If the truth be told here in the Football Transfer Tavern, our resident Arsenal supporters are feeling rather down having witnessed a horror show of a performance against Olympiakos on Tuesday night in the Champions League.
Going down 2-3 to the Greek side who had never won a Champions League game in England prior to Tuesday’s triumph, it was a bitterly disappointing night for Arsene Wenger who had of course watched his side lose their first group game to Dinamo Zagreb.
Now needing at least four points against Bayern Munich over the next two games Arsenal will play against the Bavarian giants home and away, it is looking like an incredibly difficult task to pull off and many Gooners’ anger stems from the fact that Wenger has rested Petr Cech and other first team stars from both group games so far.
With big weekend Premier League fixtures against both Chelsea and Manchester United following the Zagreb and Olympiakos games, it appears Wenger has rested players with those games in mind while thinking he can get away with a weakened squad but when has the long-serving Gunners boss ever done this in the past?
Almost as if he is resigning himself to the fact that his squad aren’t good enough to compete in both the Champions League and Premier League this term, our Arsenal supporters are very angry with none of that contingent wanting to see their side playing Thursday night’s in the Europa League which they’ve mocked Tottenham for seemingly since the start of time!
Putting their anger and disappointment to one side for a second, Arsenal are still fourth in the Premier League table right now and that’s why we’ve devised a list of the five most improved Gunners stars this 2015/16 season.
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Click on the image below to reveal the five most improved Arsenal players this 2015/16 season.
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Theo Walcott
While talk surrounding Emirates Stadium this summer dominated Arsenal needing to sign a new top class forward, we mustn’t forget that Theo Walcott has now bagged an incredible 13 goals in 14 starts for the Gunners, primarily playing through the middle as a central striker.
Don’t get us wrong, Walcott still misses some golden chances with it being clearly apparent that the club would benefit from boasting the likes of Karim Benzema on their books but at the same time, who can argue with a tally of 12 in 13?
Walcott has always appeared to be more ice cool in front of goal when he has less time to think about striking the ball into the back of the net but having seen his strikes against Stoke City and Dinamo Zagreb particularly, he has proved he can effectively get onto the end of well weighted through balls while tucking away with aplomb.
Nacho Monreal
While his renaissance took place in the second half of last season with the Spaniard continuing his fine form this, we mustn’t forget that it was only this time last year that Nacho Monreal was Arsenal scapegoat number one.
With the scapegoat tag now firmly reserved for Olivier Giroud instead, can you remember the days in which Monreal was pressed into completing emergency duties at centre back because Arsene Wenger was incompetent in replacing the Barcelona bound Thomas Vermaelen?
Having never played at centre back in his career prior to last season, the former Malaga man didn’t complain but did put in a series of error-laden performances which cost the Gunners early on but it wasn’t really Monreal’s fault.
When Laurent Koscielny returned to the fold, Monreal was placed back in his natural left back position and didn’t look back, leaving Kieran Gibbs firmly on the substitutes bench while going on to play a key role all the way up until the FA Cup Final and lets not forget, his big goal at Manchester United helped the Gunners reach that stage.
The mark of Monreal’s improvement has been the fact that when Kieran Gibbs has been called upon so far this season, Arsenal’s left hand side looks that much more vulnerable with the England international having lost his way a little since breaking through back in 2007.
Hector Bellerin
Like Nacho Monreal on the left hand side of defence, Hector Bellerin was another who was a pleasant surprise for Arsenal supporters in the second half of last season with the former Barcelona academy product seemingly on the rise in the game.
An incredibly pacey customer of course, Bellerin gives Arsenal a different dimension when raiding up the right hand side of the pitch with the Spaniard being one of few Gunners players who actually crosses the ball directly into the box rather than tip-tapping intricate passes back infield when getting to the byline.
Don’t get us wrong, with Bellerin being an attack-minded full back, he can sometimes leave his defensive duties lacking but at the same time, he boasts the recovery pace to get back effectively.
Huge credit needs to go to the former Watford loanee due to the fact that he endured a very poor competitive debut away to Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League last season but since then, he’s firmly left £12 million man Mathieu Debuchy questioning what exactly his role is at Emirates Stadium nowadays.
Francis Coquelin
Like the aforementioned duo of Monreal and Bellerin, Francis Coquelin is another who has maintained his excellent performances so far this season.
The biggest surprise of all for Gooners last season, Coquelin was brought back into the fold by Arsenal Wenger when injuries to Mikel Arteta and Mathieu Flamini meant he needed to recall the French outcast from a loan spell with Charlton Athletic.
Whatever the Addicks taught him in his brief spell with the East London side was well received in North London with Coquelin now embracing the hard-man role as a tough tackler who most critically gives this Arsenal side a lot more squad balance and athleticism in the middle of the park.
A lot of Arsenal fans have reservations over Arteta’s ability as a holding midfielder so it was clearly noticeable what a difference Coquelin made in terms of his striding runs and slide tackling abilities when he was brought back to the club last term.
He’s included in this countdown simply due to the fact that many rival fans believed his renaissance would be short lived but he’s proving that he is truly a top class professional right now.
Mesut Ozil
Yes, Arsenal fans will claim he was absolutely anonymous again in Tuesday night’s terrible loss to Olympiakos at Emirates Stadium but prior to that showing, Mesut Ozil looked somewhat back to his best against Leicester City away last weekend.
Setting up the goal for Alexis Sanchez’s second on the afternoon at the King Power Stadium, a lot of Arsenal’s play in the second-half was slick, fast and intricate with Ozil being at the heart of it.
Described as an ‘unreal performance’ by several of our Gooners here in the tavern, Ozil has grown far more consistent in his performances compared to when he first joined the club from Real Madrid but our Arsenal supporters would just love to see him string five great performances together rather than in two’s and three’s.
