Arsenal have really been on a roll since the hard-fought win over Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium. The Gunners had their first away win against them in the previous four games and it seems to have brought a parity among the team and the fans amidst a nightmarish campaign.
The loss away at Crystal Palace was a new low point for Arsene Wenger and the manager was under excruciating pressure to perform. And as tremendous times demand tremendous measures, the 67-year-old resorted to the highly trending three-man defence for the first time in his 21-year reign.
And while it definitely provided an added protection to his defence, which was crumbling like a house of cards till then, what was a bonus for Arsenal was the good form among their players, who were otherwise performing below average.
The Gunners are now in the FA Cup final and are seeing a real chance of qualifying for the Champions League spot after three back-to-back wins. And here are the three players, who have really impressed in the turnaround-
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain- He is fast, he is muscular, he is aggressive and he possesses tremendous dribbling attributes; all the ingredients needed for successful wing-backs. We wonder why no one thought about this role earlier. What he has essentially done, is inspired the team. It was first in the game against Middlesbrough that we saw some flashes as he ripped apart defences on the right flanks with his bursting runs.
While he couldn’t provide any such end product in that game and Arsenal needed Ozil and Sanchez magic to overcome the Boro challenge, Chamberlain’s new role came to life properly in the game against Manchester City. It was his cross that brought the equaliser and he picked up a man of the match display.
Nacho Monreal- He is having the Midas touch now. The Spaniard full-back has been criticised on numerous occasions, which include Arsenal’s losses against Bayern Munich and Chelsea. He was mainly pulled up for wrong game reading that cost Arsenal games.
But, the new-found role of a left wing-back has seemingly changed his fortune. After City’s first goal through Aguero, which was partially his mistake, he banged one in quickly with his right foot and it was followed by Arsenal’s only goal against Leicester City last game.
Rob Holding- Although very little game time has been allotted to him this season, the 21-year-old looks like a regular next season already. His ability to dribble past players and find players up front from the deep is spectacular. The best thing about Holding is his composure that he showed against Boro and City. City was definitely a big game by his standards, but he didn’t flinch an inch in his style of playing.
