Özil Proves He Can Be Influential On The Left

Match Review - Arsenal 5-0 Aston Villa - Premier League: 01/02/15

Aston Villa have been surviving for a while on being the best of a bad bunch. The last three seasons have seen finishes of 15th, 15th and 16th, flirting with relegation and this current season is doing nothing to buck the trend. In fact, Aston Villa have been so poor that they have scored the least goals of any of the 92 football league teams. So it's no surprise that an Arsenal team that didn't really hit anywhere near their top level trounced the Midlands team with ease.

The big question that surrounded this game, for the media at least, was how we would cope with the absence of Alexis Sanchez. The Chilean missed out on the squad having picked up a slight muscle problem and with the North London derby on the horizon, Arsene Wenger decided not to risk his star man. Chamberlain and Welbeck also missed out on the squad and you'd imagine they'll be touch and go for the weekend, while Jack Wilshere is soon to return to first team training. This meant Özil and Walcott both started, while new signing Gabriel was on the bench. Mertesacker and Bellerin returned to the team having been rested for Brighton away.

It took eight minutes for the Villa defence to be breached. Their back four pushed up into a ridiculously high line, allowing Mesut Özil to take advantage. The assist was absolutely stunning, as the German playmaker flicked the ball first time over Okore with the outside of his left foot. The fact that he was facing the wrong way at the time made the pass even more magical. It was also weighted perfectly, allowing Giroud to sprint clear and despite getting the ball caught up under his feet, the striker managed to adjust and lift the ball over Guzan. A fifth goal in six for Giroud and a first assist for Özil since the 3-0 win at Villa park.

Despite the early goal, the first half wasn't brilliant in terms of quality. Our build up play wasn't at its best and we even gave Villa a big chance to score, with a defensive mix up leading to a brilliant stop by Ospina. Having said that though, we still should have been more than one up at the break, with Cazorla hitting the post and Theo Walcott nearly breaking free. Özil even had the ball in the net, only to see the goal wrongly ruled out for offside.

We let Villa take the initiative at the start of the second half, with Benteke squandering a couple of half decent chances. Villa's new found attacking intent proved to be their downfall though, as Kieran Richardson turned over possession to Theo Walcott and the winger scampered away. Walcott slipped the ball through to Giroud, who in turn fed Mesut Özil and the German swept an exquisite finish just out of Guzan's reach and into the far corner.

Villa failed to learn their lesson and less than ten minutes later they were 3-0 down. The counter attack was started by Ospina, who gathered from a Benteke header and then released Walcott with a fantastic throw. Both Villa centre backs were miles up field and the returning winger exchanged passes with Cazorla, even the return was probably meant for Giroud, before curling a deadly finish past Guzan. The Villa heads dropped and you could sense the game was done.

There was still time, however, for Chuba Akpom to come on and make an impact. The young forward looked hugely promising when he came on, demonstrating speed, strength and also a natural ability to drift and move into dangerous positions. He demonstrated this perfectly when he won the penalty; he drifted off his defender, controlled the ball over the top, beat his man and then drew the foul from Guzan. Santi Cazorla smashed the penalty straight at Guzan, but the keeper only managed to palm the ball into the corner of the net. Cazorla got the goal, but it was mainly down to Akpom's excellent play.

Even then, the action wasn't done, as a neat move was finished off in beautiful fashion by Hector Bellerin. The young right back has seemingly cemented himself as at least the second choice in his position and with Debuchy out for the majority of the season, it seems he'll be first choice for a while. He's progressed hugely since our humbling in Dortmund and his goal was one of serious quality. Cazorla was the provider and Bellerin side footed the ball first time from twenty yards, finding the net off the post. He really is an exciting prospect and with his confidence up, he now has a chance to really nail down his place in the squad.

Aston Villa were one of the poorest sides I've seen at the Emirates this season. It isn't hard to see why they've found goals hard to come by, as their build up play was slow and unimaginative. Benteke was isolated, Weimann hardly touched the ball and Gil was probably their most threatening player. Cleverley completed 39 passes, but only 7 came in our final third, with Delph only making 10 of his 58 overall passes in attacking areas. We really didn't have to be at our best to score five and I'm sure Villa fans will be worried, with only 3 points separating them from the drop zone.

As for us, a trip to White Hart Lane is next. Sp*rs are in good form, are only two points off us in the league and humbled Chelsea at home at the start of the year. I don't look forward to these encounters particularly, especially as our recent form at the Lane is a bit patchy. However, our win there last year may have been the result we needed to break the mental hoodoo that was developing over this fixture. It's vitally important outside of the Derby context too, as we are in a fight with Sp*rs, United, Southampton and maybe even Liverpool for third and fourth spot. It's set up to be a cracker for the neutrals and a vomit inducing roller coaster ride for Arsenal and Sp*rs fans alike.

Teams

Arsenal (4-3-3)
Ospina, Bellerin, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal, Coquelin, Ramsey (Flamini 77'), Cazorla, Walcott (Rosicky 70'), Özil, Giroud (Akpom 70')
Subs
Szczesny, Chambers, Gibbs, Gabriel, Rosicky, Akpom, Flamini

Aston Villa (4-5-1)
Guzan, Hutton, Okore, Clark (Y), Richardson, Sanchez (Westwood 76'), Cleverley (Agbonlahor 66'), Delph, Weimann (Sinclair 66'), Gil (Y), Benteke
Subs
Baker, Bacuna, Sinclair, Westwood, Agbonlahor, Cissokho, Given

Player Ratings

Ospina - 8/10 - Made two very good saves and his distribution was outstanding
Bellerin - 8/10 - Brilliant performance, topped off with a lovely goal
Mertesacker - 7/10 - Hardly troubled
Koscielny - 7/10 - Also hardly troubled
Monreal - 7/10 - Another solid performance, justifying his inclusion over Gibbs
Coquelin - 7/10 - Lost the ball a few times, but his defensive work was excellent again
Ramsey - 7/10 - Still searching for his top form, but seems to be linking well in the midfield three
Cazorla - 8/10 - Thriving in a deeper role, picking up two assist and goal
Özil - 9/10 - Such a privilege to watch, stunning assist and goal, from playing on the left too
Giroud - 8/10 - He's really flourished under the challenge of Welbeck, excellent once again
Subs
Akpom - 7/10 - An impressive cameo, hopefully the start of a great career
Rosicky - 7/10 - His usual busy self
Flamini - N/A

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