Özil era starts but it’s Ramsey that steals the show
With the international break finally over, Arsenal travelled to the stadium of light to take on Di Canio’s men. Sunderland lined up in a classic 4-4-2 with Fletcher and Altidore playing up front while Özil got a surprise start for Arsenal on the left wing in place of injured Santi Cazorla. Sagna also started at CB in place of Per while Jenkinson deputized for Sagna at RB.
The Özil Era
Early news of Santi Cazorla’s injury was overshadowed by word that Mesut Özil would as a result earn a starting place on the left wing. Özil took no time to settle in the squad and made an immediate impact by beautifully controlling Gibb’s lob and then squaring the ball for Giroud who placed his shot delightfully in the left corner. While Özil was deployed on the left, he spent most of the game drifting narrow and playing central and finished the game with an average position just behind Giroud. He continued the first half in fine form by creating 3 additional goal scoring chances. If it weren’t for some terrible finishing on the part of Theo, Arsenal could have easily been up 3-4 goals by halftime with Özil racking up more than just one assist.
Having a natural AM in the squad also helped Jack tremendously. Jack was given more freedom to play through the midfield channels. Jack’s game tends to get a little stifled with Santi as Cazorla likes playing tight to him teammates to allow for shorter, quicker interplays (triangles) however Özil is happy to drift to allow for space in midfield that Jack happily took advantage resulting in him finishing the game with 2 key passes (one shy of Özil). Jack is a natural dribbler of the ball and with Özil giving him the space to run at players, Jack was able to have a positive impact on the game and in turn have one of his best games of the season so far.
Ramsey Reborn
Aaron Ramsey has been in fine form this season and continued that run with another gritty performance on the weekend. In the first half, Ramsey by himself had made a staggering 7 successful tackles. Ramsey chose to pivot alongside Flamini and provide him with a natural outlet in front of the defence. This allowed Jack and Özil space in front to tear apart the Sunderland defence. In the second half, with Arsenal on the ropes and chasing a goal, Ramsey started to drift wide to occupy the area Özil was leaving empty and joined in the attack alongside Jack and Özil. While his first goal was a terrific strike, his second goal showed just how brilliant his reading of the game is. He first occupied the space made empty by Jack then right after playing it to Özil he made a run into Özil’s space in time to receive the ball from Giroud. Aaron has always provided a master class in how to occupy space which has been a key reason for Arsene trusting Aaron to play at DM whenever required. Now that he has goals to go along with his game, there should be no stopping his potential.
Minor Notes
Giroud continued his fine goal-scoring form by scoring for the fourth consecutive PL game. What has been most impressive has been how he has integrated his hold up/link play with the rest of the Arsenal system. He won an additional 6 aerial duels (more than any Sunderland player) and the use of his ability to hold up is now becoming part of our tactical approach.
While Theo had a terrible first half, his ability to run through the channels will benefit Özil’s game the most. Özil loves playing alongside pacy, wingers that he can play through balls to, especially on the counter. It wouldn’t surprise me if Arsene seriously looked at bringing on another winger in the January window with a striker.
The biggest miss for Arsenal was Per who’s presence Arsenal sorely lacked in the second half. Arsenal have over the last two season dramatically improved team defence but continue to allow schoolboy errors undo a lot of good work. Per has been instrumental over the last 6 months in stamping down on these mistakes and I can’t help but think Per would have been in a far better position than Sagna was when Altidore outmuscled him.
What did go unnoticed in my opinion during the game was just how poorly Szczesny played. He was caught out numerously and had it not been for some offside calls and good fortune, he could have easily cost us three points. Hopefully it was just a bad day at the office.
All in all, while it was a gritty performance, there were many positives to take from this result. The game might have been a tale of two halves and while the first half showed that Arsenal could go on to score numerous delightful goals this season, the second half displayed the team’s resiliency and desire to win by weathering the storm and putting the game to rest late showing that Arsenal may finally have what it takes to win something this season.
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Lol, ok fair enough, Liverpool (with Suarez) reasserted a little bit of balance for the clubs in the never ending struggle for greater influence in the player contract stakes. Let’s face it, the whole area of player contracts in football is a first-class farce. There’s no morality, just one giant muddy mess of ego’s, wills and money. That said, Liverpool’s stance is hardly typical, albeit refreshing, even if we were on the receiving end of the frustration. And I would still suggest that it was only a matter of price… if Arsenal kept pushing up the ante… I’m guessing Liverpool would sell.
With Van Persie. We’re unlikely to agree Stag. We come from differing positions and anything I write you translate.
I do find it fascinating that over the last 2 off-seasons we choose (as you rightly state Stag) to sell off the family silver (incl. Fabregas and a newly fit Van Persie) and then we turn around and pay 42 million pounds on another star. Something is a tad unusual with this sequence of events. Some explain it away by saying that it was all about our financial state. That doesn’t quite work for me. Our financial state has been steady for quite some time – certainly over the last 2 years. Debt is essentially fixed and serviceable (we can’t pay if off without penalty). The only change is the emerging improvements in our commercial deals… and yet even they were quite predicable 2 years ago, in fact even the major Puma deal isn’t publicly acknowledged.
So, what we’re talking about is a financial state that has been stable for quite a number of years and new/upgraded commercial deals coming on-stream. Why then couldn’t we do an Özil deal before we lost Fabregas or van Persie? Why not upgrade the roster with an Özil to convince the existing stars that staying was viable and exciting? It just doesn’t ring true to simply say that we magically became financially-able this off-season to make a big play in the transfer market. We didn’t even get great fees for either Fabregas or van Persie. I’d suggest the truth is a lot more complex. It’s got far more to do with the mindset of the key actors. Wenger needed to recalibrate his thinking and finally accept that his Arsenal Youth project had essentially failed, hence the massive squad cleanout over the last 2 seasons. For their part, Fabregas and van Persie each lost belief in Wenger’s Arsenal. If my musing is right, none of the three are likely to admit their feelings publicly, it’s much easier and more acceptable to hide behind half-truths that save dignity and keep these close relationships intact.
What I do think is that Wenger changed his mindset over the last 18 months, maybe reluctantly and slowly, maybe it was in part due to the growing supporter discontent. The original Project Youth was dead, he has restocked the squad with fresh blood and a hardened core of pro’s, a reduced French influence, no more Africans, a growth in Spanish and German player numbers, and a core of good youngish British players. You can almost feel the attitude change in the squad when you watch a game. That isn’t by chance. There’s a toughness and a humility that wasn’t present during the Fabregas era (sorry no slight on Cesc intended, he was a gem). The Fabregas teams thought they were better than they were – they had no hard edge.
Both Stag and I have earlier referred to Aaron Ramsey as a Parlour-like player full of running in this Arsenal midfield that is high in technique. But perhaps I’m being a tad unkind. As much as we love Ray Parlour and his commitment he was a player of limited technical ability. Ramsey on the other hand has the opportunity to develop in to something a bit more special, like a modern day David Platt.
Platt, for those who don’t know, was an English midfielder who joined Arsenal in the later stages of a stella career, one that was incredibly rare for his day. He played for several elite Italian clubs during a period when that was almost unheard of. Serie A was bigtime, with big money, but the constraint was they were only allowed to field 3 foreigners and so the top clubs had the pick of the worlds best. We’re talking names like Ruud Gullit, Marco van Basten and Lothar Matthäus. Sadly, Platt never bloomed at Arsenal, he was a footnote to the Bergkamp story. But in his heyday he was quite a player at both the elite club and international levels.
What he offered was an unusual mix of skills. His technique was very good, his engine superb, his reading of the game excellent, and his party piece was the timing of his runs in to the box. He scored a swag of goals everywhere he went – both clubs and for England.
I can see Ramsey displaying this unusual set of footballing traits. He has a great engine and harries all game long. He can read the game well and his technique is good. But like Platt he loves to attack, and he’s found his ‘confidence’, maybe it’s better described as composure, in front of goal. So… Arsenal’s ‘problem’ is where do you play an Aaron? The answer for Wenger is probably quite happily unspecific. He’ll play him where he’s needed. Arsenal’s advantage is their fluidity in midfield – where they mix-n-match midfielders in anywhere up to 5 positions in the team. In this setup Ramsey is a player who can be accommodated quite readily as a roving all-rounder.
He’s unlikely to usurp the likes of Özil and Cazorla as an offensive playmaker, nor to replicate exactly the likes of Wilshere and even Arteta as midfield all-rounders who possess heightened technical skills. But he might well have the goal factor. So don’t be surprised if over the medium term Aaron starts to shape a role for himself where ‘his goals’ and goal threat become a critical part of this team’s makeup. Arsenal of all teams need to find ‘enough’ goal scoring outlets. And yet… those outlets need to be comfortable operating as effective components within a highly technical team. Podolski and Walcott might be under threat. A fluid team with Arteta and Wilshere in the deeper midfield roles, Özil pulling the strings in front of them, Cazorla inventive and attacking from the left, Ramsey more-so on the right, and Giroud providing shape and reference in the centre offers goals from Giroud, Cazorla and Ramsey. This type of setup is likely being mulled over in Wenger’s mind. It’s very Barça-like, low on positional definition high on fluidity.
I like the comparison to Platt… I agree, that Ramsey is more skillful than Ray Parlour ever was, but he has that same commitment & effort, and love for the club. You need players in the team like that… down for the cause.
1. Ozil did very well, especially considering it was his first game for a new team in a new league.
2. In the first half, Theo had 1 chance put on a silver platter for him and 3 more that were almost as good. He was 0 for 4 on those. Let’s hope this was a one-off game, but knowing his history we’ll have to wait and see. Otherwise he’ll be sitting on the bench next to the Ox watching Podolski and Cazorla operating on the wings.
3. Who exactly was supposed to be playing on the left for Arsenal in this game? I saw Wilshere and Ramsey switching off out there, with Ozil and Giroud taking smaller turns as well. And then sometimes it seemed we had no attacker out there (not counting Gibbs), while there were 4 players in central midfield.
4. Arsenal were very, very lucky not to have faced a 2-2 scoreline late in the game. The ref probably should have played the advantage after Altidore out-muscled Sagna and Sagna fouled him. This would most likely have resulted in a goal for Altidore, though you can’t be sure b/c the Arsenal defender who nearly cleared the ball off the line checked his run when the ref blew the whistle, and had there been no whistle he would’ve kept running full throttle and maybe would’ve got there in time. I don’t think the ref is totally to blame for not playing the advantage, since the two players were tied up for quite awhile. You can’t let that go on forever, you have to blow the whistle at some point and he didn’t know Altidore would break free right as he killed the play. Sunderland were hard done by though.
5. They were also doubly hard done by since no matter whether the ref played the advantage, Sagna most certainly should have been sent off. A foul which directly results in the denial of a goal-scoring opportunity results in a red card- that’s a rule. While “goal-scoring opportunity” may sometimes be hard to define, in this case the ball CROSSED THE LINE after Altidore struck it- how much clearer an indication of “goal-scoring opportunity” can you get???
Sunderland really got screwed over- it should’ve been 2-2 late in the game with Arsenal down to 10 men. But it wasn’t, and Arsenal dominated possession, took the initiative, and won 3-1. Tough luck to Sunderland, but Arsenal went out and won the game late in the 2nd half. Credit to them.
Theo’s history the past few seasons is, he’s either the leading scorer on the team, or 2nd… its as simple as that!
Agree that Sunderland were hard done… but that’s football, and Arsenal finished them off after that…
“Forget the “I told you so” brigade crawling out of their caves suggesting Wenger knew all along, he was on the ropes, the crowd was growing rabid. Özil just might get him out of jail.”
As usual, well said and on-point.
Cheers Vibe. Would be good to have a bit more discourse on this site.
I think its gone… the majority on here is twits and tweets now.
Not true. The fact is most of the core people on this site are still here but they’ve all said everything that needs to be said. I only see Carib and one or two others on Social Media. The discourse should continue here but it got so acerbic for a while people just read and don’t write.
this is the same Aaron Ramsey that most people on here didn’t think should be wearing an Arsenal shirt! he wasn’t good enough… why does he play…. he passes to the other team… etc…
amazing.
I always saw him as passionate about the club, and always gave 100% every match.
I equated him to Ray Parlour, but he’s showing he’s a lot more talented that The Romford Pele.
Long may it last.
I hold my hand up, despite sympathising with the young man for that terrible injury, I didn’t see Aaron developing in to a player of such influence. Like most supporters I’m thrilled for him. I’m also really pleased for Wenger and the club that one of the players Wenger has persisted with has, or is, coming good. We’ve had a few failures on the serious injury front where guys we’ve invested a lot in have proved to be unsuccessful; Eduardo, Rosicky, Van Persie, Diaby – to name a few high profile names. So for Aaron to break the trend is, or will be, excellent.
What I do hope is that Wenger’s commitment to his second tranche of young players also proves better founded. The young foreigners proved largely lacking in quality and for those who did have the quality they gave up waiting and eventually left for better opportunities. I hope that in this new operating context the young Brit’s prove to be a better investment. Some upsides are already evident, the likes of Ramsey and Wilshere certainly show the stomach for the EPL battle, there’s no fear of slugging it out with a team up North on a cold wet winters night. You can even see on their faces a a reflection of their esprit de corps when they score goals. There is a bond between the young British brigade.
The hope is that this young group with its spirit and talent can be well supported by the experienced core of Arteta, Mertesacker, Cazorla, Özil, Giroud, Podolski, Flamini, Sagna, Koscielny, Monreal and Vermaelen. That’s a decent group of capable experienced professionals most of whom are in their prime for the young Brits to look up to. Wilshere, Ramsey and Oxlade-Chamberlain can look at Özil, Cazorla and Arteta – that type of modelling has been missing. Ditto, Gibbs and Jenkinson can look at and compete with Sagna and Monreal. It’s a good thing.
At the risk of being simplistic in the recent past we had too many of the younger types (Bendtner, Denilson, Diaby, Walcott) getting too much game-time too soon. They weren’t up to the task and we fell short. Ultimately Wenger is responsible for getting that mix wrong, he will protest aspects were outside his control, and yet only he has and had the power at the club to make those calls and chose when to mitigate for injury risks and the ensuing imbalance. I’m hoping the young Brits get a better go. The balance needs to be right, they need exposure at the right time, not too much too soon, and yet neither to be left to stagnate on the bench or in the shadows. This is why few Big Clubs rely heavily on a youth setup. And even those who do, like Barça, supplement their team with significant strategic purchases.
Van Persie proved unsuccessful?
Yes, in the sense that when he finally found and proved his fitness, he left immediately. So… he’s not a lot of good for Arsenal in a Manchester United shirt is he?
well, he’s HIGHLY successful… became Arsenal’s best player…
he was SOLD, as Arsenal could have kept him, and let him play out the season to see if we could convince him to stay on…
you don’t HAVE to sell the player, see Suarez… see Rooney.
I heard from more than 1 person that they HAD to be sold, because they both said they wanted out… how’d that work out?
I think RVP was very successful, and successful FOR THE CLUB. They got exactly what they wanted, 24 Million GBP.
From the opening glimpses there is a lot of Bergkamp in what Özil brings to the team. Bergkamp was the creative hub of the successful era Arsenal enjoyed under Wenger. Wenger talked about Özil assisting the team with the transition from defence to attack, and this is exactly what I recall about Bergkamp. Our rapid counterattack from the earlier Arsenal sides relied on a player with a vision and technique that was quicker than anyone else, Bergkamp has that. How many times did a Bergkamp pass see a rat-a-tat-tat sequence of maybe two, three or four passes where the ball moved at lightning speed and ended up in the opposition net before they had time to regroup. We’ve missed that. Fabregas as beautifully gifted as he was didn’t give that.
The teams with Fabregas as the central piece were slow in buildup with their lateral passing and reliance on short sharp through passes in the opposition red zone. When it worked it looked über sharp but it became increasingly easy to defend against even by very average sides. Özil, I think, offers that ability to dissect massed ranks in the box, but he also triggers the rapid counterattacks that Arsenal were famous for. So… fingers crossed, we have got a player with an even more holistic creative skillset that the marvellous Cesc. We saw glimpses of both yesterday. The art of transition and counterattack evidenced by his buildup play which lead directly to the goal wonderfully taken by Giroud and the several chances he provided for the flying Walcott – they were each golden moments. Then the slide rule interplays around the box again with Giroud (ala Fabregas) that led to the goal by Ramsey. This was excellent stuff from a guy with little integration with the team on the training ground and feeling ill so we are told.
One feels the arrival of Özil will be decisive for Giroud, Walcott and Podolski. The chances he gives to them are double-edged. Where a player takes them he’ll make them a winner, but if they miss them repeatedly they will look tardy and I sense their career at The Emirates will come to a close quite quickly. The chances Walcott got were top top drawer, in space, flying, decent angle and only the keeper to beat, Walcott needs to take some of these, Henry would.
Giroud and Özil looked good together, it worked well. But the system needs a flyer, Walcott has the chance to be that. Podolski is another option when he returns, and the bang bang German will be eager to get on the end of Özil’s delivery. I get the sense Walcott and Podolski are vying for the same place, if not necessarily the same flank, when the main players are fit and available.
Fun times ahead. Serendipitous for Wenger. The Spanish giants, long the key for Wenger’s money making sales, have now offered The Professor a lifeline via a transfer-in – juicy in irony. Forget the “I told you so” brigade crawling out of their caves suggesting Wenger knew all along, he was on the ropes, the crowd was growing rabid. Özil just might get him out of jail.
“Forget the “I told you so” brigade crawling out of their caves suggesting Wenger knew all along, he was on the ropes, the crowd was growing rabid. Özil just might get him out of jail.”
As usual, we said and on point.
‘well said’….