Koscielny Scores as often as Theo.

February 7, 2016

Anyone saying out loud that they think today will be a regulation 3 points against a newly promoted team is a bare-faced, heinous fibber. How did this come to pass?

How is it that we have one player who cost the sum of the Bournemouth team and yet we are fearful of failure? Is it due to Bournemouth’s excellent team ethic or our team inefficiencies?

If we had played them 5 weeks ago I would be hugely confident of victory – today I am not which points to our malaise rather than B’mouth’s excellence

And this in a ground with a capacity of less than 12,000! (thank you Kelsey)

What is going wrong? Is it just the strikers inability to get the ball in the onion bag? The stats indicate a definite Yes. What is the solution? IMO it is obvious – we buy a better strikeforce but that is for the future, what of now?

Mr W stated at the start of season the importance of the midfield scoring on a regular basis: Ramsey has 4, Ozil 3, the rest … zip. Not good enough. So the burden of goalscoring is firmly at the feet and heads of the strikers – OG is doing well but the others? Sanchez has 6 from 14 starts – OK. Walcott 3 from 14, Campbell 2 from 12.

Given the number of chances created by Ozil alone this a simply not good enough. Koscielny has scored as many as Theo!

Unknown

Ooops, this post is starting to read like a Friday Rant 😀

Positives? We are still challenging despite a poor run of results. A win today puts us equal 2nd. We played very well in the 2nd half against S’ton and if we can reproduce that form (not the shooting accuracy!) we can still win the league.

Onto today. Will BFG return from the naughty step? Given B’mouth rely more on pace than brute force I would hesitate but I love the Big Man almost as much as AW does.I expect him to start.

Campbell or Ox? Ramsey on the right with Elneny alongside Coquelin? OG or Walcott upfront? You guess …

Eyes will be focused upon the performance of Afobe. Should we have kept him? I always come back to “how many ex-players improve after leaving AFC?” Perhaps Nasri, maybe Fabianski, certainly Vela but others? Perhaps Afobe would have improved staying at Arsenal – Arsene clearly thought not. I really wish him well but not this afternoon.

I like Eddie Howe, the man has a big future. Could he manage at a Top 4 club with the huge pressures and resources attached? His career path is likely to be a step up to say Stoke/Spurs and then, if successful, onto Chelsea with their revolving door policy. Then spat out with a golden handshake and a few million in the bank.

Our away form is about the same as our home (6 wins away, 7 home).

All things considered we should win this game but there are huge doubts raised by our recent form.

I am very cautiously optimistic.

COYRRG

 

 

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Posted by Erik the Red

Do Arsenal REALLY need a star striker?

August 12, 2015

2 games, 2 goals, that’s the record of two Arsenal youngsters currently playing their football in the Championship. One of them is now an ex player in Benik Afobe, the other is very much an Arsenal player in the making in the shape of Chuba Akpom, but will either of these talented young players ever be given an opportunity to perform at a big club?

Over the last few years we have seen a massive shift in the way modern strikers play. Previously, they would work in tandem, usually with a big lump and a speedster seen as the ideal pair. Now, however, the striker position is one of the loneliest on the field, with many clubs, especially the big ones, preferring to play with a lone front man. I believe this is a massive reason as to why there are a lack of quality young strikers available on the market, and why someone like Benik Afobe didn’t get a chance at Arsenal.

If you look back at the debuts of some talented young strikers who went on to make it at big clubs, you will see an obvious pattern. The likes of Owen, Anelka and Rooney all started young, and all made their debuts playing as one of a pair alongside a more experienced striker. These days though it’s almost impossible for a young player to get an opportunity when there is only 1 striker position available.

What we see now are the likes of Sturridge, Welbeck and Morata having to play in a wider role to try and prove their worth. All these players were eventually moved on by their giant clubs as they opted for more experienced and trusted options to lead the line.

There are, of course, exceptions to the rule, such as Kane, Berahino and Ings, but these breakthroughs tend to be at smaller clubs like Tottenham and West Brom, and only after star signings such as Soldado, Adebayor and Ideye have failed.

With Arsenal constantly being linked to the likes of Benzema, Cavani and Lewandowski, my questions for you are how do you think the signing of one of these star strikers effects the chances of Akpom? Do you ever see a situation where a huge club, like Arsenal, can put their trust in a young player to lead the line when the demand for results is at an all time high?

Also, if it’s not formation, what do you think, if anything, is to blame for the lack of quality young striking talent in Europe?

Written by FatGingerGooner

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner