Tag Archives: Mesut Özil

Arsenal need Alexis Sanchez to find form to win the league

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Alexis Sanchez is a lucky boy. Lucky that Eden Hazard exists.

Eden Hazard’s awful form this season – Just a single goal from the penalty spot in an FA Cup against MK Dons has meant that the press have not focused on the fact that Arsenal’s Chilean winger’s has had 2nd season syndrome.

On the face of it, 10 goals in 22 games is a good return and is a similar goals to games ratio as what he did in his exceptional first season. But when you dig down, good form he has certainly not been in.

His 6 Premier League goals this season in 15 games have in fact come in just 3 games. A hat trick against Leicester, a double against Manchester United & one against Watford. All 3 games were consecutive. So what reads as 6 in 15, is in fact 6 in 3, 0 in 12. Not a great return.

When you expand it to include all goals (for club and country), he went on a run between September & October where he scored in 6 consecutive games. A sparkling run of form ,yes. But throughout the rest of the season, he has only scored in another 2 games.

To add to his poor goal scoring form, he also has just 1 assists this season. Last year he got 8.

A llof his stats this season, whether it is defensive or attacking, have dropped from last year.

He is making less tackles, less interceptions. Successful dribbles have halved. He is not crossing the ball as much, nor has he been playing as many through balls. The only thing that is up dramatically is how many shots per goal he needs. Not a good thing.

Of course, there are other reasons alongside his own poor form as to why things have not gone well.

One of those is the exceptional form and fitness of Mesut Ozil.

Last season, everything positive about Arsenal was going through Sanchez. This year everything has gone through Ozil. That is not a slight on Sanchez. It is Ozil’s job to create, Sanchez’s to finish.

Sanchez has also not looked as sharp this season.

He had a summer playing an international football, winning the COPA America for Chile. He returned from this quickly. Maybe too quickly.

Then he had his hamstring injury against Norwich (I think it was). He had not looked fully fit for a few games before he got this injury. Was he hiding it from the club? Or was the club trying to manage him through due to the injury crisis of wide players at the time? Or was it an accumulation due to playing too many games over the previous 18 months – World Cup, 52 games for Arsenal, COPA America?

I think anyone that saw him live would agree that he did not have the same sharpness, same energy, as he did in 2014/15.

Recently, Ozil has had a dip in form. He needs others around him to pick up the slack. Whether it be Walcott, Ramsey, Giroud or, more importantly, Alexis Sanchez.

There has been no external pressure on Sanchez this season, due to the form of Hazard.

If Sanchez re-find’s his 2014/15 form, it will give Arsenal the best chance of winning the league.

Keenos

Man City, Wenger’s Tic Tac’s, Joel Campbell And now you’d better believe us

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Man City

Well what a win that was.

Yes, we did it the hard way, inviting the pressure, conceding the inevitable goal with less than 10 minutes and holding on at the end. But who cares? It is a brilliant victory which keeps us holding onto Leicester’s coat tales going into the festive period.

I have a headache this morning after the beers last night. But it is well worth it!

Wenger’s Tic Tac’s

For a long time, and quite frustratingly, people have always claimed “Wenger doesn’t tactics”. It infuriated me. And was incorrect.

It was a line that was rolled out every time we lost a game. Easy to blame the manager and his tactics.

As this season has shown, teams lose games. Does Luis van Gaal not tactics when losing to Norwich? Does Manuel Pellegrini not tactics when failing to score against Aston Villa? Does Jose Mourinho not tactics in any of the 9 games Chelsea have lost this season?

And then you look at someone like Barcelona. Is Luis Enrique a tactical genius? Winning 5 trophies. Playing Neymar, Messi & Suarez upfront?

Against City, Wenger got his tactics spot on. Allowing City’s defence and midfield to have the ball, he knew that none of the back 7 had the ability to pick out a killed pass. It was only when the ball went into David Silva, Sergio Aguero or Kevin de Bruyne did Arsenal put pressure on.

And to a large extent, it worked. Whilst in the first half City had a lot of position in Arsenal’s half, they did not have a single shot in target.

On the flip side, it was Arsenal’s lack of pressing that caused us to concede a goal, but it was a glorious strike by Yaya Toure.

Wenger got his game plan right. And should be praised for it.

Joel Campbell

I will happily admit when I am wrong.

I felt we missed a trick after the World Cup by not flogging him whilst his stock is high. And this summer, after another average loan spell, we should have just cashed in. He looked like a headless chicken every time I saw him play. Continually running nowhere with his head down.

And how wrong I was. It shows perhaps that Arsene Wenger does just know what he is doing.

He is still very rough round the edges, but he has ability. Skill, pace and a good work rate.

I still do not feel he has the talent to be a regular long term starter for The Arsenal, but as a squad player, he could be key.

The fine run of form he has been in since breaking into the team has forced him ahead of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in the reckoning.

I am more than happy to be wrong when something positive is happening at Arsenal. I am honest enough to swallow my pride and admit that I was wrong. Now if only some people were the same with Mesut Ozil.

And now you better believe us

In what has been an unpredictable season so far, you would be stupid to predict that Arsenal will be top by New Years Day. But I am stupid.

Leicester next two games are at Liverpool before hosting Manchester City. Whilst Arsenal travel to Southampton before a home game against Bournemouth. It would not be a surprise if Leicester lost both, with Arsenal winning both. Then again, I am probably setting myself up for a fall and a lot of mocking.

What is for certain is that Arsenal are competing. Over the years it has been what we as fans have been calling for. We do not expect to win the title every year. No one has that divine right. But we do expect to be competing.

2 points off top going into the festive period is certainly competing. It still grates a lot that our lack of transfer movement has probably cost us a few points this season. For every point Petr Cech has won us, you have to wonder how many we have dropped by not having the options and squad depth. But that is over. For now.

With January coming up, we need to get the signings right to help us push on. We are still a defensive midfielder short with Francis Coquelin out – although Flamini has performed well. And with last nights news that Alexis Sanchez is out until mid January, coupled with Danny Welbeck’s extended absence, we still need a striker to ease the burden on Olivier Giroud.

We make the right January signings, and continue the great run of form we have had over the last 14 months, and we will be crowned Champions.

Monaco, Sanchez, Ozil & Walcott

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Monaco

Last night Arsenal were not glorious defeat. Arsenal were not unlucky. It was not a result to be proud of. Ultimately, Arsenal were dumped out at the 2nd round of the Champions League once again. And we were victims of our own downfall.

Yes, 2-0 away at a side who had not conceded a home goal since November is a good result, and as a single game, it was an excellent performance, one of our best of the season, but the Champions League is over 2 legs, and having conceded 3 at home in the 1st leg, we did not deserve to go through.

We showed how average this Monaco team was last night and, infact, had finishing been better, both last night and at home, we could have scored 5 or 6. We should have scored 5 or 6. A 2-0 win away at Monaco should have been expected. It should have been building on a comfortable home victory. But we bottled it at home. That last second goal at the Emirates putting the nail in the coffin.

We are out and deserve to be so.

Spurs fans however need a reality check. For some time, we have known that there footballing lives is dictated by our failures, rather than their success, and their boasting about us being out, and them having made more quarter finals in recent years shows how small time they are. They got knocked out of the Europa League, are 7th in the league, lost in the League Cup Final, and are out of the FA Cup. Their season is over.

As things stand, Spurs will need need Arsenal to win the FA Cup for them to get into Europe next season. There is a sensible Spurs fan out there:

Alexis Sanchez

Alexis Sanchez is a brilliant player. He plays the game the way everyone should. Realising you have a talent, working hard at it, and playing with a smile on your face. You know his life is football. You get the sense he is more interested in kicking a ball about than the money in the bank.

At times this season, he has single handedly won games for Arsenal. But in his last 11 games, he has gone off the boil, with just 1 goal and 1 assist in that time.

It is natural for players to have peaks and troughs throughout their career. Even more usual is foreign players to have an average 1st season. The fact Sanchez started so brilliantly just further highlights his current dip of form.

The worry for me is Sanchez’s response to this dip in form. Rather than keeping it simple, playing himself back into form, Sanchez seems to be burying his head in and complicating his game. Last night was a perfect example.

Sanchez continually gave the ball away, continually ran into blind alleyways. Yes, he was fouled a lot, and wrongly booked for diving, but it was certainly his worst game in an Arsenal shirt so far.

At 74%, his pass completion was only better than Olivier Giroud, of our starting 11 – Cazorla, Ramsey & Ozil were all over 84%, Coquelin 94.6%. Yes, I know that passing is not his game, but 74% is very low, that is dribbling.

He only successfully completed 1 dribble, and was disposed more than any other player 0 bar Giroud, and with just 1 shot, which  was off target, he contributed little.

You could see last night why he does not suit Barcelona and why they were happy to sell him. He is not a team player. It reminds me of when you play FIFA online in the mode where you play as a single player. There is always someone in your team who every time they pick up the ball, they attempt to run it the length of the field and score. They usually mess up. Sanchez is that sort of player.

He needs to learn to get his head up, to notice his team mates, to play the simple pass. He does not need to try and win the game single handedly every time.

Despite the criticism, he is a quality player and will continue to get better.

Mesut Ozil

Whilst Alexis Sanchez seems to be immune to criticism, Mesut Ozil seems to be able to do nothing right in the eyes of most journalists and some Arsenal fans. Since he has returned from his injury, he has been in sensational form, and last night was no different.

The reports from last night would make you think Ozil had a stinker. Bet lets look at things:

Successful dribbles – 6 (Match high)
Passes – 101 (Only Cazorla completed more)
Pass completion – 84.2%
Kay passes – 2 (Match high)
Touches – 126 (Only Cazorla had more)
Crosses – 8 (Match high)

Yes, he might not do the defensive work load some demand, but that is not his game. Complaining that Ozil does not put in enough tackles is the same as moaning that Mertesacker does not put in enough crosses, our Bellerin does not make enough saves. It is not his game.

As for the shirt swap. Some people were up in arms over this, but in my opinion, if you are the one being asked to be swapped with, it is actually a good thing, as it shows your opponent believes himself to be inferior to you. Kondogbia asking Ozil to swap was very different to Santos asking van Persie to swap.

Theo Walcott

What to do with Theo Walcott. Since he returned from nearly a year out, he has struggled. Struggled to make the starting 11, struggled to make an impact when he come’s on.

The chances he has missed since returning from his injury are into double figures. Against West Ham he could have had a hat trick, last night he should have scored – hitting the post.

The problem is he plays on the edge of the game. Bar hitting the post last night, he did little else. In 25 minutes of football, he touched the ball just 4 times. In comparison, Gibbs was on the field for half the time yet had 21 touches.

I have long been a fan of Walcott, and 2 years ago he was one of the best players in the Premier League and had finally looked to have become a man, then he got injured.

He is now 26, and as examples of Michael Owen and Fernando Torres show, players start to slow down in their mid-late twenties, and if you have not developed other aspects to your game (as Giggs & Henry did) you will struggle. Walcott is now in that boat.

With one year left on his contract, Arsenal have a decision to make. Do they offer him the deal he wants, which, with his recent injury record and dip in form could be a waste of money in a year or so, or do Arsenal cash in this summer.

I feel it will be the later. I would not be too surprised to see Walcott moved on and Arsenal sign Raheem Sterling, who also has 1 year left on his contract. Or even a shock move for Gareth Bale.

The fact is, our right hand side is the weakest part of our attack. Walcott can be improved on. I think he will be improved on.

Keenos