A Tactical rethink is quickly needed!
Was I too quick to comment that I thought Dani Ceballos and Thomas Partey will do well alongside one another, or is it too early to tell?
I recently wrote an article saying that I feel Partey will help to bring the best out of a lot of our players, mainly the ones alongside him, Xhaka and Ceballos.
But after the game against Leicester, which Ceballos returned from injury, Xhaka got recalled and Partey made his Premier League debut, in all honesty, the midfield was nothing to shout about and it really disappointed me.
I understand for Partey, playing in the Premier League, will take time to get used to it, the tempo and the League as a whole is completely different to La Liga so he can be excused as it was his first EPL game, but knowing how Xhaka and Ceballos have played previously and can play, I was disappointed that they hardly did anything in the game.
Whether it is a case of not being used to playing alongside Partey or whether it is something else, only they know, but this is something that needs to be addressed. I know adding Partey to our squad does not fix everything, but me along with a number of fans I am sure, thought it would add that creative flair we have been missing, but it quickly became clear that even Partey alone could not change our midfield and whatever is going on right now is much deeper than just the midfield.
Arteta needs to have a rethink on his tactics, formation and general squad mentality, because if we keep going how we have done in the last two Premier League games, we will once again be finding ourselves in the bottom half of the table and no FA Cup or Community Shield trophy will make up for it.
Although it is an inconsistent league this year, it is beginning to look like it is the same old Arsenal!
Shenel Osman