Sorry for the horrible pun, but I feel that unless I make light out of Arsenal's current situation, I'm going to have to crawl into my bed and cry for the next 12 hours.
Chances are that if you are reading this blog, you've already read all about this morning's match and how shitty it was - so I'm going to spare you the details. So instead of looking back, I'm going to look at how I think Arsenal can improve in the coming games against QPR and Reading.
1. Kieran Gibbs
It's clear that Arsenal is missing Kieran Gibbs hugely - Santos is just not good enough at LB (that was a huge understatement). Before Gibbs was injured, the left wing was Arsenal's most potent attacking side with the Poldi-Gibbs combination working very well. This could be seen in the games against Southampton and Liverpool.
Since Gibbs' injury in the West Ham game, Podolski has also been out of form. Coincidence? I think not. The fact is, no matter how good Santos is going forwards with his tricky Brazilian runs, he doesn't link up play with Podolski well enough, nor does he provide adequate cover on the left when the opposition have the ball.
I think AW said that Gibbs' is closest to being back, so my prediction is that once he is back in the squad, Podolski's play and form will also improve markedly as a result of that link-up.
2. Sagna, Frimpong and Wilshere's return to fitness
A positive that could be taken from this week is that Sagna, Frimmy and Jack all played 90 minutes on monday in the under-21s match. While I don't expect any of them to start against QPR (although maybe against Reading), I think that their return is certainly a boost in both a physical and psychological sense to the squad. Jack is looking as good as ever despite being out for 14? months and it will be interesting to see if Wenger plays him as a substitute.
I don't think Sagna will make the starting line up in place of Jenkinson, but I wonder if AW will play him at CB as he did in one of the u21 games. Either way, Sagna returning provides much needed depth in the defense and hopefully confidence.
Frimpong? theres about a 1% chance that he will start or be a used substitute, but who doesn't love a good Frimmy Fact here and there. Should boost morale.
3. Please. Please. PLEASE do not start Gervinho
As much as I like the guy, he is so incredibly frustrating. His play doesn't exactly fit the way the rest of the team plays and his lack of vision and will to run almost always ends up with us losing possession. He doesn't play well on the wing and he is ridiculously inconsistent in the middle (omg Schalke). Not only that, but for a guy with such a big forehead, he isn't exactly the best in the air. I think that Giroud is a much more complete player in the CF position and really needs to start games and bully his way through the opposition defenses.
4. Gnabry!
The teenager was probably Arsenal's brightest spark in the last two matches but didn't really have much time to showcase what he had to offer. While I don't think that he is fit enough to play the whole 90 minutes, I think he should be given the Theo super-sub role. It seems like AW is fast-tracking him into the first team - so expect him to make more appearances off the bench and perhaps some goals/assists from him.
So my line up against QPR provided Gibbs is fit would be:
-----------Mannone------------
--------Mert------TV5---------
CJ25---------------------Gibbs
--------LeCoq--Arteta---------
------------Cazorla-------------
-----Ramsey------------Poldi--
-------------Giroud------------
Ramsey is offset a bit because I don't think he can play strictly as a winger, but more like a RAM. I feel that this is his best position (he can't play box to box). The reason he doesn't need to play as a conventional winger is that Jenkinson is more than capable of putting in crosses and attacking down the line. Despite this, Ramsey should have some responsibility in defending the right flank.
The formation kinda lends itself to being a bit more fluid and switching to a 3-5-2, where Poldi would play up front with Giroud, CJ25 would move into the RW, Ramsey would play at the tip of the midfield and Cazorla in the LW. Fluidity is good and mixes up things especially against teams like QPR, who will focus on defending.
Anyway. Hopefully QPR and Reading turn out to be big confidence boosting wins for Arsenal before we go and play Man U - We will need a good run into the game. That is all.
Adios
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