Arsenal: The resurgence of Aaron Ramsey and the fall of Kieran Gibbs

Failed passes by Gibbs with Wilshere in front of him

With Cazorla out for a month and Rosicky suffering his perennial thigh strain, the XI fielded against Sunderland will be expected to start on a regular basis now; minor changes in the defence might occur. The midfield trio of Flamini, Ramsey and Ozil on paper looks ideal with a destroyer, runner from midfield and a creative No.10 but one look at Flamini’s two footed lunges and needless bookings means that Arteta’s return cannot be more eagerly awaited.

Flamini has become a firm fan favorite at Arsenal and indeed his positioning sense has improved the defending against counter-attacks. But the Frenchman barely offers anything else. Neither of his 2 tackles on the night was successful and he made just the one interception in the centre but this again was against a team that played a 2 man midfield meaning that most of the forward passes were long balls to their forwards.

Obvious comparisons will be drawn against players like Michael Carrick and John Obi Mikel in similar positions, whose stats like 10 interceptions and 5/5 tackles paint a different picture completely.

A small touching point on Arsenal defence would be Bacary Sagna’s role in the centre back position. Sagna has been quite vocal recently about his age limiting his right back opportunities and though the Frenchman has shown good jumping prowess, his positioning as a CB was questioned easily by Altidore on Saturday.

The tussle that resulted in the disallowed goal for Sunderland was hugely down to Sagna’s initial positioning rather that the American strikers’ burly presence. Though the likes of Mertersacker have huge loopholes in other areas, positioning is a department where one cannot find fault with the big German. So it is quite difficult to see Sagna in the first team picture with Mertersacker and Vermaelen now back, as the only spot left for the Frenchman is the one he himself says to no longer merit.