Arsenal: Chelsea match will make Denis Suarez verdict clear

Arsenal really, really need to win this match against Chelsea, but regardless of the result, we should get a clear sense of what should happen with Denis Suarez.

Arsenal‘s big problem against West Ham was an inability to create chances. No matter who we were counting on, wingbacks or midfielders, there just wasn’t a lot there. That may just be a coincidence, though. Thus far into the season, the wingbacks have been incredibly reliable and the midfield has been as strong suit.

That said, with the January transfer window open and loan moves waiting to be made, the fact remains that we don’t know for sure what is needed to help the club move forward. That said, Chelsea should give us a really clear indication of what is actually needed. And that stems from a variety of reasons.

For staters, while I really want to believe that West Ham was an anomaly, I still have lingering doubts that our creative midfield is anywhere near it needs to be. I believe in Iwobi, I believe in Ramsey, but the former has had his drop-offs and the latter is leaving.

So what we need to see from Chelsea is whether or not there is enough reliability in the midfield to create chances consistently, because that is, essentially, what Suarez is being called in to do, from my understanding.

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He needs to be a solution in a developing problem, obviously.

But it’s not just in the matter of consistent chances that this Chelsea match will be a telltale sign for if Suarez is an actual necessity. It will be in how Ozil is used, if at all. If he isn’t used in any capacity in this one, I think it’s safe to say that Emery has made it clear that he has no intention of making Ozil a part of the future.

And that being the case, it’s imperative that Suarez comes in, if for nothing else than just to just have another body in the midfield that can be counted on to play a position.

Same goes with Ramsey. I can’t help but feel that as the season wears on, Emery will be less and less inclined to utilize the Welshman, particularly in the starting XI.

Thus, if Ramsey and Ozil are both left out of the XI, and the latter further even out of the squad, then it becomes clearer that Suarez isn’t just a fun idea to banter about, but an absolute necessity based on attrition alone.