Arsenal have continued their resurgence
since the Man City mauling and dreary 0-0 Chelsea draw with four straight wins
to reassert their title challenge. After the comeback victory over West Ham,
the Gunners have secured three straight clean sheets, including a 1-0 victory
over a red hot Newcastle, a late 2-0 victory over Cardiff (with the unlikeliest
of heroes in Nicklas Bendtner) and then a comprehensive 2-0 victory over
Tottenham in the FA Cup Saturday. With those victories, the question now emerges
of whether Arsenal can sustain this title challenge until the end of the
season. Let’s look at some issues that might decide their fate in ending that
eight-year trophy drought …
1.
Wilshere on the Rise: two weeks ago I was decrying the
continued decline of Wilshere and the distance between the hype and the results
on the field. While I still think he gives the ball away too often and makes
poor choices in the final third, there is no question that his performances in
the past two games have been much improved. He is not hitting the turf quite as
often, seems more poised on the ball, passes back when necessary and penetrated
the Tottenham defense at will. With the injuries mounting and the heavy fixture
list in February and March, he will be essential to their prospects in the
three remaining competitions. Let’s hope he’s on the up for good.
2.
Defense holds firm: The
organization at the back, the help defense and the duo or interchange of Arteta
and/or Flamini with a constantly improving Szczesny in the middle has become a
formidable group that is hard for teams to break through. Tottenham have yet to
score in two full games, Liverpool couldn’t find a way through, Manchester
United scored on a poorly covered corner early in the game, Chelsea couldn’t
break the deadlock, Newcastle was stuffed and the midtier teams have had a hard
time as well. In fact, when Mertesacker and Koscielny play, Arsenal has been
undefeated for almost a year. When taken in total, the City game appears to
have been an aberration to a team that has the defensive nous to pull them
through the tough tests to come
3.
How do you solve a problem like
Theo: Wenger is famously stubborn when it comes to any transfer window, put
particularly the short winter version he would like to see eliminated. But with
the news that Theo Walcott is gone for the season (and the World Cup, alas, for
England), and with Giroud needing backup and Bendtner out for a month, it
appears that our French God can no longer ignore reality. Rumors surround an
audacious bid for Athletico’s Costa (unlikely), a return for Benzema (unlikely),
a bid for Bayern’s Mandzukic (more likely next summer) and a host of others are
being floated, but few of these ever turn out to be true. Wenger has to do
something now though, whether it be Pedro from Barca, Berbetov from Fulham,
Kalou from Lille or one of the quality strikers in the lesser leagues. It is
imperative if the Gunners are to continue to stay atop the league, hoping that
Chelsea falters, City blows more games on the road and Liverpool continue to
fade. Gnarby can add speed on the right flank in Theo’s absence and Chamberlain
is back in full training, but it might make sense to also explore available
wingers. Julian Draxler would fit the bill, but it appears more likely he will
appear in the summer. Make the move, Arsene!
4.Ozil/Ramsey
Axis: my last post discussed the fixture list and what lies ahead for the
Gunners in the second half. With Ozil showing up for a cameo in the impressive
victory over the Spurs Saturday, and Podolski back in the fold as well, the
team looked to be back toward full strength, until their most consistent scorer
over the past season and a half went down; while oddly playing right back, one
might mention. Ozil and Ramsey had seemed to find a deep understanding in
November that led the Gunners on a sustained run. Then there was a falloff in
Ozil form, a slight decline in offensive output from Ramsey and then the
injuries. Now the two are back (Ramsey maybe after Saturday’s game) and they
must work together to continue creating opportunities and scoring goals (for
all the criticism of Ozil, he has four goals and seven assists in the league
already). With the loss of Walcott and a decline in scoring prowess from
Giroud, these two might very well be the difference between renewed disappointment
and Gooners celebrating more than a fourth-place finish.
Next up is Aston Villa, but just as
important is what Wenger does in the transfer window. COYG!
No comments:
Post a Comment