Sparkless Arsenal Ride Past Huddersfield on Bicycle

It was one of those evenings when one had to be under great tension as a result of watching Arsenal in action. The visit of Huddersfield Town to the Emirates Stadium is one that would not be forgotten so soon because of the way they approached the game. The underdogs, even though they eventually had nothing to show for their efforts, posed a great threat to an Arsenal side that many expected to get a win with ease. No doubt, they gave us a run for our money.

Lucas Torreira was the man of the day. The Uruguayan international scored the only standing goal of the match through a stunning bicycle kick that gave the Gunners victory and shot them up to third spot pending the outcome of games from Stamford Bridge and the King Power Stadium.

Saturday's game gave both sides limited chances and as much as Arsenal tried to edge past the visitors, they kept holding their ground. Huddersfield clearly did not come all the way from West Yorkshire to settle for less.

Our first clear chance of the day was one from close range which Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang hit wide following a sweeping move by Matteo Guendouzi - the guy Marouane Fellaini almost ripped off his hair at Old Trafford on Wednesday night. Another attempt came almost immediately and it was Guendouzi providing the ball again. The end product had no effect on the scoreline with Alexandre Lacazette failing to shoot accurately having slipped.

What looked to be the opener in the first half was scooped by Lacazette but miscalculated officiating caused it to be adjudged offside to the dismay of the home crowd

Unai Emery made quick second half changes, taking off Lacazette and Stephan Lichtsteiner for Alex Iwobi and Henrikh Mhkitaryan. I must say that what I saw from Iwobi today was totally below par. The Nigerian Starboy wasn't impressive with his deliveries.

Shkodran Mustafi limped off to be replaced by Nacho Monreal in the 66th minute. It was the Spaniard's first appearance since early October when he suffered a hamstring injury against Fulham. Arsenal's breakthrough moment showed up with seven minutes to regualar time and it was Torreira's bicycle kick that made the difference. That made it his second goal in an Arsenal shirt. The first came in the North-London Derby against Tottenham last Sunday.

Aubameyang's chip towards goal enabled the summer signing swing a superb close-range acrobatic to make it 1-0 and seal our 21st game unbeaten in all competitions.

Despite our win, we were not sharp on the ball. Maybe we should blame that on fatigue considering the fact that we have played too many games in a short period. We have to remain strong for we have reached that point where we will get bombarded with fixtures. We cannot afford to have more injuries at this time.

We host Qarabag in the Europa League on Thursday hoping to give our main players a rest. There is nothing to worry about since even a loss will have no effect on our already-attained top spot in the group with thirteen points already gotten from our last five group stage matches.

After that will be the trip to St Mary's to face Southampton next Sunday. Sokratis and Mustafi were booked and will miss out of that clash. Did you notice the way the referee dished out yellow cards like an MTN ambassador especially in the first half? Arsenal got five of the nine cards in that game.