26 Oct 2020 14:32:05
Well that was an entirely predictable result, the match report could have been written and filed days before the match.
‘Leicester defend with all players behind the ball for 60 minutes absorb pressure from an Arsenal team only capable of moving the ball laterally and then mug them with a goal on the breakâ€
Ceballos was woeful, he has no pace, failed to beat the press every time and as for the number of times he gave the ball away, it was ridiculous, but it was the manner of doing it that was astonishing, the opposition less intercepted the ball than had it passed to them, over and over again.
Xhaka again left me bemused as to what he brings to the team other than the highest stats for backwards passes. Forwards kept making runs but he didn’t once make the pass, he hesitates wants too long on the ball and gets closed down (most of the time that happens you think he’ll lose the ball) .
Mustafi why, just why? Every fan new what was likely to happen as soon as he came on the pitch. Either a penalty or free kick in a dangerous area or he would stand on or near the halfway line, allow the striker he is marking to get goal side of him and jog back into the box during a breakaway goal blaming everyone else.
Top teams beat a congested centre by playing overlaps to the bye line then peppering the box with “good†crosses, by playing driving one two’s into the box and in so doing they either score or draw a foul or a penalty or by a creative midfielder picking a pass that splits the defence.
Our crosses were largely poor or blocked, we played little or no one two’s and had no one with the vision to pick a pass.
We need a creative midfielder in the Fabregas / Carzolla mould. Ceballos isn’t it, all you can say about him is he’s normally better than Xhaka.
Arteta has done well but showed his naivety in that match, when Luiz had to go off we should have reverted to three at the back with Xhaka (needs must) dropping in to replace him, Gabriel moving to the centre and Tierny on the left of the three, then brought on Maitland-Niles as wing back.
It was obvious that Vardy was going to come on at some point and they would revert to form and play ball after ball over the top. Gabriel could mark him with Tierny helping whilst Maitland-Niles covered the left with pace. But no we bring on a player who hasn’t played in month’s, was largely rubbish when he did and we tried hard to offload in the transfer window.
Whatever Saliba’s adjustment issues are he has got to be better than Mustafi. Hell, a cardboard cutout of Tony Adams would be better than Mustafi.
Now to the elephant in the room, Ozil. Does he bust a gut to get back and help the defence? No. Is he a luxury player? Yes. Is he the sort of player you want when you’re trying to break down 10 or 11 behind the ball? Yes. Is he one of the most skilful, quality players Arsenal have had playing for them in years?
Yes. Can he pick a pass? Yes. Is he a quality finisher? Yes. Can he orchestrate one two’s and drive into the box? Yes. Is he one of the best providers of assists in world football? Yes. Is he being paid 350k a week to twiddle his thumbs, Yes. Are we losing games we could have won with him playing? Almost certainly yes. If you pick what opposition you play him against would he be a massive improvement to the team? Yes. Are the Arsenal management cutting off their nose to spite their face? YES.
Whatever has gone on behind the scenes Arsenal have badly mismanaged the Ozil affair and robbed the team of one of their key assets.
26 Oct 2020 20:25:44
Nice post - I can’t do the 👠for whatever reason.
I’ve no idea why other teams integrate players quicker and more effectively than we do but that’s the same for our managers. We have too much patience and too little expectation.
Saliba should be getting game time in epl abd cup games.