Lukas Podolski struck twice to give his manager a selection headache as Arsenal ended the Champions League group stages in style with a 4-1 win at Galatasaray.
The result was not enough to see the Gunners snatch first place as Borussia Dortmund's 1-1 draw with Anderlecht meant the Germans won Group D on goal difference, but there were still plenty positives for the visitors to take from their night in Turkey.
Podolski put in an impressive display on a rare start, and put in a very good case to be given another start this weekend. Ramsey got himself back among the goals with a brace and Mathieu Debuchy put in a solid performance on his return from three months out with an ankle injury. The game also saw Wenger give debuts to youngsters Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Stefan O'Connor, while Gedion Zelalem came on for his first Champions League appearance - all very good signs for the London club.
The performance doesn't fully paper over the cracks of the problems of Arsenal's season, including the terrible 3-2 defeat at Stoke last time out, but it is certainly a huge confidence boost for Wenger's men. Arsenal must now ensure they maintain consistency instead of going all Jekyll and Hyde again when they return to league action for the visit of Newcastle.
Arsenal went into the game having already qualified for the knock-out stages and, with an arguably weak opposition, some had said the pressure was off. I disagree with this theory as, although the chance was only slim, there was still a slim chance of snatching top spot so there was a huge prize to play for. Only goal difference saw us finish behind Dortmund, which brings back memories of when we let the three-goal lead slip against Anderlecht, a result that ultimately cost us top spot.
It took just three minutes for the Gunners to make their dominance count as Podolski latched onto Ramsey's through-ball before thundering the ball home from close range. It was a great finish for the German World Cup winner, who is finding game-time hard to come by this season. Each time I see him play, whether a cameo or a rare start, he continues to prove that he deserves a start. His brace tonight was further proof of this and Wenger really needs to give him a chance. It is hard to build up form when you are not given the chance yet Podolski has still managed to score in each of his last four Champions League starts for Arsenal. Who knows what could happen if he is given more of a chance to prove himself. I'm not saying he'll be a world beater (although he does have a medal to prove it) but he deserves more of a chance than he is getting.
Back to the game and, although Arsenal were dominating, Galatasaray had their fair share of chances and were simply wasteful in front of goal, sending the majority of their efforts off target.
Those misses proved costly as Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Ramsey combined superbly to get the Welsh wonder back among the goals. Ramsey was sensational last season but has come in for criticism in the current campaign, largely because his goal tally has somewhat dried up. In Turkey, however, he was back in confident mood with a goal after 11 minutes. Oxlade-Chamberlain picked up the ball in midfield to drive forward and, with the hosts distracted thinking there had been a foul, he continued his run and released Ramsey. The midfielder's left-footed shot rolled into the bottom corner and across Sinan Bolat in the visitors' goal.
Ramsey's next big contribution was even better as he scored the goal of the game just before the half hour mark. A corner into the box was cleared by the Galatasaray defence but Ramsey hammered it back towards goal from 35 yards with an unstoppable sublime left-foot volley into the top corner. Not only was it a top strike, but Ramsey's double will have given him a much-needed confidence boost and maybe this can be the start of a fine run of goal scoring form for the Welshman...here's hoping!
After such a dominant half and with Dortmund, at that point, goalless in there game, some were thinking if the Gunners' kept things up they could win the group on goal difference. Dortmund did end up drawing but the English outfit couldn't find enough goals, although they did find one more. The only real negative from the excellent first half is that the performance left fans including myself wondering where on earth this had been against Stoke in the last game. Some had said it was just because of facing poor opposition in our final Champions League group game, but you can only beat what's in front of you and we acquitted ourselves well.
Wesley Sneijder pulled a goal back for the hosts two minutes from time with a delightful free-kick giving the returning Wojciech Szczesny no chance. But it was the Gunners who had the final say as Podolski scored his second in injury time. The forward played a one-two before holding off challenges from the visitors' defence and scoring calmly from close range.
Yes we weren't playing the best opposition, yes there was less pressure on us having already qualified, but a wins a win and there were a lot of positives to take from the game!
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
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