Favourites in football doesn’t always work! by Shenel
In a game against a Spurs team who can break you on the counter, I feel Arteta, despite us dominating the game, got his tactics wrong as we came out of another big game with 0 points. A player of Aubameyang’s calibre should have and should always be deployed in the centre, which we are yet to see under Arteta for what reason I don’t know! It is becoming increasingly frustrating to see the build-up play we know we are capable of, with some sublime passes and chances but with inconsistent results at the end of it!
We have many experienced and talented key players who we know can play well and win games and when everyone is in tune with each other we are unbeatable. But why do tactics work in some games and not others? Despite the inevitable 4-0 demolition of Norwich – (which if it didn’t happen given Arsenal’s inconsistencies wouldn’t have been much of a shock for us fans, given how things have gone this season)- who are now relegated, every other game, before and after that, has been tough for us to get through, and if we do get through, it hasn’t been without the hard work and grit needed by the team.
Arteta seems to think the Xhaka/Ceballos partnership works well, but for me it is lacking something. There is no doubt that Xhaka has improved immensely but I don’t think he benefits much to play alongside Ceballos. He himself is a good player but again he is too inconsistent and, as we witnessed yesterday, he lost the ball quite a lot in midfield at key moments, that if it wasn’t for Martinez and some last ditch defending we would have lost by more than 2-1.
Despite our team not being the worst, we are clearly lacking some creativity in the midfield and whether Ozil or Torreira would be the players to give that to us remains to be seen, but we won’t ever find out whether their “pay packets are deserving of their performances” if they don’t get the chances they surely deserve! The longer they don’t get their chances the more it will give fans a chance to berate them for being paid and not doing “anything to deserve it.”
Arteta needs to wake up and realise that the same team selections with certain players do not work for every game. He needs to be a manager that realises he has other talented, world class players that given a chance can be the one main factor that can help win us games!
I know some managers have their favourites, but that is definitely not the way to run the team! What do you think, Gooners?
Shenel Osman