Arsenal’s youngsters give us energy, desire and passion

The kids lay the path for 2021 and the future Konstantin Mitov

Happy New Year, lovely Arsenal people! We made a smashing start by thumping a very poor side managed by Sam Allardyce, which made it all the more sweeter!

It’s incredible what a week can do for you in football. We were rotting down, looking for a relegation scrap, and now we are just 6 points off the top 4. But let’s not jump on the hype train just yet.

Our victory yesterday reminded me of why I love football. We had energy, desire and passion from minute 1. We had 2 shots on target by minute 10! Just a couple of weeks ago, 2 shots on target might’ve been all we have for an entire 90 minutes.

Our first goal came from sublime pace and skill from Tierney who dribbled past West Brom’s full back, than took him 1 on 1 again and fired a monster shot with his weaker right foot into the net. Kieran was absolute king of the left hand side the entire game! Even the cold weather and the snow couldn’t rattle him as he was warning up just like it was nice sunny day, while others were freezing and all covered in clothing.

After that came the true gem of the game, which was our second goal. No surprises that it came from a slick combination, with Saka giving it to Laca who slipped it into Smith Rowe and he gave it to Saka on a plate! It reminded me of the old days! It was like Pires, Freddie and Henry done it and even they would be proud to score such a goal.

Then came a period of really poor weather conditions where the ball was leaving marks on the ground in all the snow. This was probably West Brom’s best chance to make something as our ground superiority got lost, but we endured.

Then we hit them on the break in the second half, when a cross from the right got cleared into West Brom’s own post, then ESR fired at the keeper, but Laca was there to finish it off and the game was done. Our number 9 added another goal after another cross, this time from the left, met his knee and the ball was in the back of the net.

We could’ve done even more to boost our goal difference, but in the end it finished 4:0 and there are a few things to take out of the game and the week we’ve had.

Firstly, it was once again Smith Rowe, Saka and Tierney who gave us the energy that sparked the whole team. They created spaces so that others can thrive in. Ceballos made forward runs with the ball. Xhaka had players to aim passes forward to instead of sideways.

Lacazette has improved massively with the new players he works in attack. His hold up and link up play now makes sense as there are runners to combine with. He also scored again. That’s four consecutive games in a row, even though last time he was a sub he still netted the winner. At the moment he is our best striker.

And that runs into the complete opposite of the spectrum where Aubameyang is. His body language especially at the end of the game was really poor. Unlike before, where we’ve created next to nothing, this game he had a few chances. Not 100% chances, but some of them he’d have put away last year no problem.

At the end it looked to me like everyone is trying to help him score and he just didn’t believe it. He was strolling at times looking more disappointed at what he missed rather than the actual game.

Compare that to the desire the likes of Tierney and Saka show and you’d question who is more captain material? This is a major issue, because we have a few very highly paid players in the same situation.

Willian came on for Saka and it looks like he can at best only tie his shoelaces at the moment. A massive wage player at 32. He couldn’t make one decent run past a diabolical West Brom defense that Saka and Tierney dominated like they were Messi.

Imagine if we had Martinelli instead of Auba on the left? Oh my God, right now the kids are showing our “big guns” how it’s done and I want them to take the starting places again.

It was good fortune we actually had to drop Willian, Auba and Luiz to see where the future lies. Now it’s up to Arteta to stick with them. It would be a massive let down for everyone if we see Willian starting our next league game.

Can we get something out of him at all? I can assume we want to protect Gabriel Martinelli, but even Pepe who hasn’t been great has done more this season to deserve playing than Willian. Do those players even fit under the system we play right now?

We spend hefty money on “proven” players yet it’s the academy that has revitalised us. That said, I still think we need to add some players. I feel like Smith Rowe has been a real hero in the number 10 role showing exactly what we’re missing, but I’d like that area strengthened.

It’s not right to ask of those players at that age to carry us alone although they are doing it. The problem is our squad is huge and full of deadwood. Luckily Kolasinac is back at Schalke, Ozil and Mustafi will be gone in the summer for sure, unless we manage to find them clubs now. Sokratis as well, so funds will be freed and we do still need to invest.

Finally we should keep our heads level and continue to work and improve on our system. After all this is a West Brom defense that has shipped at least 3 goals in the last 4 home games and conceded 39 goals so far.

We’ve won games where individual moments of brilliance has given us the points, but today was different because we showed that we were better collectively as well. We had like 17 shots – 10 on target – by minute 70. With those kind of stats, goals are bound to come and we actually managed to pull our goal difference to a positive plus one.

We should still put it into the perspective of the season where we’ve still lost more games than we’ve won and yet we are just 3 points off Chelsea. If we keep performing like that though, I’m certain we will climb up that table.

Konstantin

16 Comments

  1. No coincidence they have done very well in the europa league,we need to give our young players enough chances like the other big are doing and stop cursing kreonke.Spending big does not necessarily win you trophies look at chelsea wasted resources on kai and Werner now they need a striker lol

  2. Passion + Stamina > Experience. Look at the bunch of energizer bunnies at Liverpool, who can run throughout a match

    Arsenal need that Moneyball system now, before recruiting a new player

    1. haha😀. Come to think of it apart from Salah, the rest at pool depend on speed and energy, quick passing.

  3. Thumbs up to u KM.
    I so much love reading from u.
    Meanwhile i have always beleive tgis team needs some injection of more hungrier legs and pace from the youth which is what Arteta did. Gradullay we will climb up the ladder if Arteta keeps giving this young lads opportunities they truely deserve. Long may it continue

  4. Hmm, I think undroppable players at the moment for us are:

    Leno
    Tierney
    Saka
    ESR
    Lacazette

    When Gabriel and Partey return, I think they’ll slot right in to the starting XI. Then possibly Martinelli on the left. Who should Partey partner? Ceballos was unreal yesterday. He made 4 successful tackles and 7 interceptions!

  5. Really hope that the opportunities given to youngsters and their performances make Balogun to sign the extension.

  6. I hope now, that, Arteta will continue to trust more of Arsenal young talents and give them the opportunities too, by playing them in premier league games for the growth and development of their potential. In this transfer window Arsenal should release Ceballos and buy a creative midfielder(Emiliano Buendia). Also, Ozil, Mustafi, Sokratis,Willian,Luis and Chambers must be sold, to raise the funds needed to strengthen the team and to open up four spaces for two new signings (creative midfielder and centre back) , plus, Saliba and Bolagun to be registered in premier league and Europa cup league squads.

  7. Well i think it’s the quality sometimes which needs to get fit to the squad, clearly both Willian and Auba are really quality players but defensively they aren’t pressing hard like the kids. And yes i mean they should see it like kids to make more solos at times.

  8. I for one think Willian might be useful still. If he is used as an experienced squaddie, not a first-team winger. It is also may be better to play him slightly centrally? That may boost his output. The keyword is freedom, and I think yesterday he was kind of ok, not his usual woeful self. Also great to see the players do well. The youngsters get the deserved plaudits, but I am really impressed by Laca, Xhaka, and Mari. I think Laca, particularly would be a great option for us, even beyond the summer. I have been really hard on him this season, but recently I am enjoying the taste of the humble pie that he is making me eat. Recently all top forwards are experienced players, and although Laca is not yet of that class yet, he can become better with this group of young players too. After all, we are never too old to learn, and MA can coach Laca to become even more prolific. He may not be world-class now, but he might be great in a year or two if supposedly all our youngsters develop as we hope they would be, and Laca is the Old, experienced spearhead? His finishing is actually decent and he is a confident player. Increased confidence and energy around him is helping his game now, it can be the same in the future too. I also hope Auba would be back to firing, inspired by the infectious energy that our forward line has shown. Though I completely understand that selling them would also be beneficial if we are fully focusing on young players.

  9. Eibar vs Granada starting in La Liga. Take a look at their goalkeepers Dmitrovic and Silva. Both have nice amount of experience and clean sheets this season. Both are internationals (Serbia and Portugal). Oh and both are available for free transfer next summer.

    Maybe one of them could come here to challenge Leno? Silva is younger, and could provide serious competition. I imagine they wouldn’t command hefty wages since they are not on high wages at their current clubs respectively.

    1. no international top gk is willing to sit on the bench ….

      with Euro in the summer followed by World Cup

      Dmitrovic and Silva would want guaranteed first team football

  10. We need to sell so many players the next two windows. And Arteta has hopefully learned that experience only means so much. Xhaka and Bellerin are not players that are going to get us to a title. Patches of okay form and everyone forgets how unreliable they are. Especially with Bellerin I feel like we’ve been deciding whether he is good or not for years now.

    1. both players will leave on a free transfer in 2022….

      they can make good squad players

      the team needs experience players to guide the younger ones

      if we keep selling and signing players how are we going to build teamwork and communication when everyone is new to each other?

Comments are closed

Top Blog Sponsors