Cup Exit and Ozil's Back, A Problem?
By Omkar Rege
One loss lead to another as Emery's men could't get past the quarter finals of the Carabao cup as Arsenal lost to Tottenham at the Emirates on Wednesday night in a match where a win would have done a load of good to the gunners who looked to bounce back after their 3-2 loss away to Southampton in the league on Sunday. The former being their first in 23.
It was a positive start from Arsenal as they looked threatening on the counter with some quick movement off the ball with Ramsey breaking the lines, also working a lovely one-two with Mkhitaryan who was clean through on goal but failed to beat Gazzaniga. Iwobi looked good as well bursting forward and carving the Spurs defence with his eccentric dribbling. But after those opening 15 minutes, Spurs took charge. It took one good ball from Gazzaniga straight into the path of Dele Alli who weighed a perfect throughball over the top to Son who calmly lifted it beyond the reach of Cech at the far post.
After Spurs scored Arsenal amplified their intensity and started attacking in numbers, creating plenty of chances but couldn't capitalize because of a lack of end product. Nevertheless they finished the first half well.
Second half saw a change which no one really expected as Emery took off Mkhitaryan at half time and brought on Laurent Koscielny switching the formation to a back three.
Even with a change in formation Arsenal continued with the same intensity and started the half well, pressing the Spurs defence and found themselves in good attacking positions.
But Harry Kane coming on in the 58th minute made an immediate impact as he took the goal kick from Gazzaniga well on his chest and sent a long ball through to Dele Alli who made the run forward splitting the space between Sokratis and Koscielny and dinked the ball over Cech in the far corner effectively sealing the game. From then on it was just Arsenal chasing a lost game with Emery bringing Nketiah on in place of Guendouzi to bolster his strike force. They created a few chances with Lacazette hitting the post, Maitland Niles troubling their defence with some strikes but Spurs' resilience proved far too good for the gunners who lost the plot in the end.
What Went Wrong?
Unai Emery has lots to think about with his biggest problem being the lack of good centre backs.
Even though Koscielny has returned, he still looks a million miles away from being his best. His lack of pace showed against Southampton where he couldn't keep up with the likes of Danny Inngs and Charlie Austin and even against Tottenham where Dele Alli and Son were carving him open.
Xhaka playing at centre back is probably the biggest thing that went wrong for Emery. The unbeaten run that Arsenal were on was mainly because of the Xhaka-Torreira partnership in the midfield which was absent against Southampton and also against Tottenham. Even though we need to consider the fact that Emery is short of centre half options, playing Xhaka as centre half is one decision that I'm sure many people will not understand. I'm not saying Xhaka had a bad performance, he did the best he could, his long balls especially to Maitland Niles who was bursting forward at pace when playing as a wing back in the second half were exceptional. But his defensive frailties showed throughout the game.
I have a feeling Emery is using Xhaka to somehow counter-balance the loss of Holding because Holding was a good passer of the ball from behind and was someone who used to go forward in a back three while Mustafi and Sokratis stayed behind. Xhaka was doing something similar yesterday and it worked to a certain extent. Regardless, I still think his best position is in midfield especially besides Torreira.
With Arsenal lacking options and a busy Christmas period ahead, Elneny could be a good choice at centre half, his passing and mobility could be useful.
The ever controversial Mesut Ozil seems to have still not shone in the eyes of Unai Emery. Despite his unparalleled talent, the German has only made 11 appearances in 26 matches for the gunners this season. He hasn't played an away game since September. Those are not the kind of numbers you associate with the club's highest paid player. His ''back problems'' that ruled him out against Tottenham and Manchester United in the league this season are looking more and more disreputable as he failed to make it to Emery's matchday squad despite being fit enough to play.
When asked about his absence, Emery deemed it as a 'tactical reason' which is a concern because if Emery thinks he is not good enough or physical enough to play or even make it to the bench against one of Arsenal's deadliest rivals, one might argue if he's even in Emery's plans for the future.
The answer seems no at this moment in time, but its not easy to offload Ozil not in January at least if Emery doesn't fancy him. For one he is on a long term contract with a massive wage bill that I'm sure no other club will be willing to match. Secondly with Ramsey potentially leaving the club at the end of the season, will the board give the wave to Ozil as well? Letting go of two of the club's best players is a massive call especially with no potential replacements lined up.
And third and perhaps the most important of them all is Ozil's enormous fan base. The German is not only the club's highest paid player but he is also one of the world's most followed players on social media. Him leaving would trigger a social outrage. The club would have to think about all this factors before they even think of bidding farewell to one of their most marketable players.
Either way I think Emery has to make it work with Ozil if Arsenal are to finish in a champions league spot this season. Getting an adequate replacement for him in January will be a tough ask and with Arsenal not always willing to break the bank, it will be tougher.
Regardless, I still think Arsenal are moving in the right direction with Unai Emery, only 4 losses in 26 is still a fantastic achievement so far in his first season.
One loss lead to another as Emery's men could't get past the quarter finals of the Carabao cup as Arsenal lost to Tottenham at the Emirates on Wednesday night in a match where a win would have done a load of good to the gunners who looked to bounce back after their 3-2 loss away to Southampton in the league on Sunday. The former being their first in 23.
It was a positive start from Arsenal as they looked threatening on the counter with some quick movement off the ball with Ramsey breaking the lines, also working a lovely one-two with Mkhitaryan who was clean through on goal but failed to beat Gazzaniga. Iwobi looked good as well bursting forward and carving the Spurs defence with his eccentric dribbling. But after those opening 15 minutes, Spurs took charge. It took one good ball from Gazzaniga straight into the path of Dele Alli who weighed a perfect throughball over the top to Son who calmly lifted it beyond the reach of Cech at the far post.
After Spurs scored Arsenal amplified their intensity and started attacking in numbers, creating plenty of chances but couldn't capitalize because of a lack of end product. Nevertheless they finished the first half well.
Second half saw a change which no one really expected as Emery took off Mkhitaryan at half time and brought on Laurent Koscielny switching the formation to a back three.
Even with a change in formation Arsenal continued with the same intensity and started the half well, pressing the Spurs defence and found themselves in good attacking positions.
But Harry Kane coming on in the 58th minute made an immediate impact as he took the goal kick from Gazzaniga well on his chest and sent a long ball through to Dele Alli who made the run forward splitting the space between Sokratis and Koscielny and dinked the ball over Cech in the far corner effectively sealing the game. From then on it was just Arsenal chasing a lost game with Emery bringing Nketiah on in place of Guendouzi to bolster his strike force. They created a few chances with Lacazette hitting the post, Maitland Niles troubling their defence with some strikes but Spurs' resilience proved far too good for the gunners who lost the plot in the end.
What Went Wrong?
Unai Emery has lots to think about with his biggest problem being the lack of good centre backs.
Even though Koscielny has returned, he still looks a million miles away from being his best. His lack of pace showed against Southampton where he couldn't keep up with the likes of Danny Inngs and Charlie Austin and even against Tottenham where Dele Alli and Son were carving him open.
Xhaka playing at centre back is probably the biggest thing that went wrong for Emery. The unbeaten run that Arsenal were on was mainly because of the Xhaka-Torreira partnership in the midfield which was absent against Southampton and also against Tottenham. Even though we need to consider the fact that Emery is short of centre half options, playing Xhaka as centre half is one decision that I'm sure many people will not understand. I'm not saying Xhaka had a bad performance, he did the best he could, his long balls especially to Maitland Niles who was bursting forward at pace when playing as a wing back in the second half were exceptional. But his defensive frailties showed throughout the game.
I have a feeling Emery is using Xhaka to somehow counter-balance the loss of Holding because Holding was a good passer of the ball from behind and was someone who used to go forward in a back three while Mustafi and Sokratis stayed behind. Xhaka was doing something similar yesterday and it worked to a certain extent. Regardless, I still think his best position is in midfield especially besides Torreira.
With Arsenal lacking options and a busy Christmas period ahead, Elneny could be a good choice at centre half, his passing and mobility could be useful.
The ever controversial Mesut Ozil seems to have still not shone in the eyes of Unai Emery. Despite his unparalleled talent, the German has only made 11 appearances in 26 matches for the gunners this season. He hasn't played an away game since September. Those are not the kind of numbers you associate with the club's highest paid player. His ''back problems'' that ruled him out against Tottenham and Manchester United in the league this season are looking more and more disreputable as he failed to make it to Emery's matchday squad despite being fit enough to play.
When asked about his absence, Emery deemed it as a 'tactical reason' which is a concern because if Emery thinks he is not good enough or physical enough to play or even make it to the bench against one of Arsenal's deadliest rivals, one might argue if he's even in Emery's plans for the future.
The answer seems no at this moment in time, but its not easy to offload Ozil not in January at least if Emery doesn't fancy him. For one he is on a long term contract with a massive wage bill that I'm sure no other club will be willing to match. Secondly with Ramsey potentially leaving the club at the end of the season, will the board give the wave to Ozil as well? Letting go of two of the club's best players is a massive call especially with no potential replacements lined up.
And third and perhaps the most important of them all is Ozil's enormous fan base. The German is not only the club's highest paid player but he is also one of the world's most followed players on social media. Him leaving would trigger a social outrage. The club would have to think about all this factors before they even think of bidding farewell to one of their most marketable players.
Either way I think Emery has to make it work with Ozil if Arsenal are to finish in a champions league spot this season. Getting an adequate replacement for him in January will be a tough ask and with Arsenal not always willing to break the bank, it will be tougher.
Regardless, I still think Arsenal are moving in the right direction with Unai Emery, only 4 losses in 26 is still a fantastic achievement so far in his first season.
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