Kevin Whitcher
So with just the League Cup game to go against Southampton, Arsenal have so far negotiated the dreaded month of November without suffering a defeat. Granted, the performances against the better teams faced have been concerning, but when the team has not convinced, a point is certainly a silver lining.
Recognising a shake-up was required from the impotence of the last two displays, Arsene Wenger made several changes to the starting eleven. From the PSG game, Cech for Ospina was a given, but in came Debuchy, Monreal, Elneny, Xhaka, Walcott and the Ox.
It was good to see Debuchy again, but this has to be one of the most cursed Arsenal players in terms of injuries. His withdrawal due to a hamstring was a sad moment. I wonder if we will ever see him in an Arsenal shirt again. The consequence of his misfortune has been the opportunity afforded to Hector Bellerin, but it would have been better to have two excellent right backs competing for a place rather than one of them being invariably unavailable. To give Debuchy the chance to make the 2016 Euros France squad, Arsene Wenger allowed him to go on loan to Bordeaux in February of this year, but he only made nine appearances and did not make the cut for the national team.
Gabriel came on to replace Debuchy at right back (Coquelin and Ramsey the other possibilities from the bench) and initially looked like a fish out of water, although as the game wore on, his positional play improved. Going forward, Arsenal did seem a bit more incisive with the combination of Xhaka and Elneny in midfield, and certainly the contribution of the Ox on one flank meant there was a player in the ranks willing to take on his marker. Theo, fresh from the maternity ward, was completely anonymous except for his contribution of a close range header that increased his goals tally by one more for the season.
Arsenal initially took the lead due to a gift of an under-hit back pass from Bournemouth, and they have certainly enjoyed some fortune in the goals department of late. Mind you, the visitors’ equaliser was a gift from the officials, Ozil so obviously pulled over in the build-up. As for the award of the penalty, Monreal got away with one at Old Trafford, but yesterday was not so lucky with his challenge. Sometimes they are given, sometimes they aren’t. Bournemouth had decent claims for two more penalties over the course of the 90 minutes (one, a Mustafi push, which should have been given), so Gooners can’t complain too much.
They came out for the second half with a lot more in terms of desire and pace, and the pressure led to Theo’s goal. Arsenal were creating – which was good, but in defence still allowed the opposition plenty of encouragement and a close range block by Cech from old boy Benik Afobe preserved the one goal lead. Bournemouth, unlike a good number of other Premier League sides that visit, did try to play some penetrative football, which played into Arsenal’s hands a bit. This was far from a typical home match in that respect, and one would expect Wenger’s team to triumph. Certainly they needed to, to remain in touch with teams above them who offer their supporters more optimism that they can establish or maintain their momentum.
In that respect, at least Arsenal will have a couple of less challenging matches with the visit to West Ham and the home game v Stoke before sterner appointments at Goodison and Eastlands. Eight or nine points from these four matches are needed to keep the Gunners’ title pretentions alive. After that, there follow six very winnable league fixtures before the trip to Stamford Bridge in February. One imagines key players will be given a break from League Cup and Champions League duty over the next ten days (assuming Wenger accepts PSG v Ludogorets is an inevitable home win), and you can be sure that policy will likely continue once the FA Cup comes around in January.
It’s a difficult balancing act made harder because the manager still does not know his best eleven in the absence of Cazorla. Elneny and Xhaka are worth persevering with in the short term, Theo needs to be dropped so he can focus on changing nappies and the Ox picked in preference. Iwobi needs to play his way back into form in the cup games. Sanchez has refound his scoring touch (his late second goal making the three points against Bournemouth certain), so Giroud should be retained as the plan B for now.
It’s been a strange season for Arsenal. Unbeaten since the opening day in all competitions, yet in terms of performance inconsistent and at times, looking very fragile. Yet, results should breed confidence, with the hope that the Gunners, if they are unable to beat their chief rivals, at least take maximum points against teams they are expected to beat. As Tony Adams once said, if you beat the bottom ten sides home and away you will pick up enough points from the rest of your matches to win the title. Arsenal, at least, need to ensure their reputation as flat track bullies holds true if they are to have any chance of competing with Messrs Conte, Klopp and Guardiola.
Final call for a free talk this evening from 6pm at Birkbeck College, given by author of the newly updated Arsènal - The Making of a Modern Superclub, Alex Fynn, on the subject of “Arsenal, Arsene, David Dein and me”. Although all welcome, you need to register in advance – full details here.
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