OZIL CONDUCTS FIVE-STAR SHOW
German wizard leads Wenger’s men to goal blitz
With three points and a 12th successive Premier League home win zipped into the pocket of his quilted coat, Arsene Wenger ventured to his feet to perform a spot of touchline ball juggling.
Arsenal supporters roared their approval as Wenger’s collected the loose ball and showcased fancy footwork to go with his shiny footwear before rolling it back into play. What a difference three goals in four minutes makes.
Earlier, Wenger’s brow had been firmly furrowed by huddersfield’s stubborn resistance.
‘i wasn’t pleased with everything,’ he said. ‘Slowly we lost the urgency in our game and in the second half we gave them one or two chances.
‘We missed the second and at 1-0 we played with a big fear. the pass didn’t come early enough and we were inhibited.
‘When we scored the second, everyone was suddenly in the mood, passing it quicker. it became difficult for huddersfield and they collapsed a little bit. We played with freedom, drive and creativity. And our link play was fantastic to watch in the last 20 minutes.’
Alex Lacazette opened the scoring inside three minutes after a neat flick by Aaron Ramsey but the visitors refused to crumble.
Lacazette was unable to complete the game after picking up a groin injury in the first half which the Arsenal boss admits will rule him out of Saturday’s clash against Manchester United.
Olivier Giroud came on to replace him and scored twice. his first was a near-post finish to convert a wonderful move orchestrated by Mesut Ozil, who could do no wrong during this golden phase of the second half. Alexis Sanchez swept in number three on the half-volley from another Ozil cross.
Ozil then found the net with a typically casual dink over goalkeeper Jonas Lossl following Ramsey’s pass. Ramsey and Granit Xhaka excelled in Arsenal’s midfield but it was Ozil’s name which was sung heartily around the Emirates Stadium.
‘he’s added something that people want to see,’ said Wenger. ‘that he can fight and win the ball back and once people see that, they’re behind you. Everybody knows he’s a great football - player. he has as always covered the he distances. he has shown also that he can fight. the judgmentsments are sometimes harsh in this job but the majority of people here love him and have always loved him.’
Giroud completed the romp with his second in the 87th minute assisted by a rampaging run by Sead Kolasinac.
Five goals gave the scoreline a luxury feel and Arsenal have reinforced their position inside the totop-four as they seasearch for a ticket bacback to the Champions pionsChampions League. huddhuddersfield, despite offering somsomuch to admire, are sinking towards danger, without a goal away from home in the league since the opening day. David Wagner’s plan to contain was not helped by the early goal for Lacazette, his seventh of his first Premier League campaign, and he was denied a second by Martin Cranie’s goal-line clearance. huddersfield, who were seeking victory at Arsenal for the first time since 1954, regrouped.
Petr Cech saved with his right foot to keep out a low drive by Collin Quaner. then Cech almost pushed the ball into his own goal as he tried to tidy up after a shot by Steve Mounie was sent spinning high into the air by a deflection from Nacho Monreal.
Giroud finally released the pressure and condemned huddersfield to another heavy defeat on the road. Next they travel to rejuvenated Everton with Wagner saying: ‘ We are still in a position which is acceptable to us. We have to do things better, especially to make use of the chances when we play away.
‘ Nothing really worries me because we lost at Arsenal and a few days before against Manchester City.
‘We are strong enough to leave these defeats behind us very quickly. i have every confidence we can stay up.’ ARSENAL (3-4-2-1): Cech 6; Koscielny 6.5, Mustafi 6, Monreal 6; Bellerin 6, Ramsey 8 (Wilshere 73mins), Xhaka 7.5, Kolasinac 6;
OZIL 8.5, Sanchez 7 (Welbeck 73); Lacazette 7 (Giroud 46mins, 6.5).
Subs not used: Ospina, Mertesacker, Coquelin, Iwobi.
Scorers: Lacazette 3, Giroud 68, 87, Sanchez 69, Ozil 72.
Manager: Arsene Wenger 6.5. HUDDERSFIELD (5-4-1): Lossl 6; Hadergjonaj 6, Jorgensen 6, Schindler 6, Cranie 6.5, Lowe 6; Quaner 6.5, Mooy 6 (Williams 74), Hogg 6 (Whitehead 78), Kachunga 6; Mounie 6 (Depoitre 74).
Subs not used: Green, Smith, Malone, Ince. Booked: Mooy.
Manager: David Wagner 6. Referee: Graham Scott 6.
Attendance: 59,285.