Ahead of Arsenal’s home game in the Champions League against Dinamo Zagreb this evening, our resident Gooners in the Football Transfer Tavern are still seething about Saturday’s missed opportunity away at West Bromwich Albion.
Taking the lead relatively early on, the Gunners simply pressed the self-destruct button on a weekend whereby the likes of Leicester City, Manchester United and Tottenham capitalised.
The manner in which Arsenal defended at The Hawthorns on Saturday afternoon, not to mention an injury picked up by Francis Coquelin that’ll keep the Gunners’ linchpin out of action for three months made it a day to forget for the men from North London.
Add into the mix the fact that West Brom only registered a single shot on target to eventually succeed 2-1, not to mention the horrific last gasp penalty miss by Santi Cazorla and you can see why this particular loss has proved hard to shake in the minds of Arsenal fans.
With Coquelin now out for a huge portion of the season, the Gunners would be wise to replace him with a top quality replacement in January but today it is a striker that Metro claim is interesting Arsenal right now.
The player is Inter Milan’s clinical forward Mauro Icardi who is struggling at the San Siro after being made captain at the start of the season. With this potential swoop in mind, how would he look in the Gunners’ best eleven?
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Click on the image below to reveal the dream Arsenal XI including Mauro Icardi.
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Petr Cech
Undoubtedly a huge signing for Arsenal in the summer, the Gunners’ rearguard has most definitely been improved this term with the experienced Czech Republic international between the sticks.
Surely one of the best no-brainer bargain buys of the last decade, Cech has managed to keep Arsenal in games far longer than they might have been otherwise, for example Bayern Munich at home.
It’s just ridiculous in the eyes of Arsenal supporters that Wenger didn’t go out and supplement this fantastic signing with some equal outfield quality because given the totally inevitable injuries to the likes of Theo Walcott and Francis Coquelin, the team are down to the bare bones now and more than likely to pay it for it over the next couple of months.
Hector Bellerin
Far from his best against West Brom on Saturday, the usually impressive young Spaniard was at fault for Mikel Arteta’s eventual own goal with Bellerin not using his explosive pace to get back to the byline quick enough to prevent James McClean from getting the ball across the Gunners’ box.
Like many other Arsenal players, it was a huge off day for Bellerin who burst onto the scene fantastically well as a surprise package alongside Coquelin last season.
Firmly dislodging Mathieu Debuchy from the Gunners’ starting line-up, the experienced French international who was meant to be a permanent fixture in the team after signing from Newcastle United is now nothing more than a cup player.
Gabriel Paulista
Given Per Mertesacker put in another laboured performance against West Brom at the weekend, we’re going with Gabriel Paulista at centre back with the German World Cup winner putting in a terrible performance where he was pinned by Jonas Olsson for James Morrison’s opener.
Gabriel hasn’t been faultless this term, stupidly getting caught up in Diego Costa’s mind games at Stamford Bridge but on the whole, he’s looked relatively solid and ultimately more agile than Mertesacker although that isn’t hard claim a few of our Gooners by the bar.
Tough and tenacious in the tackle, Gabriel is something of a fan favourite at Emirates Stadium for this rugged style that the club have been missing in recent years and right now, Gooners want him back in the team as Laurent Koscielny’s partner.
Laurent Koscielny
Usually incredibly dependable, you know that when Laurent Koscielny is not at the races, it’s going to be a tough day for Arsenal.
The French international is typically the glue that sticks this Arsenal defence together but as we saw in his performance at The Hawthorns, things such as his misplaced header back to Petr Cech proved he may be feeling the strain from emotional international duty with Les Bleus lately.
The good news for Arsenal supporters however is that the 30-year-old doesn’t often put these kind of performances in and has quite rightly been billed as being amongst the top five centre backs in the Premier League in the last couple of seasons.
Nacho Monreal
Rarely letting down the Arsenal cause nowadays, it’s been a remarkable turnaround in fortunes for Nacho Monreal at Emirates Stadium.
At one stage, the former Malaga left back fitted that deadwood category with Gooners rendering him not good enough to compete with Kieran Gibbs at full back.
Right now, that’s all change with the England international firmly the second choice behind the incredibly consistent Monreal who deserves tremendous praise for turning his Arsenal career around for the better from the mid-point of last season.
Francis Coquelin
It was always going to happen wasn’t it.
It’s just a shame that everybody saw it coming apart from one man – Arsene Wenger.
The Gunners’ seasonal injury problems are bordering on the absolute ridiculous now and nobody can put their finger on just why the club suffers so many injuries that definitely scuppers their chances of achieving success.
Coquelin has proved himself to be an indispensable member of Arsenal’s squad after the conclusion of his loan spell at Charlton Athletic last season and every Gooner was under the impression that if he got injured this term, the club could be in big, big trouble.
Arsenal fans’ worst fears were realised when the Frenchman was ruled out for three months this week meaning that the club will have to rely on Mikel Arteta, Mathieu Flamini and possibly even Calum Chambers in the holding role for what is always a crucial period in the season.
Most Gooners can’t help but feel incredibly angry at their manager for yet again being stubborn and arrogant enough to think that he didn’t need to go out and land a top quality alternative such as Grzegorz Krychowiak or Geoffrey Kondogbia in the summer.
It is for these reasons that some Arsenal fans have a highly valid argument that Wenger doesn’t know what he’s doing in transfer windows.
Santi Cazorla
It all started so well for Santi Cazorla in the holding role alongside Francis Coquelin from the mid-point of last season but this term, the undoubtedly top quality Spaniard has been struggling in this deeper role.
An attack-minded midfielder for his entire career so far, Wenger pretty much stumbled on the Coquelin – Cazorla midfield partnership last season through a combination of injuries and suspensions but lets have it right, the duo had complimented each other incredibly well for a sustained spell.
Now however, it looks as if a change is required in central midfield with Cazorla having been overran by stronger, more physical opponents from Bayern Munich, Tottenham and West Bromwich Albion lately despite the player being ill in the middle game.
All of that said, Cazorla is one of Arsenal’s go-to players and when on song, he’s an absolute joy to watch with the Spaniard being able to get himself out of the tightest spots with his ambidextrous abilities.
Theo Walcott
How the Arsenal side miss this man’s talents right now.
Alexis Sanchez aside, Arsene Wenger’s men looked devoid of pace at The Hawthorns on Saturday afternoon with the Gunners’ performance sending Arsenal fans to sleep in all honesty with a ridiculous amount of side to side passes which meant they weren’t going anywhere fast.
Walcott had been blossoming in a centre forward’s role so far this term with Arsene Wenger’s gamble / ploy to get the pair to bring the best out of each other working well to be honest.
But since the England international’s injury sustained away at Sheffield Wednesday, Arsenal have really lacked his pace and direct style.
We’ve deployed him on the right wing where he’s previously proved he can be a real threat to accommodate Icardi who if brought in for big money, would command the spot as the centre forwards.
Mesut Ozil
Thankfully for Arsenal supporters, they have seen much, much more from their all-time club record signing Mesut Ozil so far this season.
Last season and the campaign before that, Ozil was simply an easy scapegoat for Arsenal supporters with the German international looking laboured while not tracking back after losing his man.
That is all forgotten this term however with the World Cup winner more than making up for his previous mediocre form with hugely influential displays that have resulted in Ozil racking up 11 assists in 13 Premier League games so far this season.
The current record holder for the most assists in a single season is Thierry Henry with 20 in the 2002/03 campaign and Ozil is right on course to beat this total.
Alexis Sanchez
With Arsenal lacking ideas on Saturday, it was yet again the hard work and skill of Alexis Sanchez that nearly got the Gunners out of a hole with the tireless Chilean earning the late penalty when Chris Brunt tugged him down in the Baggies’ box.
Unfortunately, it was a horror show for Santi Cazorla but Alexis proved for the umpteenth time that he’s up for the fight.
On occasions this term, even Arsenal fans have suggested that resting Sanchez might be good for him with the player usually making himself available for every domestic and international fixture plus the travel but Alexis really seems one of those players who doesn’t do ‘burn out’.
With Coquelin now out injured, Alexis is another of those indispensable players that simply can’t get injured if Arsenal want to achieve that Premier League title this term.
Mauro Icardi
And so, up top is Inter Milan’s Mauro Icardi, the man who Arsenal are reportedly ready to make a bid for in the January transfer window, according to Metro.
Most definitely fitting that marquee striker category of signing with the Argentine having smashed in 35 goals in 69 Serie A appearances since trading Sampdoria for the Nerazzurri back in 2013.
Named captain at the fallen Italian giants at the start of the season by Roberto Mancini, the player has struggled with this new-found responsibility but if he were to sign at Emirates Stadium, he could concentrate on his day job of scoring goals and nothing more.
In truth as we’ve discussed, Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud were bringing the best out of each other earlier this season but every Arsenal supporter knew that they needed to sign another top quality forward with just two forwards simply not being enough to battle on four fronts in 2015/16.
Maybe Icardi can be their man in January although most Gooners are rolling their eyes here in the tavern that Wenger will again shy away from spending big in the New Year.
