Work on next season should already be under way by Konstantin
Hello everyone. First off I’d like to say that I’m surprised by the way Arsenal fans hit back at you, when you look at some obvious facts about the club and you point them out. They say you are not a true fan, if you want your club to win trophies. When you go out to the public and put out an opinion there’s always people who’ll not like you, but I have no intention to stop pointing out where we can improve to cut that 12 point gap to the top of the table.
So that’s that, now Arsenal finally scored an Emirates goal after 3 miserable performances, and we did it by shooting at the goal. Walcott did what we didn’t in our past games, shoot. We sometimes try to walk the ball in the net, when a shot from a tight angel can bring a goal – and what a goal it was.
It’s funny how goals start flying in when Walcott’s contract talks come up. I’d start Walcott in the FA cup final really. He’d give us speed, which our squad lacks, and against Aston Villas style of play I think he’ll be useful. I continue to believe that Theo is a one-dimensional player but that doesn’t mean he can’t be useful.
In a squad full of players very good on the ball it’s nice to have someone to open up spaces and have the pace to beat a player. The problem with Walcott on the wing is that it doesn’t help the full backs, but his physique is really a problem for a CF position. The Ox is another player with the ability to beat a player one on one and we’ve really missed him too.
I thought Alex finally started to play a serious part in the squad and got injured. What we’ve achieved this season is to have a big squad. We have enough people to rotate and carry us through the physical challenge of the Premier league. The players themselves say that we have “no excuse” for not fighting for the title, although some fans here give me a lot of stick when I question why we are not up there with Chelsea?
What’s left now is the job of the manager. He must get a new keeper. Ospina conceded another poor goal yesterday and at 4:0 it may not matter but at 0:0 it may cost you the points. A new DM, a proper winger would be nice, maybe a CB and of course a world-class striker.
The manager needs to look at change of himself as well. Late substitutions, lack of rotations, bad fitness preparation and shutting out players out of the squad are all issues that need addressing. Tactical preparation is another aspect where we can improve. We cannot sleep through games like Monaco because Italy stormed through the European competitions, and if another season like that comes 4th place might be Europa League, so 1/8 final of the CL won’t be good enough.
We need higher targets. Put an 80+ points marker as a target. That’s where the title is won. It’s been a while since we’ve reached such numbers. We have a platform. We’re rich, we have a neat squad which given the right attitude and preparation with a few signings will be a real force around England and Europe.
On a final notch, despite not putting up a title fight, we are gonna skip the CL qualification game, which is always nice, we’ve finished above United for 2 seasons in a row for the first time in ages, we’re in the FA cup final for 2 years in a row and if we win we’ll be record holders of the Cup. If you had given me that in October I’d have bitten your hand for it.
We really need to avoid starting the final the same way we did last year. Villa will hardly put 11 men behind the ball, so I think the spaces we need will be there. The FA cup is the FA cup no matter what and I really want to see us lifting it again. After that it’s time for a well deserved rest for the players and Dick Law should be getting to work writing off the names on our shortlist.
Have a supreme week!
Konstantin