After we reported in an earlier Just Arsenal post that while posting on social media to dispel any further Arsenal transfer rumours about his possible move to Premier League rivals Liverpool, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain appeared to suggest that Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez would be staying with the club, Metro reported that the Chilean himself had dropped the biggest hint yet that his future was with the Gunners.
Alexis said, ‘I definitely feel like an important player and my teammates let me know every day. I try to prove that I am an important player every day and game after game. I believe we have the players and the quality to win many things.
‘I feel really happy and comfortable at the club. I want to give the fans a new title. We always get our fans’ support in the thin and the thick, which is great. We must win the Premier League or the Champions League for them.’
Seeing as how it was Sanchez that was thought to be the most likely not to sign a new deal, this sounds like great news for Arsenal fans. Assuming that the two stars do sign new contracts, perhaps as early as this month, will that be enough action for Arsenal or do you still think that Arsene Wenger needs to use the January transfer window to add more quality and options to the current Arsenal squad?
Bob.
Of course we need to get these two signed up but we have an important game today which is a must win, otherwise we will lose ground on the teams above us and Man U and Totts will overtake us. Hopefully Mustafi will be back today as he is available but Welbz is not ready yet but could be a surprise inclusion on our bench. I think Xhaka should start with Ramsey as though Le Coq runs around a lot, he flatters to deceive, as his distribution is not good and he gets caught out of position too much. No Theo either so the Ox needs to step up again to support Alexis. I think Iwobi will be on the bench with Giroud. Ozil is a given to play of course. We must win this! COYG.
Lmao, Coq is a must, he the only player capable of breaking counter attacks. Ramsey will be in CF position leaving xhaka alone who is not quick at all.
And please check your stats, Lecoq passing has improved to a point where it is pretty good.
Coquelin has completed 558 passes this season with a pass accuracy of 87%, of which 74% were forward passes.
Ouch
Forward passes in stats can be misleading, esp from a player who doesn’t create allot of chances. You could have many of them being so tight (diagonal) that you’d need a linesman to call it.
Avg pass length 15m btw
Yes stats nearly as good as Xhaka but he still does not impress me. My views based on being there watching, not looking at a stats website. Yes lots of forward passes but of little consequence and not penetrating. And in his last game he played b to b and just got in the way when in advanced positions.
But hey it’s a game of opinions and I should have mentioned: In My Humble Opinion when I posted.
I’m sure we all just want a win today, whoever plays and however it happens.
His job isn’t to make penetrating passes; his job is to stop counter attacks. The reason he is further up the pitch is not to really help in the attack but to prevent counters from higher up the pitch. He is the one that breaks up play with his interceptions, tackles, and the first player to hound the player on the ball and force them to take the slower winger-route of countering. That allows other players to get back and defend.
I think currently Coquelin is better than Xhaka as a defensive midfielder. No need to see their stats. If we want to compare them, replace Coquelin with Xhaka as a starter for a few games and see what will be the result.
Everytime a new stylish and cool-looking player comes into the team, most of the fans forget the old players that have been the backbones for the team and carried the team so far in this season. When Coquelin and Cazorla played, we dominated in the field and controlled the games.
Exactly, when Cazorla was playing.