Blimey…this was unreal at times

Posted on by WalterBroeckx

By Walter Broeckx

So the last word that was out was that Arsenal only played little teams so far and thus our league position was flattering.  Now in a way this is rather disrespectful towards that former Middlesex team but who are we to count them as a better team in the PL if the pundits see them as not a big test for Arsenal.

So here came Naples our way. One of the teams on top of the Serie A in Italy. Now we would see what Arsenal was worth.  Well I think we have seen what we are worth.

First the teams out and there we see the genius of Wenger once again who last season did a few things with Ramsey like playing him out of his natural position. And you will remember the criticism Wenger got for that and Ramsey also.  But today we have seen the result of playing a player out of position. Ramsey was playing for a big part as a right winger and man did he deliver. Gnabry and Wilshere were given a spot on the bench and Rosicky made his return and Arteta took up his spot in midfield so we saw the first time Flamini and Arteta playing together.

The returning players showed some rusty moments in this game but the only way to get match fitness is by playing games. Rosicky in particular was a bit unlucky and can do better and will be better.  On to the match itself.

If I hadn’t known it was Arsenal it could have been the best Barcelona team from a few years ago. Napoli weren’t allowed to touch the ball at all in the opening minutes of the game. Arsenal played the ball around with pace and precision and made the Naples players run behind the ball that was kept out their reach.

Özil is the player that we were all hoping for to shine I think and my God what a performance. Sagna to Giroud who covered the ball and lifted it over his defender and released Ramsey on the right flank. And like a real winger (this is what having played there before gives you) he saw Özil coming completely unmarked. And with an inch perfect cross he set up the ball for the onrushing Özil. Now the way Özil took his shot was amazing to see. It was as if he was walking on the beach and with what looked an amazingly soft movement with the leg and an unseen ease he shot the ball in the top corner.

WHAT A GOAL! The build up, the cross, the shot…. can it become more perfect?  Özil is now on the score sheet and what a wonderful strike that was.

But Özil is more famous for his assists. So before the first 15 minutes were gone he showed his class once again. A combination on the flank between Giroud and Özil after some bad defending from Naples and Özil was running in the penalty area on the right side of the field. Giroud came rushing towards goal and Özil with an amazing precision placed the ball between 3 Naples  defenders right in the path of Giroud who let Reina no chance at all. 2-0 and Arsenal complete in control.

Such an early lead can bring two things. Arsenal could lean back and Naples could try to come back at us and start to attack us. Well I have never seen Arsenal dominate a top team like they did today. The ball was ours and we didn’t give them the ball at all. And when by accident they got the ball all our players were like buzzing bees around the Naples player forcing them to errors and make them lose the ball.

Our dominance was that big and the Walloon (South Belgium) TV people were lyrical about Arsenal. So was I. And I think most of you.

The second half showed the new Arsenal. The Arsenal that leans back and tells the other team: so let us see what you can. And maybe my memory is not that good anymore but was there really one moment where we had our heart in our mouth? I really can’t remember one.

So Naples got the ball and we just sat back and all we allowed them was some harmless shots from distance.  Szczesny was having one of the easiest CL games of his career I think.

We could have scored a few more goals but well 2-0 against Naples was more than good enough for me.  This really was a fine and strong performance against a team that is going for the title in Italy and that on paper has lots and lots of talents. We cancelled them out completely.

6 points after 2 games. Top of the PL. Top of the CL group of death. My boy, what more can you ask for? Another win next Sunday maybe?

Blimey, this was a great performance…..

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67 Replies to “Blimey…this was unreal at times”

  2. Cheers Walter – bloody quick and an enjoyable read.

    What a performance!! Giroud was unplayable, he bullied the Napoli defence all night. Ozil has to be the most stylish player around, such a beautiful languid style and that goal was like Eduardo’s beach volley a few years back!

    Flamini is a beast, Arteta is a metronome. Ramsey is unreal and Rosicky gives us such balance with his general busyness.

    The back 5 were impeccable.

    Napoli played as well as we allowed them too. Though I doubt the gutter press (I.E. all of it) will see it that way!

  3. i have always said walter, that i’d rather see beautiful football than a turgid win. now i get to see beautiful football and a solid win. who can ask for more?

  4. Wonderful performance. The excitement is really back at the Emirates. Can’t wait for the injured guys to be back. At last we long-suffering fans can be excited again.

  5. Wonderful performance. The excitement is really back at the Emirates. Can’t wait for the injured guys to be back. At last we long-suffering fans can be excited again.

  6. I do not know who to give MOTM. Even Sagna was a monster on the right flank when he attacked.

    The first 15 minutes was more like a computer game set-up…

  8. Great first half,a little lethargic 2nd half cnt wait to have cazorla back on the left wing

  9. I think pundits and even some Arsenal fans have failed to appreciate the performance of Giroud. His trap, holding off of the defender and lovely flick on to send Rambo down the flank were a perfect example of what makes a great point man. He is often criticized for his (only) somewhat inconsistent finishing but Giroud is looking more and more like the perfect fit for the system we play at the moment. He is excellent in link-up play and took less than a full season to understand his role. His movement in his own goal was another shining example of just how good he can be. No hesitation to make the right pass and extremely unselfish for a guy who came into the team after topping the Ligue 1 scorers sheet.

    Ozil is (rightly) known for making everyone around him better, and we really saw that tonight but for me, he and Ramsey are equally vital to the fluidity we’ve shown in attack this season. As long as the big Frenchman can stay fit, I think we are going to continue to see more brilliant team goals like the first one tonight. The addition of Cathorla, Podolski and the width Walcott provides will make us a legitimately daunting opponent for anyone, home or away. It’s the first time in a LONG time that the boss will have trouble deciding what his best 11 actually is. It’s been quite the journey since we lost our flying dutchman but I wouldn’t trade this team for the world and wish his team luck tomorrow night in Donetsk for what will probably be a loss or draw.

    Up the Gunners.

  10. I’m actually looking forward to the replay even though I saw it live – some of the passing combinations from this match were as you say, Walter, Barcelona like.

  11. Agree about who to give MOTM? I think Özil for his brilliant taken goal and assist will win it but this team was so complete and working like beasts for each other.

  13. Rosicky also involved in the first goal. He was marked by 2 defenders and pull them up to give Ozil space. Ramsey saw this chance in few mili seconds, so he gave the ball to Ozil rather than Rosicky. And the shot was as like beautiful music composed by Beethoven feat Little Mozart.

    For the 2nd goal, I also give credit to Flamini who stealed the ball. This guy is a beast.

  15. Oh man, brilliant just brilliant goal from Mesut, that is class.
    Fancy being able to take off Rosicky and put on Jack, what a squad!

    ‘But yeah Napoli was so shit man, the other top epl teams would have won 10-0, so lucky Arsebal.

  16. Amazing, agree with Ozil as motm, but Ramsey, giroud , Gibbs, and flamini deserve mentions in dispatches, in fact, why not, the whole team! Great to see wenger looking so happy on his 17 anniversary, just wish he would sign, but maybe is keeping the players guessing on his future as motivation? And just look at who we have to come back,. But Ozil is fabulous, although a poster reminded us earlier on that the spuds have bought better than us, they must have some players if they are better than him!

  19. bring on DORTHMOND we will teach them how to play good foothball and for other club beware of …………………………………………. U know now ……..A….R…..S…..E…..N….A…..L

  20. Mandy Dodd,

    If you need anything to worry about (as the team’s performance today sort of take off most of our worries 🙂 ), I think you should worry about how well we are going to play against WBA next Sunday. I am absolutely confident that Arsene will sign. If you were him, would you leave this team? Silent Stan coming out as an AKB sealed the deal in my opinion. Not that it was needed though.

    Be confident, my dear fellow patient Gooner. Arsene is not going anywhere.

  21. i thought i was dreaming and didn’t want to get up. my 6 yr old boy was screaming & he was going on & on & on chewing my ears off for us to score more. the game was out of this world………. words just cannot describe the performance.

  22. That stupid Jason on talk sport is still going on that Arsenal have not beaten anyone of note.

  23. Just remembered… Ramsey didn’t score today???? what is Wenger thinking? both out 😉

  25. Well wenger looks very happy these days Bootoomee, stans words were appropriate and well timed, so hopefully some good omens. As you say, he must be enjoying this team, solid and spectacular

  26. You know what I find like? The word ‘tasty’ to describe something to do with football like above example of ‘Santi and Podolski ‘I am excited don’t get me wrong but I just don’t like to say ‘Tasty’.
    That’s it as you were soldiers!
    Oh and one more time, hell yes we tip top shape…..

  27. Loved the stat I saw in the 14th minute, “Passes – Ars 100, Nap 24, Possession.Ars 74% Nap 26%”. We looked intent on the win. Intent on not conceding. I watched it in a bar with multiple tv’s on but with the sound off and it was surreal.

    Really underlines how Arsene has been able to keep the team afloat through poor form, injuries, the rise of petro-emirati-super teams and a brutally divided support base. Without vital guys like Walcott and Cazorla I didn’t think we had a performance like that in us. I’ve criticised Wenger a lot in the last few years – all I’ve asked is that he shows a willingness to evolve and as this blog has pointed out so consistently and so eloquently, he’s doing that. And more. Arsene Wenger, motm today. Love the extra double-fist pump for Ozil’s goal, he really enjoyed that!

  30. I usually check to see how the media portrays our wins, if they rubbish the other team, etc. So over to the DM I went, and to be fair, they had a very positive report(the likes you only find on UA). I could’ve copied it all and pasted here, it was that good, but thought the one line below alone should be enough;

    “Napoli’s black away kit had a camouflage pattern and it worked perfectly because for the first 20 minutes they couldn’t be seen anywhere.”

    Spot on:)

  31. Tonight’s game shown us what gunners are capable of and if we are lucky with injures then we have a solid squad and great manager which I want apologize to him that I was sceptic about him. I hope we will continue this good form and with some addition in January we can be title contender for 100% and even CL title challenger. Let’s hope we keep going with this good form and congratulation to all fans and thanks to all Arsenal player and manager Mr: Wenger

  32. off to bed now. People who comment for the first time will have to wait till Tony comes home or early morning.
    I think I will have sweat dreams tonight 😉

  34. What a super all round performance from the Arsenal. A well deserved and most entertaining win – against a good team. The motm could have gone to several of our players, but I agree Ozil would probably just shade it – and what a brilliant goal, I don’t think we have seen anything similar for a very long time.

    After such a performance it can be hard to come back to earth – but the team need to rest, refocus and concentrate for Sunday.

  35. My Internet stream had a blackout after 20′, but I could follow the comments on Eurosport. My God, what a game. I think we were too kind with Napoli, we could have been 4-0 at half time and 6-0 at full time and no one would have wondered. Looking forward to the replay on Arsenal Player. Fox being the a**es they usually are, barely mentioned the game, in fact they don’t even have dedicated highlights for today, hope tomorrow they will show both days. They really got their assignments wrong, the Barfa match was nowhere near. Just praying for the team to carry this form for the rest of the season. Oh well, why do I have to pray? If we’re playing like this with barely 2/3 of the team, wait until we have everyone available!

  36. I’m getting baffled by the media on this. Looking through Google News periodically, there are lots of updates to articles that were written before the game started, and there are a larger than usual amount of transfer articles or articles about Wenger’s CV (and similar). But there is a dearth of articles about Arsenal winning the game. Heck, even that pie shop incident before game time is getting almost as much press as Arsenal winning the game.

  37. The first goal was unbelivable. every touch is spot on and it is not like the Napoli stood there, they tried but Arseanl shirts are always ahead.

    Everyone must appreciate Giroud’s effect on the pitch by now. He is constantly harrassing the defenders to get the ball and he plays widely across the front. When a scoring chance is building, he will make runs into scoring positions. He is not afraid of challenges nor he fall back to find more room. I think defenders would find a Giroud terrifying. You have to cannot foul him. You cannot give him room. You cannot leave him to cover the others. What to do against this big man running at you?

  38. Hey Tony, I just clicked on a link from your Blogroll (11Gunners) and its one of those moaner sites asking to ‘Spend some F*king Money’.
    I just had to leave a comment, but maybe a review of those links is in order, just in case…
    COYG!

  40. Men of the Match: The whole team. What more can i say. On the first goal i must have disturbed my neighbors with my screaming. I really expected Napoli to be a bigger test, but the TEAM of AFC proved their class was too much for them. People may well take heed when i say AGAIN we are going to be feared once again, and win, win, win, win, that is the cups.
    I have no fear in saying that. It was a great match and the team showed their determination, will and class. The Sky Sports pundits were at a loss for words, words they grudgingly had to let come out of their mouths.
    Forward ever gunners and thank you for that performance.

  41. Why would anybody bother with Fox when you can mute the telly and listen to the game on Arsenal Player?

  42. It’s nearly midnight in Alberta, you lot are probably just waking up. And finally I’m seeing proper game reports. 🙂

    From Ireland, we get some interesting statistics.

    http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/ozil-casts-his-spell-over-napoli-to-keep-arsenal-flying-high-29626711.html

    > Ozil was the 97th different goalscorer under Wenger. Since arriving 17 years ago this week, Wenger has overseen 965 games, using 187 players from 46 different countries. For all the focus on the £42m Ozil, Wenger has promoted 62 Academy graduates into the first team, …

    It is possible that some or all of this text is from the Daily Telegraph, and not original to this Irish news source.

  43. wow….Stan wanted Boom boom boom and he is getting just that.

    If this football doesnt raise that home atmosphere, then I dont know what will. Expecting to see a differnt Ems from now on…..

    Napoli were poor, Oh no no. We made them look so. Did Ramsey play wide?? I dont think so. Other than the back 4, Szczesny and Giroud, no one else had a fixed position.

    Giroud was wonderful again…and can you show me one striker who is so good in his hold up play. He is a Wenger type striker, who brings the team into play.

    Rambo, What can I say. Arteta, Falmini, Gibbs, Rosicky, Kos, Per, Sagna, Szczesny. Ozil, soooo sublime.
    If there was ever a game where, to pick a MoTM was SO hard, this would be it.

    MoTM-Szczesny for being patient enough for not being involved in the game at all….

  44. Oh and the best part….we are not up all the gears yet.

    And when our wounded return, Exiting times ahead.

    Also, Diaby should be looking at Ramsey as an example and plan his return to full fitness. I hope Diaby will be our next Ramsey…

  45. After a short night I still am wondering if this was a dream or not. I expected the tightest of games possible. I expected it to be a 1-0, 0-0, 0-1 type of game with both teams being able to win it.
    I think the 2-0 scoreline was rather flattering for Naples. In the second half when we played the handbrake game it was obvious that every time we went to a higher gear we could tear them to pieces if we wanted.
    Maybe it was a wise thing to not humiliate them completely as that could make them angry for the return leg and they could be out to kick us. Now you could see on a few occasions that some Napoli players were losing their calm a bit.

    I also noticed a tackle from Flamini in the first half that maybe 1 PL ref would have called back. It was on the half way line when he came in, played the ball but the Naples player had to jump up to avoid contact. Flamini was even called over to the ref to have a word to cut out such aggressive tackles. I could hear 45.000 Gunners shout: he played the ball. The other 10.000 Gunners present read Untold and they said: this was a potentially dangerous tackle and then it doesn’t matter if you play the ball, it still is a foul. Playing the ball then only helps you avoiding a card.

    I think the ref was rather fine.

  46. Annoying to see some news highlighting the fact that Napoli is without Higuain … er hello? Arsenal is without Cazorla, Podolski, Walcott, Oxlade AND Gnabry .

  47. hah and does anyone remember Ramseys wonderful turn in the middle, in the first half was it…

  48. As we all agree this is club in crisis, and Napoli is rather weak team, and play in minor league, so this is victory which says nothing.

    Heck I didn’t feel such comfortable watching our game since friendly matches in preseason. It was pure Arsenal, couldn’t be more Arsenal-ish game than this. If this was lunch time game, Szchchiny could bring comfortable beach chair and enjoy watching his squad playing while he getting some nice tan.

    But lets not get carried away, it is still long way to go, but we made statement, and we showed intent.

  49. Up the Ozzel! Sublime first half, brilliantly contained second. Great to see Wenger looking happy at one point, best anniversary present ever! I can imagine Poldi and Santi are itching to get back into playing again. Aha!
    Flamini was as good a signing as Ozzel…just what we needed!!
    Amen.
    COYG!

  50. This team is amazing,with the return of ltl mozart and our saint,they’ll massacre any opposition and leave ozil to do what he does best…GTID on top of the world.
    where did the wenger out crusaders and AAAs go to?
    Victoria Concordia Crescit

  51. Gord,

    I am not too impressed with the Henry Winter piece. It is the typical revisionist: “Oh Arsenal are doing so well only because they finally did what we’ve always told them to i.e. spend some fucking money”. He goes on like Ozil made everything by himself. It’s interesting that when he assists, they only talk about him with little mention of the goal scorer. When he scores, they ignore the great work that produced that goal and only focus on the £42.5 million player.

    I insist that in spite of Ozil’s class, which is clearly not in doubt, our achievements this season is going to be based on the core of our team and with him (Ozil) playing his part. I detest articles and comments that portray Arsenal as a team that only started playing well after the arrival of the German. This is just not true and the only reason why it has persisted is because it makes the media and our “spend some fucking money” brigade feel vindicated. They shouldn’t because they aren’t!

    It’s funny that after Henry Winter has told us in about a thousand words how Ozil is doing everything, he ended with: “For all the focus on the £42m Ozil, Wenger has promoted 62 Academy graduates into the first team, and Kieran Gibbs enjoyed a strong first half while Jack Wilshere came on in the second……….” He is the lazy hack who is fixated on Ozil, we Gooners appreciate all our players and their contributions to the team’s victories.

    To be clear, I love Ozil and I am glad to have him as our player. His contribution to the team has been fantastic and he deserves to be praised. I only object to over the top praises that ignore the even greater roles being played by the rest of the team. For instance, while his goal against Napoli was sublime, the Giroud-Ramsey combination that produced it was also great. I love keeping perspective and I don’t want us to lose it over Ozil.

  52. Rarely have I seen a CL match where one team was so dominant.
    To put it bluntly, Napoli were a disgrace. They appeared to be totally devoid of confidence, their shooting was so bad that their first shot on target came on the 70th minute and however well Arsenal played, there is no excuse for the slipshod way that Napoli played throughout the game.
    Arsenal’s two goals would have been difficult to defend by ANY team in the world and the general air of confidence and ball-seeking attitude being displayed by ALL is a joy to watch.
    I cannot commend too highly the contribution by Flamini in every game so far this season. His work-rate is phenomenal and I regard him as a masterly new capture by Arsene Wenger instead of merely being the return of a prodigal son.
    What is exciting term is the fact that we still have some important wounded waiting to return…..Cazorla, Chamberlain, Diaby.
    If we can rest players from time to time AND have an average injury list, the future looks bright indeed.

  53. @Bootoomee – not too much to worry there mate…!!! I agree that the media would like to project this turnaround of ours solely on Ozil signing but supporters like us know the truth and at best we can ignore these morons. Look at the performances of Ramsey, Gibbs, Jenkinson…I think every player has improved tremendously and our overall game has improved.

    BTW – yesterday in a very long time I could eat my meal while watching Arsenal play…it was never so easy. Well done boys!

    P.S. – i don’t think our style of play should be compared to that of Barca…we are much better than any Barca team when we play like this…COYG!

  54. Napoli were ripped to shreds in the first 15 minutes and never recovered their composure.

    But Napoli are a good team, capable of gaining impressive away results. Last night they failed to cope with a rampant Arsenal display.

    So many good performances, Ozil, Giroud, Ramsey and Rosicky are the obvious ones but I thought the midfield duo of Flamini and Arteta gave Arsenal the platform to attack whilst also giving the team balance when we lost possession.

    Napoli may have performed below par but Arsenal looked the real deal last night.

  55. @Nicky — sort of agree that Napoli looked bad, but we need to spin that to the positive. Just like the goals, it was our play that made them look bad.

    The second half they were taking potshots from range, because they just simply couldn’t find a way to break down our defense. Even if they’d got more than one shot on target, they were merely hoping to catch Szczesny out at that kind of range. In reverse, when we broke, we were still slicing them apart.

    I do agree that we could well get even better, and we are learning to be be consistent with it.

    @ARSENAL 13 — I’ve been in raptures about the first goal where Giroud, Ransey and Rosicky’s run dragged the entire Napoli defense to the left, which meant Özil had acres of space to work in (even if he had not shot, Gibbs was driving forward completely unmarked to his left).

    Giroud’s goal on the other hand just highlights the strength of the guy. 3 defenders on him and he still scores.

  58. @Bootoomee — this does seem to be the new Media spin. We were shit, but spent £42 million on one player and so are a good team again.

    I love the reverse spin from Gooners that on average Flamini and Özil cost about £21 mil each, and both are bargains.

  59. Napoli midfielder Gokhan Inler praises Arsenal;

    Inler said: “The mobility of the Arsenal players was impressive – it was as if they were each in two positions at once.

    “We weren’t competitive enough in the opening stages and Arsenal started very strongly”, he added.

    “We tried to improve in the second half but it was very difficult to get back in the game. Our opponents played very well.”

  60. Rufusstan,

    Exactly, and that is what is pissing me off. Arsene Wenger did exactly what he wanted in the transfer window while the media and the AAA harrassed him all the way. None of them prescribed or expected Ozil but now they all want to take the glory for his arrival and exploits. Hence the fixation on his performances at the expense of the rest of the team.

    I’m glad that it’s not just me that is irritated by their (media & AAA) slimy tactics.

  61. Tasos,

    You need to remember that Inler is not a British sports reporter.

    Sarcasm apart, that was exactly the best description of the game. Our boys were just at a totally different level.

  62. @Walter — I think the scoreline emphasizes the maturity of the performance. We’ve had sides over the last few years that would have smelled blood and run out 5-0 winners. They then likely as not drop points at the weekend.

    That isn’t to say that won’t happen against West Brom, but the side last night saw the game was won, dropped down the gears and preserved energy for the weekend.

    Even then we had the best chances in the second half.

  65. @Bootoomee — I’m sure I have said this before, but my solution was simple. I just stopped reading the mainstream media about 2-3 years ago. The BBC is the last bastion, but as that gets more tabloid and click-happy, it will join the list.

    These days I only go near them if I am researching something, get sent a link, or find something similar here. In the last case I’m eternally grateful that there are people still willing to wade through the shit to find the few worthwhile bits.

    The blogs more than make up for it, as they are written by people who care for more than their own paycheck and ego (well mostly 🙂 ).

    Even the opposition have decent blogs, that I’d rather read to get an inside view. (The neighbours not so much; not sure I want to see in there).

  66. @Bootomee

    In looking through the news, one often see the same article over and over again, news outlets publishing articles from Reuters or Associate Press are common, but it happens elsewhere. Last night was frustrating, as there was little news about the game results. I kept seeing new comments to articles written before the game started, and unrelated stuff. I wasn’t interested in comments, I was interested in articles.

    That article in Ireland was unusual in being about the game. But the information that caught my eye (I’m an engineer and like numbers), was the statistics. Which I pointed out. Sorry, I wasn’t very analytical on the rest of the content. In terms of good content, the Wales Online article from after the Swansea game is still one of the better articles I’ve read this season.

    But congratulations to the Gunners.

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