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Arsene Wenger Has Major Strategic Hurdle To Leap For Arsenal
By Josh Sippie
Leicester City was never going to be an easy opponent. They have an insane amount of momentum and their attack lead by Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy is incredibly quick and potent on the counter attack.
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Arsenal are going to be without Gabriel Paulista. The FA ruled that he will serve a one-match suspension. As such, that leaves Per Mertesacker. While the BFG is still a quality defender, his questionable match fitness and not questionable speed make him a potential liability against the Fox’s attack.
That lapse of speed already puts Arsenal in a tough scenario defensively. Add to that the fact that Francis Coquelin is going to be out as well and we have a major problem on our hands. Arsene Wenger may opt to start Mikel Arteta, the captain, in his stead.
This cannot happen.
Mikel Arteta is incredibly lacking in pace and would be like a midfield Mertesacker. He would be an utter liability like we saw against Dinamo Zagreb. Arteta is not a defensive midfielder. He does not tackle. He does not intercept. He is slow.
Arsene Wenger could also start Mathieu Flamini, the current (and very temporary) hero of North London. While that would not be the worst decision in the world, it would be the second worst. Flamini is a defensive liability as well. We need someone in the midfield who can mount some sort of defensive relevance. Flamini cannot. While he has passion and while I would not mind seeing him in more games, starting against Leicester is not a good idea.
What Arsene Wenger absolutely must do is slide Aaron Ramsey into the center of the pack next to Santi Cazorla and start Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain out wide. Ramsey may not be a defensive midfielder either, but he is much more capable than Flamini or Arteta. Plus, we already have to sacrifice defense. That is what happens when Coquelin gets hurt. So we might as well get as many offensive weapons out on to the field. If we can’t stop them, we can at least try to keep pace with them.
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Putting the Ox out wide opposite of Alexis with Theo Walcott in the center gives Arsenal an attack that can match the speed of Leicester’s. The Fox’s center backs are not a fast bunch and their full backs like to get forward. This could provide Arsenal with plenty of chances. They just have to be able to spread the pitch wide and not clump up. Starting Ramsey wide, where he does not belong, leads to clumping.
At the very least, Ramsey will be hounding the ball. He plays physically and aggressively, unlike Arteta. Flamini plays that way, but he is rarely effective.
If I see Mikel Arteta as the Arsenal line leader in the tunnels before the match, I may cry.
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