Arsenal are getting good at this winning football matches business. A confident win against Stoke, followed by the fantastic win at City, progression in the FA Cup and now the smashing of Aston Villa, watching Arsenal has become a more enjoyable experience. For now, anyway.

Perhaps the most encouraging thing to take from today's game is that we looked a threat without Alexis. The 4-1-4-1 looked completely ineffectual at the start of the season, but a more confident team with players in form is making it work well. In particular, the re-emergence of Coquelin, Ramsey curbing his attacking habits and Cazorla's return to form has been vital. In effect, it shouldn't matter who plays wide or up front, so long as that trio functions well.

We didn't have complete control of the game despite the one-sided scoreline. Villa had more of the ball than us in the first half and at the start of the second half as we stood off them. Their pressing was also impressive and maybe the game would have been difficult had they actually had a decent attack. Bar a few balls into the box, though, Ospina had nothing to do and our defence was comfortable.

Villa's attempted pressing became their undoing. They were caught so high up the pitch that even Giroud could run in behind, stumble, mess up a couple of touches and still get a shot on goal. The touch from Ozil to play him in was sublime, and Giroud's finished was composed and classy.

After that goal, there were signs that we would over-run them but we didn't quite make the most of our opportunities. Villa eventually settled back down and probably had the better of the remainder of the half and the start of the second half. Benteke's height and strength made things a bit awkward when the ball came into the box, but we dealt with it well for the most part. We didn't want to press high up for whatever reason and were a bit too deep, which resulted in Villa having more of the ball in our half than they should have.

Whether that was an intention ploy or not I don't know, but it didn't inhibit our attacking play at all. The second goal was similar to the first, with us breaking on Villa and exploiting their high line. Giroud, this time, played in Ozil and he went to finish superbly. A third courtesy of Walcott followed not long after, and from there we were in complete control. The job was done and we were comfortable enough to give Chuba Akpom a good 20 minute run out.

Akpom played well in that time and won a penalty that Cazorla just about converted. Akpom was able to show off his excellent movement and perhaps should have got a goal himself, which would have been a nice way to cap things off. Fortunately, Bellerin was on hand to arrow in a late fifth and complete the manita.

Things are definitely looking up. Walcott and Ozil have started two games back-to-back and scored in both of them. You can only think that they'll get even better as they play more minutes. Giroud continues his good form in front of goal, while Cazorla's form doesn't look like it'll be tailing off any time soon. All going well, Chamberlain, Welbeck and Alexis will all return to the squad for the Spurs game next week and the squad will be the healthiest its ever been this season.

The Spurs game next week is a huge game. Both teams are in good shape and have players in very good form and a win will be very useful towards both team's efforts to finish in the top four. You wonder if we'll go with the more defensive approach that we used against City, or whether we'll try to take Spurs head on and assert ourselves on them.

Jay

Coquelin's stock must be shooting through the roof. A few months ago this guy looked like he was destined to be a bit part player for relegation fodder, but now he's blazed back into the spotlight and showing his quality. That's ze mental strength.

Well summed up Jay. My two cents:

1. The 4-1-4-1 : I said at the start of the season that it would never work with only Arteta or Flamini as the 1. Both managed to pass off the DM last season, to varying degrees, only because Ramsey has that engine on him. With each of them a year older, it was simply too much to expect either to be able to do the job. Then everyone except Flamini started getting injured and we had to go away from the 4-1-4-1 to avoid dropping more points. It is encouraging to see that Coquelin has slotted in brilliantly into that role, such that we are finding much more success with it.

2. I don't think it will be wise to try and assert ourselves at Spurs. They beat Chelsea 5-3 less exactly a month back at WHL. And arguably, they have been in as good form as us. I think only Liverpool and Soton have had better league form over the last six games. So both in form teams, high on confidence and with key players in form. It's not going to be easy, but we have reasons to be quietly confident, especially buoyed by our away performance at Etihad. We also need to win more points in away and pull ourselves up that table (check stats thread).

Arsenal full-back Hector Bellerin:
"The team is playing really well, defending solidly and creating lots of chances. We were patient, we waited for our moments to come and then we were able to create a lot of chances towards the end."

Arsenal winger Theo Walcott:
"The first half was quite cautious, Villa came at us and pressurised us. But in the second half, I can't think of a more one-sided game. A great victory and it was important to get a load of goals. It's always nice personally to get goals, especially at the Emirates, as the fans have always been fantastic to me. But it's all about getting those three points."

_________________________

Third consecutive PL win for the first time this season

Btw, it is to be noted that we are still at 5th today, with Spurs snapping our heels 2 points behind. Liverpool are 4 behind. United are only 1 ahead though

Soton, if they win, maintain their 3 point cushion over us.

Looks more like your three cents^^

Nah.. Two cents were in response to two specific points in Jay's post.. Third was an afterthought really on the overall scheme of things.. (This is not a fourth cent btw)

Form table:

Ozil, so often criticised for a perceived lackadaisical demeanour, even had more sprints than any other player (72) - and was only second to Cazorla in ground covered by Arsenal players (11.18km).

Who was MotM today though?

I would probably go with Özil..

srigooner wrote:Ozil, so often criticised for a perceived lackadaisical demeanour, even had more sprints than any other player (72) - and was only second to Cazorla in ground covered by Arsenal players (11.18km).

He usually does lol, when he first joined the club he completed more km than every other player.

His work rate has never been the problem, more that his defending sucks (obviously) and was forced into positions where he's a liability to the team and you don't want him there anyway.

5 goals, 5 different scorers.

Santi’s penalty kick.

Alexis in for Theo and thats our best line up atm

need similar approach as vs city in NLD

Giroud has really been good since his return

looks good time of the season for our team to peak[touch wood] getting important players back

Not sure about Ozil & Ox, Ox speed could be great asset against Spurs especially if we play deep.

Same approach but this time Eriksen = Silva and Kane = Aguero.

Ox Wont make it for that game
even ALexis may not
so we could see unchanged side

but ideally i would use Theo off the Bench

I would keep Alexis on the bench, it is NLD and this is Theo. You know how he is going to rek them

Great Leader Sprucenuce wrote:

srigooner wrote:Ozil, so often criticised for a perceived lackadaisical demeanour, even had more sprints than any other player (72) - and was only second to Cazorla in ground covered by Arsenal players (11.18km).

He usually does lol, when he first joined the club he completed more km than every other player.

His work rate has never been the problem, more that his defending sucks (obviously) and was forced into positions where he's a liability to the team and you don't want him there anyway.

He's getting better though. MotM performance from the 'LW where he sucks' and lol.com puts up an article saying has he finally arrived in the PL

on the win…
We scored goals and didn’t concede. Our offensive game was good even though I believe we had some weaker periods in the game when Aston Villa were in possession. We always looked dangerous when we got [in between] their lines and defensively we were sound as well. Overall it’s a positive day for us. I feel a bit for Villa because they gave a lot and fought very hard. Maybe it will be difficult for them but they were caught in the last 20 minutes because they were tired. The second goal was a blow for them but overall they did fight.

on hitting form at the right time…
I would say yes, you are right. That shows as well that we have maybe found a better consistency. That will be very important until the end [of the season]. Let’s show that we can win more and it shows you as well that when the confidence level is higher and when everybody’s back defensively, it makes a difference. Defensive stability is vital - when you don’t have that, you suffer.

on whether Alexis was close to playing at all…
He was not very close today. I’m pleased that many players scored goals and I’m also pleased that we scored goals that were not only sheer power. We were placing the ball and that shows that you do not always need to hit the ball like mad to score a goal. Mesut Ozil showed that, Hector Bellerin showed that. These kinds of goals are more down to technique than power.

on Mesut Ozil’s performance…
It’s always, ‘where does he play? On the left, in the middle?’. I think he still lacks a little bit of competitive edge on sharpness but the quality of his game is exceptional and he’s getting back now. He worked very, very hard physically and he’s now ready to play again.

on Theo Walcott’s first Premier League goal in 14 months…
I still feel he can score a goal in every game. In his overall game I still think he needs some more sharpness and more contact. He’s a very intelligent player and the quality of Theo’s game is about the quality of his movement, the quality of his receptions, where he gets the ball. He knows where to be dangerous and when he’s in front of goal he can score. I was quite surprised because in the first half he was through but then Jores Okore caught up with him and I think that once he’s through, you know that nobody can catch him. Okore must be very quick!

on the title race…
It’s too early to say [that Arsenal can still have a say]. We are 11 points behind - that means they need to lose four games and we need to win four. I believe that we should try to be consistent and see what happens. I told you, you asked me my predictions [for the Chelsea v Manchester City game]. I said a draw and I was not wrong because Chelsea had one shot on target and Manchester City three or four. It was a draw.

on Walcott needing ‘contact’…
He needs to get used to contact. Physical contact. In every game he is stronger now.
on Walcott’s confidence…
I would agree [that Walcott intercepted a pass not intended for him when he scored]. He wanted it and once you’re 3-0 up and you take the strikers off, they all want to stay on because they want to score more goals. I believe that he is so quick and he understands football. In the final third he’s always dangerous.

on whether he will be busy on deadline day…
I don’t think I will be busy. We have done what we wanted and unless there is a huge surprise and somebody calls me - not the journalists, an agent - then why not? At the moment, nothing, it’s very quiet.

on whether there will be any outgoings…
No.

on having a selection headache…
Yes of course but my job is about selection. Sometimes, no matter who you select, you can be wrong. No matter who you select, you can be right as well when you have the quality. You cannot really be wrong because all the players have the quality to play.

http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/20150201/wenger-on-victory-ozil-and-walcott

Here's why I was looking for Coquelin stats/vids:

One of the reasons why Arsenal have looked tighter in the back is that they have a true defensive midfielder in the middle of the park in Francis Coquelin. In his five Premier League starts (since West Ham) Arsenal have conceded just 3 goals and have scored 12. Two of the goals Arsenal conceded when Coquelin was a starter were against Southampton when he was asked to play along side Matthieu Flamini. It was his worst performance of the season.

What Coquelin offers Arsenal is shown in what he did today: 50/54 passing (second behind Cazorla), 2/2 dribbles, 15 ball recoveries (led all players), 5/7 tackles (led all players), 5 interception (tied with Koz to lead all players), 1 block, 1 aerial duel won, 3 fouls committed, and dispossessed just 2 times.

His resurgent form has him leading Arsenal in tackles per game (which he wins at an astonishing 78% rate) and third in interceptions. He’s also getting a fair number of blocks, doesn’t get into too much foul trouble, helps out with clearances, and he wins 70% of his 3.5 aerial duels per game.

http://news.arseblog.com/2015/02/arsenal-5-0-aston-villa-by-the-numbers/

Arseblog went with Cazorla for the MotM. I think this is his 4th in a row now?

Cazorla, man of the match

68 - Completed passes (led all players)
30 – Completed passes in the Villa final third (30/35! led all players)
4 – Key passes (led all players)
2 – Assists (led all players)
1 - Goal scored
3 - Dribbles (2nd behind Özil’s 5/8 )
7 - Ball recoveries
3 - Tackles (of 6 attempts, 2nd best on Arsenal)
2 – Fouls suffered

Yeah Caz was MOTM

We are doing quite well, aren't we!?

Ha, after an awkward start to the campaign, we are seemingly up and running. 12 wins in 15 games, who saw that coming after the defeat to Manchester United at the Emirates - even if we didn't deserve to lose that.

The return of key players (Koscielny, Giroud, Walcott, Ozil, Ramsey) has obviously helped massively. The new additions of Bielik & Gabriel has also given everyone a boost, perhaps.

Our month ahead is now huge: Spurs (a), Middlesbrough (h) & Monaco (h) all to come - 3 competitions, let's see how we do.

I wouldn't count Bielik even in reserves atm

Arsenal
11 hrs ·
Congratulations to Mesut Özil, your ‪#‎AFCvAVFC‬ man of the match!