Arsenal highlights and analysis: Arsene Wenger goes back to the future as Aubameyang and Mkhitaryan pick up where they left off

1/31
James Olley3 February 2018

Aaron Ramsey hit a hat-trick with Arsenal fans treated to their first showing of their January transfers in tandem as both Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang shone in a comfortable 5-1 win over Everton.

Aubameyang joined from Borussia Dortmund on deadline day for a club-record fee, uniting with his former team-mate Mkhitaryan who had come in earlier in the window from Manchester United in a swap deal for Alexis Sanchez.

Ramsey would go on to shine alongside his all-star team-mates as he hit his first career hat-trick with the Gunners wrapping up a well-deserved win.

James Olley assesses the key talking points for Arsenal...

Wenger goes back to the future

Getty Images

There was a certain irony in Arsene Wenger restoring Arsenal to a 4-2-3-1 system on the day Theo Walcott made an emotional return to Emirates Stadium.

Wenger’s decision to switch to a back three following April’s 3-0 defeat at Crystal Palace severely limited Walcott’s opportunities - he started just once in the Premier League thereafter before joining Everton last month.

However, this was an impressive debut of the new-look Arsenal that Wenger hopes can force their way back into the top four.

Alex Iwobi, Mesut Ozil and Henrikh Mkhitaryan caused Everton all manner of problems with their interplay while Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang threatened frequently in attack.

Everton were utterly abject but nevertheless there were many encouraging signs for the future.

Aubameyang and Mkhitaryan pick up where they left off

Getty Images

Aubameyang and Mkhitaryan combined for a staggering 121 goals and 80 assists during their three seasons together at Borussia Dortmund between 2013 and 2016.

The prospect of that deadly link-up being revived in north London had supporters salivating before kick-off and it didn’t take long for either to get off the mark.

Mkhitarytan assisted Aaron Ramsey’s sixth-minute opener before setting up his partner-in-crime for Arsenal’s fourth on 37 minutes.

Aubameyang, who was a doubt to start after suffering with fever earlier in the week, made a composed start to life as the club’s £56million record signing.

Replays showed he was offside but the 28-year-old took his goal with aplomb, capping a display in which his blistering pace caught the eye.

Mkhitaryan set up Ramsey for his hat-trick late on - making it three assists on the night. A fine start.

Ramsey justifies his place

Getty Images

There was some consternation before kick-off that Jack Wilshere had been left out of the starting line-up, even accounting for the fact he had suffered with illness this week.

Wenger is set on either Granit Xhaka or Mohamed Elneny operating as Arsenal’s defensive midfielder and so it came down to a straight choice between Ramsey and Wilshere for the other central berth.

Ramsey scored his first Arsenal hat-trick in some style, converting Mkhitaryan’s pass early on before adding his second, and the Gunners’ third following Laurent Koscielny’s header, with a deflected long range effort.

A well-struck third immediately precipitated his substitution for Wilshere, who now faces a fight to get back into the team all over again after impressing in recent months.

Lacazette is forced to watch from the sidelines

Arsenal FC via Getty Images

A second-half injury to goalkeeper Petr Cech may well have robbed Wenger of the opportunity to give Alexandre Lacazette a run-out but it will be a concern to the Frenchman that Arsenal looked so fluid in his absence.

Wenger offered Lacazette no assurances following Aubameyang’s arrival and it is difficult to see how he forces his way back into the team for next weekend’s north London derby on this evidence.

With Aubameyang ineligible for the Europa League, his may well find himself relegated to leading the line in that competition for the time being.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in