Tonight Monaco will enter with trepidation into the steaming cauldron that is the Emirates on Champions League nights (a little sarcasm to start with is always good!). Should they be worried? Of course they should – We are The Arsenal.
However, we are playing Monaco side in fine form; they have only lost once since November and are rapidly climbing Ligue 1 as well as topping their CL group. These blokes are no mugs. A team based around a solid defence – they have only conceded two goals twice this whole season, Monaco have become a dour, dull team to watch evidenced by very poor attendances.
Expect to see this parked on the pitch
Monaco as we all know is a tax-haven and are unsurprisingly backed by Russian money. The buying policy which in 2013 brought in James, Falcao, Carvalho and others (￡140m+) has changed. The big money players have left, one to Real Madrid, another to the bench at Old Trafford as the club tries to bring through youth players alongside experienced but inexpensive talent. Could this be the result of FFP? A ground with an 18k capacity which averages 7k hardly generates enough money to afford Falcao let alone the rest of the squad. The new pragmatic approach both on and off the pitch seems to be working.
It will be lovely to welcome Berbatov back to London. Berbs should never have sullied himself by playing for Spurs. I wonder who has more pace, Mertesacker or Berbatov? It would be a close run thing!
So, a strong defence and workman-like midfield but little threat upfront. They have scored just 26 goals in 25 Ligue 1 games and only 4 goals in 6 CL games. This tells me that if we score twice tonight we will be Kushti.
And it is for this reason that Walcott should start tonight. Welbz is a fine player, he brings energy and awareness but he is not as dangerous as Theo and we need goals. Quite why Walcott was benched after scoring against Villa and Leicester is baffling; has he done something similar to Szczesny and has joined him on the naughty step? Perhaps it is something to do with his contract negotiations (AW showing Walcott is no longer essential to the squad). Whatever it is we need Theo tonight – he scores goals.
In my opinion, if Theo doesn’t start tonight he will be sold in summer; we have the brilliant Ox to find a place in the team and Walcott is the obvious man to leave.
Wilshere is out but I doubt he would have started because we need to be on the front foot from the start, I would play as many attacking players as possible. Bellerin ahead of Chambers and Gibbs on the left.
My Team:
Ospina
Bellerin BFG Koscielny Gibbs
Coquelin Cazorla
Ozil
Walcott Giroud Alexis
Bench: Rosicky, TPIG, Welbz, Flamini, Monreal, Paul Easter +
I don’t do tactics but I know this- scoring early is hugely beneficial, it forces Monaco to be less circumspect in their play which will hopefully create the spaces for Ozil to weave his magic. Alexis has gone 5 games without scoring and is hungry, Giroud is in fine scoring form. We have options.
Arsenal were delighted when the draw was made, Monaco seemed the best team we could have drawn. Tonight we will see whether our optimism was justified
It appears that opinion on Theo Walcott divides supporters more than any other player – so much so that we’ve received 2 posts on Theo today giving opposing views on his worth to Arsenal. So should he stay or should he go? … have a read through both sets of arguments and cast your vote at the end. Ed
Arsenal’s biggest problem – Theo Walcott
After both the Brighton and Aston Villa games I was vocal in criticising Theo, I promised a post to explain why he was driving me to distraction so here it is.
Alan Hansen once claimed Theo didn’t have a football brain, this was along time ago and has since been proven wrong, however there is definitely a case to argue that he plays better on instinct than when he has to think about it. Take a look at the best goals he scores, when he is reacting under pressure he is far better than others, his quick feet and good shot come to the fore. When he has time to pick a spot in acres of space he can be wasteful.
But this isn’t his problem right now. I don’t think it’s a question of footballing brain but more one of footballing ego, there’s nothing wrong with a bit of arrogance on the pitch and belief in one’s own ability, but there is if it leads you to play in a way that is detrimental to the team.
In my view against both Brighton and Villa he was guilty of the latter, after his early goal against Brighton and the teams early goal against Villa he seemed to be appearing in the centre of the pitch far more than he should and it was forcing others to shift position. Against Villa this caused is to have a very poor hour in front of their goal. Having just watched the MOTD highlights this was confirmed by all our efforts on goal coming when Theo was staying wide, I remember several moments in the first half and one spell in particular where Theo was taking a more central position and our attacks lacked the cutting edge, not only that that but it caused us issues in the other direction. I don’t have a problem with our attack being fluid, but if the wrong players play in the wrong position I do.
Can’t play with back to goal
Theo is simply not physically suited to playing with his back to goal, he is always better running at goal, when he plays central he has to be able to receive the ball to feet under pressure from a centre back and quickly play a pass to an advancing midfielder or wide man.
I don’t think Theo has the best attributes to do this.
Making unselfish runs
When he has done the back to goal thing he has to be prepared to drag his marker away from goal and create space for others.
Against Brighton and Villa he did the first bit, but his next move was towards goal, which in turn made the area more congested as midfielders were trying to run into the space.
I think Theo’s presence centrally is mainly a selfish one to be amongst more goals so I don’t think he will prepared to run away from the goal as both Giroud and Welbeck do when they have played there.
One way to score
When Giroud plays as holdup man his next movement as well as dragging defenders out also presents a concern for defenders, his aerial ability means he can drift to the back post be on hand for a lofted ball or make an angle to be played into feet (especially if he is left side of goal) to score from a cut back. Theo can only really offer the latter. Which again makes us easy to defend against.
Effecting the opponents defensive line
By playing up top Theo’s biggest threat to opposition is a ball over the top, clever centre backs will drop off ten to twenty yard to nullify this, which in turn makes it more difficult to get the midfield and wide men bursting past the line, it also means if playing one of our wide men is Giroud who doesn’t have the burst of pace to offer a threat in the channels.
When Giroud is up top defenders have to mark him higher up the pitch to try and win the ball back earlier. And it means we have pace on the flanks.
Opponents full backs are released
One of the biggest problems is what it does to our balance defensively. With Giroud forced to play wide left or right by Theo’s change of position the opposition full backs are less worried about pushing on and leaving space behind them. Once Giroud has dropped in the full back knows he doesn’t have to be too wary, so can commit fully to his teams attack, which on Sunday afternoon resulted in balls into our box from two angles. If Theo sits wide then he can win the game of chicken with the full back as very few will back themselves in a foot race against our whippet.
The solution
As you can hopefully now see I manor criticising Theo for rustiness or skill set he has many good attributes that if used to the full can result in the goal he scored against Villa or Ozil’s goal our second against Villa.
Picking up the ball deep he had got past the midfield line in a flash and was laying the ball onto Giroud before the Villa defence knew what was happening.
His goal came from receiving the ball from Ospina on the left, and motoring at pace playing the ball to Santi and then intercepting the through ball destined for Giroud who had himself pulled wide creating a gaping hole for Theo to run into.
If Theo plays wide and stays wide until the gaps open up he can be lethal, particularly if working in tandem with Alexis on the other flank.
Writing this post I started to ask myself whether in fact it was Giroud and not Theo that was the problem, but after more consideration I decided not, I think the same would be true if Welbeck, Akpom or Sanogo were available to play up top. And I think what Olivier gives us is a plan A and B on the pitch from the start, take away some of his effectiveness by changing his position and we start to become one dimensional and dare I say it tippy tally again as defences drop deep scared of pace in behind.
When discussing both Ramsey and Coquelin in interviews this season Arsene has talked around the subject of best for the team or best for the player, Ramsey’s desire to get on the scoresheet was creating issues with the rest of the midfield, Coquelin he said had been signed as a ball winner but had begun to believe he was more a box to box player, he is beginning to play like a ball winner again and the team benefits. It’s what I believe makes Alexis such a huge asset and why he has been so instrumental this season, he is prepared to do what’s best for the team and knows how to get the best out of himself.
On Sunday our attack stagnated after our first goal primarily for me due to the positions Theo was taking up centrally, second half he stayed wider longer and was rarely seen waiting for the ball centrally, and suddenly we started scoring again. Time for Theo to use his attributes in the best way for the team, let’s face it we have plenty of options and if he wants the shirt regularly he will have to be a bit more like Alexis and a little bit less like Thierry in his last season.
Gooner in Exile
Theo Walcott – Sell him in the summer
What has changed over the past couple of months which has led to Arsenal fans being positive; something highly unlikely just 12 games ago? In my opinion even if the forces of evil fluke a win in the NLD we will still have a strong finish to our campaign.
The most obvious reason is the return to fitness of many of the most important members of the squad. We have been missing automatic starters in our first 11 – Ramsey, Ozil, Koscielny, Giroud and Walcott; their return inevitably improves our performances. We have seen the surprise arrivals of Bellerin and Coquelin and although I do not see Coq as a long term solution I would love to be proved wrong.
Ospina seems to be an admirable keeper and made couple of fine saves last weekend. Having kept 3 clean sheets he could be a key improvement in the defence. We have also seen a massive improvement in Monreal – that he keeps England’s best LB out of the team is evidence of his fine form.
Not Happy
Many say the reason for our upswing in form is a return to sensible defending but in my humble opinion the biggest difference is in the way we attack and in particular the return of Ozil. Ozil is world class, not Rooney world class but proper world class – Iniesta world class. Who else in the PL could have conceived and executed the flick pass to OG on Sunday? The answer is nobody.
Alexis is an automatic starter in any Arsenal team, as is Giroud who has become (very surprisingly) a quality CF – maybe the best in the PL. You may scoff but look at the assists he makes (sunday for Ozil, the flick for Wilshire’s goal of the season etc etc), OG is not a battering ram he is an intelligent striker.
And then there is Welbeck and Oxlade-Chamberlain both of whom deserve consideration thanks to their excellence this season.
And what about Theo?
The man is due to enter contract negotiations this summer. Last time he had us over a barrel as we had just lost Cesc, this time it will be different. I love Theo, he is a wonderful chap and a vastly improved player. He has developed his tactical awareness and makes superb off-the-ball runs. He has toughened up and is able to ride the vicious tackling his pace attracts. He scores goals. But is he good enough to keep either Ox or Welbz out the team, and even if he is the front 6 is surely Coquelin, Ramsey, Cazorla, Alexis, Ozil and Giroud.
Should Arsenal pay over €100k a week for someone who is effectively a super-sub?
Of course we should. It is madness to suggest Walcott should leave. Arsenal have invested many millions and almost a decade into the lad. He has to stay. Furthermore, Walcott is, at present, our best right side attacker. If the Ox is to force his way into the team it has to be at the expense of someone else and we are entering a period where there will be no established first 11.
We have yet to see the magic of the Ozil/Walcott combination but we saw glimpses of it on Sunday and it looked lethal, Add in the astonishing power and vision of Sanchez and the mouth waters.
Another reason to spend a pile of Wallmart dollars to keep Walcott is tied to our squad depth and why we need such a squad. The next decade will see Arsenal dominate the PL, Europe and the World. We will need quality throughout the squad to the point where no-one will have a guaranteed starting place. Just look at the squad AW is building, in every position we have a quality back-up and what is more they are almost all young men under 25.
TPIG, Bellerin, Gabriel, Chambers, Gibbs, Ramsey, Wilshire, Coq, Welbz, Akpom, Ox, Gnabry, Biedel, Jenks, Sanogo, Campbell are all under 25. Theo and Alexis are just 26!! World domination is around the corner IF Mr Wenger can keep this large squad happy and at Arsenal.
Walcott is an important member of our squad and must be persuaded of his value to The Arsenal. He has been at Arsenal for 9 years, let’s have another 3.
n.b. Post inspired after listening to Tim Stillman assuring us Theo will be sold in summer.
9 years ago yesterday, a 16 year old born in Stanmore, North London was signed by Mr. Wenger. His arrival aroused much excitement because this kid was meant to be the best attacking prospect in the land. His name? Theo Walcott.
He was so good as a young boy that he was sponsored by Nike at the age of 14 and much to his credit refused an opportunity to join Chelsea. Joining Southampton Theo was the youngest player in S’ton’s long history to make a debut in the first team – he was just 16 and 3 months. Scoring a goal in his first starting game and playing with such verve that he became one of the BBC Young Sports Personalities of 2005 (winning it in his first AFC season ).
Walcott signed for us in Jan 2006 whilst still a 16. y.o for ￡9m. I was excited – I bet you were excited. He took the 14 shirt which shows just how confident a young man he is.
How do we assess his time at Arsenal? Do you think he is worth the hype and the huge wages?
Let us start with the number of games he has played – almost 200 in a 9 year spell = 22 a season. Not good. From the season out with the shoulder injuries to last years knee-knack Theo has spent much time in the massive AFC treatment mansion. Yet when fit he is a potent attacking weapon and a man whose defensive abilities are under-estimated.
Perhaps my impression of Walcott is through the rose coloured glasses of absence but he is one of my favourite players. I love how he skins the full back or scores by shooting across the keeper a’la TH14. I like his smile and his honesty, unlike most speedsters the man doesn’t dive – he is a bloke I would love my daughter to marry (if I had one!),
But is my assessment skewed by my liking the fellow? Would we be better off selling him for a bucketload of money in summer rather than go through another tortuous contract negotiation?
A goal every 5 games is not a particularly good return for someone who creates and is given so many scoring opportunities, yet in my opinion his absence cost us the title last season – we had no-one who could scare the opposition; a situation AW recognised and remedied with the purchase of Alexis.
The fans love him as witnessed by the reaction when he warms up prior to coming on as sub. Which brings us to the nub of this post …. Is Theo still an automatic starter in our best first eleven?
Given the wealth of attacking talent we have and the development of The Ox where does Theo fit in? Do we drop the magical Santi or the mercurial Alexis? We have two target men which indicates that either Welbz or OG will always start centrally.
Rasp has been writing about a player having “their time” (re:Coq) and perhaps Walcott has missed his. I cannot see him as anything but a super-sub who will start perhaps one in three games. Is that enough for a man who is an automatic pick for England and has such a high media profile?
The other day Arnie put up a picture of an Arsenal Youth Cup squad and Exile listed their current whereabouts. Only three of the players shown are still at Arsenal, Wilshere, Gibbs and Coquelin.
This led me to ponder on the value of our Academy, I’ve been unable to find out just how much is spent annually on it but mention was made some weeks ago about a plan to upgrade the facilities at a cost of several million pounds. I understand that it is already reckoned to be among the best in the country
Despite the money spent and the best efforts of the coaching staff the output, as far as future first team players for Arsenal is concerned, is pretty minimal
Indeed we are continuing to hunt the globe for promising youngsters at other clubs academies. It looks likely that Wenger is planning to sign a young full-back from Ipswich Town, while during our recent defender crisis it was not considered feasible to play any of our home-grown talent either at centre-back or left-back.
You have only to look at some of the incoming youngsters to see what can be done at other academies, a certain Spanish mid-fielder, Walcott (a terrific player but injury prone), Oxlade-Chamberlain, and Chambers.
I know that it is the socially correct thing to give local youngsters the opportunity to make a career in football, but is hoovering up the young talent from around the globe the right thing to do. Particularly when so many are discarded after a year or two.
Is the Arsenal Youth Academy a worthwhile project, or should it be scrapped and the money saved put into the kitty to buy established players?
Happy New Year to all Gooners. May your 2015 be filled with joy and silverware and may your enemies be smitten by a plague of locusts followed by an eruption of boils.
Not easy playing on NYD. I am sure Adams, Parlour and the other members of the Tuesday Club would have struggled – a night on the sauce followed by a chilly trip to Southampton would have a severe test but they would have overcome both the Saints and a long night of fags and ale.
However, the Saints of Adams day are a far cry from the excellent teams of Pocchetino and Koeman, I remember a trip down to St. Mary’s as one to savour and an easy 3 points – it won’t be so this afternoon. Even without Schneiderlin and (possibly) Clyne, the Saints are formidable opponents.
I am full of admiration for Southampton. They play good football, develop players, buy in cheap but quality replacements for their sold stars and run a tight ship.
We scraped past them at the Emirates (Sanchez tap in from a Ramsey pass) and a little One-Nil to the Arsenal would be a very pleasant way to start the year.
We have selection difficulties (as ever), particularly upfront but this also gives opportunities, Campbell may start today or perhaps we will finally see the return of Theo Walcott. IMO Walcott is a vital cog in this team – we have missed him. Thankfully the defence are all available for selection. Midfield? No Ramsey, Wilshere, Arteta, Ozil – surely Rosicky will start or will be see the Coq/Flamini axis?
No tactics today. No in-depth study of the opposition, no look at the referee bias. Sorry about that! But I will take a little peek at their food stuffs – unsurprisingly they eat a lot of ice cream – nothing to get too excited about – but in my research I discovered one of my childhood heroes was born here. See below.
This is going to be short as Mrs Raddy has plans 😦
West Ham. The Boleyn ground. Unhappy memories of this place. Bananas thrown at Kevin Campbell. The Chicken Run and the Inner City Firm (look them up). Returning to the car and finding it keyed. Liam Brady playing against us. Can you believe that in the late ’90’s the men’s toilets had nowhere to wash hands? Hateful place.
Of course it wasn’t always thus; there were the days post-’66 with Peters, Moore and Hurst. The Football Academy developing the skills of Trevor Brooking, Alan Devonshire etc etc.
Sadly, new ownership and poor management ruined the club. Until now….
I hate to say this but Allardyce is doing a great job. He may be a gum-chewing walrus but his team are punching way above their weight and this is due to his management. Teamwork, pace, strong defence and midfield, and hard work have pushed WHU to the top 4. Add to this the attacking power of Carroll, Sakho and Valencia and we can see West Ham have the potential to surprise
Yet, we have a fine record against the happy Hammers and should not be cowed by their physicality. Admittedly we are down to the bare bones in certain areas of the pitch (defence and midfield) but we have enough to compete.
Then there is Alex Song. A majority of Gooners seem to think we should have taken him back – especially as it is a loan deal. Why didn’t we? My guess is that AW feels we have enough midfielders and that Song was simply not improvement upon what we have. I think he was wrong – just as I think he was wrong not to re-sign Fabregas. Rumour has it that Song became Jimmy Big Bollocks in the dressing room and the players were happy to see him leave. Could be true.
Given the 3 game ban for OG there is a possibility of playing an extraordinarily fast forward line of Welbz, Theo and Alexis. Could be very exciting.
My concerns are the set pieces. We have a nasty habit of giving away free-kicks around our area and WHU have the personnel to take advantage. Allardyce knows this, so does every Tom, D & H, and if we all know it why can’t it be fixed?? Buy. Buy. Buy.
A tough fixture against a team bang in form. A win at the Boleyn would be an unexpected Xmas Sale gift.
I started to write this post after Alexis started up top against Everton, before we decided to bring Welbeck into the fold, and before we knew the extent of Giroud’s injury.
This is probably Arsene’s biggest weakness as a coach, I am not sure if it is due to pressure from above, the players or maybe even the fans but I feel that he is guilty on occasion of playing players because of their status rather than because they are best suited to the position, I’m not sure this was the case at Everton definitely more to do with a well holidayed Olivier Giroud, but far too often we see square pegs in round holes to get the best 11 names available on to the pitch rather than the best team on the pitch.
Before the Everton game I was convinced that Alexis wasn’t the answer to the centre forward conundrum but also that playing him there for any length of time would result in the team suffering overall.
Let me clarify I think Alexis can play up top he proved as much in his performance against Besiktas, but in our current style of play and because of his other attributes I do not see that position as being the best utilisation of his skillset. He is fast, he is hungry to win back possession and can score goals from wide, these three ingredients make him ideal to play on the wing. When he loses possession the defenders are not given time to clear their lines, he often wins the ball back and his presence on the pitch stops opposing fullbacks pushing on as much as they normally would. (Have you ever seen Kolarov so deep before?)
With Giroud now out until the new year there is a vacancy up top, I hope this is filled by Welbeck rather than anyone else, mainly because he is a centre forward and unlike Sanchez does not offer much more to the team than an end point for fast attacking moves. And if Welbeck isn’t fit? Then I’d rather play Sanogo or Podolski.
In my view our best attacking front three all fit would be Theo, Giroud, Alexis. The centre backs never push on, but the pace of Theo and Sanchez wide would be a constant question in the full backs mind and prevent them helping their wingers regularly. However Welbeck has a chance to stake a claim for the shirt with Olivier out but he needs to show the ability to assist link up play and to be better than Oli use his pace to get on the end of the return pass.
Theo is probably not the best at winning the ball back but if it becomes a new ethos in the team I can see Campbell giving him a run for his money before long if he does not add this to his game.
Santi and Ozil are not wingers, again they should be utilised where their attributes are used to greatest effect, unfortunately for them that means they compete for the same spot in the side, and if Welbeck is out I don’t want to see Theo or Alexis moved central to use one of Santi or Ozil out wide, if Theo or Alexis get injured I want to see real like for like replacements so Campbell or Ox.
Then we have the box to box midfielder that’s Aaron or Jack, and holding midfield well that’s Arteta or Flamini.
At the back we have three centre backs, although another body in there would have completed a capable defence, should an injury befall Debuchy I think i’d rather Bellerin be used than Chambers keeping him fresh for when he is needed in the more key central position.
So please Arsene let’s stick to players in their positions rather than finding a spot for them in the team.
This is how I see first and second choices from the current squad.
That leaves Martinez, Hayden, Coquelin, Rosicky, Podolski, Sanogo to make up the squad numbers when absolutely necessary.
It is not an easy task keeping players happy, but squads need rotation in the modern game, so Santi will not be sitting on the bench for weeks on end, to play him ahead of a more natural and pacy winger is appeasement of the player rather than for the benefit of the team and the system. And I’m sure at this point many will be saying “but x is too good to be a squad player”, well Petr Cech is too good to be a no 2 keeper, Sagna too good to be a no 2 right back, or BSR too good to be no 2 striker, they all probably are, but what City have shown in the last few seasons is that ready replacements playing in their natural position in the attacking half of the pitch is much more important than like for like defensive cover.
Last night Aaron hobbled off with an ankle injury, and although we won’t know until later the severity, it made me wonder about our vulnerability to injury.
At the beginning of last season, I would have said the areas of most concern would have been injuries to Theo, Ollie or one of our defensive pairing of Mert and Kos.
During the season, we witnessed the meteoric rise of Aaron, and by the end of the season it could be argued he was our most valuable player. By valuable, I mean an injury to this player having the biggest negative impact to our overall play.
I think we have covered the CB pairing with the arrival of the phenomenally talented Mr Chambers.
Ollie is now covered by Welbeck as well as Sanchez, and to an extent both can play both Left and Right providing cover for both Theo and whoever is the best Left Sided option.
It is actually very difficult to isolate the weakest spot, as we simply don’t yet know how the new side will settle down, and who will ultimately play where and in what formation.
Ozil is as yet far from the pivotal player we anticipate he will become, and I’d say it is possible he becomes the most irreplaceable only if he becomes the fulcrum in the middle. If he continues to be deployed more from the flanks, then I don’t see him as being especially irreplaceable.
Again, it is very hard to assess the key players up top. Either Sanchez or indeed Welbeck could emerge as Key Men. Of course, Ollie could return rejuvenated and become a Must Player.
Overall, and it’s difficult at this early stage of the new look side, but Aaron does appear to me to occupy the “most essential player” slot right now, although overall when fit, Theo still shades it for me.
The other day, a chum asked me who I saw as our most valuable player this season. I answered Theo, but went further to add that my biggest single wish for the season was that either Mesut or The Ox would emerge to challenge Theo for that particular honour.
One day chicken, next day feathers; I trot this line out at times like this as it always seems to strike the right note.
On Saturday we were already dreaming of where in Islington we would be standing as the bus drove by with our players holding the EPL up high and just one day later we were wondering, more seriously than we had done for a while, just how likely the chances really are of signing Khedira.
Well, I was anyway, shallow moi? You just can’t have enough new toys; that’s what I say.
I actually think that that signing is far more likely than we are allowing ourselves to dream but anyway back to the game.
This is where I should say that is was only a friendly and we shouldn’t read too much into it but grrrrrr, I hate losing. I am sure Wenger learnt a lot from the two games and should be able to pick a formidable side to face City next week.
If Wenger wants to win that game rather than simply give players pitch time then Rosicky is surely a must start; he linked the defence with the attack and moved the play forward with a greater intensity than any other player was capable of yesterday. Rosicky also freed Ramsey up to burst forward with a far more effect against Benfica than he was able against Monaco.
I know it is wrong to start pointing fingers this early on; it was only a friendly as I made clear above – but we are Arsenal supporters and that is what we do. lol
Giroud – really?
I know things didn’t go exactly as planned against Monaco but we all know that amongst our squad we have a very good first team and the one thing we lacked last season: a fast, creative, goal scorer with great control has now been procured. Sanchez is going to give us everything we lacked up front last year and the EPL should be scared, very scared.
Ollie obviously still has a place, there will be teams that suit him more and he can be deployed when needed.
Wilshere?
I can’t, I shouldn’t; it really is too early for that one. All I would say is that I did notice a little boy in the middle of the park pointing at Jack while mouthing something about an emperor and not having any clothes on. OK I lied about it being too early.
Chambers seems more assured that Miguel which was a bit of a surprise to me, maybe, as GIE suggests, he should have gone out on loan earlier.
I was also surprised to read people disagreed with my comment that I expected Chambers to spend the same amount of time on the bench as Jenkinson did last season.
What? Is he going to play ahead of the BFG? No. Is he going to play ahead of Koscielny? No. Debuchy? No, so how is he going to play more than Jenkinson? Come on people, keep up.
Debuchy was almost anonymous yesterday which I liked; he did everything he was supposed to do and did it well, without fuss. And here’s the kicker, his crosses are so much better than Sagna’s, I know I am probably telling some the incredibly obviously equivalent of grass is green but it needs to be said.
So much for Wenger learning not to over use Ramsey, that man is going to work so hard that Welsh pit ponies will feel sorry for him.
And lastly, if you ever wondered why I don’t do match reports after we lose? Well now you know, I am a miserable git.
But this will all change next week after we beat City.
The other day LB wrote an interesting post entitled “Is Thomas Vermaelen still needed?This led me to think about the player as a captain and conversely the captain as a player.
Before looking at individuals in those roles I got to thinking just what should we look for in a Club Captain, note the capital letters, in my opinion the Club Captain is equally as important as The Manager, The Chief Executive or The Owner.
So the candidate should be of sufficient stature, not just in a physical sense, but in the status he holds in the game as a whole. To attain the necessary status he must have been around a while, he must be a good enough player to command a starting place in the club’s first team and preferably in his National side as well. He should also have earned the respect of not only his own team but also opposing players and particularly the on pitch officials. Needless to say he must also be media savvy, articulate and able to offer rational answers to irrational questions at times of both elation and disappointment in post match interviews for example.
Looking back, I can recall Frank McLintock, sleeves rolled up barking out orders to players, organising his defence at corners and free kicks and generally running things on the pitch. Similarly with Tony Adams and of course Patrick Vieira. Arguably the best Captain I ever saw was the incomparable Bobby Moore, calm authoritative and respected throughout football.
Latterly the armband has been a bit of a poisoned chalice, not only at Arsenal but also at international level with England. Fabregas and van Persie were appointed only to depart shortly after, Vermaelen suffered both a shocking loss of form and a series of injuries and could soon follow the other two out of the club and there are rumours that Arteta could also go if someone of the stature of Khedira or Bender are signed. In the England team the captaincy has, disgracefully, been swapped around more times than at a kid’s game of pass the parcel.
At the moment it appears to me that should Vermaelen leave, the only rational candidate would be Per Mertesacker, but for how much longer can he command that starting place in the team? Longer term we can all hope and expect the appointment of Jack Wilshire, but will it happen?
What are your views on both the Captain’s role as, should it be largely ceremonial, tossing the coin, handing over a little pennant and posing for a snap with the officials or, as the Manager’s voice on the pitch and the players representative off it. Surely there must come a time when a stop is put to the absurd situation of referees being mobbed by a group of angry players, then only the Captain should be allowed to approach the officials, and that will require a calm sensible approach, one more attribute needed for the job.
Posted by Erik the Red 
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