Q&AFC Fan Question Friday – September 24th, 2021
Each week the writers at DailyAFC will take a shot at answering your questions in a post series called Q&AFC. It’s a chance for you to ask questions to knowledgable football writers – transfers, analysis, opinions, everything is fair game. Here are the questions for this week!
- What do you think about Jack Wilshere? Should we let him train? Offer him a coaching position? Or other?
@FPLToronto: I would welcome Jack Wilshere back to the training ground and potentially offer him a deal at a minimum. This would all depend on his fitness, abilities, and overall drive to compete. I doubt he would ever step on the pitch, but having a former player mentoring some of the younger players would benefit the club.
@dopegooner: You know, I initially was very much against bringing Wilshere on. Signing him to play for us goes against the new direction the club is heading in. However, this article from The i is pretty interesting. It discusses Southampton’s decision to sign 32-year-old Olly Lancashire as an experienced playing companion for their U23 players. Clive Palmer from the Arsenal Vision Podcast suggested we employ this strategy with Wilshere, and I tend to agree. Wilshere is highly unlikely to be good enough for our first team now, but he knows what the club is about and can probably still hang with the academy players. He would be an excellent mentor to them. So in that capacity, I think he would be a fine addition to the club. However, if he still wants to play for a senior side, I think all we can responsibly offer him is a place to train and connections to hopefully find his next club.
- Was Thomas Partey injured when he came off or just gassed?
@FPLToronto: Partey looked as though he wanted minutes on the pitch before the game this weekend against Spurs. I think he’s still getting back to his best and I admire his desire to play in a nothing game just to ensure his fitness is up to par. He’ll be fine and ready to go this weekend.
@dopegooner: I think the Wimbledon match showed that he was just gassed. I think our players have been instructed to ask to come off as soon as they feel at risk for injury. In particular, we have typically seen this happen with Tierney, Partey, and Smith Rowe. Partey coming off against Burnley and then asking for an hour against Wimbledon shows that he is still working his way back to full fitness and knows it. He should be in the lineup for the North London Derby.
- Is Aaron Ramsdale the starting keeper? Do you think he should be?
@FPLToronto: Aaron Ramsdale should start against Spurs on the weekend to solidify his starting place. So far he’s competed against Burnley and Norwich, two teams who are battling for the bottom half and don’t offer enough to provide a proper assessment of Ramsdale. Arteta should have him in against Spurs to really show us what he is capable of.
@dopegooner: Yes and yes. Ramsdale starting against Norwich and Burnley while being given the day off against Wimbledon shows that he is the No. 1 keeper in Arteta’s eyes. And he deserves to be. Ramsdale has distinguished himself with aplomb in his first month at the club. Leno might still be the better shot-stopper, although the Englishman isn’t far behind. But Ramsdale possesses a few qualities that Leno simply doesn’t. He can play out from the back very effectively, which Leno couldn’t even do against a League One side on Wednesday. Ramsdale also commands his box better than his German counterpart, communicating well with defenders and claiming crosses with confidence. Leno seemed to exude unease at times, and I think that affected the back line. And lastly, Ramsdale brings a passion to his game that you don’t see with Leno. He gets the crowd on his side simply by being genuinely happy to be in goal for Arsenal, and that really does go a long way. If he can keep this up, he fully deserves to be our man between the sticks.
- Which new signing has impressed/surprised you the most so far?
@FPLToronto: Odegaard has impressed me most so far. He is slowly becoming a leader on the pitch and provides that creativity that has been lacking. I truly believe he is a future star and will continue to develop under Arteta. We could be looking at a future superstar.
@dopegooner: I think it’s Sambi. I really didn’t expect to see much from him for a couple seasons when he first came onboard. But he really has looked unfazed by the step up to the Premier League, and his ball progression is actually quite good. He looks like a gem of a signing, and more pleasantly surprising, one that will come to fruition quicker than perhaps we all thought.
That’s all for this week’s edition of Q&AFC! If you have a question you’d like to see answered next week, comment on this post or look out for our next Q&AFC Tweet on @DailyAFC on Twitter.
