A few hours before Arsenal were due to play Napoli in the Champions League some of you may remember that I suggested that with Arsenal having so many consecutive games in midweek that Mesut Ozil was very much at risk of suffering a burnout if Wenger overplayed him; this coming after his exhausted performance against Swansea.
On that Tuesday, Arsenal’s game was touted as a very even game which would bring out the best of both sides. It was thought by many that, although Arsenal were on a fantastic run of form that the might of Napoli, including former Arsenal target Gonzalo Higuain, had more than enough potential to very abruptly end it all for Arsenal.
However, Arsenal didn’t let Napoli into the game and tore into them right from the word go. Napoli made the fatal error of not pressing Arsenal at all in their own half and waiting until Arsenal started to attack before they closed them down. This may work in Serie A but against Premier League teams it is a way of writing your very own suicide note. Arsenal’s back four plus Flamini as well as Arteta, Ramsey and Rosicky when they dropped back had all the time in the world to decide what pass to make and gave them the same amount of time to let the players further up the pitch make runs. Furthermore, Napoli couldn’t capitalise on any mistakes made by said players, who would also be able to conserve energy in their own half.
This meant that when Arsenal did move into the Napoli half they were able to do so with scintillating pace. One man who made the most of this was a certain Mesut Ozil; who scored a truly fantastic goal to give Arsenal the lead. Aaron Ramsey controlled Giroud’s beautifully held up ball to cut the ball back across the edge of the area (instead of taking the simple option) where Ozil volleyed the ball with the inside of the boot in unique fashion. It reminded me of Toni Kroos’s goal against the Gunners in February this year; perhaps it’s a German thing.
Arsenal played Napoli off the park and at the heart of it all was Arsenal’s £42.4Million man. He played with the intensity we are used to seeing him play with and combined the intensity and deadliness with all of the beautiful touches he is capable of. Clearly, he is not someone who does that one incredible thing every match (which he appeared to be against Swansea; although it’s unfair to judge on one match), he is someone who does something incredible multiple times every game. He is very much the player to inspire Arsenal to glory and if Arsenal continue to build on this with more signings of his calibre who wouldn’t bet against Arsenal bringing back the early days of Wenger with some domestic dominance? And maybe, just maybe he’ll inspire Arsenal to some European dominance after all these years waiting for it too.
There’s no question that his teammates have been uplifted by his presence as well. Ramsey had begun his superb run before Ozil arrived, but the signing has propelled the Welshman to a whole new level. In recent years Arsenal have been too scared to shoot but Ozil’s arrival seems to be encouraging them to let rip every so often, instead of aimlessly passing the ball around the final third without actually making use of their quality in the final third.
Arsenal still have a few players to return from injury and if Cazorla, Ozil and Walcott combine to full effect then there could be devastating consequences. Walcott has always had the ability to score and someone with Ozil’s vision could really allow his finishing potential to be reached.
And let’s not forget about Olivier Giroud. The Frenchman’s runs were keeping defenders up at night weeks before Ozil arrived, but yet again, Ozil’s combination with Giroud could allow the German’s assist tally and the Frenchman’s goal tally to reach sensational heights.
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