How good does it feel to come away with a 3-0 win against a top Premier League team?! The main thing that we need to improve from last season is our results against the top teams, having been on the wrong end of some severe drubbings last season. On that front, this latest result is undoubtedly a step in the right direction and that, for me, is more important than the fact that we picked up our second piece of silverware in 3 months.
While beating any Man City team is no mean feat, there is no doubt that they were missing several top players, including Aguero, Kompany and Fernandinho, among others. What had a bigger impact though, was that Man City didn't look at all interested! It's difficult to tell if this was due to Toure and Fernando being overrun in the middle of the park (us playing well), or City not being ready.
We continued with the 4-1-4-1 formation that we used in the Emirates Cup and, especially in central midfield, this allowed us to dominate possession. This is particularly impressive given that we were up against Toure and Fernando, two dominant midfielders, and promises much for the season ahead. So 4-1-4-1 has been used all pre-season, with either Arteta or Flamini used as a dedicated holding midfielder and Ramsey and Wilshere playing just ahead of them. This may just be a result of Ozil being unavailable, and when Ozil is back I suspect Wenger may revert to the 4-2-3-1 of last season, with Ozil in advance of a double pivot. However, this only allows one of Wilshere and Ramsey to play in their favoured positions, and I wonder whether Wenger is beginning to see some benefit to playing both Ramsey and Wilshere just in front of a CDM. Both Ramsey and Wilshere offer more bite and aggression than Ozil, and it may be that in games against the big teams, this formation offers more solidity. Perhaps Ozil could play on the left, as he did in Germany's successful World Cup campaign, with Alexis right and Giroud/Sanogo up front. Or Ozil left, Walcott right and Alexis up front? We certainly seem to have lots of options, and that's without mention of Cazorla, Podolski, Rosicky, the Ox, Gnabry, Campbell...
Back to the game against Man City:
I was impressed by Debuchy; he looked worthy of being Sagna's replacement. Perhaps he doesn't quite have the same defensive awareness and pace, but he is very strong in the air, loves a defensive battle and, in the first half, showed that he is more composed than Sagna going forward, delivering several dangerous crosses. Composure was a common theme among several players, exemplified by both Cazorla and Ramsey's finishes. Ramsey looked strong throughout, picking up from where he left off last season.
Chambers also impressed me again. Initially I assumed that Chambers was just a signing for the future, but in every pre-season game he has shown himself to be ready to compete at the top level. This game was no different as he looked confident and at home playing against last year's Premier League winners. What really stands out for me is that, so far, the boy doesn't seem to have any weaknesses! He seems calm and unflustered in possession, with sharp and precise passing. He's quite quick, strong and athletic, strong in the air, and good positionally, maintaining concentration for 90 minutes. He often read the game well, stepping up to intercept and cut out danger. Only once did I notice him get drawn out of position and then exposed by Dzeko. A thoroughly outstanding start to his Arsenal career. Monreal, however, was a different story. He and Chambers played the entire second half together, but I'm yet to be convinced that they can be a successful centre-half pairing. More on that tomorrow...
I thought Alexis had an interesting game. There's no doubt that he's exciting to watch, and he always gives the impression that he can make things happen; I've no doubt that he'll be a stunning player for us this season. I felt in this game that he seemed to be trying out different ideas, but in doing so seemed to lack some conviction in his decision making. I think that he's been given more freedom than he's been used to at Barcelona, and so you could see him flitting between several roles: running at defenders, looking for final balls to play team-mates in on goal, getting to the by-line to put crosses in, being involved in deeper build-up play etc. I thought he was most effective when playing passes forward for the front-man to hold up, and then sprinting past the defence to collect the return pass and be through on goal. There was one moment in particular where he ended up through on goal - the keeper was out quickly to make the save, but the move seemed to bypass the Man City defence entirely! I think that, given time, Alexis will get a feel for how his abilities complement those of the rest of the team in the most effective way. He will then be able to gain a confidence and conviction in his decision making that will terrify opposition defenders.
Finally, I felt this game provided further fuel for the Sanogo vs. Giroud debate. Giroud's goal was stunning, and I feel that he provides a more physical and direct threat to goal than Sanogo. Sanogo, however, seemed more involved in effective build-up play, playing sharp one-two's with Alexis, and being involved in both Cazorla and Ramsey's goals. Sanogo also offers more pace and is therefore more likely to get played in on goal, yet his finishing lacks some composure. It will be exciting to see how this competition develops as the season begins, but we can at least be happy that we are in a better situation for strikers than we were last season, with Sanogo coming on in leaps and bounds.
Photo: Taken from www.theguardian.com
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