Premier League, Week 17: Arsenal win wild 7-goal match

It was impossible not to remember the thrilling 7-5 that took place between these two sides in the Capital One Cup last month when Reading briefly mounted what would have been an extraordinary comeback, but Arsenal’s quality held out in an another high-scoring 5-2 victory.

The game ebbed and flowed around the battle in midfield. Reading didn’t try to dominate possession like their opponents, and their use of 4-4-2, with Pavel Pogrebnyak and Noel Hunt working in tandem up front, indicated as much. Instead, the majority of their passing focused on breaking quickly towards the channels and Pogrebnyak fashioned a fine chance for Jimmy Kebe early on after a mazy dribble down the right channel, the flank of which Reading targeted 42% of their passing towards.

Arsenal lead Reading 3-0 at halftime in their Premier League match. In past seasons, when an obviously mediocre Arsenal side put in a performance like this against relegation battlers, Gooners generally liked to declare that they were finally getting it together and that they were ready to right the ship. And who could blame them? Everyone wants to believe their team is good, and everyone likes to see their team win blowouts.

This year, Gooners seem a little more based in reality. Poor souls. They were having so much fun in their alternate universe. I present Arsenal fans on Twitter, in a nutshell.

Reading injuries and suspensions

Arsenal injuries and suspensions

It was not Toure role in the goal that was particularly significant -- although the pass was spectacular -- but the fact that its recipient, Nasri, was even in position to receive the ball. After all, the Frenchman’s primarily a dribbler, and likes to receive passes to feet in wide positions.

That trend shows up most when Nasri is deployed on the left, but here he was used on the right, which changes how he plays. He makes more forward runs into penalty-box positions, drives towards goal more often and is more of a scoring threat to actually score.

The previous clash between these two managers -- Norwich versus Swansea in February -- resulted in a fine tactical battle won by an shrewd tactical switch by Lambert. Although both were now in charge of different sides, Aston Villa’s 3-1 win over Liverpool at Anfield followed a similar pattern.

Only Sterling completed more passes in the attacking third, which summed up how much room the wide defenders had.

The Belgian international was in acres of space, and had enough time to set himself up for an inch-perfect finish off Reina’s right-hand post and into the back of the net. And so, despite Liverpool having enough chances for four or five goals in the first half hour, they found themselves 1-0 down.

Benteke’s only option was to find his strike partner with a blind backheel, and he somehow played it to perfection, leaving Wiemann with an easy finish: