The manager's words reminded me of the most iconic song in the history of hip-hop:
"Look, if you had, one shot, or one opportunity,
To seize everything you ever wanted. In one moment...
Would you capture it, or just let it slip?"- Eminem.
Sometimes in football, some competitions and tournaments are
won; not by the strength of your first XI, but on the strength of your bench
and the quality of your reserves. In recent years Arsenal and Arsene Wenger
have not had the strength in depth to rely on his second string to rise to the
occasion in competitions such as the League Cup, and with over 50 games to play
every season you understand the need to rotate. This goes a long way to
explaining why Arsenal have never won the League Cup under Arsene Wenger. Over
the last couple of seasons we have rebuilt a squad that is better-placed to
challenge on all fronts, and we have seen the manager blend youth and
experience, proven professionals and break-out potential, in the League Cup and
the FA Cup. A manager who grew all the wiser following years of ridicule and
taunt over a barren trophy cabinet was pushed to modify his philosophy of using
the League Cup to blood the reserves into first-team football; and with the
quality of the current crop of players certainly better than it’s been for a
long time, today’s away Cup tie at Sheffield Wednesday really must be viewed as
a must-win clash to give us every chance of silverware come the end of the
season.
Herein lies the problem. So far this season, the manager has
called on his back-up players in the Champions League and the Capital One Cup,
with limited success. A North London derby win was delivered courtesy of
Mathieu Flamini’s goal-scoring antics, but this was diluted with defeats to
Olympiacos and Dinamo Zagreb in Europe. While the results cannot be blamed
entirely on the players that came in to the team for those fixtures, none of
them really took the opportunity afforded to them to really stake a claim for a
first-team role. Kieran Gibbs hasn’t caught the eye when called upon, and while
I certainly sympathize with Mathieu Debuchy who found himself out of the team
following injury rather than a loss of form, the Frenchman is currently being
kept out of the Starting XI by the fastest fullback that ever lived, Hector
Bellerin. The young Spaniard is barely out of his teenage years but his
performance belies his age and increasingly shows maturity beyond his years.
A look at the numbers is telling. Nacho Monreal for instance has
grown into the LB role at Arsenal and has continually improved aspects of his
game since he ousted Kieran Gibbs from the side midway through last season.
Chances
Created
|
Chances
Created per game
|
Passing
Accuracy
|
Take-ons
|
Take-ons
per game
|
Headed
Duels
|
|
2014/2015
|
12
|
0.43
|
85%
|
6/13
(46%)
|
0.2
|
77/125
(62%)
|
2015/2016
|
12
|
1.2
|
86%
|
6/8 (75%)
|
0.8
|
26/39 (67%)
|
The only parameter where Gibbs truly trumps Monreal is on
take-ons per game, which is to be expected. Hector Bellerin vs Debuchy follows
a similar tale, and Bellerin’s dynamism and sheer explosive pace makes him too
good to ignore. Before this weekend’s round of fixtures, Bellerin had created
more big chances (6) than any other player in the league, and but for the
profligacy of his team-mates would certainly have had more than the solitary
assist in the league this season.
Calum Chambers, meanwhile, is one that has impressed me so
far. He had an iffy first half in the game against Liverpool, and has been
unlucky with a couple of own goals, but has otherwise been pretty solid and
great, as always, when in possession:
“Calum can play in midfield, he can
play central defender. I think in the future he will certainly be a central
defender, but he can also play right back. That versatility will help him in
the future because he will tactically know more about the game, he will be
technically better prepared and physically he will be at the top, top level.”- Arsene
Wenger.
Further forward, I don’t believe we can have much cause to
complain about Mikel Arteta and Mathieu Flamini, although the latter’s
positioning does concern me at times. His role in the team, you’d like to
believe, is to temper the attacking prowess of our front four with defensive
stability and awareness, but for him to be in positions like he was in to score
the first goal against Spurs (tap-in from a rebound) perhaps is a symptom of
his tactical indiscipline? Or when he was brought on against Everton,
presumably to shore up affairs at the back, but nearly scores from point-blank
range with a header? I know he nearly scored, which would have been great, but
should he have been there in the first place? But anyway. With Arteta not fit
to feature tonight, Flamini will definitely get another crack in the first
team, let’s hope he takes it.
Up front, the main issue would be with Joel Campbell. The
Costa Rican had a decent World Cup 2014, and a good spell with Olympiacos
before that, but that aside has really failed to impress in the red and white.
What counts in his favour is that the manager still places a lot of faith in
his abilities and potential:
“I like Joel Campbell very much for
two reasons. One is that he has outstanding individual quality, but he is also
a team player. He works very hard for the team. I’m convinced he will get a
chance here and that he will take it. He has another opportunity against
Sheffield Wednesday and I’m hopeful that he will show that he has the quality
to play for Arsenal.”-Arsene Wenger.
Overall, I’m pretty excited to watch these players come in
and hopefully do a job for the team. The Emirates faithful perhaps need reminding
of the qualities these guys bring to the table, just as Giroud has done in
recent games. David Ospina unfortunately is still out, and Arsene has confirmed
that Petr Cech will continue in goal. Reserve ‘keeper Matt Macey is clearly not
ready to make the step-up just yet, but fingers crossed our only fit senior
goalkeeper avoids injury tonight.
Sheffield Wednesday are going well in the Championship and
are sitting pretty in ninth, with many expecting them to challenge for the
play-off places as well, so tonight will be no walk in the park. Hope we enjoy
the game and result!
*Quotes courtesy of the Daily Mirror*
*Image courtesy of Arsenal Media*
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