Watching the North London derby:- a disappointing result, but 3 things really stood out from the game.
1.) Bringing in Per Mertesacker was a good move by Wenger, but it is still painfully obvious they are still lacking depth in that position and need to strengthen if they are ever going to seriously make another run for an EPL title in the next few years. Alex Song’s creativity and bite in the midfield is missed vastly when Wenger drops him back as a CB and Arsenal seem to give the ball away much more. Arsenal’s goal came from when Song was pushed forward and made an excellent run past the lack-luster VDV to find Ramsey who slotted it home. Hopefully Wenger will make a push to secure Gary Cahill’s signature in the upcoming January Transfer Window to improve their depth and strength in that position.
2.) I was not the biggest fan of Wojciech Szczesny towards the end of last season and was one of the people who wanted to see Wenger bring in a more experienced goalkeeper in Maarten Stekelenburg or Hugo Lloris, but I must admit that Szczesny has been nothing short of fantastic this season both for club and country. Yes, he probably should have saved Walker’s shot today but the dip and swerve combined with the pace on the ball was no easy thing. It would have helped had Gervinho closed him down a bit more but it was well struck. Szczesny made a lot of good saves today including a wide open break away from Emmanuel Adebayor and a key save early in the match against Parker after an error pass from Song in the back. I am proud now though to say that we have this man between the sticks, and I think he will become a world class keeper one day, if he isn’t already.
3.) Formation. What do you all think? Should Arsenal stick with their 4-2-3-1 or should Wenger think about reverting back to his old school 4-4-2 where he had huge success back in the good old Highbury days? RVP+Park up top could be a interesting combination. Let me know what you think.
by Mike Earnest