Arsenal Comfortably Through (2-0)

Arsenal finished the job they started last week in Turkey with a comprehensive 2-0 win (5-0 in aggregate) at the Emirates today. The resurgent Aaron Ramsey was the difference maker again, scoring both goals in the 25^th and 72^nd minutes. It was an impressive performance against a clearly overmatched opponent but again highlighted some of the concerns associated with the closing of the transfer window less than a week from today. Among those is the crisis that emerges whenever any of our core starters go down. Some thoughts from the game …

1.     Midfield: while Cazorla might still be the most talented midfielder we have, Ramsey has arguably become more important to the team at present. He has taken hold of the box-to-box role in Arteta’s absence and provides a more direct approach that creates more opportunities than the Spaniard, while tracking back more than any of our other midfielders. Ramsey has scored important goals in the UCL before – one hopes this translates to the league going forward. Cazorla is still a wonder to see and could well have scored and had two assists but for better finishing by Giroud. Wilshere, on the other hand, still has work to do to get back to top form. He still has a tendency to dribble into double and triple coverage losing the ball, or sending errant passes to opponents that starts counterattacks. He did have a number of beautiful passes today though, and his creativity could be a key to the season going forward. I do think we still need a holding midfielder added to the squad, with Cabaye looking the most likely option at present. Just splash the extra cash and be done with it, Wenger!

2.     Attack: the injury to Podolski reinforces the notion that we need reinforcements. A winger seems necessary, or we could pick up a number 10 and put Cazorla on the left. A bunch of names are being bandied about. I would put Juan Mata at the top of the list, though Di Maria would be a strong addition as well. If Ozil is available and Man U doesn’t go in for him, I also think he would be a great addition to the team. We clearly also need another striker, as Giroud is improving but can’t play every game this year.  

3.     Sz: I don’t think we necessarily need a replacement for the young Pole, but he does need real competition and maybe guidance from an older player if he is to improve. He had a number of important and impressive saves today, but made two mistakes that could have easily led to goals. In a general sense, it seems too easy to get around the current Arsenal defense and we clearly need our starters or another CB if we are not to ship too many goals this season.

So to beat a dead horse, this is a team with a lot of young talent coming into their own, but one that lacks a cutting edge in some key positions and sufficient depth that could both prove decisive as the season wears on. I don’t know who one could blame for this besides Wenger, who appeared to let too many players go without finding replacements. One example among many is letting Djourou and Coquelin go without restocking, as both might have been useful once Verm, Kos and Arteta went down injured. We might very well be even further depleted going into the key derby this weekend and it could cost us in the struggle to maintain our supremacy over our North London rivals. Let’s hope not!