OZIL BAGS A HAT-TRICK AS ARSENAL MARCH ON
THE Arsenal bandwagon shows no sign of slowing down. This victory owed much to a brilliant secondhalf hat-trick from Mesut Ozil, who added to goals from Alexis Sanchez, Theo Walcott and Alex OxladeChamberlain to keep the Gunners on course for the Champions League knockout stage. This team’s critics will continue to doubt, but finally there seems substance to Arsenal. Of course, we’ve said all this before and we’ll find out what they are truly made of in the weeks ahead. Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said: ‘Our confidence is stronger with every win but we have to keep the vigilance as well, and the urgency to bring that into the next game. ‘Let’s not be too quick on the verdict. We have a strong squad and a strong spirit, but you have to take care of it. Arsenal didn’t have to wait long to take the lead — their rapid start rewarded as Sanchez sprung Ludogorets’ offside trap before lofting a delightful chip over Vladislav Stoyanov in the 12th minute. The Ludogorets keeper was beaten for a second time three minutes before the interval as Walcott continued his resurgence with a great 25-yard shot to double Arsenal’s advantage. It took Arsenal less than a minute after the restart to notch their third of the evening, Oxlade-Chamberlain slotting home after Ludogorets failed to deal with Kieran Gibbs’ low cross. The fourth was rapid and sumptuous in equal measure. The move included only five touches before the ball entered Stoyanov’s net. The first came from a Laurent Koscielny tackle on the edge of the Arsenal area to deny Marcelinho. The next two came from Santi Cazorla, to find Ozil with a raking, 40-yard pass. The next touch was the best of the lot; Ozil controlling his Spanish colleague’s pass brilliantly to take Cosmin Moti out of the game. The fifth and final touch coolly slotted past Stoyanov. Ozil completed his hat-trick in the closing stages — first firing home from close range after a low cross, then hitting a volley past Stoyanov.