Wenger’s dilemma: Is this Arsenal’s best attacking midfield trio?

It’s a very good time to be an Arsenal fan. The Gunners came through their dreaded month of November with only one defeat and are sitting pretty at the top of both the Premier League and what could have been a very tricky Champions League group.

Arsene Wenger has the goals of Aaron Ramsey to thank in part, but is the attacking trio of Tomas Rosicky, Santi Cazorla and Mesut Ozil – which started the victory against Hull on Wednesday – the Arsenal boss’ most dangerous midfield combination?

Among the madness of the Wednesday fixture list, Arsenal cruised to a 2-0 victory over the Tigers to stay four points clear at the top of the table in a game which saw them complete a mammoth 716 passes at an outstanding accuracy of 90 per cent.

Ozil has been one of the Premier League signings of the summer, adding a new dimension to Arsenal’s attack and constantly providing opportunities for his team-mates. While he’s chipped in with three goals of his own, Ozil tops the assist chart with six in 11 top-flight appearances and a total of 33 chances created.

Against Hull the German international was on top form once again, completing 84 passes, taking on players, firing in crosses and bagging a goal of his own. He worked tirelessly across the midfield, always looking to receive the ball and set another attack going.

Cazorla, meanwhile, is the chess player of the team, thinking more than one move ahead as he often seems to be the one playing the pass before last. Again, his stats from Wednesday make impressive reading as he boasted a passing accuracy of 91%.

A player in the Spanish mould of the likes of David Silva, he is a joy to watch, and complements Ozil’s style perfectly with his outstanding vision and tactical awareness. It also helps that he has another string to his bow in the form of crossing; all five of his corners against Hull found a fellow Gunner.

While those two peppered passes around the pitch, Rosicky filled a more box-to-box position, playing the supporting role to allow Ozil and Cazorla to orchestrate several dangerous attacks as Arsenal registered 20 shots against Hull.

Rosicky completed the only take-on he attempted in the match, and his success rate in duels has been his greatest asset this season. In eight appearances he has completed a superb 73% of take-ons and 60% of headed duels.

It’s almost certainly too early to compare these three to some of the previous Arsenal greats such as Vieira, Pires, Ljungberg and co., but the Gunners look more dangerous in midfield than they have for some time. With Ramsey essentially turning into a new player this season, and the return of Mathieu Flamini shoring things up in front of the defence, these three look to be Arsenal’s best combination for a winning return.