Like a new team, this Arsenal football club seems to be right now. It probably is because of the new signings that arrived in this just past transfer window but there seems to be something fresh about this team and the way they play. Even watching them is a brand new experience. And that’s before even talking about how silkier and sexier the football has seemed.
If you’ve watched Arsenal play enough times, it is usually very easy to tell players apart without even looking intensely, dodgy stream or not. But this was so different. With the manager electing to play the two ex-Dortmund players from the start, it was quite difficult to tell which player was which without staring intensely at the screen.
It probably was the speed of thought and movement that made it so difficult to tell them apart; the Everton players had the same problem throughout the first half. Arsenal’s frontline bewildered and confused the away team so much, they were left chasing shadows.
For his first team selection since the transfer window closed, the manager perhaps surprisingly, chose to start the Gabonese striker Pierre Emerick Aubameyang up front with Alexander Lacazette dropping to the bench. Henrikh Mkhitaryan also started, meaning Mohammed Elneny could only find a place as a substitute.
For all of the talk of new signings, it was a stalwart of the team that would open the scoring for the home team. Much maligned as he is, Aaron Ramsey’s quality and contribution to the team is undeniable. And he showed it here once more. The first goal arrived when the Welshman found space in the box, like he usually does, to meet a neat cross from an excellent Mkhitaryan. Ramsey did the rest and slotted the ball past Pickford. His hattrick goal was a carbon copy. Same assist provider. Same finisher.
Sandwiched between the two goals was his second, which with the aid of a deflection flitted past the Everton goalkeeper. The true surprise is not that Ramsey scored a hattrick but rather that he hasn’t scored one before now. For a player so excellent at making such late runs into the box and and eye for a goal, he should really be scoring more.
Another stalwart of the team, the match day captain, Laurent Koscielny, scored too. Stopping to head in after Shkodran Mustafi flicked the ball on at the near post from a corner.
Not wanting to be outdone, the new boy, Aubameyang got on the scoresheet for his debut goal. Running onto a lovely Mkhitaryan slide rule pass, the striker waited for Pickford to go down and casually lifted the ball over the keeper.
It was in the end a pretty comfortable win for the Arsenal with the new signings not looking like they would be needing any time to bed in. What this portends for the near future and those whose futures might be affected by all this remains to be seen.
