I’ve taken many teams to Arsenal and never created as many chances as my team did today.
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Goals by Joel Campbell, Olivier Giroud and Aaron Ramsey were enough to see Arsenal claim all three point and very much kept their title ambitions alive.
“This season is the strongest season I have ever played”, Ozil said. It was the best performance since I’ve been here. Please note that comments are automatically checked for inappropriate language and will be removed accordingly.
With Santi Cazorla, Alexis Sanchez, Theo Walcott and Francis Coquelin among the high-profile absentees from the hosts’ starting XI, there were five players in Arsene Wenger’s line-up who would probably not make his first-choice team in the positions they played in.
“It was not ideal, of course, but the team has shown mental strength because we scored an own goal just before half time, but we have recovered to win the game”.
Arsenal was not able to pull off a win against lowly Norwich City at the Carrow Road last Sunday, settling to a 1-1 draw with the newly-promoted Norfolk club, but despite their dip in form and injury worries, they are just two points adrift of league leaders Manchester City.
“At that point we should have capitalised and took the lead”.
“I thought it important to keep our nerve first because if you rush forward, they were risky on the counter-attack and we could have conceded a second goal”.
“If I have a drink with Arsene on Saturday then I want to be talking about the fact we played so well, and does he have any players he might lend me in January!”
“It was a very important game for us tonight because we came out of three disappointing results”, he said.
“Because we didn’t punish them, as always at this level of football, you pay the price and we paid the price”.
The same midfield duo are likely to start Wednesday’s crucial Champions League tie against Olympiacos in Greece – with Arsenal needing to win by a two-goal margin, or 3-2 or better, to advance.
In the fourth minute, Fabio Borini – after a lightning quick raid by the visitors – should have put his side in the lead but failed to get his tame right foot effort past Petr Cech.
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The quality of the move suggested Arsenal had finally found their rhythm, but the defensive frailties returned when Giroud diverted the ball into his own net as he attempted to clear Yann M’Vila’s in-swinging free-kick.
