Match Report | Match highlights | Wenger’s thoughts | Credits: Squawka
This was a game we could have gotten more out of… For a team chasing fourth place and nominal Champions League qualification, yesterday was a grand result. A draw away from home against the reigning champions – even if they look half the team as they did four months ago – is something very valuable in that respect.
However, and I hope this goes without saying, a potential champion would have won that match. I understand that the players aren’t ready and that the team isn’t finalized yet (and who’s fault is that?) but that cannot be an excuse for dropping points.
Chelsea are in a similar bedding period like we are with a new manager and all, and don’t seem to be at the races. And as much as we all loathe them, it’s notable that they are stealing wins despite largely uninspiring performances. There’s a lesson to be learned from that. Points that are up for grabs before the end of the transfer window holds just as much value as the ones after. And so far, we’ve dropped five of them.
Laurent Koscielny’s return helped shore things up… Needless to say, the Frenchman was excellent. Whenever Leicester looked to go long to Jamie Vardy and create a half-chance, he zoomed in from nowhere to take the ball away. He closed down the space for Vardy and Riyad Mahrez when they were in more than promising positions, ensuring they skewed their chances wide.
Our defence looked twice as better as the debacle last week, merely with Koscielny coming in. There may be other factors to it, of course – the quality and momentum of the opposition, etc – but it’s hard not to imagine that Koscielny was a huge factor at play, and that our season may vary directly to his fitness.
Granit Xhaka was, okay… Truth be told, there was little Xhaka had on offer that really stamped his authority on the DM role. He wasn’t outrageously poor by any means – a couple of long balls and unorthodox passes stood out, but overall, his tackles and positioning was mildly worrying. It didn’t help that Francis Coquelin beside him was playing like Mathieu Flamini’s reincarnation.
Xhaka hasn’t imposed himself as he did for Switzerland in the EUROs yet, but the huge plus is that it’s still early days. The guy clearly has a lot of potential stored away somewhere, and an early bedding in period will help bring that out quicker. One only wishes that more transfers were completed with this pragmatic mindset. Result means
Offensively, we were poor… Poor is putting it politely. Insipid football has been a hallmark of Arsenal’s last season, and it doesn’t seem to have been rectified this time around. Alexis Sanchez was widely off the pace, and at times, genuinely didn’t seem all that interested. How could he? Leicester kept forcing us wide and we had no choice but to dink crosses in. No matter how good they may be, the probability of the likes of Walcott, Cazorla or Alexis getting their heads to them is minuscule.
I thought Walcott was brighter than people gave him credit for, but most of his perks were in the defensive realm. A couple of nice track backs stood out as a genuine form of determination to do something, which was good. And say what you will about the chances he missed – at least he was involved. Oxlade-Chamberlain, Santi and Sanchez sadly weren’t.
Mesut Ozil almost changed the game… It’s amazing how genuine quality can lift the spirits of the entire team. Ozil’s mere presence, more than his skill on his ball, was a tremendous up to how we played.
A neat turn on the byline led to a chance for Walcott, and there were some other moments that could have changed the game for us. It wasn’t meant to be, of course, but his introduction was symbolic of the boost this Arsenal team needs to realize their full potential.
Because look, whatever you may say about new recruits, we need them for morale as much as we need them for quality. Players like Oxlade-Chamberlain, Walcott and Chambers are not particularly atrocious players. They all have quality, and all of us have witnessed that at different points of time. All they need is some belief and motivation to coax it out.
P.S. Apologies for the short and late post. Busy times.
-Santi [Follow me on Twitter @ArsenalBlogz ]
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