Tag Archives: Mesut Özil

10 Reasons why we will beat Marsellie+ starting XI

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1.. Chesney, another clean sheet on Saturday. He has now only let in 1 goal in his last 5 games.

2.. Seems pointless picking out the defenders for individual praise now, they are all working very well as a unit and would make George Graham proud with the offside trap. All that is missing is them putting their hands up and clapping the Ref and Lino once the right call has been made.

3.. Flamini is available, I just hope Wenger doesn’t make the mistake of playing him and Arteta. It Doesn’t work, much the same as chicken with cheese doesn’t work.

4.. Wilshere, whilst it was good to see him get a full 90mins in on Saturday he still doesn’t look totally match fit and at his best.

5.. Theo, wasn’t really upto much in his short cameo appearance on Saturday Vs his boyhood team. I’d like to see him start and make more of an impression this game.

6.. Ozil lots of people have been having a moan up saying he has been quiet lately, but hes working hard, covering plenty of ground and this is the kind of game he will shine in.

7.. Ramsey, by far our best player this season and even if he gets pushed wide by Wenger he puts in a shift, his back flick which hit the post Vs Southampton was a touch of pure class. With Theo back let’s hope he get’s put in his best position, down the middle.

8.. Marseille domestically are doing okay, but just okay. Winning 7 out of 14 games so far but drawing 3 and losing 4, With a goal diff of plus 7. That leaves them 10 points off the pace of current leaders PSG. in the Champions League group they are the whipping boys managing to lose all 4 games so far.

9.. Giroud, I’m so happy he got a poachers kind of goal at the weekend and as for his head/eyes/body/foot fake for the penalty, well just pure class.

10.. Wenger KNows, a win could put us into the next round, lose and we could face a tricky last game away.

Likely starting XI – Cheseny, Sagna. BFG, Kos, Gibbs, Arteta, Ramsey, Santi, Ozil, Theo, Giroud

COME ON THE ARSENAL !!!!

CL

Mesut Ozil and Theo Walcott – Partnership made in heaven

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Theo Walcott is set to make his Arsenal return against Southampton for Arsenal this Saturday after being out for 2 months with a stomach injury. Since he picked up his injury, Arsenal have missed his pace and direction. His return from injury will change the way Arsenal perform, and he will add another dimension to our attacking formation. Adding the pace and width to change a game.

Mesut Ozil and Theo Walcott have played twice together since the German joined the club. In the 1st game, away to Sunderland, Ozil put Walcott through a couple of times, with the German’s vision and Englishman’s pace combining well. Only some good goal keeping stopped Theo getting a couple of goals. In their second game together, against Marseille, Walcott got his only goal this season.

It was that first game against Sunderland where we really saw what the partnership of Theo Walcott and Mesut Ozil could do. With opponent’s being naturally drawn to Mesut Ozil, it gives Walcott bundles of space on the right hand side. With Ozil’s vision and passing ability, he will be able to pick out Walcott for fun. He was put in by Ozil 3 times against Sunderland. He might not have scored, but after 21 goals last season, we know he can finish. It will only be a matter of time until the back of the net starts rippling.

To say the partnership could be similar to the Thierry Henry / Dennis Bergkamp partnership of the early 00s would be ludicrous. It is more similar to that of Nicolas Anelka / Dennis Bergkamp. Bergkamp once said that Anelka was a dream to play with, as his runs were simple and he made it easy for Bergkamp to find. On the other hand, Bergkamp allowed Anelka to play simply. Make the run and the ball will arrive, used to be the mentality.

The Ozil / Walcott partnership will be similar. All Theo has to do is make the run, and the ball will find him. People claim Walcott does not have a football brain. I find this insulting to a professional football. But if it were true, he does not need one with Ozil in the side. All he has to do is run in a straight line, Ozil will do the rest.

Ozil and Walcott have only played twice together. Ozil, Cazorla and Walcott have yet to play together. This becomes even more mouth watering. As now you do not just have Ozil or Cazorla having the ability to find Walcott, you now have Ozil and Cazorla. Arsenal’s play will be very simple. Play around in the middle and on the left, drag the defenders over, then a quick through ball between full back and centre back and Walcott will be away. The 3 behind Giroud gives me exciting thoughts!

How Arsenal line up behind these 3 will be interesting. With Arteta & Flamini battling for 1 spot, and Wilshere and Ramsey the other, it does give us options. And we can play a combination of any 2 of the 4 and we will be strong. To think, with players returning from injury, our bench against Southampton could read: Fabianski, Monreal, Vermalean, Flamini, Wilshere, Rosicky & Bendtner. Who said we had no strength in depth?

It is crazy to think that Theo Walcott and Mesut Ozil have only paid twice together this season. It is perhaps testament to how well Arsenal have started that they are still top, despite last seasons second best player (Santi Cazorla being 1st) being out for 2 months. There have been games where Walcott’s pace and width have been missed – WBA away springs to mind – and his return will only make Arsenal stronger.

Whether he starts or is on the bench for the game against Southampton, one thing is for certain, his return makes the Arsenal side better, and the Ozil/Walcott partnership will go from strength to strength.

Keenos

Giroud injury would mean a change of formation for Arsenal

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A lot of talk over the last few weeks would be how would we line up if Olivier Giroud picked up an injury. Like many others, I held my breath as he limped off the pitch last weekend against Sunderland. Whilst Giroud is a brilliant physical specimen – his last 4 seasons he has played 42, 43, 52 & 57 games for club and country – it is inevitable that he will pick up an injury.

Were that to happen, it would potentially cause a catastrophe as we have no top class 2nd choice striker in the squad. An injury prone postman in Yaya Sanogo and Nicklas Bendtner (cnut) are our only two proper striking options in the squad. That is not good enough and it would cause a worry.

Writing a few things down on paper, messing about with players in positions and formations, I have come up with a good possible solution were Oliver Giroud to get an injury. It would see us move from our current 4-2-3-1 formation to a narrower 4-3-2-1 Christmas tree formation.

The defence does not need to be talked about for obvious reasons. As we move through the midfield, it would see us have 3 central players in front of the defence. This would make us a tad bit more defensive, but also allow us to sit deeper. Jack Wilshere & Aaron Ramsey on the left and right of the 3 would be a given. The central would be either Mathieu Flamini or Mikel Arteta, depending on injuries. This would allow Wilshere & Ramsey to cover the full backs when play is down that side, whilst still allow us to have 2 men on the inside.

Ahead of them, we then have a narrow two in behind the striker. No points for guessing who these would be. Mesut Ozil and Santi Cazorla. They would then sit behind Theo Walcott.

This would see us line up:

Szczesny
Sagna Mertesacker Koscielny Gibbs
Ramsey Arteta Wilshere
Cazorla Ozil
Walcott

Whilst the formation is narrow, what it would do is get the best out of all the players on the pitch. There would be no point in playing a wider formation with Walcott upfront. He does not have the height or heading ability were we to whip crosses in. What he would require is through balls. Over the top, or quickly in behind. By playing both Ozil and Cazorla in behind him, he would have plenty of ammunition. Also, with Theo up top and Ozil and Cazorla behind, it would leave the opponents with a quandary with how to defend.

Defend deep, and it leaves Cazorla and Ozil on the edge of the box to fire in shots. Defend high, and it allows Walcott to run in behind.

The 3 man central midfield then allows the front 3 to neglect their defensive duties. We are essentially playing with 7 of the outfield 10 with a defensive mindset. This allows Cazorla, Ozil and Walcott to concentrate on attacks, and allows us to sit deeper. This in turn would mean that Cazorla, Ozil and Walcott would spend more time on the half way line, allowing us to launch quick counter attacks.

With a midfield 3 of Ramsey, Arteta & Wilshere, we can certainly play quick counter attacking football. All 3 are excellent passers. All able to either clip the ball over the top of the opponents defence from deep giving Walcott plenty of space to run into, or play the ball shorter into Ozil or Cazorla to build up an attack.

Yes, playing 4-3-2-1 does mean a narrower style of play, but it should still be a winning style. One that should see us put out a strong enough XI to win most games.

Now does anyone know Arsene Wenger’s email address so I can let him know the plan?

Keenos