The league table looks extremely dicey (to put it mildly), with one point separating the top five teams and no one looking the clear winner. Considering the situation, we’ve done well to keep ourselves in the mix, adrift from the top of the league by one goal.
As a matter of fact, it’s been pleasing to watch Arsenal of late. In the last 12 games, we have won all but two – draws against PSG and Middlesbrough, which, considering the performance levels of the team over the past two months, can easily be forgiven as exceptions to the norm. A comfortable 2-0 win over Reading shortly after a thoroughly entertaining 6-0 rout of Ludogorets has kept us well on track in Europe and the Capital One Cup Sponsorless English Football Cup.
Contributing to this run of form have been plenty of elements, some of them purposeful and some of them enforced. They’re all worth talking about in great detail, so here they are:
The fluid front four
Mesut Ozil, Theo Walcott, Alex Iwobi and Alexis Sanchez have lately been something else, literally. All of them have added something entirely different to their game and have managed to make it click. It’s new, it’s exciting and it’s producing results.
You wouldn’t expect Ozil to have six goals at this stage, nor would you expect Alexis to flourish in a role where he looked ill-suited in his early Arsenal days. They’ve done well, taking on their newer responsibilities and very much living up to the ‘marquee player’ tags attributed to them.
Credits: Total Sportek
What has been better, however, is the rise of Walcott. There have always been sceptics who have questioned his decision making and workrate over the years, as there are sceptics to every player. Some of the accusations were reasonable and some otherwise, but it would be fair to say that the sheer number of critics increased hundredfold as last season progressed. It came to the point where he became a bit of a lightning rod for everything wrong with the club, and it didn’t seem like anyone would have hugely minded a transfer in the summer.
Thankfully, all of that has had a positive impact on him. I’ll be honest – Walcott didn’t strike me as the kind of player who would have the mental strength (heh) to prove his critics wrong. Many players have failed to recover after falling on the wrong side of the fans, despite having the talent (read Arshavin, Gervinho, Debuchy).
Not Theo, at least not anymore. When you look at his game, he seems more conscious of his critics than ever. I’ll grant that he’s had previous runs of good form which have turned out to be mirages or purple patches, but this one feels different; particularly because there has been a marked improvement in his all-round game. This Walcott seems determined to make up for lost time, determined to win back the favour of the fans, determined to make something of his career. Long may it last.
A quick mention to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who also seems to be bucking up and getting amongst the goals. His first goal against Reading was specifically one of those that we’ve wanted him to score more often, and he’s beginning to stake a decent claim to usurp Iwobi’s position.
The absence of Giroud and Ramsey
I know it sounds terrible to suggest that the injuries of two players have been good for the club, but it really appears like that has been the case. Olivier Giroud has been on the peripheries on the team since his red card against PSG, and his absence (coupled with the curious benching of Lucas Perez) has forged a different Arsenal attacking beast.
I’ve been consistent in my views of Giroud. I feel he’s a decent striker who gets more flak than necessary and is unnecessarily compared to far worse players like Nicklas Bendtner. That being said, his exclusion from the team has seen a much more mobile forward trio emerge; the kind that offers much more penetration and panache than the Giroud tactic does. Without the traditional target man serving as his striker week-in-week-out, Wenger’s attack has never looked more, well, Wenger.
Don’t get me wrong – Giroud is a terrific player in his own right, and could have been handy for us on several occasions in these past months. However, he strikes as the kind of player who would only deliver in a “hoof it to the big guy” approach, an approach too simplistic to work every time.
Credits: The Telegraph
Aaron Ramsey is a more controversial one. It’s clear that he has many fans and that Wenger puts a lot of trust in him. However – and this is not the first nor the last time I will raise this concern – the perception that he is the finished article is ridiculous to me. It’s impossible not to feel anything but joy at his stamina levels and his desire to produce something special all the time, but it’s worth wondering if he overdoes it.
Ramsey has always struck me as too flashy. He’s the kind of guy who tries ten flicks in a game when a simple pass would be the wiser option. Now, if those flicks pull off it’d be grand, but that’s the thing with him. The guy doesn’t seem to have the ability to match his ambition. His fervent urges to do everything all the time is chivalrous and admirable, but also unnecessary and counterproductive. It reeks of tactical immaturity, which is one of the reasons why I’d prefer Santi Cazorla over him any day.
I don’t necessarily believe Ramsey has the tactical discipline to be a key cog of a successful Arsenal team. He can be brilliant if the team is built around him, but he’s not that important a player for that to happen. There are theories that he could improve with Granit Xhaka as his partner because he’s so similar to Mikel Arteta, something that remains to be seen. But for now, despite it being impossible to prove, I firmly believe that his absence was a contributing factor to our extended run of form.
Kostafi
So apparently, when you invest in a young, well-reputed defender, your team defends better?!
Joking aside, it’s been amazing to see Shkodran Mustafi form a rock of a partnership with Laurent Koscielny. He’s been better than expected in half the time, giving Per Mertesacker a real run for his money before he has a chance to kick a ball. Together they’ve conceded four goals in eight games and helped solidify a defence that needed some work.
Koscielny though, oof. The man has been a massive upgrade on every facet of his capabilities from last season, and that’s saying something. He’s defying age by becoming quicker as he becomes older, and is cleaning up his game big time. I heard that he’s committed only two fouls this entire season. If that’s true, that is fucking immense.
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It’s worth noting that as we head into a run of difficult fixtures in a difficult month, this post could look foolishly polarizing at the back end of November. We’ve seen this before from Arsenal, after all. Players like Ozil, Bellerin, Iwobi and Sanchez are being asked to play more than necessary, and despite the results, recent performances are suggesting we are running out of steam. Our record with injuries and inconsistencies signify that it would be negligent to not look at ways to cover the manhole we always fall into every time we turn a corner.
-Santi [Follow me on Twitter @ArsenalBlogz ]
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