Arsenal: New season woes holds them back in Premier League
By Adam Jackson
With the upcoming fixture at King Power against reigning league champions Leicester City, Arsenal and Arsene Wenger will seemingly have a handicap with early injuries and unavailable players.
This case showed itself to effect the level of play of the perennial powerhouse against Liverpool that cost the Champions League qualifiers an opening week loss.
The Gunners will be at an even greater disadvantage in the upcoming match as midfielder Aaron Ramsey is suffering from a hamstring injury sustained in the second half of the home opener putting him out 2-3 weeks and winger Alex Iwobi has suffered a thigh injury that will keep him out of play until after the international break.
Arsenal opened the season shorthanded without the likes of Mesut Ozil, Olivier Giroud, and Laurent Koscielny due to an extended break after international play deeming the trio unfit to play.
This exclusion caused major problems for the Gunners, defensively especially giving away a flurry of goals from a back-footed Liverpool Squad. Wenger has been quoted to say of the trio’s participation that “We will try, but when they have not enough preparation they get injured”.
As was the case with Aaron Ramsey’s sustained match injury post Wales deep run in Euro 2016. Moreover, Wenger has been cited to almost certainly include French defender Laurent Koscielny while holding a more conservative approach with Ozil and Giroud.
While the introduction of newly acquired midfielder Granit Xhaka produced very little for the Gunner side, the inclusion of Oxlade-Chamberlain and forced substitution of Santi Cazorla thrusted Arsenal into an unforeseen comeback.
The energy of Oxlade-Chamberlain and ability to beat tired Liverpool legs in defense was none the more evident than in his splitting run to a goal. The width that he provided and ethic in tracking gave Arsenal the lift they needed to turn some of the early departing fans around.
Moreover, the service that Cazorla displayed not only on his set piece assist to draw the match within a goal, but also in the precise corner kicks gave the forwarded Gunner offensive opportunity to net goals. While the substitution of Ramsey, despite a valuable showing in tight possession and drawing fouls, was unexpected, the resultant inclusions and outcomes gave Arsenal a glimmer of home not expected after conceding a slew of second half goals to a reactive Liverpool squad.
The insertion of midfielder Mohamed Elneny into the Arsenal starting squad should be considered no more than a disappointment as his play did lit to effect the side either offensively or defensively.
Similarly, Francis Coquelin committed himself to more foul play than offensive precision and would possibly have seen substation had Ramsey and Iwobi not been changed due to injury.
The possibility of the insertion of Jack Wilshere into the dismantled midfield lays contingent upon the status of his knee.
The current status of Arsenal has Wenger pulling on threads and reaching into the depth charts creating a starting squad outside of his preferred selections. Going into the weekend mix, both Leicester and Arsenal will have burning desire for a result to establish another top class season.
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Leicester, however, will have confidence in a recognizable squad and the knowledge that Riyad Mahrez will be a Fox for the foreseeable future whereas the Gunner side will be less than cohesive.