Suarez and Sturridge. Rooney and Van persie. Welbeck and Giroud…. Ever since the arrival of Welbeck at Arsenal he has been deployed as the central striker in the conventional 4-2-3-1 formation.
The embedding of Welbeck into Arsenal has been smooth and has been seemingly helped by the subsequent injury to Giroud. However the alternative approach play Arsenal adopt when playing with Giroud seemed to inspire Welbeck to go to another level against the Baggies. In his pre match interview Wenger stated that Welbeck would be played on the flank. Maybe this was a ploy to deceive West Brom because Welbeck played in a fluid 3 alongside Alexis Sanchez and Giroud. The interchanging of positions was something to be admired and ultimately culminated in Welbeck finding himself in a central area and scoring the winning goal. The chemistry between the men seemed to be evident and I am sure with more games together this relationship can really flourish.
Arsenal have had a serious problem at the start of this term with the amount of goals that they have conceded. They have conceded 24 goals in 21 games and have been experts are throwing away leads that they find themselves in. There have been many questions raised about the back four and the protection in front of the back four. It has left serious doubts over the ability of Arsene Wenger to identify the positions that they need to strengthen in the transfer market. The two games this week have shown a vast improvement in the defensive department with two clean sheets against West brom and Dortmund in the Champions League. Arsenal will face more challenging opposition for sure but it is a welcome sight to see that the flow of goals going in against Arsenal have been halted. The return of Mertesacker and Koscielny should represent a change in the amount off goals conceded. It should also help to stop the considerable criticism experienced by the defense this year.
Santi Cazorla, the Spanish Wizard has not hit the heights that Arsenal fans expect of him so far this season. He has looked sluggish on the ball and completely the opposite of the player who has been instrumental in taking Arsenal to the next level since his arrival from Malaga. His remarkable 30 yard free kick during the FA Cup last year sparked a huge turnaround in the game and was the underlying reason why Arsenal were able to win their first title for 8 years. He scored 4 goals in the premier league last year and also had 8 assists. However like the Arsenal defense Santi seemed to turn a corner against West Brom. He played just in front of Ramsey and Flamini and was in sparkling form. His assist for Welbeck was wonderful who duly obliged with the finish. He was also playing in a more central area where he always seems to play better, rather than on the wing. This hopefully will mark a change in fortunes for Santi, who has been one of Arsenal’s best players in recent times.