TEN talking points from Arsenal’s win at Watford

10 Observations about Arsenal’s win ft Cazorla, Xhaka, Ozil and Co. By Galen

1) Ozil takes our attacking game to the next level. Like Wenger said, I think he could score more goals. I really believe he could score 15 goals a season. I like the fact the the manager is pushing him. I believe he has the quality to do that.

2) Never doubt Santi Cazorla. Never ask if he should play or not. He is still our best midfielder and players like Jack, Elneny, Xhaka and Ramsey should be taking down notes with a pen and a paper. Our midfield 3 of yesterday can send teams to sleep with their passing.

3) Xhaka is not just a plan A, but could be our biggest plan B in 10 years. Strikers should get ready to run. The passes are coming. He produced an especially eye-catching performance and, in both his physical strength and range of passing, Wenger does finally seem to have found a player with the presence and potential to develop into something resembling his great central midfielders of the Past.

4) Walcott has got something to prove this year. Never, for once, was Bellerin left exposed. He covered more ground and made more sprints than any other player. The most important thing is that Walcott is fighting. He was a great winger, scoring goals, before all the stupid Striker talk began. Back to basics son. Lets all support and get behind Walcott .

5) Kosielny is so good he made PER looked world class. Am not surprised Holding looks great playing next to the Boss. The future looks good. Holding has to learn and ask questions. He will get loads of games in FA cups and Carling Cup. The kid is very good in the air. Am not even surprised. he is a Notherner.

6) Ox disappointed me big time. The least I expect from a modern winger is that they track back and support the full back. Only Ronaldo and Messi should have the right not to track back, at least they score 40+ goals a season. Ox not tracking back is absolutely insane. He left the left back exposed on 2 against 1 situations. Disappointing.

7) We have a very good bench. Elneny and Jack coming on the pitch with the likes of Giroud and Coquelin on the bench is luxury. They did a great job fighting and preventing Watford from getting back into the game. I will just want Elneny to show more discipline instead of pressing CB’s so high up the pitch. Stay next to Xhaka and keep the teams shape.

8) We have a great goalkeeper. We forget how good he is sometimes.

9) Sanchez is at his best when he has freedom, instead of being stuck in the middle with a few bullies. Sanchez made it impossible for the players to mark him and he was floating all over the pitch causing panics and earthquakes.

10) Bellerin and Nacho go up and down the flanks like no mans business. Is great to have these amigos at our club.

I just want to say a big welcome to Arsenal to Mustafi and Perez.

Ozil, Sanchez and Kosielny should now be the priority of the football club. I want them to all be tied on lengthy and good contracts. We shall not find any better players in the market than these three players. We need to treat them right.

By Galen Sona.

25 Comments

  1. Good article, agree 10/10 with everything.

    Walcott has been improving since pre season, thr boy clearly needs game time for confidence and support from fans. Watching Walcott in his teen reminds me of the talent he had, especially that match against Milan. He needs to play a simple game.

    1. Walcott doesn’t have a football brain he can’t be improved he’s still running and leaving the ball behind,he’s spent 10 years at the club but is still one of the worst players we have to add to it he’s on massive 140K wages!

      1. Spot on ..,sadly too many arsenal fans are even more deluded about Walcott than they are about wenger …. He is an unbelievably average footballer on the level if players like Stuart downing anf should be playing in equivalent clubs… Not surprised allardyce picked him for England as he is a less than average football manager … The sooner we embed Perez in the first 11 the better our chances of moving ahead …

        1. Dont disagree that theo is not world class. But his pace and runs were his game and he seems to flourish on them this we can use this attribute of his to gud use. In a team which is defending too deep theo will be non existant hence it all comes down to how our manager uses them.

      2. I think he wil come good for us this season, the injuries has hampered his development through the years and it is normal. but I think he’s one of our most deadiest finisher. Let’s just be patient with him this season and hopes he doesn’t get injured so he can grow in confidence then you will see the best of Walcott cause I feel his case is more of a psychilogical issue due to his injuries. he has the ability in him.

      3. I doubt some fans would be happy even if Arsenal won the treble three times in a row, plus the Euros and world cup even lol. Most of us were on Wenger’s case until very recently seeing that we didn’t understand what his overall game plan [on and off the pitch] was and we had good reason to doubt him but at least the criticisms were meant to be of a constructive nature but I fail to understand folks who come on here to spew bile even when things are finally looking up for once in a very long while. Wenger is a very intelligent man, perhaps too intelligent for his own good and add a dash of arrogance to that and we have a potential specialist in failure but when he actually brings himself or is brought back to earth, he is no doubt a genius; at least he showed that much in his earlier days. Football is a game where one team tries to outwit the other and being too obvious is not always the smartest thing to do but some of us fans, we’d spend 90 million on a Pogba, I actually dont see the problem with spending that much on Pogba if you can actually afford it, so I won’t even hate lol, but of that amount, how much is hype and how much is actual quality? Or maybe Pogba is three times better than Xhaka? We will see during the course of the season. Here’s my take on Walcott; the typical English hype got to him and he over estimated his own abilities in recent seasons, wanting to play as striker without first establishing himself as a world class winger forgatting that even Henry, Ronaldo and even Messi had to first prove their undoubted abilities on the wing befroe going central, Wenger let him suit himself, he hit rock bottom when he wasn’t even selected for the Euros and has finally decided to dust himself up and work his way back up, why cant we see that and just give him the necessary support?

    2. what game time? apart from the cross for Sanchez’s goal he did nothing, the positioning was good but finishing was as always. he was getting a lot of game time for 10 years, but you suggest he needs more to become fit? rkw is right, Perez could quench our anger of watching average winger running and leaving the ball behind

      1. don’t get me wrong, my emphasis was on the injury he has had all these year, whether you like it or not those constant injuries has had a psychological effect on him thereby affecting his game. remember the season when he had less injury and saw what he did for us with a lot of goals and assists. well tank God for Perez atleast if Walcott gets injured, he can also slot in at right wing fo us but I would prefer it if he plays as our CF instead. in conclusion, what I am saying is let’s hope Walcott stays fit for us these season and you will see he will grow in confidence and score goals with loads of assists like what he did some season back. DON’T JUST WRITE HIM OFF YET.

        1. But the issue we hve with theo is he is a player who needs to be given the ball infront of him but not pass it to his feet. This is because his dribbling skills are awfull but when he just rans for a through pass he is able to flourish. Hence why it all comes to the manager as there are games where this spaces to run in behind would be limited and hence theos effectiveness wouldn’t be there thus the story of more game time goes out the thrash. Lets use our players effectively depending on a games need not just about game time but the game plan and which player will neutralize the opponents

  2. One swallow doesn’t make a summer,Theo Walcott is useless,Watford offered nothing going forward that’s why Bellerin wasn’t put under pressure it wasn’t necessarily because of Walcott’s non-existent defensive contribution

  3. That’s what I was talking about . We have, not just one but two deep lying play maker (DLP) played at the same time if Santi combine with Xhaka. As a CDM, Granit have eyes and ability of long accurate passing, something that Coquelin doesn’t. Santi could be operate more often like b2b. Having those two DLP should bring us some advantages for tactical reason. I think we have the most powerful midfielders in the league. Off course, the problem will come from strikers to make all those assists in the back of the net.

  4. well, I think Xhaka will define our season if he continues wit such great performance. I give him the MOTM, buh menh Sanchez is a beast wen playing on d left wing, I tink that is where he belongs. For Ozil, what more can I say, he’s world class, our midfield looses it’s fluidity without him on the pitch, Koschelny is definately our leader on that pitch, he is an example for others to follow. I think he should hv bin the one named as our main captain and not mertesacker, Holding is showing great signs but let’s not raise our voice too much with the hype, we knw how it affects the mentality of these english players, let’s us give him time to grow and learn and not make him think he’s already the finish product. and finally I hope our latest signings, Perez and Mustafi wil be a hit for us this season. I am more excited with the signing of Perez becuz I tink we needed a striker that can take on defenders with his pace and some one who will finish off counter attacks and not slow it down like Giroud. and from what I hv seen of him, I tink he can do that for us. I am not getting my hopes high on the title this season buh I rily which the lads will prove me wrong and go on to the a Leicester on the rest this season atleast to give Wenger a befitting sending off if he ends up leaving. well I will kip on Supporting Arsenal through thick and thin.

  5. Nice article. Fully agree.

    My biggest talking points were:

    Ox and Walcott shouldn’t start together. Both flanks are woefully exposed.

    This is the first time in a very long time I have seen a successful game by Arsenal that didn’t rely on a target man. I hope this is a sign of things to come now that Lucas has almost signed. The attacks were so much faster without Giroud it was unbelievable.

    Speed of attacks – further to the above – all other options in the middle slow down the attack compared to Cazorla. He either moves with the ball or releases it forward. Ramsey and Wilshere either don’t play direct or lose the ball.

  6. I agree almost completely with the writer. Walcott would have been a top wing forward today if not for that stupid idea of playing as a center forward. I think he is getting better of late playing on the right wing. I pray that he improves.
    I also think the additions to the team this season look good. Perez was forth top scorer in LA liga last season with 17 goals. Remember he didn’t play behind Ozil, the assist maker. I just hope he is able to improve on that performance for us.
    Mustafi, we all know is good.
    With this squad I am sure we can deliver. Let’s just keep the pace tight between us and the big guns in EPL

  7. Why the comment in the article about tying kos down to a long term contract. My understanding is that Kos current contact end date is summer 2019. Just because some german newspapaper stated that the end date was 2017 and bayern were interested. We do not have to believe it.

    Very true about Ozil and sanchez and tying them down to new contracts.

  8. Ox should be used as an impact sub when we’re losing. Lacks stamina.
    Wilshere unfortunately lacks pace and stamina. He tracks back at a jog and that’s when there’s a counter attack against us.

  9. I’ve always had a soft spot for Walcott all he needs to do is stick to basic, use the pace that you have always and then he’ll get back to normal,

  10. Cech amazing
    bellerin excellent
    koscienly groundbreaking
    xhaxa immense
    Cazorla majestic
    Walcott class
    ozil exquisite
    Sanchez just phenomenal

  11. Alex Iwobi was great too last season…apparently…I think he was also good this season as well before his injury at Liverpool….he’ll get game time too…as wenger likes him…

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