Alexis, Coquelin and Elneny pass Burnley test with flying colours

All Arsenal fans will be more than happy to see Francis Coquelin and Alexis Sanchez fully recovered, and after seeing them both back in action in yesterday’s game against Burnley we can be pretty relieved that they now look rested and ready to guide Arsenal through the crucial second half of the season.

Wenger revealed that he was being extra cautious by giving Coquelin and extra week to recover fully. “He was quite available for the Chelsea game but I thought it was a bit early.” Le Prof said. “Today he looked quite comfortable and without any problems.

Wenger has also been cautious with Alexis, who has had a very long lay-off, but we all knew that the Chilean needed a good beak, having played nearly constantly for the last two years. I was worth the wait as he chipped in with an assist as well as his well-taken goal. “[It was his first start] for eight or nine weeks. When I saw Derby against Burnley, I had a little hesitation to pick the three [Alexis, Coquelin, Elneny]. But the fact that we played at home, I thought we could manage to get away with it. With Alexis, I was not too much worried about on the fitness front because I kept him out two weeks ago and he was already there physically. We had some worries about his muscle but today he came through well and you could see that physically, he is ready.”

The third of that trio was Mohamed Elneny who made an impressive debut and certainly looks worth the outlay. Wenger admitted the Egyptian was a little rusty but he will definitely improve for the run out. “I felt he started a bit cautious, played a bit secure. He became more adventurous, he had some good shots on goal. His mobility, his work rate was exceptional and for the rest, he needs to adjust to the power of the game in the Premier League. This was a good welcome today and certainly he has learnt a lot today. It will take him some time to adjust to the power side of our game here, but the intelligence, the mobility and the technical level are good.”

All in all it was a very satisfactory day for Arsenal, although Giroud seemed to be very out of sorts and Walcott really needed to put that last chance away, but we are through to the fifth round in our Cup defence which is all we wanted.

Onwards and Upwards!

Tags Alexis Coquelin Elneny

24 Comments

  1. A very fantastic welcome to those Lads, with the availabilty of ozil, ramsey, and joel cum with the expectation of carzola…. What will b the faith of theo and chamberlain whn dy show rustiness in games like this ?

  2. interesting that wenger says “I thought I could get away with it”: he’s doing the calculation of who he can field to give them experience w/o jeopardizing chances at the game itself.

    elneny is certainly a b2b and could be backup for ramsey and cazorla.
    we didnt see much DM role from him: hope that’ll come.

    coq was a bit rusty but still better than flam/arteta (respect: they should be given honorable retirements).

    chambers gave the ball away a few times.
    gibbs: not progressing very fast; dont know what to do w him.
    ox: if he could get 1 or 2 goals, he might be a different animal.

    1. Personally I don’t think Wenger should have admitted having doubts about playing all three, if one of these lads pulls up over the next week media will reinterpret that to mean he took a risk with fitness or that didn’t have to play them v Burnley. Also admitting how Coq was available for Che was a bad idea, the game is gone he already got slaughtered and now he just invites more criticism.

  3. I didn’t watch the game unfortunately. Was Iwobi playing in attacking midfield? I liked how he releases the ball quickly especially for the second goal.

    1. Ya he played as the #10, his technique and dribbling are way beyond his years and I love how he tries to go forward most of the time. He should have a bright future

  4. how they performed
    Alexis-great
    Iwobi-v good
    ox-good
    coq-fair
    el neny-fair
    ospina-fair
    gabriel-fair
    kos-fair
    chambers-average
    gibbs-average
    giroud-average
    walcott-below average

        1. I thought Kos was below par, and I think he has been for a number of weeks. And come on Twig, you cant compare a block to a goal (maybe five blocks), that’s why strikers get paid the big bucks. Esp an outside foot curling round the keeper into the corner of net. But I get your point, if Calum had of fluffed his lines in defense well then the goal would not redeem him.

  5. After yesterday’s game kids in North London were being warned:

    If you don’t eat your vegetables Elneny will come

    If you don’t go to bed Elneny will come

    You don’t want to be a no. 10 anymore – Elneny will gone

  6. Compare Ineacho of man.city through on the goalkeepers goal to Walcotts through on the goalkeepers pathetic attempt. laughable. If Walcott continues to play in this Arsenal team as a striker well………..I’ll say no more.

  7. CORRECTION
    Alexis, Coquelin and IWOBI pass Burnley test with flying colours. Elneny not sure – too many back passes. Scared of heading the ball (not even one header) and No challenging tackles! Reminds me of Fellaini of Manu without the heading capability.
    Fact for Alexis – hardly any back passes, always going forward. So glad he is back!

  8. for a man who just returned from a Long Lay off………..His tackles and defensive onus were just exceptional ….Weldone Le coq!

    1. I still can’t believe that Gibbs sliding tackle on Coquelin ? wtf! was he trying to do? ??
      If anyhow he would have injured Coquelin, he would of had to of moved… to another country! ?

      1. He had full concentration in closing man and ball down, I was impressed how eager he looked but at final instance he noticed Coq run into the same path, he tried to stop and slid. I don’t see the big deal here, I see collisions all the time.

  9. Iheanacho really got talent I wonder why wenger didn’t go for him. As for that goal walcot missed, that’s what u get when someone is not worth 140k a week still u gave it to him. Alex Iwobi was involved in both goals. What a kid. Alex was in Ozil’s role yet he was linking well with our defence and attack. The Kid should have more opportunity than Ox. Yea right, this will never happen cos Iwobi isn’t a british player.

    1. Wenger didn’t go for him because quite simply, Wenger can’t go for everyone that scores a hattrick out there.

  10. Understandably Elnenny had a nervous start with his first game in front of the fans.

    As the game went on he got more comfortable with great passing and shots. Don’t judge his defensive performance on yesterday as he was clearly deployed as a box to box midfield by Wenger. I think he’s versatile enough to fill both roles.

    He looked the business, and a real bargain for the amount we spent. There is a hint of Pirlo in his game…

Comments are closed

Top Blog Sponsors