27-year-old must be axed: Three things we learned about Arsenal in win over Hull
By Dominic Toner
Football Insider analyses three talking points from Arsenal’s 2-0 victory against Hull in the Premier League on Saturday.
Walcott should be dropped
Theo Walcott should be left out of the Arsenal starting line-up after his performance against Hull. The 27-year-old failed to make an impact in the Premier League win and was substituted off in the second-half. The England international has shown that he has the quality in front of goal, but has not been able to recapture the form he showed earlier this season following his calf injury. Walcott can still play a big role in the Arsenal squad, but should move aside and gives the likes of Danny Welbeck or Lucas Perez the chance in the starting XI.
Ozil needs to step up
Mesut Ozil is clearly one of the most talented individuals in the squad and one of the best in the Premier League on his day. The German has a strong tally of nine goals and assists so far this season in just 28 appearances. However, his performances have dipped considerably recently and he is in danger of losing his starting spot. He was very much a passenger during the win against Hull and a player with his quality should have been dictating play. Ozil showed glimpses of his skill with some nice inter-play, but needs to be reaching higher standards on a more regular basis.
Hull victory is what they have been missing
Arsenal’s victory against Hull certainly wasn’t pretty, but it’s exactly the performance they have lacked recently. The Gunners were nowhere near their fluent best and struggled to carve open several clear chances. However, they stayed defensively solid and managed to deal with the Hull threat. A good slice of fortune gifted Arsenal the opening goal through Alexis Sanchez, before he scored a late penalty in stoppage time. The north London club are now surely too far behind leaders Chelsea to get back into the title race, but the victory against Hull could be a good sign they can comfortably finish inside the top four. The recent defeats against Chelsea and Watford exposed Arsenal to have no character, but they managed to bring out a result against Hull.
In other Arsenal news, Emmanuel Petit has shared which manager he wants to replace Arsene Wenger.
We’ve launched an << EXCLUSIVE TRANSFER WINDOW NEWS FEED>>. ‘Like Us’ on Facebook by clicking here if you want 24/7 updates on all Arsenal transfer news.