Sorry for putting up the player ratings a bit late but there was some little party that got in the way lol. Not that I was in the mood to celebrate after seeing Arsenal drop yet another two points in the dire game at West Brom, where we would have been very lucky to win, but in the end were even unluckier not to win. To be honest it was a dire performance no matter how jaded Wenger keeps saying they are.
So here are my ratings…
Cech – 6
Why does he even bother to dive when faced with penalties? Unlucky not to get his 200th clean sheet but did what he had to do on the night otherwise…
Chambers – 7
A little better than last week and should never have been penalised for the penalty. Should get an even longer run in first team now that Koscielny is injured again
Mustafi – 7
Glad to have him back again and this back three looked reasonably solid
Koscielny – 6
I still think he needs a rest. This injury could be a blessing in disguise
Bellerin – 4
I hardly noticed he was on the pitch except when giving the ball away. Worst performance this season
Xhaka – 6
Another improved performance going forward. Improved passing but his shots are getting wilder
Wilshere – 7
Made another big impression despite playing every single game. Get his contract sorted now!
Kolasinac – 5
Not his best game. Had problems even before his injury
Iwobi – 5
Keeps getting his chances but nowhere near top quality this season.
Lacazette – 6
He does try very hard on his own up front, but just doesn’t seem to have as much time and space as he did in France. He will improve I am sure.
Alexis – 5
Lucky goal, and a couple of passes nearly reached their target, but otherwise he had little impact
Subs:
Maitland-Niles – 6
Better than Kolasinac but still not impressive
Mertesacker – 5
No glaring errors which is a plus nowadays.
Yet another draw against an inferior side shows that, tired or fresh, we just have lost our ability to scare opponents any more. Let’s hope that 2018 starts better than 2017 ended but with Chelsea coming to the Emirates next I’m not holding my breath. Wenger has already prepared his excuses….
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Iwobi can’t shoot. Also Always keeps coming inside. Hardly ever makes any intelligent off the ball run like Ozil or Walcott. He will never break down a tightly packed defense this way. Better to send him on loan. It is depressing watching Arsenal this season. Meh..
he will improve ,get offhis back
Drop Bellerin for Debuchy and drop Iwobi for Walcott/Welbeck .
We are playing 5 defenders (Koscielny, Mustafi, Chambers/Monreal, Bellerin and Kolsanic). This tactic isnt creating less opponent goals and is not helping our offense either. Bellerin isnt effective in this formation. In order to have 3 CB all 3 need to be top CDs and you need another strong central midfielder and attacker in midfield. We are better off going back to 4 at the back ie Bellerin..Koscielny….Mustafi….Kolsanic.
Also get either a top creative midfielder or top defensive midfielder (preferably both) and drop the 5 defenders tactic. We can still play 3 at the back but need to sign another top CD.
And get rid of Alexis (i would never would have said that 1-2 years ago) and get either Lemar, Draxler, Mahrez or Dybala.
But all of that is unlikely. Wenger has missed the boat so many times that we are in a position where we need to spend at least £250 million on new signings unless Wenger can get more free transfers or start activating release clauses (Seri had a £36 million release clause which expired in July) Hes much better than Xhaka.
As usual it ALL comes down to Wenger innit. His lack of signings and poor tactics
Alexis 5? lucky goal? he was d one fouled n timed his freekick perfectly..
aside the goals all good things Arsenal managed to have in the attack came through him..
the reason we didn’t score more was Iwobi’s wastefulness and Lacazette getting bullied
Why is iwobi in the starting 11 surely we can do better.
stop these supidctritics, you guess de bruyn and ozil werethat good at 21
yes
Ozil at the 2010 World Cup at 22 years old was nominated for the Golden Ball Award.
He was also top assist provider in the 2010 World Cup. So yes he was good at that age.
Just loan iwobi in january. i dont know what is iwobi natural position, he just like random player to fill the line up quota.
Not a winger, not a playmaker, not striker, even not a middlefield.
Wenger should put iwobi in wing back, who know mybe he will amazing in that position.
I agree Wilshire was good, but my MOTM was Alexis. He was the only one who fought on the pitch and kept sending positive messages to his teammates. Now, everyone can see why he wants to leave. Arsenal now with Wenger and demotivated starting players don’t match his hunger, determination and winning mentality to produce and create something no matter what.
Without Alexis, we could have never achieved what we achieved; 2014-15 3rd, 2015-16 2nd, 2016-17 5th. And we all know he has done everything he can do, though he was not as great in the first half of this campaign. And we all wonder, “why other players can’t play with the same level of commitment?”
Some say there’s division in the dressing room and that’s because of Alexis. But, as a fan, all I can see is what’s going on on the pitch, and if there IS a division, Alexis is definitely on the right side, or on our side, because he is the one who fights and that’s all we ask for from our players. The real problem is that Wenger can’t motivate other players to his level. Another class player Wenger mistreated. I will miss Alexis when he leaves.
And Wenger… Why can’t he rotate the players? Why does he keep starting the same players, like Xhaka, Wilshire and Bellerin, over and over in this busy period. They surely need rest before Chelsea match and we have other players who need playing time. And despite the fact that Wenger played his BEST eleven, we were really poor. I think the penalty was a bit harsh, but it can happen and it’s a waste of time to argue about it. The thing is that we created so few chances and could score only ONE against WBA, who were obviously struggling and poor. Now, in 2 days, we face Chelsea and Wenger will probably play mostly the same eleven. (Can you imagine he will play Elneny, Coquelin or Debuchy?) They are more tired physically and mentally. I guess this draw affects our confidence. We need to perform much better against them I see little sign that we can. This is another huge mistake by the manager.
I am really sick of Wenger and all his inabilities, especially the one to bring fair and healthy competition among the squad. I hate his favoritism. I won’t ever miss him if he leaves or be sacked.
I used to watch 95% of their games until recently but this season I must be at 50%. I think it says it all about the passion i have for this team. It’s sad.
Did Cech ever save penalty this season? This ability is leaving from him!
I’m sorry I don’t agree, not enough to name check him in the article. We needed the moves going forward. There was nothing much coming from central midfield, not even some mazy runs to try and open space up. It was all at a plod, no tempo tuning, no range finding, no ingenuity. Allot of our players were on the same wavelength, Ozil should have played Niles too, and maybe Nkeitah.
Wenger was patient with Wilsher and it start to pay of, some FIFA managers on here were calling him white Diaby….Pay tribut when it’s due