Arsenal faced a tough trip to Stoke last Saturday, with a number of first-team players still absent from the side. There was no Theo Walcott, Laurent Koscienly or Mahieu Debuchy, as the Gunners started Emiliano Martinez and Hector Bellerin. The Britannia has been a difficult ground for the Gunners to play at, having beaten the Potters just once in six Premier League matches away from home, also losing an FA Cup tie in 2010. So what three things did we learn from an Arsenal perspective?
Source: arsenal.com
1. Aaron Ramsey is slowly coming back into form
Last season may have seemed like a one-off to most football fans, with the Welshman almost tripling his total goal tally for the Gunners, scoring 16 goals in all competitions last season. It looked to be more of the same when Ramsey scored a 93rd-minute winner on the opening day against Palace, preceded by a goal in the Community Shield. However, goals have dried up from his game again for now, as did most of the talent he possessed. He was arguably Arsenal’s brightest star in a disappointing defeat, completing 86% of his passes, a statistic only bettered by Santi Cazorla in the Arsenal midfield. The Welshman also created three chances, whilst scoring from his only shot in the game.
2. Arsenal need more defenders ASAP
When a manager of Arsène Wenger’s footballing brain sets out to challenge for the title, most would expect to see a wealth of signings. That was exactly what the Gunners did, albeit some in the wrong positions. Five players were brought into the Arsenal side, the lowest amount of players signed by a Premier League team in the summer transfer window. Some Arsenal fans will argue, however, that despite spending £66million on new players such as Barcelona star Alexis Sanchez, the positions that needed filling the most wasn’t covered: a central defender and a defensive midfielder. Calum Chambers, a right-back by trade, has spent a number of games covering for the injured Laurent Koscielny at centre-back, but, at 19, still shows many signs of indiscipline. This was proven in the Stoke match, not just from Chambers, but Bellerin, and also the more experienced defenders. Meanwhile, in the holding role, Arsenal’s two options are captain Mikel Arteta and Mathieu Flamini, With Arteta getting on and Flamini putting in his fair share of average performances, Arsenal fans called for a new holding midfielder in the summer. None arrived, and now the side are paying the price.
3. Olivier Giroud and Danny Welbeck won’t win Arsenal the title
Manchester United have Robin van Persie, Wayne Rooney and Falcao. Chelsea have Diego Costa, Loic Remy and Didier Drogba. Manchester City? Sergio Aguero, Edin Dzeko and Stevan Jovetic. All three sides have title aspirations. As do Arsenal, accoring to Arsene Wenger. Going by default positions, their strikers are Olivier Giroud, Danny Welbeck, Yaya Sanogo and Chuba Akpom. The latter is yet to play a game this season, and, with Giroud having spent the past three months on the sidelines, a lot of the goalscoring pressure has been put on Welbeck. Signed from Manchester United for £16million, Welbeck has six goals in 16 matches for the Gunners. Despite this, the striker/winger has come under a lot of criticism for his lack of goals, with Alexis Sanchez stealing the thunder from the England international. Olivier Giroud made a scoring return against United two weeks ago, but has quickly gone back to his old self: looking for free-kicks, missing good opportunities, and just generally poor play. Are Arsenal’s strikers enough for them to challenge for the Premier League? With five goals between them this season, it certainly doesn’t look that way anytime soon.
Tyron McGee
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