Alex Iwobi and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, two of Arsenal’s young prospects. Although, sadly, I really believe Iwobi is getting too many minutes in contrast with his performances. Yes, he is a promising young player.. But is he really good enough to be starting near enough every match? In the Premier League, Domestic Cups and, most worryingly, the Champions League. For example, last Wednesday, when Arsenal were savaged by Munich… Iwobi started. Despite having Giroud, Walcott and Welbeck (yes, I understand the injury concerns) on the bench giving Wenger the option to move the squad around and table a more experienced and talented XI. This brings me onto my next point; Why start Ospina? I understand squad rotation, of course, but when you’re pretty much out of the title race at the hands of Chelsea’s stellar season, out of the EFL Cup, and playing AWAY AT BAYERN, why would you start an average goalkeeper over one of the best in the world, Petr Cech? Ospina has played and presumably will play Arsenal’s domestic cup games, and played all of their European matches until now, but Arsenal are at the business end of the Champions League, and it’s time to start putting out a team that reflects that. I genuinely believe that a couple of those Bayern goals wouldn’t have gone in if Cech were between the sticks. Wenger’s starting XI choices have came under fire recently, amongst many other aspects of his managing style, and rightfully so in the match against Bayern. My two biggest issues being starting the inexperienced and poor finishing Iwobi, and choosing Ospina over the world class Cech in such an important and challenging match.
Sanchez was seen desperately trying to urge his team mates to get forward and fight… Nobody did. Sanchez at the moment is a cut above the rest of the entire Arsenal squad. Don’t get me wrong, Ozil is a top player without a doubt. His touch, vision, passing etc is remarkable… But his work-rate is infuriating. Lately, it seems like he doesn’t want the ball, he is never fighting for it, he is never seen putting in a shift to help his defence… And quite frankly, Wenger needs to stop playing him just because of his name and reputation; it’s literally like fielding 10 men rather than 11. Laziness. Especially in comparison to the ever hard working and tenacious Alexis Sanchez.
Another player I find myself becoming more and more frustrated with is Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. Previously tipped as a “young star” and potentially one of England’s best future players… Similar to Theo Walcott… Who is, at 27, just about peaking some would say. Although personally I don’t see him as any more than a 6/10. Alex Ox reminds me of Walcott, and the hype around him. He is talented and I do believe he has the potential, but how many years are we expected to wait before he becomes this “star”. Most likely, he will do exactly what Walcott did; in and out of the first team… Up and down performances… Get to around 28 and finally start scoring a few goals. Nothing to rave about in the end.
Overall, Arsenal recently are extremely frustrating and disappointing, and it would not surprise me in the slightest if they lost Sanchez (did you see the Chilean protests against him staying at Arsenal? Lol.) The Bayern Munich mauling was a reflection on Wenger’s poor decision making and some of the players’ attitudes. Will Wenger get the boot?
