Kevin Whitcher
Just like the Palace home game, Arsenal reached half-time 4-0 up. It’s a habit we could get used to. And what a contrast to Tuesday evening at Swansea. Out went Elneny and Lacazette. In came Mkhitaryan and Aubameyang. Mind you, the team that beat Palace and Chelsea (in the League Cup) did not require new players. It seems that really, this boils down to a simple matter of home and away. Arsene Wenger stated in the build-up to the match that he did not understand why his team would perform differently away from home. And that is after working in football management for over 30 years. Go figure.
The true test of what these players can bring to the team will be determined on the road between now and the end of the season, but as a 90 minute match in isolation, yesterday’s early evening game was a delight. Aubameyang and Mkhitaryan combined well, picking up their understanding from their days at Dortmund. Mkhitaryan was more involved, setting up three of the goals. His colleague was more of a target man waiting for service for much of the game, although when he did see the ball you could understand how, with time, he can provide good link play. Two very encouraging performances, and dare I say it, an indication of what the judgment of Sven Mislintat will bring to the club.
Jack Wilshere was on the bench after flu, but in spite of a poor display at the Liberty Stadium, Aaron Ramsey retained his starting spot. He answered doubters with a hat-trick. One wonders, given the manager’s reluctance to drop Granit Xhaka, whether we will see Wilshere start another match for the club outside of the Europa League. That could well foil any hopes he has of going to the World Cup with England, and surely increase the chances of his departing on a free transfer in the summer. The writing’s been on the wall since he was loaned out to Bournemouth last season, although there, at least, there was the mitigation of his injury record. Now, he has proved his fitness and his ability to avoid getting crocked so far this season, and more to the point enhanced the side’s attacking thrust. Yet it seems his face does not fit, despite his popularity with the supporters. The only hope I can see for him remaining is assurances that a new manager will be picking the team next season, alongside a better salary offer. Whether the club will privately inform the player that Arsene is on the way out after May 30th is something I doubt.
Theo Walcott returned to Arsenal for the first time since his recent transfer. And it was just like old days. Everton fans were chanting ‘Theo, Theo, Theo’ as they approached the stadium. If only they knew, I thought. Sure enough, Theo had one glorious chance he managed to make a hash of by not shooting early enough, and aside from that was largely anonymous. The love-in when he was removed from the field of play after an hour was easy for the home crowd. There was to be no ‘immutable law of the ex’ here. Theo – loyal club servant, rich man, and severely over-rated footballer has done well from the game, but his true worth was on display yesterday. He managed to pull the wool over the eyes of Sven Goran-Eriksson, Arsene Wenger (although the Frenchman has plenty of form there) and now Sam Alardyce.
Everton were a shambles. It was difficult to get your head around the fact that this is a Sam Allardyce team. When a team is this poor, all you can ask Arsenal to do is take advantage, which they certainly did. The goals flowed in and Tuesday evening was forgotten. That is often the way with Arsenal these days, although last season, the balance of bad performance to good tipped a little further to the former, and the top four trophy was gone. There is no good reason, mathematically, they cannot breach the gap to overcome two of Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham. These teams will drop enough points if Arsenal put together one of their end of season runs. Perhaps the new signings will make the difference to the inconsistency of the campaign so far. If they do, then Arsene will serve the remaining year of his deal.
If not, then the murmurs are that he will go. If both Neil Ashton and John Cross are running with this line, then presumably someone that knows something has tipped them off. My belief is that Mislintat will run the rule over the squad, and that the departures of Coquelin and Walcott in January were influenced by the German’s opinions. He has been brought to the club because he is a good judge of a player and that won’t apply to just transfer targets. Even if Arsene remains, this summer the rug will be pulled from under him in terms of player incomings and outgoings. With a year remaining and from my understanding, zero chance of an extension short of him winning the title next season, there is no point in buying players for Arsene Wenger, or retaining those not rated by Mislintat. So I predict plenty of comings and goings as Sanllehi and the head of scouting get active. The rebuild begins.
Mislintat was obviously influential in the securing of Aubameyang and was presumably consulted over the merits of Mkhitaryan in the exchange for Sanchez. Certainly, the manager had never even heard of the young Greek defender Mavroponos before he arrived at the club, and had no involvement in the deal. As one for the future, why would he? As it turns out Wenger was so impressed with the youngster in training he stepped in to prevent a loan deal to a German team.
So, in terms of change at the club, reasons for optimism. As for results, the home wins against sides outside of the top six are not fooling most people. It’s enjoyable, but Arsenal’s current style is no blueprint for future success, regardless of the personnel.
Next up, Spurs at Wembley. A derby day with a difference. Anything could happen. But one thing is certain. If Arsenal lose, yesterday’s win will be as quickly forgotten as the appalling display in Wales. Fortunately, it appears as if the CEO has finally seen the bigger picture.
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