Youngsters Shine Against Bournemouth As More Defensive Woes Pile Up For Arsenal

Arsenal booked a place in the fifth round of the FA cup after a 2-1 away victory to AFC Bournemouth on Monday night. The Gunners will now face off with Portsmouth in the next round next month.

Below are the main talking points from the 2-1 win.

Matteo Guendouzi is Back

Image result for arsenal bournemouth

Last season, Matteo Guendouzi was one of the standout players for the Gunners. However, he experienced a dip in form in the past few months and a result lost his place in the first team.

Against Bournemouth, he was at his absolute best and dictated the game from midfield brilliantly. He may not yet start in the league but Matteo Guendouzi will give Mikel Artetaa selection headache moving forward.

Academy Products The Real Deal

Image result for arsenal bournemouth

Joe Willock, Bukayo Saka, and Eddie Nketiah all come from the Arsenal academy and all three started and shone against Bournemouth. Saka was the best of the lot with a goal and an assist while Nketiah scored too with Joe Willock also involved in the first goal.

After years of having players fail up to live up to the expectations once they graduate from the academy to the first team, it is nice to see the current crop making an impact.

More Defensive Woes For Arsenal

Image result for arsenal bournemouth mustafi

Arsenal has a defensive crisis. Kieran Tierney and Sead Kolasinac are currently inured, David Luiz is suspended while Calum Chambers suffered a season-ending injury in December.

To make matters worse. Shkodran Mustafi suffered what looked like a nasty ankle injury against Bournemouth to leave the gunners with only two available center backs, Sokratis and a less fit Rob Holding.

Arteta’s Work Bearing Fruits

Image result for arsenal bournemouth

Arteta has been at Arsenal for a month now. He has lost just one match and the work he has been putting in at the training ground is there to everyone to see.

Arsenal looks comfortable defensively despite a few lapses and the team is controlling matches better. They surely is more to come but the early signs are positive.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *