Injuries really hit us, but Arsenal couldn’t afford to lose this one by KM
Hello guys. The international break is finally here and we desperately needed it. We put out a squad featuring players you’d hardly see if it wasn’t for so many injuries and I thought that we were both physically and mentally tired.
We played 10 good minutes in the first half and in the second we had some chances, but overall we were sloppy in defense and we missed a few really good chances and in all fairness the draw was a deserved result.
Spurs showed more desire and ran more than us. We had periods where we really looked dangerous through set pieces. Who’d expect? But I am loving it. We are no longer one dimensional and that’s the biggest win so far this season.
Onto the game, the best player on the pitch by a mile was Mesut Ozil. The guy was sensational in his delivery and it’s such a shame Giroud didn’t score. I cannot say the Frenchman didn’t try his best, but he really should’ve scored. We could’ve snatched the game through Kieran Gibbs of all people, who almost scored 2 goals in 2 minutes.
Had that happened Gibbo would’ve been a true legend. Sadly we missed a great chance to go top after City fluffed 2 points against a battling Villa side. Petr Cech had a good game too, preventing everything, except an easily slipped through Harry Kane shot.
I thought Gabriel made a mistake in the Bayern game, when they opened the scoring, but Koscielny played Kane on and we again failed to win a game in which we concede first. We need to take an advice from Leicester on how to turn around games, because we’ve lost all but two games in which we’ve conceded first.
I thought our subs, even though them being players you’d not see too regularly, came good. Gibbs brought some pace and Flamini and Arteta brought fresh legs and some energy to our game.
Overall we just could not have afforded to lose this one. I am hoping that after the break we’ll have Bellerin and the Ox back. Hopefully Theo will follow soon. We just lack options and Alexis and Cazorla are so overplayed, one got subbed and the other is but a shadow of his dynamite self.
We have a bunch of away games coming up against oppositions we should be beating on paper, but it’s never that easy. We must give the Champions League one last chance. It’s not nice for a team of our magnitude to just sack Europe.
Truth is our squad is not big enough for all the competitions but if we focus only on the League we might nick it if our injury problems decrease. Regardless – it is what it is. I’m worried that Alexis will travel to South America and those dumb internationals have a history of ruining players.
Hopefully we’ll start to see players coming back and we’ll hit our form again when the season resumes in two weeks time.
Till then, cheers!
Konstantin