In defence of Xhaka he gave the ball away up the field, yes. But Stoke had a 2 v 3, and we got cut open after Mustafi dove in and Monreal didn't cover quickly enough.
The Ox - keep him if he's happy playing wing back, if not get some money and re-invest.
Welbeck - should be selling him ahead of loaning Lucas, for all of our forward players and their talent, he's the one that actually performs the worst. The anti-theo is a great call.
Mustafi - his Arsenal career to date seems to be like Koscielny's, Kosc took a couple of years to really come into his own, suspect that's the same here. Would still love us to force the issue with Van D,
Xhaka - I really rate him, he's a deep lying play maker who can make a tackle. He ran the show against Chelsea and also played really well against Leicester - wasn't at his best today - although I feel we would have been better if we'd kept him on the pitch instead of Walcott as Mustafi was the one trying long balls/play making from deep and he's not that guy.
Has Xhaka made a tackle in the last 2 games? If he has, I don't remember it. He is a very poor tackler and also has a distinct lack of speed - if he gets caught up the field and he is unable to get back in time to defend. He also has the slowest turning circle I've seen since Emile Heskey.
The more I see him, the more I do not rate him. He would be great if we had another midfielder next to him that would mask his deficiencies, but we don't have that luxury with Elneny, Coquelin and Ramsey. I love his long raking passes and balls over the top, but the negatives far outweigh the positives for me.
In saying that, he's still the best/only option we currently have with Cazorla gone.
Anyway, I also rate Wenger 0/10 for this game - he is back to his infuriating best. Saying that he thought the defence didn't play to his expectation etc - well, no shark, you played two full backs at CB away against Stoke of all times. Asking for trouble.
I also like how when we are actually trying to win the game, we switch to a back 4. Perhaps we should play a back 4 at the start of the game instead of waiting until we go behind.
I really don't think the back 3 is an improvement, even when all players are back. It's a con. The fans have been so desperate for any sort of change after years of staleness, that they see it as the salvation.The reality is that the stats haven't improved. The play hasn't improved. We're still inconsistent.
