da realsbet： This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…
da brdice： Arsenal’s second-highest scorer in history, Ian Wright, questioned why Unai Emery did not start Mesut Ozil or Dani Ceballos against Manchester United on Monday whilst covering the match for Optus Sport.
What did he say?
The Gunners faced the Red Devils earlier this week at Old Trafford in what was a rather dour game played out by two of the Premier League’s fallen giants. In the end, the match ended as a 1-1 draw.
Watch the Flying Pig tear into Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Jesse Lingard following Man Utd’s limp draw with Arsenal in the video below…
In midfield, Emery chose to go with three defensively-minded players in Granit Xhaka, Lucas Torreira and Matteo Guendouzi. Wright, it seems, did not agree with this gameplan, saying at half-time: “In respects to the selection, you look at it now, yes, no Ozil, no Ceballos, creative midfield players.
“No one to really get the ball and control the game from an Arsenal perspective so Arsenal can get on the ball and maybe get their players into it.
“Everything is on the actual counter-attack so its going to be interesting to see what he does because at the moment it looks like we’re just waiting for something to happen and then give it to our top man Aubameyang to nick a goal and I don’t think it’s a good enough tactic.”
Too negative from Emery
It is baffling as to why the former Sevilla boss chose to start with that trio in the middle of the park. First and foremost, they are all similar types of players. Their best play comes facing their own goal rather than attacking the opponents’ net. Between them, they have a combined total of 15 goals and 25 assists in 254 appearances for the north London outfit (Torreira: 3G and 5A in 58; Guendouzi: 1G and 4A in 55; Xhaka: 11G and 16A in 141).
Against Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side, there was no need to play so pragmatically. In the last two games before this fixture, the 20-time English champions had lost 2-0 against West Ham and were taken to penalties by Rochdale. They were clearly a side low on confidence, and were there for the taking.
Watch Arsenal Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below
Ceballos and Ozil would have both added some extra attacking quality to the team, and that could have seen the Gunners edge proceedings. The former already has two assists since joining in the summer, whilst the latter, with 52 goals created in the Premier League for Arsenal, is in the top 40 on the all-time list.
The plan could still have been for Aubameyang to nick a goal, but he would have at least had more service in his attempts to do so. Wright’s theory of Ceballos and Ozil making the side more dangerous was eventually proven, even if not directly by either player.
The 23-year-old came on with 55 minutes on the clock, and within 200 seconds the Gunners were level through the Gabon international. Ceballos’ sheer presence and offensive intent alone seemed to create a few extra problems for United’s backline.
This should be a lesson for Emery. When a side is there for the taking and is in the midst of a poor run of form, they need to be put under pressure from the start. In this case, the 47-year-old showed too much respect, and that is something he must avoid in the future.