After Arsenal's 6-1 win over Southampton, a major question was finally answered: Lukas Podolski is stepping up to be the clubs most crucial player. In the Gunners first four matches, Podolski has had two goals, one assist and eight shots on goal. The Gunners destroyed Southampton on Saturday, showing every team in the Premier League that they will be a club to be reckoned with throughout the season.
Podolski has a lot to do with the high paced tempo that the club is currently playing with on offense. Arsenal's resent success can't be chalked up to one player, but he has had a lot of touches since his debut, and most of those touches have resulted in goals or assists.
Olivier Giroud, who still hasn't scored a goal for the Gunners yet, is contributing in a decoy role because defenders have to respect what he is capable of. Has he done anything yet when it comes to scoring, not yet, but he draws defenders off Podolski and Santi Cazorla. Podolski does the same, but he's been capable of breaking through as Arsenal's dangerous star.
Arsenal faces Montpellier in the Champions League on Tuesday, and the reigning Ligue 1 champions' midfielder Younes Belhanda fears that his club could give up eight against Arsenal. Montpellier have taken only four points from five contests this season and suffered their third defeat of the campaign when they were defeated 3-1 at newly-promoted Reims. Montpellier will have to quickly get their footing back after watching Arsenal crush Southampton.
Belhanda candidly said, "If we play like this, we're going to concede eight. We have to show as quickly as possible that we are men, because we look like kids on the pitch. We're not dangerous, not sharp enough."
I like how Belhanda specifically thinks his club will concede eight. Talk about being confident before you go into a match. It could be a rout, but Arsenal is usually a one-rout-a-month sort of club.
I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Olivier Giroud finally gets his first goal for the Gunners in Champions League play. Maybe it's playing in the Premier League that is blocking him from scoring his first goal of the season.
Did anyone think at the start of the season, when Arsenal lost a certain Dutch striker, that an opposing club's midfielder would be worried about a rout by Arsenal?
Note: I've been an Arsenal fan for nearly a decade. My cousin got me interested in the club at a young age.
