The fact that we have such a clear first eleven is a good thing, I know it wasn't quite the first XI yesterday with Sagna's suspension and Fabianski's injury, although I do hope the former returns, the latter is not as good as Szczesny in my book and should remain firmly rooted to the bench. The balance in the current side looks right, this is partly from the physical presence of Djourou, the bite of Jack Wilshere and the width provided by Theo Walcott. Szczesny looks a dominant force in goal, he has the aura of a no1, he believes in himself, even if he makes the odd error it doesn't seem to rattle him and this seems to be passed on to the whole side defensively.
Injuries prevailing we have a chance. If Arsene can keep Mr Szczesny in goal, bring in a centre back for cover, realise that Denilson is deeply average and resurrect a certain Russian's confidence then there is hope. The way Wilshere has come in has been quite remarkable, he looks part of the furniture and he hasn't even played a full season in our first team, Samir Nasri has developed to a new level, as had Theo Walcott in my opinion, the return of RVP has been a catalyst for it all coming together. Here are my player ratings from yesterday:
Szczesny 7: The odd shakey moment but generally assured, one top save in first half.
Eboue 6: Decent, slightly suspect defensively but good going forward.
Djourou 6: Not his best game, a couple of errors which could have cost goals.
Koscielny 7: Solid, unspectacularly effective.
Clichy 6.5: Decent, some poor crossing though.
Song 7: Solid as a rock.
Wilshere 8: Great work rate and overall contribution.
Cesc 7: Far better game than in midweek.
Theo 8: Incisive and deadly.
RVP 8: Incisive and equally deadly, great finish for the first goal.
Nasri 7: Dangerous and very close to getting on the score sheet.
The big problem now comes with the flurry of fixtures that we face, we have potentially 12 games before the end of February. The tricky thing will be rotating the squad in such a way that results are not compromised, and as we have seen against Wigan, Leeds and Ipswich, this is far from easy.
The big question is who should Arsene bring in. A centre back is pretty much essential given Vermaelen's woes and Squillaci's hamstring. I just wonder whether another combative midfielder would be useful, someone who could come in for Wilshere or Song and do a job. Denilson just doesn't do it for me in this regard. What do you all think?
8 comments:
we definitely need another dm, denny or diaby can't to that job. ideally the new player would replace song (but since this is the middle of the season, and wenger likes to stick with average players for some reaso...)
Cesc 7? Are you sure, he dominated the whole game.
RVP and Theo played well and got goals but the midfield 3 ran the show especially Cesc
it's subjective i know
cesc had a good game i agree
six of one vs half a dozen
Perhaps we could bring in a player that is able to play CB or DM. Then we have cover for both areas.
But not just some hack. It would have to be an Arsenal level player. Preferably someone with proven quality, grit and a winners mentality.
Alas, I think Mr. Wenger only wants to bring in someone as cover for 6 months...
On another note, I'd really like to see Ramsey get a bit of playing time. 15 minutes at the end of a game for a few games. Just to see his level.
He could be useful for the remainder of the season if he gets back to where he was before his injury.
its subjective...!
errr
it's subjective is correct grammatically!
its means 'of it', it's means 'it is'
I agree with the need for another center back. The question is who is a reasonable signing? Bolton's squad is threadbare, so it probably won't be Cahill. Upson showed last night that his passing won't be good enough to fit in at Arsenal. Samba is a big man; that's his only positive quality I can think of. Jagielka seems like a good fit, but he's injury prone. So, to me, that means Wenger is going to go outside the EPL, and that means someone from a foreign league who we are unfamiliar with. Get ready to be flummoxed, Arsenal fans.
not convinced by jagielka or cahill
both a bit slow for me
samba is interesting, as he can play DM or CB, he would also probably be happy to be more of a squad player
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