Pain in the Arsenal
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Newcastle vs Arsenal Preview: Sometimes It’s Painful to Watch

By Brian Wong

Mandatory credit: Ronnie Macdonald
Mandatory credit: Ronnie Macdonald /
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I say the following because if I don’t believe it I would probably start crying and not watch another Arsenal game this season: Arsenal will eventually capitalize on all those chances.

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When I watch the highlights of Arsenal’s first three league games it’s more like watching a video of almost highlights. Furthermore, if it wasn’t for some amazing saves by one Petr Cech and a mountain of luck, Arsenal could have very well started the season with 2 losses if not 3.

All throughout the summer, I talked about how Arsenal’s strength is its incredible offense, a dangerous mixture of fluidity and creativity. However, after 3 games all I can say is that it has truly been painful to watch some of these games.

Prediction: Newcastle 1-1 Arsenal

1) No cake walk at St. James’ Park

Tomorrow’s game will be quite hard and it will be ugly at times. The problems Arsenal are facing are not a quick fix, they are the result of thousands of small problems. Newcastle will play a physical game with stingy defense and once again we have to put faith in Arsenal’s offense figuring things out or think after the match what could have been.

Newcastle will definitely score against Arsenal tomorrow, and I foresee it coming in the form of a quick counter after Arsenal miss a thousand chances and could have, should have been up by multiple goals. Think of the first game of the season.

2) Wenger will always be Wenger

Unlike a normal person, after a loss Wenger seems to forget why his team lost. The team’s defense against set pieces is not getting any better despite its clear lack of ability to defend against set pieces. However, what drives me insane is why Ramsey is still playing on the right wing. Don’t get me wrong, Aaron Ramsey is an amazing player, and no matter what team he plays on he needs to be on the pitch. However his place is not on the right wing of a team that has players like Walcott and Oxlade-Chamberlain.

I thought Chamberain was going to definitely start last weeks game but I should have known that Wenger would never change his lineup unless someone is injured. Maybe that is why teams with great managers seem to always figure Arsenal out so quickly. Arsenal with Wenger at the helm is like a comedian with one great joke, after a while everyone knows it is coming.

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3) Giroud is Great but isn’t a Difference Maker

Great strikers are not determined by their ability to link up with their midfielders, or how they could hold up play up front. Great strikers, actually, great players are defined by moments. Sadly, Giroud is excellent in different facets of the game, however he is no difference maker. Giroud will show us that he can make those game changing moments like the one in Arsenal’s second game of the season, but then we would probably have to wait for another few months before it comes up again.

Sometimes I just wished the present day Arsenal would have Bergkamp and Henry up front leading the attack. Just watch some of their highlights and you will immediately understand what I mean when I say Giroud is an excellent player but he isn’t a difference maker.

Next: Do we want Ozil to be more selfish?

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