Five Things Learnt from Arsenal’s defeat
Sheffield Wednesday thumped Gunners in Capital One Cup
It was a night to forget for Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal as they were dumped out of the Capital One Cup by Championship side Sheffield Wednesday.
Not only did the Premier League side fall to a 3-0 defeat, they also picked up two injuries with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Theo Walcott both picking up first-half knocks.
Chamberlain left with a hamstring injury, while Walcott sustained a groin problem.
Injuries and a defeat made it a night to forget at Hillsborough, but what did SillySeason take from the game?
Here are Five Things learnt from Wednesday’s 3-0 victory.
5) The Decline of Mathieu Debuchy and Kieran Gibbs
Staggering.
Mathieu Debuchy and Kieran Gibbs were easily Arsenal‘s best full-back pairing at the start of the 2014/2015 season, but what a difference a year makes.
Now playing second-fiddle to Hector Bellerin and Nacho Monreal, the duo can barely get game-time, and when they do, they don’t make the most of it.
Debuchy and Gibbs were shocking last night and seemed so short of confidence due to the lack of first-team football.
It’s safe to say Bellerin and Monreal have NOTHING to be concerned about regarding their first-team spots.
Debuchy won’t be around at the Emirates Stadium for much longer, but Gibbs really needs to start improving again if he wants a future at his boy-hood club.
4) Arsene Wenger Hates The Capital One Cup
During his tenure at Arsenal, Mr Wenger has never won the Capital One Cup, and last night shows why.
Over the years he’s been known to play his youngsters in the competition, giving the reserves a chance to stake a claim for a first-team spot, and last night was no different.
Yes there was Petr Cech, Per Mertesacker and Olivier Giroud, but the rest were reserve players and fringe players at the club.
Wenger has reached a couple finals in his time, but he’s never really taken the competition seriously and last night was another chance for him to play some youngsters.
Alex Iwobi, Glen Kamara, Ismael Bennacer and Kyrstian Bielik all featuring.
3) Championship Football is Improving
Yes Arsenal played a second-team and yes they were shocking, but credit to Sheffield Wednesday, they played some great football.
Fast-flowing, quick on the break and determined to win, Wednesday showed all the right attributes to win the game and they easily turned over the Premier League opposition.
Wednesday’s first-goal was classy football, their second was a nice header and the third was from a set-piece.
It was a convincing win on the night for Wednesday.
2) Joel Campbell Isn’t A Footballer
This point doesn’t even need explaining.
Joel Campbell is lazy, ineffective and a passenger as a footballer. It is shocking how badly he’s performed every time he’s put on an Arsenal shirt.
He doesn’t get many chances, but it’s clear to see why.
No passion, no hunger and absolutely no idea.
He shouldn’t be a Premier League player, yet alone an Arsenal one.
1) Injuries at Arsenal
Arsenal Football Club will always have injuries and last night two more names were added to the list.
David Ospina, Mikel Arteta, Tomas Rosicky, Jack Wilshere, Aaron Ramsey, Danny Welbeck, Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. They’re all injured.
Chamberlain and Walcott picked up muscle injuries last night and they’ve added their names to the ever-long list at the Emirates.
Something is not right with the training methods or with the medical team.
Injuries have been a massive issue for Arsenal for the past few years.
So there are Five Things we learnt.
What about you?
Written by Alex Batt – @AlexBatt