Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger had special praise for maligned playmaker Mesut Ozil after he inspired the Gunners to a 3-0 away win over Aston Villa, per Arsenal.com:Ozil played today behind their midfield because I thought they made it very tight. But its important for us to find Ozil between the lines and move the game forward. It worked, but he can play everywhere.Ozil was indeed everywhere at Villa Park. He scored Arsenal's opening goal, then created one for new striker Danny Welbeck, marking the ex-Manchester United prodigy's first for the Gunners. An Aly Cissokho own goal settled things before halftime.The win was Arsenal's first in the Premier League since the opening day. It was also a perfect response after a tough week of criticism following a 2-0 UEFA Champions League loss to Borussia Dortmund.Wenger took pride in his team's verve and ingenuity going forward, per BBC Sport: (h/t InsideFutbol.com): "We had a good chance on a free-kick and after that one we scored three goals in three minutes that killed the game off. We turned well between being patient and accelerating and that was a good controlled game."But the most pleasing aspect of the day was undoubtedly the form of Ozil. The languid playmaker has been chided by almost every fan and pundit willing to speak, following a series of sluggish performances.However, Wenger has kept faith and saw his patience rewarded at Villa Park.A suitably vindicated Wenger was naturally full of praise for Ozil after the game, per Arsenal.com:I was very pleased he got the goal as quickly as possible. Its not your [the media's] fault, I didnt say that it was your fault, I just said knowing you the media how well you find out what we miss. It was important for him to score.A lot of speculation has focused on Ozil's position this season. He has been moved to the left side in Wenger's adjusted 4-1-4-1 formation.Yet many believe he is best suited to a centralised No. 10 role. For his part, Wenger has maintained Ozil can roam where he likes, regardless of his starting position, per Amy Lawrence ofThe Guardian:Hes a confident boy. This guy has played for the German national team and won the World Cup playing wide and nobody found a word to say. He has been criticised during the World Cup and still played well and he was always in every single team. He can be a top player.Significantly, Ozil wandered into the middle all day against Villa. It was something the Villains simply didn't have an answer for.Arsenal.com was quick to highlight the "central" trend in Ozil's performance:Ozil's response to the criticism is hugely encouraging. He must be a star performer if this Arsenal team is going to credibly challenge for major trophies.For now at least, he's kept the boo boys and naysayers quiet.But just as important as Ozil's performance were Welbeck's contributions. The 23-year-old arrived in North London as a striker defined by his struggles in front of goal.Yet Welbeck produced plenty of quality in attack during this game. He set Ozil free for the first goal, before finding the net himself.The often criticised striker expressed his clear relief at opening his account, per BBC Sport:I'm particularly pleased to get off the mark. It was a good team performance.We got behind them. We knew it would be difficult today. They had their chances but when we took our first one we looked in control of the game.I haven't had as many training sessions as I 'd like but I am starting to get to the players a lot better.Like Ozil, Welbeck has released a lot of the pressure around him. A confident Welbeck can only be good for an Arsenal attack still suspect at its focal point.Wenger was understandably pleased with Welbeck's showing, per Arsenal.com:He scored a similar goal to the one he scored in Switzerland. A cross from the left and he pushed it in - the timing of his run is good. I think he had a very good performance today because he kept the ball. Ball retention is important and he had a good all-round game for a central striker.Away from the attack, Wenger will be equally pleased with the performance of his defence. In fact, the French coach will likely be ecstatic after his beleaguered unit kept its first clean sheet of the season.What was most impressive was the way Arsenal shackled Villa danger man Gabriel Agbonlahor. The fleet-footed wide forward has tormented the Gunners plenty of times in the past.But Agbonlahor was reduced to a non-factor on his home pitch. This figure from Squawka football epitomised his early struggles:Not surprisingly, Villains boss Paul Lambert lamented the quick strikes that left his team chasing a three-goal deficit, perBirmingham Mailreporter Mat Kendrick:Arsenal were clinical and to lose three goals is disappointing. But I cant sit here and say Im disappointed with the start.It was a tough game for us, its a tough game when everybody is 100 per cent fit, but what happened before the game and during the warm up and at half-time, the lads were running on empty.In fairness, a pre-game virus thinned Lambert's options, something the manager rued in the aftermath, per Sky Sports:Its not making excuses, its there.We lost Nathan [Baker] this morning, we lost Darren [Bent] this morning, Westy during the warm-up, Andi Weimann during the game, Fabian [Delph] had it all week, Brad Guzan had it all week.Its been really tough and to play Arsenal youve got to have everybody firing on all cylinders, so it was a game too much for us.All credit to the lads. I knew they were going to run empty pretty quickly and I cant fault them for that. The virus certainly hampered us.Lamber has indicated he may have to take drastic measures to stem the effects of the squad-wide illness, per the club's official Twitter feed:Still, whatever team he turned out, Lambert wouldn't have expected such an emphatic thumping at home. It's a sobering way to slow Villa's momentum after what had been a solid start to the season.For Arsenal, the emphatic win is a great way to add impetus to the Premier League campaign. It's moved Wenger's team up to the familiar confines of fourth place and in a position to pose a major threat to the big prize.Read more World Football news on BleacherReport.com
Click here to read full news..
