Friday, 7 October 2011

Why oh why didn't Arsenal play the Ox against Spurs?

Now I know Iceland U21s are not quite at the same level as Tottenham's first team, but as they say in football: 'You can only beat what's in front of you'. Well, Arsenal's Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain took the opposition apart playing for England's U21s, see Goal's match report.

I missed the first two goals (although I've seen them since) and switched on ESPN just in time to catch the Ox's third. What a goal!

He outfoxes one defender and then uses his pace to skin another before he somewhat fortuitously sees his cross-cum-shot hit the net.

His first goal showed the precision of his finishing and his second showed that he's been coached well: he was ready to capitalise on a keeper error - 'Johnny-on-the-spot' in hackneyed-football-pundit parlance.

This guy is the real deal. It's true we can't heap too much pressure on him and expect him to be Arsenal's saviour, but it makes sense to play him when he's in a rich vein of form.

So it begs the question once again, why didn't Arsenal play him against Spurs? Who or what convinced Arsene Wenger to do otherwise? Was the Ox carrying a slight knock as, if so, there was no evidence of it against Iceland's U21s?

Once more there's more questions than answers when it concerns Arsenal. I hope Wenger can show AKBs are right to 'trust' him. All I can say is Wenger used to be more often right than wrong, when it came to footballing decisions. Now he seems to be wrong too often, for my liking. It can't just be bad luck.

The fans deserve answers, but I'm expecting silence.

No comments:

Post a Comment