There have been a lot of happy Arsenal fans this week, finally able to celebrate the Gunners coming away from Old Trafford with a win after nine years. And it has also been the main topic of debate in the football media, with some blaming Louis van Gaal or individual Man United players like Antonio Valencia, Angel Di Maria or their players in general.
Mesut Ozil has a different take on the game, revealed in a Daily Star report. The German international was quite rightly praised for his own contribution and work rate, which has been much better since he came back from the latest injury problem. He was not alone, with the likes of Welbeck, Coquelin, Cazorla, Monreal and more all getting votes for Man of the Match.
Ozil, however, lays a lot of the credit at the feet of the manager Arsene Wenger, as he says the Gunners were merely following the game plan laid out by the Frenchman. This is quite a smack in the face of those who claim the boss is tactically inept and has no plan B. Ozil feels that our performance forced United into mistakes and that our ability to pounce on those errors was very important.
He said, “We weren’t given much of a chance, if you believe the statistics of previous matches against United, but with a passionate team performance, we are now going to Wembley.
“United offered us mistakes and we exploited them well. We concentrated on our work off the ball and followed the manager’s gameplan.
“I look forward to the semi-finals at Wembley and, of course, [hope to] return there in May [for the final].”
Who do you think deserves the most credit, Gooners, Wenger for his tactics or the players for carrying them out?