Three Things We Learned from Arsenal v Leicester City; 10 in A Row!
Are you not entertained? That was some pretty dynamic football last night as Arsenal managed to continue their impressive run of 10 wins in a row (in all competitions) by putting Leicester to the sword with a 3-1 win.
So let’s take a look back at the win and the three things we learned from it.
WE’VE GOT ÖZIL, MESUT ÖZIL
As is often the case with Arsenal we always have 1 or 2 players that completely divides opinion. Mesut Özil happens to be one of those players. Last night he clearly laid claim to why he is simply one of the best players we have had at Arsenal for a while.
Last night as I watched Özil play, I felt we were in for a good performance from him, even when the team wasn’t playing as well as you’d like them to. He was doing the things that he does so well – like finding the inbetween spaces to exploit.
Once he adjusted and started coming deeper into the midfield to get the ball his influence on the game began to increase.
It culminated in the 45th minute with his getting the ball at the half way line driving forward with the ball, a little right of center (the area he would wind up operating the most in throughout the game) finding Bellerin and continuing his run to ultimately score a sublime goal.
Özil Heat Map vs Leicester City
He followed that up with the sweetest of pre-assists (is that stat) to Iwobi with a perfect ball into space for Iwobi to send across to Aubameyang. He would end the night being withdrawn but not before he again found space behind the Leicester back line and drove in finding Lacazette who was unlucky not to score due to a great save by Schmeichel.
Özil left to the thunderous applause and standing ovation he so rightly deserved. In the end he left the pitch with playing 80 minutes 1 goal, 1 assis a 92.5% passing accuracy rate, 5 key passes and created 2 big chances.
It is that Mesut Özil we’ve wanted to see and it’s the one Emery has been intent on pulling out. That Mesut Özil instantly makes this team better. The question remains, though is it something we can see on a weekly basis or is he going to flitter in and out.
At 30 years old now, we have to accept the fact though that is who he is. There will be moments, like last night when he absolutely bosses it, others where he may have a glint of magic and others you openly ask – Mesut who?
Still, if Arsenal are going to mount a challenge for the Champion’s League spots, he needs to play like this more often.
There is no other player who produces more forward passes in front of the box than Mesut Özil. Our entire way of playing depends on his ability to find a way through the opposition and to the front area of their 18.
Yes, we can suffer moments of poor performance because there are players that can step in and take the team on their shoulders when he isn’t performing. But for Arsenal to hum and well, be Arsenal they need more of the Mesut Özil we saw last night.
I for one look forward to seeing that more often.
ALEX IWOBI – EMERY’S GREAT REVIVAL PROJECT
At the end of last season if someone asked you, would you be okay if Arsenal were to sell Alex Iwobi, you would’ve likely gotten someone who would’ve taken time to think but more than likely would’ve been okay with the prospect of cashing in on the young Nigerian.
However, this season you now have to ask yourself – do you dare leave him off the team sheet?
No lie last year was frustrating with him. There were glimpses of a quality player, but his play was erratic and like a many of later youngsters at Arsenal his decision-making left something to be desired.
When he attacked last year, rather than staying wide he drifted in centrally ultimately holding Arsenal back.
Fast forward to this year and after signing a contract extension – Unai Emery has convinced him to become more of direct player by keeping himself out wide and getting himself into more dangerous positions.
Last night he continued to show this growth and maturity in his game with another solid performance. His touch to bring down the ball and subsequent meg of Mendy was as some have pointed out the mark of the turning point in the game – a clear sign that the skill and talent Arsenal had would take over the game and from then on in, it was Arsenal and only Arsenal that looked like they were winning this match.
Emery has shown a lot of confidence in the young player and it has paid off in spades with one solid performance after another. Its just another example of the turnaround in fortunes for Arsenal as another player emerges to re-find their form.
STILL WORK TO DO
Now let’s have a dose of coming back down to earth. The win was not without it’s element of luck and we were lucky to not be a man down and 2 goals down early. Additionally, the way we started the match leaves you wondering how we will fare against teams – like Liverpoool – who can better take advantage of our poor starts.
Emery is right when he said in his pre-game presser that there is still work to do.
We can’t expect to play like we did yesterday for the first 35 minutes and always come out winners. Its expecting too much of the team to have that happen. We still have another league match that we could win even if we come out of the blocks slow. But then after that we have Liverpool at home.
Liverpool will be a truer test of where we’ve come as a team. If we start slow, they have the talent and ability to capitalize on our mistakes and put the game away early. Of course, we will have our chances and we will be brimming with confidence which can negate some of the Liverpool attack but that is only going to get us so much.
We’ve got to learn to be in control of a game from the get-go and see it out for 90 minutes. Yes, you can grow into a match, but you can’t give up so many chances with poor defending and poor passing (shooting ourselves in the foot.)
If Arsenal are going to keep hold of that top 4 spot, then they will need to learn to come out from the start playing like they did for the last 55 minutes of the match. If they do that they will have the ability to take on the bigger teams in the league and get results.
EXTRA TIME
According to the official commentary – Jamie Vardy was “retired” in the 85th minute. Word is that he was having stomach issues. In honor of his early departure – I give you the Saturday Night Live skit – Depend Legends. We hear they have a footballer version in the UK We think it speaks for itself.
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