After managing to claw themselves up to 3rd place in the Premier League, it finally looks as though Arsenal are starting to find their feet this season. There’s no doubt that some of the summer acquisitions have played a massive part in this success, with Arsene Wenger quick to lavish the praise on Santi Cazorla and Lukas Podolski about their impact on the team.
Even though the Gunners experienced a sticky start following successive goalless draws against Stoke and Sunderland, they have really come into their own over recent fixtures following a 2-1 victory over Liverpool and a 6-1 thrashing of Sunderland. Cazorla and Podolski have played huge parts in these results, with the duo scoring a combined three goals to make many forget about the absence of Robin Van Persie.
Following their performances, Wenger says he is very happy with how they have both slotted in. He told the press, “Cazorla is a pleasure to watch, you want him to have the ball. He typifies Spain’s midfielders – technically perfect, great vision and a great team attitude and Lukas has 101 caps for Germany – he is physically strong and a fantastic finisher.”
However, while Wenger may have expressed his delight in this regard, he has been slightly more reserved on fellow signing Olivier Giroud. It would be fair to say that the Frenchman has struggled somewhat following his summer switch, with Wenger claiming that he is not sure if he will start the striker against his former club Montpellier on Tuesday. He added to the press, “He is under much pressure at the moment and sometimes to get a little breather is good. What I will do on Tuesday, I honestly don’t know, I just felt that the time has come for him to not be under too much pressure.”