FIVE-GUN SALUTE
Ozil masterclass keeps Arsenal out front in top-four race
AS Alexandre Lacazette wheeled away to celebrate Arsenal’s fifth goal, the chant from the terraces came loud and clear. ‘Tottenham Hotspur, we’re coming for you,’ they teased, and on this evidence, Mauricio Pochettino’s side have cause for worry.
Saturday lunchtime’s north London derby at Wembley now has more at stake than just local pride. This victory, the biggest home win of Unai Emery’s debut season so far, kept Arsenal in the Champions League places and cut the gap to Tottenham to four points. It also marked an eighth straight Premier League home win and a sense of gathering momentum emerges after a winter wobble. On a night when the jigsaw came together for Emery, this ought, on the surface at least, to have encouraged Mesut Ozil.
A starter in a Premier League game once more, a goal inside three minutes, an assist inside half an hour. For the first time in a long time, the German wore a wide smile, the supporters sang his name and the thumbsucking celebration came back out to play.
Yet when the teamsheet emerges an hour before Arsenal kick off at Wembley against Tottenham, Emery will almost certainly serve another reminder of Ozil’s standing in the Arsenal dressing room. This is not only due to the qualities of Henrikh Mkhitaryan, scorer of the second and creator of the third for Laurent Koscielny and fourth for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, but also because the manager does not trust Ozil on the biggest stage.
Since Boxing Day, Ozil has only started home matches against Cardiff, BATE Borisov and now Bournemouth. This tells its own story.
For context, Eddie Howe’s team have now lost nine consecutive Premier League away matches, conceding 28 goals and scoring only four.
‘We can’t kid ourselves that today was acceptable,’ said Howe.
So Emery has read the Ozil situation adeptly, knowing he terrorises inferiors but the greater intensity of Mkhitaryan, Alex Iwobi or Aaron Ramsey is needed against superiors.
Near confirmation of Mkhitaryan’s starting place at Wembley came when he was replaced in the 64th minute, while Ozil played out the match.
‘Mesut helped us with his quality and work,’ Emery said. ‘ All the players should be proud tonight and it is the same for Mesut.’
Asked how he could drop Ozil or Mkhitaryan, the Spaniard added: ‘We want to get our identity being competitive first. Big intensity and aggression with and without the ball.’
By now, Arsenal supporters will be able to read between the lines on that one. Ozil was not the only Arsenal player to returneturn from the shadows.
In the case of Carlarl Jenkinson, here was a first starting Premierr League appearance at the Emirates since December 2013.
Ozil, however, took the acclaim.
He produces a handfull of these performanceses per season, those daysays when he reminds the world of the talent that carried Germany to World Cupp glory and persuaded both Real Madrid and Arsenal to construct teams around his gifts.
Ozil had two major openings in the first half and turned both opportunities into certainty.
In the fourth minute, Sead Kolasinac drove inside from the left flank, Ozil ghosted unchecked into the penalty area and the German had the time to calm himself before striking the ball into the ground and over goalkeeper Artur Boruc.
Yet Arsenal remain a peculiar side who can bewitch opponents but still leave the back door unlocked.
Ryan Fraser sped in behind but was denied by Bernd Leno before Bournemouth offered up a gift of their own to Arsenal.
Only Adam Smith will know quite why he played a sideways pass across his own half. Mkhitaryan raced on to it, slid a pass to Ozil to his right and the German returned a perfect ball to Mkhitaryan to stab in his second goal in two games.
Game over — or so it seemed. Matteo Guendouzi has had a terrific first season but on this occasion, the 19-year-old erred. Receiving the ball on the edge of the penalty area from Leno, Guendouzi was on the half-turn but uncertain of his surroundings. Dan Gosling pressed high, pinched the ball and squared for Lys Mousset to turn into the unguarded goal. All of a susudden, Arsenal were more uuncertain. Sokratis seemeseemed particularly rattled, crascrashing in with a poor sciscissor challenge on FrFraser and earning a booking. The interval offered Arsenal the chance to regroup and they were rrapidly on the front fofoot. MMkhitaryan dashed dowdown the right side, cut the ball across goal and KoscKoscielny’s goalbound effort wwas diverted in by Chris Mepham.Mepha The mauling that threatened to break out in the first period now materialised. Ozil struck the post and then Mkhitaryan split the Bournemouth defence with a searing outside - of- the- boot pass for Aubameyang, who raced clear and rounded the keeper to score. Substitute Lacazette claimed the fifth with 12 minutes left via a delicate curling free-kick from 20 yards.