As great as Arsenal were against AC Milan on Tuesday, I’m sure most fans will point to the moment that the Gunners were forced to a bring off Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and replace them with Marouane Chamakh and Park Chu-Young as a turning point. It was the moment that Arsenal’s frustrations were compounded and it became clear that they weren’t going to progress to the next round.
Theo Walcott, though remarkably inconsistent remains a game-changer. He’s the kind of player that can produce something merely on the basis of his pace alone and he had the beating of Milan’s full-backs all night. Then there’s Chamberlain who had put in an effervescent performance on the night showing signs of both ability and maturity. Strange that an 18-year-old hobbling off the pitch could effectively put an end to Arsenal’s chances.
The truth is Arsenal lost the tie because they didn’t have enough options to come off the bench when it was clear that the team were out on their legs. If Arsenal had two-or-three world class players they could have brought on things may have been different, but instead they had to rely on Chamakh and Park.
It’s not like you can blame injuries either. Yes Arsenal’s midfield has been torn asunder by injury, but Arsenal’s squad is severely lacking in strikers and that’s what they needed on Tuesday night. They needed somebody to grab that fourth goal to take them through to extra-time but they didn’t have that quality forward they needed to come on and change things.
Now I’d never paint Niklas Bendtner as any kind of Messiah. I’m well aware of his failings as a footballer. Yet surely he would have been a better option than a man Arsene Wenger doesn’t trust to play Premier League football and a man who hasn’t scored since September 2011? So what the heck is Bendtner doing out on loan at Sunderland?
He may be a lumbering, over-confident mess of a footballer, but he still has the knack for grabbing the occasional goal.
Wenger may be trying to put him in the shop window with the loan move so that he can get rid of him in the summer, but if that’s the case why hasn’t he brought in another striker in the two transfer windows since Bendtner’s loan deal was secured? How an earth can a club in the position of needing to score 4 goals against Milan have only one out-and-out striker on their roster?
It’s a sad, sad situation when you start to miss Nicklas Bendtner. Serious changes need to be made this summer.
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YOU sir are a FOOL. WAHT formation does aresnal play? The formation calls for ONE striker.You say u want wrodl calss we have that in RVP. Chamak in my opinion is better than Bendtner + park chu young well better than mose 3rd choics striker
Chamakh *should* be better, but really isn’t. What use is a striker who’s afraid of the goal? He’s a more experienced forward who should be capable of doing a job up front for us, but he rarely lives up to the form he showed for Bordeaux. I think Bendtner went out on loan basically because he was upset about last season and wanted to leave, but we couldn’t find a club to sign him permanently, so a season-long loan makes sense. For all his faults, he can at least find the net, and has the confidence to keep trying. He’s also very underrated in his set-up play, and while he may not look as polished as Chamakh does, at times, he actually sets up a lot more chances, probably more than Chamakh, from what I’ve seen.
I don’t know why Park hasn’t had more opportunities. He hasn’t had the chance to really settle into the squad and for me, he’s the best of the 3. His touch and close control is as good as any of them, he looks pretty strong, and may well be the best in the air. He has the confidence to shoot, and would certainly score more goals than CHamakh. The only issue with him is that he has struggled to get into games when given the chance, and I don’t think his movement has fitted the role he is playing. But ffs he has barely had a chance to really find his feet in the team. I’d feel 10x as confident that he would score when brought on, if we’re chasing a goal, than I do when chamakh is thrown on.
Ultimately, it looks as though Podolski will answer the problem of who to play when RVP is out or needs a rest, and Afobe will probably be no.3, but I feel we may be wasting Park for no good reason. It’s similar to vela really – some players just don’t seem to be given the chance, despite relatively good performances.
Podolski next season… niklas who??
Rubbish rubbish rubbish!! Are you forgetting that awesome miss against barca? He’s crap beyond crap, his attitude stinks and he should never wear our great shirt again. Especially with his comments when he left on loan!!! Write something about our current players rather than a c+@t OC the highest order!
Bendy rubbish , the miss against Barca stands out.. Hope Sunderland buys him on a perm.. We need to a creative mid & a quality finisher!
I agree with you, provided Bentner was a lot more hard working, humble and willing to spend time on the bench coming on as an impact sub. Sadly he isn’t and that makes him rubbish. Shame really, I can see him go the same way as Bentley and Pennant; both total wastes of talent.
Bendtner is a useles lazy cunt and you………