Am I the only one who got frustrated with Ramsey? I probably am but I was so irritated by his positional sense. It's great he scores and all but he's so often out of position chasing goals that he leaft us wide open in midfield. I think it's partly why Flamini looked all at sea at times because he was so isolated. I really miss the solidity and discipline of Cazorla/Coquelin, almost more than I miss the presence of Sanchez. Still, as others say a point isn't the end of the world. Liverpool ended up with a far stronger line-up than I anticipated and pretty much cheated by not having numerous injuries throughout. Typical to see the likes of Firminio getting his best game for them against us too.
Seconded. That way we can go back to rotating/resting Giroud and Theo based on who the opposition is.
Join the club after all we gifted you 2 of your 3 goals whilst having to work for ours. frankly if you replaced Liverpool with "Them" in your post it would be pure guesswork deciding which team you were referring to. cracking watch though
Really interesting article that looks at the breakdown of last night as well as a comparison between Ramsey/Flamini and Cazorla/Coquelin. http://news.arseblog.com/2016/01/liverpool-3-3-arsenal-gunners-missing-midfield-by-the-numbers/ And I swear this came out a few hours after I was dissing Aaron for having zero positional awareness! I was expecting the figures to show a downturn but it's alarming how much our possession and passing rates have dropped, especially since Santi got crocked. I honestly thought out of the two we'd miss Coquelin more but statistically it appears it's the wee man who was holding it all together, albeit with Franny as a cracking shield for him. I imagine Elneny will come in straight away to replace Flamini but, imo, it won't address the Ramsey waywardness issue. Don't get me wrong, I think he's a cracking player but right now he doesn't fit into the way we play.
The stats say it all, but was clear to our eyes for a few weeks now that we have been significantly weakened by losing Caz and Coq, we get overrun in midfield easily, and overall do not look as solid. The only game were we did look really solid and tight was against our strongest opponent, City, which is kind of ironical. But having said that, despite the weakness, we have marched on and have done quite well, still top of the league, and we just keep getting the results week after week with the players due to get back from injury. Won't be long now until we have both Coq and Caz back in the squad, hopefully we keep on like we're doing until they're back.
Campbell seems to be getting better all the time. With the form he is in he doesn't deserve to be dropped. Leave Giroud and Walcott to fight it out for the CF spot.
Exactly what I've been saying. When Sanchez comes back, we'll have options on the wing and a Plan A and B with having either Giroud or Walcott on the bench.
It's been mentioned already, but we really did miss the old Cazorla Coquelin axis yesterday, we had zero control of that game and it was far too end to end for my liking, Ramsey really is the classic British box to box midfielder, he can produce special moments in the final third, but he simply can't dictate the pace of a game like Cazorla can. It's a tricky one really, what do you want? A CM like Cazorla who can retain the ball and dictate the tempo of a game or a CM like Ramsey who gives you goals and assists, but leaves you exposed in midfield? The answer appears to be straight forward, but watching us trying to shut that game down just showed me how much we missed Cazorla. Maybe what we need is a DM who can also pass the ball well and control the play, a player like Busquets, that sort of player would be the perfect partner for a dynamic CM like Ramsey.
From what I have read about him, he seems to have all the right tools, but ****s know how he will adapt to the league and also how he will handle the step up in quality, only time will tell.
He's described as the sort of player that would do the job you've outlined, but he's in right at the deep end in the premier league. Here's hoping that he slots right in.
Some interesting insights into the game, especially on Ramsey not gelling with Flamini. Maybe a Flamini + Elneny combo would be useful when we want a more robust and defensive formation? He also appears to have a good passing repertoire, so can operate as an alternative CM to Ramsey. My guess is Wenger brought him for the versatility and not just as a DM.
I definitely think this last part is the case - with Rosicky, Arteta and Flamini going I think Wenger bought him for his versatility and his passing ability, especially with him being young and still developing. My guess would be that Wenger would look to bring in a true DM (hopefully a great one) in the summer to compete with/cover Coq
