Arsene Wenger upbeat as Arsenal set up final-day shootout
Sanchez, of course, with his remarkable workrate, pace and spectacular finishing has always been a home banker in matches like these — and he duly obliged with two well-taken goals — but the emergence of Ozil as a man who earns eight out of 10 in every match is something new that can give Arsenal fans hope their team will not always been as frustratingly inconsistent as they have been this week.
The Gunners went into the match having inexplicably ended their recent Premier League winning run with a frustrating defeat at West Brom and knowing only three points against Zagreb would keep them in the Champions League, having lost the opening two matches of a stuttering campaign.
However, they produced the kind of flowing, fluent attacking display that makes you wonder how on earth those defeats were possible.
This results means Arsenal can still reach the last 16 for the 16th successive season if they go to Olympiacos on December 9 and win by two goals. Three points for the Gunners in Greece would leave the teams level on nine points, but with final placings decided not by goal difference, but by head-to-head, they could also go through with a result that betters Olympiacos’s 3-2 win at the Emirates earlier this season.
It’s a tough task, but one that does not seem impossible after a hugely encouraging night in north London.
“It was a good night for us,” admitted Wenger. “We wanted to come out of the game having a chance. It will be a very interesting game in Olympiacos now.”
Wenger was also quick to pick out Ozil’s contribution.
“I believe Ozil had an outstanding first half. What is interesting now is he is getting the taste to score as well. I have never seen him as many times in the box as he was today, he had two or three other chances and that’s good.”
Certainly you could say things are looking up at the Emirates. The injury to Francis Coquelin last weekend — a knee problem that will keep him out for several months — was a setback, but Aaron Ramsey returned as a second-half substitute against Zagreb, while Alex Oxlade Chamberlain will be available for Saturday’s trip to Norwich and Theo Walcott is only two weeks away from full fitness.
In the meantime, it is down to Sanchez and Ozil to hold the fort. Of course Sanchez will get the headlines he deserves for poaching two more goals, but Ozil’s emergence as a player capable of playing at a high level week-in, week-out, is equally important.
Don’t forget that in the last seven months the German international has been singled out by Thierry Henry, no less, as a player who needed to “step up” his game, was described as “looking slow” and needing to be “more decisive” by Gilberto Silva, was lambasted by Gary Neville for failing to make the impact expected, and accused of drifting out of games by Lothar Matthaus.
However, through it all, Wenger has stuck by his man and now he is reaping the rewards. It was Ozil who scored the all-important goal here that calmed the crowd after 29 minutes and set up a simple win — and it was a beauty.
The move began with a flick from Giroud to Ozil in his own half and ended with Sanchez running 45m before crossing for the midfielder to score his third of the season with a crouching, diving header that fizzed into the left-hand corner of Eduardo’s net.
By the 33rd minute the second had arrived, Monreal winning the ball back on the edge of the area and cutting a pass back for Sanchez to finish with a flourish, and the game was all but over.
Ozil twice had opportunities to extend the lead before half-time and the second 45 minutes was something of a procession before Sanchez raced onto a clever reverse pass from Campbell to score a third.
Sanchez had opportunities to complete a hat-trick while Ozil almost finished off a delightful chip from his teammate with a back-header that summed up his match. It was a performance that should cetainly give Arsenal hope in Greece.
“We know it’s not going to be easy but we’re ready for this kind of game,” said Matthieu Flamini, chosen to take on Coquelin’s defensive midfield role, while defender Hector Bellerin was happy to talk up Arsenal’s chances.
“Everyone had to turn up and they did. Now we’re going to play for our lives against Olympiakos.”
Cech 6; Bellerin 7 (Debuchy 82), Mertesacker 7 Koscielny 7, Monreal 7; Flamini 7, Cazorla 7 (Chambers 82); Campbell 7, Ozil 8, Sanchez 7; Giroud 7 (Ramsey 67).
Eduardo 7; Pinto 7, Sigali 6, Taravel 6, Matel 6; Machado 6 (Coric 84), Santos 6, Antolic 6 (Henriquez 71; 6); Pjaca 6, Fernandes 6 (Soudani 57; 5); Rog 6.
Viktor Kassai (Hungary)
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