So Monty has assured us that Wenger always has a logical reason for everything

he does and, frequently, it has a quantitative basis.

I'd be interested in the argument that put Elneny and Ramsey in the team ahead of Xhaka and Iwobi/Ox.

Ramsey, for those of you who don't understand football, was terrible, yet again.

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Originally Posted by World's End Stella

he does and, frequently, it has a quantitative basis.

I'd be interested in the argument that put Elneny and Ramsey in the team ahead of Xhaka and Iwobi/Ox.

Ramsey, for those of you who don't understand football, was terrible, yet again.

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AR was played in the wrong position and all the forward players were poor. But just ignore that and carry on banging the old drum. :thumbup:

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Originally Posted by Ash

AR was played in the wrong position and all the forward players were poor. But just ignore that and carry on banging the old drum. :thumbup:

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I didn't comment on the other forward players because they have earned their place in the team. I questioned making a change from a player (Iwobi) who has been very good at times this season, ignoring a player who has played better recently (Ox) in favour of a player who has been poor for some time now and is just back from injury. And if you watch carefully you will have noticed that - unsurprisingly - Ramsey didn't just play on the left, he played pretty much everywhere. Which is one of his problems.

But just ignore that and carry on banging the old drum. :thumbup:

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Originally Posted by Ash

AR was played in the wrong position and all the forward players were poor. But just ignore that and carry on banging the old drum. :thumbup:

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At least AR was on the pitch for WES's latest complaint... unlike the Euro semi

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Originally Posted by World's End Stella

he does and, frequently, it has a quantitative basis.

I'd be interested in the argument that put Elneny and Ramsey in the team ahead of Xhaka and Iwobi/Ox.

Ramsey, for those of you who don't understand football, was terrible, yet again.

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Wenger explained why he played Elneny and Ramsey. It seems he anticipated it being a physical battle rather than one in which both team's fluent passing would be at its best (as it so rarely is after the disruption of an international break) and so he played those two specifically because of their battling qualities.

Of course it meant we lost something creatively, but picking football teams is about balance and often when you gain in one area you lose in another. The fact that we played poorly in the second half is, I guess, proof enough that Wenger got it wrong. But to imply there was no logic behind the decision is unfair.

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Originally Posted by Monty92

Wenger explained why he played Elneny and Ramsey. It seems he anticipated it being a physical battle rather than one in which both team's fluent passing would be at its best (as it so rarely is after the disruption of an international break) and so he played those two specifically because of their battling qualities.

Of course it meant we lost something creatively, but picking football teams is about balance and often when you gain in one area you lose in another. The fact that we played poorly in the second half is, I guess, proof enough that Wenger got it wrong. But to imply there was no logic behind the decision is unfair.

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I didn't imply that there was no logic behind it, I genuinely asked what the logic was.

And if I anticipated a physical battle, Aaron Ramsey would be just about the last player I would pick.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by World's End Stella

I didn't comment on the other forward players because they have earned their place in the team. I questioned making a change from a player (Iwobi) who has been very good at times this season, ignoring a player who has played better recently (Ox) in favour of a player who has been poor for some time now and is just back from injury. And if you watch carefully you will have noticed that - unsurprisingly - Ramsey didn't just play on the left, he played pretty much everywhere. Which is one of his problems.

But just ignore that and carry on banging the old drum. :thumbup:

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Iwobi's form had a little bit dropped off and Ox was a clown when he came on against Tottenham, so neither were obvious starters, though we are all obviously pleased that the good version of the Ox came on this time.

Of course, with hindsight I expect AW would have picked a different team.

And I don't have a drum to bang. :vsign: