Wojciech Szczesny believes Alexis Sanchez will go from strength to strength after netting his first goal in Arsenal colours.
The Chilean’s predatory first half striker against Besiktas strike was enough to seal the Gunners safe passage to the group stages of the Champions League on a tense evening that saw Arsene Wenger’s men reduced to ten men for the second time in the tie.
Speaking Szczesny told UEFA.com, “Alexis’ goal will give him a lot of confidence. It is always hard to adapt when you come to England.
“He is very sharp, very strong and he can play out on the wing and up front. He has been fantastic for us so far and keeps getting better and better so hopefully there will be many more goals to come from him.”
Arsene Wenger was similarly enthused by his summer signing’s all action showing across the pitch going so far to pinpoint the 25-year-old as the star of a team performance.
“Maybe Alexis because he scored the goal but I feel my team was Man of the Match because we fought from the first to the last minute and everybody worked very hard.
“He had a good game, not only on the technical side but on the fighting side. He was mobile, dangerous and has shown as well he has great fighting spirit, qualities that will be very important in the Premier League.”
After dismissing links with the likes of Monaco’s Falcao, Manchester United’s Welbeck and Mordor’s Zigic the boss also underlined his faith in Alexis’ ability to lead the Arsenal attack in the absence of long-term absentee Olivier Giroud.
“For three or four months? He can play there his whole life. I bought him to play as a striker, not to play only on the flanks.”
If it was anybody else Arseblog News might have concerns about an 84-year-old Sanchez leading the line in 2073, but after last night’s Duracell Bunny performance we’re pretty sure he’d still, to quote ‘Arry Redknapp, ‘f*cking run around a bit’ more than Andrei Arshavin ever did.
Alexis up front could work, he was even winning aerial duels yesterday for crying out loud! And he can play with his back to the goal, I think he’s fairly complete.
Ozil needs to play centrally though, he’s wasted on the wing.
And we need more physicality/height in the team, or we’re going to have problems controlling matches and conceding on set pieces.
Ozil infuriates the shit out out of me……..taken the game so easy ever since his move from real. maybe he needs to be made captain, have more responsibility, maybe then will w re-discover the energetic playmaker that once turned up for real
Yeah he should really ‘f*cking run around a bit’.
I think Özil is just going to be one of those players that makes you reassess how you look at a performance.
He looked a bit out of it at times, but was putting in a shift defensively and was a threat whenever we broke.
Then again he could have done none of that and he still would have dinked the ball through the Besiktas box for Jack and Alexis to run onto — assisting the only goal in a tight game.
I don’t know if it’s just me but Mesut played on the left the entire World Cup for Germany and was immense there, in every game. At the same time when Santi arrived at the Emirates he was deployed down the middle where he was our best player going forward, surely he has way more confidence playing in that position ‘cos he enjoys it. Merge that together (Ozil on the left, Cazorla down the middle), we see players who are awesome on the ball who can interchange positions seemlessly and be dangerous either way then it can only make Theo… Read more »
The other point with Özil is that he’s not even been back in training three weeks.
He isn’t going to be 100% yet, and is anything between a week and three weeks behind most of the other guys in the squad in match fitness/sharpness.
The rest of the squad is only just starting to click, so it is not surprising if its a week or 2 more before he is fully up to speed.
It will work in some games and it won’t in others and media opinion will make screeching u-turns each time along the Flop/Star axis.
i think ozil playing on the left is pretty tactical move. Alexis is gonna make much more run of the ball and straight through the middle than giroud ever did, and on the left ozil is much more well placed to slip him through balls as compared to from the middle where there are two centre halves and two defensive midfielders trying to block the very same thing
exactly what I was thinking. Wenger is a genius
“He can play there his whole life”, That’s awesome.
Such confidence from Le Boss. COYG!
When this team clicks…..
Oi! That’s uncalled for! Say what you will but any man who can score 4 goals at Anfield for us doesn’t deserve to have his name dragged through the mud. Arshavin suffered the same problem as Ozil. Players who thrive in the number 10 role then thrust out wide. Of course they can’t defend, they’ve never had to before! If you judge a fish by its ability to climb trees and all that…. True Arshavin didn’t do himself any favours towards the end, but we can’t on the one hand lambast the media for getting on Ozil’s back and at… Read more »
The goal against Barcelona is my tied for my favourite ever (in my lifetime) with Thierry’s at the Bernabeau, I love Arshavin
I love that goal so much. Represents everything great about the Arsenal. We beat possibly the greatest club side of all time at the peak of their powers. Made me so proud.
“Now I am gooner.” That and his Q&A sessions. Andrey what’s it like to score a goal? – Like getting an ice cream Leaving aside that he almost single handedly dragged us back into the champions league the year he joined us, the man is just immensely like able. I just find as football fans we are immensely fickle at times. I can still remember people giving Thierry Henry stick for not getting any headed goals. Now we have a striker who can head goals, he’s not fast enough for our liking. Arshavin could not defend, but it’s like outfitting… Read more »
Remember that goal he planted into the top left corner with pretty much no backlift? Loved that. Reina just watched it go into the net. Very lolz
He was world class. Whenever Cesc was playing Arshavin was 25% better because he had someone he could connect with.
Well, you can as it’s all opinions. In my opinion, Arshavin was being productive way into his, shall we say, less energetic period and that was why he maintained his place in the team, even if he worked that hard in the middle he still would have been taken out of the team when he was. If Ozil drops to that level, which he certanily isn’t, then he will be taken out too. One player being lazy is not the same as anoither being accused of it becauswe of his style and defensive ability, which is what happens with Ozil.… Read more »
So Xabi Alonso is being signed by Bayern, surely there’s only so many spanish holding midfielders with excellent passing skills that would be the answer to arsenal’s prayers one team can have, maybe we should relieve them of a certain Javi Martinez…
Isn’t Martinez crocked for the rest of the year or something?
Martinez is out for 6 months.
Sounds like someone Arsene might buy then.
Alonso’s the same age as Arteta. Wouldn’t solve our near-mid future question at all.
He’s broken. Or were you making a funny?
Wellbeck and Zigic? Santos and Park. Simon Cowell and Piers Morgan.
Chamakh and Denilson
The difference between John Terry lying on the road and a dead badger lying on the road?
Skid marks in front of the badger
And no sign of reversing?
Respect to Sanchez, read he came from an impoverished background, guess Dreams do come true sometimes
When Giroud returns from injury in Jan, then I suspect that we would have lost the need for the specific big man qualities for which Giroud is so loved for. I think we will be settled back to our old style of play with a mobile striker in Alexis/Theo , striker making the runs off the shoulders of opposition centre half. Like in times of Henry, RvP, etc. Just like those times when strikers were actually supposed to score goals, finish half chances, and not fall to their asses with their hands up in the air everytime.
So in other words……..we would have OPTIONS!!!!! Oh the horror
Bonkers Donkers! 🙂
That goal against Barća was pretty nice.
Yep leave arshavin alone. That was Wenger’s fault and he’s doing the same with ozil and podolski.
Dont know why this has been thumbed down so much, our left is a hard place to thrive. Denilson, Carlos Vela, Arshivan, Podolski and now Ozil will tell you how tough it is out there with Gibbs and Nacho bombing down that flank, overlapping like steam-trains.
Sanchez is a beast definitely worth those mills..loving the heap of form santi and Wilshire are picking up suddenly…Fair play to ozil good pass to Sanchez..
I am sympathetic to both Ozil and Arshavin. In a few months Ozil will become as indifferent to Arsenal as Arshavin was. You can see it in his eyes already.
Can’t see it on his social media activity though. The guy can’t wait to upload a pic after winning a match.
I think one can see whatever one wants in his eyes, they are almost enough to hold the solar system.
For me he just comes over as a pretty quiet guy, a little uncomfortable with all of exuberance on (and off) the pitch.
If you look at a lot of the changing room stuff they release, its not that he’s not involved or happy, just a bit out of his depth — although when he’s with Poldi, the feel is a bit more: ‘help me!’
Didn’t Baptiste score four at Anfield too? Look how he ended up
I remember that match well. Jeremy Aliadiere was totally unplayable.
Alexis is indeed a fantastic, and versatile, player. However, that doesn’t mean he’s going to solve all our forward problems on his own. Putting all our eggs in one basket is something we’re rather accustomed to by now, and it generally doesn’t work out too well.
I can only imagine the uproar if we do nothing for the rest of the transfer window, and then get flattened by City in a few weeks, right after the window has closed. The fans would have a meltdown.
I said it at the time, we should have dropped Ozil like a bad habit, and resigned that spanish twat who used to play for us, but now plays for some shit team in west London managed by a cunt.
I think Wilshere will have dislodged Ozil from the team by Xmas.
Ozil lacks heart, fight and character, you can see he easily loses heart, certainly not the type of character you want in your team when the chips are down.
The rest of the boys look like their ready to walk through walls for the club.
He still got an assist mate
It’s “re-signed”.
I make zero apologies for being that guy, for this mistake. It grinds my gears something rotten.
I’d just be resigned to it happening
I’ll get me coat
I imagine you were one of the people saying the same thing about Ramsey…… … how did that work out for you? As for lacking ‘heart, fight and character’, I seem to recall him being an integral part of the team that just won the world cup, seems strange that he would be retained in that team if he lacked the qualities you suggested. The man is class, world class, and to describe him as anything else is just ridiculous. Once Ozil finds an understanding with Alexis and you add the returning theo to that mix with Ramsey et all,… Read more »
Rich, are you Fat Gunner in disguise?
In truth, don’t think Sanchez will have the same problem with the media the Ozil had. Why? Simply: HE RUNS. Even if he does fuck all on the pitch, as long as they see him running, he isn’t a flop.
You absolutely nailed it!
Actually, it’s a common misconception that Ozil doesn’t run. Even when he was considered “lazy” against Bayern he ran more than most:
http://www.101greatgoals.com/blog/lazy-mesut-ozil-was-3rd-in-distance-covered-during-arsenal-0-bayern-munich-2-graphic/
It’s strange how he seems to be present in almost every situation, yet people still think that he doesn’t run a lot. How else is he moving about the pitch, being near Arteta one moment and then all the way down the left or right flank in the next?
His movements and contributions are just so subtle and smooth some just don’t have the capacity to understand them. You don’t see him, then he’s there making the assist. You look for him, he’s on the other side of the ball available in space and playing it through. Jack is on a dribble, he’s available for a 1-2 and drawing cover out of the play.
You nailed it
So Wnger put an end to Welbeck Zigic and Falcao stuff…. But not Remy, right ? If thats so then we are gonna go for him, which I am not too excited about to be honest
I doubt anyone will be throwing parties or parading through the streets of North London over it, myself included, but he would provide some experienced depth in the short term and an adequate complement to Giroud in the long. I really don’t think we can reasonably expect anything more at this point. In fact, I’m not certain we can even expect this, to be honest.
People who slag off Ozil completely misunderstand what his game is about.
I also hate it when people get fixated with ‘positions’ Ozil has just been moved forward into the front 3 instead of the midfield 3. It means he has more licence to roam.
After they lose the ball and after the first pressing phase is the only time arsenal fix formation. Its then they are expected to fall back into a 4-4-2.
bang on. Well said.
Invariably all the Ozil smacking is coming from the same corners that had it in for Rambo. Disappointing.
I beleive there is more to come from Alexis but I don’t want us to be over reliant on him.
Sanogo just isn’t good enough for a number 2 plan B option against certain teams
How can ‘fans’ smack Mesut ? it was his second game since the world cup final. the german lot came back in training two weeks ago.Per was dead at the end of the everton game and mesut who is not know for his defensive qualities and tracking back skills was also dead yesterday passed the hour mark.People seem to have short memory.His game has always been about link up play and assists.it’s like expecting Redondo ( for those who have seen that marvelous player) to tackle. The Boss bought him for assists and link up play.If Alexis Theo, the Ox,… Read more »
Duracell bunny? Haha you must be an Elliott Smith fan news Hound.
People need to get off Ozil’s back in my opinion. I heard someone shout at the game last night that he was “not fit to wear the shirt.” His demeanour is the polar opposite of the traditional plucky British type (if such a thing exists). He is completely even tempered, he doesn’t get stressed and angry, nor does he ever give up. Because of his seemingly languid style this is misinterpreted as ‘not caring’ which I personally find ridiculous. He covers an awful lot of ground on the pitch, and if you look at the chances created in games he… Read more »
People have to realise what he is and what he offers and get behind him. He adds so much quality to our team, and remember that last night was only his second game since the World Cup. He will never, ever be an ultra tenacious, terrier type – but that does NOT make him lazy or uncaring.
Absolutely, Ozil IS CLASS. Anyone that cannot see that is a moron. Give him the forward players Ramsey, Alexis, Theo and he will deliver the assists….. blimey…….
Thought Alexis was very hardworking, full of running and his workrate was immense. Hope Wenger can turn him into a Henry-style mobile striker opposed to Giroud kind of target man striker. As for Ozil, although his starting position is from the left, he should be given license to roam to be the main creator of chances for the team. His defensive work looks better last nite and if Santi can help to cover for him when defending, it should be fine for Ozil to play on the left. All in all, I find yesterday’s a good performance as a unit.… Read more »
well said
Damn, where did all these haters, girl blouses, wet fannies come from?!? Shut the funk up and take the win dammit. We have a 1 in 3 chance of silverware thanks to that “poor” display.
1 in 4…….looking forward to our youngsters bringing home the Capital One Cup
Oil, you are the menier!
Even Ozil. ..
Focus on Özil’s playing, not on the look in his eyes – that’s just flat out ridiculous. He got an assist last night, for crying out loud. People who have actually followed him earlier on in his career know that he’s not the Jack-Wilshere-head-first-into-action kind of guy, but that certainly doesn’t make him useless.
Your name is odd mate…
It’s my attempt of “humour”. Haven’t gotten the hang of it yet, apparently.
Anyone mention John Terry is a cunt yet?
Alexis is not our solution up front. Against most teams in the league, we will face compact lines where frankly Alexis best advantages of mobility and running at defenders will be negated by his central positioning. If he drifts out of the box, we lose presence in the penalty area. That said, Alexis is an X factor for us with his close control, creativity and unpredictability. His work rate is also excellent. As for another striker, we will have to see what the market affords us. I don’t think Wenger will splurge on a mediocre/aging signing like Remy. Nor do… Read more »
All the Ozil hate is mind blowing. I have never heard anything but high praise coming from players and managers that he’s played with and against. That tells me a lot. Even Mourinho, who takes every opportunity to bad mouth anything Arsenal (and is indeed a cunt), has nothing but kind words for him. Madrid was in an uproar over his sale and Ronaldo was none to pleased either. When will people learn that negativity can destroy a player or at least make them want to leave. I am certain that Ozil puts everything he has into every match he… Read more »
Happy for Jack well done son!
Just to be crystal clear. What some reasonable fans want from ozil. More telling contributions. Not more running around or a persoanlity change. Just more of ozil in world cup 2010 and Real mode. Utter quality. For 40mn+ a reasonable request. Recently he isn’t playing very well and it was a wee bit diconcerting in this world cup to see him appear efficient rather than inspirational. My gut feeling is that he is too talented not to start being more regularly inspirational. Mild criticism does not bother me as a fan of the player. Lets stop bullshit extreme observations of… Read more »
Lets be crystal clear. Özil was bought in because of his reputation as an assist machine.
In his second start he provides an assist. It got us into the CL group stages, and give Alexis his first goal.
He isn’t fully match fit yet.
I feel sometimes if Özil isn’t simultaneously: scoring, providing an assist for someone in another match, curing cancer and painting the Mona Lisa, he’ll be seen as not good enough by some people.
Bah.
Ozil isn’t shit or lazy or uncaring people that don’t watch him play think he is because the media say so..