Speaking of Özil, that missed penalty and his abovementioned assist for Wilshere provided two stark moments of contrast in what was an interesting game for the German. Despite showing some nice touches, Özil didn’t really get into the game as much as one would have liked/expected in the first half. Wrightly or wrongly, it has been suggested recently that Arsenal’s record signing has seen his levels ‘drop off’ in the last few weeks and consequently not quite influencing games as much as he should. For the price paid, people seem to expect Özil to take on something of a starring role. However, anybody that watched him regularly before his arrival at the Emirates would know that he is actually more of a ‘conductor’, tailoring his play to allow others around him to flourish.
Jack in the Box
As you may have read not a million miles from here, Jack Wilshere being farmed out wide is not something I find myself agreeing with and nor would it be unfair to say that it hasn’t been a roaring success thus far this campaign. However, if we see a repeat of the performance and subsequent goal-scoring exploits that saw the diminutive midfielder-cum-wide forward lead Arsenal to a comfortable 2-0 win, then I’ll quite happily change my stance. That said, you may struggle to find any team that will be as inviting as Marseille were on Tuesday night. I imagine even Jack was shocked at the amount of space he found himself in down the right hand side as the game kicked off. The ease at which he was then allowed to cut inside onto his stronger foot and curl the ball over Steve Mandanda after a mere 30 seconds of the game owed equally as much to the cluelessness of the blue shirts in front of him as it did to Wilshere’s commendable endeavour. It wasn’t difficult to see that the early goal galvanised the player. As a result, what we saw for the remainder of the match was a confident and energetic performance featuring a number of driving runs and key passes that might have actually yielded more than the final 2-0 scoreline.
Wilshere sealed the win in the second half as he switched flanks before ghosting into the box to tap in a Mesut Özil cross from the right. It’s been a mixed season for Jack both on and off the pitch so it is encouraging to such an inspired display. Hopefully this will serve as a boost and we see more of the same from here on in.
Not Lacking Ram-bition
Afterwards, the boss suggested that Wilshere’s goal scoring cameo was motivated by Aaron Ramsey’s free scoring feats so far this season. It’s a testament to Ramsey’s improvement that he has become something of a benchmark for Jack (and others) to aspire to. On the night, it was another all-action display from the Welshman. Ok, his first contribution was to miss a golden chance that, on current form, you’d expect him to bury with his eyes closed. But after that, Rambo went from strength to strength and was, once again, one of the standout players in the game. These performances are now simply expected of him and the wonderful piece of skill he produced to draw the foul for Özil’s ultimately unsuccessful spot-kick again serves to highlight how far he’s come. 12 months ago, his attempts at anything resembling ‘flair’ were met with groans whereas now, admittedly helped by the fact his tricks actually come off; those groans have been replaced by gasps of delight.
Ö Happy Day
Speaking of Özil, that missed penalty and his abovementioned assist for Wilshere provided two stark moments of contrast in what was an interesting game for the German. Despite showing some nice touches, Özil didn’t really get into the game as much as one would have liked/expected in the first half. Wrightly or wrongly, it has been suggested recently that Arsenal’s record signing has seen his levels ‘drop off’ in the last few weeks and consequently not quite influencing games as much as he should. For the price paid, people seem to expect Özil to take on something of a starring role. However, anybody that watched him regularly before his arrival at the Emirates would know that he is actually more of a ‘conductor’, tailoring his play to allow others around him to flourish. Something that became evident in the second half as he raised those much talked about ‘levels’ and put in a far more accomplished display that even his critics could not help be impressed with.
Bac and Forth
Praise is also due to the full backs. As stated, Marseille weren’t up to much in wide areas. This allowed Sagna and the incoming Nacho Monreal to not only defend manly against whatever limited onslaught the French side could muster, but also bomb on and cause no end of trouble linking up with attacking players. On the rare occasion Arsenal were troubled late in the second half, Monreal managed to prevent Marseille taking anything home as he hooked a clearance off the line from a goal-bound Florian Thauvin effort, preserving the clean sheet.
Gunn Shy
It’s difficult to find fault with such a straightforward win but if we are to nit-pick, failure to be clinical enough in the final third could be something the lads might want to look at in the aftermath if they were so inclined. If it can be referred to as such, Özil’s penalty was just one of a number of guilt-edged missed chances to put the game to bed long before Jack Wilshere’s 65th minute strike. Yes, it could have been so much more emphatic but we can be happy with the fact we didn’t rue our profligacy and that the eventual outcome was a favourable one. That the score line didn’t quite do our dominance justice probably isn’t too much of a concern, especially given the fact both sides approached the game evidentially believing an Arsenal win was a foregone conclusion. I think it goes without saying that the attitude would be very different against a tougher team.
Sleeve Well Alone
Somehow, the biggest talking point to emerge from the game is about Flamini’s apparent refusal to adhere to the long standing Arsenal tradition of all first team players wearing shirts with the same length sleeves. Arsenal’s midfield general instead took a pair of scissors and modified his kit to suit his own preference. Yes, this is actually news, supposedly. A tedious story on which far too many words have been wasted but if this is the most negative thing that is being written about the club right now, I think we can accept it. Especially looking at what is going on up the road.
Flying from Mars(eille)
The win puts Arsenal clear at the top of the group on 12 points after Dortmund beat Napoli to leave both those sides on 9. The presumption is that Dortmund will beat Marseille so qualification rests on our trip to the San Paolo. You can read about the numerous permutations regarding goal difference, head to head, which way the wind blows, what time the team eats dinner and what-have-you elsewhere. Fundamentally, Arsene Wenger’s team have their destiny in their own hands and quite simply know that avoiding defeat in Naples is all they need to worry about. UTA
EXAMPLE OF AD POSITION
