Big Win for Arsenal

A hugely impressive win yesterday for Arsenal, 6-1 over Southampton at the Emirates. While we should not make too much of a victory over the newly promoted bottom dwellers, we should neither forget that they had 2-1 leads over both Manchester United and Man City before losing both, and easily could have beaten the former but for some bad luck and a brilliant late performance from RvP. Both Chelsea and Man City drew this weekend and Arsenal currently sits in third place with 8 points out of four games. The offense looked great yesterday, but the defense did it's job as well -- except for a flub by Szczesny, who had the worst game of anyone on the pitch. While the next two weeks will really show us where the club stands this season, facing off against Man City and then Chelsea, one has to admit that the press and many Arsenal fans (including me) were overly pessimistic in our assessment of the offseason activity. Arsenal looks better to me than they did last year, and we now have more balance and bench support -- moving away from the one man team we were last year. Our defensive shape has improved dramatically under Steve Bould, we are pushing the ball forward rather than merely passing it around and we now have several threats, pushing defenses to cover multiple threats at once. Let's turn to player grades, before concluding ...

Szczesny (5.5): not a good return for the Pole, but luckily in a game that Gunners won handily. Besides giving up the first goal of the season, when he could have easily caught the ball, his goalkicks were frequently short and low, leading to attacking opportunities for the Saints.

Mertesacker (7): like a new player this year, his positioning was great, his passes solid and could have scored a goal with a better header (when will that facet of his game pay off?). Doesn't seem to get beat or let players past like he used to and right now makes it tricky to pick Koscielny. 

Vermaelen (8): a strong game for the Belgian as well, who has regained his defensive discipline after foraging forward a bit too much for my taste in the run in last season.

Jenkinson (7.5): after having criticized him for the first three games, I have to admit he came good in this game. His defensive interceptions and coverage was great and he got the ball forward into dangerous positions on the wings on several occasions. The game was largely played on the ground, so don't know if we'll see better crosses when Giroux gets his next start, but real improvement for the young full back.

Gibbs (7.5). Gibbs was dangerous on the wing throughout the first half and "scored" on the own goal. He really seems to be coming into his offensive form, but we'll have to see how he stacks up defensively against the more dangerous City and Chelsea wingers. 

Arteta (8): Arteta has really been impressive again this season and seems to have nice understanding with the forward players (particularly Cazorla) and has really taken control on the holding role, with nice interceptions, hold up play and pushing the ball forward quickly from the back.

Coquelin (7): people often forget that one of the reasons for the early season crisis last year was an insane number of injuries. Diaby again missed a game (surprise, surprise) and Coquelin stepped in nicely to push the ball forward and help control midfield. I really like the player and feel he can really contribute this year, though the return of Diaby and Wilshire in a month or so will probably offer him limited playing time in the league. 

Cazorla (8.5): his tight control, passing vision and feathery touch is really something to behold. He already has a goal and two assists for the club in four games, but it could be much higher but for some blown opportunities and an own goal (he has created 18 scoring opps already, most in the league). One moves closer to forgetting Fabergas every time they see him play. 

Oxlade-Chamberlain (7.5): a nice game highlighting both his pace, trickery and danger. Looking at the squad at present, one does have to wonder if Walcott could be sold. 

Gervinho (9): playing as the lone striker, an odd formation it seems, Gervinho scored twice, ending a drought that dates all the way back to december of last year. But Gervinho has appeared much more dangerous this year and looks ready to live up to the hype that accompanied him when he came last year. 

Podolski (8.5): another great game from a pickup that has far outpaced expectations with his strong runs, great passing, understanding with Cazorla, defensive work (on occasion) and finishing touch. The free kick second goal he scored yesterday was pure class. While we still wait for Giroud to come good, the other two summer signings are showing that there is life after RvP.

Subs

Ramsey (7): the best I've seen of Ramsey in quite some time. He drove forward on several occasions and should have been rewarded with a goal after a lovely turn and shot in the box. Instead he assisted a tap in off the post for Gervinho's brace. 

Giroud (-): came on very late and could have had a goal, but for a missed pass from Walcott. I would have brought him in earlier in this goal fest, but I'm sure he'll start scoring soon (I hope).

Walcott (6): scored a nice goal near the end, but not much else. I'm still unconvinced by the winger and wonder if Arsenal will part ways with him in the winter transfer window. One does have to admit that he is starting to score more regularly though and that maybe he is set to live up to his potential. Watching him play from week to week makes me schizophrenic.

So Wenger has again quieted the seemingly perennial doubter, for the moment. Arsenal looks like one of the top three most dynamic offenses in the league and has shored up their defense impressively. We actually have more strength coming off the bench than we have had in a few years and a nice chemistry between players who are just getting to know each other. There is a great mix of youth and experienced internationals and we don't appear to be an injury away from disaster. We have more choices in formation and who is upfront and on the wings and threats coming from multiple directions. And maybe, most importantly, we are not a one man team. Are we better than last year? I think the answer has to be yes as a squad, while maybe not on a position by position basis. While many, including me, were baffled by the Song move, I'm not sure that we are not better without him. That depends on Diaby staying healthy and Wilshire coming back strongly. But Song was apt to push too far forward, was rarely a goal threat and often gave the ball away needlessly. Yes he has some of the most sublime assists in the EPL last year and was a stalwart when he felt like being one, even performing as a centre back quite effectively. But Diaby has been great and is much more of a goal threat, with Coquelin a more than adequate backup for the moment. RvP is irreplaceable but the multifaceted attack that has emerged this season makes the Gunners more of a threat. 

We shall have to see how the next two weeks pan out, with a Champions League game against Montpellier, Man City, a Carling Cup tie and Chelsea. If we get through these two weeks in good form, we could be in for a great season. Looking around the league, it appears Arsenal could actually be in the running for the League, but we cannot drop points against midtier clubs like Stoke and Sunderland and will have to touch out victories against our closest rivals (beating Man United with RvP would be even sweeter and I hope we're up to the task). Go Gunners!