Walcott, Ozil and Rosicky stand out in Arsenal win over Brighton in FA Cup BRIGHTON, England -- Three quick thoughts on Arsenals 3-2 win at Brighton in the FA Cup fourth round on Saturday afternoon. 1. Arsenal on a mission It didnt fit with the shock patterns of this FA Cup weekend, but Arsenals 3-2 win over Brighton and Hove Albion does suggest something might be building for their season. Arsene Wengers side seemed so assured from the outset after last weeks mood-changing 2-0 win over Manchester City and had what must be one of its smoothest attacking performances of the season. While there were a few periods when their apparent new resilience was called into question -- not least after Sam Baldocks 75th-minute goal to make it 3-2 -- the visitors didnt buckle. Otherwise, for long periods of this game they were simply excellent, with the resurgent Tomas Rosicky utterly supreme throughout. He lashed in the goal to make it 3-1 and effectively secure the win, with his return to form perhaps matched in terms of satisfaction only by the return of both Theo Walcott and Mesut Ozil to the score sheet. Brighton did match Arsenal for quality of finish, with Chris OGrady drilling home superbly just after halftime to make it 2-1 and Baldock finishing delightfully, but they still never looked like getting the real breakthrough. Rather than Arsenal getting opened up again, the competition has opened up for them. They must surely fancy themselves to retain the trophy, and that would allow them to make history to rank alongside any shock. A 12th FA Cup would make them the most successful club in the competitions history, and Wenger the joint most successful manager alongside George Ramsey on six. They certainly started like a team on a mission. 2. The return of Walcott and Ozil It took Walcott less than two minutes to open the scoring at the Amex Stadium, but it was still a moment hes had to wait a long time for, as a year of recovering from that cruciate injury finally seemed like it was coming to a proper end. He wasnt the only one enjoying a familiar feeling. Ozil hit his first goal since Octobers knee injury in his first start back. It wasnt just that they scored either. It was also the sheer quality of the finishes. Walcott took his goal beautifully, controlling then offering an angled drive past David Stockdale, following Calum Chambers surging run up the right. Ozils was its equal as, after yet another flurried passing move into the box on 12 minutes, the German checked in, took his time and then took a defender out of the equation before rolling the ball past Stockdale. By that point, Arsenal looked brilliant, putting in one of their finest attacking displays of the season. The movement was just so slick, often kaleidoscopic. One of the images of the game was, for one Arsenal break, when seven players darted up the pitch in exhilarating fashion. That move broke down with a poor Walcott choice, illustrating some of the eternal flaws in his game and that the cohesion wasnt yet totally perfect, but its still hard not to think that it was the exact qualities these two players bring that were the reasons for such a rampant attacking performance. Walcott offers rare pace and that extra angle an outlet. Ozil -- when on form -- possesses movement and vision beyond most. If they click, they can be devastating. Even then, though, they werent Arsenals best performers on the day. 3. Rosicky stands out If Walcott offered cutting runs and Ozil some creation, it was Rosicky responsible for the control. The Czech commanded the game from first moment, with the sort of display we probably would have seen so much more of had injuries not had such a ruinous effect on his career. Here, he was ruining Brightons defence and midfield, regularly pulling them apart and driving Arsenals play. It indicates so much that there were so many moments when the Czech effortlessly outfoxed one of the opposition players, either with a step-over, a dummy or a glorious no-look pass. Brighton couldnt seem to live with him, and his touches set the tone for the way Arsenals attack rotated and swirled around in such scintillating fashion. Brighton found it impossible to pin them down. Of course, it was not just about the fancy touches from Rosicky. There was some real power too, most notably for the driving run that led to Ozils goal and the lashed volley that made it 3-1. If it was a near-perfect performance from Rosicky, though, it wasnt quite that from Arsenal, as there were moments when their defence looked more rattled than even at Manchester City last week. It said much that, just moments after Baldock had made it 3-2, Wenger hauled off Ozil for Francis Coquelin, who had been so excellent at the Etihad. He restored stability, and Arsenal ended the game with the superior chances. There was no real late siege. There was one standout performer, though: Rosicky.
Posted on: Sun, 25 Jan 2015 23:26:17 +0000
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