Am in the middle of shifting house so have only managed to see the goals and a few other limited highlights from the game, and have seen some post match analysis with Wrighty, Zola and Sniffer.
Whilst I am very happy with the result and nature of the performance, I also think that CFC are not the same threat as in previous seasons as their shape & style are different and we have been saying for years that their match day squad is past it's use by date & their winning the title 2 seasons ago was akin to ManU winning in SAF's last season, after which their 'real' level was exposed.
I'm quietly optimistic but would like to see both a repeat result and performance v the likes of Spuds, LFC, ManU, Everton, PSG and Citeh so as to clearly establish our bona fides, and remove any 'doubt' regarding the poor performance & quality of the opposition. By this I mean that the opposition are made to look poor by the quality of our play as opposed to any problems and issues of their own.
For mind the most encouraging aspect of the game came with AW retaining the newly established front4 and resisting the temptation to revert to the past conservative safety of Giroud as CF. I suspect that AW may have finally concluded that whilst Giroud can be very effective in the right system, that the best players to compliment him in that system are Rambo and Wilshere and that they are both too often injured to persist with that system.
That said I hope that AW is prepared to make a genuine effort to bring the sexy back, and long may it last. Not only does it suit Sanchez and Ozil better but it also seems to have given Walcott a new lease of life, even though I suspect that his role has not really changed.
