The Deadwood Stage

February 6, 2019

Whip-crack-away!!  You have to be seriously old or a Doris Day fan  (in which case you are gay) to get that reference.

We are desperate for a clean out.

No CGI here …

We were under Mr Wenger and I thought we had sorted out the problems with the departure of Gibbo, Little Jack, Santi, Perez, Chuka, Ospina, Campbell and Per, plus another couple of loan. It appeared that UE’s squad was packed with pure quality. I was wrong, we still have players who are simply not good enough.

We can all write our lists and I guess many will differ but there are some names which will feature for everyone

Mustafi, Elneny, Lichtenstein, Jenkinson are the most popular candidates for the Spanish Archer.. Welbz and Ramsey are already gone as is Petr. That makes 7. I would add Mhki and Ozil (it is criminal to waste his talent). So, 9 out, a massive reduction of our squad.

Some may add Xhaka but I think he is an excellent squad player and back up to a proper midfield lynchpin.

It will not be easy to sell players with long contracts and very high wages. Why should they leave and take a pay cut? Will AFC pay a percentage of their wages to get shot?

Or should Mr. Emery  allow for natural wastage through age and contract run-downs  moulding the remaining players to his masterplan? Given our financial situation this seems the most likely route. We have some potentially excellent players coming through the ranks – Nelson, AMN (Cons), Smith Rowe (Lab), Willock m Mavropanos (Young Greek Bloke henceforth known as YGB) etc and it is important to highlight just how young some of our regular starters are – Curly is 19, Terrier 22, Hector 23, Iwobi 22, Holding 23. These are the chaps to build the squad around.

I always thought that Mr Wenger was too loyal to his players, keeping them in the squad when they were past their best. By doing so he did not bring fresh blood into the club. As with Mr Emery, “he can only pick from the players he has available – get rid of the deadwood and they cannot be picked” (Homer Simpson)

I think we need an aggressive clearance sale. Then buy a proper CB, 2 LB’s, RB an attacking MF and a winger. Is this likely? Sadly not.

Make mine a Sasparilla.

written by BR

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Posted by Erik the Red

Predictable at the Emptihad – Player Ratings

February 4, 2019

No Mesut, no Rambo – what’s the point of two top class strikers with no-one to feed them then?

First Half

Wobbly dithered and we were one down in the opening seconds of the match.

However, there followed a period of commendable effort from the whole team and the equaliser gave everyone a boost. We even looked as though we might sneak something.

The offside second put the kibosh on a positive half time talk.

Second Half

Zero efforts on goal. Hmmm.

Hand of Sergio third goal.

Arsenal flat-lined.

Conclusion

Not as bad a scoreline as it might have been and at least City cut the dippers’ lead, albeit temporarly (maybe).

Nobody’s expectations were very high for the game and at least we had over half an hour on level terms.

Ratings

Leno – good second half … 7

Lichtsteiner – just not up to it … 4

Mustafi – injured – good or bad? … 4

Koscielny – a goal stooping when Lukaku’s size 12s  must have been fresh in his mind … 6

Monreal – part of the mediocre nature of the team performance … 5

Kolasinac – not much to say … 5

Torreira – will be hoping his second season is in a better team … 6

Guendouzi – such a willing lad – shame he had little support … 7

Iwobi – such a bad start, never really recovered … 4

Lacazette – tried hard again … 6

Aubameyang – no service … 5

Subs

Suarez – a debut of microscopic proportions – best forgotten all round … 5

Ramsey – no effect on a poor second half whatsoever … 5

Mavropanos – A fit centre back – Hooray … 6

Managers

Emery – a hiding to nothing game in most senses – if we’d played a more attacking line up and got more severely thrashed, there would have been just as many complaining … 5

Pep Wagner – could he do it without the half a billion pounds budget? – not in the same way, that’s for certain … 6

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Posted by Bongo

Arsenal 2 Cardiff 1 – Player Ratings

January 30, 2019

Mesut as Captain.

What’s this? Have they made up or just a sop against a lower team?

We shall see.

First Half

Absolutely dire in the sleet. Two poor teams.

Cardiff might have thought they shaded it with slightly more dreadful efforts off target.

Stuart MacFarlane

Neither keeper had his hands warmed in 45 minutes of something you could barely call football.

Laca should have had a penalty when kicked from behind in first half stoppage time. Dean was poorly positioned and didn’t see the challenge.

Second Half

There was a slight improvement after the break with Wobbly on for our centre back screenplay writer.

A penalty was awarded at last when (even) Dean couldn’t pretend he hadn’t seen Kola being tripped in the area. Wobbly’s pass behind the defender was the best pass of the whole game and created the penalty. Finally, we had a clear chance of  scoring. Auba obliged.

Laca scored a well deserved second after 83 minutes having got back on his feet after being fouled (one of the only ways of escaping having someone kicking your ankles on a night for the brave).

Cardiff’s consolation was fortunately too little, too late.

Conclusion

A strange team selection which was 100% reflected in a poor first half from the boys in red and white.

No real pattern or structure in Arsenal’s play. I’m still flummoxed.

Still, three valuable points on a miserable January night.

Stuart MacFarlane

Ratings 

Leno – nothing to do, can’t blame him for that  … 7

Lichtsteiner – subbed for Jenks about summed up how effective he was… 6

Mustafi – it seemed incredible that he arose from the dead like Lazarus after seemingly jarring his ankle irreparably to not only continue but also make a few decent challenges – deserves an extra point for tomorrow’s swelling on his ankle  … 7

Elneny – ’tis a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. … 6

Monreal – thank heaven he was fit – our best defender by a mile   … 7

Kolasinac – flat pack special from the wardrobe – has become plan A … 6

Torreira – still have no idea what his role in the team is meant to be and, it seems, neither has he  … 6

Guendouzi – deeper than Torreira in the first half- why? Kicked so many times without recourse from Dean – his legs are going to be blue tomorrow – still only 19 years old, he’s going to be some player if he survives … 7

Ozil – a test or a punishment? – could be either. Not his best performance or his worst. Waved to the crowd when he was subbed  … 6

Lacazette – worked his couilles off as usual – extra point for the decisive goal  … 8

Aubameyang – reminded me of Adebayor’s first touch in the first half, slightly improved after the break – scored with the pen which is all you would ask … 7

Subs

Iwobi – added some forward impetus – superb Mesut-like pass for the pen  … 7

Jenkinson – tried hard and did his best while looking slightly like he’s playing in the wrong league  … 6

Ramsey – did ok when I’m sure he would have preferred to stay in his warm sleeping bag, nearly got the third … 6

Managers

Emery – some seem to have a clear vision of what his aim is for team structure, I’ve none – three points not to be sniffed at, though, even if it was against relegation fodder … 7

Wagner – ‘brave’ showing from his team of average footballers asked to run around like crazy, nipping at ankles like Jack Russells on heat  … 5

chas

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Posted by Bongo

More Mesut

January 27, 2019

There was a fine discussion on AA yesterday. No surprise that Mr Ozil was the centre of attention.

As I have the floor, may I take the opportunity to expand my thoughts?

It comes down tho this, do I want Arsenal to become a defensive unit in the manner of George Graham’s teams post ’89 or do I want to watch a team which can win through artistry rather than endeavour? ( hopefully we can have both).

images-4.jpeg

Once GG won the title his modus operandi was to denude the team of inspiration to the point where the midfield consisted of water carriers to supply the mercurial God8. It was successful but awful to watch. In retrospect the singing of “1-0 to The Arsenal” may have assured GG that we were happy. Like many I was relieved when he left.

Why were we so happy with Wenger? Because we shed the Boring Boring Arsenal tag. Over almost 20 years we were privileged to watch artists encouraged to be creative, in later years AW struggled but we still watched Cesc or Rosicky or RVP or Arshavin etc

Today we have PEA, Ozil and Lacazette who have the skill sets to get you out of your seat,  Especially Ozil.

Those who question his work rate do not acknowledge his non-stop movement in the quest to find space. From this space he can create opportunity for the strikers but inevitably Ozil has weaknesses, and in particular, his unwillingness to defend (though I think this is exaggerated). I don’t care but Mr. Emery clearly does.

Like all on AA, I am willing to give Unai time; this is not his squad, nor is Ozil the type of player he likes. At Seville he built a team based around a strong defence. At PSG he was sacked because he couldn’t work with Neymar, nor play the type of attacking, flowing football required by the Qatar Oilers. Let us not forget that he won the French treble before he was asked to leave so it wasn’t due to a lack of silverware.

This is purely my opinion and possibly/probably not the view of the majority but … we are not going to compete with MC/MU/ Chelsea or Liverpool  for the next few years because Mr. Kroenke will not invest. We may win a Cup. So what are we left with? If we perform exceptionally we MAY get Champions League which would be a major  achievement given the outstanding quality of the Top 6.

Anyone who believes Emery will make a root and branch clear-out of the squad is mistaken, we don’t have the money. As such, he must make the very best of the players we have and Ozil is our very best.

Summarising, the Ozil argument is about pragmatism versus artistry. Give me entertainment every time even if this results in frustration and disappointment.

To see Guendouzi/Mhiki/Iwobi/Ramsey repeatedly picked ahead of Ozil infuriates me. Give him 60 minutes and if he is lost sub the man but please don’t waste his talent.

written by BR

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Posted by Erik the Red

Things we learnt from the weekend

January 21, 2019

The dust has settled on matchweek 23, so what can we take from the proceedings?

……. Unai Emery took a close look at the way Chelsea play and came up with an excellent way of nullifying their threat. Was this completely by design? Answers on a postcard.

……. The loss of Hector just as he was getting back to full match fitness is a blow. We have other options at right back and between them they will have to take up the slack.

……. The Arsenal players knew the significance of the Chelsea game and you could see they were right up for it. This doesn’t explain how they could have been so unaware of the importance of the game the week before in Stratford. Every single game is worth 3 points, lads. Teams that are going somewhere always realise this week in, week out.

Stuart MacFarlane

…… The Liverpool and Man City juggernauts roll on and it looks a two way fight for top spot. I presume we’d all prefer City to win it just because we’ve got used to them buying the title, so another Champs trophy barely makes any difference. The Mickey Mousers on the other hand…..

…… The spuds spawned yet another injury time win. They’ve had no draws so far, even though they’ve probably deserved at least half a dozen. It appears Rodent-in-Chief, Dele Alli, joined Mr Kane in the sick bay with a hamstring (expect him back in 2 rather than an Arsenal 6 weeks). Their luck must run out sometime as their pool of attacking players dwindles. (Mind you, Llorente did get on the scoresheet)

…… Cardiff, our next League opponents, lost heavily at fellow strugglers Newcastle. Colin W*nker said that losing was not the end of the world. They lack quality up front – the opposite to us.

…… After Man City away, our following fixture is on February 9th at Huddersfield. Let’s hope their new manager is installed well before then so we aren’t on the receiving end of a ‘bounce effect’. Sky Sports thought they’d spotted their new chap in the crowd but it turned out his name was John not Jan.

……. The red mancs gained their 7th straight win since OGS took over. The run has to end sometime!

chas

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Posted by Bongo

Back in Business – Arsenal v Chelsea Ratings

January 20, 2019

No Mesut in the starting line-up. Could the team raise their performance without him after last week’s dismal showing in Stratford? You Betcha.

First Half

It was Blitzkrieg in that opening period of the game. The only disappointment was having only Laca’s wonderful strike to show for it.  We retreated a little just after the goal as if the team couldn’t quite believe it was actually winning in a first half. Pedro’s dink over the keeper was the only real moment of extreme danger, though.

We still had the better chances in the remainder of the first half including a bullet header from Kos straight at the keeper’s face. When almost exactly the same chance came again, Kos decided to use something he’d practised in training, a  no-look header (© fgg).  Fooling the Arrizabalaga that he was going to power a header again, he deftly deflected the ball off his shoulder, cushioning it into the far corner. The keeper stood as if he’d watched a magic trick. It gave us some vital breathing space before half time.

Getty Images

Second Half

Chelsea huffed and puffed but failed to really get up a decent head of steam against Arsenal’s well-organised defensive structure.

Kos even took one in the orchestra stalls blocking a pile-driver. You can see the after effects here.

OG came on from the bench and got more respect in a few minutes than he ever did while playing for the Club.

A third goal looked possible on a couple of occasions but wasn’t to be.

Conclusion

A different team performance altogether from our recent away efforts. Everything worked perfectly on the day, so a time to bask in beating our West London rivals.

One shot on target from the chavs in the whole 90. Emery using Ramsey to cut the supply lines to Hazard was a masterstroke. A superb defensive tactical display from the Arsenal and a clean sheet to boot. Not often we say that.

Reuters

Ratings (extra point for everyone for beating the chavs)

Leno – one shot on target from Alonso, saved comfortably, competent elsewhere … 8

Bellerin – such a shame just as he was regaining form and importance … 8

Koscielny – majestic in defence and cunningly brilliant for his goal … 9

Sokratis – shame he couldn’t find the net with his first half header, solid throughout …8

Kolasinac – almost looked an accomplished defender in addition to being a wardrobe on wheels … 7

Torreira – still not sure if he knows 100% what his role in the side is but he worked really hard throughout, tiring a little in the second half … 8

Xhaka – only the odd sloppy pass but generally a rock in midfield … 8

Guendouzi – perpetual motion, which sometimes make him look like a schoolboy chasing the ball over the field, ten out of ten for youthful exuberance … 8

Ramsey – excellent in that first period where we could have run away with it – the pressure’s off for Aaron, so hopefully he can have a massive positive effect on the rest of our season … 8

Lacazette – magnificent finish at the near post the like of which we have seen before from him – tireless and willing … 8

Aubameyang – A couple of belting chances not snaffled up in the first half, though the bicycle kick was unlucky … 7

Subs

Maitland-Niles – a couple of really important challenges – with Hector out, it’s time for him to push on … 8

ElNeny – tidy, and helped in the second half rearguard display … 7

Iwobi – didn’t see much of the ball up top but helped out in his own half … 7

Managers

Emery – does this make up for the West Ham debacle? – yeah , go on then, one game at a time … 9

Wagner – out thought, outplayed, lovely … 5

chas

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Additionally we have an FGG assessment of yesterday……..

Without a doubt, my favourite performance of the season.

Obviously we all enjoyed the Spurs game at home, but we’ve just beaten Chelsea without our goalkeeper making a single significant save. Tactically we were absolutely outstanding and you could see that Emery had looked at the opposition and had decided that stopping Jorginho was the way to stop that team hurting us. Ramsey dominated him for 60 minutes and then Elneny came on and stood next to him for the last half hour. We allowed them space out wide knowing that they could couldn’t hurt us with crosses, and the performances of our CB’s was a joy to watch. If we had more players who cared about the job they do as Sokratis then we would win the league. He may not be the best player, but he was absolutely immense today and you can see he cares about defending. We haven’t had a player like that for a while. Everything the Greek lacks in technical ability though, the guy stood next to him absolutely makes up for it. Koscielny oozed class and gave a defensive masterclass in positioning and guile. What a performance.

I’m not going to pretend this makes up for the last few performances, but I can see that with the right players, Emery has the tactical nous to take us forward. We just need the right players to implement what he’s asking.

Absolutely loved that 2nd half and watching the last 15 minutes knowing that Chelsea had zero chance of scoring was a rare treat. Let’s hope it continues.

Interesting to listen to Keown’s comments after the game. He seems really frustrated that Ramsey played so well today but won’t be with the team moving forward. I’ve also seen a lot of comments from Merson recently about Arsenal letting players go on the cheap. Whilst we all agree that certain things have been awful behind the scenes, I don’t understand the total negativity that comes from these people.

Personally, I believe that getting rid of players like Ramsey and Özil will see the club move forward. Emery has his own ideas about the squad and if he believes that the £350k we pay Özil and the probable £200k+ we would’ve had to pay Ramsey can result in us signing 2 or 3 players then I’m with him. Don’t get me wrong, the club could’ve handled the contract situations of Wilshere, Ox, Ramsey, Özil and Sanchez so much better than they have, but in reality, I look at that list of players and wonder how many of them really would be moving our club forward right now. Four of them have been out injured for the last month ffs, how often was that a problem for Wenger’s teams!?

Comments from FGG

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Posted by Bongo

David Wagner. A Sad Loss

January 15, 2019

Firstly, it is important to say Mr David Wagner has not kicked the bucket, he has not shuffled off this mortal coil, nor has he run down the curtain and joined the choir invisible. No, he has “chosen” to leave his club.

Wagner seems a good chap; honest, passionate. hard working and highly intelligent. Importantly, when he talks he is understandable – could one of our problems lie in the awful English spoken by Emery? I don’t understand him so why should the players?

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His departure highlights just how difficult and pressurised a job being a PL manager is, it also highlights just how resilient Mr. Wenger is/was. Wagner has been the most successful manager of Huddersfield Town since Herbert Chapman (almost), yet he clearly feels he is failing his team and club.

If you massively over-achieve in your first season, as keeping H’field in the PL must be considered, when you are unable to repeat this miracle should you leave “by mutual consent”? Surely it makes sense to set yourself and your team reasonable and achievable goals. Competing with teams who have a bigger budget, fanbase, squad etc etc.is inevitably difficult, there are always 3 losers.

Will bringing in one of the usual candidates  – Fat Sam, Pulis, Moyes, Hughes etc etc – help? No, it won’t. H’field are doomed.

Has Wagner received a better offer? A mid-table club in Spain/Germany who need a mid-season boost? It seems unlikely because he seems to be an honourable man, as such it must be the pressure. I cannot imagine how one copes. A PL manager must be obsessive, totally focussed, committed to a 24/7 working week, have a strong constitution added, of course, to the necessary football and man-management requirements.

Why am I writing this on an Arsenal blog? Because the loss of Wagner takes away one of our recent in-house jokes, though he may return!

Also, it gives an insight into the pressures Mr. Emery must suffer on a daily basis.  Mr. Emery must know that millions of fans around the globe question his relationship with Mr. Mesut Ozil, do you think it is easy for him?

David Wagner, I hope you return to the PL, in the meantime, I wish you well and thanks for the jokes.

written by BR

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Posted by Erik the Red

A Shambles in Stratford – Arsenal Player Ratings

January 13, 2019

No Mesut, not injured but a tactical decision to leave him out of the squad? What does that say to the other players going into the game? Something’s afoot.

First Half

Two equally poor teams created a roughly equal number of half chances. Really dreadful viewing. Is anyone else sick of watching forwards running around like blue arsed flies trying to close down centre backs with the ball. About 10 minutes of that first half seemed to be spent trying to move 20 yards up the pitch. Shockingly painful to watch.

As Didit said “Sick to the teeth of this passing the bloody thing around between 9 ‘effing defenders all sodding afternoon”

Second Half

We couldn’t be any worse, surely? Oh yes, we could.

Three minutes after the restart, a poorly defended breakdown from a corner and the most committed player on the pitch has a free strike from 14 yards. Leno had no chance.

Torreira and Ramsey on for Xhaka and Mustafi at least gave a semblance of hope. Ramsey, playing without the encumbrance of an Arsenal future started to make things happen, popping up all over in dangerous positions. Chances came and went. Auba had one of his barn door days.

Hector added more hope but ultimately we were just not good enough to score.

Conclusion

Wagner will be happy his side sneaked the points. They did seem hungrier and snappier in the tackle. Arsenal seemed lethargic and listless after a week’s solid training to get the team nailed down and perfect for matchday.

We were swamped in midfield as Kola and A.M-N didn’t help at all, leaving Wobbly, Laca and Auba isolated.

Auba and Laca do not a good combination make, regardless of the fact that they’re two of our best players – no linkage whatsover.

Making a poor West Ham side look ok, FFS.

Ratings

Leno – Nowt to do except pick the ball out of the back of his net … 6

Maitland-Niles – not sure he found a mint choc shirt with one pass in that dreadful first 45 … 2

Mustafi – awful tackling, think he might be a bit thick … 4

Sokratis – tried hard to shackle both Arnautovic and Carroll … 5

Koscielny – not really much to do as a centre back, had plenty of touches trying to get the ball up to the halfway line … 5

Kolasinac – so far offside for the chances he set up in the second, pretty clueless … 5

Xhaka – No command of the midfield today, though missed having a link player to pass forward to. Most ducked the responsibility of making themselves available for a pass … 4

Guendouzi – passing a bit off today – popped up all over when we really could have done with attempting to establish some midfield control – needs to work on his shooting … 5

Iwobi – flitted in and out of the match like a moth battering its head on a lightbulb – perhaps looked most likely to open up the bus once Ramsey had come on … 5

Aubameyang – not his finest day in a pistachio coloured shirt – perhaps should have had at least one … 4

Lacazette – huffed and puffed without really doing a great deal … 5

Subs

Ramsey – my MOTM – looks to have had a weight lifted from his shoulders … 6

Torreira – should have been on from the start sat in front of the back four … 6

Bellerin – suddenly the right flank was an option when he came on … 6

Managers

Wagner – Overjoyed his team faced an even worse team today … 6

Emery – Oh dear, not good – strange team selection after a full week to get things right in training, led to a disjointed team performance – no discernible plan visible … 3

chas 

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You also have some player assessments from LB to savour – you lucky folk.

Leno: couldn’t do anything about the goal, otherwise, and in view that they didn’t score anymore, he was fine.

Koscielny: one of the few bright spots in the sense that he no longer looked out of place.

Mustafi: 6th place defender for a 6th place team.

Big Sok: no mistakes, slightly better than recent past.

Kolasinac: couldn’t get his byline thing up and running and we suffered because of it.

AM-N: so disappointing, poor passing, poor positioning, no penetration, let it not be said that he didn’t get his chances.

Xhaka: another of the few and far between bright spots in this game; that’s to say, Emery finally took of his “I Love Granit” glasses off and hooked him. Another school boy error to gift WH the points.

Guendouzi: not bad, wish he would show a bit more strength, he is muscled off the ball too easily.

Iwobi: in the land of the blind the one eyed man is king.

Lacazzete: ran around a lot in the first half, faded in the second.

Aubameyang: poor close control, poor errrrr pretty much everything really completely ineffectual.

What a crap day when Nasri is the most talented player on the pitch.

LB

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Posted by Bongo

Arsenal need a CB. Really?

January 11, 2019

The scene:

  • we’re in a transfer window
  • Mid-term of a new manager’s first season
  • Lying in 5th (very Kloppy/Peppy for a new boy)
  • GF column ok. GA column not good
  • Transfer budget: outlook bleak
  • Recent poll here showed overwhelming support for a CB in Jan

First up, the bleeding obvious. Real Madrid and Juventus are always looking to strengthen/upgrade. All teams, from Barcelona to Bognor are always two players short. We will never be any different.

The CB? If talk of limited budget and only loan deals is to be believed, where’s the benefit of signing some short-term aged colossus? One of the essential ingredients of a good defence is understanding between the back three/four. I reckon we’re better off with what we have until a sensible budget is available. Also, we may get some top level experience for the promising Mavro and therefore have a clearer understanding of CB requirements for the summer after the return of Holding. We may well need a quality CB, but I don’t believe a stop gap loan is going to make any significant difference this season and I ‘d rather we wait.

Oh, and by the way,  in that poll, I voted (twice) for an attacking midfielder.

Throughout this first half of the season, we’ve been plagued with the repeating pattern of a game of two halves. As I said earlier, our Goals For column is ok, unlike the Goals Against and the temptation for many is to assume that automatically implies the need to strengthen at the back.

BUT, throw in the fact that our defence has been ravaged by injuries, and I come up with another explanation.

Bloggers have mentioned our rope-a-dope sixty odd minutes of containment before invariably only landing the knock-out blows late in the game. This means the defence are under pressure for too long in every game. To be expected when playing the better sides, but we’re subjecting our defence to this every game, and this may explain the high casualty rate.

This brings me back to the Goals For column, which I described as Ok. Of course you can never score enough, however, we lie joint third in this column, but here’s the problem. We don’t score a higher enough percentage of these in the first forty five against the lower calibre sides. We don’t finish ‘em off before oranges. The problem this side has is not how many we score, but when.

In short, the attacking midfielders are not performing.

Unai is clearly still evaluating his largely inherited squad, and I’d expect a cull before significant quality replacements are brought in to compliment HIS ideas and vision.

I’d be ok with no arrivals this window, unless of course, Stan unearths a stash to……nah.

(Apologies. Chaotic thoughts. Rushed)

Written by Mickydidit89

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Posted by Bongo

Arsenal’s most important player this season is _______?

January 10, 2019

This question was posed on twitter by @ltarsenal and some of the replies were quite surprising, so why not have a crack at it on here while we wait for the weekend?

Runners and Riders (in no particular order)

Rob Holding

Many were surprised when Calum C went out on loan before the season started and a certain lad we bought from Bolton for a £2m was chosen to stay and develop at his home club.  His play this season has been a revelation. Cool, composed, able to bring the ball forward and with an eye for a pass, too. Some might say our defence looking decidely ropey has coincided with his absence.

Lucas Torreira

Eased in slowly frustrating Arsenal fans at the start of the season, Lucas began by making top notch contributions from the bench before getting his starting berth. Perhaps, if LBG is correct and he’s been moved further forward in Unai’s recent formations, his effectiveness has been slightly lessened when not sat right in front of the back four receiving and destroying.

Alex Lacazette

Many replies on twitter mentioned Laca. He is a fans’ favourite and certainly brings an aggressiveness and work rate which often seem responsible for lifting the whole shooting match. Less goals than Auba from perhaps more chances but he’s often won back possession from his feisty closing down (and given away a few free kicks into the bargain!).

Granit Xhaka

To some, Granit’s inclusion in this list would be the biggest shock but he does seem Unai’s first name on the teamsheet in many respects. When we are playing well, he does seem the centre of the well-oiled machine. Countless accurate passes and an ability to switch play others lack. Detractors would say ‘yes, but how many of those passes actually achieve anything’.  Then again, all teams require water carriers, ask Gilberto.

Hector Bellerin

When he’s missing from the team, you do start to realise how important he is on the right side. Still not the finest defender in the world but such a talent on the ball. Arsenal’s right flank without the Catwalk king and, to a lesser extent Micki, has been a little lacking in punch, drive and creativity.

Pierre Emerick Aubameyang

Goals from nowhere, some have suggested we’d be floating just below mid-table without Auba’s 14 goals. His strike record in October/November was simply stunning, scoring from virtually all of his shots on target. A fair few of his goals have come when he’s made an entrance off the bench. Some point out his lack of fire, Laca style, but maybe that isn’t the quality he was bought for.

I’m not sure if anyone else should be regarded as a contender.

What do you think? Could you make a case for someone not listed above.

Mesut anyone?

chas

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Posted by Bongo

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