Henderson over Coutinho is the needed pragmatic approach

For me a fit and on form Coutinho is a must starter in the advanced midfield role that until recently Victor Moses filled. I wrote an article on this last week.

However Philippe, prior to his injury, started the season a little slowly. He played well-ish, rather than at the level he was at the end of last season.

A big reason for this was that Philippe was playing on the left wing rather than the central position in which he thrived with Sturridge in front of him, but regardless of tactics it is difficult for a youngster to maintain such a high level so consistently.

For me, starting his first game away to the league leaders is not an ideal way to reintroduce him. We have had a good start to the season but on the whole we have not had the consistency of performance we showed in the second half of last season. As Brendan Rodgers said, the game against West Brom was the best we have played this season, and I’m inclined to agree with him.

Part of the reason for the success was the continued good form of Jordan Henderson. His replacing of Victor Moses, who was taking too long to appreciate the requirements of playing centrally, was the key in our improved possession and control. Jordan has improved in his possession and passing, but the main benefit against West Brom was the defensive side of his game.
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Jordan’s relentless energy allowed him to continually press and win the ball back quicker and higher up the field than previously. Furthermore, having a player adept at covering gave Gerrard more confidence to get forward, something he hasn’t done enough this season.

Don’t get me wrong, Coutinho is still a better player than Jordan for that advanced midfield position, but given Jordan’s form, the quality of the opposition and Coutinho’s lack of game time, all these points indicate to me that Jordan is a better option to start.

We need to play at our best against Arsenal, and a big part of that will be our defensive solidity in midfield to help deal with easily the best midfield in the country (Ozil, Ramsey and Co.). It will be a watershed game for us as a team, but if we can keep it solid in defence and midfield then we will be sure to cause problems at the other end of the field with our strikeforce.

If we are chasing the game, or drawing and want to add a bit more creativity to nick a win, then we will have our little Brazilian to come into a tiring midfield for the last 25 minutes or so. What a great option that will be off the bench.

I fully understand other fans who would like to throw one of our best attackers back into the fray, but Philippe is not Luis Suarez, who having missed many months of football came back in and played like he’d never been away. I think the young Brazilian still needs a bit of looking after, and Jordan Henderson has done everything right whenever he’s played. Either way, having Coutinho back is a big boost for the squad in the lead in to Christmas.