Four centre backs at Arsenal is a thing of the past.

August 29, 2013

For years the accepted wisdom at most clubs and certainly at Arsenal has been that you should start a new season with four centre backs all ready and able to be called upon whenever needed.

As recently as last season, we started with Mertasacker, Koscielny, Vermaelen and Squillaci. The problem with this system becomes clearer as you move along the list; the drop in quality is substantial.

The practicalities have been to have two centre backs playing, one on the bench and one doing very little apart from losing match sharpness in the reserves and picking up a large pay cheque.

Now as tough as it sounds to have to pick up a large pay cheque for seemingly doing very little, there is an expensive trade off; the fourth choice CB will almost certainly lose his chance to play first team football, ok he will play one or two games here and there but that is it.

So it becomes a balancing act, clubs want the best player they can get while knowing that if the player is any good he will not want to give up the opportunity to play.

It is the same at all clubs, a forth choice CB trades his chance to play football for a wage that is higher than he would be getting at a lesser club and so it follows that the higher the wage a club is prepared to pay the better the quality of forth choice back up will be.

Man city had Kolo Toure on a huge wage for doing very little apart from putting on weight but even he got bored enough to take a pay cut and move to Liverpool in the hope of playing regular football. (Ok, the pay cut part is a punt)

It is a thankless task being a forth choice CB and even more so at Arsenal where the player is not getting a man city pay cheque and to make things worse he is constantly moaned about by the fans for not being good enough.

This is why I have always had a great deal of sympathy for our forth choice CB’s and defended them when ever I could. Take Squillaci, it was not his fault that his job was to simply be an insurance policy against disaster; that’s to say if illness befell the three other CB’s in front of him.

The point of this post is that I think the club may have changed its policy; they still know that we need the depth, hence Mertasacker, Koscielny and Vermaelen; but, now instead of having another in the reserves I think that AW views Djourou as the fourth. It’s the reason why he was never sold and there have been plenty of opportunities to do so.

It makes a lot of sense, far better to have a fourth choice playing week in and week out, keeping his match fitness than languishing in the reserves. The loan deal probably has a clause that says we can have him back in case of disaster.

Makes sense to me, why would someone like Williams of Swansea want to give up the opportunity to play first team football again; in fact, why would anyone half decent want to?

Written by LB

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Arsenal 2 Fenerbahce 0

August 28, 2013

Another convincing win by the mighty Arsenal, that’s three on the trot, although this one was all the sweeter from having the pleasure of watching it from my own seat at the home of football.

Three nil up from the first leg meant that it was very unlikely that the good guys were ever going to bother getting out of second gear and indeed they didn’t, it was, in fact, a bit a cruise from start to finish.

The mystique that Fenerbahce might of held prior to the first leg was gone; the unfamiliarity of the Turkish team and its unknown strength, the hostile atmosphere, the ferocious fans; all this had evaporated, they were poor and we knew it, all that was required was the patient dissection of our inferior opponents.

But Wenger was not taking any chances; he could have gone for Carling Cup team in order to rest as many players as possible for the coming, more important, game at the weekend; indeed many supporters on this blog championed that view when the debate was in full flow a few days ago but there was one esteemed blogger who pointed out that if they were to score in the first fifteen minutes it would be game on.

If anyone ever wanted proof that Arsene reads this blog here you have it; he predictably swapped Wilshere for Rosicky, gave Gibbs a break, allowing Monreal a chance to get back up to speed and surprisingly kept Sagna at CB presumably to give Koscielny a bit more time to recover. This was a very strong team, belt and braces stuff, Arsene protecting his precious run in the Champions League, well it worked; we are through.

Rambo scores again

Ramsey’s confidence is soaring and important goals are coming at the right time, his first was a poke in after it fell kindly to him, his second was thing of beauty, opening his body and guiding the ball into the corner past the open mouthed, helpless Ferner keeper.

Szezceny stole the show in the first half pulling off wonder save after wonder save, the second half was only tainted by the loss of Podolski, a hamstring strain is always a minimum of three weeks; it possibly could have been avoided. He came out of the blocks at the beginning of the second half at break neck speed, tearing down the wing faster than he has done so in the last six months to add to an early attack, I am all for showing a bit of commitment Lucas but we were four goals up – relax.

Gibbs replaced Podolski and was interestingly moved into the middle, could he be our next DM? He can tackle, has a defensive mindset, although he can obviously play and add to the attack when needed; Arsene likes his players to be multi functional so who knows?

Sanogo then came on for what was I think his third appearance and got a big round of applause when he finally got his first touch. I now it is early days but I can’t see what he is good at: control, touch, movement, pace, speed, I don’t see any of those.

Theo went off to a massive applause from the fans who bothered turning up and had bothered to stay to this point; it really was heart felt stuff though. I am very pleased for him; the man is really learning how to make the most of his other abilities rather than just relying on his natural gift of speed.

Ryo came on and if some of us, like me, hoped that he might be able to fill in while Podolski recovers we quickly had to think again; there is still a lot of work to be done there.

By this time Fenerbahce were systematically kicking lumps out of Wilshere, I wish, as Slim said, that he wouldn’t roll around giving the impression that he is likely to be out for the season every time he goes down, we need to establish a secret signal, we need a sign Jack that you are alright, some of us with a nervous disposition can’t take it.

The final whistle came and all three of us who had stayed to the very end clapped the boys off.

Job done; now let the signings begin.

Written by LB

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The Surprise Identity of Arsenal’s Next Superstar

August 26, 2013

Whatever you think about Robin van Persie, he is a genuinely world class player.

The same is true of Cesc Fabregas.

But, since the break up of the Invincibles, those are the only two players we have had at Arsenal who can indisputably be called world class.

Recent results (since the Totteringham away game last season) have shown that something good and potent is brewing at Arsenal. A group of players has come together and formed a powerful team spirit. The players are working for each other and they are increasingly understanding each others’ game. There is a good balance of youth and experience and there were no significant departures during the close season.

These players are a wonderful foundation for Arsenal’s next trophy-winning team.

But there is something missing.

The teams that win the biggest prizes have at least one “worldy” in their ranks and, at the moment, Arsenal do not.

That’s one of the reasons why this summer’s transfer window has seen the sort of hysteria more suited to a One Direction concert (not that any of 1D are half as gorgeous as Ollie Giroud and Tomas Rosicky… or so the ladies tell me).

Talk of players like Suarez, Higuain, Rooney and Benzema has been exciting because any one of them would add that missing “world class” dimension and, maybe, push us to another level.

Maybe an A-list name will be joining us in the next week. But even without a last minute transfer coup I believe the identity of our next “worldy” has already been discovered.

I refer to the diminutive Spanish maestro, Santiago Cazorla.

santi pic

Last season, in his first year in English football, Santi was an ever present in our league campaign, scoring 12 goals and providing the assists for 11 others. He also created more chances from open play (80) than any other EPL player except Luis Suarez (94).

And let’s remember that this was in a team that struggled for a considerable part of the season and with players whom Santi had to get to know as the campaign went on.

In its own right it was a stellar debut season.  And now we have every reason to believe that Santi can go on to do even better this time round.

He has had a delayed pre-season compared with most of the squad through having been away with Spain during the summer and then having to make a round trip to Ecuador the week before the EPL started (thanks Fifa).

But against Fulham he showed what he can do when he starts to get back to his best.

His stats from that game make for impressive reading: as well as getting an assist, he led both teams in passes in the attacking third (29) and in chances created (6); he was also just one behind Theo in take-ons (what we used to call attempted dribbles) with five. He had a pass completion rate overall of 94%, but if you look at his passing in the defensive and middle thirds of the field you’ll find he was 100% accurate: he was taking no chances at our end and saving the riskier passes for the attacking third.

But stats don’t tell the whole story with Santi Cazorla. Those of us lucky enough to have seen the full 90+ minutes on Saturday were able to bask in the warm glow that comes from watching the Spanish magician’s incredible footwork and vision.

When he receives the ball under pressure he has that rare skill (seen only in the best players) of being able to suddenly find himself with space and time when most other players – even really good ones – would be having to battle off an opponent or two. At times, when he pings the ball from one foot to the other and shimmies away from trouble you’d swear he’s taken lessons from Michael Flatley. Or that he had a previous career as a bull fighter (“El Munchkino”).

If this Arsenal team starts to achieve anything this year, then Santi may well begin to look like one of the top two or three players in the EPL.

He can bring us elements of Dennis Bergkamp, Cesc Fabregas and Robert Pires combined: time on the ball, vision, killer passes, quick possession play and an eye for goal.

If he looked good last season, he could look great this time round.

And who knows, perhaps a great season for Santi in an Arsenal team that competes well in the EPL and Champions League may even force the Spain coach, Vicente del Bosque, to promote him above one of the more familiar names in the famous Spanish midfield.

Not that I really care about Spain.

But in the miasma of negativity that has surrounded our club this summer, let’s not lose sight of the bright diamond we already have shining in the team that we love.

RockyLives

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Fulham 1 Arsenal 3 “A thoroughly professional performance.”

August 25, 2013

You have got to love Martin Jol; he sets out his teams in the same attacking formation every time he plays against Arsenal and every time they lose, ok there was the one exception but that, as far as I am concerned, only proves the rule; he certainly was never able to beat an Arsene Wenger team while manager of Tottenham and he was no where near doing so yesterday.

Arsenal carried on from where they left off on Wednesday against Fenerbahce beating Fulham at Craven Cottage in what turned out to be a convincing style. 3-1 to the good guys was just what we needed to get the media off our backs, to stop rogue Arsenal supporters taking swipes at the club and to set us up nicely for the coming game against Tottenham.

poldi v fulham

Wenger rotated his squad (lol) leaving Wilshere on the bench, moving Rosicky further back and adding Podolski to the front. This was a very attacking move that had the much desired effect, in my view, of helping Giroud avoid being isolated which he appeared to for the best part of the game against the Turks.

The tactics seemed to be to play our way past Fulham’s onward rushing attack and pick our way round their defence. This required accurate, pin-ball passing which as the game went on Arsenal were doing with more and more fluency and speed.

The break through came after a long range shot from Ramsey was deftly, yes deftly, controlled by Giroud before poking it past the keeper for his now customary goal per game. I have noticed that since the Frenchman has been scoring so regularly that the priority signing to some is shifting from wanting a striker to wanting a centre back, well not for me; I still feel that Suarez would score twice as many of those kind of goals if he were to come to the home of football. That said, I don’t want to appear to be ungrateful to Ollie, the man works like a Trojan, always putting in a shift; he really is the perfect example of what a team player should be.

Being a goal up forced Fulham to come onto us and that in turn forced the focus onto our back line which I must say I thought put in their best performance to date, there was a real understanding between them: Mertasacker oozed confidence, Sagna got better and better as the game went on, Gibbs was simply very good once again and Jenkinson never seemed to be caught out of position, as he is sometimes prone to doing, with Sagna there watching his back.

During the game I was trying to work out, if I were to write the report, who I would award the MOTM to? For ages I couldn’t see anyone who stood out as every player seemed to be doing his job very well; Ramsey may have been given it by the BT sports and indeed he did play well but no better than Cazorla who seems to have finally digested that massive paella he consumed during the close season; the magic in those boots is back, the twists and turns that takes him past opponents are one of the vital skills that makes us a better than the likes of Fulham. I toyed for ages with the MOTM going to the team but then it became clear, there was one player who produced something over and above what I think we have come to expect – Lucas Podolski is my MOTM, scorer of two goals that gave us the points and put smiles on our faces this Sunday morning.

When we are one up space appears and Theo usually starts to shine, yesterday was no exception and it was one of his runs, combined with a Cazorla shot, parried by the Fulham keeper that fell for our Johnny on the spot, Lucas Pololski to side foot in from 18 yards, no easy task, the man did well and gave us a two goal cushion to go into half time with.

If Theo starts to shine at one-nil up he becomes lethal when we go two up, it was his charging run and the quick feet of Cazorla that brought about the third goal for Pololski who rifled home, low and true.

Wilshere came on and added a bit more steel to the defence, Nacho got a run out and Sanogo got a few minutes, I can see him going on loan when the real deal arrives.

Anyway, we took our foot off the gas a bit and this allowed Fulham to score but that only had the effect of focusing the team again, enough to see the game out and bring the points home.

Happy, happy.

Be afraid spuds; be very afraid, the mighty Arsenal are hitting their stride.

Written by LB

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Fulham and a Naked Beautiful Lady

August 24, 2013

Anyone confident of coming away from Craven Cottage with 3 points?

What has changed? The Cottagers remain a club destined to be mid-table and one which we should beat both home and away. Is it really the lack of new signings which has reduced expectation? And if so, why? The team which smashed Fenerbahce are more than good enough to beat Fulham.

OK, we have central defensive problems and in Bent and Berbs Fulham have pace, experience and clinical finishers. But, Bent couldn’t get into the AV first X1 and Berbs despite being a great player is almost as old as his manager.

I would be exaggerating if I said I was confident but I see no reason why we cannot do well today. The performance in Turkey was very good, Sagna is the best right back converted to CB in to country (possibly the world), Cazorla should be over his jet lag , Giroud is banging them in, Theo is in fine form (well, he was for 45 minutes). Ramsey is in the form of his life. I could go on but you know the positives.

Unknown-1

And the negatives: Think back 7 days, plus Koscielny.

Fulham: They won at Sunderland with one shot on target. Bent’s arrival will certainly add some bite as will Scott Parker – are we the only club who haven’t signed him? (rhetorical question). Taraabbt is a strange player – capable of brilliance but never consistent, he has Bendtner-esque self-confidence, and perhaps this has held him back from becoming the superstar his early time at Spurs promised. I like Martin Jol and think he would be a fine short-term manager for us until one of PV4, DB10 or TH14 takes over the long-term reins post-Mr Wenger (but that is another discussion and post). Should Fulham win today it will be the first time in the PL that they have taken 6 points from their first two games.

Arsenal: The team almost picks itself. The only areas of doubt are Gibbs or a returning Monreal and Giroud/Podolski.

Gibbs has been playing well and deserves to keep his place – he can be rested on Tuesday.

Giroud despite having scored twice has not shown enough for me. Yes, he works hard and has yet to have a decent cross to attack but I want more (which is why we are looking for strikers). There must be something going on between AW and Pod. Such a strong player but he has yet to show his true form in the red and white – how much patience can AW have with him? From Podolski’s point of view, he hasn’t been given a decent run in the team in his chosen position. I question why Mr Wenger bought him if he really wanted a left-sided winger/back-up MF; it is clearly not Pod’s game who flourishes closer to the box.

It has been wonderful to see our Little Mozart finally get a run of injury-free games. He looks a terrific player and is showing just what we missed over the past few seasons. Stay fit, Tomas.

I expect Theo to run the ageing Riise ragged. Fulham will concentrate keeping him out, which should allow space for Ramsey to take the space created by the Fulham midfield assisting Riise

My team:

fulham v arse

The bench will be a little light and I cannot understand why Bendtner remains alienated. If fit, he must be an option whatever his difficulties with Arsenal. We pay him, he should play.

Yet to think of a theme so for today I will bring you a touch of my hometown.

The Little Mermaid statue who sits so prettily not 400m from my home celebrated her 100 year birthday yesterday. Created by the sculpture Edvard Eriksen, she was a gift from Carl Jacobsen, the founder of Carlsberg beer, to the city. The Little Mermaid is  a story written by Hans Christian Anderson and has been performed as a ballet, play, and of course, a Disney movie.

Jacobsen had been to the ballet to see The Little Mermaid performed and fell for the charms of the lead ballerina, Ellen Price. Thinking to himself, “how can I get to see this beautiful woman naked?”, he came up with the idea of creating a statue which would become the symbol of both Copenhagen and Denmark. Eriksen designed the mermaid and Jacobsen approached Ellen Price who told him to “sling his hook because she was a respected professional not some cheap trollop”. So, Eriksen used his wife as the model for the body and Price for the face.

images

Hundreds of thousands visit her every year and almost everyone says “I knew she is called Little but I didn’t realise how little”.  Small but beautiful.

No need to stress the importance of a result today. Spurs play Swansea which is a home banker, Chavs already have two wins and to be 6 points behind them after just two games would be a poor start

We won at CC 1-0 at The Cottage last season and a scrappy victory it was, but I would love a similar scoreline today.

COYRRG

Written by Big Raddy

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Aaron Ramsey : A Lesson in Patience

August 23, 2013

This week saw Aaron Ramsey put in the kind of performance that many of us have hoped for since his return from that injury. This wasn’t a one off this has been a slow gradual process, towards the end of last season we started to see signs of his importance to the team and how valuable his stamina and work rate were. Now we are seeing his range of passing and his shooting come back to the fore.

It hasn’t always looked like he would make it back, he suffered dogs abuse from the fans, on blogs, on twitter and in the ground.

But what he never did was hide, it’s what convinced me he we would be ok. He constantly showed for the ball and tried to do the right things with the ball, it didn’t always work, let’s be honest in some games he gave the ball away more often than finding a teammates boot.

But that refusal to shrink in to the background is now paying off, eventually things started to go for him, and now we are seeing the benefit of that game time.

This raises an interesting question, whilst Jack’s injury was nowhere near as severe as Aaron’s the lay off was as long. How long will it take Jack to rediscover the magic, and where should he do it?

The interesting question for me is the second one. Jack like Aaron is too good to be loaned out, but the team will potentially suffer as he regains his match sharpness. But he can’t regain the sharpness sitting on the bench or playing in the reserves.

We the fans will need to be patient, and learn the lesson that Aaron Ramsey has taught us.

Written by Gooner in Exile

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Falling out of love with Football

August 20, 2013

There was a time, not too long ago when football wasn’t about money, it was about a manager, assembling a squad of players to challenge for titles, promotions and avoiding relegation.

In those times many teams could win the League or FA Cup given the right manager and the right players. The manager would choose the playing style and would build a team to compete, in those times everyone started the season with a glimmer of hope star players were spread throughout the top league, some even stayed with their teams when they were relegated or not doing as well.

Fans who went to games and watched their teams discussed the players on the pitch the decisions of the manager on the day, the news during the week was not much to do with football, it might have had the odd reference to an injury or the occasional transfer (as this was pre transfer window).

Players contracts were irrelevant as the club held the registration even if the contract had expired, that was up until Bosman.

But mainly post game we discussed who had the best players, which team had employed those players best, and what an idiot the referee was or otherwise.

Normally we were biased towards our own team, and rightly so like anything we love we forgave their flaws and focus on the good. I mean I used to defend George Graham’s long ball tactics because it won us trophies? No because my team were using them. Just like Stoke fans did under Pulis.

Maybe I’m wearing rose tinted glasses, maybe I am just fed up with being out manoeuvred by Oligarch clubs, afterall most football clubs were owned by a few wealthy individuals, who normally had to reach into their pockets to find the money to fulfil the managers ambitions.

Maybe part of me wishes Arsene Wenger had never come to the club and given us the greatest football I may ever witness as an Arsenal fan. Because even if it hasn’t happened I would still be going to the Arsenal when I could, I’d still be watching every game we played on TV, but what I wouldn’t have to deal with is defending the club from those from outside and in who think we are somehow entitled to expect more than we currently achieve.

When I first started going to Highbury challenging for titles was not on my mind, all I cared about was going to football to watch my club play football. I certainly wasn’t thinking about the business side of the club, now admittedly I was a kid, why would I, but the thing is I still want to be a kid when I go to football, I don’t want to think about the things I can’t control. If we had the fortune to put a good season together of course I was excited to try and win stuff, who wouldn’t be.

I love talking football, the various tactical nuances the pros and cons of defenders and goalkeepers, but I can’t remember the last time that’s all I spoke about, now it has to be about transfers, spending, ticket prices, profits, owners etc. Things I understand admittedly, but not really what I want to be discussing. I try and explain the situation we are in to alleviate the frustrations felt by others, because seriously I couldn’t give a shit if we never win another trophy in my lifetime, I’ll always be an Arsenal supporter and they will always be By Far The Greatest Team, and I know I’ll now be labelled as the problem the unambitious type that allows the club to say 4th is a trophy, but here is the thing it wouldn’t bother me if we finished 10th I’d still go, as many of you would. In fact I think we’d all enjoy it a little bit more.

I want to discuss the one thing we can see on the pitch, the performance, the team selection and the tactics.

Take Saturday’s defeat to Villa, we missed Arteta, we were done by the ref, Wilshere and Ramsey need to find a way to work together, Sagna had an off day (even before he was moved to left back), Theo disappeared. They should have been the discussion points, but it turns into an argument about what the club have or haven’t spent who is or isn’t responsible. Is this why anyone started following football? Is this why anyone loves football, is this what got you hooked on the beautiful game?

I’ve signed my son up for Junior Gunners, I’m starting to think I made a mistake, living in Norwich I see the majority of lads wearing Norwich City shirts, the fans enjoy the ride, yes I hear them moan and complain about performances, but they are happy to go to games together as a community, if I’m near the ground on matchday I hear On The Ball City ring out across the City. I’m jealous, jealous that they still go to football for the right reasons, a sold out ground with little chance of success, but they enjoy it. I hear the moans after defeats, they are not talking about how they should’ve signed x y and z, they are talking about which players did well, what the manager should have done. That’s not to say they haven’t had issues, Season Tickets being thrown at Bryan Gunn, but this was a team that two seasons earlier were in the PL and were having their asses handed to them by Colchester in League 1, just a bit of a comedown (still a sold out ground though).

I think I need a break from blogging, I need to enjoy football again. I’m not doing that on blogs, I’ve had more rational conversations with Liverpool and Spurs fans over this weekend than I’ve had on the web.

Gooner in Exile

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We Still Have 111 Points to Play For

August 19, 2013

The fall-out from our weekend defeat to Aston Villa has been an unedifying spectacle to say the least.

Fans turning on fans, seasoned bloggers sulking off, the Underminers* out in force.

I understand the frustration. We lost our opening game of the season for the first time in 13 years; we lost our opening game of the season at home for the first time in 20 years; our squad resembles something from The Walking Dead; we don’t have any shiny new players to get excited about…

But come on! Let’s keep some perspective.

We have lost one game – and we lost it because of an (at best) incompetent referee.

We were better than Villa for most of the match and had the chances to at least equalise even after we were down to 10 men and a goal behind. I have no doubt that if Koscielny had not been sent off we would have gone on to share the points or win.

Referee Taylor’s eagerness to give Koscielny a second yellow (for not touching an opponent, let’s remember) stinks like a week-old kipper and deserves further investigation. Not that it will happen.

But read the press and wander through the Arsenal blogosphere and you discover that actually, no: the result had nothing to do with the extraordinarily bad officiating. It was all to do with Arsenal not having brought in enough players so far this summer.

I happen to think we should have signed some reinforcements by now, but I don’t think that had much or anything to do with losing to Villa.

And at the very least I am prepared to write it off as a bad day – the sort of bad day that will also happen to Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea and those darlings of the media, Toddling Potty-Smears at times during the season.

We play 38 league games in an EPL campaign, for a maximum of 114 points. Three of those points have now been flushed down the lavvy, but there are still 111 left to play for.

Talk of our season being over before it has begun is (while understandable) really a bit knee-jerk and emotional and supporters need to calm down and regain their sense of perspective. One headline on Newsnow (from a supposedly Arsenal supporting blog) scweamed: “Thanks Arsene, out of title race before it even started.” Seriously? After the first game of the season we’re out of the title race? Come on! Like no team has ever won the title after losing on the opening day.

Likewise, the idea that potential new signings will be deterred from joining us because we lost a single game while some of our rivals won their single games is far fetched.

The club itself certainly bears some of the blame for this atmosphere of irrational hysteria, as does the media, but we fans are not obliged to fall into line with such a discordant tune.

The players that managed an amazing run in the last 10 games of last season are still there. Referees won’t always be so biased against us (although they do line up in our oppositions’ colours more often than seems to happen to other clubs). Injuries will pass and we will win games.

We certainly need to strengthen the squad before the end of the transfer window if we are to have any chance of competing for trophies this season, but I am also confident that good players will be brought in (if they are not, I will be singing a different tune).

So, we can’t be happy about the Villa result, but we can keep our feet on the ground, take a chill pill, let the toys stay in the pram (insert metaphor-of-choice here) and, most of all, not despair. Better days are coming.

  • “Underminers:” opposite of “Supporters.” See Post in archives from April 15th 2013 for a full description.

RockyLives

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A Big Name Signing – More Important to the Fans or Players?

August 13, 2013

After watching highlights of our recent performance in Finland and having seen the displays put in during our fundraising/goodwill tour of Asia I was left perplexed at the team that took the pitch during the Emirates Cup at home.

GunnerN5 has recently opined that the players are fearful of playing at home and that it translates into performances on the pitch. Ramsey’s display in Finland compared to his slightly misfiring performance at the Emirates, Walcott’s ease of finish, compared to lifting a very similar chance wide. Precise and purposeful forward play in Finland against turgid pass pass pass at the Emirates Cup.

Admittedly the squad is looking thin, so some signings are absolutely necessary before the season commences. And having seen the capability of our first choice players in Finland there is an argument to say that the team doesn’t need one big name, it just needs some padding to replace those recently departed, and maybe some different options in certain positions.

However it seems the signing of a “Superstar” is more important to the fans than the squad itself, the media and fans have made such an issue of the need for Arsenal to spend big that five squad players will not sate their appetite. They want a star, and if they don’t get one I think the mood in the Emirates will not change dramatically despite Saturday’s performance.

What do you think?

Gooner in Exile

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Arteta: player of the season? No.

August 12, 2013

As things stand we don’t have a “Defensive Midfielder” that’s to say someone who by nature actually likes defending.

To help my point I regarded Gilberto as a natural defender.

Neither, Arteta, Ramsey nor Wilshere and certainly not Diaby fall into this category.

In 80% of the games we play, this lack of a defensive midfielder doesn’t matter, because the majority of teams defend against us (park the bus) and so the challenge is always to find a way of breaking them down — we need Suarez so badly it is not true.

In the other 20%, or even less, we are attacked, or the teams seriously knew how to counter attack.

We got caught out time and time again last season by the 20% and this is one of the reasons we had such a poor record against the three teams who finished above us.

It is also why I could not have voted for Arteta as player of the season, a fine player when we are playing against a Bus but his lack of pace and lack of natural defensive know how lets us down against fast attacking teams. The first game against Bayern Munich demonstrates this best for me. This also makes a player like Gustavo a must; there is no reason why he can’t play along side Arteta or give him a rest which he will inevitably need as the season progresses.

I think since Saturday most people have acknowledged that we have a good core squad, capable of beating anyone at this point in the season but injuries being what they are, I am doubtful that we can hold together for longer than — what — Tuesday week!

Written  by LB

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Posted by LB

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