Olivier Giroud scores twice as holders Arsenal cruise past Middlesbrough. Villa get the better of Leicester in their first match since Paul Lambert’s departure, as Andrej Kramaric nets again for the Foxes, whilst Jermain Defoe adds to Gus Poyet’s woes by missing the cup loss to Bradford with a calf complaint.
Giroud at the double
Rested to the bench for the midweek win over Leicester, the Frenchman was re-installed to the lone striker role for the visit of Championship high-flyers Middlesbrough. Giroud led the line with aplomb, netting twice within the space of three minute in the first half, whilst Alexis Sanchez was subsequently switched to the left flank aafter passing a late fitness test. With a supporting cast also including Mesut Ozil, Danny Welbeck and Santi Cazorla, there was no place for Theo Walcott in Wenger’s starting XI and despite scoring in midweek, it seems he remains more susceptible to rotation than the rest of Arsenal’s midfield big-hitters.
Wenger elected to rotate Arsenal’s rearguard for the 2-0 win. Gabriel Paulista was handed a first start since his switch from Villarreal last month, which – coupled with the reintroduction of Kieran Gibbs, Callum Chambers and Wojciech Szczesny – afforded Hector Bellerin, Per Mertesacker and David Ospina the opportunity to rest. The decision to reinstate Szczesny and Chambers for this cup-tie serves as further proof that Ospina (4.8) and Bellerin (4.6) are strengthening their grip on their respective positions and, in terms of league minutes, seem less subject to rotation as the weeks progress.
After the match, Wenger had much to discuss. When asked if Sanchez put pressure on him to play, the Arsenal boss conceded:
“He always wants to play. Everybody’s like that but he’s a bit more like that. He had a good performance. I think he became stronger as the game went on but because I took a gamble with him, I took him off with 20 minutes to go. He needed the game as well. He didn’t miss too many games and what was important for him was to get through the game without injury.”
Wenger then went on to discuss Welbeck’s versatility before admitting that Giroud remains his first-choice centre forward:
“One of the reasons I bought him (Welbeck) is that he can play central striker and wide. I believe he’s doing extremely well and is contributing to the team very well. He can play central striker like he did for a long time but the most natural centre forward we have is Giroud. All the strikers we have can play in different positions. The only one who can only play centre forward is Giroud, so when Giroud plays the others have to move out wide.”
Villa show shoots of recovery
In the first match of the post-Paul Lambert era, Villa secured a 2-1 FA Cup victory over fellow relegation candidates Leicester City. The newly-appointed Tim Sherwood looked on from the stands as caretaker manager Scott Marshall was tasked with picking the team and brought back the likes of Ron Vlaar, Shay Given, Christian Benteke, Leandro Bacuna and Tom Cleverley into the starting line-up.
Following an insipid first half that became all too characteristic of Lambert’s tenure, a half-time team talk from Sherwood transformed the home side after the break. Villa finally broke Leicester’s resolve through a curling strike from Bacuna and a last-minute effort from Scott Sinclair, with Benteke and Vlaar grabbing an assist apiece.
Whilst the impact of Sherwood’s words at the interval perhaps bode well, it remains to be seen what his preferred XI is right now, then, and with Gabby Agbonlahor and Carles Gil both missing out through injury yesterday, his options in the final third already look limited. Nonetheless, with five favourable fixtures to follow (STO, new, WBA, sun, SWA), the new man in charge certainly has the schedule to guide his team up the table – Benteke, in particular, will be hopeful of turning the corner after firing an eye-catching ten attempts in this afternoon’s triumph.
Foxes Tumble Out
Nigel Pearson continued with the 5-4-1 formation rolled out at Arsenal in midweek. In one enforced change, the Foxes boss handed Marcin Wasilewski a role at centre-half as Robert Huth was cup-tied, with new striker Andrej Kramaric once again leading the line. The Croat’s consolation – courtesy of a Jeffrey Schlupp assist – took his tally to two goals in as many appearances, with a total of nine attempts over those matches highlighting his current threat.
From a Fantasy perspective, the main point of note from this match was it could, potentially, leads to a double Gameweek 28 for Leicester and Chelsea. The Blues’ involvement in the Capital One Cup final with Spurs on March 1 prompted a fixture reshuffle that’s already seen Tottenham’s Gameweek 27 match against Queens Park Rangers moved forward to Gameweek 28 after both were knocked out of the FA Cup. With Leicester and Chelsea both out, their head-to-head at the King Power Stadium – which was previously scheduled for Gameweek 27 – could now receive the same treatment, handing us four teams to consider for the double. For now, though, this is all hypothetical as the Premier League have yet to confirm any dates.
Defoe Worry for Black Cats
Gus Poyet made six changes from the side that lost to QPR in midweek for the trip to giant-killers Bradford, with Patrick van Aanholt, John O’Shea, Liam Bridcutt, Seb Larsson and Adam Johnson retaining their places. Sunderland’s fringe players did little to enhance their chances of earning a starting role as Poyet’s side became the Bantams’ second Premier League scalp of the competition – after knocking four past Chelsea in the previous round – courtesy of a John O’Shea own goal and Jon Stead’s 61-minute strike.
After the match, Poyet’s spat with the media may have caught the headlines after the Sunderland fans turned against him but from a Fantasy point of view, the main news concerns the absence of Defoe. Poyet confirmed that the striker – who has earned returns in three of his first four league outings for the Wearsiders – is a concern ahead of the weekend showdown against West Brom:
“He had a calf injury. I didn’t want to give away too much information, though. He has a little problem with his calf, but we don’t know how long he is going to be [out].”
