Highbury Spy Extra: The Spy on Villa beating Arsenal

Here's Gooner Fanzine print columnist Highbury Spy on Arsenal's damaging defeat by Villa



Highbury Spy Extra: The Spy on Villa beating Arsenal

Aston Villa's Morgan Rogers jumps highest to defend a corner kick at the Emirates Stadium. CREDIT: Mark Leech


Legendary Gooner Fanzine print columninst Highbury Spy surveys the damage caused by Aston Villa's 2-0 victory over Arsenal at the Emirates on Sunday with this special, extra piece for our website readers. 

We've basically carried an injured Bukaya Saka for three months, writes Highbury Spy. 

He's playing with one hand behind his back and is essentially giving us, at most, 50% of his true ability.

Kai Havertz is not a left midfielder or indeed any sort of midfielder. He's a striker. Play him there or not at all.

Oleksandr Zinchenko is a massive liability giving the ball away all the time. Ben White is carrying an injury, so is Jesus. Declan Rice is absolutely shattered. Those two 90 minute England games did for him.

Mikel Arteta did not read the room yesterday in the second half.

He should've brought Thomas Partey and Jorginho on after 55 minutes to wrest control from Villa.

A 50% fit knackered Rice was certainly not going to do that on his own.

Add calamity defending for their first goal.

How many times does a cross from our player elude the two centre backs, the keeper and the left back (who wasn't even there) for an unmarked winger to tap in at the far post?

Answer: Never.

The long and the short of it is this. We have a manager who does not like rotating his squad unless the replacements are the same level or better.

At the moment, the replacements are not better.

We have to address this in the summer and we need a world class striker, a quality midfielder, a left back and a Saka replacement as he plays most games injured.

Manchester City already have these players which is why they can rotate to their hearts content and will win the title for the fourth consecutive year sadly.


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