September started quite poorly. We played 19th placed Crystal Palace and had trouble getting it in the back of the net. Palace scored a penalty and then Chamakh scored an easy header from some poor marking. The fact Chamakh scored managed to get us pumped and we got a goal back but Henessey’s heroics in goal stopped us from equalising.
We then had to go away to Schalke 04 for our opening Champions’ league game. With great honesty they deserved the game a lot more than us, I was playing my standard 4-3-3 and we couldn’t create chances, but their efforts didn’t really test our keeper. However they were still creating. I would have been satisfied with a draw after all of their possession and crossing, but we sparked a quick counter attack which Giroud poked past Jung Sung-Ryong to make it 1-0.
September continued with yet another hard fixture, away to Manchester City in the league, a few days before we faced them in the cup. I set up a 5-3-2 with Walcott and Giroud leading the line. Walcott missed too many chances, and City were 1-0 up at half time from a Milner free kick. I stuck with the formation, but by the 57th minute, Milner and Negredo had tripled City’s lead and we were stuck. I switched to a 4-2-3-1, and just before Walcott came off, he scored. Oxlade Chamberlain, who had played centre midfield all game to break quickly, now playing in the hole, scored a second goal and it was game on. Milner proceeded to end this hope on the 82nd minute by poking in a lucky rebound and complete his hat-trick. However Chamberlain got a third for us and we pressed City ’til the end but aside from a well saved header from Hart against Giroud, we couldn’t finish a great comeback. 4-3 to City, terrible defending, but Oxlade-Chamberlain practically dragged us through the game.
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We then had to face them in the league cup, and they opted for a slightly weakened team, but the real switch that would have been unusual was bringing in Pantilimon. I opted for the 4-2-3-1 that got us three goals at the end of the league game, with a front line of Ozil, Wilshere and Gnabry with Giroud spearheading it. I had Walcott, Cazorla and Oxlade Chamberlain available but Gnabry’s performance in Zurich merited another start. We took the lead from a Wilshere header from a free kick, and dominated the whole game, Pantilimon being the only barrier. How the lead wasn’t tripled by Gnabry alone was incredible, very unlucky not to score. Koscielny picked up a late red card but Matthias Ginter, playing at central midfield was able to drop back and cover for him as we progressed into the next round with a 1-0 victory. A final league game awaited; Sunderland at home. They were 1-0 up inside a minute, but we equalised 11 minutes later. In the second half we got three more, the fourth being a stunning goal with amazing passing and skill, the issue being O'Shea turned it into the Sunderland net instead of Giroud.
http://www.independent.co.uk/incoming/article9041570.ece/alternates/w620/Serge-Gnabry.jpg
Gnabry has made two promising starts, I hope to give him 15 by the end of the season
Three wins and two losses capped off September, the two league losses were damaging as our performances were dire in some aspects, but the cup performances unconvincing yet buoyant. Schalke were all over us but we managed to beat them, and dominating City was very pleasing.
