After what can only be described as an awful period for Arsenal, including crashing out of the cup to League 2 Bradford, it came as a huge relief to all Gunners to Arsenal return to winning ways against bottom of the table Reading.
Starting Strong
Seeing Arsene Wenger field arguably Arsenal’s side, starting both Walcott and Oxlade-Chamberlain up front, and seeing the useless Gervinho relegated to the bench, was the first sign of things to come, as a Santi Cazorla inspired side won their first away match since the Capital One Cup victory at Reading.
Wenger and the players knew this was a must win game and they started off brightly against a poor Reading side, controlling the play and not allowing reading into the game in the first half as Arsenal raced into a three goal lead.
While the manager has come in for strong criticism recently he got his team selection right tonight, when it mattered, as the victory moved Arsenal into 5th place in the league.
Attacking flow
It has been a while since Arsenal’s glory days under Wenger, when the stylish brand of football played by the Gunners was universally adored and set the marker for teams like Barcelona. However, Monday night saw a return to the smooth attacking football which fans have been waiting for.
With Santi Cazorla back to his blistering best and accompanied in the middle by the dynamic Wilshere and Arteta, it was only going to be a matter of time before the stylish football returned; thankfully it has now happened. If this midfield trio can stay fit, then there is no reason why the beautiful game employed by the Gunners can’t continue to blossom.
Confidence issues
I don’t believe that there is any other side’s supporters who when four goals up still feel worried that the team might capsize and surrender that lead. We’ve seen it with Arsenal times before, and as a result we always have the lingering doubt that this team with fragile confidence will concede.
When Reading got their first goal, you knew every Arsenal fan was holding their breath, as the players seemed to be affected by the goal, and Reading took control of the game for a 5 minute spell. Then when they got their second goal shortly after, all you could think was that this side so short of confidence would just give up and accept the inevitable. Thankfully, however, the Gunners regained their composure, and saw out the game adding another goal.
Though it is a far cry to say that Arsenal’s confidence issues are gone by holding out for victory, it was reassuring to see them overcome that blip during the match, showing that they do have some mental resolve in them.
Man of the Match
Though the team played admirably throughout and all put in their best performances for a while, there is only one man who can take this claim: Santi Cazorla. When a midfielder scores a hat trick it is always a special occasion, but the fact that he was also an integral part of everything we did spoke volumes about his quality. He was unplayable at times tonight, in his best performance in an Arsenal shirt to date.
Putting it into context
Yes, it was nice to see Arsenal win. Yes, it was important for us to bounce back after Bradford. Yes, it was refreshing to see a performance with such attacking flair and confidence. However, it must be remembered that Reading are bottom of the table and are rightly there.
When the opposition has a defence as feeble and useless as Reading did on Monday night, you can guarantee most sides will be able to score against them. So while the fact that Arsenal scored five goals away from home is impressive in itself, that it was against a side six points adrift at the bottom of the table takes some of the gloss of the victory.
Seeing Arsenal win, and so convincingly, is really all an Arsenal fan can ask for Christmas. Let’s hope we can keep up these performances.
Latest:
