Match Report | Match highlights | Wenger’s thoughts | Credits: Sky Sports
Funnily enough, I wasn’t even aware Arsenal had a Champions League match three minutes before SofaScore pinged it was time to turn the television on. It spoke of a lapse in awareness on my part, or a general lack of interest in my duties of supporting the club, but I have to say, my relief on getting that push notification is substantial for otherwise, I would have missed one of the funnest 90 minutes of this season.
Faced with having to better Paris Saint-Germain’s result, we went about our business most efficiently, sealing a 4-1 win with a hat-trick from Lucas Perez and a goal from Alex Iwobi. And as it turned out, Ludogorets did their job as well, drawing 2-2 with the French side to gift us top spot.
What made it better, for me, was that we did it with a decent amount of rotation. The manager did his customary swap in goal with David Ospina standing between the sticks, but he also gave the likes of Kieran Gibbs, Aaron Ramsey, Iwobi, Perez and Rob Holding valuable game time. Days like these are exactly why we have an egalitarian squad, and it’s safe to say they proved their worth.
Look at our passing for the first and second goals and you would understand just how comfortable Arsenal were yesterday. The way we ran the show at times was fantastic, the control we had considering this was an away game was hugely relieving, and while I don’t find Wengerball to be an ideal long-term solution, I must admit it is very easy on the eye sometimes.
Lucas Perez’s obvious highlight was his hat-trick, and something you can be nothing but delighted for. Back in August, his purchase was a real wild card, and his quantity relatively unknown. We’ve all wanted him to do well, and his return of five goals and two assists in eight appearances suggests he’s doing just that. I’ve always felt a certain reluctance from Arsene Wenger with Perez, but that’s something that could thin out due to his prolific outputs.
He was aided, of course, by a fantastic supporting cast. Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez had typically terrific games, passing the batons among themselves as the focal playmaker of the team. While the necessity to rest them increases day by day, it’s understandable for Wenger to be unable to resist the temptation. They are becoming much more than iconic and marketable players at the club – they’re the attacking fulcrum, and if we win the Premier League this season, they’ll be two of the top three reasons why.
Without wanting to Calum-Chambers his hype, I also thought Holding had a good game. His pass completion rates were astounding – or so I’ve heard – and his general assurance on the ball boded well for the future. It is important that we maintain our status quo with him and keep giving him sparse game time, so that he can develop well without being pressurized.
Iwobi’s fourth was the icing on a very delicious looking cake indeed, and Ludogorets added the cherries on top shortly. PSG’s 2-2 draw means what everybody reading this post already know – Arsenal have topped the group and have done it unbeaten, the first time since 2005. It also means that our possible opponents in the Round of 16 could be either of Benfica, Bayern Munich, Bayer Leverkusen, Porto, Dortmund/Madrid or Juventus/Sevilla – depending on tonight’s results.
It may not be as smooth a sailing into the quarter-finals as we would have liked, given that Real Madrid and Bayern Munich could be some of our potential opponents (and knowing Arsenal’s luck in the draw, probably will be). However, that shouldn’t in any way imply that we should have lost the game or aimed to finish second. Be it in the Round of 16 or in the final, opponents like Bayern or Real are ones Arsenal will have to face if they wish to win the coveted trophy. Until then, we should simply win what we can when we can, like we did yesterday.
And what we did yesterday was absolutely sensational. There were suspicious elements to our football in the 3-1 win over Bournemouth, and crashing out of the English Football Cup to Southampton sprinkled more doubts on capability and confidence alike. However, our responses to those doubts at West Ham and Basel have been emphatic. Perhaps that speaks more to the quality of them than us, but the victories are very much welcome, and the drubbing nature of it a sweet bonus.
All in all a good way to get out of the Champions League group stages. We’ve finished first for the first time in a long time, and if the likes of Ozil and Sanchez are fit and firing in the back end of the season, we might just go all the way in this competition. The Champions League has notoriously been unkind to Wenger, but this year, the cards are falling more into place. I might just elaborate and extrapolate on this topic tomorrow.
Until then.
-Santi [Follow me on Twitter @ArsenalBlogz ]
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