Unai Emery told media on Wednesday what Mesut Ozil must do to get back into the Arsenal team. Fixing this mess is down to just one man: Ozil himself.
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Of all the chants that rang out from the away end during Arsenal's 5-1 thrashing of Fulham, there was one which echoed around Craven Cottage particularly loudly. It was not aimed at any of their goal scorers, nor at Unai Emery, the man overseeing their ninth win in a row from the dugout, but at Lucas Torreira, the little figure scurrying around midfield.
"He comes from Uruguay," it went. "He's only five foot high."
six matches into the Unai Emery era, Alexandre Lacazette sat on the substitutes’ bench watching his teammates stroll through the flaky line of Vorskla Poltava’s defence in the Europa League. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang helped himself to a couple of tasty goals. Danny Welbeck scored too, then Mesut Özil came on to celebrate a feelgood strike.
Meanwhile, Lacazette stayed unused on the bench and sunk deep into his seat looking a little bit envious. All strikers crave goals to fuel confidence and the Frenchman’s start to the season needed a boost. He had one goal from that first six games and had been in the starting XI only twice, so there was a reason to ponder how it was all going to map out for him under Emery.
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Arsenal used to see Mesut Ozil as their central cog, but he has fallen off since then. Is this just who he is now? Is he a support player?
When Arsenal signed Mesut Ozil, the expectations were that he was going to change things. He was the superstar, the man who everything was going to flow through, just like he did, for the most part, for Real Madrid.
It’s safe to say he hasn’t changed everything unless you count ending the debt days as his big change, which he did do, but on the pitch, he has been unreliable. Not bad, and certainly worth it, but not reliable.
Building from the back is showing signs of life. Changes in goal forced or otherwise, and in defensive midfield, have helped Arsenal better keep their shape in recent matches. It must be said, Unai Emery is getting his tactics right.
If you are willing to count Arsenal‘s third from the 5-1 win against Fulham, which began with Hector Bellerin gaining possession on our end line, three of our goals can trace their DNA back to our own penalty area.
All five came from open play, as the majority of our goals, this year have (15 of 19, to be more exact). And we built plenty more chances in front of their goal from the shadow of our own.
Arsenal put in their best performance of the season against Fulham on Sunday. Under Unai Emery, this team is doing something that Arsene Wenger had lost: play good football.
The international break is a damn annoying thing, especially for eager Arsenal fans desperate to see the continued progression of their club as they strive to get back into contention for a major trophy. But we’re back now, and Newcastle United is next up on the to-do list.
On the day that David Rocastle (March 31, 2001) Arsenal Played bitter rivals Tottenham Hotspur at Highbury. Donning 'Rocky's' No 7 shirt that day was a Frenchman who had flattered to deceive in his opening few months as a Gunner. By full-time, though, and with the old enemy once again disposed of, the fans rejoiced in the ‘arrival’ of Robert Pires. The former Metz man showed guts, passion and creativity worthy of Rocastle, duly breaking the deadlock midway through the second half. He never looked back.
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Another relatively unknown arrived at highbury in 1996 alongside Arsene Wenger.
His name was Patrick Vieira and, together with his new manager, the midfielder went on to reshape the complexion of the club, embarking on a journey to two domestic Doubles and a historic unbeaten Premier League campaign.
You could fill a page with a list of the beautiful goals scored by him.
You could fill two pages with a list of the goals that had their genius in his vision. And you could fill a dictionary with a list of superlatives used to describe his 11-year career with Arsenal. Dennis Bergkamp is quite simply a legend of the game.
In the last two decades, many one-time unknowns have left Highbury with a fearsome reputation and much-warranted acclaim. But, in a way, Dennis was an exception; he came, and left, with a world-class calibre.
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