Arsenal comfortably made it through to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup with a 2-0 win over Middlesbrough this evening.
Here’s how the players rated – in the context of a fairly insipid Boro performance.
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Monday, December 23, 2024
Arsenal comfortably made it through to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup with a 2-0 win over Middlesbrough this evening.
Here’s how the players rated – in the context of a fairly insipid Boro performance.
Mesut Ozil having a tremendous return to the first team and only Santi Cazorla’s simply outrageous form is keeping the headlines off him. Really professional job from the boys today.
Seems like ozil is back to (or close to) his best physically and with the players we have playing infront of him, he is really enjoying playing at the moment. Some might have wondered how he’ll fit back into the team with santi’s form over the last 2 months, but he looks like he’s up for the challenge. Honestly speaking, I cant remember whens the last time Arsenal have such a variety of talents in our squad, the players we have now makes our game so much more dynamic and dangerous. Winning next weekend at palace is going to be… Read more »
So glad the headlines are off Ozil. I believe he hates the spotlight – good or bad. He prefers to put others in the spotlight. That explains why he, atimes, seems to prefer the assist to a goal; emphasis on SEEMS.
The thing that seems to be different about Ozil really is his attitude and effort, he is tracking back on defense so much more, pressing high after we lose the ball and really working the whole field to get on the ball. He and Carzola did a job working off of one another to run the show together.
One of the coolest moments – Karanka beaming after Ozil had gone over and given his shirt to him at the end of the game.
Ozil clearly, but everyone was great.
Özil MOTM for me today. He really enjoyed it and the way he glides around the pitch is one of my favorite things about football at the moment. If only our finishing was a touch more effective and their goal keep didn’t make a few fantastic saves, the score line would have reflected the balance of play. Overall banana well and truly avoided and form regained for that other cup..
I liked how even the commentator couldn’t pick a man of the match because everyone played so well. I think he picked Cazorla who was brilliant.
Mesut Ozil was absolutely fantastic today.
Genuinely can’t wait to watch his individual highlights from this game on youtube. He is unbelievably good at football.
If anyone else is of a like mind: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAIWXM1SxIg
(Hope the link is kosher Blogs)
Dude, awesome link…great video excellent music…Mesut, what can you say?
He was amazing. He defines football to me. Alexis sanchez likes to get down and dirty and is very effective but my oh my, Ozil is just as effective is not far more. He is ridiculous.
It’s hard to argue when Ozil is on form anyone in world football has a better, more creative first touch.
His vision and creativity is astonishing at times. Arseblog makes a good point that team mates essentially are still catching up to his speed of thought. I do not like blowing smoke but I honestly think we have not yet seen the true potential of Ozil and Santi playing through to Sanchez, Welbeck, Giroud, the Ox and Walcott.
No one could stop Santi dancing today
A fantastic team performance today in which everybody contributed and played well. That first half was as good as I’ve seen all season. Ozil was simply amazing, and I really like having him play in the #10 role with Cazorla behind him. Finally our Cazorzil is unleashed!
I’d have gone with “Ozilla” but I’m excited either way
5/10 Mike Dean, for a balanced performance.
Can’t give him anything more than that, for past displays.
I still think overall Mike Dean is one of the better referees about despite our poor record when he is in charge.Certainally one of the few who didn’t always allow Pizza Face at Manure to get at him.
Good result today and an excellent performance.Great to see some of the
Players really trying to get their places back and as for Ozil what a joy to watch when he is on song.
PS Great to see him smile at the end.
Before today, 11 defeats, 6 draws and 2 wins in 19 matches. That can’t be a coincidence when we win 50-60% of all matches.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/arsenal/9800224/Why-Mike-Dean-is-Arsenals-least-favourite-referee.html
Article is from 4 years ago.
2013, so 2 years ago.
But the point still stands, that is an incredible run of results under one referee. And websites have been set up based on the apparent bias against Arsenal from most referees.
http://www.refereedecisions.co.uk/
You edda mike dean is biased everyonehe was ca ught on camera celebrating when Spurs scored against us… thought everyone knew that haha
Man Utd actually had a better record with Mike Dean than with Howard Webb. The ref to award them the most penalties too.
As an added bonus, Mike Dean wasn’t even a cunt today.
He can’t exactly give a penalty if they don’t get into our box … or can he?
We’re talking about Mike Dean. He can give a penalty against us for being fouled in their own box. He makes up the rules as he goes. Especially against us
You both get thumbs up for managing to simultaneously be at odds yet both correct. Well done!
taking of being a cunt,
Did anyone see that shameless Boro player pulling Walcott back when Arsenal were breaking?
Should’ve been carded
Another spectacular game from Santi. Promising start from Gabriel. Not sure Szczesny did enough to reclaim his position – but, to be fair, he wasn’t required to do much today.
Actually he looked assured when dealing with the ball at his feet, which was the only thing he had to do. Could well have saved Kiki’s effort if it was inside the post.
And to be fair, being assured with his feet is one of the major worries showing improvement.
I thought Szczesny’s distribution and clearance kicking was really good. If he has at least one thing on Ospina it’s his clearance kicks. The Colombian doesn’t seem to have that distance. Sczcezzers really helped with the pace we wanted to play with today, quick counter attacking when turnovers happen and held on to it and distributed short when their defense was set, so that we could build up from the back. Probably not the most scintillating goalkeeper performance in terms of saves, obviously, but his all round game was quite excellent in my opinion. However Ospina should continue in the… Read more »
I think Ospina’s clearances are 100%.
We seem to win every ball and when the opposition win the ball from Ospina’s clearances we win the second ball.
Watch the Leicester game. I don’t think they won any possession from Ospina’s clearances.
Yes his long ball success rate is very good. And he does seem to find our players. But I did notice against Sp*rs and once or twice against Leicester that Ospina fails to get the same distance in his kicks as Szczesny. This can lead to increased pressure in our own half. Tim Stillman said in his last column: “That said, I do think Ospina’s long kicking needs work. He seems to struggle to get distance. At White Hart Lane this was particularly noticeable. Tottenham’s incessant pressing forced Arsenal to go long to Giroud, but Ospina’s kicks tend to land… Read more »
My main thought was not getting into Cruyff turns under pressure or dallying when he needs to move it upfield. If he cuts that out and the out-of-position wanderings upfield, Szcz will be solid.
It is so much fun to rate the players after such a good performence! Well done boys! Now lets keep our cup, shall we? COYG!
I wish I was Giroud
Shame Giroud couldn’t get a hatrick.Chuba needs to score a goal for his confidence and then ( I can’t believe I’m writing this) we have TWO good players in every position. COYG.
Carzilchez indeed. Really mouthwatering !!!
Cazanzil. Please.
Ozcazchez
Gotta get all 3 z’s
The three ZZZ’s will put the match to bed!
well played sir!
Ozil showing all the haters what he is all about. Laser guided passing. Its all abouf the ooozzzzz.
Why all the talk about Ozil, surely other players deserve credit too?
One good game in 50 against lesser opposition & suddenly he is Bergkamp.
Boys been brilliant sense coming back from injury, clearly put the work in to come back as strong as possible. After a masterclass like today, = think he deserves a nice helping of praise for that work. That said, an incredible performance from just about everyone
*since whoops…
Enjoying the moment and looking forward to many more. Gabriel… What a lad! Liked the way he punched his head after conceding that corner. Arsene is building the fastest team in the world. Look at Gibbs, Bellerin, Gabriel, Koscielny, Cazorla, Rosicky, Ozil, Alexis, Welbeck, Walcott and Akpom. Future Forever Victorious. Bonus bonus rating Wenger: 9/10 for the most exciting lineup today.
Good point, the pace can be breath-taking. I’d like to add more power to the pace but even that is getting better (eg the Coq) and will get better eg when Chambers and Bellerin get older.
Gabby Paulista – our next international man of mystery has arrived! Solid enough debut and good signs with whatever little he had to do.
I reckon this is our strong front six…
Coq-Santi-Ox-Ozil-Alexis-OG with Jack, Rambo, Danny, Tommy & Theo all from the bench
Ox has some work to do to take a place from Welbz in my opinion. Non-stop worker. Creates space for others. If he works on his finishing, which isn’t awful now, he could be top class.
Welbeck gives so much more to the team combination than Theo does, but Theo is comfortably the better finisher. Based on Wenger’s dropping Poldi, despite his finishing qualities, I’d say he’ll stick with Welbeck over Theo. Not going to help contract negotiations though.
At this point, assuming Gnabry has a future with us, Theo is looking expendable. Unless he improves rapidly like he did with his finishing in 2012-13.
Fantastic team performance, including the best performances from flamini and Chambers I can remember.
Post 10/10, kept us a clean sheet
Excellent tactical foul by Gabriel for his booking, dare I say?
A certain Isaac Hayden will be going like the rednecks in South Park “they took errr jobs” poor guy.
I hope not. Nobody likes rednecks.
Robust. I love a robust Arsenal tackle. Not a dirty one, just robust. Sometimes you just have to introduce Mr Opponent’s Teeth to Mr Grass.
Ozil WAS very good today, but I still feel everything he does is over-hyped. For instance, if he played the ball Tommy did to Theo, I’m sure the goonersphere would have exploded. Santi MOTM for me.
All we can ask is they both keep it up. If we can get Santi, Mesut, Theo, and Alexis all at 100% (in the same line up), it will be something special indeed.
Ozil’s final ball is the best in the team….FACT.
If you think he’s overhyped then you need to go watch clips of him in madrid.
Now that he’s with us it’s pretty irrelevant what he did in Madrid. It’s a different game here, and he doesn’t get the time and space he had in Spain. I think he’s adapting very nicely, and I’m super happy how he fits ino the team.
I didn’t say it was or wasn’t. And I’ve said Ozil was very good today. But Santi was better for me.
7 key passes leading to shots on goal today from Ozil.
If you can’t appreciate how difficult and perfectly executed that cushioned one-two with Alexis in the 2nd half was, to the point that you think it was over-hyped… then I don’t know what to say!
He oozes class, we’re lucky to have him.
From my perspective everything he does is over criticized.
Ozil Gibbs giroud were pretty outstanding today but, and I don’t think I’ve ever used this wengerism before but Santi is a PlayStation player. He does things with his FEET that my thumbs stand up and applaud. What a resurgence
Great battle on between Gibbo and Monreal. My personal preference is Gibbs but you can’t drop Monreal on form. Lovely problem to have.
Özil is my favourite footballer in the entire world. Santi is a joy to watch, but Özil is just something else. Plays the game at his own pace. I’m excited to see him and Ox link up soon. Has the makings of something memorable.
Was about to go full-rant when I saw Gibbs’ name on the team sheet, “how long’s it been seen he even had an assist…” then he helps OG break the deadlock. Still needs some polish to his attacking game. Chambers deserves praise for some lung-busting runs today. Good to see quality and strength in depth at fullback position.
After this Boro game, it sure makes it difficult to decide between Gibbs and Monréal. Both men have been stellar working at left back, and it’s great to have such depth at the position. Both are getting involved in the attack, putting balls into the box, and even having a go on goal now and then. Both men are tracking back and playing shut-down defense. How will Wenger decide who to give the shirt to for Crystal Palace or Monaco?
Typical Wenger, even playing Chu-Young Park out of position
So far out of position it’s even geographically impossible.
If Cazorla, Alexis, Ozil, Walcott, Ox, Welbeck and Giroud are all fit for an average of 30 league games in a season, Arsenal would win the league on a canter. But that is a big if.
I’d add Laurent Koscielny and Aaron Ramsey to your list that I otherwise fully agree with
This is probably the best game I’ve seen us play all year. Plenty of great performances out there. Ozil, Cazorla, Sanchez, Gibbs, chambers, Giroud, and every single man on that pitch played their part. You can finally see Wenger’s plan coming to fruition with this team. None of the players are here by accident. Ozil was majestic. He has come back with all guns blazing after his injury
The BBC have spotted (thanks @gunnerblog) that the first goal was, indeed, the perfect team goal. Starting with Szczesny, it consisted of one complete single move from back to front, involving every single player in the side, up to the moment of Giroud’s one-touch scoring shot. Szczesny – Gabriel – Özil – Giroud – Özil – Cazorla – Gabriel – Chambers – Gabriel – Flamini – Koscielny – Özil – Gibbs – Alexis – Welbeck – Cazorla – Gibbs – Giroud – GOAL! This is why I love Arsenal – the sheer joy of watching them at their best. It… Read more »
Great performance from the boys Ozil and Cazorla amazing! Ooooooh Santi Cazorla
Ozil is a joy.
At least we’v found Park. Has he been hiding in your computer the whole time?
Gabriel had him in his pocket.
Critics would say we Parked it at the back.
Fun match to watch with so many doing well, of course it was against a side we should have dominated, but lots of positives. Was worried to see Sanchez starting, don’t think it was worth risking him right now. He did great, but certainly wasn’t his energetic self running all over the pitch on defense like he has been (which probably was a good thing) as there were many times we lost the ball and he’d just walk back. Nice to see Flamini, Chambers, Gibbs, Gabriel and Szczeny get a run.
Gibbs was exceptional today, needs a run of games.
Gibbs had a solid game but he plays like a winger. He doesn’t spread the game but he always drifts in the middle. That is really annoying. That’s way I prefer Nacho, he is more intelligent player but last year he had so many injuries so he couldn’t find his form. When he was just showing sings of it he got injured but this year fortunately is injury free and rightly so in front of Gibbs. But very interesting comments about Szczesny that this kind of game won’t bring him first team. Ospina have more or less that kind of… Read more »
I agree about Gibbs – does many things superbly, but with his pace and athleticism he should be even more of a threat. Chambers seemed to provide better combination work with those ahead of him. Seeing Gibbo provide an assist and having a good crack at goal today only made me wonder why his offensive stats aren’t better. Us Gooners would rate him above Baines but there are elements of the Everton man’s game he could adapt to his, such as more penetrative passing. Good performance from him overall today and I criticise Gibbs this way because as well as… Read more »
Well it wouldve been doable with Gibbs drifting in, had he been a better goal threat than he is.
Blessed to be given two tickets at short notice and took my three year old boy to his first game – and he soaked up the atmosphere, rocked to the songs, shouted ‘Sanchez’ and loved it – before burning out in the second half leading to our early departure. Some of our movement and passing was exquisite: great day personally for fourth generation of my family to watch Arsenal. Love this squad.
Your post bought a smile to my face. Another generation of gooners is formed …
Ozil….He floats like a butterfly and stings like a bee!
this…is…a perfect metaphor to describe him last nite
I thought Alexis was energetic enough to get better after this game. He made a few quick runs that made it seem as he never got a knock/injury.
Good to see him back.
Sexy boy with two goals was wonderful.
I actually think Alexis worked through the game to get back to match fit.
He looked the happiest, loosest and most creative before he was subbed.
Bloggs,
I might have missed something here, but how does Gabriel have a season average of 6, when it was his debut and he scored a 7.5?
Is it because you’ve had to use Parks profile, or is something more sinister afoot?
It’ll be Park’s profile being used as a catch all stop gap, for the likes of Maitland Niles coming off the bench in the Champions League
Özil is back.
Interesting the plaudits in comments are mostly for Ozil on here and Cazorla second. In the media it is Giroud then Cazorla… All three were superb. Crazy talent in fire today.
Thought Park Chu Young was excellent today, looked a completely different player despite being played out of position.
Mike Dean WAS a cunt today. He stopped Alexis from showing skilz and gave opposition free kick for handball.
Mike Dean = Cunt
Sexy Ozil…..
Not sure about the Gabriel rating. While strong defensively, the guy looks like he only starts thinking about what he’s going to do with the ball after he traps the thing. Three or four touches every time. He’ll have his pocket picked if he tries this against a Shane Long kind of forward.
what complete and utter nonsense
Ian Pipe, put down the pipe.
what are you smokin’?
I think Wenger saw how good Godin and Miranda have been since arriving at Atletico and decided to go for a South American Center Back in Gabriel. His playing style is really similar to them both.
Mike Dean and they fucked it up
What a beautiful team performance that was, was hard to pick just one player of the game. Loving the “new” Mesut!
Fantastic atmosphere at the ground today, fair call that Boro were crap but that doesn’t take away from so many brilliant performances. The creative players literally ran rings around them, defence was rock solid, HFB was glorious… more of the same please.
I find it surprising that people fail to mention ozil’s new knack of getting into scoring positions.
I think he’ll be scoring much regularly now than before.
Noticed Ozil has started taking players on, charging into the box and having shots on goal. So much more dangerous when he does that, and not only does he have the full skillset to do so, he’s got the intelligence to know when to do it as well!
I stayed til almost dawn to watch Ozil play especially….and since he came back he has disappointed….in fact he has been superb!! Run the ground defensively & run the grou d to cover the areas offensively too. Beautiful through balls, shots on target, goals, assists….sexy dribbling movement with the ball…there is nothing to ask for by a fan. Worth the just two hours of sleep.