FT. 2-0. Probably shoulda been 5-3. Both teams were pretty profligate with their shooting! Cech was solid today when he needed to be. He's been good in our EL run. I wanna see him in a Cup Final damn it. Onward to Napoli with a slight cushion and no away goals given. Not as much cushion as we should have but hopefully it'll do the trick. But first onward to Watford, with @ArsenalJake
Caught the 1st half and the last 10 minutes. Good result, don't have to worry about an away goal now.
p.s. It doesn't seem like we're likely to meet up with Santi Cazorla in the next round. They were robbed on one godawful PK encroachment non-call, but that's probably not why they lost.
Certainly worse states to be in than traveling for the away leg already up 2-0. If Arsenal can nick 1 goal that should ice it. Let's build on this, please.
Arsenal have started with Ramsey, Ozil, Lacazette and Aubameyang just seven times this season. They won every game. It might just be the way forward. Piece from #afc 2-0 #Napoli: https://t.co/1WPK20AfEM— James Olley (@JamesOlley) April 12, 2019
Yeah, there may be something to that. But it doesn't mean we'd ever be likely to see that happening as a rule. As seems abundantly (and sadly) clear at this point, Ozil just doesn't work for all venues, for all tactical situations. There's a sort of luxury aspect to his usefulness. And I'd be very surprised to see him start at Watford. But watch Emery prove me wrong. p.s. I think Ramsey has been the bigger factor of late. The fact that it was Ramsey + Torreira, instead of Guendouzi + Elneny, was a huge factor in our result last night IMO. If I had to pick 1 player who's fitness may determine the success of our run-in, I'd vote for Ramsey.
Really nice aufbau on the first goal - Arsenal have been missing that. I do wonder if Ozil can transition into a deeper midfield role. he has played there a bit for Germany with Kroos LT is awesome. I guess with Ramsey leaving, Doozy needs to become the 8 but i think it will be necessary to buy a CM as well given the dross like Ninny will be cleaned out
Yeah - the best midfield includes Ramsey and LT But that makes sense as then you have a genuine holding player and a box to box Personally I wonder about Xhaka and whether he will make it
I don't totally agree. I noticed Ozil making a ton of defensive runs last night. On that one backpass that Ramsey totally botched, Ozil made a 50ish yard run to cover defensively. It seems like he's buying into the system more.
When Ozil and Ramsey start they are also 8-1 with the only loss coming against City in the first game of the season, I think part of this reason is that they complement one another. They are both capable of playing quick one touch passes and they both combine well, so you end up with flowing moves like the one that led to Ramsey's goal. Ozil was crucial to that move with two inch perfect one touch passes. I'm not sure that Xhaka's strength, his long passing, doesn't, at times, marginalize Ozil's influence on a game.
I should have been more confident in Napoli sucking...or Ancelotti sucking without big stars Take your pick
Yeah, when I heard some of his pre-match comments, where he was saying how great a coach Emery is, and how they're really going to have their hands full, I thought he was just playing mind games. But apparently not... they really were outmatched. Or at least they have no idea how to stick the ball in the opponent's net. Praying this continues at their place.