It was another great team performance from Arsenal, especially in the first half, as we tore Basel apart in the Champions League, with notable attacking contributions from Cazorla, Iwobi, Bellerin, Ozil and Alexis Sanchez along with another great defensive display from Mustafi and Koscielny but the Man of the Match has to go to Theo Walcott for his two goals as well as his scintillating all-round performance.
Ospina 7 – Not tested much but came up trumps when needed.
Bellerin 8 – Another great game from the swashbuckling Spaniard.
Mustafi 8 – Giving Arsenal the platform to perform. Super summer signing.
Koscielny 8 – Surely we now have the best centre back pairing in the Premier League.
Monreal 7 – Good game without the impact of Bellerin going forward.
Xhaka 7 – Tidy and controlled with some great passes but lacked defensive strength of Coquelin.
Cazorla 8 – Brilliant ball set up opener and influential throughout.
Ozil 7 – Very good after slow start but should have scored.
Walcott 9 – Should have had a few assists to go with his goals. Super sharp and effective.
Alexis 8.5 – Unlucky not to cap great game with a goal.
Iwobi 8 – Worked harder defensively to add to his attacking flair.
subs:
Elneny, Chamberlain and Gibbs 6 – Good contributions from the bench.
Bob.
If this team can be fit like this with no injuries to our reliable center backs, ozil, Sanchez, carzorla, bellerin. Etc. And with Walcot coming back to his senses, I think we are going to challenge strongly for the EPL title. If not winning it. I got a strong feeling about that.
I was thinking g the same thought last night while watching the game. We have a very good chance of winning the league this season if we keep our injuries to a minimum. But we can also challenge for the Champoins league.
that is the arsenal i fell in love with fourteen years ago,what i saw yesterday was high intensity,super frisky sleek and pacey soccer..it put smile on my face,well done lads keep it up.
Even Barca would have struggled against us
Alexis Sanchez had 91% (!!!) passing completion yesterday. For a player that hasn’t been playing as a lone striker for alot of games that’s actually insane! Shame he didn’t score I thought he was easily our best man despite that. Great first half and doing the business in the 2nd half.
I agree with the rest of the ratings the author gave, congratulations with another convincing win y’all, on to Burnley! COYG!
Anyone notice if the new signings have had a huge, moral impact on our players?
Walcott’s is doing great, Sanchez has been much better than at the beginning of last season, Özil doesn’t have the stats yet but his attitude looks different, more driven.
The team looks set to attack AND defend together. That I like the most.
nope thats your opinion, walcott is doing great (what a lot like to forget was, even last year he was pretty good till his injury) but sanchez has not been better than the beginning of last year, last year before and after the lei-ars game, he had that period where he scored 6 in 6 i think.
and this drivel about the “attitude” about özil is just nonsense.. arsenal-girl commented after the che game that his body language were better in that game.. nonsense
Look özil has the same attitude and the same body language in each goal, its just in some games you think he performed and in some you dont think so, but this talk about his body language/attitude is stupid, he himself said that he has a languid style, and thats just the naked truth, dont use that as a changing factor
Well Mr Expert, actually last season Sanchez, around the same time, in 5 full PL and 2 full UCL matches had 1 goal, 3 assists. And THEN he scored a hat trick against Leicester.
Whileas this season Sanchez has got 5 goals, 5 assists in 5 full PL and 2 full UCL matches. But don’t get the facts get in your way!
Regarding Özil, I didn’t really mean his overall body language (although seeing him smile last night after that Sanchez lob, it was refreshing), but his willingness to fight back possession and move forward, with actual pace. The way he spurt past Kante, that’s something I can’t remember from last seasons.
your sarcasm is on a childs level, i never tried to be an expert its just that you are wrong, last year özil was the same, its just that you have the chelsea game in the head and of course its difficult to get the same situation each year.. if he had that situation last year he would have did it then too, thats what i’m trying to say, what you are saying is that he had changed from last year, but he is the same as last year, and to sanchez you implied that he is this good because of the moral impact of the new players and i just dont believe in that, and thats why i wrote about the 6 goal-streak, he didnt need a moral impact its just that we have a better defense so that the strikers get a lot more opportunities to attack a defense and not a packed bus after a lucky goal like last year
thats what rvp said on here once, it isnt that the system has changed, wengers system is superb he just needed the right players to play it and now through mustafi we have the quality, even if we had just bought a good defender we could have been as good as right now..
Everyone is the same as last year, no one grew a third foot.. just give up
It is great to see us playing with confidence again, and long may it continue. It would seem that the new signings have spurred the team on and given renewed motivation….which is what fans have been saying would happen for a few years now…
Let’s hope that Wenger becomes less risk averse with this revived team!
Onwards and upwards.
with this team, and if Bellerin,the CBs,Cazorla,Walcott,Alexis,Iwobi,Ozil can stay fit we won’t just challenge for the title we will win it.
as I see only City as competition for the title against this team and even City haven’t passed through the kinda test we have, by the end of October after they face Barca twice,Spurs,Everton,Soton,United again without deBruyne let’s see where they are.
but for Arsenal
defence is brilliant
midfield is ticking
and attack is rolling
main task is keeping them all fit.
man city is definitely a title challenger but a bit fickle if you think that one month ago you would have definitely listed man city and man u as title favorites.. the same as the pundits who have changed their “opinions” really fast..
even if i kinda agree to you what i want to say is, that you shouldnt leave out the other clubs as competition.. if chelsea/man u go on 4/5 game winning streak all the pundits will change their stance once again
..and thumbs up to Alex Iwobi who is having a perfect week.
named EPL MOTM in the 3-0 win against Chelsea
had another solid UCL game against Basel
and has now been shortlisted for the UEFA Golden Boy Award.
We still have welbeck! When he’s back, Gabriel, chuba, Perez, elneny, Jenko , debuchy and much more who can contribute when we’ll need. Quality squad indeed.
Is it my imagination or is Wenger using his substitutes better this season?
I would say Yes, apart from last night, where I would have put Lucas instead of Ox.
in Bellerin, Kostafi and Monreal we might have one of the fastest backline in club football. This coupled with our blistering forward-line of Sanchez, Ozil and Walcott can really wreck havock on our opponents… on to Burnley
On current form i hope player like Iwobi doesn’t get benched as soon as Wengers love child Ramsey gets fit lol!
A fit Aaron Ramsey on his Euros form would get into any team
In a squad of lesser players maybe