Arsenal V West Ham - EPL- Tue 15th April- 19:45 KO

[fakeyank]

for me what is badly lacking for us at the moment is pace, i think Giroud is spent and he should not be starting again for us this season.

If it was me i'd play Podolski up front with Sanogo and Gnabry on the wings, Sanogo can't play up front on his own his first touch is shocking but i reckon he could run in behind some of the sides we have left this season and lay a few on for Podolski to finish.
In midfield for Tuesday at least play Ox, Cazorla and Rosicky...Arteta cannot be allowed to play for us ever again.
Giroud is the kind of player who can still have a role to play if we are leading a game, his best goal scoring contributions in the last few years have been when he has been brought on from the bench when we are leading.

I agree about pace. We lack pace up front, in the middle, at the back, everywhere! I'd be interested to see the numbers of how many back passes we made this season or passes between Sagna, Kos and Mert.
I dont necessarily agree about Giroud. I think he just needs to be coached to not have his back to the goal 24/7. Tell him its ok to make runs and not always look to do a lay up for the midfielders. Show him videos of Drogba, Lukaku, Costa to get an understanding on how to take on defenders. He is still our best striker and I think he will be awesome with another striker with him. Part of the reason why I am, and always have been a big fan of 4-4-2.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

I agree about pace. We lack pace up front, in the middle, at the back, everywhere! I'd be interested to see the numbers of how many back passes we made this season or passes between Sagna, Kos and Mert.
I dont necessarily agree about Giroud. I think he just needs to be coached to not have his back to the goal 24/7. Tell him its ok to make runs and not always look to do a lay up for the midfielders. Show him videos of Drogba, Lukaku, Costa to get an understanding on how to take on defenders. He is still our best striker and I think he will be awesome with another striker with him. Part of the reason why I am, and always have been a big fan of 4-4-2.

Hmmm that's possible but at the same time, you can't coach a player to improve those aspects of his game to have that desired effect with five games remaining. Wenger has to realise its not working and bench him, and then maybe you have the off season to coach him...because Didier Deschamps won't start with him for France

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

4-4-2 doesn't work anymore, it's a good system in itself but only if you are playing another side that plays 4-4-2 otherwise you will find yourself swamped in midfield.

[Blink 1nce Quince 2wice]

for me what is badly lacking for us at the moment is pace, i think Giroud is spent and he should not be starting again for us this season.

If it was me i'd play Podolski up front with Sanogo and Gnabry on the wings, Sanogo can't play up front on his own his first touch is shocking but i reckon he could run in behind some of the sides we have left this season and lay a few on for Podolski to finish.
In midfield for Tuesday at least play Ox, Cazorla and Rosicky...Arteta cannot be allowed to play for us ever again.
Giroud is the kind of player who can still have a role to play if we are leading a game, his best goal scoring contributions in the last few years have been when he has been brought on from the bench when we are leading.

That is a rather fanciful idea. An experiemental forward line is not something we can entertain right now. One more slip up could see us out of the top 4 running almost regardless of Everton's remaining games. I've rarely seen a forward more poor than Podolski in the central forward's role and I don't really see what qualities Sanogo has that lands him in good stead for a wide position. Gnabry is barely fit.

I agree with your sentiments about the 442. I've seen us be about as tactically naive in every way possible....so I don't want to see us out numbered in midfield by playing 442 for the sake of playing two forwards who are either appalling or in appalling form.

[Globalgunner]

Id play Kim kallstrom instead of Arteta. If Arteta is our only DM, we are fked. No matter how bad the opposition midfield, is they will run right over him.

[AFC Leveller]

Arteta is an average player who seems to have regressed since he joined us. When he was at Everton he'd play anywhere accross the midfield and got a lot of goals for them. Today, he is one of the worst DCMs in the top 7.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

That is a rather fanciful idea. An experiemental forward line is not something we can entertain right now. One more slip up could see us out of the top 4 running almost regardless of Everton's remaining games. I've rarely seen a forward more poor than Podolski in the central forward's role and I don't really see what qualities Sanogo has that lands him in good stead for a wide position. Gnabry is barely fit.

I agree with your sentiments about the 442. I've seen us be about as tactically naive in every way possible....so I don't want to see us out numbered in midfield by playing 442 for the sake of playing two forwards who are either appalling or in appalling form.

I disagree i don't think we have anything to lose when we are already in a situation where we are just not scoring goals and letting them in the other end. I don't think we can afford to be conservative

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

Arteta is an average player who seems to have regressed since he joined us. When he was at Everton he'd play anywhere accross the midfield and got a lot of goals for them. Today, he is one of the worst DCMs in the top 7.

He was never a DCM, and although Everton played him across the midfield they never used him to protect the back four, he is too one footed and slow. He was essentially always a bit of a luxury player who had a good goalscoring rate, was a good dead ball player....but he was brought in to replace Fabregas something he was not up to the task of. And since then he's been dropped deeper and deeper by the manager....he has a good work rate and on the odd game he can make a difference but asking him to play in that DCM Role game in, game out is a fools errand and unfair on him.

[AFC Leveller]

He was never a DCM, and although Everton played him across the midfield they never used him to protect the back four, he is too one footed and slow. He was essentially always a bit of a luxury player who had a good goalscoring rate, was a good dead ball player....but he was brought in to replace Fabregas something he was not up to the task of. And since then he's been dropped deeper and deeper by the manager....he has a good work rate and on the odd game he can make a difference but asking him to play in that DCM Role game in, game out is a fools errand and unfair on him.

Askn yourself this, why has the manager played him as a DCM for 2 seasons now when its clear as day that he's not up to it? same goes for Giroud, a guy who is limited and slow. We wer ein for strikers and DCMs in the summer so its clear the manager himself wasnt too convinced either but nothing was done about it in the end and both these players have played ore than any other outfield players in the team (i dont think we'd have lost heavily against the top sides had we signed a striker (Higuain) and a DCM (Bender) last summer).

[Munchies]

Askn yourself this, why has the manager played him as a DCM for 2 seasons now when its clear as day that he's not up to it? same goes for Giroud, a guy who is limited and slow. We wer ein for strikers and DCMs in the summer so its clear the manager himself wasnt too convinced either but nothing was done about it in the end and both these players have played ore than any other outfield players in the team (i dont think we'd have lost heavily against the top sides had we signed a striker (Higuain) and a DCM (Bender) last summer).

Well put, Wenger is at fault for it.

Had we got in either Gustavo/Bender, Higuain and a left winger (we were linked to Jovetic/Bernard all summer) , I think we would've had a good chance of the league.