Steve Bould said of the Montpellier game, “The second half was tough and we looked physically a little bit tired”.
The Gunner’s strength in depth this season is one of the many reasons for fans to be optimistic, and so it was odd that there was little change to the team that blew Southampton away on the weekend.
Aaron Ramsey, Andre Santos (‘he drives how he wants’), and Laurent Koscielny, all have had little to no playing time this season, while it seems that Theo Walcott is being punished for his failure to sign a new deal at the club. Perhaps Wenger, quite rightly given their second half performance Tuesday night, rated the Montpellier side higher than their domestic league position suggests, and was wary of the ‘12th man’ factor the home crowd could give them. He may also have wanted to stick with a winning set of players, and will hope that their new found mentality and confidence can help them through the game against Man City on Sunday.
This being said, it was a much needed 3 points, however they came, against a tricky opponent in a potentially tricky group. The team seems to be working harder for eachother, while also playing some great football; the first goal was a great team move right through the centre of their defence, with a great finish from the only left footed striker who has ever played for Arsenal, ever.
Little change should be expected for the game at Eastlands, with maybe Giroud coming out for the Ox. On the subject of Giroud, I know it’s the media’s job to make headlines out of anything they can, and so this proclaimed ‘goal draught’ has been hyped up way too much. I refuse to start lambasting a player for not scoring after 3 starts at a new club, all against difficult opponents. Let’s still hope he gets his first goal sooner rather than later though, the weekend would be epic, COYG.
Cheers, @MattMorlidge
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