Arsenal smash West Brom reserves by 6 by Konstantin Mitov
Well lovely Arsenal people, it’s an Arsenal win! Let’s get things into perspective. These are the under 23s of West Brom, so we shouldn’t draw many conclusion.
But, it’s nice to see a smile on players faces. And there was also some quality goals. Aubas 3rd was ridiculous quality. He had a similar finish against Liverpool in the Community shield.
Then there were 2 really good touches from Odegaard, which is something we’ve been desperately missing. I don’t know what the plan is with him and Smith-Rowe. I suspect Pepe might be dropped even though he was dangerous again tonight. It was good to see Laca and Saka also on the score sheet.
At the other end of the pitch I was happy with Ramsdale, and really disappointed with the defense in front of him. I’ll be surprised if Kolasinac isn’t out of the club by the end of the window. He probably only got a game so we can rest Mari for City.
Our defense still had Chambers and Holding though, and they could start against the champions. I think there’s quite an obvious need for a new right back and if Bellerin departs (hopefully), I think we might see a new player there.
Then in midfield Elneny showed again, he’s not good enough for us. Midfield is an Area where we are really short if you think about it. Torreira went to Fiorentina, so we’re left with Xhaka, who really should’ve been sold, young Sambi, who is a talent, but shouldn’t be bearing the expectations to elevate our midfield, Elneny, who should be sold, and Partey – the only player of real quality.
If we can buy Tolisso or Aouar (even on an initial loan deal) it’d be a no brainer for me. With the injury of Partey, we’re really struggling to move the ball forward. Having Auba and Laca back will no doubt have an impact, but have you noticed our pattern of attacks?
We used to be a team that tried to walk the ball in, and now, we are just looping balls over the top, trying to capitalize on the pace of Auba, Saka and Pepe, or we bomb Tierney forward hoping for good crosses.
Even Arteta’s favourite playing-out-of-the-back is suffering majorly from the lack of midfielders that can drive the ball forward. And those observances aren’t based on 90 minutes against West Brom reserves.
Much more conclusions can be made after we travel to the Champions on Saturday. That game will be at the hardest end of the difficulty spectrum. Hopefully the win tonight will give us at least some confidence to go there and put a performance.
Konstantin