Tag Archives: She Wore

Stuff is happening at The Arsenal

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Things are happening at Arsenal. Lots of things.

A friend said to me earlier in the week “let’s review when the window shuts” but I am bored. So let’s review now.

Bernd Leno has joined the club from Bayern Leverkusen. He is expected to come in as number one with Petr Cech relegated to second choice.

David Ospina will make way with Matt Macey stepping up to be 3rd choice. Macey is important as you do not really want your 3rd choice keeper to take up a home grown place.

Leno
Cech
Macey

The first choice defence (as is) next season is set to be Héctor Bellerin, Shkodran Mustafi, Sokratis and Nacho Monreal – the Greek man joining in July.

Second string back four is Stephan Lichtsteiner, Calum Chambers, Rob Holding Saed Kolasinac.

There is not much point discussing Laurent Koscielny as he is out until 2019, whilst Konstantinos Mavropanos is still just 20. He will remain part of the first team squad giving us a much needed 5th option – getting some Europa League time if someone ahead of him is out injured.

I would not be too surprised if Chambers left us with Caglar Soyuncu coming in.

As it stands, we look to have plenty of strength in depth in defence…

Bellerin Mustafi Sokratis Monreal
Lichtsteiner Chambers Holding Kolasinac
Koscielny Mavropanos

Looking at the players we have in the squad, 4321 looks the most suitable formation.

Granit Xhaka and Aaron Ramsey will likely flank new boy Lucas Torreira (once the deal is done).

I expect Jack Wilshere to leave (note: this was written before he announced he was leaving). That leaves us with just Mohamed Elneny and Ainsley Maitland-Niles.

5 midfielders for the positions. We are still one short. Whilst Joe Willock is a talent, next year might be a year too early for the 18 year old. He would get some game time in the Europa League, but Arsenal need to target an understudy for Aaron Ramsey – who has missed 15+ Premier League games in both of the last two seasons.

Xhaka Torreira Ramsey
Elneny AMN ???
Willock

The two behind the one wiote themselves. Mesut Ozil and Henrik Mkhitaryan. We also have Alex Iwobi. We need to fill the talent gap between Iwobi and Mkhitaryan.

I have a criteria:
U24
Quick
Direct
Comfortable hugging the touch line
Technical enough to play inside
Better than Iwobi, and plenty of names.

Ozil Mkhitaryan
??? Iwobi

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette and Danny Welbeck are the best striking options in the league.

Welbeck might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I challenge you to name a better third choice striker. https://shewore.com/2018/05/10/arsenal-striker-best-in-the-league/

Aubameyang
Lacazette
Welbeck

That gives us a 22 man squad (AMN, Willock and Mavropanos need to be “declared”).

It also means we have 14 of 17 non home grown spaces filled.

Ultimately we can go out and buy another 3 players on top of Leno, Lichtsteiner, Sokratis & Torreira without consideration of their passport.

Another central midfielder to back-up Ramsey. Another attacking midfielder who can p;lay out wide. And potentially another central defender.

You can perhaps see why Iwobi and Welbeck are important, and why Arsenal should keep the fringe pair next season.

If Arsenal did “get rid” of them, we would have to replace them with other home grown players – or buy a home grown player in midfield (or not swap out Chambers).

Danny Welbeck has gone to the World Cup. Except for Jamie Vardy, Harry Kane & Marcus Rashford, there are no other strikers who are superior to him. And the names mentioned above would not join Arsenal to be 3rd choice behind Aubameyang and Lacazette.

Personally, I would keep both Iwobi and Welbeck. Send Reiss Nelson and Eddie Nketiah on loan, with both young Englishmen become the potential home grown replacements for Iwobi and Welbeck.

What is clear is the new management trio are building a strong squad, and getting business done early.

Keenos

Right time for Jack Wilshere to leave Arsenal

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Fast on the back of Bernd Leno signing and Jens Lehmann announcing he is off, Jack Wilshere has released a statement regarding his future.

I think I speak on behalf of a lot of Arsenal fans when I say this is sad news, but also probably the right decision for all involved.

Jack Wilshere is now 26. Having joined the academy in 2001 at the age of 9, he made his debut 10 years ago – becoming Arsenal’s youngest ever league debutant at just 16 years and 256 days.

If back then you would have said that he would have played just 125 league games for Arsenal; I would have laughed.

By now, he really should have been captain. The heart beat of the team. Both The Arsenal and England.

Instead he finds himself at home rather than in Russia. And I think it is the snub by England that has left him to leave Arsenal.

Having missed Euro 2012 through injury, played just 2 games at the 2014 World Cup, and missed Euro 2016 through injury once again, he had got himself fit and ready to go to Russia. Gareth Southgate decided a lack of first team football and his injury record meant he missed the flight.

That means Wilshere has started just 1 game – a dead rubber against Costa Rica – in international tournament football. He made his debut at just 18.

I believe Wilshere when he says it was not about money. That he was happy with Arsenal’s financial offer.

At 26, he already has more money than he could dream of. He and his new wife and 3 children are already set up for life.

For Wilshere, he wants recognition. He wants to play regularly. To perform for club and perhaps now more importantly, country.

He wants first team football. The problem is, at Arsenal, we can not guarantee that. And not should we. I imagine this is what Unai Emery told him.

He is behind Granit Xhaka and Aaron Ramsey, with Lucas Torreira also set to come in. He would be competing with Mohamed Elneny for a place on the bench.

Wilshere knows full well he will not get first team football, week in week out at Arsenal. He also knows he will not achieve this at the 5 sides above him. That means he will have to look down.

The likes of West Ham, Crystal Palace, Wolves and Southampton have already been linked. It might be harsh, but this is probably his level to be playing week in week out.

Southgate has shown by selecting the likes of Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Harry Maguire and Jake Livermore that it is important to be playing and performing in the Premier League, regardless of who you play for.

I sit in the SheWore WhatsApp group where we can not agree on anything. When the news broke of Wilshere’s statement, everyone was in agreement, it was the right decision for him.

Yeah he needs a new challenge. Love him but he was getting stale

Good luck to him wish him well

We have had many heated debates on here over him over the years but I think we probably all agree it’s the right time for him to go

Gutted he going but no doubt it’s right time for both parties

And I think that last one sums it all up. It is probably the right time for him to leave, for both himself and Arsenal.

The easy option would have been for him to stay at the club, sign a new deal, remain in his comfort zone. 20-30 games a season. But he still has a burning desire to perform, to play week in week out, to get to the top.

I imagine in his mind he is focusing on the next two years. Euro 2020. Would he be best positioned to make the squad as a bit part player at Arsenal?

Or would his best chance be to join Wolves or Crystal Palace, playing week in week out – and not doubling up in mid-week allowing his body to rest?

I hope he gets what he wants, what he deserves. And in 2020 I hope I will be cheering him on in and England shirt.

Jack Wilshere, you are proper Arsenal.

Keenos

Agenda driven idiots blame Mesut Ozil for Germany defeat

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We all know how it works.

Articles to do with Arsenal create hits. Hits create advertising revenue. That money keeps poor journalists in jobs.

It is therefore no surprise that the English media have attempted to blame Mesut Ozil for Germany’s defeat to Mexico. Even the usually partisan BBC getting on the banAgenda driven idiots Mesut Ozil blame for Germany defeatdwagon.

The usual suspects – the likes of the Daily Mail and Arsenal Fan TV – also added Ozil’s name in to the headline on the review of the game.

It’s all about the money rather than creating good, unique, insightful content.

The performance by Arsenal was very reminiscent to many an Arsenal performance in recent years.

Both full backs constantly pushing forward, and the midfield not providing any cover to the defence meant that Mexico were able to hit Germany on the break with the counter attacking, direct play. They scored from one break away, and with a better final ball could have scored 3 or 4.

But to blame Ozil for the defeat is childish click bait.

Mexico’s goal came from the German defence being exposed. They got at the centre backs easily, and Hirving Lozano drifted into the space left by Joshua Kimmich – who spent the entire game thinking he was a central midfielder.

The only German player to bust a gut and get back was Mesut Ozil.

It is a justifiable argument that having got back, he was turned fair to easily by the fleet footed Lozano, but to criticise and blame him for the goal is utter stupidity.

Where were Sami Khedira and Toni Kroos? The supposed defensive midfielders? Where was Kimmich? I imagine his heat map would show he spent more time attacking the Mexico area rather than defending their own.

Defensively Germany were awful.

Matts Hummels summed up the German’s problems saying “Mexico deserved the game because we made it too easy for them, knowing we should not have allowed that to happen.

“If seven or eight players play offensively, then it’s clear that the offensive force is greater than the defensive stability. That’s what I often say internally.

“Our stability is not good, you have to say – often only Jerome [Boateng] and I were at the back, so they mercilessly attacked us.”

As Germany’s most creative midfielder, Ozil can surely not be blamed for his sides defensive issues. The blame has to go to Joachim Lowe (for setting the team up incorrectly) and the midfielder and full backs for ignoring Hummel’s pleas to get back.

Germany created a lot. They had 66% of possession and 26 shots. Mesut Ozil was their man creator.

Ozil created 4 of his sides 20 chances, with only Toni Kroos playing more successful passes.

74 passes at 91.9% completion rate. Ozil played his normal conductor role. He was let down by poor finishing and poor defending.

The result should not actually be a surprise to anyone.

Since qualifying for the World Cup in October 2017, their record reads:

P 7 W 1 D 3 L 3 F 6 A 7

Keeping only one clean sheet in a 0-0 against England, they do not score enough goals – there only victory coming in a friendly against Saudi Arabia.

Probably brings into question why they have been made favourites by many.

Did Mesut Ozil play well? No.

Was he the worst German play on the field? No.

It will actually be interesting to read what the German media’s response was to their performance, who they blamed. What is for certain, Ozil was not to blame and anyone putting his name in the headline is just after the hits Arsenal fans will give them.

Keenos