The problems at Arsenal were on full display against Wolves yesterday.
Arsenal’s draw against Wolves was yet another two points dropped in the race for a place in the Premier League top four. Arsenal continues to miss their chances to catch the leading teams and there was plenty to talk about from that game. Here are four talking points.
1 Ozil was not the great saviour
Both the club’s fans and neutral football fans were excited about the return of Mesut Ozil after he shone above all in the 5-5 draw against Liverpool.
The German started the game and was even one of the team’s best performers on the day, but his efforts weren’t enough and it turned out that he wasn’t quite the saviour we all hoped he would be.
We will require Ozil to help unlock the defence of Leicester City next weekend. Whether he would be the difference in that game is also up for debate.
2 Ceballos is not living up to the hype
Dani Ceballos made a bright start to his Arsenal career and for a moment made us all forget about Ozil. However, as time has gone on, the Spaniard is increasingly proving to be just another average acquisition for Arsenal.
After 11 league games for Arsenal, Ceballos has provided just two assists and has no league goals to his name.
You would have to go Gameweek two to find when Ceballos made an impact in an Arsenal shirt as he provided his only two assists in that game against Burnley. Not sure he has earned a permanent move.
3 Luiz and Sokratis does not work
The defence has been our Achilles heels this season, and it is easy to see that a good defence would have taken us further up the league table.
For most of this season, Luiz and Sokratis have been Arsenal’s first-choice centre back, yet the team has conceded 15 goals in 11 games with both of them as starting defenders, it seems it is time to break up that partnership.
4 The formation was a mystery to everyone
Arsenal has struggled to get wins throughout the season and it is understandable that Unai Emery would want to change things around. However, he still surprised everyone when he went with a diamond against Wolves.
The change in the formation caused a change in personnel, but no one expected Emery to keep Nicholas Pepe on the bench for the duration of the game.
The last thing we want now is for our manager to keep tinkering with his formation and any more could end in disaster against Leicester next weekend.