How on earth did these three play 90 mins?
I recorded the game as I was smart and figured I'd use the morning to take my kids to a farm to play with baby goats. Came back and watched most of the game. Started to fast forward after we went 2-0 down. But in the time that I watched us play, I feel like many players were not at the races.
Ozil should not play in any BIG games for us. He SHOULD be a big player for us, but the truth is that he is a flat track bully. Ramsey offers nothing anymore. I am shocked he played 90 mins. At the moment, Elneny is our best CM. Not saying that because "absence makes the heart grow fonder" but he has the engine of Ramsey, and can actually tackle. He is a better version of Xhaka (and no, Xhaka did not demonstrate any great vision/passing range that makes him any better in that category either today or any other day). I feel for Elneny and to an extent Coquelin who should be our DM and not told to win the ball up higher and have Xhaka playing a deep creator role. Basically, Wenger has somehow managed to screw up our only real DM to the point where he is now on the bench.
Sanchez....I had a ot of time for him but have always said that his vision is lacking and he does not know when to make the simple pass/quick pass to help the team. He is the ball hog we all hated in primary school. And now, he seems to get angry when he is not passed to or his team mates make a mistake I get it...you are playing with a shower of shtte when it comes to some players, but he needs to take a good long look at himself before he can blame others.
All in all, this season has been over for a long time and this team needs new management, new players and a new attitude. Or we are in for a long long decline ala liverpool.
Sanchez, Ozil and Ramsey
posted on 30/4/17
Gonna adapt a post I made for another article.
The absolute biggest problem Arsenal have is that they have no leaders on the pitch. They are a sunny day team, who play nice football when everything's going well. But you don't have even one quality defensive player and you just can't go into 38 premier league games hoping to win on mere possession and the quality of some of your forward players.
The other problem you have is your dependence on players who have flattered to deceive. Ozil is the most obvious of these - he just cannot play the in premier league every week. Look at Conte and how he's handling Cesc - Cesc is a luxury player if you want to play a strict formation and I'd say Ozil is more so.
Then you have Ramsey - he was absolutely sh¡t hot a couple of seasons back but he's still living from past glories. He is not strong enough to lead a midfield - he has to be played next top a top quality holding player or preferably in a midfield three.
The problem is that the players you need become more each year - to the point where now two top class centre backs, a top class holding player and a top class striker are Arsenal's absolute minimum requirements. Can't see them shelling out for so many top quality players if I am being honest.
posted on 30/4/17
comment by Eric_Draven (U20260)
posted 9 minutes ago
Gonna adapt a post I made for another article.
The absolute biggest problem Arsenal have is that they have no leaders on the pitch. They are a sunny day team, who play nice football when everything's going well. But you don't have even one quality defensive player and you just can't go into 38 premier league games hoping to win on mere possession and the quality of some of your forward players.
The other problem you have is your dependence on players who have flattered to deceive. Ozil is the most obvious of these - he just cannot play the in premier league every week. Look at Conte and how he's handling Cesc - Cesc is a luxury player if you want to play a strict formation and I'd say Ozil is more so.
Then you have Ramsey - he was absolutely sh¡t hot a couple of seasons back but he's still living from past glories. He is not strong enough to lead a midfield - he has to be played next top a top quality holding player or preferably in a midfield three.
The problem is that the players you need become more each year - to the point where now two top class centre backs, a top class holding player and a top class striker are Arsenal's absolute minimum requirements. Can't see them shelling out for so many top quality players if I am being honest.
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You summed it up more coherently. I was having a rant haha.
Seriously though, the one constant is Wenger. We need a change. He should have left after 2015 FA cup and Pep was available soon after. Or Klopp. Now...the board must be bricking themselves so went with the easy option of a 2 year deal for Arsene
posted on 30/4/17
I just wanted to comment on Sanchez. I have watched him at the Camp Nou and he was my favourite player during his time at Barça. If we hadn't bought Neymar, he would still be here.
Alexis is an exceptionally talented and quick player but he often plays too quickly or directly for some teams. This means that he is often too far ahead of play or two steps ahead. When you're playing with Messi, Xavi and Iniesta, you can get away with it because they are very intelligent players. What I see at Arsenal is that Ozil and Giroud just can't keep up with him and can't play that quick incisive football. Arsenal are a contradiction, back to front quick and decisive but up front they are often clumsy and cumbersome. Sanchez style would be much better suited to Chelsea where he would thrive as a false 9 with Hazard, Pedro and Willian.
The poster who compared Ozil to Cesc - you are right that Cesc is not mobile enough which is Ozil's great problem. But Ozil has a bigger problem, he goes missing in games and then for great parts of the season. His best season at Madrid, he played 55 minutes a game in a league which is not as physical or fast. Cesc is a much better player over a season than Ozil. Arsenal cannot afford two forward players who they have to "accomodate" for and that is their problem with Sanchez and Ozil.
posted on 30/4/17
Dunno but Sanchez obvs hates your team
posted on 30/4/17
I thought Ramsey looked like he wanted it more than any other payer today. Hes limited as a player going forward and is final ball has been fairly shocking this season, but he will always do some defending as well as attack and makes a lot of key defensive contributions. I see Xhaka as a far bigger problem than Ramsey. Xhakas distribution is not as good as people seem to think and his defensive contribution is shockingly bad.
And then theres Giroud, still not good enough after how many years. I said before kick off that with those 2 in the team we would lose. Too slow in the spine.and not able to hold the ball. I could see what happened coming before it even happened. Wenger really must have his head up his arsene if he couldnt ee it.
posted on 1/5/17
Good article and agree with a lot of it.
If you look at the way we were setup yesterday it was if we were playing with 9 players, wenger defies logic and guts a lot of the time.
IMO, Holding should have played, Monreal back as wing back. Would also have tried Bellerine also as wing back. Pushed the Ox and Welbeck to the wings with Sanchez up front, or swapped him around with Welbeck.
The midfield partnership is always a tough one, never know who to pick its a lottery for what your going to get there.
We were setup to contain Spurs but had nothing else to offer.
posted on 1/5/17
Sanchez is marking time until he can get out...can't blame him
Ramsay was world class for three weeks once....lost it
Ozil is bang average...he knows it...we know it...and again can't be blamed...
posted on 1/5/17
One thing I have come to learn as I have got older is that a team, playing at the top level, needs to be balanced with everyone doing their job to make the team work as unit for whatever tactics are being used. The problem Arsenal have is for too long we have had weak spots in the team that dont work with the rest of the team and distort way we play. Giroud beng the long serving main culprit. Xhaka now adds to that.
Then add to that some of our players who are not quite up to the required level. With the right players around them it can lift them to be able to perform well enough but with glaring weaknesses in the team it drags them down.
I genuinely believe some of the players like Walcott, Ramsey, Coq, Ozil, etc will lift their games to an acceptable level with the right players around them. With the very weak midfield we have with Xhaka playing as the deep lying play maker every game I think its dragging the players around him down. Less so but Giroud does the same and the refusal to replace him with better for years has hampered our style of play.
I have seen so many times over the years that you get one influential player out injured for a long time and the rest of the team will cope for a little while but gradually performances will drift down as the influences within the team change. Influences dont change instantly as players adapt to the dynamic in the team but take a while to filter through the rest of the squad. So players who were regarded as world class but are failing to perform can be explained. They are not leaders but followers and what they are following is not good enough so they dont play well. Thats why captains i the team like Vieira lift the other players so well.