In today's Arsenal Vision Post Match Podcast: Paul (@PoznanInMyPants) and Tim (@Stillberto) talk about both the 2-0 victory against Crystal Palace which includes Giroud’s extraordinary goal, they also talk about the weird 3-3 draw at Bournemouth. The pair talk Alexis Sanchez, the Xhaka & Ramsey partnership, Lucas Perez introduction. All this and plenty more all discussed in this weeks Arsenal Vision podcast
The partnership seems like a straightforward one: Xhaka sits deep and dictates play and Ramsey bombs forward at opportune moments to link with Giroud and push beyond the lines of attack. Yet against Bournemouth, Ramsey was the player who opted to come deep to gather possession and Xhaka pushed higher up the pitch; this may have been a quick-fix as Arsenal were pushing for an equaliser but it still begs the question as to why Wenger would start Ramsey in the number 10 role and then when forced into a midfield two, that Xhaka would then begin operating closer to goal.
So that is pretty much as what most expected right? Ramsey will be playing out wide and that was the one question mark I had before the line up. But I am very surprised to see Oxlade-Chamberlain not in the team this evening as he started from the bench on Sunday. I guess it was a choice between Ox and Giroud. If Arsene went for Alexis as our central striker then Ox would have replaced him on the left I guess. It's quite a front footed midfield and that will be intriguing to see.
Given that both Coquelin and Ramsey did not start the game on Sunday, it would be safe to suggest that they are likely to start but that brings about plenty of questions. Would Arsene rest Xhaka so he could fit Ramsey, Coquelin and Iwobi in the midfield? I doubt it, especially as Xhaka was so pivotal to our performance on Sunday. I can’t see Arsene moving Iwobi from number 10, even if he is a more natural fit on the flank than Aaron Ramsey is. Not to mention the Coq/Ramsey struggles as a two man midfield base
A wonderful counter attacking move started by a Lucas interception inside our half. Bellerin to Giroud who produced a lovely flick to Xhaka, who passed it on to Iwobi on the left who in turn guided the ball onto Alexis down the left flank. Giroud had a bit of ground to make up and he motored up the pitch, head up, chest puffed forward and when Alexis switched back onto his right and delivered his cross Giroud had seemingly taken a step too far but instincts took over and his in the air flick saw the ball thud off the underside of the bar and into the goal for Oliver Giroud’s best Arsenal goal
Lucas Perez was a hot topic on the latest Arsenal Vision Post Match Podcast but the Spaniard has been granted a start today in a rather attacking looking front line, I suspect that Alex Iwobi will move to Ozil's position
So the predictions for Oliver Giroud to start once more makes some sort of sense, even if I wasn’t convinced before kick off in our last match. There were complaints that we did not play wide attackers in that game but when you look at where both Gibbs and Bellerin played, they spent far more time running at their opposite numbers than defending, so we could witness more of the same today but this time they will have more to think about the other way as Palace have a number of quick counter attacking players such as Zaha and Townsend
In today's Arsenal Vision Post Match Podcast: Elliot (@YankeeGunner), Paul (@PoznanInMyPants) and Tim (@Stillberto) talk about the 1-0 victory against Tony Pulis’ West Brom at home in the Premier League. Elliot shares his concerns about Arsene turning back to Oliver Giroud while Paul and Tim reject such fears. The lack of starts for Lucas Perez brings about another Arsenal Vision Podcast bet, how many starts will the Spaniard get from now until the end of the season. All this and plenty more all discussed in this weeks Arsenal Vision podcast
In today's Arsenal Vision Post Match Podcast: Elliot (@YankeeGunner), Paul (@PoznanInMyPants) and Tim (@Stillberto) talk about the 2-1 defeat at the hands of Manchester City away from home in the Premier League. Basically the crew whoop the player and managers arse from start to finish and rightly so after what was an awful afternoon of football for Arsenal *sigh*
Arsenal are no longer a team of kids. They have title winners, European Champions and World Champions amongst their ranks and still this team lack the mental fortitude to challenge for a league title. On a number of occasions, in both the Everton and City game, Alexis could be seen berating his colleagues for not supporting him in pressing the opponents. He was constantly trying to cajole Oxlade Chamberlain, Theo Walcott, Mesut Ozil and the midfield pairing to put pressure on the opposition’s defence. Yet each time he was left out to dry.