On this day last year…hattrick vs Leicester
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Ozil has signed on, now time for you Alexis.
Get on to it!
Really good game from him tonight, two great assists to Walcott. All that was missing was a goal for himself, certainly wasn’t lacking in opportunities.
Nonetheless, this has been a good start to the season for him 
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I liked Walcott #2. You could see he came deeper and stayed there to basically force Walcott to make that run which leaves the CBs stranded and it demands the fullback to see what’s happening and react which isn’t likely because he’s releasing the ball, running at full pelt and receiving it back within a second and he’s clean through with nobody catching him. I think we’ll be seeing this kind of goal often.
He was brilliant tonight, complete CF performance (aside from unlucky finishing).
Seeing him play the way he did tonight as a CF it’s kinda frustrating it’s taken this long for it to work, when it seemed like the logical thing when we first signed him. Oh well.
@TheSpecialCnut thoughts? I know for you he is not a CF.
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Yeah, I still don’t think of him as a CF but something more like an SS.
Alexis isn’t someone that adapt his style to the situation, that a big reason why he struggle at Barca excepting when Martino came and tried to destroy them from within.
I don’t think that Alexis is adapting to what we needed from our CF before, but that we are adapting what Alexis offers upfront. All while he keeps playing his game in a somewhat false-9ish way.
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Well put. It’s an optimistic comparison but Alexis in the last few games has reminded me a bit of how Suarez was deployed at Liverpool - 9 on paper but really a SS that could pop up anywhere, who just worked relentlessly to create chances, and whose movement caused all kinds of organizational problems for defenses.
I’m really warming to the current system. Walcott largely stays at RW but can make darting runs behind in the center if Sanchez vacates that space, Iwobi stays pretty disciplined as a left sided playmaker but can drift into the center to combine in front of the defense, two positionally astute CMs behind who both can really play the ball forward and offer a solid platform, and in the middle two world class 9.5 or 10 type players in Sanchez and Ozil who both have great movement and get free license to do whatever the fuck they want.
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Tonight he really reminded me of that. Please may it continue.
Our new Henry&Bergkamp :santi2:. Apart from joke, Alexis is doing well as CF, something you would have expected from him.
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That’s no joke. That’s exactly what Ozil & Sanchez are for us.
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The front four are interchangeable; when alexis went to the left Theo went in to the cf position iwobi went in to the Am and ozil moved to the right; that happened time and time again.
Alexis at CF seems to work with Iwobi and Walcott playing as the front line is fluid and interchanging. I’m not sure it would work without those two alongside him. Maybe when Lucas is fully up to speed he’ll be able to function in that kind of front three. If Ramsey or Oxlade got one of the nominally wide roles then I don’t think Alexis as CF necessarily works.
7 games 5 goals 4 assist Sanchez is looking sharp up front right now, motm for me last night.
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Another great game from Sanchez.
I know he missed a few but he got in several very good goal scoring positions, and, to be fair, their GK had a very good game.
The main thing is he looks like the player he was when he first came here.
He and Ozil, in form, are the difference between us being a good team and a great team.
Too bad he didn’t score himself, but that Theo/ Sanchez partnership is looking really hard to defend.
Some great thoughts in here. I really like that we have an unorthodox front line however agree with Jakey that this may not work so well without the needed components. Long may it continue.
I think before, with Giroud being the main focus, Alexis was a periphery figure in the team, an addition to the front 3 getting goals cutting in from the LW. A disciplined position and one that got exposed after a season. Whilst that wasn’t solely the reason for his lull last season, there wasn’t a plan B for the way he played. Whereas now, making Alexis the talisman opens up so many more variables. I think it makes the team play a lot more fluid compared to the more rigid, narrow system we had with Giroud at the top. I do wonder if Ramsey can benefit, like he did in 13/14, in this system? Imagine peak Ramsey in this team right now. Bonerrrrr.
I really don’t want to see Giroud starting unless it’s a given at the moment. The football is sweet af right now.
We are far from confirming that this transition is successful. But I am glad we are persisting with it.
I have always been a firm believer Alexis was bought with a view to move into the striker role (since this isn’t the first attempt at making it work), and it’s nice to see a continuation of those plans.
Big fan of internal solutions and him without defensive responsibility is just surreal. I strongly do believe however that he is heavily dependant on the unbelievable balance our team has right now. It’s almost text book perfection.
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Someone is likely to stay at Arsenal