Evening everyone.
Our next Premier League game is still a couple of days away, but there are bits and pieces to keep us going for now.
First of all, Arsene updated us on the squad condition and it looks like we are going to be better off, than expected. Giroud and Ozil are completely fit and I expect both of them to start. Oxlade-Chamberlain is also back in contention, but, even though he played forty-five minutes with the reserve team, it's still early days for him. It's going to take some time to get back into the swing of things and he's definitely not ready to fill Theo's shoes right now.
His style of play is a bit different, he's not a finisher like Theo (at least, not yet), so it's interesting to see, what role Arsene holds for the Ox.
Whatever it is, we need to somehow step it up in terms of goals, seeing as Theo was one of our goalscoring threats (in fact, I think only Bendtner (!) has currently scored more than Walcott at Arsenal). I've seen a rather interesting suggestion of how we can solve this problem without the need to revert to external solutions.
With Walcott, our set-up was simple: on one flank we had a skilled midfielder, who drifted infield to create an overload (usually, Cazorla), on the other we had a finisher, who found space behind the defenders (Theo). Now we can keep this scheme by introducing Podolski on the left and shifting Cazorla to the right flank. The Spaniard will then be able to switch places with Ozil, while Podolski will become a genuine goal threat by making runs behind defenders' backs.
Of course, there's one flaw to this set-up right now: Podolski is our only remaining alternative to Giroud (at least, for the duration of Bendtner's injury, which should be around three weeks), thus starting both the Frenchman and the German is a bit of a gamble.
I somehow don't think we'll revert to a scheme we used earlier this season when Walcott was out, namely, playing two creative midfielders on the flanks. With Oxlade and Gnabry it will be a bit strange if we do. Both are more natural wingers, than anyone else on the team (except, maybe, Podolski), so keeping both of them on the bench will look odd. At the same time, both may not be ready to deliver on a consistent basis, due to their relative inexperience. All in all, an interesting problem for the manager to wrap his head around.
And he may do so by finding an external solution. In his interview to Goal.com, Arsene stated, that losing Walcott accelerated his desire to sign cover, as Arsenal have lost a goalscorer, first and foremost, so he'll try and find a replacement in that department. I would not rule out a winger, but, then again, I won't be surprised, if we sign nobody this January.
In other news, Wenger has revealed, that Rosicky is likely to re-sign his contract and I think it's a right decision. The Czech has been really good this season, showing he still has a lot to contribute on numerous occasions, so fair play to Thomas. I would be as happy as him, should he finish his career at Arsenal. Even more, if he does so by becoming a part of a team that finally ends this trophy drought.
Apart from that, not much else going on. As I have another exam coming up, I'll only be back on Monday with the usual preview of the game.
Until then
Our next Premier League game is still a couple of days away, but there are bits and pieces to keep us going for now.
First of all, Arsene updated us on the squad condition and it looks like we are going to be better off, than expected. Giroud and Ozil are completely fit and I expect both of them to start. Oxlade-Chamberlain is also back in contention, but, even though he played forty-five minutes with the reserve team, it's still early days for him. It's going to take some time to get back into the swing of things and he's definitely not ready to fill Theo's shoes right now.
His style of play is a bit different, he's not a finisher like Theo (at least, not yet), so it's interesting to see, what role Arsene holds for the Ox.
Whatever it is, we need to somehow step it up in terms of goals, seeing as Theo was one of our goalscoring threats (in fact, I think only Bendtner (!) has currently scored more than Walcott at Arsenal). I've seen a rather interesting suggestion of how we can solve this problem without the need to revert to external solutions.
With Walcott, our set-up was simple: on one flank we had a skilled midfielder, who drifted infield to create an overload (usually, Cazorla), on the other we had a finisher, who found space behind the defenders (Theo). Now we can keep this scheme by introducing Podolski on the left and shifting Cazorla to the right flank. The Spaniard will then be able to switch places with Ozil, while Podolski will become a genuine goal threat by making runs behind defenders' backs.
Of course, there's one flaw to this set-up right now: Podolski is our only remaining alternative to Giroud (at least, for the duration of Bendtner's injury, which should be around three weeks), thus starting both the Frenchman and the German is a bit of a gamble.
I somehow don't think we'll revert to a scheme we used earlier this season when Walcott was out, namely, playing two creative midfielders on the flanks. With Oxlade and Gnabry it will be a bit strange if we do. Both are more natural wingers, than anyone else on the team (except, maybe, Podolski), so keeping both of them on the bench will look odd. At the same time, both may not be ready to deliver on a consistent basis, due to their relative inexperience. All in all, an interesting problem for the manager to wrap his head around.
And he may do so by finding an external solution. In his interview to Goal.com, Arsene stated, that losing Walcott accelerated his desire to sign cover, as Arsenal have lost a goalscorer, first and foremost, so he'll try and find a replacement in that department. I would not rule out a winger, but, then again, I won't be surprised, if we sign nobody this January.
In other news, Wenger has revealed, that Rosicky is likely to re-sign his contract and I think it's a right decision. The Czech has been really good this season, showing he still has a lot to contribute on numerous occasions, so fair play to Thomas. I would be as happy as him, should he finish his career at Arsenal. Even more, if he does so by becoming a part of a team that finally ends this trophy drought.
Apart from that, not much else going on. As I have another exam coming up, I'll only be back on Monday with the usual preview of the game.
Until then