Well that was more like it. Podolski is the best finisher in this squad IMO. It's a matter of keeping him motivated, which is up to Wenger. Playing off Giroud would be ideal for Podolski, but 2 strikers up front is something Wenger doesn't do anymore apparently.
Other than that, great to have Ramsey and Özil back. Together they're devastating.
I'm delighted to see Rambo back and not missing a beat. That he scored that fine goal kind of proves that his goals in the 1st part of the season weren't just a lucky good patch he had been going through. It really seems he has added goals to his game, and nobody else in the squad can do those runs in the middle of opposition's defence better than him. We've missed this young man!
And seeing Özil with recharged batteries is a relief. He added so much quality, which we had been missing lately. He just effortlessly creates situations. He's got that casual attitude to him, but if you look at stats for passing and chances created, those numbers scream at you, even compared to some of the world's top playmakers. Mesut is clearly ahead of other guys in that same position. I just hope he further adjusts to Prem tempo and that Wenger is able to get the best out of him.
It's true that we could have been in contention til the end if we had more players, such as another DMF and a decent striker.
But in the end, it's all buts and ifs... the fact is that we aren't in contention, disappointingly and we have to take what we can.
What really took a toll on our league title chances was having so many injured (think of Walcott playing a full season) and especially getting hammered against direct opposition. To me, that was our biggest sin. Had Wenger just opted for a different game plan against the likes of Chelsea and Liverpool, our campaign would be looking much better by now.
If we were more cagey and playing for a draw at those difficult fixtures, we would no doubt have a better outcome and Chelsea and Liverpool wouldn't slip away so far from us.
we're 10 points off the favourites for winning the league. That's 2 games we lost and 2 games we drew too many. If we'd won those, we would be were Liverpool are, except for the goal difference.
What is key to improving is to do better on direct confrontation. That's where we're losing the league, on the so-called 6-point matches. We've been handing the points to our direct rivals and this is where it stings the most.
Those beatings need to stop, and we just have to do better when facing the top 4 teams, and this is precisely where Wenger has been coming up short in recent years and questions are being asked about him and rightly so.
I don't have much hope he will reinvent himself as a manager, get a few new tricks up his sleeve and outwit and surprise the stronger teams in tough conditions. That's the problem IMO.
I don't see the signs that it will happen, but I just hope I'm wrong about that.