4-3-3 0r 3-5-1? Be the Manager

June 2, 2016

Given our current squad, do you believe that the 4-3-3 maximizes on the available potential or would you like to see something else as there are many options to set up a team.

Juve plays 3-5-2
Bayern plays 4-2-3-1
…..

I would be quite keen to see our team as a 4-3-1-2 with

Cech – Bellerin, RECRUIT, Kos, R.RODRIGUEZ – Ramsey, Xhaka, El Neny – Ozil – RECRUIT, Sanchez

Ospina – RECRUIT, BFG, Gabriel, Gibbs – Ox, Coquelin, Wilshere – Cazorla – Wellbeck, Giroud or Walcott

What are your thoughts?

Written by RC78

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Posted by Erik the Red

Ramsey to join Mourinho?

May 25, 2016

We are at approaching the time of year when the Deadwood express drives at Arsenal station to pick up a few passengers. Early at the station were Flamini, Rosicky and Arteta but who else will be shipped out?

Today I will focus upon the midfield.

Given that we have signed Elneny and also (potentially) Granit Xhaka, some  midfield players must be going. Ramsey, Wilshere, Coquelin, Cazorla, Ox, Ozil, Iwobi, Gnabry, plus the returning  Toral is perhaps excessive and it is in midfield that we find the biggest puzzle……. What is going on with Coquelin?

Early in the season Coquelin would have been the first name on the team sheet, it was inconceivable that he wouldn’t start. It has to be said that I am not a big fan but reluctantly started to appreciate just how much he had improved, yet Francis is firmly on the naughty step as evidenced by the arrival (?) of Xhaka – you don’t spend €30m on a reserve.

The final unbeaten run of games saw Francis on the bench with AW not picking a sitting DM preferring to play Elneny alongside Ramsey as a double pivot (™️ TA).  I doubt anyone could have predicted Coquelin being dropped.

If we assume that Xhaka is signed and that Elneny has impressed Mr Wenger  tough to be considered a sin the starting X1, then a first team place is unlikely for Coquelin and he will become a squad player. Too good to sell? Probably and we will need him in case of injury/rotation.

That leaves 4 excellent players fighting for the single forward midfield role: Ramsey, Wilshere, Cazorla and Ox. All deserve to be starting PL players. All are committed to Arsenal but I expect one to be sold, the difficulty is who?

I really love watching them all. Ramsey is exceptional as his work for Wales displays. But … but. Other Gooners are not so impressed. It was not a great season for Aaron. Less goals, less assists, more mistakes; nonetheless he remains a seemingly integral part of Mr.Wenger’s plans.

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Cazorla? Brilliant player. Upon his return at season’s end we improved and once again looked like potential title winners. Had he stayed fit we would have won the title – maybe – but he is over 30, somewhat injury-prone and slowing down. Arsenal need his experience – I doubt he willl be sold.

Ox. Horrible season for him. Injuries destroyed what should have been his breakthrough season. Nonetheless, he has huge potential and most of his on-pitch problems are due to his determination to be better. He needs to relax. But can he do so at Arsenal?

Jack. Another who had his season ruined by injury and who separates fans. IMO he  cannot be allowed to leave. His energy, vision and eye for goal is exceptional but his injury history is such that we cannot rely upon JW to play 40+ games.

Can Arsenal afford to keep 11 midfield players? Can Mr Wenger keep them happy? More to the point – does he want to?

I would not be surprised to see Mr Wenger selling a big name player to finance his summer purchases. Man Utd were in the hunt to sign Aaron Ramsey prior to his making the obvious decision to join AFC; they are desperate for a Carrick replacement and Aaron is a similar player (but better). A goal-scoring midfielder with International experience and a mate of Monkeyboy (who must be a MU target) – he fits MU’s and Mourinho’s requirements exactly. Could/would AW sell him to MU?

written by BR

 

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Posted by Erik the Red

A Better Arsenal? A plan for the future

May 24, 2016

My personal opinion on a future Arsenal FC management structure:

(A) Board & senior management:

Chairman: Sir Chips Keswick
Chief Executive Officer (Executive & Supervisory Board): Ivan Gazidis
Director (Supervisory Board): Arsene Wenger (replacing Ken Friar)
Director (Supervisory Board): Lord Harris of Peckham
Director (Supervisory Board): Stan Kroenke
Director (Supervisory Board): Josh Kroenke
Chief Financial Officer (Executive Board): Stuart Wisely
Chief Commercial Officer (Executive Board): Vinai Venkatesham
Technical/Sports director (Executive Board): (Thierry Henry)
Secretary: David Miles

(B) Coaching staff:

Manager: (New guy)
Assistant manager (Defence): Steve Bould
Assistant manager (Attack): Dennis Bergkamp (replacing Boro Primorac)
First-team coach: Neil Canfield (Mikel Arteta understudies him at some point!)
Goalkeeping coach: Gerry Peyton
Head of athletic performance enhancement: Shad Forsythe
Fitness coach: Tony Colbert
Head of medical services: Colin Lewin
Club doctor: Gary O’Driscoll
Kit manager: Vic Akers
Head of player recruitment (youth to senior level): Steve Rowley
1st-team chief scout: (Neil Banfield – change of roles)
Academy manager: Andries Jonker
U-21s coach: Steve Gatting
U-21s assistant coach: Carl Laraman
U-18s coach: Frans de Kat
U-18s assistant coach: Kwame Ampadu
U-16s coach: Jan van Loon

(C) Arsenal Foundation (Ambassadors)

Arsene Wenger
Bob Wilson
Liam Brady
Martin Keown
Robert Pires
(Tomas Rosicky)

============

Key points:

(1) Arsene Wenger to eventually moves up to the club’s supervisory board, replacing Ken Friar. He can still contribute with his knowledge on improving Arsenal FC further and advice to the board on footballing matters.

(2) Thierry Henry to take up a new post as technical/sporting director in the club’s executive board. He would work alongside Gazidis(CEO), Wisely(CFO) and Venkatesham(CCO) on the business side of things; with the new manager and Rowley (head of player recruitment – youth & seniors) in negotiating of players recruitment and sales, contracts and bonuses etc. Henry to help bridge the needs and wants for both the club’s senior management and coaching staff. He has some business acumen with his numerous endorsements off-field, being the public face of PUMA and has a string of business and stock market investments. He has made contacts in US (when playing in MLS), Spain (when with Barcelona), France and England. He should have some influences on Gazidis and Kroenke when making decisions.
Thus, Thierry Henry is the best candidate: one of our ex-player sitting in an important role at executive board and administrative level (as spoken by Bergkamp in his interview with Keown).

(3) Dennis Bergkamp to come in as a new assistant manager/1st team coach, taking over from Primorac. Bould would be defending coach; Bergkamp would be attacking coach.

(4) Mikel Arteta to understudy Banfield and eventually take over (Banfield to move up to chief scout role – he has already been doing scouting for the club). Arteta has the football intelligence and temperament to be a good coach. Wenger hoped that Arteta becomes a coach; both Guardiola and Pochettino wanted Arteta to be part of their coaching staff.
Arteta is multilingual, speaking fluent Spanish, Basque, Catalan and English, and speaks some French, Italian and Portuguese. (which is ideal, given our multi-national mix of players). Helps to compensate the departure of Primorac – as chief interpreter in 1st team.

(this was written before MA left the club but there remains hope he will return)

(5) Neil Banfield to move to 1st-team chief scout role.

(6) Club legend Tomas Rosicky to become the latest and new ambassador with the Arsenal Foundation.

Lucky No. (7) The new manager –
(a) Rudi Garcia (Age: 52)
Currently free agent. French/Spanish speaking. Advocate attacking football as the best means to achieve results (plays 4-3-3 offence). Favourable achievements in Ligue 1 (Lille) and Serie A (Roma).

(b) Frank de Boer (Age: 45)
Currently Ajax’s manager (plays 4-3-3 offence). Would be available when contract ends in mid-2017 (similar time frame as Wenger – currently). Arsenal’s approach with Andries Jonker, Frans de Kat and Jan van Loon managing the club academy’s development system to a one familiar to Ajax’s.

written by JM 

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Posted by Erik the Red

Kiss My Arsenal

May 20, 2016

KISS is an acronym. It stands for Keep It Simple Stupid.

There is an awful lot of sense in this, and I often employ it to navigate me through what can appear, at first glance, to be tempestuous waters. We’ve all heard the “it’s not rocket science” term bounded about, but you know what, that’s not difficult either. Think about it. I just did.

Business plan for rocket mission. Raise loot. Employ scientist for the wiring and stuff. Find someone good at bending metal into cylinders and tall pointy cone shapes. Secure take off location free from great crested newts and butterflies. Box of matches.

So. Managing a football team.

Some may say coming second in the League is good news. Not me. I say there is much improvement needed on the back of a treble, let alone coming second. So what’s needed? Well, as always, best to look upwards, and there we find Leicester City. Ok, now what the hell did they do that was ten points better than us, and what can be done?

  1. Manager.
  2. Wow, what a job. Now this really is a cushy number. There must be 100 odd paid football managers in England, and I doubt fewer than a handful could string more than a couple words together. If my wife came to me and said “we’re going out to a dinner party and you’re sitting next to a football manager”, I’d be sick, stay at home, and watch Jeremy Kylie. What I’m getting at is Ranieri was pretty rubbish, arrives at Leicester, then wins the League with a bunch of farmers. No tactical genius at work here, that’s for sure.
  3. Footballers.
  4. Arsenal has better footballers than Leicester City, and more of them. Fact. So what happened? Leicester tried harder more often.
  5. Injuries.
  6. They kept their key players fit. We didn’t.

KISS : The Solution

  1. Motivation. Get a Leader and only players who have demonstrated fight
  2. Rotate. Unlikely we will win all four comps.
  3. Be ruthless. Cruel to be kind. You cannot keep everyone happy all the time. They need to deal with it and not sulk.
  4. Same as last summer. We need three First XI’ers. Make the money if you have to. Maureen did at Chelsea. Flogged Mata, bought Hazard. Won League.

Finally, remember the rocket analogy. Get one, and remind players where it will go if they don’t pull their weight for the full 90. Don’t forget the matches.

written by MickyDitIt89

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Posted by Erik the Red

A Last Hurrah.

May 15, 2016

Final PM of the season and Your Foreign Correspondent is away on manoeuvres, but being a man with a sense of duty this post is being written before WHU (hopefully) beat MU .

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Villa come to the Emirates after what must be their worst season in living memory. 3 managers , 3 wins all season, the draw with N’castle gave them their first point in 10 games. An angry fanbase, an owner who lives 5 thousand miles away and doesn’t appear to give a damn, players who are equally dispassionate, It is a shambles.

Could Villa win today?

They better not!!

I have no doubt Villa will be looking for a battling performance after all these are professional men playing for their careers. Some who are at the end of their contracts will be desperate to show they have value, others, like Lescott and Abangymethingy are already multi-millionaires and perhaps not so committed but this afternoon will not be an easy victory – we will have to play well to win.

Pressure. Can this Arsenal team respond to pressure? Well, we are on a unbeaten 9 game PL run, have shown character to come back from losing positions against MC, WHU and Spurs, so the answer should be Yes.

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The Last time we played AV on our Final game of the Season

A huge fillip is the return of our midfield, any team would struggle without such vital players. That said, as soon as a few come back a couple of England Internationals get long-term injuries!

We all know the value of 3 points today especially if The Miscreants fail up at St. James Pk. How funny would that be?  😀

The team: I would start the same chaps who got the draw at City with Ozil replacing Welbz.

Cech

Bellerin     Gabriel      Koscielny     Monreal

Ramsey      Elneny     Iwobi/Wilshere

Sanchez     Giroux     Ozil

Given how important Mr Wenger views the Euro’s I would not be surprised to see Wilshere start in place of Iwobi allowing Ramsey to play further forward.

Coquelin: Is he on the naughty step? He is fit so why isn’t he starting? He has gone from being one of the first names on the team sheet to riding the pine without any discernible reason.

I am sure Santi will get some pitch time in order for the fans to show their love. Rumours are that he is off in summer though my hope is that he continues to entertain us for a couple more seasons.

No excuses – we have to win this afternoon. The tough work was done up in Manchester now the lads have to finish their season in style.

Let it be so …

p.s. This being my final pre-match of an exciting campaign may I take this opportunity to thank all those who have read my views and contributed to the discussions.

COYRRG

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Posted by Erik the Red

Our Cup Final.

May 8, 2016

This is a game to get the blood coursing through the veins. It is almost winner takes all and possibly our most important game of the season (huge exaggeration but you get the drift!).

If I am honest I am not optimistic. I know we won there last season, I know City have just lost an important game, I know that they have a few injuries and those who are fit are misfiring and for City this could be “After the Lord Mayor’s Show” …

But We are The Arsenal and in recent years we struggle when the pressure is really on.

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Living in Copenhagen I am often asked why the Danes are The Happiest Nation on Earth (THNOE), amongst my answers is this- Happiness is directly linked to Expectation. If I expect to be first and come second I will be disappointed whereas if I expect to finish third and finish second I am happy with my result. I expect Arsenal to lose this afternoon 😀

The game would have been even more interesting had WHU not blown up yesterday. They are playing Man Utd midweek with the winner having the chance to gain CL qualification. Sadly, their bubble has burst (:-D )

Pellegrini, whose final home game is the honour of facing The Arsenal,  has been a fine addition to the PL. Had he been a few years younger (62 y.o) I think he could have been a good successor to Mr Wenger.

Do you think that Coq-elny are a copy or as good as the MC Fernandinho midfield defensive axis? And will AW play both Coq and Elneny in order to give us more protection against the pace and strength of Aguero and Sterling/Navas? He hasn’t in recent games.

Will Cazorla get pitch time? Or Wilshire?  Will Sanchez start on the right? My guess is that we will start with  the following:

Cech

Bellerin   Paul Easter    Koscielny    Monreal

Ramsey     Elneny    Coquelin

Sanchez     Welbeck    Ozil

Mr. Wenger, please, please, pretty please, do not start with OG. I like the Big Galoomph but as an impact substitute, Welbz gives us pace and a different dimension plus he hates City.

We are reaching the point when the bench is a difficult choice, we have such squad depth when all are fit. Had all been available throughout the season we would be hailing AFC as PL Champions but the fates have not been kind.

A point would be very, very welcome but ff we lose today we always have Aston Villa to finish the season on a high and leave me with a happy summer.

Should be an exciting afternoon – especially for those in the Prawn Sandwich section.

COYRRG

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Posted by Erik the Red

Arteta: A Thank You.

May 7, 2016

In yesterday’s press conference Mr Wenger confirmed that our Club Captain Mr. Arteta will be leaving this summer.

When we signed Mikel from Everton he was 29 y.o. with much PL experience – it seemed a decent but uninspiring squad signing; at the time we had a young squad who needed guidance and, if nothing else, Arteta is a cool- head when the pressure is on.

But …. I see the signing of Arteta as symptomatic of the lean years. He is a good player but he is not a great player. The usual epithet is that Mikel is a “model professional (MP)” which is just another term for journeyman – Mark Noble is a MP, Milner is a MP etc MP’s do not inspire, they are the water-carriers and every team needs one but the best teams have the best players and IMO Arsenal could have bought better. If a player is not good enough to earn a single cap for his country then they are not going to lead a team to the PL title.

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Part of the problem was that Arteta did not really have a set role, he was neither a DM nor an AM. Lacking pace, aggression and trickery he did not inspire but he was reliable – a much under-rated asset.

Arteta seems a top bloke, he has wonderful hair, he appears unhurried on the pitch with an eye a pass. He takes a mean penalty. He captained the team to the FA Cup victory over Hull.

However, in the 5 seasons he has been at AFC he has played just over 100 games – slightly more than 20 a season. Why? Because since the start of the 2014/15 season he has played just 15 games.

How will Arteta’s time at AFC be remembered? For me, it probably won’t be. I have always been underwhelmed by Arteta’s signing thinking that as likeable as he is, Mikel is not Arsenal quality..

Mikel Arteta has been Arsenal Captain which is surely the pinnacle of any player’s career. He was Captain during a turbulent period in the club’s history and did so with good grace, intelligence and panache. Arteta appears to be ideal manager material and has been taking his coaching badges.

I wish him well and expect to see him back working at The Emirates sometime in the future.

written by Big Raddy

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Posted by Erik the Red

Why is Ozil Out of Form?

May 3, 2016

Three moths ago Mesut Ozil was a serious contender for Player of the Season, today he is a shadow of that player. Why?

Let’s look at the evidence (?). Pre- February Mesut was scoring goals, playing with freedom, setting up assists in almost every game, always had time and was without question the best player on the pitch – he was remarkably consistent.

But it all seems to have come to a halt.

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Today we see a Mesut who seems harried, he rarely smiles, rarely has time and space, his assists have plummeted – his last PL assist was back in February away at MU!

If you look at our poor run of form (unbeaten in 8 PL games) it starts when Mesut’s numbers dropped. This is no co-incidence because Ozil is essential to our method of attack. If we are to play the fast passing game then there has to be someone who can unlock the packed defences and it seems that Ozil is the only Gooner who has that ability. Stop Ozil and you stop Arsenal.

Is it that the opposition mark him more tightly? Are other teams more aware of his manner of play and instead of close marking him lay off and watch for the  off-ball runs Ozil is looking to pass to? I am no tactician nor do I look at how other teams are playing against, so cannot say.

Or perhaps Ozil is playing as well as ever but contributing in other ways.

What do you think?

written by Big Raddy

 

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Posted by Erik the Red

3 points more important than A4.

April 30, 2016

What is more important  … some ne’er dowells expressing their dissatisfaction or three points in our quest to remain in the CL?

Had this been a non-match day I would have opened a discussion about the  best method of protest but IMO beating Norwich is far more important. All I will say is this – nothing the protesters do will have any effect; nothing will change, nothing.

We go into this game on an unbeaten run of 7 games which under other circumstances would be cause for celebration. We have not lost to Norwich at The Emirates – ever, we have scored 19 goals in our last 4 home games against Norwich. It should bode well.

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But, Norwich are desperate for points, relegation is a real possibility with both their close rivals, Sunderland and Newcastle, picking up points. They have to get something from this afternoon and Arsenal should expect a battle.

How should AFC “set out their stall”(E. Gray 1994). We do not have the players for a physical battle so a focus on our strengths of pace and fast-passing will have to be the order of the day.

So … No Giroud. I would like to see Alexis central with Ozil left and Theo right but that won’t happen! I expect to see Welbz upfront.

With all the midfield fit will Ramsey start? Will Mr Wenger pick both Coquelin and Elneny ahead of the inevitable midfield battle ? Will  the impressive Iwobi be dropped for Wilshire? Will anyone be dropped for Wilshere?

Your guess has as much merit as mine so  – just for once – I make no predictions.

If Arsenal score early – we win.

Short PM today. Sadly, I have little time and a similar amount of inclination 🙂

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Posted by Erik the Red

Friday Rant: Mr Wenger’s News Conference

April 29, 2016

I thought I would write a post based upon the revelations from Mr Wenger’s weekly newscast. The trouble is the same questions are asked and the same answers given.

So  … here it is …

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“Yes, he is back in training and is available for selection …. perhaps”

“I don’t know who will play.”

“Norwich are a strong team.”

“We are mentally strong and have a positive attitude in the squad.”

“The squad will all be fit in time for the Euro’s”

“Financially the club is in fine shape and we can compete with our rivals in the transfer market.”

“No, I do not worry about the fans concerns – there are always fans concerns.”

“I was very impressed with the quality of Chas’s slider videos this morning and look forward to more. It shows the strength and unity of the blog”

Let’s be honest, these news conferences are a waste of time especially for poor Arsene who has done hundreds of them. He gives nothing away and they are purely for the benefit of tired media hacks looking to trip up our manager and engender a misleading hit-provoking headline.

This morning saw a journalist putting words into AW’s mouth about the fan unrest. What the hack was trying to do was get AW to collude in the miscreant’s anti-Arsenal agenda. Thankfully our manager is too intelligent to be drawn into such base journalism.

Can we stop them, please?

written by Big Raddy

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Posted by Erik the Red

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