ARSENAL V BESIKTAS: Things We Learnt From The Stalemate Draw

WHAT DID WE LEARN FROM YESTERDAY'S UNDER PAR PERFORMANCE?

Before Tuesday's encounter with Besiktas, the manager had pointed out that his squad was 'a bit short' in the back following Gibbs knock from last weekend's 2-1 win against Crystal Palace. Wenger on his pre-match cpresser had sited that his team would soon be suffering from fatigue knowing well that he's set to play Everton and the Turkish side again in a span of one week.
Monreal was called upon to replace the injured Englishmen with French striker Giroud earning a call up after Sanogo pulled his hamstring on weekend as Gunners looked to make it to the group stage for the 15th consecutive season.

““I have a good experience in the Champions League,” he said. “I know you have to be pragmatic and realistic and just go game by game. First we have to qualify. It’s a very difficult task and we know we have two difficult games. Before speaking about anything else we know we have to put in two big performances against Besiktas.”  This was evident that le boss knew how tough Turkish opponents are especially in thier home turfs. This is what i learned from yesterday's below par performance from the squad.
1.Giroud still sh*t!
For 2 years now i have always voiced my disappointment courtesy of the French man's displays. Whatever Wenger saw in him is still hard to fathom. Slow, too protective, lack of motivation and his lazy self gives me chills whenever he's on the ball. With an incredible 40 goals in 80 appearances, the 6 ft 4 in model is far away from reaching his full potential, if at all his performances yesterday are something to go about. Wondering why he's trending? THAT Wembley goal? no! he was terrible infront of the goal and not even QPR would come begging for his services not even on a loan deal. From sweeping the floor with his signature falls to miss timing Ramsey's looped pass, the 27 year old former Montpellier forward is total shit!

2. Chambers certainly wasn't a gamble!

 After completing his12M Pounds switch from Soton, Wenger termed the 19 year old's deal as a 'gamble' due to his market price and his tender age. However after the youngster made his debut in a Gunners shirt against Benfica, it looked like the manager was trolling us instead! tidy passes, an aerial threat and a solid defensive performance was just a glimpse of what the versatile defender is made of. He went on to keep a clean sheet against City and also against Besiktas in a night he was making his Champions League debut! Even with Mertesacker [BFG] yet to play this season, his superb partneship with Koscielny indicates he's ready to be the German's heir.

3.Sanchez should play upfront.
The 25 year old Chilean star is fast settling well to life in England especially at the Emirates, he's certainly picked up from where he left during his Nation's successful World Cup campaign. His exploits down the flanks is something the manager should put into consideration. Ozil should be back in the team soon and with Sanchez infront of him will give Arsenal the extra push we've lacked seasons back. The star is being wasted having all his cut back balls killed by the ever slow Giroud when he should be the guy on the receiving end.
His pace, predatory instincts are the assets we should start putting into use right about now and let Giroud rot on the bench. He looked dangerous down the right combining well with Debuchy and Ramsey for the larger parts of the game.

4.Wenger should not fear dropping Arteta.
I don't want to question Wenger's decision on appointing the new 'Mr. Arteta' as our captain, of course he has the experience and the leadership skills which won us the last two pieces of silverware, but will Wenger keep on relying on the Spaniard? The skipper hobbled off last night and was replaced by Flamini in the 50th minute. I respect the boss' genius skills after he transformed him from an attacking midfielder to a defensive midfielder, but what was the sense of re-signing Flamini if he can't entrust him with the CDM role? the Frenchman represents the no nonsense nature which gives his back four the absolute wall they lack infront of them. With the captain likely to miss out for a couple of games, let's hope Flamini will step up to the plate and prove to Wenger that he can own the position!
5.  Ramsey's Red card a blessing in disguise.
The 23 year old Welsh captain, yesterday received his marching orders in his entire club career after picking up two bookable offences with 10 minutes to go. Cazorla and the dynamic Ox did well to cover the gap but Rambo's absence was solely missed. With his services not required in the UCL not unless we make it through the qualifier, his marching orders should be a blessing in disguise.

Ozil might be in line to start in the return leg hence play alongside Santi and Sanchez in 4-1-4-1 formation. His absence might also mean that Ox could replace him in the center of the park and that should add more pace in the team which will be under pressure to deliver. Since we'll be playing the Toffees next weekend, Ramsey should play his heart out without having to conserve any energy ahead of the return leg.
                                               



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