A few things we noticed about Arsenal in recent weeks by Kandy Theodore
1. Granit Xhaka should be dropped from starting XI
He is undoubtedly one of our finest passers in midfield, but putting him in the team merely because of that isn’t exactly paying off. Take away his distribution game and you’re only left with a slow guy, not to mention his lack of organization. I don’t like criticizing our players but truth be said, he’s not offering us that organization in midfield as he’s supposed to, nor the defensive awareness required of him.
We’re supposed to be operating through this guy, starting our attacks and giving us balance in games but at the moment no, he has no communication with his center backs, gets caught in possession often and doesn’t have the mobility required to help out offensively in the opposition’s half. We’ve all seen glimpses of what this guy can do but until Emery finds a formation and system that he’ll utilize his skills, he should join the bench.
2. Ramsey important, but nowhere near the alleged wages he’s demanding
There’s one thing that pisses me off about Ramsey, even when he’s in form, sometimes you can tell that he’s about to do something stupid with the ball even before he attempts it, that’s how well I know him, giving away balls, holding onto it for too long and delaying passes, but the icing of it all is the lack of intelligence from him in the final third sometimes.
I’m not taking anything away from his skillset but, many a time he just decides to go for glory himself even when a teammate is in a better position, he needs to be more decisive and play with the sense of urgency and purpose that he played with during the 2013/2014 season, that guy then, today, would have deserved every penny of what he’s demanding if not even more. Until then, we’re better off selling him and getting someone that’s much more grateful of the chance and loyalty shown to him by the club and fans over the years instead of holding us down to ransom even when he isn’t consistent. He had a fine season last time out but I still don’t think it gets him the lucrative deal he wants.
3. Serious issues in the squad
There are big mental problems within some of our first team players if not most of them, the likes of Bellerin, Mustafi, Iwobi, Xhaka, Ozil and Ramsey to name a few. I don’t know if the public criticism from football legends and ‘experts’ got to them but you can evidently see it every time they play. Bellerin for example will do well to track back and put in a tackle, just to get up slower than a Granny. It would have been understandable if he hurt himself during the challenge, but we’re under attack and outnumbered, get up, look around and be aware of your opponent’s positioning in your half! Terrible defending, he was honestly much better as a twenty year old.
Mustafi, like Bellerin, has concentration issues and lacks awareness, washed away along with that is his actual defending (smh), I don’t know what happened to that brave guy we had during the first four months after we bought him, he gets beaten far too easily and his marking is poor, it’s a sad scene to watch.
Iwobi has had the same problem over the past three seasons, inconsistency. The guy will get you all hyped up after a match of decisive, purposeful football, just to do the complete opposite in the next match that, it has become a far too familiar tale to watch.
Ozil sometimes has been a victim of the team selection, honestly, either played out of position or, started alongside team-mates who don’t have the coherence to combine and bring each other into games. It almost feels like criticism has taken away his passion to play football. The pressure to perform is evident in his displays, rushed decisions and misplaced passes because tea-mmates failed to be in the required positions. Apart from that, sometimes he really plays bad, to the point where I don’t even know how to describe his performances, but like the others, he must get his confidence back and do his part to help the team, sulking only makes it worse.
Cam Emery really sort all these issues out quickly?
Kandy