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| That's more like it Ollie be composed and you will be more clinical |
Morning guys. So Arsenal did what they had to do last night and got the 3 points yesterday after seeing off hosts Aston Villa on the road. Two quickfire1st-half goals from Jack Wilshere and the returnee Olivier Giroud in the 34th and 35th minutes respectively put the contest out of the reach of the home side as the gunners ran away with the points. Its funny how times can change in football. I mentioned in the preview to this game that we were no longer the same team that Villa beat in August, and that a lot about our team has changed mentally,defensively, and in terms of quality. In August, it was Wenger who was the manager under fire, embattled under the pressure of a summer transfer window that had flown by without him doing anything significant to strengthen his team. The fans were on his neck and that opening day 3-1 defeat looked to have been the last straw for the Frenchman. On the other hand Lambert was the celebrated manager who with a small budget team had succeeded in embarrassing an EPL giant. Now i have to say that i very much like Paul Lambert because of a statement he made after that game in August, he had said '' Look if you all say Arsene Wenger does not know what he's doing or has run out of ideas, then there's no hope for the likes of us'' . A fine comment that hit me as one coming from a manager whom despite the fact that he had just upset a title favorite in their back yard, was full of understanding and class not to gloat or milk the occasion. I'm very sure Arsene didn't forget that vote of confidence from Lambert. Now that the tables are turned and its the Villa manager who's facing his own difficult times, they shook hands at the end of the game and i'm sure Wenger reassured him to keep pushing and fight on.
We were pretty good in the first half, dominating the play and controlling the game against a Villa team that was quite happy to sit back and soak the pressure. They weren't bothered about struggling for possession with us (not like they could if they wanted to anyway) and looked to concede early as we fizzed in crosses from Bacary Sagna on the right. We took the goals well when the chances came and its so heart warming for me to see Jack getting the headlines for the right reasons again. He was super last night and dictated the game like i know he can. The 2nd half was a shadow of the first, it looked to me that we felt the game was over. A dangerous tactic to play in this league where teams can come from 4-0 down to share points with others (*cough). We seemed either uninterested to push ourselves to kill the game off with a third goal or simply unable to do so. The boss said it was down to us being too ''Cautious'' to protect the lead we had. That's understandable, but lets say you want to secure a win, you have to consider a third goal may just be your best bet in that regard eh? just saying...Heres my player ratings on the night...
Szczesney 7----------------------------- Literally only got busy in this game after the Home side got their goal and started to feel confident that they could do something unexpected. Made some good saves from long range efforts and did the things he had to do well enough..oh and i know iv said it before, but thank Heavens the erratic kicking is now officially history.
Sagna 7.5----------------------------Mr reliable, who is yet to commit his future to us. But on the pitch last night he had another faultless shift. Not troubled at all by the Villa wingers and even felt confident enough to launch tasty crosses to Giroud in the box. Brilliant player for us. C'mon Bac sign that tin..you know you want to.
Monreal 7------------------------------ Nacho had to leave the game early in the 2nd half after a painful looking clash from Villa defender Vlaar. Here's hoping he comes out fine, he had a fine game too up until that point. Providing the cross in the first-half which Jack converted for our first and was lively all through the match down the left channel. He provides an experienced option to Gibbs and i can't tell you how much i love the differences in quality both offer in that wing.
Mertasacker 8-------------------------- The official leader of the back four. Directing affairs, barking out instructions and berating any team mate who needs berating (like cazorla, who drew his ire after giving the ball away for their goal). This is one man we absolutely cannot afford to lose to injury at the moment or at any time at all. He is just massive for us, winning headers, anticipating dangerous runs and keeping our shape at all times. Benteke who is 2nd in the EPL for wining headers, didn't win too many headers like he regularly does last night..Thanks to Per.
Koscielny 7.5---------------------------- Kos was the perfect fodder for Per as always, ensuring the quicker runners were dealt with promptly in-order not to expose Per who isn't the quickest. Loved his tackling all night and close marking in the box. A good nights work no doubt.
Flamini 7------------------------------- Matthieu started this game in place of Arteta and was a rock in midfield alongside Jack. He was controlled and only ''hard'' on one occasion on Weimann just to let him know what he was in for on the night, but outside that he did his job of breaking up the Villa play in midfield quite well. Its hard to see a game he finishes without a yellow card but last night was one of those rare occasions. He's another vocal and experienced head we have in this side, whose role is vital in keeping the younger ones focused in this EPL war.
Cazorla 6------------------------------ Lively as always and literally can be found anywhere the ball is. He hasn't had as good a season as his first so far, but he keeps trying. He lost points in this rating for giving the ball away in that careless manner for Villas's solitary goal which on another day could have been costly.Any one blessed with his kind of close control and skill will definitely feel confident enough to try anything but i'd like him to sometimes just hoof the ball away especially in our danger area instead of trying to be too clever.
Wilshere 8----------------------------- Scored one and provided the other. That's certainly more like it Jack. I'm such a fan of this man's ability on the pitch that it really had me worried in the recent past over the negative headlines he had attracted to himself due to some avoidable behavior. None of such rubbish last night though, because he was pure class. The Villa midfield couldn't live with his runs and change of pace. And its clear why the Boss rates him so highly. His pass to Giroud for the 2nd goal was particularly beautiful. More of this Jack..
Ozil 6----------------------------------- Largely pedestrian for the most part of the evening but still when he has the ball its easy to see his stamp of quality. The Villa defence feared the worse whenever he had the ball in their area. Had a hand in the 1st goal, as it was his defence-splitter that set Monreal through to cross for Jack. My only gripe with him is he needs to support the team more when we are under pressure. Like in the closing minutes of the game with Villa looking to get a point, Giroud was running past him to go back and help out, yet that did little to motivate him.
Gnabry 6.5------------------------------- Got rewarded with another start like i correctly predicted in the preview. His talents are apparent if you are a keen watcher. He combines a rare skill that sees him change direction in seconds whilst running with the ball at high speed. Times his runs in to the box beautifully and has a great understanding it appears with Jack as i saw both of them exchaging passes seamlessly. He perhaps gets tired quite easily, as i observed also in the spurs game which perhaps is what leads to his drop in performance in 2nd halves. But that's not a problem, he will only get better overall as his game minutes increase.
Giroud 8-------------------------------------Olivier returned to the squad and looked like the near two weeks rest did him a lot of good. He looked refreshed and i also observed how composed he was while taking his goal. I expected the usual wild lash with that left foot, before blowing the chance and then looking up to the sky in pity. But No, this time Ollie was clinical & that's just what we want from him. He is blessed to have a midfield kitchen that will feed any striker to nearly 30-35 goals per season if they are clinical enough. He knows this and wants to badly improve on his conversion rate i'm sure. Lets hope he discovers his early season form and grab 16 more to end us with the EPL. i'd like to extol his defensive side also, that's one attribute of his i love he seems ever ready to help out back there. thumbs up to him for that.
Subs:
Gibbs: 7-----------replaced Monreal and just got on with the Job in his characteristic nature.
Rosicky N/A ------ Came on got a broken nose and got subbed himself.....
Oxlade Chamberlain 5---------- Good to see him back, Must be feeling rusty after being out so long. An asset in this team for pace and long range shooting, hope he can find his game again quickly.
Onwards to Fulham on Saturday, and different opportunity to grab another 3 points. Its our results against these lesser lights that you feel will go a long way to define our title quest. Its not important to worry too much about the big sides like the pundits will want you to beleive. Just keep smashing these little ones and we wont be far from the promised land. Back on friday.
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