With all the hard fouling, I was thankful that Xhaka seemed to be one of the “cooler heads” throughout the match. Overall, feel like Granit was our best defender in the match, which isn’t saying a whole lot, but is meaningful in some regards. (Leno didn’t have to do much, and the conceded goal wasn’t his fault, imo.) Was disappointed Torreira didn’t make a bigger impact on the match once he came in. Earlier in the season, he was a huge “impact sub”, and I expected similar results. Pleased with Ozil’s performance and putting in a full 90, but worried about his back pain or some sort of conditioning issues. After Iowbi’s goal, the players were huddling up, and Mesut had stepped back from the huddle and was bent over with hands on his knees. Hope that’s not a bad sign
I think he was just gassed on that counter i noticed neither Iwobi or Ozil were really at full sprint - they'd be working very hard till that point
Xhaka's restraint from petulance is greatly improved from a year or two ago. Torreira's body needs a break I think. Unfortunately that's not an option until later in Jan. Ozil is a crap shoot these days. But he might get a rest if the coach doesn't fancy him for one of the "tougher" games. I'd guess Pool might be one of those. Not sure about Brighton.