Ozil and Sanchez rekindle hope for Arsenal

A 3-0 victory over Dinamo Zagreb helped coach Arsene Wenger and his team overcome a dead end in the Champions League group stage.

Arsenal (red and white) still have a chance to continue. Photo: AH.

Mesut Ozil - the man of the match - put Arsenal ahead midway through the first half, before Alexis Sanchez doubled the lead a few minutes later. The Chilean striker completed his double in the second half to seal a deserved victory for the Emirates.

This result, combined with Bayern Munich's 4-0 thrashing of Olympiakos in the other Group F match, has seen Arsenal consolidate third place with six points. In their final game, they need to beat their only rivals Olympiakos (who have nine points) by two goals to secure a place in the round of 16.

Dinamo Zagreb beat Arsenal 2-1 in the first leg, but their chances of winning are not considered high in the return leg. Playing away from home in the Champions League is always a tough test for the Croatian side. In their last 11 away games, they have drawn two, lost nine and failed to score in eight. Arsenal, meanwhile, are being pushed to win at all costs.

Wenger's players' determination and home advantage were translated into an overwhelming game, with a proactive and coherent attacking style. The connection between Santi Cazorla, Ozil and Sanchez kept Dinamo's central defenders Leonardo Sigali and Jeremy Taravel active. Statistics show that Arsenal's players had a total of 16 shots in this match - almost twice as many as the visitors.

Dinamo (black) could not continue to make things difficult for Arsenal. Photo: AP.

Similar to recent times, Ozil is still one of the most anticipated players for the Emirates team. After setting a record for consecutive assists in the Premier League, the German midfielder scored the opening goal for the home team in this match. In the 29th minute, from a quick counter-attack, Sanchez passed the ball to Ozil, who bent down to head the ball into the opening goal from a few meters away. This was only the second time Ozil scored with his head, but it was the 11th goal he has made his mark on in Arsenal's last nine matches in all competitions.

If Ozil is an artist, Sanchez is like a warrior. The Chilean striker always shows professionalism, a style of dedication to the team, throwing himself and supporting his teammates enthusiastically. For example, in the first half, he ran about 40 meters to his own side to continuously steal the ball three times. In the 33rd minute, Sanchez made a more specific mark, with a neat tap-in after a pass from Nacho Monreal to raise the score to 2-0.

His scoring prowess in the Champions League continued in the 69th minute. After receiving a pass from his teammate, Sanchez beat the Dinamo goalkeeper and fired into an empty net. Of Arsenal's nine goals in the Champions League group stage this year, Sanchez has scored three and assisted four others.

Sanchez was involved in all three of Arsenal's goals in this match. Photo: AH.

According to VNE