Arteta – Page 4 – Bergkampesque

Reyes ’04, Arshavin ’09, a beastly DM in ’13? Time to purchase another X-factor!

January 15, 2013January 15, 2013TotalArsenal

I am not a big believer in the uses of shop-therapy, whether in personal life or with regards to Arsenal. Apparently, when Socrates walked through a busy Ancient Athens market place about 2500 years ago he shouted: ‘How many things I don’t need!’. I am a bit like that when walking through the shopping streets of England’s towns and cities two and half decennia later.

I am rubbish at understanding the big, modern philosophers but nevertheless a philosophical person; as in, I try to understand what the meaning is of things and events, and I take great pleasure in doing so. One of my favourite Socrates quotes is: ‘The unexamined life is not worth living’, and in order to do this you do not need to spend lots of money.

I am one of these Gooners who take great pride in the fact that Arsene creates his own stars by turning raw diamonds into fine and shiny gems, and that the club has been able to live within its means. We just need to keep hold of them and add one or two quality players every season and within no time Arsenal will win silverware again.

But, things are not going to plan at the moment and it is not necessarily the results which we need to worry about: a couple of wins in a row and all could look rosy again.

What is more worrying is the lack of form and shape to the team; the inability to organise our defence and get a run of solid defensive team performances; the lack of balance in midfield and inability to totally dominate this area anymore; the unsettledness, and unpredictable level of performances, by our strike-force; and most importantly, the lack of cohesion, leadership and fighting spirit throughout the team.

Half way into the season, this is not good enough and there is nowhere to hide anymore, as we have entered the period in which a season is made or broken. Many supporters are very unhappy about what is happening at the club at the moment, and Wenger appears to try and resolve it all by focussing hard on the team performances, and by sticking to his players and preferred formation.

However, in order to break the mood, or spell if you want, Arsenal might have no other option but to buy another January X-factor. Just like the club did in 2004 with the purchase of the Reyes, and in 2009 with arrival of Arshavin.

They both had an instant impact and especially Arshavin gave Arsenal a well-needed lift. We need something similar this January, although we must not forget that Reyes and Arshavin have eventually turned out into expensive flops: one suffered from homesickness and the other one does not have the necessary discipline and/or fitness to make it at Arsenal. Shop-therapy seems to come with a ‘best before’ date.

Of course, we could all get excited about the arrival of a top striker or winger, but what we really, really need first is a beast of DM. Somebody with steel, vision, passing skills and experience. I have written quite a few posts about the need for a DM recently, so I won’t bore you with it again.

I am hoping Arsene will not play Diaby in the deepest midfield position again when we play Swansea tomorrow. I don’t think this is his position or that he has the fitness for it right now. Arsene should give Coquelin the chance to proof himself in that role, but I a must admit I am not sure whether he is yet good enough for the ‘Anchor’ role. Arsene could also play Wilshere in the deepest midfield position and let Diaby play in his position, with either Rosicky (ideally) or Cazorla (probably) in front of both of them.

But these are just solutions for Wednesday and the next couple of games. Arsenal need to find a structural solution as Arteta is also not the long-term answer, and I reckon there is no other option but to get a quality defensive midfielder as soon as possible: Schweinsteiger, Arturo Vidal or Alonzo would do fine, or maybe Capoue, Wanyama, or Strootman would be the answer. I am sure you all have views on who would be the best fit for Arsenal.

Arsene, it is time to indulge yourself with some proper shop therapy: give us all a lift, please! 🙂

Written by: Total Arsenal.

What to do with the versatile Mikel Arteta?

December 27, 2012December 27, 2012TotalArsenal

Without any doubt, Mikel Arteta has been one of the best signing by Arsene in the last few years.

We all expected him to play more forward in midfield and, together with Wilshere, Diaby and Rosicky, help to fill the void left behind by Cesc after his acrimonious departure in the summer of 2011. But the Basque turned out to be a versatile player and alongside Alex Song, he developed gradually into our deeper laying midfielder; our midfield ‘anchor’, and protector of the back-four.

As soon as Arteta got injured, towards the end of last season, the whole team suffered, and so did our results. It had become obvious that Arteta was crucial to our team.

Since Song was sold to Barcelona, Arteta has become our undisputed nr.1 for the DM position; although in our formation of 4-2-1-3, he is often supported by the ‘lynchpin’ midfielder, who needs to possess both defensive and attacking qualities. Arsenal started the season relatively strong, especially from a defensive point of view, and Diaby had a key role to play in all of this. Diaby’s physicality and ability to shield the ball, combined with his forward runs and good passing ability, seemed to be the ideal partner for Arteta.

As soon as Diaby got injured, Arsene Wenger struggled to fill the void left behind by the powerful, yet oh so vulnerable, Frenchman, and it is only since Super Jack Wilshere returned to more or less full fitness, that we are starting to see glimpses again of how Arsenal can and should play.

Having watched Mikel Arteta closely during our game against The Latics, I cannot help but feel that Arsenal are running a considerable risk to play Arteta in the pivotal ‘anchor’ role all the time. A feeling I have had for a quite a while, to be frank; and one that quite a few fellow Gooners seem to share with me.

This is not meant to be as a strong criticism of Mikel Arteta. I love his professionalism, and his reading of the game and positioning are very, very good. Without Arteta in the team, we often lack shape and focus and all other players benefit tremendously from his presence and application of his role.

However, what we missed against Wigan Athletics was physical power; on the ground and in the air. Somebody who can win the ball back with a great tackle or by winning a header; and somebody who can shield the ball really well for a couple of seconds, so fellow midfielders can get themselves in the best positions to receive the ball and start an attack, or just to be able to pass the ball round better.

Jack Wilshere worked his socks of to compensate for this lack of physical competitiveness, but Jack and Mikel are together not strong enough to outmuscle opponents, in my view.

It should be taken into account that Wigan’s strongpoint is their midfield play: they have a well-drilled unit who can both win the ball and keep it with relative ease. They definitely kept it better than Arsenal for large parts of the game. We often were able to win the ball of Wigan, only to give it away again within seconds, as a result of the pressure put on us by The Latics.

For me, our first priority is to get a beast of a DM who can fill our current gap in midfield, so we can boss that area much better going forward.

The beauty of Arteta is his versatility, combined with his experience. I don’t think he is as good a player as Cazorla, Rosicky or Wilshere in any of the other midfield roles, currently available in Arsenal’s formation. But I also don’t believe he is the best player to have in the deepest midfield position.

Arteta can play anywhere, and that’s what makes him a very good player to have in our squad, but I reckon we need to find a better player for the anchor role as soon as possible: somebody with the vision and positioning of Arteta and, on top of that, with the physical requirements of a typical DM.

Coquelin and Frimpong might well develop into such a player, but I don’t think they are ready for it anytime soon.

For me, Arteta is to be kept and used wisely within the squad, but going forward we need to get a top class, classic DM, as soon as possible.

This is, without any doubt, my nr.1 Arsenal wish for the New Year.

Written by: Total Arsenal.

With a special thank you to Oz Gunner for the Arteta ‘ Zorro’ picture! 🙂

Wigan Review & Player Ratings: Ox and Szczesny main sparks in dour contest.

December 22, 2012December 23, 2012TotalArsenal

Arsenal’s consistent inability to follow up a fantastic victory continues to be a concern, but at least we were able to come out of today’s clash with a much-needed three points.

We always knew that today’s clash with Wigan Athletic would be a difficult contest, and this was the type of persevering victory that Arsenal needed to establish some semblance of consistency. The wet, heavy pitch could have been a determining factor in our poor play since we rely heavily on passing and ball control.

Wigan started off the game with high pressure defensively, taking away Arsenal’s coveted time and space. In possession, Wigan were very settled and knocked the ball around well. They pushed forward successfully down the flanks to no avail, as both Beausejour and Stam wasted many crosses in the final third. Wigan lived up to McManaman’s criticism of giving away the ball on numerous occasions, and this eventually allowed Arsenal to ease into the game.

However, it was very tough to break down Wigan in the first half as they successfully congested the middle of the pitch.

Throughout most of the contest, Arsenal found it very difficult to replicate the form of our last game, and the players seemed very tense and overly cautious in attack. As the game continued, Wigan afforded Arsenal more space and the Ox eventually gave us the spark needed to break out offensively. This eventually led to a few quality scoring chances but teammates were not able to get on the end of his crosses, and Theo missed a fantastic chance to convert one of his low crosses.

Fortunately, Arsenal were able to break through in the second half with a nice pass from Santi to Walcott in the box that subsequently led to a penalty, which Arteta finished clinically from the spot.

Defensively there were mental lapses once again, but we were able to grind out the victory and we were not punished for our mistakes. Worth noting was that Vermaelen and Mertesacker were poor defensively for a good portion of the game which allowed Kone to get in behind them in the first half, but luckily he wasted the chance wide.

Now onto the player ratings from today’s game:

Szczesny (9.0) – I thought he was our best player today and has really provided the squad with stability. Szczes kept us in the game with big saves and made some intelligent, aggressive decisions to challenge the Wigan forwards. Well-deserved clean sheet and performances like these will be needed from him, if we’re to win games when we are not at our best.

Gibbs (8.0) – Not as influential offensively as last game, but the blame should be placed more on Podolski’s lack of support opposed to a knock on Gibbs. Defensively, Gibbs was solid and made some key tackles to break up the Wigan offense throughout the game. Still, I was hoping to see more from him and the blossoming left flank partnership from last game let me down.

Vermaelen (6.5) – I was appalled at his questionable missed challenge on Kone in the first half that led to a good Wigan scoring opportunity. This was only compounded by further poor concentration in coverage that later led to Kone getting behind himself and Mertesacker for a clear chance on goal. He eventually settled down and more importantly, the defense did not concede any goals. However, a much better effort is needed from our captain and those defensive lapses need to be addressed going forward.

Mertesacker (6.5) – I thought the weakness in our defense lay with the two center backs today: together with Vermaelen, Mertesacker’s lack of pace and concentration, almost led to Kone scoring for Wigan. He played his routine safe game by just clearing the ball, but gave Wigan some unnecessary second chance opportunities from corner kicks when not even under pressure. Just as I said with Vermaelen; we didn’t concede any goals against Wigan so perhaps I’m being harsh, but some players need to answer for poor performances and Mertesacker is one of them. He did however break up a crucial play on a 2 v 1 by clearing Stam’s cross pass to Kone in the second half.

Sagna (8.0) – Both fullbacks played solid games defensively and kept Wigan’s offence in check. Much like last game, I want to see Sagna more involved offensively, but I’m glad he honored his defensive duties first. Nothing spectacular here, but I’m happy if he can consistently perform like he did today.

Arteta (8.5) – Continues to be our most consistent performer this season and always shows composure and intelligent ball distribution (aside from the Fulham game which was a disaster for him and he wasn’t great vs. the Spuds either). Won the ball back cleanly on a few occasions and has done everything one could ask for from a holding midfielder. Had a nice involvement offensively on a run forward in the first half and played a nice final ball, that almost led to an Oxlade-Chamberlain goal. Arteta scored the lone goal on a well taken, confident penalty kick.

Wilshere (7.0) – This was not one of Jack’s best performances and the team’s overall performance seemed to be directly correlated with his. He misplaced more passes than usual today, but did not commit any serious mistakes and was unfairly penalized with a yellow card on a perfectly clean tackle. Still, he was not as influential as usual, and I’d like to see him running up field with the ball more frequently. Wilshere did play well defensively, breaking up the play with sliding challenges a few times.

Cazorla (7.0) – He definitely came out flat today and Wigan was smart to take away his space and close down on him early after his performance against Reading. Santi uncharacteristically turned the ball over several times on some poor first touches, over dribbling and careless passing. His slick pass to Walcott that eventually led to Arsenal’s only goal, was the only outstanding bit of work from him. He wasn’t horrible but you definitely come to expect more from our main offensive distributor.

Podolski (5.5) – He pulled his typical Houdini act today and was pretty much absent for most of the game. Of all the players who started against Wigan, I was the most disappointed with Podolski after his inspiring run out against Reading. He created nothing offensively, was not involved defensively, did not link up with Gibbs and seemed to hardly move on the pitch. I thought he should have been the first player substituted off, and his poor performance allowed Wigan to congest the middle of the pitch.

Walcott (6.5) – He looked lost as the central striker today and Martinez and Wigan must have carefully analyzed the Reading game film from Monday. Theo wasn’t able to stretch the defense at all and wasted a good opportunity created by Ox, by shooting it right at Al Habsi in the second half. He did show some intelligent movement by getting himself into good positions to score, eventually drawing a crucial penalty, but like Podolski, he was pretty non-existent most of the time. It will be interesting to see if he can rebound vs. Newcastle next weekend.

Oxlade-Chamberlain (9.0) – Except for Szczesny, he was the most outstanding player on the pitch today. Ox displayed great pace, confidence in taking on defenders and provided some nice offensive scoring chances with in-swinging crosses into the opponent’s 18-yard box. He finally seems to be finding his form from last season and I absolutely loved this lad’s lively performance on the right flank. However, Ox was guilty of over-dribbling and taking too much on his own, which led to a few unnecessary turnovers in the final third. The best is yet to come from him and I think he’ll make the right wing position his own this season.

Ramsey, Coquelin, Koscielny (Incomplete) – None really had an opportunity to make an impact on the game, though Koscielny had a good clearance with his head late in the game, and Coquelin made a couple of nice sliding challenges to win the ball back. However, Coquelin looked unsure when in possession of the ball and this almost led to a few turnovers in our own half. Ramsey looked poor once again in his cameo appearance and why Wenger insists on playing him baffles me. He constantly gives away the ball, is poor defensively, lacks pace and looks out of his element on the right wing. Perhaps his poor performances are associated with inconsistent playing time, but it appears a loan move to another club may be the best for his development.

It is worrisome that we needed a penalty kick to find the score sheet and this poor performance is something to keep in mind for the coming games. AW’s decision to substitute Oxlade-Chamberlain in the 75^th minute was shocking and as a result, we quickly lost any momentum we had gained from Arteta’s goal.

I expect the week off to be beneficial for our squad to get some much-needed rest and to re-group before facing Newcastle on the 29^th. All in all, not one of our best performances but top teams still need to pick up three points from these kinds of games, and we did. Pulling out this type of victory is exactly what Arsenal needed and gives our players the confidence to know that we can still win games when not at our best.

Written by: The Gooner.

Has there been a compromise between Bould and Wenger?

December 19, 2012December 19, 2012TotalArsenal

Arsenal’s performance against the Royals was just what the doctor ordered, and there were signs that Arsene and Bould are starting to find the balance between solidity at the back and a deadly thrust up-front.

Of course, it is early days, and just as I am the first to point out that a bad result does not mean Arsenal are rubbish, it also needs stressing that a good performance and result against Reading does not mean Arsene and Bould have turned the corner. It also needs stressing that Arsenal needlessly conceded two goals, and that we in fact drew with the Royals in the second half.

However, looking at the game for a second time, there seemed to be a pattern to our play throughout the game which might indicate that Bould and Wenger are starting to find the formula for sustained success for the rest of the season.

One wing at a time

Without Theo playing on the right wing, where he formed such a formidable partnership with Sagna during last season especially, Arsenal channelled their wing-attacks through the left for most of the game. Sagna stayed a lot more behind than usually and Ox had to work more in isolation compared to Pod. The German has less tricks to his disposal and relies a lot on support from Cazorla and especially from his brother in arms; the fantastically versatile Gibbs.

Ox is less dependable on support in order to work some magic on the right wing, especially if and when he is giving the most sought after commodity of all for an attacker player: space in front of him. There were signs on Monday that AOC is slowly rediscovering his form and – closely related – his confidence.

Reading allowed us a lot of space on the left wing and boy did we benefit from it. When Gibbs went forward to support our attack the rest of our defence stayed mostly in position, which gave the defence a well-needed stability. Something Bould will have been pleased with.

Vermaelen and Mertesacker more conventional

In general, I thought both the BFG and TV played more conventionally on Monday. They concentrated hard on keeping discipline and there was a strong focus on pushing up and getting Reading to walk constantly in their off-site traps. This worked out very well for most of the game, but as the two goals we conceded showed; further fine-tuning is a must.

It was also clear that TV ventured forward less than usual and this might be another compromise between Bould and Wenger.

Arteta even more our orthodox holding midfielder and Wilshere handed the biggest role of all

I thought Arteta did really well again on Monday. When he is allowed to keep it simple and sit in front of the defence he can be very effective for us. He has got a great positional sense and uses his intelligence really well in sussing out danger. He plays in such a way that you almost do not spot him for large parts of the game, as he allows the team – and us as spectators – to concentrate on the attacking opportunities ahead. We rely heavily on him which of course is a concern, but that is a discussion for another day.

The biggest role on the night was given to Jack. I cannot tell you how much I love this guy right now. What a difference he makes with his drive, intelligence and ability. Yet, he looked so fragile at times on Monday, and we have to wonder whether his body will be able to take the continuous physical challenges he has to face in this pivotal role.

Jack was everywhere and covered the area between attack and defence tremendously well on Monday. Supported by Arteta, he ensured we could keep continuous pressure on the Reading defence, and he was instrumental in winning back possession in midfield as well.

Cazorla played a lot closer to our CF

It was great to see Santi play so close to our CF, Theo, against Reading. I thought Santi played in the DB10 role on Monday and he did remind me of him at times. I did not know he would be so effective in the opposition’s box, but his runs into it, and his general awareness and prowess to finish off opportunities, were a very welcome surprise (at least to me). On top of that, he was just as effective in what he is more known for: finding clever through balls and dictating our attacking play in general. It truly was a top performance by the little Spaniard on Monday.

Jack playing in the lynchpin role and working his socks off together with Arteta, allowed Santi this free role and boy did he reward us for it!

One question that needs answering in the next few weeks is whether Santi can play as close to Giroud as he did to Theo. Theo is a more mobile and faster striker and can exploit space so well: he makes intelligent runs which are very hard to track by the opposition’s defenders, and for Santi, Theo is a dream to play with – just as Henry was for Bergkamp – as he both loves to feed the ball to him in space and likes to benefit himself from the space Theo creates for others.

Of course, we would also need to see how the combination of Walcott and Cazorla in the centre of our attack would work against the disciplined ‘park the bus’ teams, but a more permanent switch towards Cazorla in the hole and three more fluid attackers up-front could well be the way forward.

Plenty of food for thought, I hope! So. let’s discuss. 🙂

Written by: Total Arsenal.

Arsenal 2 – 0 West Brom: eight positives to take from today’s game

December 8, 2012December 8, 2012TotalArsenal

Today’s performance against West Brom was a significant improvement from what we have seen in recent Arsenal games. Lady Luck helped Arsenal on the way with a harsh first penalty being awarded in our favour, but there can be little doubt that the good guys deserved their win today.

It looked like our core players had benefited from not having played mid-week, as they all appeared to be both fitter and more focussed during our game against the Baggies.

The big negative for me today was our inability to take some of the excellent chances which came our way – other than the two well-taken penalties by the impressive Arteta, of course. We also were not able to get the best use out of Giroud, although the Frenchman himself was partly to blame for this.

But, other than those two ‘areas for improvement’, I thought our encounter with the Baggies offered strong signs of Arsenal making progress, and I would like to highlight eight positives from our game today:

MA8: I thought Arteta had one of his best games this season; at least for the first seventy minutes or so. He tired towards the end and made a few mistakes that could have cost us on another day, but before that he was the solid anchor in our team. His positioning was spot on and he also won many one to one battles; he had great drive and timing, and really imposed himself on the game. Mikel also managed to be more direct against West Brom and his passing was often full of attacking intent.
Jack Wilshere took the game by the scruff of the neck today. Not Cazorla or Rosicky turned out to be the conductor of our team today, but Jack, the beanstalk climbing, giant-killer was the one who led the team on the pitch against West Brom. There is still room for improvement for Jack – his final ball needs to improve a bit further and he missed a very good chance today – but his ability to give our team shape and purpose is incredibly important for us at the moment. Jack was simply fantastic today.
Our wingers were disciplined in keeping their shape and stick to their tasks. Ox played a lot better than he did on Tuesday, and hopefully he can build on his performance against the Baggies to regain his best form. Gervinho might have missed a few chances, but his overall play – especially his running with and without the ball – is so important for our team. His ability to take on defenders and get the ball into the box, simply means Arsenal have an added dimension; we are less predictable. If Gervais could just add a bit of sharpness to his game and gain more upper-body strength, he would be far better able to pick the fruits of all his hard work.
Our full backs were great today. Both Sagna and Gibbs really found the perfect balance between solid defending and supporting our attack against WBA, and I really hope the former signs a new contract and the latter can stay fit for a while. In our 4-3-3 system they are immensely important, and we are lucky to have two very good full backs at Arsenal.
Our centre backs, as well as our back-four as a whole, looked more in control and coordinated than I have seen them in a while. How many times did they manage to get the Baggies in an offsite position today? It all resulted in a well-deserved clean sheet.
As a team we pressed so much better than in recent games, and we were also able to win a lot of the one to one battles today, which is an improvement from recent games. WBA were never allowed to get into the game and this was mainly the result of our improved pressing and ability to dominate midfield.
The whole team did not only have a better shape and gelled a lot better; it also showed real passion and fight. Players stood up for themselves and each other today, and it was a joy to behold.
Despite our injuries, we were able to bring on three strong substitutes who were all able to contribute in us seeing the game through till the end. It is good to know that we will have an almost full squad available for the tough – and oh so crucial for gaining momentum – December and January fixtures.

Next up in the PL are away games against Reading and Wigan. There are no easy games in the PL for Arsenal this season, but with a strong squad, and a good possibility that the above mentioned eight positives can be repeated again in fixtures this month, Arsenal should be able to make further progress in the table. However, it will be key to further integrate Giroud into the team and provide him with quality service; and as team we need to score more in the PL by taking our chances better than we do currently.

Still a work in progress and another set-back cannot be ruled out, but we can take plenty of encouragement from today’s strong team performance.

Total Arsenal.

Arsenal’s biggest priority is to buy an orthodox DM

November 22, 2012November 22, 2012TotalArsenal

Arguments can be held for prioritising on the purchase of a quality left back, another central striker, or a right winger; but I reckon our first and most important new arrival should be a quality, experienced, beast of a defensive midfielder, come this January.

Arteta is a very fine player, and from the moment he arrived from Everton he has fitted into the team extremely well. Many of us had expected Arteta to play in a more advanced role, but he became indispensible in the deepest midfield position: the anchor role.

I have written recently what a shame it was to break up the partnership between Song and Arteta. They both made each other better players, and as a duo they became awesome last season. Their biggest problem was not having a high-quality attacking midfielder in front of them for most, if not all, of last season.

With Santi, and now also Jack, we have two very suitable players for the most advanced midfield role; and would we still have Alex Song playing for Arsenal, we would have far better options to rotate our midfielders regularly.

At the moment, we don’t have that luxury. Rosicky and Diaby have been injured for months now, and Coquelin is not given enough opportunities by the manager; which must mean only one thing: he is not impressing Arsene enough during training sessions and the few opportunities he has been given in the first team this season.

I like Coquelin: he has potential to become an Arsenal first squad regular over time. But I can see why Wenger has not given him more regular starts as yet. He has not quite made a mark for himself; and in this new era for Arsenal, in which the young, up and coming players have to compete hard with the new, more experienced arrivals – a policy which started after the acrimonious departures of Cesc and Nasri two summers ago – you have to take your chance if and when it arises. Gibbs and Jack did it, but Coquelin and Frimpong – for different reasons – have not grabbed their chances (as yet).

As a result of all of the above, thirty years old Arteta has been played in all twelve PL games, and all five CL games. And it is starting to show now. Especially in the middle of the second half of recent games, Mikel has looked a bit jaded, and the shield around our defence has suffered as a consequence.

Some opposition teams have also tried to target him, and he is often left isolated in our current 4-3-3 system; in which our midfield is often stretched vertically, with the lynchpin position – currently held by Jack – having to move between defence and attack almost constantly.

Arteta is incredibly versatile and can play in all three midfield positions. He is a great player to have in our squad, but I reckon we need to get a more traditional defensive midfielder in as soon as possible. Jack is the best player for the lynchpin role – especially now it looks like Diaby’s injury problems are haunting him once again; and Cazorla is our best option for the most advanced attacking midfield position.

If Arsenal can get a heavy-weight, traditional DM in January, Arteta could be used either for cover of any of the midfield roles; for which there will be ample opportunity, or he can keep his first team position – but we know then that we have very good cover available on the bench, if and when needed. It would also cover us for the potentially very costly risk of Arteta obtaining a long-term injury this season.

My personal view is to go with the former. I reckon a strong, traditional DM would protect our defence better and allow Jack to join Santi more regularly in making things happen up-front. Jack is not bad in helping out on the defensive side, but he is no Song; and Diaby is unlikely to come back for a long run of games. Arteta is more than capable in the deeper midfield position but he does need defensive support, which he is not getting enough of currently.

By buying a classic DM, Arsenal would become a more balanced team and Arteta would become very useful in helping with the necessary regular rotation of our midfielders. I would love a new LB and a RW, but more than anything, Arsenal need to buy a super quality DM in January.

Total Arsenal.

Please note:

Bergkampesque welcomes all new bloggers. Although some bloggers might appear very familiar and informal with each others, please never hesitate to comment if you feel like it.

Arsenal – Olympiakos: All’s Well that Ends Well! Ten Quick Observations.

October 3, 2012October 3, 2012TotalArsenal

One: Arteta and Cazorla are no mercenaries (in case there was any doubt left). They both gave everything tonight, all over pitch, and carried the team forward for large parts of the game. What a couple of awesome players!

Two: Steve Bould, judging by the evidence of tonight, can do a good halftime team talk. We were more organised, worked harder and never let the Greeks back in. His substitutions did also really work out for Arsenal tonight. All three of them made a difference: they were focussed and eager. I was very impressed with the Boulddozer tonight.

Three: Our young FB’s are showing great signs of maturity – just as they did against Chelsea and Man City – and what a difference this is making with last year’s FB situation at the start of the season.

Four: TV’s performance in the first half was poor, but he improved in the second half quite a bit. But why does he keep bombing forward continuously, even when we are in front and don’t need to chase a goal? It must be by instruction of Wenger and Bould, but I don’t like it at all.

Five: As much as I could judge from a dodgy stream, Coquelin did reasonably ok. The Ox had an unfortunate game and I am starting to wonder where he could play best: at the moment, in our 4-2-1-3 system, I can only see him up-front as one of our ‘fluent-three-attackers’, but as a pure winger he seems to be struggling at the moment (offensive as well as defensive). The difference in experience between, on one side Cazorla and Arteta, and on the other side The Ox and Le Coq, was very obvious tonight. Let’s hope the boys can learn quickly.

Six: With five goals in five, Gervinho is firing from all cylinders. He is so important for us at the moment: not just in terms of his goals but his general play as well. He makes himself available constantly and holds on to the ball well most of the time, and creates chances for others on a regular basis. Together with Arteta and Cazorla and the FB’s, he has been carrying the team tonight. I also thought Mannone did the simple things well tonight and I liked his calmness.

Seven: There is no need to despair about our strength in depth, yet. With Szczesny, Sagna, Mertesacker, JW10, Diaby, and Rosicky not involved at all, and Giroud, Theo and Ramsey starting on the bench, we were still able to field a strong team.

Eight: Despite Podolski’s goal, which he took well, he seems to be struggling at the moment to get hold of the game on the left hand side. His cooperation with Cazorla, and especially Gibbs, is good, but there are too many, and long, periods in which he is simply not involved enough in the game.

Nine: I was happy with Theo’s zest and focus when he came on as a substitute. That was much better than the insipid show he presented us with on Saturday. Let’s hope we get complete contract clarity soon.

Ten: The first half was pretty bad, and lessons have to be learnt again. But the second was much, much better – although by no means faultless – and will give us plenty of confidence and gusto to face the Hammers on Saturday.

All in all, not a bad night and a great result – especially when taking into account the result between Schalke and Montpellier tonight.

Keep the faith fellow Gooners!

Total Arsenal.

Will Ramsey get another chance in the ‘Diaby/Wilshere’ position?

October 3, 2012October 3, 2012TotalArsenal

So, with Diaby confirmed out for at least three weeks, Arsene faces a difficult decision with regards to who should replace him tonight and on Saturday.

In the system that Arsenal plays, the ‘Diaby/Wilshere’ role – one of the two deeper laying midfielders positioned between the defence and our attack minded players – is one of the most unconventional in football. A large variety of skills are required and the success of the team depends for a considerable part on how well that role is performed.

Arteta and Cazorla – the former the deepest laying midfielder who shields the defence, and the latter mainly responsible for conducting our attacking play – have more or less clear, straightforward roles in our team. For the other deeper laying midfielder, the tasks and requirements are less clear-cut.

For the sake of not having to refer constantly to the ‘Diaby/Wilshere’ role or the ‘second-more advanced deeper laying midfielder’ role, I am going to use the term ‘the Lynchpin’ from now on in this post.

The Lynchpin links up our (mainly) defensive players with our (mainly) attacking players. If he does his job well then defence and attack are linked up seamlessly in the middle. The Lynchpin needs to be able to help out the defence when under extreme pressure: read the game well, positioning himself cleverly, win back balls, hold on to balls, simple and effective passing of the ball, and the most difficult skills of all: being able to break through a wall of oppositional pressing, move the play forward quickly with either a simple pass, a powerful run (utilising the space in front of him), or delivering a penetrating pass to an advanced attacking player as quickly as possible.

On a good day, Diaby can play that role to perfection. He was so good against Liverpool that I almost cried of joy. It seems a long time ago, but Jack Wilshere is another player who can play this role to near perfection. He was, for example, one of the key players responsible for that memorable home ‘turn-around’ win against Barcelona two seasons ago.

Although we are blessed to have two such great players, we all know that they are both very prone to injury. I am convinced that if either of them had played for us the whole of last season, we would have done so much better. And their fitness is likely to make or break our season also this time round.

Diaby is out for three weeks and JW10 is still not ready for full-on first team football; so who should Arsene select in the Linchpin position for the next two games against Olympiakos and West Ham?

Rosicky is also still injured, so he is not an option. Coquelin is a possibility but he is still inexperienced and I am not sure whether this role is the right one for him. Coquelin could be slotted into Arteta’s deeper laying role and Arteta could move into the Lynchpin role. But we need the security and stability of Arteta as the main protector of our defence and I am also not sure he has all it takes for the Lynchpin role.

The Ox is an option but I reckon he is still too inexperienced for such a big role, and he is probably not strong enough (yet) defensively.

The most obvious candidate is Aaron Ramsey, but he struggled to get a grip of the Lynchpin role against Chelsea on Saturday. I reckon Aaron is the perfect attacking midfielder in a classic 4-4-2, but in our system he is not allowed enough time and space to control our games. I like Aaron, though, and he had a good game against Citeh in that position, especially in the latter stages of the game. So maybe he should get another chance against Olympiakos and West Ham in that pivotal position.

A good alternative to consider is moving Cazorla in the Lynchpin role, and play Podolski or Arshavin in the creative midfield position. I personally like the sound of that, although I am not sure how he would cope with the defensive side of things, especially against a very physical side like West Ham on Saturday.

And then finally, we could consider moving Vermaelen into midfield as a classic DM ‘bruiser’, and play two attack-minded midfielders in front of him; say, Arteta and Cazorla, or Cazorla and the Ox. It would be just like we did against Milan at home, with Song in that role and both the Ox and Rosicky in front of him. Although I would like that very much, I cannot see Arsene changing the system so much right now.

So, plenty alternatives, but who do you think should get the all important Lynchpin role in the next two games?

Total Arsenal.

Five signs Arsenal could concede as little as 15 PL-goals this season

September 24, 2012September 24, 2012TotalArsenal

Five PL games into the season and Arsenal have conceded only two goals. One was a give-away by our goalkeeper (against the Saints) and one was a genuine goal scored against us (yesterday against Citeh). Two goals conceded in five games means we are leaking a meagre 0.4 goals per game at the moment. If you multiply that with 38 (PL games), we could end up this season with a total of ‘goals conceded’ as low as 15.

Compared to last season, that would mean an incredible reduction of 34 goals conceded this season: from 49 to 15.

Of course, it is still early days and it would not be wise to use the relatively short period since the start of the PL as an objective basis to support the title of the post, but there are nevertheless signs that we might end up with the tightest defence in the league this season.

Firstly, we played three away games and only conceded one goal; whereas last season we conceded in each of those away games – a total of three goals. Stoke, Liverpool and Man City are tough places to go to, so to only concede one goal in those games is a sign of a solid defence.

Secondly, Arsenal has not been able to benefit yet from playing their strongest/most experienced ‘back-five’ since the start of the season, and yet we have been solid in all games. The strongest/most experienced defence would be: Szczesny – Sagna – Mertesacker – TV or Koz – Gibbs or Santos. This is not meant to be a criticism of Jenkinson or Mannone – they both have done extremely well – but I reckon, once Szczesny and Sagna are fully fit again, our defence will become even more solid. But it also great to know Arsenal has great back-up players who are pushing for first team action!

Thirdly, and probably most importantly, Steve Bould has made a real difference. Our back five looks so much more disciplined and organised and all defenders have come out with quotes stating how fantastic it is to work with Bould. Arsene stated recently he has given Steve the task to improve our defence, and I am sure that did not just mean improving our back-five. Arsene is a holistic kind of a guy and knows better than anybody that a defence can only be good if and when the whole team knows how to defend and work their socks off for each other. The way the likes of Gervinho, Podolski and also Giroud have been tracking back this season has simply been phenomenal. This team works so well for each other at the moment, and clearly, Bould has had a lot to do with it.

Fourthly, with the departure of Song, Arteta has now taken on full and permanent responsibility to sit in front of our defence in order to protect it. Next to him, Diaby is the second deeper-laying midfielder whose discipline and physicality have helped Arteta tremendously in protecting our defence. With Coquelin on the bench and both Frimpong and Wilshere being almost fit to return to the first team, we should have plenty of cover once Arteta and Diaby need a break.

Last season, Arsenal struggled once Arteta got injured as Song was given the difficult task to both help protect our defence and support our attack as much as possible: an almost impossible task for which he was not given enough credit. Now, with Arteta dedicated to the deepest midfielder role, and the creative midfield position occupied by the truly fantastic Cazorla, there is so much more structure to our midfield. In between these two we can play Ramsey, Diaby or Wilshere and all of them have good attacking as well as defensive qualities.

Fifthly, Arsene said towards the end of the transfer window he was still looking for a top quality midfielder with strong defensive qualities. So, there is a good chance Arsenal will sign a DM-type of player in January, if Arsene still reckons we need one.

All in all, I reckon there are solid foundations at Arsenal to continue and improve our lean, mean defending machine this season. Whether Arsenal will leak as little as 15 goals this season remains to be seen, but there is every reason to be upbeat about the strength of our defending.

Total Arsenal.