Should Arteta risk trying an experiment?
After watching the team last night, I have even more questions to be asking. Two very different halves producing two very different sides is not what we want to be watching!
We started so well and dropped off after the goal, which is understandable, but we failed to be able to pick things up and that was worrying to see!
I know we have been struggling for goals this season, but with the firepower we have that should not be the case!
To me, a lot of our players are just average!
Thomas Partey did not do well enough, he was slow, and despite his shots on goal that went just wide, up until now, I really am not impressed with him and whenever he gets the ball outside the box I find myself saying “please don’t shoot.” I cannot wait for the day one of those shots actually rifle the back of the net but until then I beg him to stop. I know he has struggled with injury but he slows the midfield down too much and hasn’t improved.
A similar thing can be said for Pepe, sometimes he seems to slow the game down a little too much and then other times he realises his ability and shows bursts of pace.
But what I want to know is where is the fast-paced football, the one touch football that we like to see?
Teams cannot cope when you come at them with fast football but Arsenal even though they at times start bright cannot keep the same energy up and that is frustrating!
So, I wander if it is time for an experiment.
Maybe Arteta should sacrifice Partey and go one man less in midfield, to then stick a Lacazette up front or a Martinelli on the wing or something along those lines!
Why do we have to be so defensive? Why can we not go out attacking? After all we need goals to win games and everybody can then pitch in for defending.
Aubameyang was running around defending with high intensity last night and Laca holds the ball up well. The team needs to work together, it doesn’t matter if that is not your role you should be able to do everything once on the pitch.
I am not a chef but I cook sometimes, I am not a formula one racer but I can drive.
So even you are not a defender you still need to know how to defend and if you are not an attacker you still need to know what to do when going forward.
A team is all about learning, building and being versatile and having experience in many different positions, so why can’t Arteta use that to his advantage rather than going with either/or.
I guarantee if he does explore the possibilities of mixing things up and having more versatile players on the pitch he won’t be disappointed as long as he can ensure he has a balance from all of his players at all times.
Who’s to say it won’t work? You won’t know if you do not try it.
And if it doesn’t work, he can revert, but as things do not seem to be working out as we had hoped and we seem to be scraping through draws and holding on, maybe he should push the boat out and try something new because then and only then will we know what will work!
But what have we got to lose? Gooners?
Shenel Osman
@sh3n3l_