Why Arsenal's Bench Options Will Be Vital to Their Premier League Title Push
In most title-winning seasons, there is a moment when an understudy steps forward and embraces the spotlight usually afforded to a leading man.
Last season, Chelsea’s Loic Remy—a perennial reserve throughout their campaign—scored winning goals in back-to-back Premier League victories over Hull City and Stoke City, while Manchester City’s Edin Dzeko came to the fore with five goals in three appearances at the tail end of his club’s successful 2013/14 season.
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We could go on and on and start including the exploits of the one-time Manchester United super-sub Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and his displays in the 1998/99 treble-winning season, or even Liverpool’s David Fairclough and the 1977 European Cup-winning run before that, but you get the idea.
These players are the reason managers feel the need to assemble such large squads as they seek to challenge on several fronts, and while it isn’t always possible to keep all of your players happy all of the time, you need them to be ready, willing and able to perform when called upon.
Keeping a happy, balanced squad is an art a modern manager has to master if he is to stay in his job for a long time, and there is no one around right now who has been in the Premier League for longer than Arsene Wenger.
The Frenchman will know that as Arsenal enter this make-or-break period in their season, they are doing so with one of the most talented squads in Europe, but also with a fairly fresh one, too.
Unlike in many of his previous seasons with the Gunners, and when he hasn’t been struck down with injuries, Wenger has largely opted to field consistent starting XIs as he has sought to finish first in an increasingly fraught title race.
There’s Petr Cech in goal. Then usually Hector Bellerin, Per Mertesacker, Laurent Koscielny and Nacho Monreal at the back, with the Brazilian Gabriel popping in and out depending on the circumstances.
Further forward—again, fitness permitting—the quartet of Aaron Ramsey, Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil and Olivier Giroud have usually played, but around them have appeared the likes of Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Joel Campbell. Danny Welbeck still exists too, remember, and Mohamed Elneny arrived in January.
It is harsh to call international footballers of immense stature “fringe” players, but nor could you describe the likes of Gabriel, Walcott, Oxlade-Chamberlain and Campbell as guaranteed starters for the Gunners.
That said, these players are going to be increasingly important as Arsenal’s title challenge evolves, starting with what has become perhaps the biggest match of the Premier League season so far against Leicester City on Sunday.
Interestingly, Gabriel started last Sunday’s 2-0 victory at Bournemouth in place of Mertesacker, with the German World Cup winner having to settle for a place on the bench (presumably with his head sticking out of the top of the dugout).
It wasn’t always easy, but the Gunners managed to secure a clean sheet on the south coast as they registered a vital first win in five Premier League matches, and the Brazilian was a central component to that.
Buoyed with the momentum of a victory, could Wenger again opt to field the former Villarreal man in the crucial clash with the Foxes at the Emirates Stadium?
In the plus column lies Gabriel's extra pace up against the threat of Jamie Vardy, but against that, there is Mertesacker’s presence at set pieces against his fellow German Robert Huth, the scorer of two goals against Manchester City.
It could be that Mertesacker’s impression of a slowly turning oil tanker when he chased and subsequently tripped Diego Costa in the defeat to Chelsea makes up Wenger’s mind, and there are arguments for more of his “fringe” men to start at the weekend and beyond, too.
Santi Cazorla’s injury and Ramsey’s subsequent relocation to the centre of midfield has created a vacancy on the right-hand side for a couple of months now, with Campbell initially impressing as he made the most of an opportunity plenty thought had already passed him by.
The Costa Rican was excellent in matches such as the crucial UEFA Champions League win at Olympiakos and in the Premier League against Manchester City, but he’s just trailed off a little bit recently, as has Walcott, opening up the opportunity for Oxlade-Chamberlain to impress—a chance he finally took at Bournemouth on Sunday.
The Englishman’s smartly taken goal was his first in 38 Premier League appearances—an entire season’s worth—and the first time he had either scored or assisted (always an important word when discussing Arsenal) in 26 appearances.
He was replaced after 67 minutes, and so whether or not it will prove to be enough to earn him a rare second consecutive start remains to be seen, but he seems to be entering a crucial period in both his Arsenal and football career.
Now aged 22 and one away from 100 Premier League appearances for the Gunners, Oxlade-Chamberlain would appear to be understandably growing tired of life as a bit-part player, as reported by the Metro.
He’ll know he may need to move on if he is to realise his potential on a consistent basis, but for now, his fresh legs could make a difference in the closing months of the campaign for Wenger, provided the Frenchman can keep him motivated.
That caveat also applies to Walcott, one of the game’s most curious players and a man who just celebrated a decade at Arsenal without ever consistently making his mark.
Indeed, the sight of him wearing the captain’s armband for the recent defeat at home to Chelsea was a bizarre one, suggesting Arsenal were putting his own personal achievement above the leadership of the team in a crucial match.
There have been times when Walcott has threatened to usurp Giroud as Arsenal’s main centre-forward—with the end of last season particularly coming to mind—but then either an injury or a loss of form will occur, and the Frenchman will go on to prove he really is Wenger’s best option.
But if Walcott can tap back into his best form—the form he usually reserves for whenever a new contract is on the line—in the closing months of the season, then it will give Wenger another string to his bow, serving as valuable attacking support for Sanchez, Ozil and Giroud ahead of him.
Whatever happens, Wenger will know he won’t be able to reach the finish line with his preferred XI playing in every game, and the likes of Gabriel, Oxlade-Chamberlain and Walcott could start to prove their worth in the crunch matches.
Who knows, perhaps one of them could emerge as the latest understudy hero, making all those matches on the sidelines seem worth it.
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