Arsene Wenger decided to play Alexis Sanchez as Arsenal’s main striker yesterday against Man City, in place of our most expensive signing ever, Alexandre Lacazette. Many people have questioned whether than was a good idea, not only because of the fact that the Chilean was very close to signing for City in the summer, but also because Lacazette had already scored 5 League goals in his first couple of months with the club, whereas Sanchez has only scored once!
Alan Shearer said: “He left him out at Anfield and again today, against your rivals,”
“You spend £50m on a striker and think he will make the difference in the big games.
“He has scored six league goals, more than double anyone else in that Arsenal team.
“He played Alexis Sanchez today, who doesn’t want to commit himself to the football club, what does that say to Lacazette and his teammates?
“He has got every right to go and knock on Wenger’s door tomorrow and say: ‘Do you not fancy me or something?'”
It didn’t help Wenger’s cause when he brought on Laca with 25 mins to go and he immediately scored another goal to bring us back into the game, while Sanchez was again goal-less after 90 minutes. Wenger did not explain why our expensive Frenchman was on the bench, but he did thinks Alexis had a good game as striker. “I felt that in the difficult moments of the game, he did very well because he was on his own up front.” Wenger said.”In the first half I felt he was very sharp but he had not enough support. Overall, I think he has given everything.”
Wenger was then asked if he thought it was a ‘mental test’ for Sanchez, and he replied. “It is a huge mental test, but I had no doubt about him before the game. I know that he is focused and he wants to win. I just thought he had a good performance.”
Hmm I wonder why it would be a ‘huge mental test’ for Alexis unless Wenger is admitting that the Chilean was close to signing for City. But whether it was a ‘mental test’ or not, should he really have been playing ahead of top scorer? I think it was a ridiculous decision!
Darren N
The test will be huge for wenger when he leaves for city in January.
City will be well prepared for Lacazette if he starts….
We actually did well with Sanchez as striker especially in the first 10-15mins before De Bruyne goal….
We are playing against a very confident Fifa 18 City team…
Their morale and confidence doubled after Utd lost….
Tripled after they scored the first goal……
We lost 2 centrebacks, played ok and conceded 2 unlucky goals….
We need to do better against Spuds next week
How old are you?
Ask him.
It is illogical to leave your number one artillery at home going for a tough battle.
Lacca came in and showed Wenger that it was a stupid decision.
Amen is right.
Why pay an enormous fee for a marquee signing and then leave him on the bench for the big games, the very games where we need him on the pitch. If I were Lacazette I would be feeling confused and disheartened. Especially when he perserveres with Sanchez who despite Wenger thinking he played well had an awful game, he was careless kept losing the ball and giving it away to City. If Sanchez is not going to commit himself to signing a new contract then he shouldn’t be picked. Apart from anything else his performances don’t merit being picked.
Crazy is when Wenger plays Ozil and Xhaka in big games. These players lose possession easily. Ozil has proven that he can not handle big games. Wenger is just obsessed with Ozil, Xhaka, and Ramsey regardless of how they performed in the previous games
Cool. Nobody wants to buy them. Why? 🙂
Because Arsene knows best
Lacazette must be wondering why the hell he signed for us! To keep dropping him in all these big games, Jesus Christ just play him, he’s a proven goalscorer!! Really winds me up
I don’t think you’re alone in being wound up Sue. What I truly don’t understand is why we spent so much money on him and why then to have only completed 90 mins once, it’s all very odd, its similar to Perez last season. Is Wenger trying to persuade Sanchez to stay? Was Wenger doing the same with Chamberlain at anfield? All I know is I’ve supported Arsenal for a long long time from the lows of Terry Neill to the highs of GG and Wenger but I have never seen such strange decisions made from a manager of our club.
I think Wenger lost himself in the big baloon… of money and Boards ass.
Why would any good player stay if his wanted by the better manager or a better team?
Ozil played great first season, then he started to vanish. The same will happen with Lacazette! Sanchez too… Bellerin also… only Ramsey is enjoying fool support and hoping to became future captain, and play as a centerforward!
Simon says…. Arsene’s decision making totally baffles me… I just honestly cannot work out what goes on in his head! Come on Arsene wake up!
Pour him hot water he will wake up. Or somebody should just hit his head hard just once and the nonsense thinking will varnish.
Am just tired of the man’s unconventional reasoning.
Who knows what goes through that incompetent bag of bones mind when he picks the team, tactics and formation. The only thing we can say with confidence is that it will be mad. In yesterdays case not playing Laca and then playing tactics he has not practiced the team properly and then playing people out of position. Wenger is a joke.
Not a joke… he is paid, well!
Wenger out!
Wenger has totally lost it.
For most of last season he kept saying Sanchez and Ozil wanted to stay. When we failed to extend their contracts, he astonished the whole world by claiming it was the perfect situation to have them play in their last year of contract.
And what have we? 2 players, who are just shadows of their potential, and we are going to loose them for small fees. And Wenger put Lacazette on the bench.
I think the situation speaks for itself.
Changing of strategy to suit different opponents…
Isnt that what fans always want?
You need to have practiced such changes for weeks beforehand not just a day or two
I can see the usual “join the band-wagon” write-ups here “once again”. I have in the past read “seberal” groanings on this forum that Wenger is so rigid and predicatble by other coaches. In recent times, he has come up with changes that have arguably worked e.g. converting Sanchez into top 9 last season (he had his most prolific season and now Pep is looking for him now that someone else has unearthed a lot more potentials in Sanchez which he (Pep) couldn’t do at Barca). Also, Wenger changed to back 3 towards the end of last season and got incredible results including beating ManCity and Chelsea (twice)….check the FA Cup records.
Guys, yesterday’s game plan was “all right” with or without Larca. He wore ManCity out and introduced Larca to purnish them ….and it worked. There was a reason AW gave that thumbs up immediately after the goal. It was certainly a conformation of a stragtegy that was paying off. Guys…focus more on extremely poor officiating. Go watch our goal against Stoke …it was a superb strike but Larca and yet ruled offside BUT City’s wasnt offiside. Who said Larca would have scored in the first half if he had played. Havent we already seen games (even with weaker teams) where Larca had failed to score until sub in second half? That still doesnt take anything away from him…..he is a top-top stiker and he will come good. But let’s believe in our team…lets stop speaking from both sides of the mouth…if it hasnt completely worked now…it will sure work in due course. We definitely gave City/Pep a big scare at 2-1 but the POOR officiating definitely messed up yesterday’s game. Let’s hope up for better matches ahead with better officiating.
finally someone who actually watch the game and analyze
we were unlucky to lost 2 of our centrebacks and concede 2 goals due to poor refereeing
Playing Sanchez upfront certainly tired the City defence
It was actually a good strategy to sub Laca in
Pep would have expected and plan for Laca to start but Laca did not
Maybe you should analyze this:
After 11 games, we are 12 points behind the leaders and out of the title race. We are lying 6’th and soon we will have only a theoretical chance of top 4.
We have a worse record against top 5 teams than some teams in the relegation zone.
The contractual situation with Sanchez and Ozil is a complete mess.
We have an ageing squad.
The fans are hugely divided.
It sure makes sense to blame referees, other fans and pundits. And why not blame Trump, the weather and Father X-mas?
I dont understand the mess in the contractual situaiton. The last time i checked, we were in contract discussions even before the begining of last season….if a player isnt signing a contract and for the first time, we arent selling for money how has that become a mess? Why not be objective. I agree we havent had a good record against top 6 but that is down to a lot more than the coach. We will also need to continue to overhaul the team to top players to be able to match that…we havent consciously done that and it looks like it is not only AW involved in that…I expect we know a lot more than that. Neverthless, no team has beaten City more than Arsenal (AW) in recent times…especially the last 12 months. A draw at Old Trafford and Stamford Bridge (then spanking Chelsea 3-0 at the Emirates) all in the last few months. Be realistic guys. AW can do more. As you upgrade…you get more done against top teams.
Bravo AndersS!
I am so sad that I have to agree with you 100%.
Conceded a hell of a lot of goals too
Thanks John…you are probably a brother in Nigeria……ESC—–S
What kind of deluded explanation is this. What kind of fans do we even have at Arsenal.Wengerisis is affecting so many people’s judgement.
When we win its wengers fault
When we lose its wengers fault
When we dont change our players, its Wengers fault
When we dont change our Strategy/tactics, its Wengers fault
When we dont sign players, its Wengers fault
These days fans talks as if they have at least a couple of billions in their bank account
@John Ibrahim….big thumbs up for him. Arsenal fans speak from both sides of the mouth and I am tired of that. They slamed Wenger for daring to “change” Sanchez from RW to top 9 last season…especially the first 3 matches when it seemed it was maturing. But hey…they guy had the guy ended up with the best seasons of his life especially in terms of goals. Now Pep is chasing him around because AW once again has done a unique thing with another player. I wonder how many fans discovered Sanchez….Bellerin…..Iwobi…..etc with AW. They certainly dont know as much. I have offered those fans to feel free to go support Eveton (sorry they lost their darling Ronald K whom they wanted to come take over from AW); to go support Spurs….and Liverpool. Where they spend big money and zero trophies. Even if Poch wins a trophy this season.. it will be good achievement but nothing near what AW has achieved with Arsenal….and I am ONLY talkng of the last 4 seasons. No Manager in EPL has won more trophies than AW in that time period. Dont tell me about EPL and CL…we want thoses trophies and we will get them some day soon. May be you should tell Spurs to at least win lowest of the trophies first and foremost.
*I have offered those fans to feel free to go support Eveton (sorry they lost their darling Ronald K whom they wanted to come take over from AW); to go support Spurs….and Liverpool.*
When Wenger goes will stop supporting Arsenal, genuine question?
Faulty question. I am not moaning for nothing. I am sticking with the team during the highs… and during the lows. Some of you guys and only for the high periods.
I have stuck with this club through many lows, I’ve been a proud gooner long before Wenger and I’ll continue to be a proud gooner after he has gone. I was at Wembley in 87 for GGs first trophy as manager, do you remember that? Nah course you don’t, we didn’t exist before Wenger did we?
@Lexynal you are not an Arsenal Fan otherwise it would bother you that we are have only taken one point out of a possible 12 against teams in the top half of the table. No you are another Wenger obsessive who will probably find anther team to support after he finally leaves.
Everyone sticks with the club during the highs & the lows….it is called being a supporter. But you can you honestly say you’re happy with the odd fa cup/community shield?? To always fall short in the premier league, completely thrashed in the champions league, thrashed by the same teams every season, players being played in the wrong position, tactics wrong most of the time… Jesus the list goes on! I for one am so pissed off with what we’ve become… A laughing stock. Change is needed please
Lexlynal did you write all that keeping a straight face? Sanchez was a striker before his days at Barcelona? Secondly Wenger played him upfront and yes he was doing well then he was dropped back to the left wing to accomodate Giroud and we finished outside the top 4 which may not have been the case if Sanchez stayed upfront. Dont get me started on Iwobi or Bellerin yes Wenger brought them into the team but in terms of devolpment these players have actually gone backwards. In regards to Tottenham and Poch they are streets ahead of where Arsenal are now and doing it with less money and more homegrown players. Some fans need to get their heads out of the clouds. We arent producing world class players anymore and i would go as far as saying Wenger is ruining them. Chambers was fantastic at Middlesborough cant get a game for us? Holding looked fantastic now looks like a league one player? Bellerin for all his pace cannot attack or defend properly? Ramsey hasnt devolped positional awareness in like 8 seasons? Xhaka gone from a tough tackling midfielder to a cant make a pass cant tackle conference level player.
Everything you wrote and think about Wenger, dear Ibrahim, is fault!
Wenger drew at Stamford Bridge, Mourinho lost there. Imagine the backlash if that was in reverse.
No Arsenal drew at the bridge, last time I checked it was still Arsenal FC not Arsene FC. I don’t like Mourinho anymore than you do but I’m sorry I just cannot see any progression under Wenger anymore. In my opinion the same mistakes happen season after season and we are no better off than what we were 5 seasons ago.
In my opinion Wenger 3-4 season ago had everything in team only lacked a striker now he has striker lacks mid field warrior as santi and Rosicky are out, although he bought xhaka but he is not the one to replace santi or Rosicky.why the hell he can’t build a team with all elements and his transfer policy well every one knows.This season is really frustrating. Can someone please turn around the things at arsenal.
I’m still wondering why we dropped Lucas Perez.
_________Sanchez Lacazette
___Kolasinac Ramsey Xhaka Walcott
Monreal Koscielny Mertesacker Bellerin
_____________Cech
Nothing wrong with a good ‘ol 442!
AW loves his 1 striker tactic.
Because he couldn’t train the team to defend properly, he goes for defending with numbers.
AW loves his 1 striker tactic.
Because he couldn’t train the team to defend properly, he goes for defending with numbers.