Who was Arsenal’s ‘Player of the Month’ in October?

October was a great month for Arsenal as they continued their unbeaten run. Arsenal have in fact won all of their fixtures except a goalless draw at home against Middlesborough. 

Arsenal started October at Burnley where the match was scoreless for more than ninety minutes, but Koscielny’s last second swing from a nodded-on corner brought Arsenal back three valuable points from Turf Moor. Arsenal then resumed their good form against Swansea after the international break, when two first-half goals from Walcott and a blistering birthday goal for Mesut Ozil sealed the deal. Next were Ludogorets at home, where Arsenal played quality football and claimed a 6-0 win, with Ozil’s hat trick the limelight of the match. Arsenal’s winning streak came to a halt when they faced Middlesborough at home, which was a rather tough day for the defenders.

In the League cup, Oxlade Chamberlain’s brace secured a spot in the next round for Arsenal, while last weekend the Gunners finished Sunderland off 4-1, with braces from Olivier Giroud and Alexis Sanchez. 

Arsenal had a great month, with a great amount of excellent performances from some players. So let’s have a look at who was Arsenal’s ‘Player of the Month’. 

A) Alexis Sanchez

Sanchez is in fine form this season and looks very sharp on and off the ball. He has now taken his goal tally to eight in all competitions while claiming five assists. Sanchez has provided Arsenal with a constant outlet in behind fences but has also done well at coming back to help out the defence. He seems to have struck up a very strong relationship with Ozil, witrh both plays interchanging who runs in behind. 

Sanchez opened his account for October with a delicious chip against Ludogorets on match day 3 in the Champions League. He then continued to deliver solid performances for Arsenal, significantly scoring a brace against Sunderland, featuring a flying header to score Arsenal’s first. His understanding with Arsenal players seems to have developed over the time and looks set for a good season ahead.

B) Mesut Ozil

Mesut Ozil turned 28 this month, and is showing signs of the potential that is loaded in him. He scored a wonder goal on his birthday against Swansea, converting a Sanchez cross into a lethal strike that assured three points for Arsenal. Ozil’s moment this month came when he scored a remarkable hat trick and claimed an assist for Walcott’s goal against Ludogorets, in a 6-0 riot of the Bulgarian champions. 

Ozil had the most assists (19) in the Premier League last season and was just one short of equaling Thierry Henry’s all-time record, while his assists are scarce at the moment (three in all competitions), he seems to have devoped his goalscoring this season, netting seven goals so far, four in October. This is something that has further enhanced Ozil’s role in the first team. He had a slightly slow start to the season but really kicked on in October.

C) Theo Walcott

The evolution of Walcott has been remarkable to witness as an Arsenal fan. Theo had a superb start to the season and took that into October. He put in a great display against Swansea where he grabbed the two vital goals in the first-half. He should have completed the hat-trick in the second half but was denied a couple of times by the posts. 

Walcott also scored a sublime goal against Ludogorets to aid Arsenal to a 6-0 thrashing possible. Walcott has turned into a stronger player physically and mentally now that he has finally settled as a right-winger. Even defensively he has improved and has often sprinted back to help out Hector Bellerin.  Walcott did miss the match against Sunderland but he still had a very strong month, let’s hope it can continue!

D) Laurent Koscielny

Koscielny has been rock solid in Arsenal’s defence lately and the arrival of Shkodran Mustafi  has given Arsenal a formidable defensive partnership. It seems as if this defensive change was all that was needed to ignite the spark for Arsenal. Koscielny undoubtedly is living up to the captain’s armband and has shown signs of real quality recently. He has won 90% of the tackles he’s committed so far and is establishing himself as one of the best defenders in the League, if not the world. 

He forced his name into the scoresheet against Burnley with his controversial goal but it’s defenisvely where he has been superb. Even though Arsenal conceded a few goal in October, they have looked very solid, a key component to Arsenal’s run of form. 

Verdict: Arsenal find themselves second in the Premier League, just behind Manchester City on goal difference. They have produced some remarkable performances with the help of some superb performances, but this month’s ‘Player of the Month’ is surely Mesut Ozil. He has been a big influence on the team and on the individuals as well.