Arsenal fans may have lost belief in the team's ability to win the title after this latest setback against Man Utd.
Putting the 3-2 defeat in perspective, Old Trafford has not been a happy hunting ground for many a year, so it was unrealistic to expect to gain three points there.
It is also unrealistic to expect Theo Walcott to perform as a striker now and again, if he is mostly employed as a winger. To be an effective striker, you need a decent run in the team to establish yourself playing in that position. That's not happened in Theo's case, despite all the talk about switching him to that position.
Therefore, Theo should only be used as a winger unless Olivier Giroud, Danny Welbeck and Alexis Sanchez are unfit, as all of the above are more natural strikers, at the moment.
Indeed, this does not appear to be a time to experiment. However, at Old Trafford, Arsene Wenger threw on Alex Iwobi and Mohamed Elneny for the experience, presumably, as they didn't appear to be substitutions designed to win the game. Surely unused substitute Joel Campbell would have been more likely to score than the two aforementioned players.
Nevertheless, Arsenal fans should not give up on this team. It is stronger than it was last year and the title is still possible. Much depends on how the game at White Hart Lane goes, as the game against Spurs is now a traditional 'six-pointer'.
Leicester, meanwhile, may have finally become the 'real' favourites to win the league, as they show no signs of slipping up. I still think they may have a bad run of form before the end of the campaign, so it wouldn't surprise me if Capital One Cup winners Man City put a run together to be Arsenal's main rivals in the run-in. There's still a long way to go.
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Monday 29 February 2016
Saturday 20 February 2016
If Ospina leaves how about Jakupovic?
A scintillating display from their goalkeeper is the only reason why Hull City are still in the FA Cup after they managed to earn a 0-0 versus Arsenal away.
One spectacular game does not mean that much in the greater scheme of things, but Eldin Jakupovic's performance at the Emirates was far better than I ever saw Fabianski produce. My thoughts are if Arsenal are looking for a cheap understudy for Petr Cech to replace the want-away David Ospina, they could do a lot worse.
Without Jakupovic, Hull would have certainly lost. Joel Campbell was particularly unlucky with a free kick that the former Switzerland international pushed onto the post.
Meanwhile, Mohamed Elneny was impressive in midfield and, on this performance, it is only a matter of time before he becomes Arsenal's first choice defensive midfielder. The Egyptian has so much energy and tactical nous that he appears all over the pitch, making himself available for the easy pass. I was so impressed with his fitness levels and his ability to deliver a variety of passes. He's not a bad tackler either, so I can see him becoming a huge success at the club.
Another player who seems to be in a rich vein of form is Calum Chambers. Playing at right back, the England international looked assured and skillful. Any problems he may have had earlier in the season appear to be well and truly behind him. The 21-year-old seems to be growing in confidence with each game he plays.
Unfortunately for Arsenal, two excellent performances were not quite enough against Hull and now the north London club face another unwanted away fixture.
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One spectacular game does not mean that much in the greater scheme of things, but Eldin Jakupovic's performance at the Emirates was far better than I ever saw Fabianski produce. My thoughts are if Arsenal are looking for a cheap understudy for Petr Cech to replace the want-away David Ospina, they could do a lot worse.
Without Jakupovic, Hull would have certainly lost. Joel Campbell was particularly unlucky with a free kick that the former Switzerland international pushed onto the post.
Meanwhile, Mohamed Elneny was impressive in midfield and, on this performance, it is only a matter of time before he becomes Arsenal's first choice defensive midfielder. The Egyptian has so much energy and tactical nous that he appears all over the pitch, making himself available for the easy pass. I was so impressed with his fitness levels and his ability to deliver a variety of passes. He's not a bad tackler either, so I can see him becoming a huge success at the club.
Another player who seems to be in a rich vein of form is Calum Chambers. Playing at right back, the England international looked assured and skillful. Any problems he may have had earlier in the season appear to be well and truly behind him. The 21-year-old seems to be growing in confidence with each game he plays.
Unfortunately for Arsenal, two excellent performances were not quite enough against Hull and now the north London club face another unwanted away fixture.
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Sunday 14 February 2016
Arsenal should pip rivals to title
Arsenal's match at home to table-topping Leicester was always going to make it a weekend to remember.
The deadlock was initially broken when a controversial penalty had been given against Arsenal, as Vardy appeared to target Monreal's outstretched leg before deliberately tripping over it. However, the Spanish full back needs to learn from that, as Mahrez almost earned a penalty doing the same. Although, Monreal was innocent, that was only apparent on the replays. He must be less clumsy in future.
Vardy duly converted the disputed penalty, but Arsenal came back through substitute Theo Walcott, who converted Giroud's headed knock-on. It was a well-deserved equaliser.
Leicester were perhaps a tad unlucky to lose Simpson to a second yellow card but, equally, Arsenal were unfortunate not to be awarded a penalty or two of their own for handballs in the box.
Just when it appeared to be destined to be a draw, another substitute, Danny Welbeck, snatched a winner.
Nevertheless, it was Leicester's man-of-the-match, N'Golo Kante, took centre stage. The Metro has hurriedly put together a transfer story linking Arsenal with the central midfielder, who outshone an out-of-sorts Coquelin, and it would certainly be a good piece of business if Arsenal did bid for Kante. In fact, Flamini offers more legs in midfield that Coquelin, currently, as the younger Frenchman still looks rather short of match fitness. I'd opt for Flames over Coq-au-vin on current form.
Aside from Kante, the referee Martin Atkinson was perhaps the most influential person on the pitch. After the result, the Gunners shot up to second place in the table, but more controversial refereeing decisions followed in the Man City v Spurs clash.
City boss Manuel Pellegrini was furious about Tottenham's penalty as his team ended up losing 2-1. It was City's seventh defeat and it may have put them out of the race for the title.
So now it appears to be a three-horse race and, as Arsenal have a bit more experience than their nearest title rivals, I wouldn't be surprised if the smart money goes on them to lift the title. The point is relatively inexperienced teams tend to choke at the end of these title marathons so, despite all the promise of Arsenal's rivals, I'm expecting them to fall by the wayside as the pressure grows. We'll see whether these other teams are the 'real deal' by the end of the season, but I would expect them to fade away, leaving Arsenal as the last team standing.
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The deadlock was initially broken when a controversial penalty had been given against Arsenal, as Vardy appeared to target Monreal's outstretched leg before deliberately tripping over it. However, the Spanish full back needs to learn from that, as Mahrez almost earned a penalty doing the same. Although, Monreal was innocent, that was only apparent on the replays. He must be less clumsy in future.
Vardy duly converted the disputed penalty, but Arsenal came back through substitute Theo Walcott, who converted Giroud's headed knock-on. It was a well-deserved equaliser.
Leicester were perhaps a tad unlucky to lose Simpson to a second yellow card but, equally, Arsenal were unfortunate not to be awarded a penalty or two of their own for handballs in the box.
Just when it appeared to be destined to be a draw, another substitute, Danny Welbeck, snatched a winner.
Nevertheless, it was Leicester's man-of-the-match, N'Golo Kante, took centre stage. The Metro has hurriedly put together a transfer story linking Arsenal with the central midfielder, who outshone an out-of-sorts Coquelin, and it would certainly be a good piece of business if Arsenal did bid for Kante. In fact, Flamini offers more legs in midfield that Coquelin, currently, as the younger Frenchman still looks rather short of match fitness. I'd opt for Flames over Coq-au-vin on current form.
Aside from Kante, the referee Martin Atkinson was perhaps the most influential person on the pitch. After the result, the Gunners shot up to second place in the table, but more controversial refereeing decisions followed in the Man City v Spurs clash.
City boss Manuel Pellegrini was furious about Tottenham's penalty as his team ended up losing 2-1. It was City's seventh defeat and it may have put them out of the race for the title.
So now it appears to be a three-horse race and, as Arsenal have a bit more experience than their nearest title rivals, I wouldn't be surprised if the smart money goes on them to lift the title. The point is relatively inexperienced teams tend to choke at the end of these title marathons so, despite all the promise of Arsenal's rivals, I'm expecting them to fall by the wayside as the pressure grows. We'll see whether these other teams are the 'real deal' by the end of the season, but I would expect them to fade away, leaving Arsenal as the last team standing.
Sent from my iPhone
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