Morning all.
I’m sure I’m not the only Arsenal who wants to see more of Viktor Gyokeres’ goal scoring celebration over the next four and a half months. There’s been a lot of negativity around him since the day he arrived at Arsenal. He’s too slow, he can’t hold the ball up and he doesn’t get into the right positions – just a few of the comments I’ve read about him and mostly, the criticism is coming from his own fans.
It’s clear to see he’s struggled a bit to adapt to the Premier League and the way Arsenal play but then I think the rest of the team/squad have struggled to adapt too. Has the Swede been disappointing? I’d be a fool to say no but he’s an Arsenal player so of course I want him to do well. Lambasting him at every given opportunity is pointless in my opinion and in any case, I’m a glass half full kind of person. This is a good time for him to show why Arsenal believed he was the right man for the job.
I suspect there will be many a debate going on between Arsenal fans about Sundays game against Manchester United and who should start up front. Gabriel Jesus or Viktor Gyokeres? Admittedly, Jesus scored two very good goals in the week but then Gyokeres scored a cracker too. The type of goal which many of us having been hoping to see more often. Don’t get me wrong, I couldn’t care less how the ball crosses the goal line but when there’s a shot on, take it because sometimes they go in.
The 6’ 4” frame of Senne Lammens will be the man to beat on Sunday. He’s an excellent shot stopper apparently and very good on crosses but, and this is only what I’ve read, he’s not comfortable playing out from the back. His preference is to go long with the majority of his distribution. He won’t like Arsenals high and hard press then will he?
Against City, this overnight success story created by Carrick, Utd did play out from the back and then through Martinez or Casemiro, they got the ball forward quickly. Mainoo also played a big part in their attacking play. But as good as Utd might have been, Man City were awful for large periods of the game. They had the majority of possession but managed just one shot on target. 109 backwards passes compared to Utd’s 50.
I’m not suggesting Utd got lucky, although they were very lucky not to be down to ten men early in the game, they played City at a good time. City have defensive injuries, they are going through a bit of a blip, a big blip I hope, Carrick had just replaced Amorim and of course, the game was at the old toilet.
Of course I was pleased Utd won because it helped Arsenal but this Sunday, I hope our attacking play is at its very best. Scrap that, our performance as a whole has to be at its best because we need all three points. The performances against both Liverpool and Nottingham Forest weren’t good enough in my opinion. Certainly not as far as our attacking play is concerned. If we can go to Milan and beat a very good Inter side, surely to goodness we can see of Utd?
Regardless of whether it’s Jesus who leads the front line or Gyokeres.
Catch up in the comments.