It was a fantastic Monday night performance at the KC stadium from Arsenal and a few key names really turned up to impress.
The game started at a rather slow pace with the Gunners dictating and controlling the ball for the majority of the first half, and an Alexis Sanchez effort following a very nice interchange between he and Ozil was the first of many indications that the team had turned up.
The goal came through a slice of luck, Tom Huddlestone was caught in possession by the pressing Mesut Ozil who played the ball into Alexis Sanchez and the Chilean superstar was brought down for a free kick in an attacking position. The 26 year-old lined up to take the free kick and hit it with a deflection off of Michael Dawson’s head wrong footing Steve Harper as the ball nestled into the back of the net.
The second goal came only five minutes later as Santi Cazorla played a raking 40-yard pass from within his own half into Aaron Ramsey on the edge of the Hull penalty box who controlled, turned and hit the ball which again, took a deflection off of a Hull player as Steve Harper could do nothing about it.
Arsenal completely controlled the game, with possession statistics of 83% in the first 10 minutes and the Gunners killed the game as the third goal came on the stroke of half time. Aaron Ramsey played through a beautifully weighted pass into the on running Alexis who took the ball in his path and around Harper before calmly slotting into the back of the net for his second of the evening.
The second half was slow, Arsene Wenger’s message to the team was clearly to calm down, lower the tempo and control the game, which they did and it was very comfortable for the most part, but in the 56th minute a momentary lapse in concentration by Per Mertesacker allowed Stephen Quinn to escape through the middle of the German and fellow defensive partner Laurent Koscielny as Ahmed Elmohamady crossed perfectly into the box for Quinn to head home.
Arsenal were the superior side throughout and could have scored more, but the job was done in the first half and the manager knew that as long as the team did nothing stupid and relaxed on the ball, it would be three points coming back to the Emirates.
Five things we learned:
Arsenal have developed a clinical nature
We’re used to seeing Arsenal try and walk the ball into the back of the net, we’re used to seeing Arsenal waste chance after chance and end up chasing the game, but not anymore. The Arsenal we’re now seeing is clinical and superb to watch develop into a winning side.
The addition of Alexis Sanchez has now provided Arsene Wenger with a wonderful new asset to play with, the Chilean loves football and always wants the ball, when he has the ball all he wants to do is go and put it into the back of the net.
Even when Giroud is not firing, Arsenal can look elsewhere for people to score goals and Alexis is exactly the type of player you want on the end of the fantastic passing range from the Arsenal midfield.
As well as Alexis, Arsenal have Aaron Ramsey, a great goal scorer (as witnessed time and time again last season), Mesut Ozil is comfortable in front of goal, Santi Cazorla gets a goal now and again as well as people like Theo Walcott and Danny Welbeck who can come off the bench and get a goal, so what we’re seeing at Arsenal now is a number of very good players who aren’t afraid to get in front of goal and score.
The developing partnership between Cazorla and Coquelin is fantastic to watch
The perfect mix of defend and attack is what sums up the partnership between the Spanish dynamite and the French ‘police officer’ as described by Thierry Henry. Santi Cazorla is renowned for his play making abilities and eye of the needle passing, but this season he has developed a balance of being able to defend and attack in very effective fashion.
With Francis Coquelin sat next to him usually operating in the defensive role for the most part of the game, Cazorla has the license to roam around the pitch and can attack from a deep role. The Spaniard is often found playing passes from a deep position, as he did on numerous occasions against Hull on Monday night with the prime example being the unbelievable assist from his own half into Aaron Ramsey.
The bonus factor of Cazorla making the deep play maker role his own is that he is so good at it and when Hull attack, you will never find him too far forward in an attacking position that means he cannot defend effectively or track back if needed, he is usually always in position next to Coquelin ready to cut out any attacks.
As such, Cazorla and Coquelin between them make on average 4 interceptions per game and it was on full display yesterday, with the two marshaling midfield in a way Arsenal fans dreamt about during the sorry nine years without a trophy.
It is still too early to be considered a great midfield partnership, but it is one that is developing and fantastic to watch.
Steve Bruce is in trouble
Hull are struggling, there’s no doubt about it. They’re now a point above Sunderland in 17th place, but the north East side have a game in hand over their relegation rivals. The possible saving grace for Steve Bruce is that the game in hand Sunderland have will be contested against Arsenal at the Emirates stadium.
Hull’s last four games are tough, as well as travelling to the Emirates stadium on Monday night, they face Burnley at the KC stadium next before travelling to White Hart Lane and finishing the season at home to Louis Van Gaal’s Manchester United.
If Steve Bruce hopes to remain in a job with the Tigers, he will need to hope that his side can pick up as many points as possible from the remaining three games, while he will keep a keen eye on the other teams around him. Even that may not be enough to convince owner Assem Allam to keep him on next season.
Jack Wilshere returned and looks sharp
Jack Wilshere made his long awaited return from an ankle injury, being brought on as a substitute for goal scorer Ramsey in the 68th minute. The 23 year-old impressed in his 22 minutes on the pitch and it’s clear to see that he has been working hard on the training ground.
The biggest thing that pundits, supporters and the neutral see when watching Wilshere is his fantastic burst of pace to get away from the defender and he displayed it at the KC with darting runs from the right hand side.
Wilshere returning to his best would be fantastic for Arsenal, he has had an extremely stop-start career thus far and Wenger noted in his post-match press conference that we must be patient with the midfielder if we’re to see him get back to his best.
“I’m not surprised how he [Wilshere] played. I brought him on at 3-1 where it was not obvious. If I had any doubt I would not have brought him on. I said in the press conference on Friday that it’s the first week where he has found his acceleration in training. You could see that tonight.
“We still have to be patient. He has been out for five-and-a-half months.”
Laurent Koscielny is criminally underrated
Despite being the leading man in a good, solid Arsenal defence this season, Koscielny is still underrated amongst football folk. On average per game, according to Squawka, the Frenchman makes more interceptions (3.29) than Vincent Kompany, Jose Fonte, Gary Cahill and John Terry, while making more clearances (6.42) than all but Cahill.
Koscielny also makes less defensive errors than both Cahill and Terry, the two centre backs in the league’s best defence.
Despite being statistically fantastic and appreciated by all who watch Arsenal on a regular basis, Koscielny is still not regarded as within the top two or three defenders in the league.
The 29 year-old is a solid figure in the side, possibly the most consistent player and despite missing 14 games of the season with Achilles and calf injuries has thrust himself into action and made himself a key part in the future success of this Arsenal side.
Koscielny made his 200th appearance for the Gunners against Hull on Monday night and Arsenal fans everywhere will be hoping he makes 200 more.
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