Monday 2 February 2015 08:55, UK
Mesut Ozil was at the centre of the action for Arsenal as they thrashed Aston Villa 5-0 to record their fifth successive win in all competitions, says Matthew Stanger...
Arsenal answered any suggestions they are a one-man team with a five-star performance to record their fifth successive victory in all competitions.
With Alexis Sanchez ruled out through a hamstring injury it was a chance for his team-mates to audition for leading roles in the run-in, and Ozil and Theo Walcott both seized their opportunities to impress.
It has been a long road back to full fitness for the duo and Walcott in particular, who expressed his excitement at finally playing alongside Ozil after the German’s goal and assist in the Gunners’ 5-0 win.
“Mesut has worked tremendously hard since coming back from injury, like myself, and showed it on the pitch today,” said Walcott. “Since Mesut joined the club I haven't really had the opportunity to play with him, and I'm very grateful that I'm now playing with such a great talent and hopefully we can stay fit and charge up the Premier League.”
Walcott pointed to Ozil’s fantastic touch and his vision to “find that ball in behind” as key aspects of Arsenal’s victory – two factors Sky Sports’ Jamie Carragher picked up on at half-time. With Aston Villa pressing high up the pitch in the first half, there were huge gaps behind the defence for Arsenal’s attack to exploit – and Ozil did just that with a sublime flick to release Olivier Giroud for the opening goal.
"The pressing from Aston Villa, it was like watching a derby game – I thought they were playing Birmingham," said Carragher. "Obviously the idea was to press, but they were leaving space in behind and the pace – as we know with Walcott and other players in the Arsenal team – you can't get away with that.
"That's the problem – if you don't win that ball and Arsenal beat the press, there's too much space in behind. If you press high, you're going to have to push your back four up. If you're going to press high you've got to be organised (but) every player is out of position (on the opening goal).”
Ozil followed his brilliant pass to Giroud with a neat finish in the second half to take his Premier League total for the season to two goals and two assists – all against Aston Villa. It was his overall performance that will have encouraged Arsene Wenger, though, with signs that the playmaker has returned to 100 per cent fitness in the timeframe he promised after making his comeback against Stoke in January.
That Ozil made more sprints (72) than any other player on the pitch suggests he is beginning to fire on all cylinders again, with Premier League Tracking Data also revealing that Santi Cazorla (11.59km) was the only Arsenal player to cover more ground than the 26-year-old (11.18km).
That constant movement saw Ozil repeatedly drift into dangerous positions, interchanging with the in-form Cazorla – who notched two assists and a penalty himself – to leave Villa stretched and perplexed. The German clearly enjoyed his afternoon, attempting more dribbles (five) than every player, other than new Villa signing Carles Gil (six), and almost scoring a second at the end of one mazy run that left the visitors’ defence with twisted blood.
Amid the entertainment, Sanchez’s absence was forgotten, but Wenger’s attention will now turn to his ‘pleasing’ headache.
Ozil’s man-of-the-match display was accompanied by Walcott’s well-taken finish, Giroud’s fifth goal in his last six Premier League appearances and another superb showing from Cazorla. How Wenger rotates to get the most out of his attacking talents is the puzzle that will define Arsenal’s season.
