Where would Cesc play? Let me show you..

Since Barcelona’s new manager Luis Enrique, refused to comment on Fabregas’ future, there has been debate whether Arsenal should sign their former captain. Like most of you (i’m sure) I want him back and the only problem that people were having was, where would you play Cesc?

Going back into this past season, most of us would agree that two main things were responsible for us not taking the Premier League Title, bad performances away to top rivals and INJURIES to key men. At one point, Wenger had to play a team without Ramsey, Walcott, Ozil, Chamberlain and even Wilshere. This made life a bit more difficult as arguably, Ramsey was our best player last season.

I asked myself, what if we had Fabregas in the squad, wouldn’t we have sustained a better title charge? the answer is yes! I would agree that we lacked pace in some games and having Giroud up front when you have no pace is useless, but for the shear ability of creating chances, scoring and running into spaces, Fabregas would have made a difference.

Arsenal fans make me laugh sometimes, one minute they say, “We don’t have strength in depth” and the next minute they say, “we already have a lot of players like him”, make your minds up! Fabregas, like Ozil, can play in different positions but are better as number 10’s. Fabregas on the other hand, will deliver in the big games unlike Ozil did with us last season (yes I know it was first season and things might change). 

My starting line up would be something like this:

Szczesney

Aurier (my choice of RB in the tranfer market) Mertesacker Koscielny Gibbs

Wilshere Ramsey

Ozil Fabregas Cazorla

Mandzukic (my choice of striker in the transfer market)

 

That midfield would be inter-changeable and no one would be too restricted to their positions. In fact, one of my favorite matches of last season was the game against Napoli at home. The midfield was so dynamic and inter-changeable that Napoli didn’t know who to mark.

 

I would then inject the bench with pace and defensive steel, yes the team is not that defensive or pacey, but with these men on the ball, very few midfield would be able to contend with them. That would be one heck of a starting line up, capable of even winning the league. We will need also a defensive midfielder during the transfer window and maybe another pacey winger.

All in all, I think Fabregas is a no brainer and allowing him to go to our Premier League opponents would be as bad as selling him to them directly. I say, BRING CESC BACK HOME!

 

The Wilshere concern

I should admit that I have been pleasantly surprised by Arsenal’s transfer dealings this summer. We have acquired two great signings already and no Child-Prodigy in sight, Arsenal mean business! I just keep my fingers crossed that all these strikers do not mean Robin Van Persie is leaving. If not, we are half way to having Arsenal as a force to reckon with next season. The second half of it would be acquiring a playmaker! why? Because we are not guaranteed Jack Wilshere will be fit or on form.

Wilshere’s case is an, “all to familiar” case for Arsenal as we had good players go out because of injury and then fail to make the grade when they come back. Players like Eduardo and Ramsey recently, have struggled to play to their normal level after their leg breaks. We could argue that Wilshere’s injury is not a leg break and he might be able to reach to his normal level in a short time but after three relapses, Wenger should get another playmaker so that Jack is not hurried back and gets less pressure when fit. We do have excellent players like Rosicky and Arteta who can play in that position but Rosicky, for instance, has his own injury problems and Arteta would be the only option left. Ramsey can play there but it is a gamble to trust him considering his form towards the end of last season.

Arsenal need to hit the ground running next season because this coming season will be even tougher than last season especially considering we will have to play a total of 10 DERBIES in 38 games. We can afford to waste any game because of instances we can correct this summer because we are not guaranteed that Diaby, Rosicky and Wilshere will be fit. During some games last season, when we had to play Ramsey in that Playmaker position, it was evident that the team could be easily marked by defensive teams and we struggled to create any chances of note.

So my message to Arsene is simple, “Don’t count on eggs that havent hatched, get a Play maker NOW!”. Once we do that, we can truly start a drama free season that can quite possibly see us getting a trophy.

Don’t ride the Van if you can’t chip in…

It’s official, Arsenal are going through a tough patch. Never mind not having any full-backs, Arsenal are finding it difficult to put more than two goals past the opposition. The last time we scored more than two goals was the 0-4 away win at Wigan on 3 December, a month ago. Gervinho has scored just 4 goals in 16 Premier League games, Ramsey 1 in 19 and Walcott 2 in 19. All these players are willing to chip in with an assist but are never brave enough to just shoot. It is definitely time for the attacking players to start chipping in with the goals…

Van Persie has scored 47% of Arsenal's goals this season....

 

Robin Van Persie is a great player but we can’t keep relying on him like we do, sometimes in a game you can see Gervinho through on goal and instead of testing the goalkeeper, he searches for Van Persie. I do admit that maybe Gervinho is aware that he is not the best finisher in the team but having a go will not hurt. As long as you hit the target, one of four things can happen, you miss, its caught, you score or it bounces off the goalkeeper of the post, which can be an opportunity for another team-mate to score.

We then have The Walcott who insists he should be a central striker, not with your current tally mate! In all honesty, unlike Gervinho, Walcott does have a go at times but not enough. If Theo really wants to be a striker he should prove it with the goals, a tally of 2 goals in 19 games is never good enough to convince the boss. The Emirates faithful are always shouting “SHOOT!” but sometimes you feel it falls on deaf ears.

Aaron Ramsey has some big boots to fill, he is now playing the same position that Fabregas was playing and  even though he covers every blade of grass running up and down the pitch, he needs to assist and score more. His shooting accuracy has to be one of the worst of these three  players, he always seems to hit it straight at the goalkeeper or over the bar. A tally of 1 in 19 is just not good enough for an advanced player playing in an attacking team like Arsenal. Ramsey should be doing at least four times that number at his position and making far more assists.

As I said in my last post, Oxlade-Chamberlain will probably be introduced slowly this year into the first team and he seems to be a more direct player, he has scored 2 goals in 5 games, if that’s not direct, I don’t know what is. You just get the feeling this team needs something to freshen it up offensively, maybe Henry will be one of the things we need.

Arsenal v Stoke Preview: Time for consistency

Arsenal welcome Stoke City at the Emirates this Sunday after some good results in the league and Europe. Arsenal produced a solid yet unspectacular performance in Marseille to top group F and after beating Sunderland in a similar fashion, Gooners everywhere are hoping that the Arsenal of old is coming back. If Arsenal win against Stoke City, they would boost their confidence for the next big clash in the premier League, Chelsea.

Arshavin like the team, needs CONSISTENCY

Arsenal have not blown away teams recently but just like any team that lost its main players, it has taken a while for them to gel properly. Recently they have become solid defensively and do not look vulnerable on set pieces as before. If any team is to test Arsenal;s newly found resolve in set pieces, its Stoke. The giants from the north that I refer to as the Rugby team, will surprise the likes of Mertesacker and Santos who have never played against such teams before. Their physical play and set pieces are particularly unique to Stoke and might come as a shock to the new defenders.

Stoke have started well this season in the league and in Europe, they are currently 7th in the league and top their group in Europa League. The good thing is that Stoke have been bad travellers this season after their newly found European exploits. A good example is their loss to Swansea in their last away game. Also, Stoke have never done well when they visit Arsenal in recent seasons. Good signs, yes but these days, nothing is straight forward for Arsenal and we will need to be 100% up for the game on Sunday to get a win. If Arsenal win, they will move closer to the much coveted “top four” position, which will be a big boost for the team.

Injuries

Arsenal still have Wilshere, Diaby, Vermaelen, Jenkinson, Gibbs and Sagna out. Expect to see crowd favourite Sebastian Squilacci on the bench tomorrow…

Stoke have Jermain Pennant and Higginbotham who are going to have late fitness tests to face Arsenal.

Players to watch

I should say I am slightly concerned by Andre Santos‘s pedestrian approach to the game. He seems too casual and lacks urgency at times. If he is not on his “A” game on Sunday, he could be heavily exposed. Another player to watch will be Johan Djourou, he produced quite a solid performance in France and you hope he keeps up with that. reckless tackles and giving away the ball too easily could cost us the game. Theo Walcott will be also another interesting player for me, is he going to start the game? probably, but his recent performances have not been convincing as yet. Dont be surprised to see him replaced by Yossi. Lastly, we have Andrey Arshavin, he has played like Messi against Sunderland and Messy against Marseille. You just don’t know what you will get from the Russian these days. Maybe he now prefers to come in as a super sub and considering that he passed his driving test this morning, maybe he will be in good form on Sunday?

On the positive side, I think Mertesaker and Koscielny are forming a formidable partnership. That is why I think Djourou will play Right Back on Sunday. If it aint broke, don’t fix it! Rosicky might be rested for the Carling Cup so I expect Ramsey to start.

Probable Starting XI

SZCZESNY

DJOUROU  MERTESACKER  KOSCIELNY  SANTOS

SONG  ARTETA  RAMSEY

WALCOTT  VAN PERSIE  GERVINHO

Trivia

• Stoke have not won at Arsenal for 30 years now
• The last time they scored at Arsenal was a penalty in July 2009
• Van Persie is on a run of 23 goals out of 25 games in the Premier League
• This will be Arsenal’s 100th game at the Emirates (Premier League)
• Stoke have kept a clean sheet in half of their Premier League games this season

 

Marseille players in shock after Arsenal game

Arsenal scored a last minute goal to win the Top-of-the-table clash in group F. There was lack of clear-cut opportunities for both teams throughout the game as both teams defended extremely well. Most of the play was in the midfield and none of the two teams seemed to be able to conjure up a decent attack on the others goal. Aaron Ramsey came in towards the end of the game and after completing 8/8 succesful passes, he also made 1 goal out of 1 attempt on the 91st minute, to hand the gunners a win in France.

shocked...

After the game, Marseille players talked to the media to explain their “shock” at losing a game they had hoped would end as a draw..

“It’s not a happy situation. There is disappointment, anger too,”

“We should have been able to hang on to this result and take a point because we had done what was necessary for 91 minutes to gain a good result.

“Unfortunately we didn’t hold on and for the second time this season we have let in a goal at the end which has been bad for us.

“For the goal there was a lack of concentration, communication and success. But we mustn’t lament our fate.

“We are second with six points. Arsenal are ahead of us but behind us the teams are lagging.” said Steve Mandanda

Mathieu Valbuena was equally shocked at what had happened to the hosts saying….

“The worst has happened. It’s very hard to digest a defeat like that. We’re all stunned, upset.

“Frankly we played a good match, there was a good spirit in the team. We didn’t deserve the defeat, unlike in other games.”

Arsenal made another near-perfect performance for a team playing away, they had most of the ball and did not look threatened at all. Besides the few odd episodes of handball that occurred earlier in the game, which we were lucky to escape without punishment, Arsenal were well comfortable. Either the Marseille team are of little threat in the reverse fixture or they were purely trying to drag that game to a draw.

Players that were impressing were once again, Rosicky, who seems to have turned a corner, I want to eat whatever that man is eating these days… Koscielny was a monster again in defence and you get the feeling him and Per are becoming an interesting duo. Basically, the whole midfield played well, stopping Marseille from playing, the same thing I was talking about when I mentioned the “6 second rule”, in my earlier post. Arsenal defended like a team and did not leave the job to the back four, long may it be like that!

 “We did the job together and defended well as a team. To defend well, it’s not only down to the four defenders, it’s the whole team. 

“We did it well on Wednesday night so I cannot see why we could not do it at every game. We have to convince ourselves that we can repeat this kind of defensive performance. We proved in Marseille that we can do it and our keeper didn’t really have any big saves to make. 

“We knew that if we created spaces behind their defence we would have some good chances and we kept our belief until the end. We are top of the group now but there are still a few more games to be played for. But we are on a good run, we have built some momentum and we need to continue.” – Koscielny

If the team keeps up with this philosophy, they will soon be in the “Top Four” and who knows, we could be challenging again for the Premier League title…