Arsenal facing a big team meant merciless annihilation till last year. 5-1 vs Liverpool and 6-0 vs Chelsea are the most forgetful matches of not so distant memory which are not easy to get out of your mind. But slowly things began to change and it stopped being that worse. And now in the current term, the change is drastic.
Arsenal has played and defeated Manchester City twice at Wembley & Etihad and drew twice at Emirates. They lost to Chelsea 2-0 at Stamford Bridge and fell 1-2 to Manchester United at Emirates. Only the result was bad in those matches but performance was not especially against LVG's men who were dominated completely by the Gunners. Later, they defeated Red Devils team operating at full strength on Old Trafford turf and most recently rampaged Liverpool 4-1 at Emirates.
What has changed that has resulted in this overhaul? The factors are many which has contributed to one main reason and that is Tactical flexibility. Wenger has been often accused of lacking it but the accusations can now take long-lasting rest. The increased flexibility is a result of new midfield combination of Coquelin and Cazorla. The duo has been tremendous in turnaround of the form against the big teams.
A lot has been already spoken of Le Coq's contribution in the team's defensive solidity and to be honest, he has deserved every good word that has been opinionated about him. He has obvious limitations in his game regarding attacking play but his defensive attributes are so high that he cannot be dropped. Before he was lost in oblivion, we all kept searching what is the missing plug. He came and, very concisely, answered that question. His fitness and consistency has also been remarkable and it is very important for a team which always have player on treatment table. Broken nose is the only thing that has troubled him, but it didn't affected his presence. Based on his most recent performance against Liverpool, he is likely to continue his very fine form.
Moving on to Santi, his switch to a more central role is also accidental blessings like that of Coquelin. He was drafted because of injuries in that department and since then he has done a commendable job in the new role. The smartness of this magician helped him to settle quickly in his new role. His best game in Arsenal colours came in the 2-0 win against City at the Etihad in this new position. He is doing an impersonation of Andrea Pirlo as a deep-lying playmaker.
The pair gives perfect balance to the team. They provide enough steel to shut out the attacks as well as adding more dynamism in build-up which helps in breaking down the opponents. Would Wenger have tried this pair if all the players would have been fit? No. So it clearly seems to be case blessed with divine intervention.
Another very glittering aspect that has been vital in reversal has been the attack. After facing all sort of difficulties in his debut season, Mesut Özil is back to his best. The Lil Chilean Alexis Sanchez who switched from Barcelona has hit the ground running. And finally, the man who has turned many heads is Olivier Giroud. The HFB has been guilty of going missing in big matches and wasting chances. This season, the story has been other way round. He has scored against every big team he has faced and has carried the team in second half when Sanchez started to fade. His come back has coincided with good form of Gunners. Since his return, our record stands W-22 D-1 L-5 and he has scored in 14 matches out of those. The Frenchman has had too much of criticism in his earlier days. But now he deserves all the words of appreciation.
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