One of the commonest criticisms of  Arsène Wenger is that he can’t “pick” a defender.

We know he loves attackers and will sit up half the night fantasising about the striking skills of a Thierry Henry or a Robin van Ungrateful.

But when it comes to identifying the qualities required in a top flight defender, he is like a blind man shopping for sex aids in a greengrocer’s (it all ends up a bit messy).

Or at least that’s what the critics would have you think.

But is this fair?

To my mind, not at all.

In my lifetime, which spans 13 World Cups, 10 Prime Ministers and three top 10 hits by Jethro Tull, there has only been one season in which the Arsenal defence remained unbreached.

That season was, of course, 2003/4 – the season of The Invincibles.

And what was the first choice back four of The Invincibles? As if I need to remind you! It was, of course, Lauren, Toure, Campbell and Cole. All signed by Arsene Wenger or (in the case of Cashley) promoted to first team action by him.

People (including me) still talk in hushed terms of the great George Graham defence that went on to be the bedrock of Arsene’s early trophy years. Dixon, Bould, Keown, Adams and Winterburn were simply amazing. But they never managed to go a season unbeaten (although they went close in 1990/91). Truth to tell, they were not as good as The Invincibles back four, who matched them for grit and defensive solidity, but outdid them for creativity and attacking threat.

Cole was more dynamic than Winterburn; dead-eyed Lauren was every bit as impassable as Dixon; Kolo Toure could play on the ground better than any of George Graham’s central defenders; and Campbell was as big and brave a rock as Tony Adams.

But Arsene never really gets the credit for creating that impregnable back line and it’s still routine to read comments to the effect that all his trophy success was down to the legacy of Gorgeous George (the famous-back-four bit of the legacy that is, not the brown-paper-envelope bit).

Since then his defensive signings (or home growns) have included the likes of Clichy, Eboue, Gibbs, Gallas, Sagna, Vermaelen, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal and Jenkinson.

Admittedly there have been mistakes, like signing Mikael Sylvestre from Manchester United and bringing back Sol Campbell.

But there were mitigating circumstances. Sylvestre was signed as an EPL experienced utility squad player who could cover centre back and left back – but a really unfortunate spell of injuries meant he ended up playing more often than anyone would ever have wanted – including Arsene Wenger.

Campbell, ditto, was meant to be a squad player but the same injury crisis thrust him into the front line (where, even as an aging player, he was far from shabby).

But most of Arsene’s defensive choices have been very good players.

I know some of you will be already reaching for your keyboard to tell me how rubbish Vermaelen is, or that Mertsesacker is too slow, or that Gibbs is too injury prone. But rhey are all good players who have been doing their best during a period of intense transition and upheaval for Arsenal.

For the past two seasons the defence has been playing without the support of a recognised defensive midfielder and with an ever-changing succession of callow or careless goalkeepers behind them.

That, along with Arsene’s preferred style of attacking play, has led many to conclude that our back line is poor and that this is because of the quality of the players. Who chooses the players? Arsene! Therefore, case proved: he’s can’t find good defenders.

But I happen to think there’s nothing wrong with the personnel. We just need a bit of stability and a run of results to restore confidence and make us seem hard to beat again. (*NOTE: since I wrote this Post, we have had two away wins and two clean sheets, so I fervently hope a corner has been turned).

I would prefer to see us have a more traditional defensive midfielder in the team (which is not to knock the excellent Mikel Arteta – it’s just that I feel he could do a better job further forward and a more defensive-minded midfielder would be a boon to our defence). But that’s just my opinion.

I also happen to think that some of Arsene’s defensive “flops” (including Squillaci, Cygan, Senderos and Djourou) are better players than the fans have realised. It’s not so long ago that we were raving about Djourou marking Drogba out of the game when we beat Chelsea at the Emirates.

So, to conclude, do you think Arsene is unfairly judged on his record of signing defenders?

Who do you think his bad choices have been?

And who are his good ones?

RockyLives

Like most pundits and fans I was surprised to see Szczesny dropped for the return leg in Munich, Arsene told us he was mentally tired, less surprising and more welcome was the dropping of Vermaelen who despite being our Captain has been our weak link on too many occasions this season.

Vermaelen has in truth been troubling me with his displays since mid March last season, shirking defensive stability in order to roam forward in to the opposition box (it worked for Newcastle at home but after that he seemed to think it was his new role in the team…QPR away!). This season he has been asked to defend first and in truth he has been found wanting. But is there perhaps a deeper reason?

During this season I have questioned the body language of some of our team, for me there has been a bit too much finger pointing and blame put on other players. This has been done by the experienced and some would say star players in the team, Sagna, Vermaelen, Podolski, Walcott etc. There appeared to be a couple of cliques appearing, some players like BFG, Cazorla and Arteta seemed to straddle the divide.

What we have seen in the last two games is a far greater work ethic from the players, they haven’t appeared to criticise each other but instead worked together to achieve something. Or is it a coincidence that only Walcott from the (maybe my wholly imagined) star player clique was on the pitch. Around him 10 players who were prepared to take responsibility for the whole team.

By all accounts BFG and Arteta when they arrived were surprised at the divided nature of the group at meal times etc, they suggested to the skipper that they do something to change it, judging by the team body language at times this season I would guess we have gone back to how it was before they arrived.

There is something to say for smiling on the pitch (and not just when a goal is scored) it’s one of the things that I used to love about the early Wenger teams, it’s why Cazorla is so likeable, you rarely see him complain about a misplaced pass he just gets on with it.

Whilst Vermaelen, Sagna and co continue to point the finger of blame at others they will surely see the exit door at some time in the future. If so and if they are indeed as up their own backsides as it sometimes appears then its surely a good thing.

Gooner in Exile

Today, I am incredibly proud to announce AA’s first ever DitIt Competition, wot has a prize ‘an all.

Yip, indeedy, your chance to win this fabulous (unframed) picture of the Mighty Mickey Thomas the night where he DidIt. At 30x21cm this wonderful picture depicting the finest moment in Arsenal’s incredible history will enhance any home.

Here’s the deal. This is a simple competition, with simple rules.

Below are the remaining fixtures for The Arsenal, Spuds and Chavs with their current points tally. All you have to do is enter three lines with the final, end of season tallies. I know that Everton could surge, or City collapse, but it’s my quiz and my rules, so there.

In the event of a tie, the winner will be the first to have posted the correct result. Should no-one have the exact end totals, I will count one point for every plus or minus you are out for each of the three. The winner will have the lowest total. (panic not, I know what I mean J ).

All entries need to be posted here before tomorrow’s post goes up. Pic will be sent out in a protective tube anywhere in the world once the winner has sent their address and a silly name to Arsenalnuts. Email address above under “Contact”. Someone remind me, and I’ll be posting it the day the season has ended.

My competition should allow room for a little chit chat about the fixtures ahead, the pitfalls, and of course, where the inevitable Spud collapse is most likely to take place.

Brilliant idea eh, and may the best Gunner win!

CURRENT STANDINGS: Chelski 55 pts, Spuds 54, Arsenal 50

ARSENAL FIXTURES: Reading h, WBA a, Norwich h, Everton h, Fulham a, Utd h, QPR a, Wigan h Newcastle a

SPUD FIXTURES: Swansea a, Everton h, Chelsea a, Man City h, Wigan a, Southampton h, Stoke a, Sunderland h

CHELSKI FIXTURES: Southampton a, Sunderland h, Spuds h, Liverpool a, Swansea h, Utd a, Villa a, Everton h, Fulham h

So, work out a points tally from the remaining fixtures for the three teams and stick your thoughts into a comment.

Written by MickyDidIt89

How wonderful, a second away win in a week. A clean sheet too.

I was at the Emirates earlier in the season when the Swans scored two break away goals late on to take three points from us and although Monreal’s goal was scrappy it was marvelous to score a real ‘old-fashioned’ Arsenal goal yesterday to seal the win.

Ramsey and The Swerve really did make a difference when they came on and I love the idea of Gibbs playing in front of Monreal late on in a game. AW has used this tactic before with the left-backs, Cole/Clichy, Clichy/Gibbs even the much maligned Santos added something to the left wing when used in front of Gibbs or Vermaelen.

Rocky has written some excellent player ratings below so I won’t go into too much detail about individual performances.

Much credit must be given to this Swansea team who played some excellent football, they really do spray the ball around well and always seem to find each other. They are a team full of confidence and Michu could have put them ahead early in the first half but it wasn’t to be their day.

We are still in with a shout for a ‘top four’ trophy. Yes, we have to hope that the teams above us drop points and that we can find some consistency but lets face it now is the time. Arsène Wenger believes in this team and this week they have repaid his belief. His own decision to drop Vermaelen and Szczesny must have caused him sleepless nights but the result has been beneficial to the team.

Look at the passion in these guys eyes …….. they loved that win yesterday and so did I.

Written by peachesgooner

Player ratings from RockyLives

Fabianski: I’m afraid the younger of the Poles in Goal won’t be getting his place back just yet. Fab didn’t have much to do but he did well when called upon – in particular one low save against Michu (the Swans striker was offside, but Fab didn’t know that). He had one “Flappy” moment from a cross and was not really tested in the second half – but a very steady game to follow on from his good outing in Munich. 7

Jenkinson: the boy is becoming a man; the Corporal may be ready for his third stripe. One ill-advised pass across his own penalty box aside, Jenks was assured in defence and a constant outlet going forward. He is also very, very fast. If it were down to me, I would keep him in the team, with Sagna as bac-up. 8

Mertesacker: why so many people still doubt the big German sausage is a mystery to me. He marshalled the defence, was composed on the ball and very vocal. 8

Koscielny: Stan Laurel is forming a fine partnership with the BFG. I like many of Vermaelen’s qualities, but I have felt all season that the Kozzer-BFG axis is our best central defence pairing. Two clean sheets in two difficult away games bear that out. 7.5

Monreal: looks a very tidy player. Still finding his feet as an Arsenal man, but defended well and got the all-important first goal (which definitely merits and extra point).  His understanding with his team mates is improving and he should turn out to be a good buy. 8

Arteta: it’s a tough job for any holding midfielder against Swansea, because their ball retention and movement is so good. For someone like Arteta, who is not really a holding MF by instinct, it’s an even bigger task. There were periods in the first half when we couldn’t get the ball and Mikel struggled. But once we got going he was absolutely vital to our play, orchestrating our moves from deep and tidying up well when we lost possession. Unspectacular, but undoubtedly essential. 8

Diaby: started poorly, giving the ball away unnecessarily a few times early on and failing to get to grips with the Swans’ midfield. But he improved as time went on and made some excellent turn-and-runs to threaten the home team’s area. Had opportunities to shoot but always seemed to need one touch too many. 7

Santi Cazorla: had a quieter first half, but his influence grew as the game went on until he was pulling all the strings in attack. Had some good shots, was always looking for the ball and his combination play with team mates was outstanding. 8.5 (MoTM)

Oxlade-Chamberlain: I’ll admit I was starting to get worried about Oxo, who seemed to have lost his mojo. But this was a real return to form and confidence. He sought out the ball, was always direct, hit the crossbar not once but twice and would have given Cazorla a run for MoTM if he had not been subbed off after about 70 minutes. 8

Walcott: not Theo’s best game. In the first half he seemed to want to cut inside all the time rather than use his pace round the outside. He was involved in some good second half moves but really needed to have been more involved. 7

Giroud: can’t fault his work rate and some of his hold-up play was very good in thankless circumstances. I do worry that, overall, Ollie is A- class rather than A or A+. 6.5

Subs

Gervinho: when he came on for Chamberlain I couldn’t understand why Arsene was taking off one of our best players on the day. But The Swerve was immediately effective and caused mayhem in the Swansea defence by taking on and beating defenders. He had one typical “Oh no Gervinho” moment when he brilliantly cut inside from the left, only to fluff the simple lay-off. When he put the game beyond Swansea’s reach I was delighted for him and so, it was obvious to see, were the Arsenal players. Arteta even made a point of sending him back to milk the applause of the (again excellent) travelling support. This guy will never be Henry of Pires, but if we give him a chance he might just be a valuable member of our squad. 8

Ramsey: after a fine game in Munich, Ramsey was – as we have come to expect – full of energy and endeavour. He made a couple of great bursts from midfield and set up Gervinho for our second. 7

Gibbs: looked very comfortable as a wide left player in front of Monreal. It’s definitely an option to use him in that role in the future. 7

Last evening whilst having my own late night concert featuring the music of my younger days, I came across this Terry Jacks number. I was immediately struck by the relevance of the choruses of this song, to Football fans everywhere and Arsenal fans in particular.

We had joy we had fun we had seasons in the sun. But the wine and the song like the seasons have all gone

One only has to read this blog, to see these sentiments reiterated regularly in so many ways.

This is the song of the we haven’t won anything  for years brigade, the time for a change, we can’t look back or live in the past supporters, desperate for more trophies.

We had joy, we had fun, we had seasons in the sun. But the hills that we climbed were just seasons out of time.

Written for the “Wenger got lucky, he arrived at the right time and inherited a back line that won him trophies and he couldn’t recognise a centre back today if one fell on him”

We had joy, we had fun, we had seasons in the sun. But the stars we could reach were just starfish’s on the beach.

We never aimed high enough took the easy pickings then surrendered any further progress, by swapping our best players for a new ground and a yearly profit.

Amazing what you can find in a song especially if like me and many older supporters who come on here, you’ve had Joy, you’ve had fun and those seasons in the sun, rain and the snow, and a lifetime of memories you wouldn’t swap or change for anything.

Because it is that mixture of triumph and disaster that has made Arsenal the club we love above all others, secure in the knowledge that it has not yet been defiled or turned into a personal plaything by a Johnny come lately with questionable motives or finances.

Written by dandan