Arsenal produced an absolute masterclass to dispose of Ludogorest by six goals to nil. Although the away side did start positively and had numerous chances in the first half, Ospina’s excellence in goal thwarted their attempts.
Alexis Sanchez opened the scoring for the Gunners and they did not look back ever since. Theo Walcott continued his fine goal scoring form with a fabulous finish and the Gunners went into the break 2 goals to the good.
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The second half, however, was all about Mesut Ozil. The German bagged the first hat-trick of his career with 3 fine finishes to seal a comprehensive 6 goal thrashing.
The win takes Arsenal to the top of Group A and if they can keep up performances like this, they might even go all the way.
Here are 5 talking points from the game:
#1 Mesut Ozil’s first hat trick
Mesut Ozil scored his professional hat trick with 3 brilliantly taken goals. Arsene Wenger recently stated that he would like to see the German score more often and that that was the one thing lacking in his game.
Ozil seems to have taken those words seriously and he has now scored 4 goals in his last 2 games.
The former Real Madrid man was in fine form and became only the fifth Arsenal player to score a Champions league hat-trick. The 28-year-old was clinical in front of goal and despite 2 of his goals coming after the game had already been killed off, he will take heart from this performance.
#2 David Ospina proves his worth yet again
Ospina replaced Petr Cech in the starting XI yet again and proved his worth yet again. After fine performances against PSG and Basel in the opening 2 fixtures, Ospina was near perfect between the sticks for the third game running and it could be just a matter of time before he displaces Petr Cech from the lineup in the Premier League as well.
Ospina made numerous saves in the first half to keep Arsenal in the lead. The keeper did well to deny first Wanderson and then Misidjan with smart saves. Just minutes later he pulled off another save with Misidjan bearing down on goal. The one time that he was beaten, Wanderson’s shot flew agonizingly wide of the far post.
The Colombian who had a much quieter second half as Arsenal took command of the game will be pleased with his second consecutive clean sheet.
#3 Ludogorets’ defense is shambolic
The Bulgarian side were in shambles at the back and allowed far too much room for the Arsenal attackers to thrive in. One thing you cannot afford a side of Arsenal’s caliber is space and time on the ball and Ludogorets gave them both.
Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil, Theo Walcott and Chamberlain linked up brilliantly and their one touch passing coupled with intelligent runs in behind the defense was just too much for the defense to handle.
Although they were at the receiving end of 2 stunners in the first half, their second half performance was simply dreadful.
The center backs were often drawn towards the ball and hence caught out of position. The full-backs had no answer for Walcott, Bellerin, Ox and Gibbs’ pace and it was a walk in the park for the Arsenal attack to get through them. At times it seemed like mere training ground routines by the Gunners.
Ultimately, Ludogorets will need to work hard in the defensive end if they are to prevent another such rout. They have now conceded 10 goals in 3 games, by far the most in the group.
#4 Cracks in Kostafi?
Despite keeping a clean sheet and having a relatively quiet second half, the Mustafi-Koscielny pairing had some nervy moments. Threatened by the pace of the Ludogorets attackers, the duo were often caught out at the back and had Ospina to thank for keeping the Bulgarian side out.
This turned out to be their second poor performance as a pairing after they struggled to deal with Swansea over the weekend. Much was expected of the duo after they kept 3 clean sheets in a row and the last 2 games could be considered a blip but it remains to be seen whether they can deal with the likes of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo when the time comes.
Mustafi especially had a poor first half and it was his misjudged header that almost gave Ludogorets a way back into the game.
#5 Ludogorets could make the Europa League
The Bulgarian side were entertaining to watch in the first half and had numerous opportunities to get a goal only to be denied by Ospina’s brilliance. Their South American attack possesses blistering pace and caused the Arsenal defenders numerous problems.
Although they would need to shore up their defense, performances like they put up in the first half, could see them clinch the third spot ahead of Basel and secure a Europa League spot. They might even progress through some rounds there.
