By Walter Broeckx
So finally the long wait was over last weekend and we had the only real important football team around on the pitch again: The Arsenal.
We had a few nervous moments in the last game as Norwich defended rather well at first without really going overboard on the usual kicking part we sometimes see. And when Flamini went off we needed to find the balance again and we invited some pressure on us.
But when you see how we countered for the second goal it could almost have been a part of the plan! Invite Norwich to come forward and then hit them on the break. And even without Theo we are managing to score a few goals like that in the last weeks.
Last weekend was the first time we saw Santi Cazorla and Mesut Özil playing together in a match. Purely looking at the result it seemed to work.
Cazorla being very much involved in the build up for the first two goals showing that he still has it. And why not? He is a real class player and that is something he will always have. But he wasn’t as dominant as we know he can be. No wonder really as he was out for a while. And the fact that Wenger took him off before the hour also indicates that Cazorla is not really completely fit for the moment to play 90 minutes.
But this can only become better over the next weeks. He will get his match fitness and sharpness back. He will improve. And that is a really frightening prospect for our opponents I think.
Because speaking of getting better…. If you listen to the interview that appeared on arsenal.com after the Norwich game from Özil he said something interesting. Now I must say that I rather would like that arsenal.com uses subtitles when interviewing players whose English is not good enough yet to do an interview in English. That way it would give me the chance to listen to what he said in German as it can give you little nuances in what he is saying and that might get lost in translation.
But this is what he said : “I know that I can still improve but I’m happy with my display and the performance of the team.” Speaking of being confident of his own qualities this is some statement. Özil saying he can do better…. blimey how much better do you want him to be?
And it also shows that he is not yet completely satisfied with his own game and well…that is another scary thought for opponents. Just imagine that Özil can even improve on what he has shown so far… I don’t know what that will mean on the field. A hat-trick every other game? Even more assists? I hope he can keep his word and become even better.
And then we even didn’t think of the fact that with Wenger we have a manager that has a reputation of making players even better….
So what do we have already? Two brilliant players not at their best yet and getting better. And not really being familiar on playing together and they might lift each other over the next months to newer highs.
The problem at times last year was that teams came out and double marked Cazorla. And when they could cut him off from the rest of the team it became much more difficult for us to really get going. But if they now want to do this it would give acres of space to Özil and that could be deadly for them. On the other hand trying to stop Özil will give more freedom for Cazorla to do his magic.
But that will be something we will see only coming to full blossom when Cazorla is completely fit and when they have worked out each other on how to use the other for the benefit of the team.
And then I haven’t even mentioned the fact that they also will need to think about Ramsey who is just scoring and assisting goals for fun this season. Just these 3 players are all fully capable of scoring around 15 goals this season and assisting the same number of goals. We have the Spanish flair of Cazorla, the German gründlichkeit of Özil and the British grit and determination of Ramsey combined in one team.
And remember also Ramsey is only just 22 years old and still has some room for improvement…
You know I do have a feeling that we haven’t seen the best yet….
—————————-
- The Anniversary Files: January to June
- The Anniversary Files: July to September
- The Anniversary Files: October to December
The books…
- Woolwich Arsenal: The club that changed football – Arsenal’s early years
- Making the Arsenal – how the modern Arsenal was born in 1910
- The Crowd at Woolwich Arsenal FC: crowd behaviour at the early matches
And then there’s Theo. Most teams double up on him as well.
So thats 2 on Ozil. 2 on Santi. 2 on Ramsey. 2 on Theo. With the keeper I make that 9 accounted for.
Should be some space for the others then !!!
stop flamini effect stop arsenal.we will only get better
I am myanmar
They build arsenal
Isn’t there a chap called Jack as well? I’ve heard he is quite a good midfielder.
Plus another 2 for Jack who is starting to show signs of being back to his best. And then there is Giroud……….
I let Jack out of the picture. Just in case other teams were reading. 😉
You forgot Giroud who has been one of our best so far. The Ozil-Ramsey-Giroud axis of delight has been deadly so far.
And why are we forgetting about Ox? He is only at the start of his career, and simply brilliant.
Is this Arsenal for real?
BTW, the Axis of Delight of Ozil-Ramsey-Giroud has already scored 18 so far this year! 3+6+9!!!
There is also important thing, we need one player on bench who will be “game changer”. Someone who will be there in case things go ugly and who will add extra edge to game, thus I believe Jack or Aaron, maybe Santi as well will be left at bench sometime.
And as I am developing my theory, name after name jump in front of me, Poldi is extra edge… Someone said squad is thin?
Rosicky too guys… and Gnabry.
Very scary for opponents
You guys all 4get Rosiscy……he can be a game changer Arsenal may need……there is also d likes of OX,Poldi,Theo etc up Arsenal
@Armin
We must have a thin squad, Ray Wilkins said as much on Talkshit this morning. We have only 15 players he said, after that not good enough apparently. Maybe he was recovering from a heavy nights drinking and not thinking straight. Or maybe he is simply an idiot.
I know about the others believe me but I had to stop somewhere as otherwise Tony would have to cut the article in two. And I only wanted to talk about two players but couldn’t leave out the 3rd and then I stopped writing 😉
But there will be more of these in the next weeks or months…
Lets be honest to our selves and stop putting our heads in sand. We desperately need another CB. I know you may ask why, you are blind and don’t see it. But we need one CB to sleep with his colleagues wives.
You refuse to see that we need another winger-striker who will racially abuse other players. And of course we need another DFM just because everyone say it.
I know, I know now you will point that we already have problems with team selection, but look CB I am talking about wont play anyway as he will be suspended, Winger – Striker too, and DFM well , could be used , at last to be lend someone.
Mick
He’s on Talkshite. It’s obligatory to dislike/dismiss Arsenal.
An example of how this station manipulates it’s output to fit it’s agenda.
On Talkshite Durhams well known anti Arsenal views are almost never quistioned or contradicted. The same can be said about his views on anything else.
Yet, when he writes in the mail, as a rule of thumb 80% plus of the posted responses disagree with him or worse just dismiss him for the pathetic moron that he is.
So Talkshite don’t select guest or callers according to whether they fit there agenda or not at all then !!!!
Yes , Walter , sometimes things get lost in translation! Like the following adult joke – kids get out now !
An American business man flies to Japan for some business meetings and a few rounds of golf, arrived in Tokyo a day earlier than expected.
That evening, he meets a cute Japanese woman at a the bar of his hotel, and after some drinking and miming, she agrees to go back to the room with him for some private fun. Their passion qickly became intense and in the heat of the moment the Japanese woman began yelling “Gama Su!, Gama Su!” Knowing he pleased her greatly, the man was very pleased with himself and went to sleep.
The next day while playing golf with his Japanese business colleagues, he made a swing when suddenly one of the other guys started yelling at him “Gama Su! Gama Su!”
The bewildered American asked: “What does that mean, Gama Su?”
“Wrong hole!”
@jambug
Durham has written a book in which he apparently attempts to ‘dispel the myth’ surrounding the invincibles, and tries to belittle the achievement by bringing things up like the Pires ‘dive’, to many draws etc. I urge all true supporters not to buy the book if indeed they were faintly considering such a thing.
@Brickfields Gunners
Leave it out whilst it’s lunchtime, reading that joke made me choke on my baked beans, I think they went down the Gama Su.
btw,
few years ago, we are told that Arsenal cant be counted as serious title challenger as we don’t collect enough points in games with teams from lower part of table. Now they say we are not contenders as we still didn’t beat anyone from upper part. Well they really have to make up their minds. And right now there is also another problem, we simple cant beat anyone who is above us on table nor in PL nor in CL.
Walter sorry for OT and spamming 🙂
@ Mick – I keep forgetting the different time zones !Do hope nothing untoward has happen with Nicky’s rice krispie ; or Walter’s computer ; or Stuart’s tea !
Just came about this fine poem by the late Seamus Heaney which may be relevant here , since we are talking about honesty and the media .
http://www.amnesty.ie/RepublicofConscience
@Mick
I have heard this crap about too many draws. Never ever heard a single other person say it.
So one dive discredits a whole season does it? Well that’s every Manchester united achievement out the window then. In fact they’ve had enough dives these last few years to discredit anything they may, and I repeat may, win over the next 10 years. How many bookings have they had for diving?
Honestly the guy is beyond moronic.
@ Mick
I might be wrong because I don’t listen to him, but I did read on here recently that he actually said he would have no problem if (whoever it was) dived to win the World cup for England.
Can’t verify it as I never heard it myself.
Or ……
http://www.bewareofimages.com/blog/2012/09/are-absurd-questions-being-posed-by-a-traffic-hungry-media-killing-all-puppies/#more-178
@jambug
You are not wrong, he has said it many a time. And its not a dive when England do it, it’s ‘buying a foul’ or ‘giving the ref a decision to make’.
@Mick
Well if that is the case, proof if ever there was of what a hypacritical buffoon he really is.
And there’s Wilshere who somehow comes back to his form in this recent game.
Giroud is on form and he is linking up with everyone who has enough sense (ie… everyone @ Arsenal) to make runs into good positions.
Let’s also hope that Walcott continues his improvement.
This has got to be the most exciting midfield we have had in a while. Imagine if Diaby were to come back from his injury and stayed fit for a long time.
On the subject of our midfield, turns out Rooney’s first fall-out with Old Red Nose was down to Rooney wanting the latter to sign Ozil while he was still at Bremen, but red nose refused(revealed in his autobiography). Rooney may not be as thick as he looks after all:)