My, oh my. We wanted a reaction from Olympiacos, and boy did we get one.
It’s difficult remembering the last time we exited the other side of a Manchester United fixture with so much optimism, so much belief and so much pride. Yes, the 2-1 victory at Old Trafford last season was a special moment – but there were some niggling points to that game, like the touch of fortune on Danny Welbeck’s goal and United’s general shithousery on the day.
This had none, and it especially felt all the more sweet considering the humiliation we faced midweek. With the pressure on him and van Gaal licking his lips in anticipation, Wenger straightened up, got the team’s mentality on point and – aided by an absolutely rocking Emirates Stadium – won the game in the first 20 minutes.
Sure, van Gaal may have aided Arsenal’s victory by playing sluggishly paced Bastian Schweinsteiger and Michael Carrick in midfield. It was also ludicrous how he thought he could get away with playing Ashley Young against Aaron Ramsey, even though the Welshman was rather average throughout the game.
Didn’t matter though, as the rest of the side delivered what probably was the performance of the season. After a thoroughly dominating opening minutes, Ramsey found Mesut Ozil in a crossing position. Ozil dilled and dallied for he saw Alexis making an Alexis run, and when the time was right, played an inch-perfect pass for the Chilean to backheel home, making de Gea look like a right doofus.
The goal that followed right after was definitely my favourite, despite Sanchez’s screamer to follow. With United rocking after kick off, an untidy lob by one of their center backs was nullified by Koscielny, who played it on to Cazorla.
Santi’s quick forward pass to Sanchez was flicked on to Ozil, and noticing Daley Blind marking Theo Walcott, he probably had a chuckle at himself before playing it on. Walcott showed amazing composure to resist the urge to shoot and square it to the German, who finished the slick move away with Germanic effervescent ease. If Alexis’ goal signaled euphoria, the one that followed brought upon sheer pandemonium.
Sanchez rounded off the party early by smashing home a Theo Walcott pass, as early as in the 20th minute. I had worries that he might experience a major dip in form this season, with injuries perhaps catching up to his thighs. However the man seems to be absolutely immune to them, as he showed no signs of another top drawer performance. Much as I didn’t see it coming, it seems he’s destined for great things this season.
A nod to Theo Walcott too, who played like a proper center forward on the day. I was always of the opinion that Arsenal didn’t need a shiny new striker as much as want one; a claim that Theo’s performances seem to warrant. Should he experience a dip in form in the future, there will always be a different animal like Olivier Giroud to pick up the pieces and offer a different attacking perspective. It’s only healthy for the both of them.
But to me, Petr Cech deserves an even bigger nod. Even though I liked Szczesny and felt that he got more stick than he deserved credit for – especially because of his overconfidence, there are absolutely no doubts on who’s the boss when it comes to him. He shut up pundits looking to weaver the “Anthony Martial is the new Thierry Henry” claims by saving his effort, and made all the right decisions while coming out of the box. You could see what the win meant to him at the final whistle, and it should, for despite his innate Chelseaness, there’s a winner in him I love and admire.
However, in my book Arsene Wenger deserves as huge a nod as any. He made sure the players were up for the game, he kept it tight when we were 3-0 up and the pressure was on. It means that despite all the criticism he got for inaction in the transfer window (which I didn’t contribute to, if you’d remember), he pulled out a remarkable tactical and psychological result with the players he did have.
But (and there’s always a ‘but’ when it comes to Wenger), it really bugs me how the performance had to come on the back of a poor showing against Olympiacos. A quite remarkable question from the journalist summed up my mood after the result (paraphrasing):
Arsene – great result, but why don’t we see this every week?
Wenger’s response was very professional, standard and generally pointed at nothing, but I’d love to know the real answer to that. Would Arsene have taken the game with the same seriousness if, in an alternate universe, he had defeated Olympiacos comfortably? It’s exhilarating to see Wenger get the team fired up and get his tactics spot on (unless this was a case of “well that worked, this time”), but why does it have to happen after the team are beaten down, and the spotlight is on him?
Yes – managers always need to be under pressure, and Arsene Wenger is certainly overdue that. And it’s also an encouraging trait to see him rise from the ashes. But in the Premier League, there are only so many ashes you can afford. The cycle of complacency, followed by humiliation, then dramatic resurrection and back to normal is an unnecessary one, which will lose us points as the season progresses.
What this season is proving – to personal disbelief – that Arsene is capable of winning his team the league. However, the fact that he needs a kick up his backside to make it happen is disheartening.
If Arsene kept the focus yesterday as he did to every team – be it Bolton or Bayern – he could possibly satiate his ambition. And ours.
-Santi [Follow me on Twitter @ArsenalBlogz ]
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