How seriously should Arsenal take the League Cup?

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At the end of September, had you asked me how seriously we should take the League Cup, the answer would have been simple. Very.

Having lost the first 2 Champions League games of the season, and with home and away ties against Bayern Munich coming up, you could, and many did, write off our chances of qualifying for the knockout stages for the Champions League.

We were also sitting 3 points behind Manchester City in the league, a gap which had been reduced from 5 in the last game week of the month.

City looked to be running away with the title and our Champions League hopes were slim to none.

The League Cup, usually bottom of our priorities, was looking to be very important. A winnable trophy in what was looking at a disappointing season on the other two fronts. We had recently beaten Spurs, and a draw against favourable draw against Sheffield Wednesday meant that a Quarter Final place was very much on the cards.

At the time, I would have been happy playing our strongest 11 against Sheffield Wednesday.

Roll on a month and our priorities have changed quickly.

A perfect October has seen us with a 100% record for the month. Add in the victory against Leicester at the end of September and Arsenal are on a run of 4 Premier League wins in a row, sitting top of the league alongside City, and back in the race for qualification for the Champions League after a victory against Bayern Munich.

Suddenly, the tie against Sheffield Wednesday is no longer as important as it was.

Sheffield Wednesday will be our 4th game in 9 days, and is half way through an intensive run of 7 games in 22 days. Add in the International break, it has been a tough schedule for our players.

8 players have started all 3 games so far. And against Everton – the 3rd game in 7 days – we saw some tiredness creeping in towards the last 20 minutes.

We have already lost Aaron Ramsey to a hamstring injury caused, by Wenger’s own admission, to over playing. It is hard for a manager to decide when to rest a player. Wenger admitted that he considered resting Ramsey for Munich. But resting your player who covers the most ground in a match where you plan to not have much possession would have been suicidal. Ramsey had to play, and we paid the price.

With what we have coming up. It is important to shuffle the pack. Give those players who have played all the games so far a mid week break. Recharge their batteries for what are now more important battles ahead. Swansea away, Munich away, and then Spurs at home. We need to make sure our key players do not pick up injuries, that over playing does not cost us a title challenge like it has done in previous years.

Cech, Koscielny, Monreal, Bellerin, Coquelin, Ozil, Cazorla & Sanchez. Those are the 8 who have started every game. They should be no where near the match day squad for Tuesday. (note: I see Wenger has said Cech will play. He is a goal keeper, so doesn’t need as much as a rest).

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Olivier Giroud have also played in all 3 of the last 3 games, but for two of those 3, came off the bench.

Oxlade-Chamberlain looked rusty at the weekend. He needs to get some game time under his belt. A full 90 minutes against Wednesday, will do him the world of good, and rebuild his confidence. He must start.

As must Giroud. With Walcott and himself seemingly rotating depending on the opposition, it is more likely that Walcott will start away to Swansea this weekend and in Munich, that leaves him as being very important over the next few games. So a 10 day rest for Walcott will be him the world of good.

Personally, I would put out the following 11 tomorrow:

Cech

Debuchy Mertesacker Gabriel Gibbs

Flamini Chambers

Iwobi Chamberlain Campbell

Giroud

At the beginning of the month, I would of said play the strongest 11 against Sheffield Wednesday, and shuffle the pack for the Munich game. Now, circumstances of our own creating, means that should be reversed. The League Cup is back to being 4th priority. We must rest the key players for it, giving us the best chance to complete our perfect October and continue our roll into November up until the next international break.

Keenos

Arsenal set to continue Awesome October

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By the time we all sit down for Match of the Day tomorrow with a Horlicks, Arsenal could be top of the league.

Yes, you read that right. TOP OF THE LEAGUE.

Despite losing the first game of the season, and the damaging destruction by Mike Dean against Chelsea, Arsenal could return to the summit of the league table, showing our title credentials.

And it is all due to what has so far been an Awesome October.

https://twitter.com/KeenosAFC/status/656576676135088128

With a game against Everton coming up, Arsenal have an opportunity to continue a fine month for the club which has so far seen us:

  • Dismantle Manchester United 3-0
  • Beat Watford 3-0, a game which we would have previously lost 1-0
  • Bust our way back into Champions League contention with a 2-0 win over Bayern Munich

Everton at home up next, followed by the Sheffield Wednesday fixture in the League Cup, and a tie against Swansea (will be a cracking weekend for the Arsenal away fans) to finish the month off on Halloween.

Arsenal could do, what would have been unthinkable after THAT transfer window. Go through October unbeaten and finish it top of the league.

Of course, I know that trophies are not given out in October. They are given out in May. But a month like we have thus far had can only put a smile on your face. Even if you want Wenger to go, the 3 victories so far would have put a skip in your step on the Monday morning at work.

So come on The Arsenal. Let’s continue this run, and see us top, for a few hours at least, tomorrow evening.

Up The Arse

Keenos

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s last chance?

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This morning’s news that Aaron Ramsey is set to miss a month with a hamstring injury gives an opportunity to another Arsenal youngster to finally get a solid run in the team. And potentially his last chance to show that he is good enough to be more than a bit part player in the clubs future. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

Signed a few day’s before his 18th birthday for a fee rising to £15million, Arsenal were, according to Southampton fan’s, signing ‘Theo Walcott, but can play football.’

It took him no time to get up and running, scoring his first Arsenal goal a month later in the League Cup against Shrewsbury Town. He followed that up with a goal against Olympiacos in the Champions League, becoming the youngest Englishmen to score in the competition.

This was 4 years ago.

Move forward to today, Chamberlain is now 22. And for me, he is one of the most overrated players at Arsenal and, the injury to Ramsey presents his last chance to show he is good enough.

A big criticism of Theo Walcott over his career is that he “does not have a football brain”. It is something that Chamberlain has never been labelled with. Yet everytime I watch Chamberlain play, he always seems to be behind play. In his early years, I gave him the benefit of the doubt, but 4 years on, he has not improved in his positional sense.

When we are attacking, and he is playing wide, he never seems to be in the right position, ready to receive the pass. He is always a few yards behind where he needs to be. He is a reactive footballer rather than a proactive one.

When he receives the ball. He is sensational. Probably the best dribbler England have at the moment. He can bet a man without a problem. Be it pass or a trick, he has both.

But once he has beaten that man, he becomes a frustration again. He either go’s on to try and beat another 2/3 men, ends up running down a blind alley and loses the ball or, more often than not, beats that first man, or even the first couple, then plays a lazy, poor pass, ruining his good work.

And how often over the last few years has he been caught out in his own half? Whether it be playing a poor pass or trying to dribble out of trouble, and very quickly putting himself and the team into trouble.

I just do not rate the bloke, or at least not as high as some people.

And let’s compare him to Theo Walcott.

Walcott has been much criticised throughout his Arsenal career for not delivering. Yet let us compare the two based on their first 4 seasons at the club:

Theo Walcott – 136 games; 18 goals

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – 116 games; 12 goals

In Theo Walcott’s 5th season at the club, during which he turned 21, he scored 9 League goals. Walcott was better, at a younger age than Oxlade-Chamberlain. The next two seasons after, Walcott got 31 goals and countless assists. Chamberlain, at 22, is essentially in the first season of those two seasons, and he is a million miles behind Walcott.

The problem is he lacks end product.

For all the nice work he does on the ball, he just does not get enough goals and assists. Last season in the Premier League, he scored 1, made 1. The year before, it was 2 goals, 1 assists.

3 goals and 2 assists in 2 years is simply not good enough. When you compare to Theo Walcott, 10 goals 4 assists, you wonder what the hype is around Chamberlain.

Infact, last year, Chamberlain produced less going forward than Hecror Bellerin, with 2 Premier League goals and one assist.

And this season has been no better.

In 453 minutes of Premier League & Champions League football, he is yet to register a single goal or assists. Yes, he scored a cracker in the Community Shield, but that was a friendly. It is simply not good enough.

What perhaps shows Chamberlain’s issues up is that with Walcott playing upfront, it left the wide right position up for grabs, and Wenger went Aaron Ramsey  over Chamberlain.

Now some will criticise Wenger for that. Ramsey is not a winger. He is useless outwide. Wenger is just trying to accommodate him. Etc, Etc. And to some extent, I agree. Which is why this period whilst Ramsey is out is important for Chamberlain. He needs to stamp his authority on games and show that he is good enough, moving forward, to be Arsenal’s first choice right winger.

With Walcott playing upfront, and Giroud and Welbeck in the squad, it seems Wenger is happy with the strikers. With the lack of top draw strikers in world football at the moment, if Theo Walcott continues his progress, they will be the options for the next few seasons. That then leaves the wide right position up for grabs.

I would be very surprised if Wenger see’s Ramsey as the long term option on the right wing. That leaves him with 2 (possibly 3?) choices.

  1. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain steps up and proves himself
  2. Arsenal go out next summer and buy someone
  3. Danny Welbeck

At the minute, Chamberlain is in the driving seat. A month or more to show he is good enough. If he fails, Wenger will surely be looking elsewhere to compliment Sanchez on the left. There is an abundance of wingers out their in world football who could come in and contribute more than what Chamberlain does at the moment.

This really could be his last chance.

Keenos