Fortunately, I have been out of the country all January, so have not seen a minute of Arsenal live. Our points haul in the last three league games is abusmal, and we have lost our first place status. The crazy thing is that no one else seems to want to win the league either, so we're still in excellent position. I'll let someone else do the work, but if any prior league leader after 23 games had just 47 points (as Leicester does), I'd be surprised. Arsenal is getting their injured players back at the right time. We may not see Cazorla this season, but Alexis, Welbeck, and Rosicky should give us a boost on offense, and if Coquelin can replace Flamini at DM it would be a giant improvement. It's trivially true, but the Gunners still control their destiny, and that's a good place to be.
The Burnley FA Cup game will still be played in January, and maybe Elneny can show us what he can contribute to the team. A win is required here, as it will be at home next Tuesday against a Southampton team that dominated us at St Mary's. This is not the stage of the season for "a good point". Squad strength and quality should be enough to fight on three fronts. I am not giving up on the Barcelona matches.
I don't see a place for Theo Walcott on the field, the way he's playing. Campbell and Alexis should own the wings, and it's Giroud up front. Theo should not be the first substitute for any position either. Iwobi and Welbeck are more likely to contribute--and at both ends--than is Walcott, who is killing us out there. Even Chamberlain seems more likely to score, though that's not saying much. I don't care how much we're paying him, he needs to sit for a while. For Burnley, could we see Rosicky in Ozil's position? He, Ramsey, and Giroud could use a break, maybe Bellerin too. But too many changes threatens another Sheffield Wednesday debacle.
I'll resume regular articles on Arsenal next week, win or lose. But I sure hope it's win.
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