By Walter Broeckx
A few changes for this match against Ludogorets.
Xhaka paying the price for his red card maybe and Coquelin takes his place. We have Ospina in goal as expected with Cech sitting on the beach.
Furthermore one change in the defence as Gibbs comes in the place of Monreal. And up front we have Oxlade-Chamberlain who comes in for Iwobi. Maybe a good moment to give the youngster some rest.
Team at the start: Ospina, Bellerin, Mustafi, Koscielny, Gibbs, Coquelin, Cazorla, Walcott, Ozil, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Alexis.
On the beach: Cech, Gabriel, Monreal, Elneny, Xhaka, Iwobi, Lucas.
Özil with an attempt ot reach Alexis but the keeper could intercept the cross. A good attack and Theo goes past the last man but then gives the ball to the middle instead of taking on the shot. Özil sends Alexis away but the last defender could intercept the attack. The Ox with a shot that is deflected in to a corner. Arsenal on fired and Alexis is again send away on the left flank, a cut back, defenders coming back and a lob… GOAL!!! 1-0 to The Arsenal after 12 minutes. What a lovely goal.
Ludogorets dangerous for the first time but a fine stop from Ospina. And some 5 minutes alter Ludogorets witha counter but Ospina again up to the task and a good stop. But most of the time Ludogorets hanging back deep around their penalty area. Özil gets a shooting chance after a low cross from Walcott but a defender blocks the effort. And Ospina then again with a tremendous interception as Cafu was almost past him. At the other end The Ox away but he pass was just out of reach for Walcott to tuck home. The match now very open for the moment around the half hour mark.
And again Ospina comes out perfectly to stop a Ludogorets break away and then the rebound is going wide off the legs of Koscielny and the post. At the other end Theo with a free shooting chance but the keeper saves for a corner. Arsenal with too many wrong passes up front in this passage of play and a few good possible chances of opening up Ludogorets go missing. But then Özil is on the flank, looks up sees players running towards the goal and Theo dropping off and chooses the Theo option outside the penalty area. Theo steadies himself for the shot and curls it beautifully in the top of the goal. GOAL!!! 2-0 to The Arsenal after 42 minutes. Another cracking goal.
The Ox with a run on the left flank a cross to Alexis who heads but the keeper manages to clear it somehow. And then the ref blows an end to the first half. Arsenal lead 2-0 but Ospina certainly had some important work to do at the other end and did it expertly. Arsenal had enough chances to have a higher score also.
What a start to the second half. Arsenal trying to attack from the start. Gibbs with a low cross that is cleared first but falls to The Ox who buries it in the bottom corner. GOAL!!! 3-0 to The Arsenal after 46 minutes. A minute later the Ludogorets keeper has to box the ball away just in front of the nose of Theo who was chasing a high backpass. And from the resulting corner Koscielny with the header but a comfortable save for the keeper this time. Ludogorets try to do something back but Ospina with a good catch and the striker was offside anyway. Theo almost away but the keeper got out in time to clear. Koscielny with a great stop to prevent a possible break from Ludogorets and Arsenal immediately counter attack and the ball is put over the top and Özil runs towards the keeper and shoots with his right foot… GOAL!!!! 4-0 to The Arsenal after 56 minutes. Wenger takes off Santi and puts Elneny on.
Theo with an attempt to reach Alexis but the keeper first on the ball. Santi meanwhile being treated on his foot and gets an ice bag. Lucas is coming on after 60 minutes in the place of Theo. Good to give him some rest now. The CL debut for Lucas who goes to play on the right it seems. Alexis through and brought down by a defender but the ref refuses to put the ball on the spot. Alexis wiht a lobbed pass to The Ox but what a reaction save from the keeper for a corner. Meanwhile I must mention the amazing hard work from Coquelin. How many interceptions he made, how many duels he won, how many tackles he won… I can’t count them on all my fingers I think. Just when I type this he plays a sloppy ball but Ludogorets can’t profit.
The Ox on the left flank with a cross to Lucas but he can’t keep it low and the attempt goes over. After 72 minutes Alexis goes off and Iwobi comes on. He always looks so unhappy when he has to come off but a good move from Wenger. Bellerin almost sneaks through after a nice backheel from Lucas but a defender can clear at the last moment.
Arsenal now leaning back a bit with the Ox on the right flank and Iwobi on the left side of attack. No need to go out for more goals for the sake of it and to risk any injuries. A shot from Ludogorets goes harmlessly wide. Lucas is send away on the left and his cross finds Özil in the middle who again shoots with his right foot… GOAL!!!! 5-0 to The Arsenal. Another goal from Özil and a first assist for Lucas in the CL. Another ball against the turf goal from Özil by the way.
Lucas on the right flank away and again Özil in the middle, a little chipped cross to the German who volleys it home with his left foot. GOAL !!!! 6-0 to The Arsenal after 87 minutes. A hattrick for Özil!
And almost a 7th goal when Özil tries to find Lucas but he misses his attempted backheel. The pass from Özil not 100 % where it should have ended. Bellerin showing his speed again in the last minute to come back to stop a possible Ludogorets attack. And Arsenal again with a chance but the shot from Bellerin is parried and then Lucas and The Ox leave the ball for each other and it comes to nothing.
Ludogorets had a good spell of some 10-15 minutes in the first half but overall Arsenal was much much better than them and finished the match with a trashing 6-0 score line.
The match eventually turned out to be a stroll in the park. The score line a bit flattering though.
Walter – you are nearly as fast as Bellerin. Thanks for the report. Fantastic to see Ozil get a hat trick
Lucas seems to be getting to pace now for the Premiership. Bring Middlesbrough on next.
Ozil seems to have found joy in scoring now than in providing assists.??
Daily Mail noticed the fans leaving at 80min. Maybe the owners of those seats owe the food bank a donation for leaving early?
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I wasn’t expecting this comment from another game today.
> Incredibly daft from Claudio Bravo, the Manchester City goalkeeper. He’s just been sent off for attempting to catch the ball outside of his area.
Does Barcelona have a player named Ospina? Daily Mail had Ospina scoring Barcelona’s goal.
Really pleased the Ox got a goal and assist. Hopefully will help his confidence
Watching some idiot on BT sport saying he wants to see Özil do it in a big PL game… he probably was away from the earth when Özil scored against Chelsea and ManU in our last home matches against them…. Or maybe they aren’t bit teams ? 😉
“big”
@Walter, thanks for the match report, what a fantastic performances from the Arsenal for AW 100 wins in European competition.
@theBT Idiot: So what has Özil been doing these past 6 weeks in the PL?
A very nice performance at the Emirates – some brilliant football and 6 super goals! Well done guys – a great team performance.
Five minutes before the game’s end the stadium looked a quarter capacity empty, or was it just an optical illusion?
Watching the Bayern and Barca games simultaneously, this didn’t seem the case at their stadiums.
What’s wrong with the crowd leaving The Ems when the home team is still on track to equal or better the biggest score in Arsenal CL history ?
Granted they didn’t do it but if they did , one wonders what some of those fans would’ve said about leaving the game at 5:0.
Strange.
Great game by the club! It’s amazing watching their movement and especially the skill of Özil! Anyone else notice, the ability of Özil to score a volley with his right leg for his 2nd and then with his left leg for his 3rd!
According to Evening Standard, supposedly interpreting a Wenger interview.
Apparently Cazorla got kicked on the Achilles.
Alexis is probably okay.
The BT idiot was Michael Owen. Can’t escape his anti Arsenal bias.
An edit to Wikipedia may be in order, for this first hat trick for Mesut.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oggy_Oggy_Oggy
It is:
Ozil! Ozil! Ozil!
_ Oi! Oi! Oi!
Ozil! Ozil! Ozil!
_ Oi! Oi! Oi!
Ozil!
_ Oi!
Ozil!
_ Oi!
Ozil! Ozil! Ozil!
_ Oi! Oi! Oi!
Well that was a breath of fresh air, i was not going to leave the screen to come comment.
Don,t care what quality the opposition is, our mind set must be to put it(game) to bed early.
Some wonderfull goals, i was sure Alexis would win the GotM, but then came the others especially OZIL’s and it’s a hard choice this month.
Masterclass outing from our boys. Ozil with a amazing hatrick. Can’t make up my mind which goal is sweeter. Sanchez’s dink, Walcott’s coiler, Ozil’s 1st counter attack goal or Ozil’s bounce 2nd.
Anyway, Ozil walked away all smiles with the match ball but it made me wonder, if 2 players score a hatrick, who walks away with the match ball?
@Nonny, they get to walk away with their own balls
The only reason I can think of for our fans leaving early is to beat the massive queues at Arsenal & Highbury underground stations. It has always been the same as long as I can remember.
It must make a difference for supporters wanting to make links to main line trains leaving London which generally finish before ten pm.
Yes, there were quite a few that left the ground before the end…..maybe they have their reasons, transport in the area could be made better I am sure, and it is their choice, but they missed something a bit special. But those who stayed certainly gave the boys a pretty good reception at the whistle.
This score line has been coming for a while, could have easily been eight….ten this eve., despite some spirited moments in the first half for the visitors
This team are fun to watch
It was a pleasure to watch this match on a USA steam. Just one commentator not taking part in rubbish chit chat with the likes of Owen.
USA stream (not steam)
Oh good, Mandy did stop by. You’re going to get a rep Mandy.
http://untold-arsenal.com/archives/56962#comment-894165
I agree with Leon , it’s the transport links.There is a supposition within the powers that be that football supporters are all local residents. This can’t be further from the truth, Londoners don’t live there anymore, . Most now live in the home counties and beyond. If you use public transport the links are not capable of shifting 60,000 people , if you drive the parking restrictions give you a two mile walk to the ground.
Had to happen Gord, think there will be others.
Congratulations Ozil, soon to be up on the Emirates hatrick gallery
I was at the game & those leaving early generally have trains to catch. Some Arsenal supporters don’t get home till the early hours of the next day. Many supporters live on the coast & try to catch a train that departs before midnight. I live in West London & I got home just before 23.30. The transport system has less trains & buses late at night.
As regards injuries, I am not surprised that Arsenal players get injuries with the officiating we get. Alexis gets kicked with regularity & because he keeps his feet does not get protection from officials. He was denied a clear penalty & the official on the goal line with the dildo would probably be more useful in an Amsterdam sex show.
Had to happen? You mean if you made enough predictions, one had to come true? And now you expect to have a run of predictions come true. 🙂
I know, yes eventually the ball had to bounce such that many goals went in.
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I wonder if anyone went to Sams Chicken on Holloway? The idea of avacado fries seems interesting.
The object of any medja report on Arsenal, is to report the facts in a manner which easily allows for the BIG LETDOWN. Here we have the Irish Examiner:
Medja was talking about how perfect everything was for ManC up until their recent loss. Medja has been and can continue to talk up the Spuds unbeaten EPL start.
But, it takes a string of how many for the medja to START talking about Arsenal?
And we (the medja) still have to do this in a manner to allow us to bash them (Arsenal).
It is just dumb. 🙂
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Menace, I gather you have been to Amsterdam? Sorry, just trying to tease you. You seem to know about whiskey/whisky. Do you know port?
Any other gunners know port?
Working through the Irish Examiner article, I find:
I don’t keep track of how many away tickets are typically available, and I know FA, UEFA, FIFA like to have over-generous allocations to themselves for games under their jurisdiction, but is 3000 or so the typical away gate for Champions League?
Any idea as to whether neutrals make up a significant part of that 3000?
But, if those 3000 are mostly from Ludogorets, that is wonderful! Their stadium only seats 8000 and change, and to have almost 40% travel to London to support their team, says a lot about them as a team. Or even that enough people from that region living elsewhere, still support the team.
Stern Warnings from the Pudnits/Muppets.
It would be nice if Arsenal issued stern warnings to muppets like Roy Keane, Dunne and Ferdinand. Any more “stern warnings” and you will not be admitted to games.
Sure, if any of these muppets would do the same to teams they support, I can see giving them a break.
What I see, is just yet another attempt to destabilize Arsenal to help the team they support win more/better/….
Mesut Ozil has an intimidating way of getting judgemental pundits groping for excuses to camouflage earlier erroneous judgements. Nicking a living? Hahahahaha.
What is so wrong in accepting that in the entire universe, there is no Number 10 player that is as good as Ozil? None at all. This is because he has added to his exceptional passing play of an inalienable quality of assists. Now he scores…and fantastically too.
Stop him from assisting, then he scores. Stop him from scoring, then any of Walcott, Sanchez, Chamberlain or Iwobi will ‘kill’ you from his wondrous assists.
We all know that this dreamy Arsenal run may not continue forever but hey, I wouldn’t exchange it now for any other fun.
Bring it on Boro, we are at the Emirates waiting!
WOO HOO , HOO ! Great win , and a clean sheet to boot . And a hattrick ball for Ozil for his Birthday .
Up the Gunners !
I’m not sure xhaka paid price for his red card more Wenger knowing that he is out for three games decided to get coquelin match fit . However, the game was a bit of a dead rubber and we did what we needed and put them to the sword. For me the most pleasing aspect was there was no eAsing off and going for the usual let’s see the 3-0 out mentality they went out and tried to score at every opportunity they got and that score line could have been double figures easily. Repeat that in the return fixture in a fortnight and we put ourselves in pole position to top group A. The real positive is it’s another win we are creating and scoring chances and look a well balanced solid team without giroud Ramsey And mertesacker available. We look to have a solid enough squad to compete in all competitions this season, of course we will have to wait and see if we get injuries and what draws we get in competitions but I feel two trophies are not out of our reach. I also feel that the quarters or semi finals of champions league is not beyond us. Winning it may be harder as Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern are the class teams in the competition. In fact Barcelona showed there class by dismantling city whilst not being at there best.
As has been mentioned above, Thanks to London Transport/TFL the transport links for the Stadium Wenger can be a real pain. I’ve never left before the final whistle but always find I’m joining horrendous queues to get away from the area.
I don’t believe Barca or Bayern (or many non-London clubs) have this issue.
Bayern certainly didn’t at the old Olympic Stadium when I lived there.
Actually the by idiot was Martin known during the game
Oz and Alex needs to sign da ting now! That would be a wicked message to the team!
I can’t believe the negativity on some other sites – I’m like we just won 6-0 and the miserable gits are talking about it was only Ludo!
I thought keown was alright yesterday
I seen one medja report, which supposedly had twits purporting that Cazorla will likely be able to play on the weekend.
Who knows if it is true or not.