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Of course Wenger would be talking up the chance of catching them but they are masters at bus parking. They're very hard to beat when they put their mind to it. They haven't lost a big game all season, home or away.Quote:
Originally Posted by Kano
Even if we had beaten them we'd have had to make up 7 points in 5 games. Given their record this season it would have been a pretty spectacular collapse for us to have overtaken them. We needed them to drop some points before they played us really.
True. We need a better striker upfront but if the opponents had better strikers, we could have lost yesterday. It just goes back to the age old problem we keep having under Wenger. Will he adjust his tactics to accommodate players like Giroud or will he go out and buy better players. I still think the tactical side is relevant when we’re not making use of the flanks and the manager has a CM playing wide instead of Walcott.Quote:
Originally Posted by Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie
Must say, that’s the first time in ages I’ve seen Theo mix his game up a little, hug the touchline and take on players. Promising but maybe a little too late if he’s on his way out.
True but I still think being caught on the break is only an issue when you're chasing a game, Sunderland created chances to score in the second half where by all rights and with a decent striker we'd have been ahead and not pushing forward as much to be caught out.
Will a better striker solve all our problems? No of course not or City would have won the title this season as they have for me the leagues best striker in Aguero.
Clearly there are massive tactical deficiencies that don't seem to improve, as well as for me a squad that is still rather unbalanced, I think if it was just purely the fact that Walcott seems to be leaving us he wouldn't even be getting game time from the bench....I think half of the consideration is that he thinks Walcott will leave too much space on our right flank which he doesn't trust Bellerin to cover.
Don't get me wrong I'm not saying he's right, but that appears to be his thinking.
My concern is still why injuries that should keep a player out for a few weeks keeps them out for months, what has happened to the Ox two and a half months after coming off against United?.
The Walcott decision is purely down to the contract talks and petty. He had no problem playing Walcott along with Jenkinson who was totally out of his depth so I’m not sure why he wouldn’t play Walcott with Bellerin. Also, it makes even less sense to play central players that drift too close to the centre and neglect everything down that side. I don’t think it’s tactical, it’s just petty. Wenger has a history of dropping players that are in the middle of contract disputes if he has a player to cover.Quote:
Originally Posted by Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie
Not sure I agree, whilst I agree Wenger can be quite petty minded with players I also think he'd drop Walcott even from the bench if that was the whole story, he started a game back in March and stunk the place out so there's a consideration there. Plus he has a history of shoe horning what he considers his best players into positions to fit the formation he chooses to play.
Would Walcott have started more games had he signed a new deal? I tend to think so but I think Wenger genuinely (mistakenly) believes Ramsey is the better option there.
You may have answered your own question.Quote:
Originally Posted by Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie
Also, going back to this point, why would Wenger not trust Theo with Bellerin, but trust him with Jenkinson?
Because although Jenkinson was no better than Bellerin I think he was less inclined to bomb forward and leave his flank exposed.
To be fair I've never stated that the protracted contract negotiations weren't a factor, but I also don't believe they are the only consideration.
Wenger has played up to the match last night what he considers his best players 1-11 and would rather shoe horn them in to an ill fitting formation where someone plays out of position than drop someone.
That Jenkinson part is highly debatable. Jenks was a shaky defender and the best part of his game was his crossing. Plus playing Ramsey or Wilshere on the wing leaves us even more exposed in some cases because they're more inclined to attack and drift to the centre.
I agree about Wenger shoehorning his best 11 but that kinda goes out the window when Welbeck is getting games over Theo along with Wilshere on the flank whose been out of form in the middle and hasn't been good on the wing since he was a teen.
We will finish the season with fewer points and further off the top than last season. This, for me anyway, proves that finishing 3rd or 4th is irrelevant if we are going backwards.