Arsenal eye top spot with Giroud’s returns

Gunners travel to Aston Villa today to set title pace in Premier League.

BIRMINGHAM: Olivier Giroud will return to boost Arsenal’s hopes of returning to the top of the Premier League when they travel to face Aston Villa on Monday.

Chelsea’s victory at Hull on Saturday dislodged Arsene Wenger’s side from the summit, but a fourth successive league victory will ensure the Gunners are once again setting the pace in the title race by the time they leave Villa Park.

The prospect of Arsenal topping the table early in the New Year was hard to imagine when they were booed off following the 3-1 home defeat to Villa on the opening day.

But since that low point, Arsenal have been transformed, with Giroud’s eight league goals a major factor in the north London club’s success.

The forward missed the last two games to give himself a much needed test, and Wenger said: “Giroud needed a rest physically and he got one, and I am convinced he will come back refreshed.

“What is most important, for Giroud and for me, is the team produces a good collective performance.”

With winger Theo Walcott out for the season with a knee injury and Danish forward Nicklas Bendtner sidelined with an ankle injury, Wenger’s forward options are limited.

But the manager is confident the recent return of Lukas Podolski following a four-month absence with a hamstring problem can plug the gap.

Relaxed Moyes praises Januzaj

David Moyes has brushed off suggestions that injured striker Robin van Persie is facing six more weeks out and insisted that he is coping with the pressure of Manchester United’s current problems.

Those concerns were eased in a 2-0 victory over Swansea on Saturday, a win that means Moyes avoids the unwanted distinction of managing the club to four consecutive defeats for the first time in 53 years.

Not for the first time this season, he relied on the individual brilliance of teenage forward Adnan Januzaj, who was comfortably United’s best performer as Antonio Valencia and Danny Welbeck claimed vital goals.

Moyes was thankful that Januzaj turned in a fearless display more in keeping with a veteran international player than a novice.

“He needs teaching and he needs more understanding because he is still learning the game,” said Moyes. “In terms of natural talent, he is up there with the best and I think in time he will prove to be that.”

Meanwhile, Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho said that forward Eden Hazard has developed from a ‘talented kid’ into an essential part of his team.

Hazard’s opening goal in Saturday’s 2-0 success at Hull City took his tally to 11, but Mourinho is equally impressed by the Belgian’s discipline.

“He has been playing very well for a long time,” said Mourinho. “He is not anymore a talented kid; he is now more than that.”

Published in The Express Tribune, January 13^th, 2014.

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