Liverpool 3-3 Arsenal: Gunners fight back to earn a point, but midfield remains the problem

When the final whistle blew on Monday, I experienced a mixed bag of emotions: disappointed we couldn’t hold on, angry at being completely overplayed in midfield, glad we escaped the game without injuries. However my overriding emotion was that of relief.

I was emotionally drained by full-time. Truth be told, I was emotionally drained after 30 minutes, but you get the idea. My nervous system is now officially a wreck and I feel like I’ve aged a couple of years after that game.

I imagine this game was thoroughly enjoyable for the casual observer, while BT, Sky or whoever aired the game in England probably experienced an orgasimic sense of joy, close to the one Klopp experienced when he found out his team can score goals. Joy of a big TV company realising what a great advert this game can make.

However as an Arsenal fan, I mostly derived pleasure from individual performances rather than our collective display. Let’s start with these performances and the overall bits I liked from the game.

The character

No, Brendan, not this kind of character. Go away.

Once in a while you get these crazy end-to-end games that are exceptionally fun to watch (unless you aren’t emotionally invested in the success of one of the teams). Think it stems from the performance of the players on the day, plus, possibly, from the managers getting their tactics wrong.

However, we pulled off a second come-back inside 4 days and nearly won this game too. In fact, we’ve come from behind twice and it speaks a lot about our desire and “never say die” attitude.

We were under the kosh for the first 20-30 minutes, it was clear we weren’t coping with Liverpool’s pressure and the goals (however lucky for Liverpool they might have been) were still the direct result of this pressure paying dividends. But the players didn’t give up, didn’t throw in the towel. They responded almost immediately every time we went behind. It will be hard for them to take a draw because of that, however fair it seemed in the overall context.

Olivier Giroud

Simply put, Giroud was outstanding on Wednesday. Yes, he also produced the miss of the season, but two goals and the overall display offset that. A million times.

His passing numbers were low, but then: a) his passing numbers are always low b) Arsenal’s passing accuracy as a team on the day was a meagre 71% - the lowest we had in a league game this season.

The best bit was his aerial prowess and the ability to lay the ball off for his teammates after plucking it out of the air. He only won 3 duels in the air out of 7, but one of these was crucial in the build-up to the first goal. Ollie, most literally, risked life and limb going for that ball and required lengthy treatment after clashing heads with Sakho - but he got the job done.

As for Giroud’s goals, well, the first was his usual showcasing of his trademark diagonal run to the near post with a neat finish to follow, but the second was a thing of beauty. Giroud took one touch to bring a deflected pass under control and then turned and smashed the ball powerfully into the corner, leaving Toure on the floor.

I felt for the Frenchman in the end as much as for anyone else: Giroud showed grit to return after injury, he scored the equaliser and the near-winner, while also chipping in with a healthy defensive contribution, recovering the ball 6 times (twice in our half) and completing 4 tackles out of 7 attempted (though only one in our half).

Giroud was Man of the Match, hands down, however his impressive performance (recognised by even the Telegraph), raises a more important issue, namely: he can’t make way for Theo at centre-forward once Alexis returns. His contribution this season has been stellar and he deserves to keep his place in the starting XI.

Joel Campbell

The same can be said about Joel Campbell. The Costa-Rican had another brilliant outing, in stark contrast to Oxlade and Theo. He provided another assist, was pivotal in Giroud scoring the 3rd goal of the game and his industrious display speaks of a player whose talent is blossoming as a result of high confidence levels.

As I’ve already said, he is a player who brings balance to the side, We are going to need such players for the run-in. Alexis is explosive, but also erratic, Theo rarely makes an even contribution for the duration of the game (although this is partly related to him playing on the left, I suspect), while to Ramsey I’ll get in a bit.

So like Ollie up top, Campbell should keep his place based on what he showed this season.

Ramsey and Flamini

It’s fair to say this partnership hasn’t really clicked. I’ll get back to how I think the problem can be addressed anon, for now I’ll just talk why this partnership cost us the game. In my opinion, naturally. Feel free to disagree in the comment section below.

My first impression was that Flamini was awful, however, it turned out he wasn’t or, at least, the reasons for his under-par performance were less obvious.

In short, Flamini had an impeccable defensive performance, his passing aside. Here are his numbers:

1. 9 ball recoveries (7 in our half, one inside the box)
2. 3/3 tackles (2 inside the box)
3. 2 interceptions (near halfway)
4. 7/7 clearances
5. 3/3 aerial duels (2 of these near the centre circle)
6. 3 blocked shots (2 inside our box)
7. 1 turnover, no unsuccessful touches
8. No mistakes leading to shots/goals

So I dug deeper and came to the following conclusion: Flamini’s downfall was a) his positioning (his heat map shows he mostly took up positions near our box - hilariously, even Kos played higher than Flamini) b) being let down by Ramsey.

And so that brings me to the second part of this two-fold problem: Aaron Ramsey. On the previous point I made - his average position was actually fine, where it should be, it’s just that Flamini played much deeper, creating a big gap in doing so.

The problem is, Ramsey was too erratic, turning the ball over 5 (!) times and playing almost like a forward. I don’t mean his position here - I mean his style of play. If I’m allowed to quote 7amkickoff:

“The problem is that Ramsey plays like a forward and not like a box-to-box midfielder. He doesn’t pass as well as Cazorla and he doesn’t dribble as well. He doesn’t create for teammates and instead needs teammates to create for him. He also turns the ball over like a forward, shoots like a forward, and while he does tackle a lot he can’t make up for the loss of Coquelin in that regard because he doesn’t win significantly more tackles than Cazorla did.”

Here we are. Yes, Ramsey was positionally fine from first glance (Tim puts that into question in the “By the Numbers” section I linked you to above. Though I think he was talking more about the overall problem, not yesterday). he chipped in with tackles, blocks and stuff, he scored and assisted, yet his other shortcomings were exposed.

Something has to give in our midfield. Yesterday’s draw was as much down to Liverpool’s pressing as it was to our midfield balance. We were overrun and outplayed, while our inability to keep hold of the ball after going in front meant we would have been incredibly lucky to stay in front. We weren’t lucky.

Unfortunately, though we did finally announce Elneny’s signing (the Egyptian may even be available for selection vs Stoke). I doubt he’ll get thrown at the deep and or asked to do what Cazorla did by playing alongside Flamini. That means Ramsey will continue to start games centrally until one of Wilshere/Cazorla return. Which won’t happen for another month at least.

This means we can only address the other part of the problem - Flamini. And I think that’s exactly what we need to do. We need to put someone more positionally disciplined than Ramsey (MUCH more), who will also be able to distribute the ball from deep (making up for Santi’s absence). Basically, we need a younger Mikel Arteta, because the current one clearly isn’t ready to play every three days.

Whether this man is Elneny (I hope) or Chambers doesn’t really matter. What matters is getting our balance in midfield right and that’s not going to happen with Flamini and Ramsey starting games together.

The aftermath

This draw, however disappointing it is, isn’t the end of the world. City also dropped points (at home to Everton), while Spurs lost (to Leicester, admittedly). It means we are level with Ranieri’s men on points, but maintain a 3-point gap on City and a 7-point one on Spurs.

Our next game takes place in just 2 days and our draw at Anfield means we now have to win at Britannia Stadium. That’s why I sincerely hope we’ll have registered Elneny and got back Alexis and Rosicky by then. However, it’s how Arsene approaches his midfield problem that may just decide the outcome.

Back with a preview

Liverpool preview: the fun starts

Hi everyone.

I suspect it will be a short one today, despite the scale of the fixture - mainly because as I’m writing this the arrows on the clock are inching towards 10 p.m. on a Monday. It wouldn’t be such an issue had I not been forced to put in only 5 hours of sleep and then withstand a gruelling exam. But I did both these things, so here we are.

Tomorrow (Tuesday) Arsenal takes on Liverpool at Anfield and it’s fair to say we are in with a good chance of winning the game. The main reason why this Liverpool side looks vulnerable right now is their growing injury list - the reliable premierinjuries.com tell us 13 (!) of Klopp’s men are currently injured. An unlucky number indeed.

This list includes Philippe Coutinho, Daniel Sturridge (ahem), Martin Skrtel, Dejan Lovren, Jordan Henderson and Mamadou Sakho - although it has to be said the latter two are facing late fitness tests and could both be available.

Team news update

What do we have to show for our injury problems? Well, we can forget about Jack, Danny and Santi for now, that’s for sure. The first to be back should be Welbz, whose return may happen on February 6th. Out of mind, for now.

Francis Coquelin may be pushing for a late January return, however no update on him was given pre-Liverpool, with Arsene saying both Francis and Santi should be back on schedule. That means a late February comeback for our Policeman. I don’t like it, moreover, I think Coq may be back sooner, seeing as his injury wasn’t for half a season and he’s already started running, but let’s stick with the official version and see if there might be a surprise in store for us come end of January.

That means our immediate future (the next 2-3 weeks, say) can only bring us gifts in Alexis- and Thomas-esque shape. The former:

“We think he will be short for Wednesday, he has a chance to be available for Sunday [against Stoke]. He is always keen to play. If you listen to Alexis he can always play - even when he is injured. We try to be cautious. With a muscular injury you never exactly how big the risk but he is very close. If you look at him training he is very close.”

The latter:

“He will be back in full training this week, it is fantastic because he has been out for very long and it is good to know that a player of that calibre is back in our squad.”

I sincerely hope Alexis returns in time for Stoke to maybe make a substitute appearance and thus whip into shape for Chelsea. Of course at this point I’d rather Arsene didn’t risk the Chilean and push him to make the squad vs Stoke. Better safe than sorry and all that. We are going to need him for our tough run-in.

However Thomas was captured a million times today - during a training session. I’m assuming this means the experienced Czech will be named in the squad vs Pool and it’s good to know. He brings a lot to our side, one of his (almost) unique qualities being his ability to burst through the lines in a Wilshere-esque manner. Or should I say Jack bursts through the lines in a Rosicky-esque manner?

Whatever way you look at it, having our Little Mozart back is a huge bonus and I hope his swan song will remind us of the quality of the player we were lucky to have at our disposal for 10 years.

Head-to-head

Liverpool have been pretty whack, even after Klopp took over. There have been noticeable changes in the way they play, while clearly this squad isn’t the final version of what the manager would like to have, but for now the point stands - Liverpool have been pretty whack.

This whackiness (is this even a word?) is especially telling at home - their record under Klopp is W2-D2-L1 with both wins being narrow 1-0. Pool have scored 6 and conceded 5 in those fixtures. Their overall record under Klopp is W5-D3-L4 with the goal difference being an astonishing 0 - 14 scored and 14 conceded. Lastly, Pool only managed 21 league goals this season - just over 1 per game. Klopp’s men are 14th in the goalscoring table.

All of this hints at either the lack of chances created for the forward men or, indeed, the quality of these forward men. Interestingly enough, it looks to be the latter - seeing as Liverpool are 2nd in the league in chances created - 13.2 per game. Even Arsenal are 3rd in this regard (12.9 per game, though I suspect Cazorla’s absence might be taking its toll). Only City have a better chance creation frequency - 13.6 per game.

Fortunately, we have very few problems with which Klopp is burdened right now. Indeed, had it not been for our atrocious November, our away form could have been better than our home one - and that’s saying something, seeing as we racked up 23 points in 10 home games - almost 2.5 per game.

Approach

"Arsenal and Arsene have their own style; it's possession football, so it's clear that if we want to play the same way we will be without a chance because they've been doing it for longer.

Arsenal are not only a good possession team, that's the problem, they have good counter-attacks too and that's what you have to be aware of.” - Klopp

Does it sound to you like Klopp will instruct his men to cede possession and play on the counter? Because to me it sounds like he will. Of course it’s not the end of the world - we are very good on the ball and if we take our chances, Arsenal can be out of sight before Pool try and sucker punch them on the counter - think back to that 4-1 drubbing at the Emirates.

However, I’d say Arsene should consider the opposite approach. Do I have reason to believe he will? I hope I do:

“You compensate for the absence of quality players with different styles. Sometimes with more physical commitment, more solidarity, because you’re conscious that you have less individual potential to change the games.”

This is what Arsene said pre-Sunderland, when asked to give his take on Arsenal being top without Alexis Sanchez. To me “less individual potential” sounds like “sometimes we can’t play the football we like to play because we don’t have the key players for it”. Seeing as our preferred approach is possession-based football, the less comfortable way for us would be playing without the ball, like we did against City to great effect in 2015 (twice). Or like we did against Liverpool at Anfield last year and nearly succeeded. Or maybe I’m just theorising without concrete facts. Or maybe I just like the quote. You decide.

However, I’d advocate a more direct approach from us tomorrow night. It yielded results against tough opposition away from home pretty consistently, plus we know Liverpool will have trouble dealing with our attacks if we bypass their press.

How to do it without Santi Cazorla, our best distributor? Long balls. It may sound funny, simplistic even, but that’s exactly what teams that have recently beaten Liverpool exercised, West Ham being the prime example. The Hammers have only attempted 272 passes (completing only 182), but of these 43 were long balls (15 were successful) - 16%. I have no idea whether 16% is an anomaly, a high percentage, but Watford, for example played 20% of their passes long in the 3-0 win over Liverpool.

If we look at the overall context, Arsenal plays the least long balls per game in the league - under 50, which is less than 10% of their passes per game (average), while Watford plays 80 long balls per game - 20% of their total.

So I guess we can have some joy if we try the long ball strategy.

Squad

Just a couple of words on team selection, I’ve made the article long enough as it is (so much for “it’ll be a short one”).

I guess we will be treated to returns of Mertesacker, Monreal, Flamini, Ramsey and Ozil to the starting XI. Objectively speaking, something like this is our strongest squad at the moment:

Predicted line-up: Cech - Bellerin - Mertesacker - Koscielny - Monreal - Flamini - Ramsey - Ozil - Walcott - Campbell - Giroud

It’d be heartwarming to see Rosicky on the bench (hope he makes it), while both Iwobi and Jeff showed they can chip in with their respective contributions, so I’m pretty calm about our options from the bench.

I wouldn’t advocate dropping Per for Gabriel as I sometimes do before big games - Mert is excellent in the air and we’ll need his skills against Benteke, the most likely forward on the day. Also, while I’d like to see Chambers get a game in midfield with Ox for Theo maybe on the wing, I do realise both changes are potentially risky. So it is what it is, here’s for a quick return of Sanchez and Coq (and the signing of Elneny). Also, hope we’ll see Rosicky get some minutes.

The verdict

It’ll be an interesting game, that’s for sure, Given Liverpool’s inconsistent form, even more so at home, I favour us to get the three points - we seem a better-drilled unit right now.

The main problem will be dealing with Klopp’s gegenpressing, though it looks like Arsene has it covered:

“[We need to] play our game at a good pace. We are used to pressing. It is not just Liverpool who do that, everybody in the modern game [does it].

Pressing has been created in England basically because there is a history of teams who have done that very well so it is part of the modern game to make quick decisions, be very short with your first touch and play your game.”

Now we just need to pull it off.

Come on you Gunners.

Back with a review

Arsenal 3-1 Sunderland: Campbell inspires Gunners to knock out Sunderland

So, we started out cup defense campaign successfully on Saturday, having dispatched Sunderland 3-1. It was, I think, a thoroughly enjoyable viewing for the neutrals and even Arsenal fans might have relaxed a little bit in the latter stages, after the Gunners went 2 up.

Let’s shoot straight to the points of interest then.

Team selection

It’s fair to say yours truly had a particularly bad day at guessing the squad. None of Ospina, Mertesacker and Flamini made their entrances (although Ospina was kept out by a late groin problem, otherwise he was all set to start). Instead, we saw Gabriel pair Koscielny (our captain for the occasion), Giroud keep his place in what looked like a 4-4-2 together with Walcott, while in midfield we witnessed a surprise duo of Iwobi and Chambers flanked by Ox and Campbell. Gibbs and Hector started at full-back positions.

If the selection was surprising, the fact it worked quite well was even more so. I don’t think we’ll see Iwobi alongside Chambers anytime soon, for instance, yet it’s not because neither did well. Calum had another solid outing in the holding position, looking very tidy on the ball and calm without it (unfortunately I can’t give you the numbers, neither Whoscored nor StatsZone app collect data for the FA Cup), while Iwobi was probably the surprise package of the night, finding pockets of space and not holding onto the ball for too long.

We also witnessed improved performances from Gibbs and Oxlade. The Ox was hit-and-miss in the first half, before collecting himself in the second, which saw his shot rebound off the post and his wonderful long ball find Bellerin so that the Spaniard could feed Giroud. Gibbs, meanwhile provided a good outlet on the left, willing to attack the space in front of him and basically working that left wing alone, cause neither Theo nor Oxlade looked even remotely interested in staying wide.

All in all, a very good showing from our fringe players (Arteta and Jeff made solid cameos too). Good to know we have quality back-up. That of all freshly introduced faces Gabriel looked the most underwhelming (didn’t make any major mistake however, as far as I can recall) tells you a lot about our second-string players.

The goals scored

They were all so delicious I’ll link you to all three.

For the first Koscielny threaded a fine pass to Iwobi, who, in his turn, made an even better pass to Walcott. Theo skinned Yedlin and then cut the ball back for the onrushing Campbell. The Costa-Rican made the finish look easy, when in fact it wasn’t, as replays demonstrated. 1-1.

Our second of the night was scored by a substitute Aaron Ramsey. Campbell played a clever 1-2 with Bellerin on the edge of the box, Hector won the foot race against Danny Graham and his subsequent low cross found Ramsey, whose left-footed finish made it 2-1.

Now, let me take this moment to congratulate Ramsey. It was his 4th goal of the season, but his first quality passage of play in this regard. His previous three came against Watford, Sunderland (both very scrappy) and Aston Villa (a simple tap-in), but Saturday’s goal will, I hope, sparkle Aaron’s true return to former heights.

The goal showcased everything good about Rambo in the middle: the quality of his runs, his energetic approach to his duties and, of course, his ability to put the ball into the back of the net effortlessly, without overcooking things. Aaron had a very good December too, scoring twice and assisting a couple more, let’s hope he builds on it.

Finally, our third goal was my favourite of the night. It started with Oxlade getting the ball in midfield, spotting Bellerin making a run and weighing the perfect pass into Hector’s pass. Our right-back sprinted past Van Anholt and then played the ball to Giroud. The quality of the pass and Giroud’s positioning were such that the Frenchman had the easiest of tasks of tapping it in. 3-1.

On top of these goals, we had quite a few other chances to score. That’s why I enjoyed our performance so much: it was a scintillating attacking display, the concept of which Van Gaal cannot grasp.

Hector Bellerin

The Spaniard mostly looked off-colour since coming back from injury at the end of November (City game exempting), but was one of our stand-out performers vs the Black Cats.

He recorded two assists, made some timely tackles and made such an overwhelmingly positive impression on Arsenal fans they voted him MoM later. I think Hector’s improved performance may also be a sign of blossoming understanding with Joel Campbell. He knows the Costa-Rican will help him out defensively, but on Saturday we’ve also been treated to how daunting their partnership may be further up field. This understanding of each other’s weaknesses and strengths, which stems from playing together for a period of time, is quite beneficial to both the players and the team as a whole.

Joel Campbell

Now here’s my personal MoM. I don’t begrudge Hector the award, his performance was stellar, but to me Campbell’s industrious display defined the outcome. His first-time finish from a Theo cutback evened things out, while he claims himself a pre-assist for that one-two with Bellerin.

Joel also put in a shift (as always) in defense and in pressing and closing down the opponents. He popped up everywhere on the field, reminding me both of Ramsey and Alexis in this regard and I don’t think there can be a higher praise for our winger.

Furthermore, Joel reminds me of Ramsey in more ways than one. It’s not only his work rate, his overall contribution and playing qualities also make me think of Aaron. Thing is, neither are exceptional at anything, which they compensate by being good at everything. Campbell does what only Ramsey is capable of in this side: he brings balance. That’s why the idea of Campbell in the middle, at which I first scoffed, doesn’t seem as absurd to me now. After all, look at how many positions Ramsey can cover if needs must. Only in my memory he played on the wings (both wings!) at central midfield and at 10, and even at right-back and centre-back. Was he bad in any of these positions? No. This is what we might have on our hands with Campbell. Fortunately, he sees himself as a winger or striker and has no claims to play centrally, I say “fortunately” because our midfield is already pretty congested, while our wings could use another body as it is.

After the game, Wenger was also full of compliments for the Costa-Rican:

“He is kind of in Coquelin's position last year. Nobody expected him [to do well] and now he is taking his place in the team and he is ready to fight for the position and he is efficient.

I agree [that he is playing with confidence]. That comes out of his game. Compare one month ago to today, he believes he belongs there and has a right to play.”

Think a comparison of this kind is quite telling, especially coming from the manager. I also think Campbell deserves his place in the starting line-up and I wouldn’t omit him when Sanchez returns. Which means a drop for either Theo or Giroud. At this point in time I’m more comfortable with dropping either than Campbell.

The verdict

It was a nice game and a great result for us. Barring a couple of bad individual decisions, we looked comfortable despite changing things around quite a bit. We also showed a mental aspect to our game by coming from behind to win it, so there’s also that. Nice to know we can pull off these comebacks from time to time, for it looked like our last happened quite a while back.

The win puts us through to the 4th round, the draw for which will be held on Monday. Till January 30th we can forget all about it, though, and turn our eye to Liverpool, Stoke and Chelsea. Quite a package, eh?

I’ll be back with you to preview our trip to Anfield (hilariously, the Scousers nearly lost to 4th-division Exeter and now face a replay) in a couple of days.

Till then bask in the glow of our win

Sunderland preview: getting down to business

Howdy.

We start our FA Cup defense on Saturday by hosting Sunderland in the 3rd round. Once again we play a Premier League side, having played Hull City last year and Spurs before that - in fact, I don’t remember when was the last time we played a lower-league opposition in the 3rd round, but that’s a topic for another day.

For now, we just have to be grateful it’s a home fixture. However, the timing is weird - why does the fixture have to held on the weekend? Why not play it midweek as usual, with Premier League games either side of it? I don’t get it, but it’s something we’ll have to work around.

Team news update

“The team news is that, from last week, we have no big injuries, and the squad will be similar to the squad who played the last game against Newcastle. Will a young player or two start? I haven’t decided yet.”

It looks like heavy rotation is not on Arsene’s mind, especially in the light of this bit:

“The thinking is to give absolutely everything to qualify. We are the holders of the cup and I know as well by experience that it is very important that you get in the competition and that you have a successful third round. It’s a tricky one, always, the third round.”

What further complicates matters is no players returning, barring Mikel Arteta. The Spaniard played for our reserve team on the January 5th and looks set to be included in the squad for the first time since late November.

The bit of news everyone was waiting for with bated breath regarded Alexis and, unfortunately, the Chilean will not only miss the Sunderland game, he’ll also be unavailable for our trip to Anfield, with Wenger stating Sanchez could make his comeback against Stoke.

This situation worries me, I have to admit. A player who picked up a minor strain on November 29th and was set to return against City on December 21st is still out and he’ll remain out for at least another week. In case Alexis really does make his comeback against Stoke, it’ll mean 7 weeks on the sidelines. My unfounded fear is that the Chilean won’t make the Stoke squad, though. Hope I’m wrong and it has nothing to do with reality.

On a brighter note, Francis Coquelin started light running a week ago and is on course to return in early February, while Rosicky joins full training next week, so his return should be imminent. Arsene also gave an update on Mohamed Elneny:

“It is complicated a little bit but we are working hard on it and hopefully in the next two or three days we will get to the end of it.”

Can Elneny make it in time for Liverpool? I certainly hope so, though Arteta’s return provides us with a bit of safety net in this regard, meaning our need is no longer burning.

Arsene was also quizzed on whether Elneny will be the only signing Arsenal completes this window:

“The only one? I don’t rule out anyone else, but he will be at least one signing that comes into an area where we are short at the moment.”

To me it sounds exactly like Elneny will be the only one, though it’s hard to second-guess Arsene. I wouldn’t bet on anyone else coming in, though, especially since Arteta is back, while Coquelin and Rosicky are also nearing their respective returns.

Finally, Wenger shed some light on Gnabry’s situation at West Brom. There were rumours circulating earlier this week the German will return any day, however Arsene denied these:

“We have a commitment. The player wanted to go there. We have a commitment with West Brom. If they want to cancel the loan, they have to contact us and speak about it. But at the moment, we are not there.”

I’m not sure what’s happening there (apart from the fact Gnabry clearly isn’t getting game time), so we’ll just have to wait and see what happens next. The German’s situation was brilliantly dissected by @arseblog here if you are interested (keep in mind it was written before Arsene denied Gnabry is due to return).

Squad

While Wenger said the squad will be roughly the same (plus Arteta) that faced Newcastle, I’ll be mightily surprised if we are not treated to at least some changes. We face Liverpool and Stoke next, both very hard away games, so I’m not sure putting a further strain on our starters by fielding them all in a cup game is the way to go.

I think David Ospina is likely to replace Petr Cech in goal (the Colombian will soon have the imprint of his arse on the bench if he doesn’t get game time), while Gabriel, who was talked up by the manager after the Bournemouth game, is also due a start. I have a feeling Wenger will give Monreal a rest by replacing him with Gibbs, but Mert and Bellerin are likely to feature again from the first minutes. Might Chambers get a start on the right? We should, after all, be preparing ourselves for a world without Debuchy, so I’d say it is sensible to give our back-up right-back some minutes.

However, I don’t think Wenger will introduce three changes to our defense at once. He rarely does it and we know how it can backfire. Besides, Chambers last played at RB in December 2014 (barring his brief cameo against United last March). Reintroducing the young Englishman on the flank at a time when we don’t even know who’ll protect him on the wing may not be such a bright idea.

As for our midfield, I expect it to stay the same. Elneny is still sorting out his papers, Arteta has only just recovered and is unlikely to play the full 90, while Rosicky isn’t even in full training yet. So unless Wenger throws in Chambers to partner Flamini and rest Ozil, or fields a youngster (which is not out of the realms of possibility), there isn’t much scope for rotation. Whether our trio of Flamini, Ramsey and Ozil be able to play three games in 8 days is another thing entirely, one for the manager to address.

Finally, I’m pretty certain we’ll see both Ox and Theo start, so the only question is, who will be the third guy. Seeing as we need Giroud for both our next league games, I would give him a breather. Yes, like the rest of the team he had a full week to recover, but again, given our hectic (and rather congested, especially if we progress in the cup) schedule in January and February, Arsene also has to play the long-term game by managing the fitness of key players, a group to which Giroud no doubt belongs.

So I’d stick Theo up top and Campbell on the wing. The Costa-Rican should be fresher than Ollie, having only made a cameo against Newcastle, so there you have it.

Predicted line-up: Ospina - Bellerin - Mertesacker - Gabriel - Gibbs - Flamini - Ramsey - Ozil - Campbell - Oxlade - Walcott

The verdict

As always, I believe we have what it takes to go through. Sun isn’t exactly shining out of Sunderland’s … ahem … players. After losing to us back in December, Sam Allardyce’s men went on to lose 4 consecutive league games, only recently ending this streak by beating Aston Villa at home. If you want to have a more detailed look at what Sunderland has to offer, I suggest you check out this quite brilliant “View from the opposition” piece.

As for me, I’ll keep my fingers crossed the Gunners will do the job and not pick any injuries along the way. The fun begins in the earnest soon. Hold onto your seats, ladies and gentlemen.

Until later and come on you Gunners.

Alexis Sanchez, the potential striker

As I was watching Liverpool tear apart Manchester City at the end of November, a simple thought was playing at the back of mind: Liverpool hugely benefitted that day from having a mobile centre-forward. Yes, Roberto Firmino may not be your centre-forward of choice, he is far from a finished article, he had a lot of weak performances this season, both before and after the City game (to the point when even the Liverpool fans started turning on him) and, finally, this may just have been an experiment from Klopp.

Indeed, while Klopp seems to be favouring a mobile striker overall (Robert Lewandowski to Chiro Immobile shift didn’t go down well, did it?), right now he opts for Benteke up front more and more often. In 12 league games Klopp has overseen, Benteke started exactly half - 6, with only start in the first 5 games, meaning 5 in the next 7. To me that looks like Klopp wanted to play with a pacy striker at the outset, trying Firmino and Origi (!) up front in equal measure, but then either decided these players were not of the standard he requires (which can see him make a move for a forward this window) or simply deciding a target man would be of more use to him for now.

However, I’m not here to talk about Klopp and his methods. Rather, I wanted to point out that Liverpool’s most scintillating performances this year happened as a result of deploying a mobile Firmino up top (the 3-1 win at Stamford Bridge and the aforementioned 4-1 drubbing of City at the Etihad just two weeks later). Of course, the wins could have been little bit accidental in the sense Klopp was an unknown quantity back then and his efficient deployment of gegenpressing coupled with Firmino up top (who never played there for Liverpool before) came as a surprise to Mourinho and Pellegrini respectively. Since then teams have adapted to this approach, utilising long balls to negate the press and catch Klopp’s men in front of the ball. I’ve veered off again. Aaargh.

The drubbing at the Etihad was as methodical and deserved as it was hyped and this got me thinking: could we attempt something similar at Arsenal? I’m not talking about gegenpressing, hamstrings seems to be popping like champagne bottles on New Year’s Eve from that; I’m talking about a mobile striker up top. Or, rather, about a fluid front three, which can interchange positions seamlessly and to devastating effect.

We’ve seen Theo up top, we know what he can do, we are aware of his limitations. We are a potent force with an in-form Theo spearheading our attack, however, I think another solution may be a better one. An internal solution at that, I’m not implying we should delve into the depths of the transfer market and splash on a new forward, especially at a time when really good forwards are few and far between and the forwards a class below are madly overpriced and completely unnecessary, seeing as both Giroud and Theo fit this mould. No, I’m talking about someone who’s been here for quite a while, someone who most thought would play at centre-forward. Someone who is a better version of Luis Suarez, in that he is more effective and less bitey. His name is Alexis Sanchez (so much drama for a title that will give it away :)).

I was watching with interest the ending of our 3-0 win over Dinamo Zagreb. As the game was drawing to a close, Arsene Wenger took off Giroud to give him some rest and moved Alexis to the centre-forward position. This was, I think, partially dictated by Theo’s absence. Wenger wanted to see how we’d fare if something (God forbid) happened to Giroud. He wanted to look at our other options. Campbell was still mostly on the fringes back then, Oxlade is no centre-forward and with Welbeck and Walcott still out, Sanchez was the only viable alternative left.

However, I’m inclined to think it wasn’t just a rehearsal for the worst-case scenario. It was another look at what Alexis can offer us up front. Alexis certainly didn’t disappoint in his 10-minute spell up top that night, but, unfortunately for everyone concerned, the Chilean pulled his hamstring against Norwich 5 days later, leaving us to rely on the ever-reliable Olivier Giroud. The Chilean hasn’t played since then, though all going well should return in time to face Sunderland (*knocks on wood*). As this game has been earmarked for rotation and Olivier Giroud needs a breather the most, I suspect we may see Sanchez start up top. Of course there’s the small matter of Theo wanting the same slice of the same pie, however, the Englishman himself may be rested for that game.

Anyway, 800 words in, I want to finally get to the crux of my article, namely: why I would give a run of games to Alexis in the centre-forward position.

He has speed and guile

Theo ticks the right boxes in the “speed” department, but he never really struck me as a player with outstanding technique on the ball. I don’t mean to say he is bad, no, however to me it looks like Alexis just has more tricks up his sleeve.

He has outstanding ball control and his dribbling ability is unparalleled among Arsenal players. The Chilean averages 3.3 successful dribbles per game, which equals 62% success rate, meaning he attempts 5.3 dribbles per game. Only Oxlade has better numbers here (3.6 successful dribbles per game, 67% success rate. However, these are the numbers from the 14/15 campaign for the Ox. In the 15/16 season, he only averages 1.5 successful dribbles per game with basically the same success rate - 68%! That means his numbers for dribbles attempted plummeted from 5.4 to just 2.2 - more than halved!)

He is selfish (in a good way)

How often have we complained of our players trying to walk the ball into the net? Even Olivier Giroud is more of a team player than a typical centre-forward. If there’s a teammate in a better

position, chances are Giroud will try a pass.

That’s an admirable quality, on one hand. Football is a team game (surprise!), selfish players often harm their respective sides more than help (I’m looking at you, Barkley). However, we can’t play eleven slick passers and hope it works. We need a focal point, someone to finish off our elaborate moves.

Here Alexis Sanchez fits the bill. I took his numbers (and everyone else’s who I’ll mention later) from the 14/15 campaign. The Chilean leads Arsenal in this regard and averages 3.5 shots per game, and that’s coming from the flanks. For comparison’s sake, one of the most selfish players on Earth (Ronaldo, in case you had doubts) averaged 6.4 per game.Messi averaged 4.9, Aguero 4.5, Lewandowski 3.4, Suarez 2.9. As you can see Alexis looks decent in this company, despite being a winger.

He is involved

That’s Alexis’ trademark feature. He is always doing stuff on the pitch. He is visibly there. He is involved.

In that sense Alexis is closer to our midfielders than strikers. I’ve become accustomed to the fact that Theo and Giroud complete around 20-30 passes per game, same as Oxlade and Campbell most of the time. That’s not a criticism per se. Sometimes I’d like Ollie or Theo to get more involved in what’s going on, however their playing style is a bit different. They can have a cracking game and still record the least touches (sometimes even less than our goalkeeper!)

However, Alexis is the type of player who takes games by the scruff of the neck. He’ll bully the opposition into making mistakes, he’ll drop deep to get involved in the build-up, he’ll drift to the flanks when the situation requires that. Alexis is more adaptable, more malleable, more versatile. Getting him on the end of things is unlikely to affect his contribution in other areas, but it is a move which can see him become a complete striker, maximising his goals output.

Last word

When we brought in Alexis Sanchez, most expected him to become our first-choice centre-forward. But our downright dreadful situation with wingers (Podolski and Campbell not contributing enough to merit a regular starting spot), coupled with injuries to Giroud and Walcott, not only saw Alexis on the wing, they also made us go and buy Welbeck. Welbeck, who staked a claim at CF, and one of the conditions upon he joined may, I suspect, be linked to given a run as a striker.

The situation hardly improved in the 2nd half of the campaign (though Giroud returned), so Alexis continued to ply his trade on the wing. However this season I think Arsene may give Alexis another try at centre-forward. Walcott, Oxlade and Campbell are all fit and ready to contribute on the wings, meaning Wenger has options. The return of our centre midfielders and Rosicky will provide him with options further still.

All that’s left is the desire of both the manager and player to stage the experiment. An experiment with the potential of becoming a resounding success. After all, it’s not like Arsene doesn’t have a track record of converting wingers.