Arsenal: Points to Ponder from Win vs. Liverpool

Arsenal are finally on the board.

After two weeks of scoreless draws and endless speculation about whether Arsene Wenger did the right thing in selling Robin van Persie this summer, the Gunners finally got their season going, and the goals flowing, with a 2-0 victory over Liverpool at Anfield.

Goals to new signings Lukas Podolski and Santi Cazorla highlighted the new revolution that's taking place at the North London club this season, and proved to the doubters that this is still a genuine top-four team this season.

What can we learn about this match for the future ahead and what can we think about before the Gunners next Premier League match?

Read on to find some key questions and points to ponder to come out of this match.

What's Up with Olivier Giroud?

Let's not beat around the bush here—Olivier Giroud has not impressed in the first three games this season and looks horrendously out of place in Arsenal's starting side. 

Both goals (Cazorla's and Podolski's) came when Giroud was not involved in the action and was simply taking other defenders away from where the true goal-scoring threats are. And whilst that type of player is needed, it's not what you want your striker and focal point of the attack doing.

Maybe Arsenal are trying to play Giroud's height a little too much—trying to utilize him like a Peter Crouch or Andy Carroll with his height and getting him in behind the defensive line.

Giroud is very good on both feet, and the Gunners might be better served playing directly to him through the middle.

These things do take time, however, and we must be careful not to dismiss Giroud as unable to ever recover from this poor start. After all, Robin van Persie only had one goal through his first five matches last season—and that was a meaningless goal in their 8-2 drubbing at the hands of Manchester United.

Giroud will get there eventually. He's just nowhere near there yet, and maybe it's time to change the style or lineup to help that along.

What Does the Future Hold for Koscielny?

Laurent Koscielny was healthy for this game—meaning he could have been picked by Arsene Wenger to assume his normal position alongside Thomas Vermaelen in the Gunners defense, but instead, the veteran manager went for Per Mertesacker again.

The French international will no doubt be back for the North London club this season, though one must wonder what his place in the side will be. 

I mean, Vermaelen and Mertesacker have now notched up three clean sheets in a row—making it very difficult for Wenger to simply rush back Koscielny into the starting lineup at the expense of the German international. 

It will be interesting to see that battle play itself out throughout the season.

Vito Mannone Has Been Impressive

Vito Mannone is Arsenal's third-string goalkeeper, but he certainly has shown no signs of that tagline—recording his second clean sheet in as many weeks as the Gunners stopper.

Granted he has been the beneficiary of a solid defensive line and Arsenal's willingness to get plenty of men back in attack, but Mannone has still been called into action several times—stepping up to the mark every single time.

Wojciech Szczesny will slot straight back in when he has recovered from his rib injury—expected to be around September 15 (per Physio Room)—but in that time, the 24-year-old Mannone has done himself no shame in his performances to date for the Gunners. 

Do the Gunners Miss Alex Song More Than They Realize?

Much of the talk about Arsenal's inability to score goals early this season has been around Robin van Persie and whether they should have sold the Dutch international this summer, but I want to say that the loss of Alex Song was just as big to the Gunners' attack.

Song will not score the goals or even record the number of assists that RVP can do (despite last year's strong assist count from Song); what Arsenal will miss most with him is the drive to go forward and the ability to create attacks down the flanks.

Playing Cazorla in the middle means much of the attack will go through him—which is fine—but the Spanish international needs strong players on both flanks to help Gunners' attack.

Theo Walcott is not looking like the answer at the moment, and it could well be that Song is being missed by Arsenal more than they realize. 

Have the Floodgates Opened?

With two goals and an impressive road win over Liverpool, the big question that is on every Arsenal fan's lips is—have the floodgates opened? Is this is the start of our season and the big result that will kick-start the Gunners goal-scoring?

Well, yes and no.

Yes, it is the result to spring Arsenal's season into life and throw off the goal-scoring pressure and tension, yet at the same time, I don't think it signals that the Gunners attack is anywhere near the proficiency that it was last year.

In fact, I think Arsenal fans might need to be accept the fact that they are going to see significantly less goals this year than last year.

They are playing a new style of attack through Cazorla and are placing a further emphasis on defense—meaning that we are more likely to see 1-0 victories to the Gunners than anything else this season.

So to continue the metaphor, the floodgates have been opened but there simply isn't a whole lot of water behind it. Not yet, anyway.

What did you make of Arsenal's win vs. Liverpool?

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