Ox and Giroud – Will they ever get the game time they deserve? by RC
For a long while now we have given chances to three players who have provided near to nothing this season. These players are keeping the likes of the Ox and Giroud, who as we saw yesterday, have the talent to turn a game around.
The first of these players is Iwobi. Keeping a consistent spot on the left wing until yesterday’s game, Iwobi has hit the headlines by being a player that has come through the ranks and is now keeping a spot in the side. However if he did not have this reputation of coming through the youth system would he even be in the squad? Apart from a few good dribbles and the odd flick what does he offer? He always bottles it in front of goal, can’t pick out an ambitious pass and, on more than one occasion, has misplaced a pass to the opposition to nearly costs us a goal. How does a player of this calibre start ahead of Ox who, despite barely starting a match, is our 4th highest goal scorer!
The next player has not been consistently starting but is still getting more game time than some very talented players is Elneny. Not a direct swap for Ox, although he has stated that is a position he would like to play in, but still keeping others out the side. Elneny brings little to the team, limited passing ability only ever choosing the easy pass as well as being weak and slow, this showed yesterday getting beat by nearly every Man United player that came his way. He is there to fill a spot rather than actually change the game. I understand we are missing Cazorla massively but why oh why not put Xhaka in there or even Ox. We have a massive squad of talent and I really don’t see a space in there for a player the level of Elneny.
Perhaps the most controversial of the bunch of players that I think need dropping is Ramsey. A player that Wenger has always had faith in and it did pay off, for one season. Since his glory season Ramsey has provided the odd wonder goal but little else. His great form for Wales leaves us frustrated by his bang average performances for the Gunners. Against Man United he was extremely poor and I don’t understand why he was not brought off sooner. Ramsey is a central midfield player that rarely offers an above average performance and yet we choose to play him out on the wing ahead of the in-form Ox or letting Sanchez slot back out wide to let Giroud up front. Ramsey can still be utilised and will surely find form soon but currently he is playing badly and out of position!
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Olivier Giroud need game time or they will seek game time elsewhere. Both talented players that are being left out for average players in poor form. Makes no sense to me, I’m sure it makes no sense to them. For the first time in years we have a massive squad full of talent it’s time we used that to the best effect.
Rory.
I find the title very harsh. We have a team where everyone plays one role when called. This is the type of comments (because it doesn’t qualify as article where someone really studied the data) after a game where the team did not gave out all to win. To which I agree very much. But starting to make judgements after each game it will get you only that far. Was it a bad performance? Wasn’t a good one, I tell you that. However, now that the heat and adrenaline is over we can look at what happened and draw some conclusions. Starting lineup was absolutely defensive from the get go. 2 DMs, Ramsey on wings and Walcott poised to help Jenko (as it was seen when Jenko was caught out of position). That’s also the reason Sanchez was starting so that we can catch them on the break. It was pretty clear that Mourinho was not really pleased to see a defensive Arsenal. The moment Arsenal pushed, they scored. And this is not the first time this season. That’s the bright side of it : we score when we want.
Giroud is not suitable for Arsenal’s current strategy, he is better when Arsenal changes to targetman tactic near the end of the games. We should not forget why he was benched. It was because the previous targetman and holdup play tactics were monotonous and the opponents have known them very well.
Ox is not consistent when he starts. He still needs to work on his passings and finishings. I think Iwobi is still a better passer than him.
For me, the one that really needs to be benched is Ozil. He needs to improve his ball possession skills and his passes are not always accurate.
The Oxs problem is he is not. 90 min player + he does one cross and he becomes an over night success. Wenger is the problem by not making subs when you know Ozil was poor Sanches poor, but he is too frightened to sub them, so it’s allways others who are doing there job. As for Ramsey to start on left side,well that sums him up I must say. How can you play a player with a ham string problem just back from World Cup who gave no strength to the side it would be better to have them on the bench and need them only if need be. Ozil well again was bad. Will see Wed on who he picks. Has to be Awobi,Giroud on for Sanches,Ozil and Oxy on for Ramsey. CB
This article is the typical irrational knee jerk comment that is to be expected from kids that have thrown their toys out of the pram. Ox and Giroud have in the past been given a multitude of chances. Giroud, earlier this year, went 15 games without finding the back of the net. At the time he was roundly criticised for being slow and a one trick pony. The Ox’s lack of consistency has often been levelled at him as the reason for why he has not been able to hold down a permanent place in the team. The problem with Ramsey is not that he is all the sudden a ‘bad player’ but a player that cannot perform to the best of his ability because he is played out of position. The main issue with Arsenal is not just who is playing but the formation that is adopted for each individual ocassion.
The formation for yesterdays game!
I don’t think both OX and Giroud should be a starter. Because they were given this chance before and didn’t deliver to the required level. At the moment, they are a good game changer when they came off the bench. I think this situation should continue in the same manner for the sake of the team result instead of the individuals. On the other hand, players who are unable to perform to the standard, have to be rested and instructed by the manager to improve their performance.
Poorly written, your article shows you have little knowledge about the subject you are discussing. If you have watched Arsenal at all you should know that the OX has been given countless opportunities to nail down a starting spot, but he has been poor and inconsistent to do that, hence Iwobi overtook him. Elneny is not a bad player and he is not a regular starter, so I don’t know why you included him. Ramsey has been played out of position in almost all his time at Arsenal. It was only in the 2013 season that Wenger played him in his prefered position and he scored 18 goals. For me, the only person that needs to start now is Giroud. Ozil should be moved to the left and Sanchez drops as a number ten, while Giroud plays as the main striker. Wenger has tried it before and it worked
Why the hell play Ramsey on the left qing? He has always played in the centre or on the right. We had Iwobi and Alexis who are fully experienced on the left, where was the sense in that!
i wuldnt swap iwobi for chamberlain, I agree on ramsey and elneny tho, don’t think they should be starting,wenger doesn’t really helps ramsey’s case either, playing him out of postion isn’t helping any one, wenger betta start growing the balls to sub off ozil if he is having an off day
the person who realy deserves droping is AW coz we have a better squad this year but his tactics are full of favouritsm and old aged
what can I say…same old wenger…hope we don’t have to finish the season with the mindset of what cud ve been…inconsistency…
Lol giroud is still not the answer and let’s not forget ramsy just came back from injury and played out of position
Giroud is playing out of his skin. Which he does every time he is benched.
Play him from the start and let’s see coz the fact is that Sanchez needs a rest…..