Arsenal legend Martin Keown says the Gunners “were much better” without Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez against Chelsea on Sunday.
Over the summer and much of the 2016/17 season, the question has been asked about how Arsenal will cope when Mesut Özil and Alexis Sanchez’s contracts run out, assuming they don’t sign an extension before May.
Martin Keown thinks that Sunday’s performance against Chelsea proves the team can handle it, saying in the Daily Mail: “There has been so much fear at Arsenal of losing Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil. This excellent performance at Chelsea without them made you wonder what all the fuss was about.
“Without these two, Arsenal were much better defensively. They were disciplined, worked together and pressed as a unit to close down Chelsea.
“For this Arsenal team, it was a chance to step up and prove that they did not need Sanchez and Ozil to perform. I am not saying that these two should be frozen out. Sanchez did well when he came on and both men still have a part to play.
“But from now on, every player must adopt this level of organisation in tricky away games. This showed the strength of their XI is better than any individual.”
Last season, Alexis Sanchez scored 30 goals and provided 19 assists in all competitions. Özil didn’t quite keep pace with that, but was still one of the Gunners’ key men in terms of goal contributions, scoring 12 and assisting 14.
Those sorts of numbers are hard to replace with any individual player, hence the worry that Arsenal may struggle without them. However, it doesn’t matter if you’re scoring or assisting a goal every game if you’re conceding at least a goal every game as well.
On the other hand, it’s important to keep this game in context. Firstly, it’s just one performance. Alexis and Özil have shown their qualities over years of football for me.
Also, the team didn’t actually manage to score, just keep a clean sheet, so it could be argued that Arsenal did miss the duo’s creative abilities, in my opinion.
Either way, I don’t believe it’s a problem Arsenal have to worry about just yet, as both players will be with the Gunners for at least the next few months, if not the entire season or longer.