Arsenal 3 - 0 Dinamo Zagreb

I'll confess to a few anxious moments after the game remained scoreless through its first quarter, but Arsenal always looked comfortable against a side that played in a spirited manner but knew it was outclassed.  The goals were really nice.  Ozil scores with his head off a Sanchez pass?  Bizarro world was almost a reality when they nearly did it a second time!  I loved Monreal's deft interception of a clearance in the box and his quick squaring pass for Alexis's first--he's become one of my faves.  And Joel Campbell gets an assist!  He could have had more, too, his passing was that good.

So the Gunners go to Athens yet again for a final ECL group game.  Usually, it's with first place in the group on the line and they lose.  Now, it's win by two (or one if we score four or more!) or trudge grimly across the steppes of Eastern Europe in the Europa League, picking up injuries on frozen tundra against defenses that know they can't beat us without a whole lot of fouling.  I'm guardedly optimistic.  Let's hope we're healthier.

Speaking of which, the best part of yesterday's romp was seeing Aaron Ramsey galloping about the pitch with intent.  Boy do we miss him when he's not in the side.

Is Flamini the solution to Coquelin's injury?  I'm not convinced.  I'll be the Pro from Dover and solve this one.  Here are some options:

1)  3 - 5 - 2.  Yes, that's right.  Mert in the middle, Kos on the left, Gabriel on the right.  Bellerin and Monreal, or perhaps Gibbs, are wingbacks, more mids than fullbacks.  Giroud and Alexis up front.  Santi and Ozil are central, with the latter more advanced, as now.  The spine is stiffened with Flamini or Chambers (though he's a rather unconvincing midfielder).  Ramsey and Campbell are the wide midfielders, although with those wingbacks, this is a very fluid setup.  Ox and Walcott will replace Campbell when they're fit, with Theo up top if he's in, pushing Alexis wide again.  I would love to see how Norwich deals with that!

2)  Gibbs.  He's fast enough, he can defend one on one, he gets tons of interceptions at full back.  Why not?

3)  Chambers.  I really don't like this, but apparently Wenger does.

4)  Koscielny.  I really think he can play this position.  Who would be better at protecting Mertesacker and Gabriel?

Well, enjoy that turkey.  See you Sunday!