Tall men Petr secures another 3 points and a clean sheet. by Konstantin Mitov
Hello lovely Arsenal people. Another 3 points! We’ve won 5 games in a row! It’s against lesser opposition but having a winnable set of games and actually winning them is different. Last season I doubt we would’ve won them, and at the end of the day, it’s about the results and when they keep coming, you can’t complain.
That said, there is still work to be done. Everton outplayed us in the first half and they could’ve been ahead, but Petr Cech performed a man of the match performance. I’ve been really impressed with the big Czech. He’s the player who’s improved most since Emery is here. Is it the new goalkeeping coach or the fact we brought competition? Whatever it is, others should take this example.
That said, the fact we got outplayed and Cech had to make so many saves is something we cannot ignore. We finally saw Xhaka and Torreira together and I think it’ll take time to get used together, but I enjoy this midfield pairing. The presence of Lucas brings more out of Granit.
What really worries me is the wings. Ozil and Aubameyang are not wingers. Iwobi and Mikhi are the closest thing to a winger we have. I’m disappointed that we continue to play a system that doesn’t work for most of the players you have. Ozil on the wing is a complete waste. This means zero protection for the full back and no help in defense.
Ozil is a luxury player. He’s on 300k a week and he’s afraid to head the ball. In the current team there’s no place for both Ozil and Ramsey and our attempt to deploy Aaron as the number 10 doesn’t work for me. I think January will be the end for him. He’s one of the last of the Wenger era and I’ll be happy to see the money spent on a proper winger.
The obvious gems in our squad are Lacazette and Aubameyang. That goal from Alex was unbelievable. What a banger. I think Laca must be paired with Auba, who really struggles on the wing. He can’t control the ball, he needs support. Put them up top together. Their link up play and individual ability were the difference today. We have 50+ million strikers and Everton don’t.
Despite the winning run, we cannot ignore the empty seats. It’s so disappointing. The Europa League was a nightmare in terms of attendance, but having an obvious amount of empty seats shows disinterest. I think the only way people will come back is by continuing to win games, but also improving, because people are not blind. We see the defensive problems.
Finally I think the reserves did really well. Iwobi was good and Holding covered well for Sokratis, who I hope will return soon. We have the league cup next, but the big one is Watford. If we beat them, we’ll be knocking on the door of the top 4. As I keep banging on, building a winning mentality is so important and the opposition we are facing right now allows for this and we must take the opportunity and we have to keep beating the smaller teams.
Let’s hope the results will keep on rolling and the performances will improve as well. Onwards and upwards people!
Konstantin