Arsenal’s performances have been far from ideal lately. But what needs to change?
Picking up just two wins from eight in the Premier League is relegation form and it’s hard to justify why some players continue to be selected.
It’s even harder to understand such selection decisions when a World Cup star in Joel Campbell is sitting on the bench.
The Costa Rican is not as comfortable in possession as Arsenal’s current midfielders, but he is unpredictable and creative.
He at least deserves a Premier League start to try and express his talent.
He’s hungry for success and keen to impress, and with Sunderland up next, now might be the time to unleash Campbell.
Another annoying selection habit from Arsene Wenger is to deploy Aaron Ramsey in a more advanced midfield role.
Instead of building on the previous campaign’s solid foundations, Wenger appears to have started from scratch and has been ignoring the strong points from last season.
Ramsey was prolific from deep last term because of his runs from midfield that were rarely tracked. His work ethic and harassing attitude is what made him such a quality player for the Gunners.
In this more advanced role Ramsey neglects all of his defensive duties and his runs are traced more easily by opponents due to his more offensive starting position.
I’m yet to see Ramsey perform in this new position, so I hope Wenger sees sense and returns to a 4-2-3-1 formation with Ramsey alongside Mikel Arteta.
I understand Wenger wanting to get the Wales international into more goalscoring positions, but if he’s playing further forward, we lose his tenacious battling ability in midfield.
I think Wenger is questioning Campbell’s ability to be an Arsenal player in the long term – he clearly isn’t impressing the boss enough in training to warrant first-team selection.
With the likes of Santi Cazorla, Ramsey and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain all under-performing, would it hurt to give the 22-year-old a chance to impress on Saturday?
I’m not sure Campbell is good enough to stay here beyond the end of the season, but while he is here, let’s utilise his talent. The only way Wenger can truly see if he is good enough is by letting him play a full Premier League game.
The Gunners boss can’t continue to make the same selection mistakes.
Ramsey must return to what he does best and Campbell deserves a chance as the players in his position – except for Alexis Sanchez – aren’t performing.
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