Arsenal Review - Just another brick in the wall

The presence of three strikers allowed Arsene to choose a center forward suited to the type of defense tactics fielded by the opponents. In the game versus Southampton, Gervinho’s role created much trouble for the Saints who usually play a high line of defense. The result was, Gervinho ended up scoring two from inside the box.

A little while later, Giroud put in a splendid performance against Fulham, which saw him earn a place in the Premier League Team of the month. Giroud lacks pace but his dynamism up front caused troubles to the deep set defense of Fulham marshaled by the likes of Brede Hangeland.

Theo Walcott, let’s talk about you now. After many seasons of being a product under development, this was expected to be the season when Arsenal’s alleged talisman would carry the club on his shoulders.

Of the two Soton boys in north London, Bale is undoubtedly the one ahead in the race, carrying Tottenham single-handedly for a third season in a row. Bale is all about details. While both players are typical speed merchants, the Welshman is the more accomplished of the two when it comes to killing with the ball. Walcott, on the other hand, can be lethargic in attack or misses out on easy-as-pie goal scoring opportunities.

With 14 goals and 10 assists in the league, Walcott may not be the season savior he is touted to be, but he does offer Arsene options up front when necessary, with his ability to start on the sides or as a lone poacher up front.

Two and a half Spaniards

The author claims all responsibility for the above subtitle and it is a subtle reference to the two Spaniards who have contributed majorly to Arsenal’s half-decent fortunes this season – Santiago Cazorla and Mikel Arteta. The half-Spaniard reference has been attributed to Arsenal’s Welsh chocolate-boy, Aaron Ramsey.

Post recovery from the Shawcross incident, Ramsey had cut a somewhat sorry figure in the heart of Arsenal’s formation, except for the occasional goal that saw the likes of Osama bin Laden and Kim Jong Il lose their lives. The most dominant of Ramsey’s follies had been his ability to squander possession or to go down easily on the slightest of touches. This can be mainly attributed to the psychological impact Shawcross’ lunge had on Ramsey’s game after recovery. But slowly and steadily, Ramsey has grown into a completely new player over time and has been an integral part of Arsenal’s post February recovery this season.

After being relieved of his god-knows-why duties on the right wing, Ramsey was paired alongside Arteta in a midfield diamond, with Wilshere or Cazorla often alternating ahead of the two. Ramsey’s position was more dynamic compared to Mikel Arteta, who possesses the discipline to maintain the shape of the formation and is by far the more intelligent tackler. In the absence of Abou Diaby, Ramsey was also expected to jog up ahead in attack, becoming a box-to-box midfielder of sorts.