The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly: Schalke v. Arsenal

If there's one thing I love, it's a hoary, over-used cliche. Actually, I hate those, but here's one anyway. Soccer is a game of two halves! The first half yesterday was Good Arsenal; they passed well, they scored (twice!), and they looked like they looked early in the season. Then, somebody apparently doped up the half time orange slices (cliche #2!). To the details!

THE GOOD: Lukas Podolski decided to be a good player again. We're not sure what the problem has been these last few games, but it's good to see him back in form. Kos also looked much better, and as mentioned the entire first half was a refreshing return to Arsenal-quality play. But then...

THE BAD: ...the second half started. This was Not Good Arsenal; they looked nervous, they couldn't string a move together at all, and they held on by their fingertips to a point that they would have been glad to get before kickoff, but a point that nonetheless felt like a letdown at the final whistle.

THE UGLY: Oh, Santi. I don't know if the pitch was slippery, although there were more than a few slips and falls, but yours to end the first half and allow the goal was the worst of the lot. It also seemed to do a number on your confidence, because your second half was...not pleasant. Theo's miss at the end, while not fully ugly, was at the very least "has a great personality".