Fozzy 
I looked at Wenger’s team selection just prior to the PSG game and thought that he was having a laugh. His starting eleven included Ramsey (who played on the left wing at the Old Trollop match), Sanchez (who you would have expected to have been on the left wing now that Giroud was making a welcome start), and Iwobi (who is being groomed into a left winger and will probably lose interest in the same fashion as Kevin Campbell, Wiltord, Reyes, Bendtner et al). Where was the balance?
My seat for this game was in block 5 near the north-west corner flag which is where I occasionally frequent when I want to be close to the muck and bullets. It’s in one of those areas in the ground where everybody stands for the entire match, and the stewards do nothing about it. But that’s another story. I was close enough to the pitch to see that Ospina in goal seemed a far less imposing figure than Cech. Just suppose that for once we don’t end up with Barcelona in the next round and make progress to the last eight. Will Wenger persist with Ospina, then? It all seems very strange to me. Ospina couldn’t be at fault for either goal but his ball distribution left much to be desired, constantly rolling the ball out to either The Jenk or Gibbs who were being quickly closed down with resulting panic setting in.
I love The Jenk and his passion for playing for The Arse. But against ManUre and again v PSG he was badly shown up. At least his natural enthusiasm led to him being in positions to put in a decent cross, especially in the first half. But alas, when it came to it, his crosses which were meant for the head of Giroud ended up sailing into the crowd behind the goal. It was just like watching Walnutt and we are well versed on his inability to cross a ball, but The Jenk appeared to have had a death wish against somebody in the crowd, because that’s exactly where he appeared to be aiming. I agree with our editor that surely taking a punt on Debuchy must be a viable option until the return of Bellerin, unless Debuchy has now only got one leg, and nobody told us. Over on the left, Gibbs struggled without any extra support from one of our three left wingers. Where was the balance?
And now we come to Sanchez. It seems obvious that he is being overplayed and it is just a matter of time before he gets properly crocked. He actually started off on the right in order to make room for the other two left wingers, and let’s face it, he didn’t do very much. He offered no protection for The Jenk and being a leftie he persisted in cutting in, thus making the final third of the pitch too congested. At least his dive in the box just before halftime hoodwink another one in the series of totally incompetent referees and we were treated to our first shot on goal from Giroud’s resulting well taken penalty. At least, on this occasion Sanchez didn’t try to take the ball away from Giroud. Wenger, please don’t play Sanchez on the right wing as it doesn’t work. Where was the balance?
Yet again, Ozil took a night off work, with one of his trademark ambling, disinterested and anonymous displays. Since his stroke of genius against Ludogorets, we have seen three portions of total disappointment with his performances against Totteringham, ManUre and last night. Such a shame.
Another player who didn’t cover himself with glory was Iwobi. He was the one who actually played on the left wing but appeared out of his depth. I can remember two surging runs but instead of releasing the ball at the vital moment, he ran into trouble and lost the ball. Perhaps he’s been watching Walnutt too often? Surely a better bet would be for Wenger to put Sanchez on the left and The Ox on the right. At least The Ox can cross a ball for Giroud. None of the others appear to possess that gift.
Finally, we come to Ramsey. What on earth was he doing last night? It was as if Denilson had sneaked back into Ashburton Grove, ripped off Ramsey’s head and put it over his own. Ramsey must have gone through his entire infuriating repertoire of sideways and backwards passes during the course of the match. Whilst Ramsey was out injured, we were playing quite reasonably. Since his return we have been awful. It’s been pointed out to me that he has been brilliant whilst playing for Wales, but let’s face it, if you are Welsh and if you can manage to kick a ball in the right direction, you’d get a game for the national team. And if you can’t, you play rugby. So after another inept Ramsey showing, now must be the time to give Xhaka his chance. He can’t do any worse.
I expect to be pilloried for producing my thoughts, but it’s good therapy for me to unbottle my frustrations. A certain manager might tell me that I am in no position to comment. But I have been a Gooner for over fifty years witnessing both the good times and the bad times. If Wenger does get the balance right with these players we just might be in a position to do the business again.
