Arsenal: Post-January Verdict on Arsenal’s Squad Players

Arsenal’s team has been surprisingly constant throughout 2015/16. Against Burnley in the F.A. cup, some of the less prominent rotation players got starts.

In Arsenal’s most recent F.A. Cup match against Burnley, it was noticeable how much their win was powered forward by their star winger Alexis Sanchez. The Chilean was the engine. He was at the center of everything going forward for the Gunners, always looking fresh on the ball and driving at the Burnley defense.

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With the large number of squad rotation players in the side, it was crucial that the big players like Sanchez linked everything together. Even more important, however, is the progress of the new players Sanchez was attempting to ease into the Arsenal framework.

Mohamed Elneny made his first-team debut for Arsenal, and the Egyptian international showed fans at the Emirates something new in midfield. In a team filled with playmakers and one ball-winning midfielder, Elneny showed his nature as someone who does a bit of both, and his stamina was exceptional in that box-to-box role.

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Rather than somebody like Aaron Ramsey or Santi Cazorla – players who like to sit deep when Arsenal defend, but don’t make defensive effort unless they are required to – Elneny fills his role on defense. He then quickly moves up to provide the players stationed further forward with a passing option.

If Elneny can replicate that play in the Premier League, he will not only add serious tactical depth to the Arsenal squad but also alleviate a large burden on his midfield teammate Francis Coquelin. While Coquelin’s midfield teammates have been making efforts to get back on defense this season, the French defensive midfielder often finds himself making tackles on his own in the middle of the park. Meanwhile his midfield companions are away from the ball looking for a counter-attack igniting pass. Elmeny is by no means a piece of steel for the Gunners’ midfield. But his stamina on both sides of the ball and instinct to go up and down the field is brilliant.

David Ospina and Gabriel Paulista also made starts for the first time in a while, and both of them clearly need more match experience with their teammates. Gabriel was beaten by Burnley’s target man Sam Vokes. It was visible the Brazilian could not cope with target men of Vokes’ stature and he struggled as a result. While Gabriel faltered in the aerial duels, Ospina also could have done a better job of communicating with Gabriel and Koscielny – something that I didn’t spot once on camera all game.

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The most notable of all the rare first-team appearances was Alex Iwobi’s third first-team appearance. It comes as a welcome sight for the fans who demand that Arsenal produce home-grown talent. Granted, Iwobi is not a boy from North London, but he is a player who has earned his spot through the academy and it is promising for both him and Jeff Reine-Adelaide to be competing with older first team players for places.

This was definitely Iwobi’s best game. He played a central role in attacking midfield and held his own, contributing both passes and off-the-ball movement to the Arsenal attack that helped them muster a total of 23 shots throughout the game.

Iwobi’s movement is exactly what Arsenal need in central attacking midfield. Oddly enough, the young Nigerian – when he is in flow with his teammates – makes runs similar to Mesut Ozil that open up space for other attacking players.

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Arsenal have work to do if they want to achieve their title ambitions this season. Their squad has remained surprisingly constant for this season so far, but at the moment there are players in a lot of areas of the pitch who offer solid backup: as we saw against Burnley, in attacking midfield, defensive midfield, goalkeeper and center back.