It seems a little bit churlish to complain about things that Arsene Wenger has done after Arsenal won an away game 2-0, but just as I look for positives after a disappointing result, I do feel that there were a few strange decisions from the Frenchman at Sunderland today.
I can understand why Wenger was a bit cautious after the Gunners’ por start to the season and our habit of conceding poor goals. But this was Sunderland at a low ebb and once we were ahead, I do not understand why the boss only gave Aaron Ramsey about five minutes on the pitch at the end.
The Welshman has been out of action for a month and even though his form was not great before he picked up his injury, Ramsey is a key player forus and is one of the players that could really make a difference for us. So I would have thought that the boss wanted to give him a bit more playing time. It was not as if Flamini and Arteta were having great games either.
Even stranger was Wenger’s decision to not use Theo Walcott at all. After ten months on the sidelines, the England forward is in desperate need of some game time to sharpen him up. And Wenger even said as much in his post match statement reported by Arsenal.com.
Wenger said, “He’s fit. He lacks competition. Physically he lacks two things: contact in the Premier League and competition. But fitness wise there is no problem at all.”
So can anyone explain why the manager did not bring him on to help him get those two things?