A band that drives fans all around the world in ecstasy, with their husky, orgasmic voices sending waves of euphoria and attraction across passionate fans. With pristine beard, long messy hair and a couple of one-direction touches or Justin Bieber modelling body for Calvin Klein–no, that isn’t a new boyband I’m talking about. Its Arsenal’s band of unsung heroes, perhaps better than the Beatles.
Since Arsenal’s resurgence from the start of the year after that horrible, abysmal, shambolic display at St. Mary’s, they went on to win the next 5 games, scoring 15 and conceding 2, with a much reshuffled side against Brighton. Along the way, we’ve seen our grit, resolute, organised defending and potent counter-attack at the Etihad, and the sheer willpower and firemight capability to cope without Alexis to fire 5 past Aston Villa, with 5 different goalscorers.
However, this newfound solidarity and confidence has saw Santi Cazorla, Francis Coquelin, Hector Bellerin stealing the limelight, and laurels. With Mesut Ozil and Theo Walcott also bagging 2 goals in 2 games, the unsung heroes of Arsenal continue going unnoticed. Its time we acknowledge their massive, contribution that shouldn’t and mustn’t be overlooked.
Ever since playing at centre-back in an emergency exercise in defence, Nacho Monreal has really improved leaps and bounds. His newfound taste for the physical side of the game, his reading of the game, both offensively and defensively, has propelled him to be one of the most consistent players in the side. Ask at the start of the season whether Gibbs or Monreal will be the 1st choice left-back. Many would have scorned at the suggestion and just laughed it off. However, now Monreal has displaced Gibbs with conviction, that its unthinkable to drop him at the moment. It’s no coincidence that he plays an imperative role in the 4 clean sheets we’ve kept in the 5 games we’ve won.
Being on the end of the lightning rod for frustration, the Spaniard had to endure a lot of criticism at the start of the season, and very harsh and unfair criticism I thought. Now he has come into the side and has showed us his true potential, after seeking knowledge from the great Dumbledore, who hasn’t appeared in books and movies anymore after witnessing Hermione’s graduation from Hogwarts. Monreal was always blamed for being too soft and poor defensively, but with an added edge physically, he has looked really solid and calm in defence, right now being the adoring player that fans love. His performances, however, have been easily overlooked and under the radar which perhaps goes on to emphasise the form our players are in the moment. It’s no easy feat to come back strongly into the side, but Nacho Monreal has just done it with great conviction, and with such convincing and brilliant performances, Gibbs will he hoping for a crunch on the bench.
Next lead singer up, is Aaron Ramsey. The Welsh has not performed and replicated his stellar and astounding form last season, and has come under some criticism for being obsessed with scoring goals. He did score one against Galatasaray, and a fair one that was too. Easy, no fuss. Aaron Ramsey style. He then suffered another injury, in a campaign hampered by injuries. However, coming back into the side, he has curbed his attacking instincts somewhat, learning when to bombard forward and when to drop, has added valuable discipline to his game.
Forming a very effective and deadly partnership with Coquelin and Cazorla, the Welshman is the pivot between the two, and is instrumental in doing so. Contributing defensively and offensively, back-to-basics will definitely aid Ramsey in gaining some confidence, which will definitely see him regain his confidence. Without the ball, he drops deep and helps establish a solid partnership with Coquelin, snapping with tackles, interceptions, phenomenal stamina and his presence, and attacking with Cazorla, bringing his army of machines filled with petrol to provide the runner from midfield, that will cause problems. He is an important cog in the midfield, which presents them plenty of legs and work rate off the ball, and also unquestionable threat on it, with a brilliant range of passing and intelligence. There’s a brilliant piece from great Arsenal defender Martin Keown, in which he recognised Ramsey as a key component of the Arsenal side that has been overlooked. Aaron Ramsey adds something extra to the Arsenal team that the rest don’t, and deserves credit too for his performances for the team.
The last handsome guitarist, that fights to be the face of the group with Aaron Ramsey, is Olivier Giroud. The striker, since coming back from injury, has bagged an impressive 7 goals and 2 assists from 12 games. This season, he has addressed the concerns of last season over his inability to score in big games, by hitting Man City, Everton, Liverpool and Manutd. What he’s added to this game is cold-blooded composure in front of goal, and being clinical with his chances.
What I have been most impressed by with him is his improved technicality and movement. Giroud’s technical abilities are quite brilliant for a big guy, but this season he has improved it. Some of the takes late on against Man City, where he was an increasing option to play the ball long, (his awareness of using his body well also became better) some of his controls were just plain rude. It was a measure of how much he has improved this season. Furthermore, he has drifted to the flanks more during games, to accommodate players drifting inwards, and this makes him a bigger threat to mark. With greater fluidity and movement, Giroud has elevated his game by another level. It was a weakness too apparent in his game, and he sought to make amends, perhaps with his time out analysing or the pressure of Welbeck, Walcott and Alexis breathing down his neck. The increased movement of Giroud gives us not only the option of using him as a pivot, but now also an added option of playing balls in the space he vacates for the likes of Ozil, Walcott or Cazorla, which then creates an overload in midfield. Giroud’s rise has been very impressive, and is living up to his haircut with some outstanding displays.
The unsung heroes of Arsenal, have performed brilliantly in the resurgence of this side, and definitely will continue to improve. The next stop is One-Direction, to finally overtake crazy records and hit the high limits the squad are capable of achieving. They are better than the Beatles, and probably just look fine with the descriptions at the start. Beard and long hair.
