Arsenal 2-1 Cardiff City: 5 Talking Points | Premier League 2018-19

Arsenal ground out a 2-1 victory over Cardiff City at Emirates on Tuesday. Though the home side looked lethargic for large parts of the game, they eventually got the job done, courtesy of goals from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette.

Arsenal controlled possession in the early stages of the game yet weren’t able to create anything of note. The best chances in the first half fell to the visitors as Reid fluffed his lines on two occasions.

In the second half, Arsenal tried to raise the tempo. Manga's moment of madness in the 65th minute gave the home side a chance to go ahead from the penalty spot. Aubameyang made no mistake and slotted his spot-kick past Etheridge. 18 minutes later, Lacazette killed the game off will a well-taken goal.

Cardiff, though, pulled one back in stoppage time through Mendez-Laing yet it acted merely as a consolation rather than a catalyst for a comeback. The victory means that Arsenal are now level on points with Chelsea whereas the defeat left Cardiff three points off safety.

Here is a look at five talking points from the game.

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#5 Arsenal produced an awful first half display

Emery needs to sort out his team's starting problem

Ever since Unai Emery arrived in the summer, it has been tough to establish trends in the Gunners’ play with the Spaniard adopting a myriad of systems. Yet, one worrying pattern that has reared its ugly head time and again is Arsenal’s sluggish start to games.

On Tuesday evening, the Gunners enjoyed the lion’s share of possession in the first half but failed to translate their domination of the ball into anything concrete. The midfielders lacked ideas with Elneny, in particular, guilty of slowing down the play.

Up front, Aubameyang and Lacazette too did not enjoy a good first half as the duo was largely anonymous and it was only towards the end of the game the latter found his feet. In addition, the Gunners’ transition from defense to attack was extremely lackadaisical as they allowed Cardiff City the time to reorganize and put men behind the ball.

Throughout the season, Arsenal have developed a reputation for being slow starters. Though it might not hurt them against teams in the bottom half, it surely has the ingredients to dent them against top-quality opposition.

#4 Manga madness cost Cardiff

Manga's moment of madness cost Cardiff

Cardiff City arrived at the Emirates in the 18th place. Though the trip to Arsenal might not have been looked upon as one that would fetch points, Cardiff shot themselves in the foot by constantly indulging in needless infringements.

In the first half, Mike Dean waved away Arsenal’s first claim for a penalty when Lacazette decided to stay on his feet. The striker superbly pirouetted his way past Manga and was unfortunate not to be awarded the penalty.

However, minutes later, Manga hacked Lacazette from behind on the right edge of the penalty box. Dean, though, was unmoved again. Despite a couple of bites, Cardiff were still not shy of putting their foot in wrongly and were eventually punished when Manga as he tripped Kolasinac in the 65th minute.

Till then, Cardiff had been causing the Gunners real problems with their physicality. Yet, Manga’s dubious decision handed Arsenal the initiative and Cardiff never really fought back after going a goal down.

#3 Mesut Ozil fails to inspire

Ozil wasn't at his best against Cardiff

After being frozen out for the majority of January, Mesut Ozil was finally handed the opportunity to showcase his talents against Cardiff. The German, though, looked a pale shadow of himself and turned in an abject display.

At the Emirates, Emery named an expansive front three of Aubameyang, Lacazette, and Ozil. Though the strikers got on the score-sheet, the German was largely ineffective. Ozil was tidy on the ball yet couldn’t conjure the kind of defense-splitting passes he is capable of.

However, the most worrying aspect of Ozil’s performance was his confidence or the lack of it. There were occasions where the play-maker could have chosen the flamboyant attacking path yet turned to the more conservative route.

On his day, Ozil is as imaginative a player as any on the planet. Yet, those displays have been far and few in between this term.

#2 Cardiff left to rue their missed chances

Cardiff were poor with their finishing

The past week has been troubling for Cardiff City with their record-signing Emiliano Sala gone missing. Though the footballers are professionals, such instances certainly overwhelm them psychologically.

Thus, the game against Arsenal was looked upon as one where the Bluebirds needed to control damage and not get blown away. Yet, for about an hour, the visitors were the better side and were immensely unlucky to not make the net bulge.

In the early stages of the game, Reid was presented with a gilt-edged opportunity on the edge of the box but the youngster horribly sliced his shot and failed to draw a save from Leno.

Minutes later, he had a chance at redemption when he found himself unmarked from a cross off the right wing. However, the Englishman could only send the ball looping over the bar. Additionally, Cardiff was a persistent menace from set pieces with Paterson winning several headers. Thus, it was a shame that they couldn’t make any of those chances count.

#1 Arsenal keep their top-four hopes alive

Arsenal keep their top four hopes alive

On 19th January, Arsenal cruised past Chelsea to shred the latter’s gap to three points. On Tuesday. Arsenal produced an insipid display at the Emirates for a majority of the game. Yet, when the big moments arrived, the Gunners seized them.

Aubameyang was on hand to convert the first of those whereas Lacazette put the game beyond doubt. At this juncture in the season, results have gained greater importance than performances. Though the Arsenal faithful would still want their team to prioritize creativity over calculation, they surely wouldn’t want to trade it for a place in the top four.

Arsenal’s victory coupled with Manchester United’s draw at home means that the Gunners are now two points clear of their rivals. Though the title race and the relegation battle seem like a foregone conclusion with each passing week, the battle for the top four is getting intriguing by the day.