Özil Haters Should Be Fired Into The Sun - Match Report

Match Review: Arsenal 2 Everton 0 - Premier League 01.03.15

Beating Everton was hugely important for us. Not only from the perspective of reacting to our Champions League humiliation, but also with regards to the race for the top four. United’s win had taken them back above us, while Southampton’s defeat presented an opportunity for us to put daylight between us and them. Those results coupled with Liverpool’s defeat of City meant that we could afford nothing but three points against the Toffees.

Despite our mauling at the hands of Monaco, there were only two changes from that game. Chamberlain replaced Welbeck on the right, while Per Mertesacker has joined Szczesny in being dropped due to a poor performance, with Gabriel coming in. I was slightly surprised as Wenger usually backs players through adversity, but maybe he feels that the BFG needs a spell on the sidelines to refocus and reinvigorate him. After all, we know how good he can be and we’re a much better team with an in form Mertesacker in the heart of defence.

Perhaps understandably, the team started in nervy fashion. Everton kept the ball for large swathes of the first 25 minutes and we seemed tentative and unsure when going to close down. There was a definite focus on keeping our shape, an ability that deserted us against Monaco. When we did have the ball though, we were slow and ponderous. The movement was poor and you could sense the frustration growing in the crowd. Frustration turned to panic for a brief moment, when Gabriel let a long ball bounce and was robbed by Lukaku. Fortunately for Gabriel, Ospina was quickly out to first bat the ball away from the striker and then produce an excellent sliding tackle to get the ball out of play.

Despite the scare, the nerves were calmed just before half time. Özil’s corner was missed by Gabriel before Giroud, who endured a horrible game against Monaco, swept in brilliantly with his right foot. Giroud has definitely got a reputation as a confidence player and after his Champions League horror show, it’ll be a huge relief for him to have netted in his very next game. His form bar the Monaco game has been scintillating, so this goal will have done a lot to repair any of the confidence he lost.

We played better in the second half, although the build up was still a little slow and Ospina was called on a number of times to save us when we lapsed defensively. I don’t think it could be disputed that we were the better team; despite Everton’s possession, they were fairly uninventive with it. I was unimpressed with Martinez’s side, they were slow and boring to watch, prioritising careful short passing above attacking intent. It’s now wonder they are where they are in the table and that the fans are becoming ever more disgruntled.

Eventually, Everton had to start pushing forward and inevitably gave us a chance to counter attack. Ospina started it by quickly gathering and launching the ball down field. Giroud headed on for Özil, who took it forward before cutting back an unbelievable pass to Rosicky. The veteran midfielder’s shot took a deflection and looped in, sealing the points for us. It wasn’t pretty but we got the job done.

It wasn’t an enjoyable match really. Everton didn’t play very attractive football and we looked like a side that had taken a knock in confidence. But following the Monaco disaster, just getting the win was all that was needed and I think, all things considered, the team have done well to bounce back from such a disappointment. It should help restore confidence ahead of a tough trip to QPR and then a huge FA Cup Quarter Final at Old Trafford. The coming weeks will go a long way to deciding how our season will pan out, lets hope the squad are up for the fight.

Teams

Arsenal (4-2-3-1)
Ospina, Bellerin, Gabriel, Koscielny (Y), Gibbs, Coquelin (Chambers 89’), Cazorla, Alexis (Welbeck 87’), Özil, Chamberlain (Rosicky 87’), Giroud (Y)
Subs
Szczesny, Chambers, Mertesacker, Monreal, Walcott, Welbeck, Rosicky

Everton (4-5-1)
Howard, Coleman, Jagielka, Stones, Garbutt, Barry (Gibson 84’), McCarthy, Besic (Naismith 77’), Barkley, Mirallas (Lennon 62’), Lukaku
Subs
Robles, Gibson, Kone, Naismith, Osman, Lennon, Alcaraz

Player Ratings

Ospina - 8/10 - Produced a number of really important saves to keep a clean sheet
Bellerin - 7/10 - Much improved from Wednesday night, has huge potential
Gabriel - 7/10 - Moments of madness and then moments of genius, but a promising debut
Koscielny - 7/10 - Looks a little less composed without Mertesacker, but did well overall
Gibbs - 6/10 - Not convinced by his form and I’d expect Monreal to return soon
Coquelin - 8/10 - He’s been a revelation and could prove vital to the end of our season
Cazorla - 7/10 - Stepped up and played a lot better than on Wednesday
Alexis - 7/10 - Looks like he’s trying too hard and could maybe use a break
Özil - 8/10 - If you don’t rate this magician, you should be fired into the sun in my opinion…
Chamberlain - 7/10 - Got into good positions, but lacked composure and an end product
Giroud - 7/10 - Great to see him bounce back with a really well taken goal
Subs
Rosicky - 8/10 - Hope to see him start against QPR because he’ll ruin them
Welbeck - N/A
Chambers - N/A

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