(How) can Mesut Özil regain his Arsenal spot + Coquelin thoughts

Santi Cazorla was outrageous on Sunday. There's a reason he's my favourite player, and that's not entirely down to his general teddy bear-ness and his India connection. Sprint speed and aerial ability aside, this guy has everything. He can pass, he can shoot, he's ambidextrous, versatile, tricky and robust. It's worth mentioning that he started all of Arsenal's Premier League games two seasons ago yet never got injured. He may give out an Arshavin-esque feel, but he's far ahead than the Russian in terms of workrate. Give him pace and he turns into a more effective Alexis Sanchez.

His form has come at a very inconvenient time for a certain wide-eyed German. Mesut Ozil was, in my opinion, wrongly criticized for his performances leading up to his injury. He was poor against Manchester City and Dortmund, yes, but followed that up with three very good performances against Aston Villa, Galatasaray and Tottenham. Against Chelsea he was poor, but people seem to overlook that he was injured during most of that match. Wenger overplayed his hand with Ozil's knee injury and lost.

Ozil may be on the verge of producing big things for Arsenal, but are we sure that we are willing to sacrifice Santi Cazorla for that? I know I've just come to Ozil's defence and all that, but I'm very much of the opinion that when on top form, Cazorla offers more than Ozil in that attacking midfield position. Ozil is, merely, a marginally better passer and has superior ball retention to Cazorla.

Santi, however, offers goals, tracking back, unpredictability (with both of his feet) and proper versatility. He won't stink the place out as much as Ozil does when they're deployed on the left. And I know that Ozil is a bona fide world-class player and has excellent movement and is rated highly by just about any footballing personality in the know, but that doesn't hide the fact that Cazorla has done nothing to merit a dropping from the squad.

It's mooted that Ozil will get the nod in the weekend's FA Cup clash against Brighton away, but that's not a match which would speak volumes of Ozil's ability lest he performs. With all possible respect to Brighton, Ozil would have to perform on much higher stages to prove his mettle to make it in the Premier League. A convincing performance against Brighton would only half-convince me.

Even so, it would be nice to see if Mesut has learned anything new since his time out. Footballers tend to analyze their game during a lengthy injury layoff and assess their flaws. Olivier Giroud did something of the sort and came out a lot stronger, using his physicality and scoring important goals against important teams.

What I especially liked about Ozil bulking up was that it showcased a certain degree of commitment to making it at Arsenal. When he came into the club, for the first season or so I got the impression that he didn't care much about the successes and failures of Arsenal Football Club. Hell, that may still be the case, for Shad Forsythe and Arsene Wenger may have forced him to build his muscularity. However, I'd be surprised if that was the truth.

Clearly Mesut Ozil is the long-term option in the No. 10 role. Even a player as energetic and buzzing like Tomas Rosicky must be thinking about his retirement plans sometime soon, and Cazorla has reached that dreaded age-30 phase. However, if we want to attain maximized outputs from Ozil, we need to "stick him in there more often", so to say. How could we do that and not displace the mercurial Santi Cazorla?

The only possible solution, to my mind, is shifting Cazorla's position. Footballers tend to experiment in deeper positions in order to prolong the twilight of their careers. Steven Gerrard went from attacking midfielder to defensive midfielder. Wayne Rooney, once a lone striker, is now seen pumping lobs from the centre of the park. Two of hundreds of examples.

I don't reckon shifting Cazorla to a central midfield position, alongside a defensive midfielder is a bad idea by any stretch. It's a point to note that when Arsenal's central midfield crisis was ongoing, Rosicky and Cazorla were asked to play in that role periodically. It turned out to be an enforced masterpiece, so to say, because Santi in particular truly impressed me in that role.

I am of the opinion that we can get something out of Cazorla in that deep-lying playmaker role. Ramsey is having his ups and downs and Wilshere is perennially injured, so what's the harm in trying? Cazorla has already proven his willingness and adeptness at dropping deep to win the ball back. In addition, this also allows Mesut Ozil room in his preferred No. 10 role to spray passes to Sanchez and Walcott and give us all orgasms.

When Ozil first came to Arsenal, plenty couldn't wait to see how Cazorla and Mesut would link up. As it stood, having Ozil in the centre and Cazorla on the left yielded inconsistent results. Perhaps moving Santi Cazorla closer to the DM rather than away from it may bring more creativity and solidity to our defence.

Final note for today - Francis Coquelin. Look, I'm over the moon for the lad and really happy for the club as well as the player, but Coquelin isn't a specialist in his role by any stretch. In fact, the exaggerated praise that he's receiving is the result of Arsenal being used to not seeing a proper DM since the days of Gilberto Silva and Patrick Vieira. Coquelin is walking and talking proof that all Arsenal needed was a proper defensive midfielder, not the half-moulds of Alex Song, Mikel Arteta and Mathieu Flamini.

Obviously I would not be averse to handing Coquelin a new deal and would want him at the club, but if Arsenal really want to be like the Bayerns and the Barcelonas, they need to get in a defensive midfielder specialist in his position, like Morgan Schneiderlin. Francis has done a job and has probably proven that he can fill the gap until the summer comes. He's done a huge favour for Arsene. I hope he realizes that that favour has a rapidly approaching expiry date.

-Santi [Follow me on Twitter @ArsenalBlogz ]

Villa 0-3 Arsenal: Four-minute foray ignites Ozil-Welbeck fire?

Match Report | Match highlights | Wenger's thoughts

If there ever was one partnership I wanted to thrive, it was Ozil and Sanchez. I silently justified Wenger refusing to buy Cesc and Costa by thinking if Ozil and Sanchez clicked, they'd be forgotten.

The signs weren't encouraging. As much as I tried to ignore it, Fabregas and Costa's bromance was getting to me. The reason was simple - we did have the potential to have our own dynamic duos (Ozil-Sanchez, Ramsey-Walcott?), but Wenger's tactics and formational structure were bringing the worst out of them. However, once Wenger played Ozil in his familiar role, and unfamiliar partnership popped up.

Ozil and Welbeck.

Now, it was only one match, but I think that Ozil and Welbeck have the potential of forming a great threat. I mean, I think that Ozil-Sanchez and Ozil-Walcott could be more prolific, but since both of them are wingers (and Theo, lest we forget, is still inconsistent), I'm not so sure now.

Leaving aside injuries or Capital One Cup games, Ozil and Welbeck are almost certain to start in every game from now till December. If Welbeck were to improve his finishing over that time, he could be the perfect striker, every midfielder's dream. He's quick, powerful, and has great sense of positioning.

I have to also mention Wenger's hand in Ozil's great game. True, I believe that had hashtags like #PlayOzilAt10 not have arose, Wenger would have played Ozil on the left yesterday. However, Wenger playing Ozil on the left in games past has, in turn, actually proved helpful. He looks more hardworking and his stamina has increased, because he tracked back a lot while on the flanks. Playing him in the middle has almost made him feel grateful to an extent, and he's now making more use of the bonus space offered to him on either side.

In the opening minutes, when Villa had the ball in their half, Ozil pressed one of the centre backs and almost won the ball out of them. Would he have done that if he was bunged into the centre all the time? Unlikely.

While I more than understand people's elation at finally seeing Ozil back in form, credit should also be due to Welbeck as well. I thought that he began a bit clumsily, but after his assist, he became much more composed. His hold-up was Giroud-esque, he got a poacher's goal - he also made one of those headed clearances off a corner that we've come to appreciate about Giroud.

My firm belief is that if Welbeck improves his finishing (which isn't as far off as Giroud's), he's a far better player than the Frenchman. Given that there are uncertainties over Sanchez's, Podolski's and Campbell's futures as a striker, Welbeck could be a superb addition.

I have little doubt that Ozil and Welbeck can be one of the best attacking partnerships in Arsenal's history. What they need is a proper balance between form, fitness and even tactics. Aaron Ramsey, for one, looks worse as ever in one of those AM roles. Santi Cazorla is always inconsistent on the left flank. Wenger should use his Podolski's or Wilshere's or even Campbell's, if it means bringing the best out of Ozil and Welbeck whenever they play, against specific oppositions.

I'm not getting carried away after one win, but if we manage to get our attacking balance right, we'd be a serious force this season. Albeit I doubt we will.

-Santi [Follow me on Twitter @ArsenalBlogz ]

Analysing Wenger's pre-Villa quotes

Preview | Pre-match conference | Team news

I don't generally do this, but when I heard Wenger's presser I had to cringe. There was just too much stupid in there.

Loads of evidence-compelling stuff yesterday, one which many may have noticed, but I'd like to point out.

On transfers

When asked about signing free agents for cover (like Yobo, who could provide defensive cover) Wenger said: "We cannot do anything now."

Well, you could in August. Arsenal reported £170m in cash reserves yesterday. It's certainly reasonable to argue that two defenders and a defensive midfielder would have only cost north of £50m at most. I find it nigh on impossible to believe that there weren't any defenders (or DMs) available who would be content being at Arsenal for backup.

On Ozil

Ozil's decline has been clear to most except Wenger. He seems to think that his terrible run of form has only stretched back to a few weeks, when it is actually close to a year.

"It takes a few weeks for people to get back to their best after the World Cup."

Now, I could sound out names like Messi and Fernandinho to dispel this ridiculous equation, but Wenger defending Ozil in such short-term ways worry me. Has Wenger not noticed that, after his bright start to London, he's faded since as early as last November? The media caught on to Ozil failing around February, but I noticed it around November. Here's a quote I wrote around a year ago:

"Which brings me to Ozil's dip in form. I couldn't help but notice how he constantly kept playing back passes and safe passes to his teammates, in recent games. After his brilliant start, he seems to have faded away from the game to the point of almost being invisible at times. And it's not like he's being played out of position. Ozil has being playing almost every match in the central attacking role, but currently not living up to the £42m transfer fee.

Maybe that's the problem. The fact that Arsene is overplaying him even when he's sick suggests that the rigours of the league might be getting to him. And while that may be the case, I think that his dip in form is down to his teammates, and not him."

Has much changed? Well, the runners have come, but he's still being played out of position and overplayed! Wenger has put too much pressure on him - forcing him to take penalties, playing him in almost every single game (including Coventry home, SMH), and saying "He will compete for Player of the Season next season."

And what does Wenger have to reply to that?

"We should not be concerned and just support him."

Supporting is creditable, but blindly assuming that a player is good when he isn't is tantamount to idol worship. We want to believe something when it doesn't. So let's just call it a day and call someone accountable, either Ozil or Wenger.

"Why should he [Ozil] be made a scapegoat? We've lost one game since April. Let's be realistic."

Let's be realistic, Wenger? All right, I'll play your game. Performance wise, we've only delivered excellent showings against Norwich away and disinterested teams like Newcastle or Man City in the Shield. We may be unbeatable, but we could have easily lost against Everton, Besiktas or (would you believe it) Leicester. To bring things to Ozil, he's participated in only one goal for 19 games.

"People have ups and downs in their life."

That'd be a fair point if Ozil's 'downs' didn't last for 10 months.

He did bring up a reasonable point about Ozil, saying: "[His positioning] is a secondary thing. He has freedom to go where he wants, when he has it [the ball]."

He's right in a way, because suggesting that Ozil playing on the left is the only source to the problem is wrong. That's not restricting his game in any way. However, where Wenger misses the point is - why play him on the flank, then? Ozil isn't a guy who will track back if he loses the ball in the final third. We're confining Ozil's strengths as well as weakening our left hand defensive channel.

Which brings me to tactics.

On tactics

"It's difficult for me to explain the subtleties, but [in short] not a lot has changed."

Geez, give me a break please, Arsene?

We've replaced a defensive-minded right back with an attack-minded right back. We've isolated Arteta (already a weak link enough) by removing his support, Aaron Ramsey. By changing Ramsey's position, we've made Arteta weak as well as restricted some of Ramsey's strengths - tackling. So yes, Wenger, a lot HAS changed.

When asked what was his thinking to switch to a 4-1-4-1, he said:

"We failed in some games, so behind that is the thinking. We need to be solid in more games."

Well, the way I see it, this new formation has made us weaker in defence. The answer to stopping away-day blues is isolating your DM, going backwards number-wise defensively, overplaying Mertesacker and Koscielny, giving Ramsey an advanced role (which means fewer tackles from him), and asking Mesut Ozil to track back?

Worst. Plan. Ever.

"We need to find the balance [between attack and defence]. Even when Arteta plays he is initially an offensive player."

So maybe we should have bought that DM, then?

"We need to find the balance, so that is why explaining it is not an easy subject."

I think I'm alone in speculating this, but I got the vibe that Wenger was trying to avoid the tactical phase of the pre-match conference. I think the only reason he switched to a 4-1-4-1 was to fit Wilshere and Ozil in the same team, and play Ramsey in a more attacking position, hoping he'd get more goals out of him. It seems like idealistic thinking, but it failed. Hopefully Wenger's not too stubborn to change it back to 4-2-3-1.

Who am I kidding? We will continue to see 4-1-4-1.

UPDATE: Well, what do you know? Word is we're reverting to 4-2-3-1!

Anyway, after some guff on grass and Chambers, when someone asked Wenger again to clarify on his tactical 'approach', Wenger gave him the classic indirect insult:

"There are plenty of tacticians in the world who have managed zero games."

For Christ's sake, Arsene. You don't need to be a football manager or have an Economics degree to see that Arsenal are weak down whichever channel Ozil is played in. You don't need to work either one day in football or 10,000 to see that Arsenal will not win the Premier League. Could you please have some humility?

To end, here are some more ludicrous comments in the presser. Also, you can read a proper preview here.

"We came out of Saturday thinking that we put in a good performance."

"We dominated physically against Dortmund."

-Santi [Follow me on Twitter @ArsenalBlogz ]

Arsenal 2-2 Man City: Should have won it, lucky not to lose it

Match Report | Match highlights | Wenger's thoughts

Right, quick one from me today.

4-1-4-1 can work at home, but we should try for 4-2-3-1 more...
The fluency of our attack was eased a bit yesterday. In the month past, it seemed like Wenger was failing in trying to bring the best out of a very potent attack. Failed strategies included switching Sanchez's wings, playing Ozil on the left and playing Ramsey in one of the attacking midfield slots. Sanogo up front served to compound the conundrum.

Yesterday was different. Perhaps it was Wilshere's burning desire to create something, an electric Emirates atmosphere, Danny Welbeck's lively first half or all of the above, but we seemed to click more as an outfit. The downside was that the players who were mispositioned owing to this formation - Ramsey and Ozil - were the ones relatively invisible.

However, I still believe that a 4-2-3-1 formation would be much preferable for us. Arsenal are more used to that formation, we won't get caught on the break with that formation, our weak defensive midfielders will at least get more support, our personnel will fit in their right positions... it's a win-win. A fantastic home support and a lethargic City meant that we came flying out of the doors. It's definitely an option, but I don't think it should be our first. We won't always meet slow opponents at the Emirates.

Our defence is back to how it was...
There's a definite problem here. Almost every goal we've conceded this season have come from crosses or set pieces. In fact, I think that Steven Naismith's goal in the 2-2 match at Goodison was the exception.

We are weak at the back number-wise, but we're falling short quality-wise as well.  Mertesacker's been underwhelming, Monreal wasn't helped by Ozil, Debuchy's reportedly out for two months, and our defensive midfielders look worse than anyone's. I have a feeling that a defensive crisis is on the cusp, one which we plunged ourselves in, quite unnecessarily. In these times I hope Wenger calls back Carl Jenkinson and buys Mario Yepes. Not ideal, but a much-needed stop-gap.

But more than that, what worries me is that our last-season's trait of defending as a unit has disappeared. Steve Bould's magic has either been found out, or Wenger has decided to take control again. I don't know the problem to suggest a solution, but it's not looking good.

We better hope Arsene has a DM trick up his sleeve...
This formation has further exposed our defensive weakness. Isolating the DM in a 4-1-4-1 has put more pressure on them and made a further mess of our defence. Now, I know that since the transfer market is over Wenger can't go for a defensive midfielder (and by the looks of it, he didn't want to), but I hope that he has a trump card in his deck. Maybe he thinks Diaby has shook off all his injury woes for good, or he thinks Coquelin can make the cut, I don't know. But I hope that he has something up his sleeve. Time will tell.

Wenger doesn't know substitutions...
Why wait until Debuchy is injured to make your first substitution? Why not shut up shop after Alexis scored a belter to take us on the brink of an important win? Why not bring a goal-getter on instead of Arteta? Wenger's substitutions were as baffling as his tactics. I guess they go hand in hand.

Ramsey and Ozil don't deserve criticism yet...
I more than agree that they have been largely below-par this season. Ramsey's goals-and-assists ratio may have shielded him from more criticism, but performance-wise he hasn't looked up to it. Ozil, too, has been looking disinterested and bewildering at times. When people say that he tends to drag defenders towards him or has a "subtle impact", I feel that they're grasping at straws and don't really believe what they're saying.

The only reason I have refrained from criticizing them is because they're being mispositioned in a weird formation. Should Ramsey be placed alongside Arteta/Flamini in a 4-2-3-1 and Ozil in his preferred "hole" and they still disappoint, criticism shall surely be warranted. As of now, more out of hope or anything, I'm still reserving judgment.

Welbeck needs service...
Danny was excellent in the first half, but he cut a lonesome figure once Arsenal conceded. Perhaps he hasn't adjusted his wavelength to the midfielders beside him, because there were times that he was anonymous. He's still raw, but 4 months could significantly change him for the better. I still think it was an encouraging debut, and if he manages to click with the players behind him, I have no doubt we'll have a massive Giroud upgrade on our hands.

Wilshere and Alexis were the stars...
What I really like about these players is that they're hardworking. They aren't the kind of guys who sulk when the going gets tough. They're workmanlike, determined, military-esque efficient people who are desperate to make a difference. Their hunger is salivating, and it's bringing results.

Part of the Mesut Ozil criticism was derived from the energy that Wilshere and Alexis exuded throughout the game. There were always questions about Ozil's workrate, and Sanchez's motorbike running sort of highlighted that.

The reason I think Wenger is playing Ozil on the left is because he wants Ozil to appreciate the space he's been given once he's eventually shifted to the centre. When a player is shunted on the flanks, he has only one side of the pitch to turn into, which sort of gives them tunnel vision. Once they are given the freedom to play in the middle, they appreciate the space on both sides and make the most of it. Wenger has done the same to Ramsey and Cazorla to great effect. It's one of the tactics I've come to like about the manager. Whether it works with Ozil or not is yet to be seen.

Whisper it quietly, but we still don't look like title winners...
Still early days, but we've picked up only 6 points from 4 matches. The only game we've won - Crystal Palace - could just as easily have been a draw as well. We do have the potential and the personnel to do much better, but Wenger's formations and tactics are restricting us. To turn this around and become title challengers, we need to start clicking or tweak the system, starting Tuesday.

Time will tell if we do.

-Santi [Follow me on Twitter @ArsenalBlogz ]

Arsenal 0-2 Bayern: If you want to blame one, blame Ozil

Mixed feelings would be the best way to describe this game. After an astonishingly superb start to the game, Ozil (possibly our best player till then) proceeded to oh-so predictably miss a penalty and infect his disinterest onto the entire crowd support. Later, a fairly awarded penalty was made to seem a bit harsh when Szczesny was shown a straight red card. Although Alaba's miss provided brief hope to the hosts, Szczesny's sending off proved decisive and individual errors cost Arsenal a potential Champions League quarter finals entry.

Throughout 90 minutes this game had everything. Dread, fear, hope, frustration and glory. I'm just disappointed that it ended in a defeat, more so because we had the chance to show Europe's finest where Arsenal stood. I'll be analyzing this match through the key points, and boy were they a lot!

The team selection...
...I have to admit, was spot on. Wenger played everyone I asked for, but started Yaya Sanogo up front instead of Giroud. I can only assume that in the aftermath of revealing his extra-marital affair, either Olivier Giroud personally told Wenger he didn't want to start or Wenger himself deemed it unfit to play Ollie. Either ways, starting a Ligue 2 injury prone striker at his CL debut against Bayern Munich seemed to border on insanity.

I was incensed. I could understand if the manager was forced to drop Giroud, but why not play Lukas Podolski or (I can't believe I'm saying this) Nicklas Bendtner instead? Especially Podolski, who has 120 caps for a country regarded as favourites to win the World Cup, not to mention being the best finisher in the side. What, Sanogo gets the nod because he's French? What was Wenger up to there?

We know how it unraveled, though. Sanogo had a much better game than he had against Liverpool, and that's saying something. I always felt that Sanogo was too similar to Giroud or Bendtner, and that the latter two were better than him in those repetitive skills. However, Sanogo gave us a new dimension in mobility, a willingness to drift to the flanks and workrate that would put Giroud to shame.

I was impressed by his performance, he seems like another good find by Wenger. I still don't buy the suggestions that Sanogo should be a regular starter over Giroud. However I have to admit, if he can keep this up, maybe Wenger did have a legitimate reason to not buy a striker in January.

Our start...
Was unexpected, superb and made me proud. For the first 10 minutes, no one would deny that we were the better side in the game. Sanogo, Ozil, Oxlade-Chamberlain and Wilshere looked inspired, and closed the best team in the world to set up presentable chances for ourselves. Szczesny even pulled a magnificent save to deny Kroos the opener to keep us hunting.

I never expected this from Arsenal. An incomplete squad bereft of Ramsey, Theo and Giroud somehow managed to produce a fine initial display against a team like Bayern. I know that as an Arsenal supporter I believed, but it was more out of compulsion than optimism. I actually reckon that had Ozil not missed the penalty, we would have won this game. Speaking of which...

Ozil penalty miss...
Was sickening, predictable and downright infuriating. Prior to the penalty, Ozil looked like a man determined to make amends for his lack of commitment in previous matches. He had redeemed some of his pride against United and Liverpool, and looked set to do that on such a high mantle as well. The way he won the penalty was a testament to his class as well.

But then he decided to get too cheeky.

From the moment the commentator announced who was taking the penalty, I closed my eyes in expectant anguish. I'll just say it - Mesut Ozil is a pathetic penalty taker. Against Montpellier it was evident, only now did it become showcased to the whole world. I don't care if walking up to the ball is his 'style', all I know is that it's a shitty way to take a penalty and that he shouldn't be allowed to take one for Arsenal ever again. Ever.

Losing the battle of wits was bad enough, but hiding from the match after that is much, much worse. From then on, he completely switched off and was subsequently told by Wilshere and Flamini, both of whom have much more passion for the club than Ozil. I don't care what statistics say, we've been in the footballing business far too long to know that they don't tell the whole story.

What I saw on the pitch was not a world-class player who is the face of Arsenal. What I saw was a player who doesn't care if his team wins or loses. I saw a player who would prefer making the Germany squad for Rio than watch Arsenal lift the Premier League or the FA Cup. I saw a player who plays with a mentality that he's doing Arsenal a favour, who believes himself to be superior than everyone else on the pitch.

Ozil cannot get away with anything. After giving up against Bayern Munich his form has come under intense scrutiny by everyone, which would only mean a good thing in hindsight. One hopes that Ozil will perform under pressure, starting against Sunderland. His psychological boost off the pitch has evaporated, which is amazingly rendering him a bit obsolete on it.

Being out of form and not wanting to chase a half-ball are not connected: this is why I like players such as Giroud more than Ozil. Giroud will give his all even if things aren't working out for him. Ozil won't.

Szczesny, the red card and Alaba's miss...

I'm not sure that Szczesny deserved to be sent off, but I have no doubts that it was a penalty. Kieran Gibbs was brought off after an injury and his replacement Nacho Monreal allowed Robben the freedom of movement. Robben made a diagonal run into the box after a delicious ball by Toni Kroos, and Szczesny had little choice but to go for it.

He brought Robben down, a penalty was given and Szczesny was duly sent off, a bit reminiscent of the 2006 final. Thankfully, Alaba missed the penalty, but most of the crowd were still subconsciously aware that defending a clean sheet, outnumbered against the best team in the world was a task too many.

Was it a penalty? A firm yes; Szczesny had clearly clipped Robben's feet. The point is moot on how much Robben decided to cry on it, the fact was that anything other than a penalty would have been really harsh on Bayern. But was it a red card? I'm not so sure. In fact, I'm in one of those states of mind that a red card seemed really harsh for Arsenal, but a yellow would have seemed harsh for Bayern.

It turned out that Bayern got the benefit of the doubt there, and even though Alaba gave us another chance, everyone sensed that it was kind of game over there. Credit to all players (except Ozil) for working really hard to keep it at that scoreline, but it was almost when rather than if regarding Bayern opening up our defence.

The two goals...
...were a result of individual errors. Ozil's laziness on the left flank made it almost inevitable that he would be a culprit in us conceding. Bayern were targeting our left flank, and Ozil and Monreal were letting them do that. From passing to the left to bringing it to the centre to passing it on the left again, Kroos got some space and finished it beautifully. I know that many might be inclined to blame Monreal or Ozil particularly, but I never felt the need to barrack them in person for this goal.

However, there can be no doubt that Koscielny was to blame for the second. No doubt as a result of frustration, Koscielny ran to the half-line and lost the ball. Bayern saw the hole in the team, and being the ruthless team that they are, punished us through a Muller header. Flamini was partly at fault too, but I couldn't see the sense in Koscielny sprinting forward when overturning a 1-0 deficit was possible at the Allianz Arena.

Someone has to screw up in big matches, when they play for Arsenal. It's almost like compulsion.

On what it means to the tie...
I still think that if we put in the necessary effort, we can overturn a 2-0 deficit. With the return of Aaron Ramsey, the team will be strengthened and motivated to reproduce what they did the last time they visited this stadium. I have not forgotten that we had a fantastic start to this game, but were let down by an Ozil miss and the crowd falling flat after that. Yes, we can go to the quarter finals.

But the question arises - is it really necessary? What's the virtue in putting so much sweat in a match that won't really help our trophy chances? Yes, we can win the match and the tie, but the chances of doing so are really low, even though I have sounded uncharacteristically optimistic earlier about our chances. In addition, ambitions like the Premier League and the FA Cup are much more realistic - why risk injuries and stamina in a potential dead rubber?

I say we cut our losses, play a fresh, substitute lineup and view this game as a bonus friendly than an obstacle to Champions League glory. Playing youth footballers on a big occasion with no pressure will free them of expectations yet instill them with motivation. Yaya Sanogo surprised them, who knows, maybe Nicklas Bendtner will as well? (I kid, of course).

--

Oh yeah, and Wenger's decision to keep Ozil on for 90 minutes was cowardly. He needs to grow a pair and bench Mesut for players like Podolski or Rosicky.

Calm down, Gooners. No one expected us to win this anyway, yet we almost could have.

P.S. Preview for the Sunderland game will not be available. Apologies.

-Santi (Follow me on twitter: @ArsenalBlogz )

Man City 6-3 Arsenal: A humbling crash to reality

Losing this game sure was a possibility, but losing by that margin is downright unacceptable. A crazy game of football ended quite convincingly in their favour as they handed us a 6-3 pasting, to reduce our lead to only 2 points and increase the tension around Ashburton Grove.

It's better to analyze this game goal by goal, instead of mashing up the 90 minutes and missing out on a few moments. Aargh, here we go,

CITY 1-0 ARSENAL: What's irritating about this goal is that it came from a corner that wasn't a corner at all. Even so, when Demichielis flicked it on to the path of Aguero, Laurent really should've done better. Brilliant finish from Aguero nonetheless, and City arguably deserved to draw first blood, even though the best chance of the game had fallen to us through a miscued Jack volley.

CITY 1-1 ARSENAL: Something we badly needed, and something that was arguably gifted to us. Rambo stole the ball of Yaya Toure and fed a perfect ball to Ozil. It seemed for a moment that Mesut had wasted the chance by delaying to put a ball in, but he eventually found Walcott perfectly, who hit a first time strike past Pantilimon.

We really should've carried on from there. True, it was against the run of play, and City were imposing their authority. But isn't that what title winning teams do, get results by hook or by crook?

CITY 2-1 ARSENAL: After Negredo had curled wide after he was clean through, he made up for it just 5 minutes later, coolly slotting home a cross from Zabaleta. I was actually watching Zabaleta make that run and was practically yelling at Flamini to cover him. He didn't, Toure found him, and he played a simple enough ball for Negredo to restore their lead. Painful, but deserving.

CITY 3-1 ARSENAL: The goal that practically killed off the game for me. I was positively fuming when Ozil played a lazy pass on to the path of Flamini. When you're near the corner flag and under the pressure, just clear the ball, for Pete's sake!

Fernandinho picked it up and generously took the opportunity handed by us to bend it into the net. The goal looked fantastic, but in my opinion it was just too easy for him. We forget how talented footballers actually are until we see our talented defenders give them that much space. That goal was a clear example of how ruthless they could be if we allowed them that freedom, something we failed to pick up on.

CITY 3-2 ARSENAL: A good goal from Walcott, but we never would've got that goal had City not been so distracted defensively like we were throughout the game. Prior to the goal, Olivier Giroud had missed three presentable chances to take us to that fighting position, three misses which could've earned us a draw had Ollie not been so wasteful. While the need for another striker is becoming more and more obvious throughout each passing game, you can't really relate that with Giroud missing a free header and bottling a crossing opportunity.

CITY 4-2 ARSENAL: It was coming, really. After we got some hope through that Theo goal, they totally went at us, finding openings everywhere. We actually could've capitalized on that situation, possibly bringing Rosicky on and trying to hit them on the break. Jack was having a shocker, and his gesture towards the City fans didn't help either.

He left Nacho Monreal horribly exposed from time to time, which was a major factor in us conceding that goal. I think it was Navas who so easily got past Monreal and crossed it to Silva, who rocketed it in the roof. Vermaelen - who came on after Koscielny got stretchered off - really should've done better there, especially because David Silva was the only person in that danger zone.

It was another indicator of how little we seemed to care about what was going on around us. Everyone on that pitch was lazy, jaded and barely had any commitment to draw level, bar Theo and Ramsey.

CITY 5-2 ARSENAL: After a Wilshere piledriver was tipped over the bar by Pantilimon, Wenger inexplicably brought on Bendtner and Gnabry to make way for Giroud and Flamini. Yes, Giroud was having a bad game, but did anyone really think that Bendtner would be any better? We had Santi Cazorla and Tomas Rosicky on the bench, yet he decided to get on Gnabry and Bendtner?! It was almost like he gave up.

Rather, I think he should've got Wilshere and Ramsey off to make way for Santi and Bendtner. With Ozil and Flamini in the center and Santi and Theo on the wings, we could've played Bendtner and Giroud up front and adopted a 4-4-2 system. I like the 4-4-2 because the two strikers in this formation can pull the center backs and create space, and in addition, Bendtner performs better when he has a support striker.

I have no clue what was the basis in Wenger's tactics there. All I know is right there he admitted defeat when I still believe that the game wasn't out of reach. While our defence was horrible, theirs was too. If we regrouped and defended as a unit, not to mention caught them on the break with Walcott's pace, we might've just got something from this game.

Oh, but no. We simply collapsed and gifted them yet another goal. Wilshere gave the ball away to Fernandinho, who played it to Nasri. He was desperate to get a goal against us, which was blindingly obvious, but he squared it to Fernandinho again, who chipped it over Szczesny after some appalling Mertesacker defending.

CITY 5-3 ARSENAL: Another goal that we snatched from a team that had no concentration in defence whatsoever. Sagna crossed it in and Mertesacker fired in a header to restore some pride in the score, at least for the time being.

Honestly, I felt sorry for Mertesacker yesterday. Yes, he wasn't the best defender in that game, but he was constantly trying to do better throughout, urging his teammates to carry on. Truth be told, he didn't deserve to be on the losing end of this one, but it was the other 10 players who failed him.

CITY 6-3 ARSENAL: Just when it can't get any worse, it did. Szczesny brought down Milner in the penalty area, and a spot-kick was fairly given. Szczesny got a yellow - which was fortunate - but at that time I don't think I cared. Yaya Toure dispatched the penalty away calmly, to cap off a nightmare for us.

--

The team as a whole seemed distracted, and our newfound trait of defending as a unit was thrown out of the window. I have no idea why this Arsenal side was so disinterested, especially because we had so much incentive going into this match. The players were to blame, the manager was to blame and in the end, a whopping loss was what we deserved.

To cap it all, Ozil refused to applaud the away fans, instead choosing to walk straight down the tunnel. The BFG's reaction said it all there, and it was representative of my reaction too.

Look, I don't care if he's currently the face of Arsenal, I don't care if he's our X-factor or our Joker in the Pack, Ozil simply cannot pull off stunts like that. We've had enough talented players who haven't shown enough commitment and desire on the pitch in the past as it is, just ask Nasri, Arshavin or Adebayor. In this current Arsenal lineup, we have very few players who don't have the required amount of determination for the club. It's frustrating that our one out-and-out world class player, Mesut Ozil, is one of them.

This isn't a knee jerk reaction either. Ever since he has come to Arsenal, I haven't really seen any flair, commitment or desire from him. While it is undeniable that he's having a very good season so far (just look at his statistics!), I've not failed to notice how he gives up on a half-chance, or doesn't chase a loose pass from time to time.

There is a good chance that that may be down to being overplayed, which is why I want Wenger to rest him. In addition, even a player of Ozil's caliber shouldn't be guaranteed a start in the lineup, especially when we have Santi Cazorla and Tomas Rosicky who can perform well in his place. Mertesacker's reaction to Ozil's disgraceful act was apt, and it's time that we - like the BFG - stop turning a blind eye to his falling levels of determination, just because he got here for £42m.

This was a freak result, one mainly caused due to shoddy, uncommitted defending and poor Wenger tactics. However, the title is by no means out of our reach for now, and we need to make sure it stays that way, starting with a top-of-the-table Chelsea clash 8 days later. Of course, we still have to look 'forward' to the Champions League draw tomorrow, which would undoubtedly set the tone for our European hopes.

Time to cool down our heads for 9 days, and then focus on a daunting Chelsea task. Until then, keep the faith.

-Santi (Follow me on twitter: @ArsenalBlogz )

My worries on Mesut Ozil and Aaron Ramsey

Remember the time we were singing praises of our dream midfield, which had creativity in Cazorla and Ozil, the flair of Jack and Rosicky, the steel of Flamini and Arteta and the goals from Aaron Ramsey? That was undoubtedly highlighted by Ozil's superb start to life at North London, Flamini's surprising run of form and of course, Ramsey scoring goal after goal in almost every match. After a couple of weeks in October, we had every right to call our midfield as one of the best in Europe.

Fast forward to today, and I don't know about you, but doubts are certainly beginning to emerge in my mind about this midfield. While Arteta has covered up the absence of Flamini aptly, the much awaited partnership of Ozil and Santi Cazorla isn't working out as well as one might've hoped. Wilshere has succumbed to injury once more, and Ramsey seems like a hardworking but average midfielder in the games that he fails to score. Add to that a Mesut Ozil who's performances are degrading with each "passing" game, and you've certainly got a flawed midfield.

I don't think that players like Arteta, Flamini and Rosicky are ever going to deliver half-hearted or underwhelming performances for the club. Sure, everyone has their bad days, but they're too experienced and passionate for the club to cause blunders or whoppers. Wilshere might be a bit disappointing at times, but since he's recovering from injury and has a lot to learn, I guess I could cut him some slack. However, I have had worries about Ramsey throughout his goalscoring streak, and quite recently, I have also developed some concerns on Mesut Ozil.

The loss of our wingers meant that Ramsey was constantly played on the right flank, lately against Manchester United. And while this understandably meant that his performances dropped, I always had a feeling that his performances were pretty average throughout this month. It was always the goals that covered that up, and when you view these goals, most of them are a result of selfish and solo play.

Average might be a strong word to call Ramsey. He can be called decent, but no more than that. The goals that he scored against Swansea, Norwich and Liverpool were most notably goals that had a certain amount of selfishness in them. Don't get me wrong - sometimes you need to take matters in your own hands, but Ramsey is hogging up the goals rather than looking for better options. He's a midfielder, not a striker.

Examples of his solo play could be seen when he gave the ball away on the edge of the box against Dortmund for their first goal at the Emirates, when he ludicrously shot from long range at Old Trafford, and when he tried a pretty weird strike against Chelsea. People say that Ramsey is the best in the Premier League at the moment, but when you take away his goals, what do you get?

Ramsey is a good player, but he's not a great one, and the fans are putting an unfair burden on him to score. At some point he himself seems to be putting pressure on himself to score a goal in every game, which is really not necessary. People comparing him to Cesc Fabregas could not be more wrong - Ramsey always shoots when he wants. Fabregas looks for the best option possible and performs that, whether shoot or pass. The only player who's closest to replace Cesc at Arsenal is one Mesut Ozil.

Which brings me to Ozil's dip in form. I couldn't help but notice how he constantly kept playing back passes and safe passes to his teammates, in recent games. After his brilliant start, he seems to have faded away from the game to the point of almost being invisible at times. And it's not like he's being played out of position like Aaron. Ozil has being playing almost every match in the central attacking role, but currently not living up to the £42m transfer fee.

Maybe that's the problem. The fact that Arsene is overplaying him even when he's sick suggests that the rigours of the league might be getting to him. And while that may be the case, I think that his dip in form is down to his teammates, and not him.

The absence of Theo Walcott, Lukas Podolski and Oxlade-Chamberlain means that our team has had to adjust a lot and play in different positions. I'm constantly noticing a lack of movement in the final third, which would make Ozil difficult to find a man. I know that Ozil has really good vision, but shouldn't we give him something to see?

In my opinion, when our injured trio of wingers return, there will be more fresh legs in the team. Which means that our team won't be as tired as they were before, and that there will be no problems in positioning and movement. Ramsey will get his preferred position, and Ozil will find Walcott running in promising positions. Maybe the return of Walcott and Podolski will instigate that.

Maybe.

-Santi (Follow me on twitter: @ArsenalBlogz )

Arsenal 2-0 Napoli: A pleasant surprise

So, we are top of the Group of Death (heh) by convincingly beating Napoli by 2 goals to nil, courtesy of strikes from Mesut Ozil and Olivier Giroud, in what was one of the finest performances that I've seen from this side.

Few would have predicted that Arsenal would waltz through a side which had so much class and recently defeated last season's runner-ups Borussia Dortmund. I myself was inclining towards a draw, because I knew that even though they were without Higuain, Napoli would still be a tough side to beat. I was also a bit worried that our inconsistent defence might be a reason for the sharing of the points. However, the quality Arsenal showed to outclass and dispatch a team of Napoli's caliber left me stunned at how I underestimated this Arsenal side.

The walkover began at 8 minutes through one of the finest Arsenal goals I have seen this season. Giroud, who had a cracker of a match, held the ball brilliantly and flicked it to the onrushing Aaron Ramsey, who found himself in a great crossing position. I never really thought that Ramsey could cut back such a perfect pass on to the path of Mesut Ozil, but his pass was gorgeous, and left Ozil to slam the ball home from just outside the box for his first Arsenal goal.

The goal was - there is no other word for it - perfect. It displayed some classy Arsenal passing, at the end of which was a fine finish from a world class player. The passing in particular was what I liked the most about the goal, which was direct and purposeful instead of tippy tappy and vapid. It was the perfect way to impose your authority on the game, an early goal at the end of a well-worked move to silence the away fans.

Before Napoli could regroup and get back into the game, the Gunners struck again, this time through Olivier Giroud. Some good pressure from Arsenal resulted in Giroud having the ball near the corner flag. Once again, he held the ball brilliantly to play it to Ozil, and as Ozil ran to the by-line with the ball, Ollie continued his run and finished off the move with a good strike, and finished off the game. I feel Giroud did deserve a goal for his all-round display, but heck, every Arsenal player played to the level of deserving a goal.

After the loss to Aston Villa, Arsenal have won 10 consecutive games which has led almost everyone to believe that the opening day defeat was nothing more than a blip. Pardon me to intervene, but the loss against Villa was well deserved, especially when it was at home and against a relegation threatened team, not to mention that we had almost our full strength squad out there. Since that defeat, I have always been critical of our defence, who looked nervy throughout the consecutive victories.

In the game against Swansea though, this team's defence seemed to have turned a corner. And against Napoli, the team's defence was as assured as it could be. We restricted a quality team to only one shot on target, which wasn't even remotely threatening to Wojciech Szczesny. The back four of Sagna, Mertesacker, Koscielny and Gibbs are slowly becoming a rock-solid defensive unit, and the fact that a reliable defender like Gibbs is said to be the weak link in the team's defence clearly demonstrates how reliable this unit has become. If we maintain this sort of a defence, a trophy this season is all but guaranteed.

It was not just the back four though. Mathieu Flamini was once again at his best, all over the pitch making slide challenges and shouting commands. He was exactly what was required in the team, and kudos to Wenger for signing him when everyone else doubted and ridiculed his signing. If you ask me, he's going to be one of the signings of the season at this rate, and he is the player who deserves the captain's armband in the team.

I'm secretly glad that Ramsey's goalscoring streak has ended, because I wanted some of the pressure to get off him. In this game in particular, he was selfishly trying to get a goal for himself. That is not what you want from a midfielder, and while I enjoyed his goalscoring run to shut all the critics, it's good that the expectation on him to score regularly has lessened, so that he can focus more on the other aspects of his game.

All in all, it was a cracking performance from a team that seem to have gone on another level today, by facing a top team in Europe and making them look like kittens. Next up, we face West Bromwich Albion on Sunday at the Hawthorns, which will give plenty of time for the players to recharge their batteries. Fingers crossed that we can make it 13 away wins in a row.

Enjoy the day, Gooners, just like we enjoy watching the team we love.

-Santi (Follow me on twitter: @ArsenalBlogz )

Great time to be a Gooner, eh?

With Chelsea, United, City and the Spuds slipping up, it was vital that we took advantage of the situation.

And take we did. Arsenal, en route to defeating a tricky Swansea side, have capitalized on their rivals' slip-ups, won 12 consecutive games on the trot, and of course, gone 2 whole points clear at the top. With 9 consecutive victories, we Gooners have every reason to be overjoyed. However, the best part of this extraordinary turn of events is how much we had to wait for this moment to finally arrive.

Since the making of the Emirates Stadium, the club were forced to qualify every year for the Champions League and sell their top players regularly only for the profits, all to clear the stadium debt. We needed factors like hardwork, determination and also a bit of luck (don't forget "mental strength" :P) to see us limp to the top 4 places, especially in the last 2 years. While Arsene Wenger is criticized a lot by pundits, and sometimes by his own fans, we have to give credit to the man who kept us among the big clubs and with a great reputation even with all the drama happening off the field. It was absolutely necessary that we remained financially stable until we finally had the money to compete for major honours.

It was a long wait, but know it seems that the wait is finally over. In my opinion, it was not just the signing of Mesut Ozil that has made us feel that this year could be our year. Arsenal FC currently possess the passing style of Barcelona and the self-sufficient financial model of Bayern Munich. We have a fantastic stadium whose atmosphere rivals that of the Santiago Bernabéu, and we seem to be pretty close to paying of its debt. Deals struck with the Emirates and Puma, not to mention constant qualification for the Champions League means that this club is raking in money. Signing Ozil has put a gloss on what already was one of the best midfields of the country. With Aaron Ramsey in superb form, Wilshere and Rosicky giving their heart and soul for the club and Mathieu Flamini pleasantly surprising me with his Vieria-esque traits, putting Ozil to that list makes me say that this team has one of the best midfields in Europe. Oh, and Santi Cazorla is yet to shine his magic for the club.

Whats more, we're currently on the top of what I consider to be the best football league of the world. The feeling of extreme ecstasy is doubled by the fact that clubs like Manchester City and Chelsea are stuttering in the Premier League, despite having sugar daddies pumping in billions from above. The talk of finally ending our long awaited trophy drought has been on the tip of the tongue of every Gooner, and while I certainly agree that the chances of us winning it are higher than before, pardon me for wanting to intervene and bring a bit of a reality check to all Gooners around.

Arsene Wenger has had an unsuccessful summer. He hasn't fulfilled the primary priority of bringing in a world-class striker, which has left us only with Olivier Giroud. While Giroud's movement, control, hold up play and finishing has increased markedly, people forget that he is still far from the class of Robin van Persie. Is Giroud the kind of guy who would change the face of the game with one swing of his foot? Is he the player the others will turn to when their team is in trouble? While van Persie has been jeered by every Arsenal fan in recent times for being 8 points below us, we all know deep down that we would be lethal in the Barclays PL with him as our tailsman and Giroud as a support striker.

The fact that we enter the first half of the season with only 3 center backs is ridiculous. I'm not even asking for a Thiago Silva to be transferred to the club, but wouldn't promising players like Miquel help fill up the boots? He would get some first team experience and also provide depth in an injury crisis. 2 injuries and we have to shift a reliable and loyal right back to the center back position, or possibly use Flamini over there in the near future.

Having such a thin squad is practically asking for injuries to be a factor in hampering our season. While we are well stocked in the midfield area, this team is light in areas of defense and attack. It would be frustrating if the lack of transfers done in the transfer window would be a factor in our downfall, especially after having the financial muscle and the time to bring in the cavalry.

I'm not saying that this season is destined for disaster. I'm just saying that Arsenal fans are expecting too much of the thin squad that we currently possess. I feel that it would be wise to see where the club is around Christmas and then start to gloat. I secretly am a bit scared that the depth of our squad and our nervy defence might be a factor to destroy what looks like a promising season.

Bar the latest game against Swansea, we don't even have the most rock-solid defence in the country either. While the early games have been against relatively easy opposition where we could outscore the opposition, I'm unsure how we will perform against the big guns.

Which is why today's game against Napoli is going to be an interesting matchup. It will show how much this Arsenal side has grown, and how they can cope with much tougher opposition than the likes of Stoke and Sunderland. Be back tomorrow with a match analysis.

Come on Arsenal.

-Santi (Follow me on twitter: @ArsenalBlogz