by Chibueze Kelvin Osuoji
Once more Walcott was poor.
After scrapping through West Ham, Stoke humilated the Gunners, with a poor all-round performance although there are lots of positives to take from the game as Arsene Wengers' mindset, I believe, will change for the better.
Lets clear something straight right from the start and we will know where this is going. Arsenal last won the Premier League in 2004, F.A Cup in 2005 and have never won the Champions League. Therefore Wengers is under more pressure to win the Champions League and Premier League than he is to win the F.A Cup(which I believe he just sacrificed).
With fans on his back, Wenger is feeling the pressure and wants to win a trophy this season. After this game his chances are once more low, or better said he is a dark-horse to win any trophy. This has been the case the last five years where Arsenal finished without trophies except for 07-08 when the season just collapsed after having such amazing runs.
A factor contributing to Arsenal's plight is injuries and the lack of squad depth making Wenger field youngsters and inexperienced folks for games like these. Just for a note, the F.A Cup is no Carling Cup and should be treated with respect. Niklas Bendtner, who Wenger recently put faith in, just recovered and Walcott is just returning from nagging injuries. Additionally, Rosicky can't be risked, Eduardo is low on confidence and Denilson is in shambles.
Arsenal's midfield is poor in a 4-3-3 formation without Song, even when Denilson steps in, because he is just a passenger in games and Fabregas needs tireless Song to cover every blade of grass defensively in midfield to allow Fabregas to just run the offense while Song sits and breaks up counter attacks and cuts out through balls.
Today's game brought pressure on Wenger's decision-making and squad selection. Wenger decided to field the likes of Craig Eastmond, Francis Coquelin, Jay Emmanuel-Thomas and Carlos Vela and Lukasz Fabianski. Against Stoke City, this is just like the Bud Lite commercial where a guest announces his arrival by whispering he has arrived. And it was indeed a whisper from Arsenal as they where blown away by hard working Stoke City.
Wenger himself already stated he was positive about his selection. But since the substitutes came on at 1-1, who can we point the finger at? The players who didn't do enough, the players who weren't determined and who lacked commitment. Who could those players be?
Rating Arsenal's defensive cover, I will say it's going to be a tough job. Gallas and Vermaelen can't do it alone, Silvestre is always a joke and Campbell just needs to get his fitness up.
Walcott's commitment and imagination has to be questioned, as he looked like he has learned nothing over the years and is one overrated player in the Arsenal ranks. There, I said it.
Is Vela the hot product everyone was craving to see play? He is just another youngster that has to be watched carefully or else......
Wenger is still to blame. After all winter signing could help out, but there is only about a week left and Wenger has to definitely look into this.
Now all that is left is the Premier League and Arsenal have to rally the troops in order to take a nearly impossible maximum points from their next four Premier League ties, play well in the Champions League and bring a trophy home.
Wenger is also pushing Fabregas closer to Barcelona with Arsenal's current and nearly future trophy cabinet. Fabregas can kiss his badge all he wants, but it has to cross his mind that he could have been part of the Barcelona dynasty.
I also believe that Wenger's selection can be justified by the fact that he, the fans, the players and the board definitely want to conquer England and the F.A Cup should come as a bonus to the team and this result definitely means alot but further down the road avoided injuries and a humiliating defeat can all be forgotten when Aston Villa is swept under the rug.
Source: http://bleacherreport.com
Once more Walcott was poor.
After scrapping through West Ham, Stoke humilated the Gunners, with a poor all-round performance although there are lots of positives to take from the game as Arsene Wengers' mindset, I believe, will change for the better.
Lets clear something straight right from the start and we will know where this is going. Arsenal last won the Premier League in 2004, F.A Cup in 2005 and have never won the Champions League. Therefore Wengers is under more pressure to win the Champions League and Premier League than he is to win the F.A Cup(which I believe he just sacrificed).
With fans on his back, Wenger is feeling the pressure and wants to win a trophy this season. After this game his chances are once more low, or better said he is a dark-horse to win any trophy. This has been the case the last five years where Arsenal finished without trophies except for 07-08 when the season just collapsed after having such amazing runs.
A factor contributing to Arsenal's plight is injuries and the lack of squad depth making Wenger field youngsters and inexperienced folks for games like these. Just for a note, the F.A Cup is no Carling Cup and should be treated with respect. Niklas Bendtner, who Wenger recently put faith in, just recovered and Walcott is just returning from nagging injuries. Additionally, Rosicky can't be risked, Eduardo is low on confidence and Denilson is in shambles.
Arsenal's midfield is poor in a 4-3-3 formation without Song, even when Denilson steps in, because he is just a passenger in games and Fabregas needs tireless Song to cover every blade of grass defensively in midfield to allow Fabregas to just run the offense while Song sits and breaks up counter attacks and cuts out through balls.
Today's game brought pressure on Wenger's decision-making and squad selection. Wenger decided to field the likes of Craig Eastmond, Francis Coquelin, Jay Emmanuel-Thomas and Carlos Vela and Lukasz Fabianski. Against Stoke City, this is just like the Bud Lite commercial where a guest announces his arrival by whispering he has arrived. And it was indeed a whisper from Arsenal as they where blown away by hard working Stoke City.
Wenger himself already stated he was positive about his selection. But since the substitutes came on at 1-1, who can we point the finger at? The players who didn't do enough, the players who weren't determined and who lacked commitment. Who could those players be?
Rating Arsenal's defensive cover, I will say it's going to be a tough job. Gallas and Vermaelen can't do it alone, Silvestre is always a joke and Campbell just needs to get his fitness up.
Walcott's commitment and imagination has to be questioned, as he looked like he has learned nothing over the years and is one overrated player in the Arsenal ranks. There, I said it.
Is Vela the hot product everyone was craving to see play? He is just another youngster that has to be watched carefully or else......
Wenger is still to blame. After all winter signing could help out, but there is only about a week left and Wenger has to definitely look into this.
Now all that is left is the Premier League and Arsenal have to rally the troops in order to take a nearly impossible maximum points from their next four Premier League ties, play well in the Champions League and bring a trophy home.
Wenger is also pushing Fabregas closer to Barcelona with Arsenal's current and nearly future trophy cabinet. Fabregas can kiss his badge all he wants, but it has to cross his mind that he could have been part of the Barcelona dynasty.
I also believe that Wenger's selection can be justified by the fact that he, the fans, the players and the board definitely want to conquer England and the F.A Cup should come as a bonus to the team and this result definitely means alot but further down the road avoided injuries and a humiliating defeat can all be forgotten when Aston Villa is swept under the rug.
Source: http://bleacherreport.com