Arsene Wenger compared Mesut Ozil with Arsenal great Dennis Bergkamp after the German playmaker inspired a 2-0 Barclays Premier League victory over Bournemouth.
Ozil provided the assist for Gabriel’s opener before showing an exquisite touch when combining with Olivier Giroud to score the second as the Gunners recovered from their 4-0 rout at Southampton to move above Leicester into first place.
Arsenal’s most influential figure is also the dominant force in this season’s Premier League and a gushing Wenger acclaimed him as “exceptional”.
When asked if Ozil is currently the best player in the competition, Wenger replied: “Look at the numbers on the assists and they speak for him.
“Yes he reminds me of Bergkamp. Bergkamp was more of a goalscorer than him and Ozil is more about assists, but now Ozil is becoming more of a goalscorer, so they are really comparable.
“I have seen a few good games from Ozil. What’s important is that he’s convincing everyone that he’s not just a very talented player, but someone who is ready to work very hard for the team.
“Overall he is the complete player. I’ve not seen many players of his quality. He’s an exceptional player and you have to give me credit – I always defended that point of view even when people were sceptical.
“What’s important is that he becomes as good as he can be, and he is on the way to doing that. At the moment he’s absolutely fantastic.
“Mesut was the focal point of our team against Bournemouth because we had a new midfield again. He was the guy who gave reassurance with his technical security and fluidity. He gives the team confidence.”
Keeper Petr Cech set a new Premier League record for clean sheets of 170 games after denying Bournemouth, moving above David James to write his name in the history books.
“Petr can be very proud because it’s a remarkable achievement. People don’t realise how much commitment, focus and consistency is behind that,” Wenger said.
“On top of that he’s a remarkably gifted goalkeeper. Of course, he’s comparable with David Seaman.”
Wenger was pleased with Arsenal’s response after they were humbled at St Mary’s.
“You can’t go from the start of the season to the end without experiencing disappointment at some stage. Southampton was a big one,” he said.
“It’s all down to how well you respond and that’s what was at stake in this game.”
Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe could only admire Ozil’s performance.
“Ozil is a difficult man to mark because he drifts and he roams. To man mark him would be incredibly difficult for any one player,” Howe said.
“I didn’t enjoy watching his performance because I’m the manager of the opposing team, but from a football point of view you have to respect what he delivered because it was of a very high standard.
“The goal he scored was typical Arsenal, it was a great goal and there wasn’t a great deal we could do with that. He’s an exceptional player.”
Cherries Vow To Get Back On Track
Defeat will not dent our belief, insists Surman.
Bournemouth midfielder Andrew Surman is targeting a swift return to winning ways after Monday’s defeat at Arsenal.
Eddie Howe’s Cherries had previously gone six games unbeaten in the Barclays Premier League, including noticeable victories over champions Chelsea and out-of-form Manchester United.
The visitors started well at the Emirates Stadium, but were undone when Gabriel headed home his first Arsenal goal from a corner, with Mesut Ozil adding a well-taken second after the interval.
The result leaves newly-promoted Bournemouth 16th in the table ahead of a tricky trip to high-flying Leicester on Saturday, but Surman says losing at Arsenal has not dented the belief the players now have.
“We’ve set ourselves high standards,” he told Cherries Player.
“So has the manager and we’ve been on a good run recently, so we really felt we could have got something.
“As I said, this month has been great for us and we’ve set ourselves really high standards, so we’ll still be full of confidence heading into the Leicester game.
“It was a frustrating evening for us, if I am honest. The first 20 minutes we had control of the game and felt like we might go on and win it.
“So then to go on and concede from a set-piece is really disappointing. We lost our way a little bit after that.”
Heading to the King Power Stadium, Bournemouth will be buoyed by memories of their draw with the Foxes earlier in the season.
The 1-1 draw in August was the Cherries’ first home Premier League point as Callum Wilson’s strike was cancelled out by a late Jamie Vardy penalty – the first goal at the start of the record-breaking goalscoring run the England forward would then embark on.
REPORT: ARSENAL 2-0 BOURNEMOUTH (INC GOALS)
Arsenal: Cech, Bellerin, Gabriel, Mertesacker, Gibbs, Chambers, Ramsey, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Ozil, Walcott, Giroud
Subs: Ospina, Iwobi, Monreal, Debuchy, Koscielny, Campbell, The Jeff
—
Arsenal went top of the Premier League after goals from Gabriel and Mesut Ozil gave them a 2-0 win over Bournemouth at the Emirates Stadium this evening.
Arsene Wenger made four changes from the team that lost to Southampton with Kieran Gibbs and Gabriel replacing Laurent Koscielny and Nacho Monreal in the back four; Calum Chambers coming into midfield in place of Mathieu Flamini; and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain handed a start in the wide positions ahead of Joel Campbell.
The first attempt on goal came from the visitors with King providing little more than catching practice for Petr Cech, and Aaron Ramsey had to defend well when a low cross from the Bournemouth left caused problems at our near post.
Bournemouth looked well up for it, Arsenal a bit careless on the ball and off the pace, but there was a great chance to go ahead in the 24th minute when Mesut Ozil’s brilliant pass found Theo Walcott’s run, but with just the keeper to beat and the ball dropping over his shoulder, he missed the ball completely.
The German has been the Gunners creative hub this season, so it was no surprise that he added another assist to his tally after Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s strong running won a corner in the 27th minute. Ozil curled it in to a dangerous area and Gabriel got ahead of his marker and thumped a header into the top corner for his first ever Arsenal goal. 1-0.
Ramsey picked up a 31st minute yellow card for stopping a Bournemouth break despite the fact Harry Arter was not booked for the exact same kind of foul earlier in the game, giving rise to the belief – in my head anyway – that the referee was a baldy annoying prick.
The lead was almost doubled in the 34th minute from another corner. Again Ozil delivered, Gabriel flicked a header to the far post, it rebounded off the post, fell to Mertesacker and it bounced wide off his forehead from 2 yards out. Moments later Ozil was provider again, this time for Walcott but he saw his shot saved by Boruc.
Bournemouth continued to look shaky from corners and set-pieces with Ozil’s delivery dangerous throughout. There were shouts for a late penalty but the baldy prick was having none of it, as Arsenal finished the first period strongly and took the 1-0 lead with them as the referee blew the half-time whistle.
Bournemouth made a change at the break, bringing on Junior Stanislas for Mark Pugh, and there was early danger when King beat the offside trap but his low cross was blocked by Gabriel who had busted a gut to get back into the right area.
Eddie Howe’s enjoyed a bright spell in terms of possession with Arsenal forced to sit off and defend, but in the 63rd minute the lead was doubled and it was only fair that Ozil was the man to get the goal.
Arsenal drove down the right, Ozil picked it up, drove towards goal, played it to Giroud who flicked a beautiful first time pass back to him. He took a touch then finished with aplomb beyond the keeper. A truly awesome goal, from a truly awesome player. 2-0.
Giroud saw a shot saved by Boruc, Cech had make a stop from Ritchie, and Ozil set up Giroud for a good chance in he 80th minute but his effort on his right foot was tired. That was his last action as Arsene Wenger made his first change, bringing on Joel Campbell to replace the French international.
There was danger from O’Kane as the young Irishman curled a shot over the Arsenal bar, before Nacho Monreal came on to replace Gibbs who was suffering from cramp.
A fine counter-attacking move from the Gunners saw Oxlade-Chamberlain hit the post, agony for the England man who could really use a goal. At the other end Stanislas shot wide as Bournemouth looked for a way back, and there was late danger when Cech made a save.
There was also another chance created by Ozil as he set up Walcott with just Boruc to beat, but the England man’s touch was heavy and his shot easily stopped.
It didn’t matter though, we bounced back from the Southampton defeat to top the table, a nice place to be in, and the clean sheet meant a new record for Petr Cech.
A much better day than Saturday, that’s for sure. We play again in the new year.
Nenhum comentário:
Postar um comentário