The Arsenal first team have hardly been doing well this season with just 9 wins out of their first 15 Premier League games. You could say they have been unlucky and have had many dodgy referee decisions against them but the fact is that they are simply making too many mistakes and not scoring enough goals. With that in mind you would think that our reserves would be fighting to win a place in the main team, and with every Europa League game giving them the chance to impress Arsene Wenger they should be playing their hearts out.
They could hardly have got an easier Group to contend with, and they started off well in the minor European competition, beating Cologne 3-1 in our opening game,, although the goals really came from first team players with Kolasinac, Alexis and Bellerin sll getting on the scoresheet. They then faced a daunting trip to Belarus to face BATE, and it was our true second string side who duly made their mark with Giroud scoring and Walcott grabbing a brace, while Wilshere was impressive behind them. With progression from the group virtually assured the performances have dropped. A tight late 1-0 win at Red Star Belgrade was just enough but hardly impressive, and the subsequent bore draw against the same team at home, and a defeat to bottom-of-the-Bundesliga Cologne has not helped them yo persuade Wenger to promote anyone to his main team.
Yes we know it is only a minor competition against inferior oppenents, but surely the players should want to be pushing for a place in the EPL side by trying to show their fight and passion to play for the club in any capacity. it seems to me that players like Debuchy, Elneny, Walcott, Wilshere, Holding and even Giroud have just given up on ever being first-choice players again and are just going through the motions. We can only hope that Nelson, Maitland-Niles and Willock don’t inherit that complacency and start showing that they can become a future force for Arsenal.
There may be nothing at stake tonight, but Come On Lads! Play your heart out for the shirt and your futures. Play for the paying fans who have come to support you, and play like you want to stay at the club. Give the first team reason to be looking over their shoulders….
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eddie nketiah should start as the CF we see what he can do.
Seeing how the first team is doing so badly in the league, how about playing the reserves in league?
Wow! People actually think we’re doing well in the league hahaha!!
Should use the match to see if we can get a decent defence set up, it’s all well and good letting our youngsters express themselves but what about the defenders. Defending is not only about duels and sliding tackles. It’s also about positioning, distances, and organizing men around you. I see very little of that but for set pieces and the odd shout. T Adams should put Arsenal first and be teaching these boys already, Wenger should do a Fergie and just get his man.
The reserve players will do everything to stand out, but they have limitations. From all non regular starters, I think currently only Welbeck can push it.
I am waiting to see which fringe player will leave and which new player would come in January. I hope the newcomer would be a better quality player than what Arsenal currently have.
It’s a good opportunity to play the youth and some of the guys coming back from injury i.e Welbeck / Chambers.
I’d like to see something close to this:
Starting 11:
GK – Macey / Ospina
RWB – Da Silva
CB – Chambers
CB – Mertesaker
CB – Holding
LWB – Maitland-Niles
CM – Willock
CM – Coquelin
ATM – Nelson
ATM – Wilshere
ST – Welbeck
Subs:
01 – Ospina / Macey
02 – Bilek
03 – Debuchy
04 – McGuane
05 – Sheaf
06 – Akpom
07 – Nketiah
Ok apart from Niles, he is not a LWB and should be playing in Coq’s position.
dont forget walcott wengers first name on this list.
latest on walcott by wenger: “Yes he has a future. He works very hard. He was sick a few weeks ago and after I didn’t change the squad. But overall in training he looks very sharp”.
Ah good point; completely forgot about him, which says it all really. haha
Considering that our first team is not in the best of forms,it will perhaps serve an some sort of extra-inspiration to perform well and maybe sneak into the first team…
Good point: complacency, and Im afraid that some of our 1st team players have the same problem…
…but much worse is our criminal defending and lack of balls when its time to fight. Arsenal always fights when they are already at least 1 goal behind, and they rarely go infront by two goals margin when they are the better team. Problem is coming from the last 10 years of Wenger’s way.
I dnt see why would Sanchez and Ozil want to play in the team with those problems?
Except money and room to be complacent. Easy living at Arsenal.