Ozil in trouble after Arsenal’s demolition of Fulham, Bet9ja tournament kicks off

By Nelson Dafe on October 9, 2018

The Gunners are getting happy and excited again. New coach Unai Emery's revolution is in full swing at Arsenal as they are picking up wins in ruthless fashion in the English Premier league (albeit against teams they are considered considerably superior to). 
West Ham, Newcastle, Everton, Watford and now Fulham have all been beaten by Arsenal as the club haven't dropped a single point side week two when they lost 2-3 to Chelsea. 
The hope amongst the suits of Arsenal and supporters of the club when Emery came in was that he could transform the club into a winning machine again, while playing beautiful football, as was the case in the early years of the Spaniard's predecessor Arsene Wenger. That dream is becoming a reality. 
Arsenal put in their most impressive display of the campaign as they fired 5 superb away goals against a hapless Fulham team who had splashed more than £100m in the transfer market on players, with the aim of achieving, a so far elusive, quick success in the playing field. 
A double each from strikers Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre Emeryk Aubermeyang and a 'goal of the season' contender by Aaron Ramsey saw Arsenal overcome a meek resistance from Fulham who had equalized late in the first half in what eventually proved a false dawn. 
Arsenal's latest win came in the absence of their star man and the club's highest payed player Mezut Ozil who was struggling with an injury. 
Ozil over the years has divided opinion as many are not convinced of his overall quality given his usually non-aggressive, laid back languid style of play. 
Though his passing abilities and overall vision is universally acknowledged, many feel he simply withers in tough games for Arsenal and the label 'lazy' has been placed on his name for years. 
The Turkish-born German playmaker, who retired from the German national team following a disappointing World Cup campaign in Russia, in which he accused the German Football Federation of racism against him, has decided to fully focus on his club career, but so far, he's not convinced many that he's a right fit for the high pressing game of Unai Emery. 
So it was interesting to see the Arsenal play a tricky away game in his absence. Arsenal lined up in a 4-4-2 formation from the start, like they did in the early years of Wenger's reign, with Danny Welbeck and Lacazette leading the line, while Alex Iwobi, Lucas Torreira, Granite Xakha and Henrykh Mkhitaryan made up the midfield bank of four. 
Arsenal's display was energetic and very professional, again reminding us of how the club was during the first decade of Wenger's time. 
There was not a single player who wasn't harrying and fighting to win possession, no one was accused of laziness. 
If there were fears that Ozil's absence would rub Arsenal of that incisive creativity to open up the opponents in order to create chances, they were dispelled in what was a fluid and fast performance laced with high technical and tactical movement of the ball that bamboozled Fulham to no end. 
It is fair to say that on the strength of what was seen from Arsenal on Sunday, Ozil has a fight in his hands to get any reassurance that he would be henceforth a first name in Arsenal's team sheet. 
When the league resumes in a fortnight after the International break, Ozil would likely have recovered from injury and would most likely play against Leicester City. But what happens with Emery's selections in big games would be of real interest. Is he going to prefer Ozil's technical quality but lack of grit, to the energetic play of the team without the German as was the case against Fulham? Only time will tell. 
For now the Gunners have now garnered 17 points and are only two points away from the top 3 clubs. They are in the title race again. Would you believe it? 
As one commentator said, Arsenal could be the dark horses of the title race with such steady performances and they may just be better placed to go all the way without Ozil being a regular in the side. 
Bet9ja football tournament update
The 4th edition of the Bet9ja Football competition for grassroots clubs kicked off in Benin City, Edo State on monday with newly crowned Edo state league champions BJ Foundation continuing their Super form with a 5-1 spanking of Happy Boys FC. The hapless Happy Boys would not be happy with how they failed to cope with a blistering BJ attack who simply ran riot. 
In other results, Clibbers FC beat Golden Star 2-1, Mission Side FC hammered Eno Flow 3-0, while defending champions Uniben Royals were shocked by newcomers Royal Springs who won 1-0. 
Match Day two's biggest fixture comes up on Tuesday morning between ex-Super Eagles striker Yakubu Aiyegbeni-sponsored Yak Sports FC and Benin Warriors FC, two clubs that are admired for their free-flowing football.

Source Daily Sports

Posted October 9, 2018


 

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