Three Things We Learned From Ludogrets v Arsenal

Ludogrets came in thinking they’d sneak one out of here did they? That was until they met the magician that is Mesut Özil. If you’re still not basking in that feat of individual skill you aren’t human (neither is Mesut.) Why delay let’s look at the three things we learned from last night’s match.

It’s Mesut Özil’s World and We’re Lucky to Be Here.

There isn’t any part of that goal that isn’t amazing. The man has pure ice running through his veins and from the get go it showed.

Özil chips the keeper

From the ability to keep himself onside to identifying that the keeper was off his line. To have the cojones to not only chip the keeper but cooly take the side and then let two defenders make fools of themselves and THEN score on an empty net. All of this just shows that Mesut Özil plays at a different level then everyone else.

For too long critics have lashed out his languid way of playing. He flitters on the edge coming in and out of play like a hummingbird look for the right flower to land on. When he does, he typically makes the most of it. Seasons before this it was with an exquisite pass to set up a teammate. This season he’s changed the dynamic and is scoring goals.

Many of those goals aren’t as audacious as last night’s but they are impressive given Özil’s natural tendency as a playmaker. Özil will still likely revert to his desire to create that wonder-pass for a teammate. But I don’t think for a minute it will dent his newfound scoring ability. Both are a benefit and we should all just consider ourselves lucky we get to watch it week-in-week-out.

Mesut beats 2 defenders

Depth at Last. Thank Bergkamp Almighty, We Have Depth at Last.

How many times would we roll into a match like this hoping we could rest players that needed to be rested? Too many that’s how many.

Last night Wenger was able to make 6 changes to the squad. For the most part it was fine. Yes, the goals came due to poor defending from not only the rotated players but our stalwarts as well. However, we were still able to make sufficient changes and get a result.

Again, it didn’t go swimmingly but it was able to happen regardless. Same for the EFL Cup. There we rotate essentially an entire squad of players giving our first XI a night off. So far that has paid off quite well.

The fact is if Arsenal have any hope of competing for the title, they will need this depth. They will need moments of rotation so other players don’t get burned out playing too much. It could be said that Arsenal didn’t win the title because of injury. Yes, that was part of it.

Another part of it was the fact that simply players were tired. Because of injury and because of quality of certain players, Wenger couldn’t AND wouldn’t rotate. Now he is showing he has the wherewithal to do so.

Yes, there will be moments when some of the changes don’t work. I thought Jenkinson looked well, he looked like a player still trying to get fit. Gibbs made some errors but again he has to play more to get more confidence underneath him. That being said for the most part the rotation has worked and it hasn’t hurt us – yet.

Rotation is a godsend for Arsenal, but we have to be careful in how we rotate. I think minor changes 2-3 players here and there won’t disrupt much as long as key players remain. But if we’re rotating in say a league match then wholescale changes don’t make much sense as they could likely disrupt our rhythm.

You know what though – it’s a nice problem to have to consider. So let’s sit back and enjoy it.

This Arsenal Squad Has a Different Feel To It

Admittedly I am a cautious person. I never get too hyped up on early season results. There is just so much that can happen especially when there are 28 games left to play in the league and countless other ties. But I have to admit that I am beginning to get excited by this team.

How many times have we seen a match like last night and forget about even winning it – we can’t even manage a draw. Lesser team, we take them lightly and wind up paying for it. It’s a very typical Arsenal story.

Well, last night and few times this season we’ve seen Arsenal have to dig deep to get a result. The frustration of playing poorly hasn’t seeped through the team to the point that they run out of ideas.

Simply put the team keep playing. Last night even at 2-0 they took it to another level. It was clear that Arsenal weren’t in gear early and I worried we had once again underestimated an opponent. After the second goal the tempo increased and movement of the ball became more probing.

The result was two goals to draw even before half time. It took energy and I worried that we’d wind up with the draw (not bad actually given the woeful start) but then Oli Giroud wins the ball in the MF and well the rest they say is history.

My only hope is that it keeps up. I do believe that this is a squad that can contend for the title and push City right until the end. But on nights when it doesn’t go right, we’ve got to continue this trend of fighting till the end because as we’ve shown we can do amazing things when we play the full 90.