Sanchez carrying, Ozil, Cech, Gabriel and the rest

Matt Stead

Send your angry thoughts to theeditor@football365.com. And don’t forget to read our other morning Mailbox.

 

16 Conclusions
I was almost certain the 16 conclusions would just be a picture of Storey holding his recent award with “told you so, Arsenal fans” as a caption, repeated 16 times.
Tim Sutton

 

Dear Arsenal fans,

Looks like Daniel Storey may have had a point after all.
Sean, CFC, South East.

 

To Quote from 16 conclusions

“Just as City players paid tribute to Gundogan before the game, Arsenal ought to wear back-to-front shirts with ‘mental strength’ written on them in their next game. It might well have suffered a season-ending injury on Sunday.”

This is one of the most tantalising lines I have read on your site. Bravo Mr. Matt
Z, Hibernating Blue

 

Don’t blame Alexis if he leaves
It’s been fun but you are clearly too good for the rest of the team. Not just in football ability, Kosc and Ozil and as good in their respective roles, but that want, no NEED, to win. It’s supposed to be infectious but the rest of the team doesn’t bother…it’s embarrassing for Arsenal.

Does this come from the manager? To an extent yes. Does it come from only having 1 player willing to do anything to win? Again yes but not on its own.

Something is wrong with the attitude at the club in general, and it’s clearly affecting the players on the pitch. If someone of Alexis calibre was telling me to press I would literally run my legs off or die of exhaustion.Its just not good enough.

If Alexis leaves I blame the players. Do I think Wengers is faultless? No. But once the players get on the pitch it’s up to them to win the game. The manager can make that difficult (wtf substitutions) but it’s still down to you and they let the fans down.

Players like Wilshire and Welbeck would help as they are always eager to impress. Even Ramsey has that drive. Come to think of it, is Cech the best man as captain for a pressing team?

General rant over. On the game, City were incredible in the second half and made it hard for us. Fully deserved
Rob A (fitness a problem? nah) AFC

 

There was a moment in the game yesterday where I felt sorry for Alexis Sanchez, not financially or anything like that, but when a player is working his absolute b*****ks off and coming back into his own half trying to drag the defensive line up by screaming and waving at them you think there is no way he doesn’t go home and think he can do better.

Much like Suarez at Liverpool there’s too much pressure on the guy now. He’s either going to like being the big fish in the small pond or he’s going to want to go somewhere where the burden is not entirely on his shoulders. Arsenal fans should hope for the former.
Derek, Ireland

 

There was a camera shot at around the 88th of Alexis bending down with his fingers to his mouth as if trying to decide which club he will be joining next summer.
Malcolm, AFC

 

Bloody hell, Mesut
Having not lost after taking the lead all season, Arsenal have now lost two in a row. In both games two things have emerged. The first is the re-emergence of the disappearing act that is Mesut Ozil.

The second is the weak partnerships in central defense and midfield. I feel that Wenger is still not tactically proactive enough to coach new attributes into players who have to fill in for someone. Gabriel is not a good fit as partner to Koscielny while the central midfield partnership is all grit and practically nothing else.

Which brings me to Mesut Ozil. Put simply, he is too laidback as a no.10 when the opposing team is one capable of sustaining an all-out attack. It leaves Sanchez having to chase after two or three opponents since Ozil usually only presses one opponent then starts jogging around until the ball comes close to him. The opposing team’s holding midfielder also gets all the freedom in the world as Ozil just cannot press as required.

His offensive input is not in doubt but for the big games at least, Wenger should consider a tweak in system or personnel. Seeing as he does not change the formation for any team, maybe it is time to think about having the Ox or Iwobi as a no.10 in big games that we cannot control (when Cazorla is not available). Both Iwobi and Ox began as central midfielders and are not too shabby offensively so it won’t pose much of a challenge overall. Against Man City, Man Utd or Bayern, any of the two would work much better against Yaya, Gundogan, Carrick, Herrera, Alonso or Thiago than Ozil would.
Greg Tric, Nairobi.

 

Just having watched the second half of the man city v arsenal game a couple of thoughts, particularly on the immense role Mesut played, and how much he dictated play! As a staunch Real Madrid fan, I was somewhat dismayed when Ozil decided to leave for Arsenal. I mean a world class talent and assist master who was part of a devastating counter-attacking Madrid. The things he can do with the ball are amazing but its what he does when his team doesn’t have the ball that annoyed me the most and this deficiency was on full show today! He does not press or win tackles and one gets the feeling that he’s under the impression that is not his job and Wenger and his team mates are complicit in this! There was a clear lack of a leader who can urge his teammates to press and add that much-needed composure to their play. There is no one in the Arsenal side who seems to take pride in playing for Arsenal. Arsenal will not win the league without players that are willing to fight for the team! Even Koscielny was playing without any belief or authority.

All being said I think when teams sign players their talent is an important consideration but how much desire they show in wanting to play for your team must be equally important. I’ll query you this… How many players that Arsenal signed grew up wishing that they will get to play for Arsenal one day… Passion before profit!
Chiz ( Hoping Real Madrid are the first team to the double in the Champions league just so that we can reclaim our most hated team in the world trophy!)

 

An inevitable collapse
People a few weeks ago were saying Arsenal could challenge for the title, Alexis Sanchez was world class, they’ve finally fixed their defensive woes. All have been proved incorrect. We’ve been pretty bad all season and our only good performances have been against terrible sides, or sides in terrible form. Ludogrets, West Ham, Hull, Basel all great performances but against some terrible opposition. Then you have the Chelsea game which yes was impressive but was against a team horribly out of form and in a formation that didn’t play to any of their strengths. Fluke wins have kept us up there and now that the luck has run out we’re falling apart.

Alexis has world class ability, however he lacks any sort of footballing brain. There’s holding onto the ball too long and then there’s what he did today. On one occasion 4 players were wide open either side of him so instead of passing to one of them, he p*ssed about for a bit and then tried to have a shot, miserably failing. For moments like his great pass to Walcott you’ll always have moments like this. And his sulking for the cameras? Embarrassing.

Meanwhile Ozil has both but he really doesn’t seem mentally at Arsenal, he was still probably our 3rd or 4th best player today but that isn’t really saying much. He doesn’t look happy at Arsenal, and with reports coming out saying the club think he is expendable you can hardly be surprised. Coupled with the fact an alarming number of fans are turning on him, I highly doubt he will be an Arsenal player come next season. He’s comfortably our best player when on form but he isn’t working well in this tactic and is only going to get worse as the “contract talks” go on and on.

I think everyone can agree Wenger is finished at the top level and has been for some time. But at this point in time I think Monreal is as well, he has got skinned by nearly every top player he’s come up against and today was no exception. The biggest shock this season for me is how far he’s regressed, last season you could make an argument for him being the best left back in the league, this season he wouldn’t even be in my top 10. Gibbs isn’t the best but at this point anything is better than having Monreal get destroyed week after week. Cech isn’t exactly what he used to be either, he’s let in so many goals that are look like relatively easy saves. He’s still a good keeper but is he on the level of Lloris, De Gea, Courtois? Not a chance. He’s at the level of a Fraser Forster, by no means a bad keeper but much too inconsistent to be considered top class. A more ruthless manager than Wenger would get rid in the summer and buy a top class replacement, but Wenger himself doesn’t have the balls.

We have an easy end to the month and an easy January so i fully us to go on a good run, Wenger to be given a new contract and our misfiring players to start performing again before we inevitably get smashed by Chelsea at the start of February
Matt, Arsenal fan

 

Same old, same old
There can be no doubt Arsenal Wenger has done wonderful things for Arsenal, and English football, but equally there can be no doubt he must retire at the end of the season. The game has overtaken him both on and off the field and his constant complaining about referees is becoming embarrassing. Every team, apart from ManU and Tottenham, have bad decisions go against them during the course of a season and good teams have to overcome it.

The club should sell Sanchez and Ozil while they can cash in rather than letting them go for nothing when their contracts expire. It is obvious from their body language that they are not happy as they realise, correctly, that they are superior to the rest of the team and a tendency is developing for them to try to find each other rather than passing to better placed teammates.

The new manager, whoever that might be, could use the funds to start building his own team not only on the field but also behind the scenes where the medical, fitness, and training personnel should all be replaced to eliminate the ridiculous and completely unacceptable number of injuries that have blighted so many seasons. The new set up would need a season or so to develop without winning anything so what’s different.?Let’s look to the future rather than dwelling in the past.

Finally. Why can’t the team play in red and white so at least they look like the Arsenal should even if they can’t play the way the Arsenal should. !!!
Macca, Herts.

 

Sometimes, life is just cruel. And when seemingly every mailbox last week included mails from Arsenal fans chastising anyone and everyone for having the temerity to point out that what has happened to Arsenal for basically the past decade, was beginning to happenagain – you kinda knew what was coming.

And it was ‘peak Arsenal’ in every sense of the phrase. From the utter capitulation on the pitch all the way through to Arsene’s analysis of the game, it was almost reassuring – as though everything was as it is supposed to be in the world. Christmas is almost here, and Arsenal have begun their annual bed sh*ting.

It was touched on in 16 Conclusions but that was a game that was about more than the 3 points on offer, and because of that the performances of each team spoke volumes about the (to quote Brendan) character of each club. City make adjustments and changes to turn a losing position into 3 points which keeps them in touch with the league leaders and rights the ship somewhat. Arsenal start well, and then get steadily worse and at the final whistle we are left with their manager roundly criticising split-hair refereeing decisions as though they were as blatant as Koscielny’s winner at Burnley (which was just Arsenal “being a bit lucky” according to Arsene).

Between the injuries at Arsenal to crucial players, Ozil and Sanchez’s contract issues, drawing Bayern in the UCL despite winning their group, their league form beginning to dip and now the chasing pack of Man U and Spurs not far behind, you have to wonder whether perhaps this is the year where the ultimate ‘peak Arsenal’ – reaching the top 4, will be the one aspect of their season they cannot rely on any more.
Ben, Aus (nothing wrong with a bit of schadenfreude every now and then)

 

More thoughts
As if you didn’t have enough Arsenal mails eh….

Yes, on another day both citeh goals could have been ruled out offside, but then Arsenal had the rub of the green in a couple of games earlier in the season (e.g winner v saints at home..) so what goes around, comes around. My issue with Wenger is his reluctance to rotate, then immediately blame fixture congestion and fatigue for defeats, why didn’t Gibbs play yesterday or versus everton after his excellent performance v Basle; would not have yesterday, given citeh’s iffy keeper, been a good time to switch to the Giroud led attack ? Would Holding have done any worse than Gabriel ? Once again the injuries are starting to mount (assuming the Ox is now out for 3 weeks+) and with the momentum we had totally wiped out this week, away trips to Spurs, Liverpool and Chelsea still to come, and a rejuvenated manyoo & spurs chomping at the bit behind us, its absolutely imperative we pick up 18 pts from the next 6 games against lower table opposition (mostly) prior to chelsea away, else you really do have to start to fear for us finishing in the top 4 this year, which would surely bring to an end Wengers reign.
Nick Haj, Gooner, Norf Telford.

 

– Some thoughts on Arsenal: you know when Arsene Wenger begins to talk Mental Strength (TM), you might want to think its March, but no its already December. Arsenal’s last 10 years can be characterized into two phases: a phase of great football and continuous wins when there is absolutely no pressure, and an abysmal performance and showing soft bellies when there is real pressure. By beating the mid table and lower teams comprehensively they’ve pioneered the how-to-finish-fourth manual. As much as this season showed early promise, especially after beating a really poor Chelsea, like I said the other day, many of their key indicators were not right even when they were winning points.

– I really like Mesut Ozil. But today especially with the revolutions Poch, Klopp and co. have brought to the league, there is no room for a luxury player, especially with a team of Arsenal’s aspirations. Ozil last night wasted a spot and space on the pitch. Against a team that were relentlessly pressing and passing, it was imperative to set up a team to counter press.

– Arsene, you’re not Jose. Dont even attempt at post match gripe. It doesnt suit you. Doesnt make a good media narrative. Off side or not, Arsenal would’ve lost anyway given how poorly they played (or refused to play) after 30 minutes. There are serious mental issues there. I would be glad to take back my words, but has peak-Arsenal started early?

– When Chelsea lost two back to back games, especially like the one against Arsenal which was the worst defeat in years, Antonio showed some real ‘mental strength’ by changing things, removing whoever were not performing (notably Ivanovic) and trusted the guys who could do a job. Cesc is benched most of the days, JT (now injured but still) cant get a game. Willian/Pedro are benched based on their performances and we have a real run going. We’re not champions of any sorts yet, but this is how you respond to adversity. Can Arsenal turn around and give a run to challenge us doubters who question their mental strength (TM)?
Aravind, Chelsea Fan.