By Walter Broeckx
Are you still buzzing from Wednesday evening? I am. That surely was one hell of a match. One of the most interesting matches even I thought. Not just because we won with 6-0 but because it was a team performance that needed all players to be at their best.
Oooooooospina was magnificent in the first half. His saves when the match was rather balanced were of huge importance. Again Ospina showed what a great keeper he is and how undeserved the bad things that have been thrown at him by our own fans have been. Ospina was and is quality.
Gibbs also had a very decent run out yesterday. No signs of weakness with Monreal on the bench. It shows that at left back we also have a great backup player. And if Gibbs continues to play like he did yesterday Monreal will have to step up. Mind you Gibbs played with The Ox in front of him most of the time and I thought that The Ox was also doing a better job defensively than Iwobi does. Iwobi is a super talent but still has a few points to work on.
So I have mentioned the three players that came on and that usually have to sit on the bench most of the time. They showed the depth of the squad.
Coquelin: again what a match from the Frenchman. Running around and chasing the opponents. Never giving them time, strong in the duels and in the tackles. Certainly in the second half he was amazing to see. I thought he was brilliant. But that can’t be as he cost nothing!
The goals from Theo, The Ox and Alexis were different. Alexis’ goal was something you like to see over and over again. What a lovely piece of skill from the Chilean striker. I have seen a stat somewhere that when Alexis was on the field he was involved in 12 of the 14 goals we scored, be it as scoring the goal or giving the assist. And remember we are a team without a real striker. So they said.
Theo’s goal reminded me of the great goal against Manchester City last season. Then from an angle now from a more central position. Firstly picked out expertly by Özil who looked up and saw who was in space. A good control, and then a curling shot that would have made every Brazilian striker proud. Theo has more in his locker now, and even scoring goals from outside the penalty area is another thing he has added to this game.
But the main man was of course our playmaker. Our assist maker. Or was this something from the past? As to my amazement he didn’t have an assist to his name till yesterday. But he had scored a lot so far. Yesterday he had his first assist for the Walcott goal.
And then it was time to step into the spotlight completely. His volley against Swansea was super stuff. And yesterday he added a few other goals. The first one where he went on his own with the keeper and calmly passed the ball behind the keeper with his right foot was exactly what the best strikers do.
The second goal was another volley into the ground so the keeper had no chance. By now we might remember the Chelsea goal (and a few others) where he did the same. Shoot the ball with a bounce from the pitch over the keeper. One could say “trademark Özil”. It gives the ball an unpredictable trajectory for the keeper who has no clue where it will end up. If expertly done… it will end up in the back of the net.
Just as the first goal was a good assist from Lucas so the third goal from Özil was also from a Lucas pass. A fine piece of skill from the Spaniard but the way Özil finished it with a volley was again of high quality.
As I said before Özil assists less but scores much more. If we look at all competitions Walcott is top scorer with 8 and then we have Alexis and Özil with 6 goals each. We might have three players with more than 10 goals at the end of the season!
Özil is probably the only player I ever stayed up for till the middle of the night. It was on that deadline day a few years ago. When the rumours became so hot that even I got dragged in it and couldn’t go to bed before I knew it for sure. Özil to Arsenal… a dream come true at the time.
And as the years go by…. It seems that Wenger is doing his tricks again. Transforming players in to other types of players. Alexis the goal scorer is now Alexis the assists maker (and still a good goalscorer). Özil the assist king is now suddenly Özil the great finisher.
And don’t say to me it was only Ludogorets. Because we have been impressive before in most of our matches. And that without some of the players like Giroud, Ramsey, Mertesacker,…. That is the best part. We still will have them back sooner or later. What a nice thought.
The way Özil is playing at the moment (and come to think of it for the past seasons also) is a pure joy for the eye. I pinch myself every now and then to remind me I am not dreaming that he is in our team. And with him on Wednesday showing all his magic by assisting and scoring was almost too much for me to take in at once. Watching him play and score in an Arsenal shirt was like having an Özgasm. I rather liked it…
Recent tales from Untold and the Arsenal History Society
Ref review: Arsenal – Swansea, lots of decisions to make
Arsenal in the 30s – February 1935. Despite one slip, Arsenal remain top.
How football has its meaning stripped away, leaving us supporters to sort it out for ourselves
Why the predictions of Arsenal’s season have thus far been soooo wrong
Arsenal in the 30s – February 1935. Despite one slip, Arsenal remain top.
CL Arsenal – Ludogorets: 6-0 with an Özil hattrick
Former Arsenal player John Barnwell talks about his years at Highbury
Arsenal is having a continual Özgasm and may it long continue! 🙂
The team has taken another step. Like another commenter here, i am not nervous anymore when Arsenal play, there is a calm confidence that Arsenal can now deal with more things thrown at them and do not panic, they work harder for one another and must surely sense it themselves too.
There is a different aura around the players this season, even in that pool game as well even though losing.
Get ready for the real ozil after all the unecessary criticism at the begining of his arsenal career.
l bielive this guy is in the bergkamp class if not higher.
next season we might even do the invisibles.
Great piece Walter and yes the depth of team is great, one player that you didn’t mention and will add to the team is welbeck. His high pressing and ability to win ball high up the field will be invaluable in latter stages of season and he adds a goal scoring threat too. The thing that impressed me against ludogrets is there was a mentality shift now whether that’s because the players feel that gd will decide this group or just a general shift in attitude doesn’t matter much. Too many times at 3-0 this side has coasted to victory seeing out the game rather than ripping the opponents throats out and going on to score 4,5 or more. On Wednesday when they saw an opportunity they took it ruthlessly and could have had more. Now yes it’s ludogrets but this team had scored in all their previous games and had a good few chances in this game to score against us. Slight moans would be first half we were not as solid defensively against a pacy attacking outfit but that’s a slight moan. I think ludogrets should be congratulated too because they could have stifled and made it hard to play against and parked the bus but they didn’t they came and played and tried to attack And play possession ball and be positive.
How can u possibly forget Welbz
I would like to know the significance of Ozil’s regular goal celebration….the thumb in the mouth and the imaginary cow’s udder! 😉
nicky – it’s been widely reported !!!
‘It’s for my brother’s daughter Mira, her name starts with an ‘M’ and she’s the first child from my brother and my first niece so she brought a lot of happiness to the family. I love her so much and I want to show her how much I love her so when I score a goal, I do this ‘M’.’
Our uproar that greeted the Gunners molding Ludogorets 6-0 at Ems last Wednesday is subsidizing. I greet the Gunners for this masterclass performance.
It’s Middlesborough we are focusing on now. And my Arsenal football match instinct has informed me that Arsenal will mould Middlesborough by 5 goals to nil tomorrow Saturday at Ems to top the EPL table.
I can’t see Man City molding Southampton on Sunday despite the fact that Man City would have known the outcome of the Arsenal game against ‘borough and know exactly what they have to do to stay on top of the table.
That preknowledge notwithstanding, I can’t see Man City beating the Saints 5-0 or 4-0. The best they can do is to beat them 3-1, 2-0 or 2-1. Who knows, they might even drop points again at the Etihad.
Paul Merson the Sky Sports pundit has opined Le Prof should not unecessarily make changes to his current EPL winning run starting XI for this our home match against ‘borough. I am in agreement with his opinion. But two changes to that last Le Prof’s EPL winning run team are inevitable. Cazorla and Xhaka are out from the Starting XI that played against Swansea.
For one reason or the other, Le Prof has to make a change or 2 to his perceived strongest starting XI at some stages in the season. In this my assertion and save for the unavoidable absent of the injured Cazorla, I will suggest to Le Prof to keep to the same starting XI he played for the Ludogorets game.
One of the reason for this my suggestion is, at a stage in his selection, he ought to swap his 2 major goalkeepers for at least a PL and a Ucl match to make them have a feel in the 2 competitions. Ospina for ‘borough this weekend and Cech for Ludogorets next upper week.
My starts for Middlesborough:
Ospina.
Bellerin Mustafi Koscielny Monreal
Coquelin Elneny
Walcott Ozil Oxchambo
Sanchez.
My bench:
Cech Debuchy(no chance) Gabriel Gibbs Iwobi Perez Adelaide.
I have a problem selection in the base as Cazorla, Xhaka & Ramsey are unavailable. Hence I’ve drafted in Adelaide to fill the void.
Nice one, Walter.
Just a bit from me:
Back in 2012-13 we had four players with 10+ goals in the league (Theo, Poldi, Giroud and Santi) and that team pipped Spuds for 4th place in the last few matches.
And thanks to that 4th place we could sign Ozil.
@Minesy,
Thank you for that and sorry for being so dozy at not seeing it before. 😉
Mesut Ozil is 1 of the most gifted player and after adapting to the PL, he’s settling so well with the team. this season he found another position that suit his style (the false 9) depend on the situation or the opposition. that’s what impress me most, the way of certain players with intelligent football brain think (Arsenal get some of them in the team right now) and about how quickly they’re adjusting and raise their attacking prowess to suit the tactic their team is playing at that time. credit must be given to AW as well for his knowledge and patience to find the right players that suit the team style of play, then allow them to developed and settle properly without giving them much pressure. also the freedom he gave to certain players to express their self on the pitch is classic AW style.
@ bushido – October 21, 2016 at 2:42 pm – I do agree that we have a rather good mix of intelligent players that seem to be able to adapt and change for the different games.
Now if only we had reciprocally similiar intelligent fans supporting the team to the
hilt !
And Walter , as for Özgasm , am sure we are all going to enjoy quite a few of those this season !
I nearly had a Theogasm or two during the Swansea game , but then both times he hit the posts ! I jumped out of my seat and started with “….Yes ! …Yes ..yes …yes.. ” ..and then zilch !
Great article, ozil is top so as the other players and the entire managerial department. Thumbs up to everyone. I love Arsenal fc
An amazing performance by the whole team, and the opponents in the first half proved they were no mugs, but were absolutely steamrollered.
Would love to see a repeat on Sat , but with Callum Chambers blameless.
Ozil on Wednesday……Multiple Ozgazm
Alexis’ goal was magnificent & was worth the ticket money. What surprised me was that Watford’s captain Deeney scored in similar style a couple of times. It was covered in a Premier League Show on BBC2 a few weeks ago. I was amazed at the skill of Deeney but Alexis has a lot more besides the goal scoring technique.
Alexis takes more kicks than Messi & gets little from PGMO. Alexis passes in the air with incredible accuracy. His game is beyond beautiful. I feel blessed to see him play & that for Arsenal.
Brickfields Gunners
October 21, 2016 at 4:23 pm
So true doc. so true.
I wish to see the potential of Lucas Perez. Must be a good reason to buy him. He assisted well on Wednesday.
Our team; work in progress ,last season has finally bin unveiled by le prof AW!wen condemnation nd insane criticisms nd negative virtuperations became all pervading in d media nd social netwrks last term, I recollect my stand den that come 2016/17 season a new Arsenal will be unleashed on EPL by master of the Art of Football; dat exactly is wat we are now witnessing.its amazing how people change in a twinkle of d eye; am so excited nd gladened dat d new Arsenal is making waves so early in d season; the best is yet to come wen every one of d 25 listed players come on board fit nd at optimum threashold;we aint seen anytin yet; this season is an *rsenal blessed season, infact we shall suprise everybody including our sworn detractors, fake forecasters who pretend to be more knowledeable nd professional than all of us, d PGMOL- dat bent organization wit d weird whistle, d press, d. Aaa,d turn coat arsenal fans, d wenger must go choristers et al; it shall be a season of shame nd disgrace for them;funnyingly they are releshing d team’s scintilating performances so far albeit, sadly! Shallom!!!