Arsenal Need To Carry On Galatasaray Momentum

With Arsenal apparently having nothing to play for, they turned out one of the best performances of the year to ensure they finished their trip to Turkey with a full 3 points in what can be a really tough place to go. So what did we do well against the Turkish club and what can we still improve on?

Podolski

After making many a noise about possibly leaving the club in the January transfer window Podolski proved once again that he is probably the best goals per minute striker in the Arsenal set-up. His early strike showed what power he can bring to the front line and the fact he kept going right up until the last minute shows that he can still do a job for Arsenal when goals are needed and an older, more experienced level headed player might be needed.

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The match also showed that he cares about Arsenal still, and if put out onto the pitch he will give his all for the club that has quite frequently shunned him to the bench.

Onwards from here, he could also do with giving Giroud a few tips on how to finish the ball because apart from his goal against Manchester United I have been disappointed with his finishing of seemingly basic chances in recent matches.

Ramsey

Ramsey had appeared to be out of the running in recent weeks, where matches seemed to be passing him by without so much of a glimmer of last season’s form. We saw a bright return against Stoke with the volley but this was the first 90 minutes in which he has been a dominant force.

And I mean, that goal. Wow. How can you stop that kind of shot? Wenger admitted himself that he was hoping he wouldn’t shoot when it fell to him but Ramsey didn’t think past his initial instincts, and thankfully he didn’t.

I think we’ve decided on our goal of the season already yes?

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But anyway, can he keep it up for the next few matches? I hope so, because having him as a conductor in the middle of the park is a huge asset to any side and especially to an Arsenal side that have struggled to find their feet in the EPL this season.

Aerial Presence

Arsenal’s aerial presence is still poor. Only having one fit centre-back going into the weekend against a physical side I do think that Newcastle will look to exploit our lack of strength in the air, because we are still averaging only 35% of challenges won in that way.

It is not something that will change overnight and with a smaller than average midfield these figures are never going to be in our favour. But our defence, especially with the tall Mertesacker, should be winning more of the ball in the challenges and making himself more of a presence in set pieces.

If you want to see more on that point, see my analysis of what went wrong at Stoke.

But all in all, Arsenal can take a lot of positives out of the game in midweek and should be full of confidence heading back to the Emirates.