, and it was looking increasingly likely that, at some point, Costa would hit pay-dirt. It was only a matter of time. Even after Giroud had scuffed some kind of "header" past Neuer, it was still looking like Bayern would find an equaliser, most likely down our right flank. Then, in the extra time that Bayern's men had bayed for so lustily, Bellerín pounced. In doing so, he upended the Bavarian behemoths and staked his claim to being—pardon the hyperbole—the best right-back in the Prem.

Newcastle 0-1 Arsenal: Vote for Player Ratings/MotM

The first half was all Arsenal as Newcastle defended dogged and at times desperately. Referee Andre Marriner missed a soft but clear penalty call as Bellerín went down in the box but saw sit to send off new man Mitrovic in the fifteenth minute for a studs-up challenge on Coquelin. Ten-man Toon seemed to draw inspiration, though, launching ambitious counters even if they did fizzle out. Despite the man-advantage, Arsenal couldn't get past Krul, and it was scoreless at halftime. Oxlade-Chamberlain finally opened the scoring shortly after halftime, his shot sluicing through Coloccini's legs to beat Krul. Between our quest for a perfect goal and Krul's tenacity, that turned out to be all the scoring for the day. Head down to the poll to rate our lads' performance...

Walcott to punish Pantilimon all over again...

Look, I know that the man played 18 minutes against Manchester United and only 21 minutes the week before against Swansea, but it's hard to resist the idea that Theo Walcott is raring to go. While other players are getting a bit rubbery after playing week in and week out all season, Theo has to be fresh as a daisy, not to mention chomping at the bit, after being sidelined for most of the last 12 months, first by that ACL tear and then by uneven play compounded by much-more intense competition at his favored position, whether it was from the the newly signed Alexis or Welbeck or the displacement of Ramsey to the wing to make room for the Cazorla-Coquelin combo. As he's sat, it's been all too easy to opine that he's fallen out of favor, to the point that there's been open talk of selling him in the summer. Madness. Please remind yourself of what the man can do. Better yet, let's hope he gets a chance to show us against Sunderland.

Arsenal steamroll the Scousers; Chelsea quake in their boots...

In last season's Annihilation at Anfield, Liverpool needed but twenty minutes to overpower Arsenal, scoring four goals in that span in a performance that seemed to lay waste to our entire campaign, whether in the Prem, Champions League, or FA Cup. Then again, we did bounce back well enough to beat Liverpool a week later. Fast forward to this past Saturday, and we needed just eight minutes to overrun Liverpool, scoring three times in that span to blow the game open. Heck, were it not for two vital saves from Mignolet, it could have been 2-0 just four minutes in. Whichever way you slice it, we eviscerated Liverpool, who absolutely needed three points—or, failing that, a gutsy performance—to keep their flickering Prem and Champions League hopes alive. Against us, they could muster up neither, and look more like roadkill than rivals.

Arsenal 4-1 Scousers: Vote for Player Ratings/MotM!

A bright five minutes saw Simon Mignolet make two or three vital saves, after which it started to look like Liverpool would end up getting the first goal. Then, Arsenal erupted for three goals in eight minutes—Bellerín cutting into the box to curl home, Özil from a set-piece curling around the wall, and Alexis with a stunning strike right through Liverpool's heart—and we'd all but erased those 20 minutes at the Kop. Jordan Henderson squeezed a penalty past Ospina and it started to feel if not look like a comeback was brewing. In the 84th minute, though, Emre Can picked up a second yellow for scything Welbeck from behind, and ten-man Liverpool couldn't find any more finger-holds. Giroud nailed the coffin shut with a laser-beam to make it 4-1 (our 16th goal in stoppage-time this season). It was a brilliant result that elevates us, however briefly, to second place.

Bask in that while it lasts; before you go, rate our players' efforts in the poll below.

West Brom-Arsenal preview: Kos and Giroud return to deliver victory over West Brom!

The last time we faced West Brom, we won via an emphatic header from Olivier Giroud, a victory that clinched fourth place and ensured that we would again appear in the Champions League. Fast forward from then ‘til now, and we’ve made good on that promise, advancing to the Champions League knockout-stage thanks to goals from Sanogo and Alexis, but thanks also to stalwart defending and a stand-out performance from Damián Martinez, who looks to again deputize for the injured Wojciech Szczesny (whether the injury is physical or psychological is another question for another day).  More important, perhaps, will be the returns to fitness of a few Frenchmen at opposite ends of the pitch.