So, Do You Think We Can Win The League?

July 16, 2010

I don’t know why but I am not as confident about winning the league this season as I was last which is unusual for me because when it comes to optimism and blind faith I make Stevie Wonder look like he has twenty, twenty vision.

This time last year I was getting quite excited, we had just managed to offload the disruptive Adebayor to City while fleecing them shortly after in the form of Toure. Our attack looked solid helped by the long awaited return of Eduardo. The midfield was bolstered by the return of Rosicky and the defence was augmented with Vermaelen. This gave us the partnership in central defence of Gallas and Vermaelen with Senderos, Silvestre and Song as cover all of which sat well with me. Manu had lost Tevez and Ronaldo, the dippers were totally reliant on the fitness of Gerrard and Torres and the chavs, well that one was always going to be the biggest hurdle to get over but nevertheless, I put my faith in my optimism and arrived at the conclusion that we were going to win the league.

This season, I am not so sure, we have Chamakh which is very exciting, although, for those expecting to see an out and out number nine alla Ian Wright I think you are going to be disappointed. From the five full games I have watched him he plays the channels, he is far more of a team player than the selfish Wright, although, that is not to suggest that being selfish is a bad thing for a striker, it just makes the point that they are very different. The clever advantage, above all, of having a player like Chamakh is that by reputation he will not expect to get an automatic starting place  – he will know that he will have to earn it; the other advantage is that the rest of the attack won’t feel threatened but he will keep them on their toes.

The midfield is so obviously reliant on Fabrégas that there seems little point of discussing the possibility of life after Cesc, as far as I am concerned — Denial is a river in Egypt — and Cesc will lead the good guys out at Anfield.

On a serious note there is only one issue out there that the Cesc bashers are still clinging to and that is what his father is rumoured to have said: the next time you get into a debate with one of them ask if there is a shred of evidence to show that Cesc’s father actually said that his son would like to leave and you will find out very quickly that there isn’t and do you know why that is true? Because if there was, those so called Arsenal supporters would be throwing it in our faces at every opportunity — Cesc has acted impeccably throughout this trying time.

I digress or perhaps I was just trying to put this off — the midfield — I have to admit that such a pivotal role falling to Diaby scares the life out of me the idea that he can stay focused for the whole season seems way beyond his capabilities but hey ho in Arsène we trust as they say.

The central defence: “we won’t win anything until we get four world class centre backs.” Don’t you just want to strangle people who make statements like that? It is about as banal as saying grass is green, it also suggests that such a revelation might not have crossed Wenger’s mind. Four world class CB’s at a club at any one time is a mirage, an impossible dream, you may be able to keep two happy but which two other self respecting world class players would be prepared to sit on the bench for what could be the best part of a season if not more, Chelsea with their inflated wages come close but even their situation is far from perfect.

When it comes to Wenger’s signings we as Arsenal supporters are used to having to make a leap of faith; there was a time when the names were so obscure that I was chuffed just to have heard of the country of origin never mind their pedigree.  Last year it was Vermaelen, although, in his case we had the reassuring knowledge that he was captain of Belgium and captain of Ajax. This year we are really being tested with the signing of Koscielny —  I have to admit I am nervous, this is possibly the biggest leap of faith we have ever been asked to make. Still we won’t have to wait long, his first appearance is on Saturday at Barnet when, if all goes well, people will return with glowing reports of how Wenger has unearthed yet another gem and this uncomfortable pessimism will evaporate………I certainly hope so.

Written by London

162 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by LB

The Exit Looms …. But For Who?

July 12, 2010

When discussing buying players recently, I’ve found myself repeating the phrase ‘cautiously dipping our toes back into the transfer market’.

I know we’ve been buying players selectively over the last couple of years, but I do believe that the pattern of one decent signing over the summer will become 2,3 or even 4 as long as our profits remain healthy and the squad needs reinforcing.

In a perfect world, we’d have a gifted and balanced squad, none of whom want to leave, fed by a constant influx of talent from our youth system, but Carlsberg don’t do football management. I don’t expect us to buy any ‘finished article’ £25m+ superstars, but continue with what we do best and that is to identify players who are not on the radar of the big clubs but are ‘Wenger gems’ in the making. I expect Koscielny to be just such an acquisition.

This brings me to the main point of the post. In the future, if we are going to bring in 2 or 3 players, we will also be letting 2 or 3 players go. Competition for places in the side should be fierce and hopefully this will increase desire, ambition and work rate in the squad. I’m not referring to the likes of  Sol, Silvestre and Campbell’ older players who are being ‘let go’. It would be great if the next time we sell a player it will be because WE want to  rather than THEY would prefer to play for a ‘bigger’ club.

In yesterday’s post, 26may1989 put it very well when he wrote this about the respective performances in the World Cup ‘Never has a tournament shown the value of team play, of the collective over the individual. To me, that’s a good thing.’

I would argue that team spirit and belief is eroded when the better players know that there are weak links in the side.

We’ve discussed the importance of not damaging player’s confidence by character assassination from the terraces; in the media or on the blogs, but the ruthless objectivity that has got us into this enviable position must also apply to the squad.

The purchase of Vermaelen to replace Kolo Toure is a perfect example of the way I think we should go about strengthening the squad.

I have it from a ’very reliable source close to the top’ (hell, I sound just like the sort of rumour monger I despise), that last season, there were four first team regulars that were thought not to be up to standard – pretty amazing that we finished 3rd in the Premiership if that really was the case.

I can already sense every reader compiling a list in their heads. Apart from the obvious choice of the keeper, this subject will produce more disagreement than any other. Song would be one of the first names on the team sheet for me whereas I am yet to be convinced that Diaby can produce the consistency and discipline required.

I shall not describe any players in relation to a ‘popular savoury spread’, but suffice to say that we all employ our personal prejudices when evaluating players and sometimes that is an irrational judgement, but the harsh reality is that we can now afford to replace any that are not good enough – and that’s precisely what we must do!

Arsène will no doubt have it in his mind that next season will be make or break for some players. He has announced in previous years that he expects player ‘A’ (Theo?) to really step up a level, he now has the financial clout to replace player ‘A’ if he fails to reach the required standard. Every player with potential should be given the chance to prove they can make the grade (Vela?), but equally there is a point where persistence with failure damages the team and costs games.

We will have a stronger team this coming season. The description of Koscielny as a ‘warrior’ says it all; Arsène knows we need to be stronger and more aggressive to compliment our silky passing skills.

I expect that any player who consistantly fails in terms of ability and work rate will be closest to the door when we go shopping next summer.

124 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Rasp

Arsenal Sign £30m Star – should have gone to Speculation Savers!

July 7, 2010

Not much has changed since I last tried to reign in the excesses of those supporters who denigrate our club because we have failed to sign Messi (OK I exaggerate – but they started it).

We had a seemingly well informed blogger (Dudulino) on yesterday who claims to have met Koscielny at the training ground. Apparently he will wear squad number 6. The announcement of his arrival will be made with full fanfare on AW’s return from the World Cup – I believe Dudulino, it is totally in line with the way the club is being run now and for the foreseeable future.

Shock Headline from The Sun “Arsenal eye £40m swoop for Italian Stars” – calm down dear, it’s only a commercial …… to attract readers to a gutter newspaper!

Let me put everyone’s mind at rest. We aren’t going to sign any £30m players – but that’s OK, we’ll still be the Arsenal. We are just a couple of years ahead of the way every other club is going to have to operate. For some (pool) that change may come too late.

In the same way as we showed the Premiership how to play football and introduced new training techniques at the start of Wenger’s era, so we are now showing them how a club MUST be run to ensure survival. Most Premiership clubs can only dream of having a stadium like the Emirates, let alone achieve it with manageable debt.

I am optimistic that Schwarzer is already on his way and we will sign a big right sided central defender – Mertesacker will do nicely. I’m not bothered about Joe Cole, we have players as good as him already. I think a player like Mertesacker could be the last piece in the jigsaw for next season and would raise the intriguing prospect of Vermaelen or Djourou being advanced into the defensive midfield role. We have been linked with Ozil for £20m today (yawn), obviously that would only be a possibility if Cesc leaves.

I’m no saint when it comes to my wish list. I’d love us to sign Torres, but more than that, I want us to continue on this path because I wouldn’t risk the stability of the club for anything, if we did, all the hard work of the last 5 years would be wasted.

I hope my light hearted approach (or should that be reproach?) hasn’t upset any of those who crave signings at any price. We are all gooners after all and even those of you who are foaming at the mouth due to our lack of transfer activity will keep supporting the Arsenal come what may.

Written by Rasp

179 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Rasp

A New Rock Solid Defence – are we still one short?

June 30, 2010

The stress of the transfer window is clearly exacerbated when you’ve watched your experienced keeper – Manuel Almunia – make a series of howlers in the previous season and you hear how your manager is not really looking at a replacement. In addition, knowing that four centre-backs – Campbell, Gallas, Silvestre and Senderos – are possibly not going to be around for the start of the new season, the apparent inactivity by Arsenal has been difficult to witness.

Quite frankly, for a team like Arsenal, lacking a class goal-keeper is a ridiculous situation to be in. We have a number two – Fabianski – who is also of the flappable nature and a number three – Mannone – who was called into action and heroically kept us in a game against Fulham but wasn’t felt to be ready to play more than a few games. Our fourth choice keeper – Szczesny –  has everyone raving about how great he’s going to be but is currently too young and inexperienced.

So, reports that we could be interested in signing Mark Schwartzer from Fulham are interesting. Do we need 5 goal-keepers? Who’s going to make way for him? Surely if he is to be our new No.1, Almunia or Fabianski must be moved on…………..

But it is the centre-back pairing is causing even more debate. We are linked – and I suspect he’ll be unveiled very soon – with Laurent Koscielny from french side Lorient and we have Johann Djourou available fighting fit – for now.  Who should be first choice partner for Thomas Vermaelen? Senderos has already gone but we have no idea if Gallas and Campbell are staying or going. Gallas played his best football for us last season and Campbell was a revelation adding spirit and desire to the team. They both have high wages and I suspect they’ll both be hampered with injuries next season so we don’t need for them both to stay but one would be nice.

Koscielny may cost us £8.5m which is not money being spent for him to sit on the bench so I assume he will be our new No.6 and the first choice partner for Vermaelen. Djourou will be back-up together with either Campbell or Gallas. But what if they both go? Ooops we’ll need another CB – Anton Ferdinand anyone? What if they both stay? It must be doing Arsenes head in. Either way I’m looking forward to welcoming Koscielny to be part of our new rock solid defence but we still need one more……………..Silvestre?????????

Yesterday, Rasp and London got all excited at the thought of the new centre-back pairing being Djourou and Koscielny and Vermaelen being pushed up to partner Song in front of the back four as our new long awaited DM. Now that does sound like a plan, only then we’d be two short at the back. Go figure………….see you in the comments.

Following last nights Spain v Portugal game I’m compelled to say – Cesc, we love you, we’d never leave you on the bench for a whole game, come home, don’t even think about playing in Spain – not yet anyway, wait until they really need you.

108 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by peachesgÖÖner

Summer Signings – expect to be ‘slightly disappointed’

June 28, 2010

 

Since when did telling it like it is make anyone a pessimist?

I expect to be slightly disappointed by our transfer activity this summer for the fifth season in a row, but I am eagerly looking forward to next season, full of the optimism  and 100% behind whichever Arsenal players take to the pitch.

If I had to stake anyone’s house on it, I would guess that by the time the transfer window closes, Cesc will still be an Arsenal player and we will not have signed any players over the £10m mark. If he goes, we may look for another midfielder but I still would not expect us to pay over £20m for a ‘replacement’ (possibly Gourcuff) even if we get £45m for Cesc.

My disappointment will be that it doesn’t look like we will be in the market for another holding midfielder to protect the back four. A player who could either cover for, or play alongside Song. I don’t think Diaby can concentrate for long enough periods to be a reliable DM and Denilson lacks the physical presence. We need a player who will allow our numerous attacking midfielders to play with more freedom, a system that Brazil have executed very effectively in this World Cup.

In the belief that the deals for Koscielny and Schwarzer are in the bag, this is how it currently stands:

IN IN THE BALANCE OUT
Chamakh Campbell Merida
Ebecilio Fabregas Senderos
Koscielny Almunia Gallas
Schwarzer Joe Cole Silvestre
Player ‘X’ Player ‘X’ Eduardo

Forget about labelling anyone as a pessimist – wake up and smell the coffee …this is how it is……

  1. The dynamic of footballer transfers has become polarised by the emergence of billionaires who see owning a football club as a status symbol, and at the other end of the scale, by the growing debt of clubs at all levels. We are not even going to enter into a bidding situation over a player if the likes of citeh, chelski, Real or Barça are interested.
  2. Our Board and manager are ‘prudent’ in the extreme and have formulated a business model for the club that is held up as THE way to run a football club in the 21st century. As is often pointed out on this site, it is a small miracle that we have achieved the level of success we have in terms of league position over the last five years under the financial constraints imposed due to the building of the stadium.
  3. In terms of priority, playing attractive football that entertains and attracts supporters and TV audiences and keeping the club solvent is more important than winning trophies. Arsène has said that qualifying to the Champions League is ‘winning something’ and in terms of revenue to the club that cannot be denied.
  4. The media and internet community are responsible for 99% of the rubbish that is disseminated regarding transfers, but it is also so pervasive that it is virtually impossible for any club to land a ‘surprise big signing’. All of our recent player acquisitions have been flagged up for weeks in advance. The process is often protracted as we negotiate hard to get the player at the best possible price.

Arsène has come out again and said “We will soon sign a player on the defensive front”. Translated that means the deal for Koscielny is already done and we are just sorting out the fine detail. This will allow the club’s PR department maximise the impact and announce the signing before the end of the WC in line with Wenger’s promise.

Unless one of the major shareholders takes the plunge and makes a successful takeover bid and decides to recklessly gamble their own money on buying players, I expect our involvement in the transfer market for the rest of the Wenger era to be pretty much at the level demonstrated this summer. We are not going to pay £30m+ for the likes of David Villa. The so-called ‘warchest’ was club spin to say that we are in a better condition financially this summer and we can spend some money if Arsène chooses – not that we are going to splash out £40m on a high profile player.

I choose to support Arsenal in the knowledge of these limitations and have to reluctantly accept that winning trophies is not our right or even our main priority. If we do win anything next season it will be a huge bonus. If we don’t, we will be entertained by some wonderful football.

On the positive side, I expect Chamakh to be our top scorer, Koscielny to be another ‘Vermaelen’, Ramsey to return and become a great player and Cesc to give us one more quality season. On the negative side, I expect we will suffer more than our fair share of injuries, we will go out of the cup competitions by the quarter final stages and we will still lose points to the likes of Stoke and Blackburn.

That’s not pessimism, it’s realism!

Written by Rasp

96 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Rasp

Could we be a stronger team if Cesc leaves?

June 14, 2010

Following Raddy’s article yesterday exposing the press reporting of ‘Arsenal’s behind the scenes dealing’ for the fanciful unsubstantiated speculation it undoubtedly is, I thought I’d be obtuse and join in with the speculation by putting myself in the shoes of a supporter who is prepared to believe some of the stronger rumours that are circulating.

Just for those who may read the headline but not the article, I am not suggesting that we would be stronger BECAUSE Cesc goes to Barca, just looking for the positives IF he does.

Here are some of the mooted changes in personnel at the start of next season if our worst fears are confirmed and Cesc leaves. FC Lorient and Fulham have both confirmed that Arsenal have made an enquiry about their players whereas the Joe Cole story is just a rumour that many are prepared to believe.

Out: Cesc, Gallas, Sol, Silvestre, Merida, Almunia (maybe not sold)

In: Chamakh (already signed), Koscielny, Schwarzer, Joe Cole

Would the balance of those changes make us a stronger team next season?

Starting from the back; even after conceding 4 goals last night, I think Schwarzer is better than Almunia. He’s not top top class but he would give Szczesny the couple of years he needs to grow into our first choice keeper. I’d send Fabianski out on loan to try to rebuild his confidence and keep Szczesny as our number two, maybe giving him the occassional start in the side.

Koscielny is an odd one. I don’t know that much about the player. Arsène is obviously very keen on him, so I suspect he will turn into a gem in the mould of Vermaelen and hopefully bed into the side as quickly. I think he could be better for us than Gallas in terms of motivation, freedom from injuries and aerial power in defence although he lacks experience. A lot rests on the continued fitness of Djourou as it is certain that one, or both of our CB’s will be lost to injury at some stage so we may have to rely on Song to fill in at the back at some stage.

A defensive midfielder to cover for Song is the player I feel we really need but will not acquire, so I hope that Eastmond gets a few first team games as he seems to be the player coming through who is best suited to the role.

OK, Joe Cole is not as good as Cesc, but he’s a clever player who is direct and creates chances for others. He can score goals and play anywhere across the midfield. He has a battling temperament and will give his all for the team. Cole would also allow us to rest Arshavin who I believe was playing with injuries for a lot of last season and struggled to come to terms with the physical demands of  the premiership. The arrival of Chamakh should mean that AA is never called upon again to play the lone striker role.

I fear we have relied too much on Cesc. He has been the focus of our play and this has created scenarios similar to Henry’s last season where players in possession of the ball were clearly looking for Cesc rather than making the quick pass to another available player.

Chamakh will give us a much greater physical presence up front.  He is strong, tall and he can head the ball. The only thing that worries me a little is whether he will be able to build a partnership with RvP (not that we will play 4:4:2), but he is a great link-up player and will be able to play wengerball.

With these changes, the spine of the team should be stronger – certainly at the top and the bottom. The loss of Cesc’s genius would be replaced by a potent attacking force in the final third with the inclusion of Chamakh and Cole. We should not forget Ramsey who I believe will become a fantastic player in our midfield. Diaby should show us more of the attacking brilliance that we witnessed in a run of games last season.  I expect Theo and Nasri to demonstrate their ambition by reacting positively to the disappointment of being left out of the world cup and put in meatier performances next season.

Obviously we will be a far stronger team if Cesc stays and we also add to the squad, but who can be sure that will happen? Consider what the acquisition of Koscielny, Cole and Schwarzer would bring to the team if Cesc leaves. I would expect either TV or RvP to be appointed captain and we would be addressing some of the areas of frailty in the current side.

80 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Rasp

Joe Cole for Cesc Anyone?

June 7, 2010

Rumour has it we’ll take £60m for Cesc – I’m not sure how keeping your cards close to your chest during negotiations allows such information to leak out but thats the word out there on the street.

Bringing in Joe Cole shows a certain lack of ambition on Arsenal’s part in my opinion. We get £60m for our captain, the player that this young(ish) team has been built around and we take a 29 year old on a free. Lets take Joe Cole by all means if we can get him to accept our wage ceiling but lets also buy a player thats going to take the team forward.

Gourcuff has been scouted by Arsenal and hand picked by the supporters as a replacement for Cesc, he currently plays for Bordeaux and following our signing of Chamakh the two could team up effectively. He’ll cost us about £22m so we’d be quids in for sure even after spending £10m on a new French centre-back rumoured to be  Laurent Koscielny.

We already know that Arsene will turn these young frenchmen into superstars and Real Madrid, Barcelona or one of the Italian giants will want to tap them up in a couple of years so while Ramsey, Wilshire and Theo grow into their roles let them have some real competition for their places. If Arsene is happy to break up this team by allowing Cesc to go and he’s accepted that ‘you don’t win things with kids’ then lets buy some proven quality and show that he can be flexible.

Maybe we won’t be ravaged by injuries again next season but how good would it feel to put out a top class 11 and have players on the bench that we want to see come on and play.

It seems all the rumours are about who we want to buy but surely we need to sell players to make a bit of room in the treatment room. It seems to me we have squad of players that no-one else is particularly interested in, am I the only one that thinks it’s a weird situation for a top club to be in. Only our superstars are attractive not our utility players?

Arsenal should be thinking about how to butter us up, not adding fuel to the fire that many of us feel is raging about not spending money on transfers. There were reports earlier of a warchest which we wouldn’t even need to be touched if we sold Cesc so the question remains, Where is the ambition? Why are we being offered Joe Cole as a replacement to Cesc?

75 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by peachesgÖÖner

Next Entries »