Cabella – Bergkampesque

Will Jovetic or won't he join Arsenal this summer, and is he the answer for the LW? — Will he or won’t he join Arsenal this summer, and is Jovetic the answer for the LW?

With each passing day, it seems more and more likely that by the time the squad convenes on July 4th and heads off to Asia, Higuain will be among them. Recently BBC reporter David Ornstein via his twitter account confirmed that not only are Arsenal looking at the Argentine, we have made him our top priority. Given his track record, you can take that to the bank.

He seems to have a connection very high up in the Arsenal hierarchy. I remember during the Arteta transfer (which was one of the most dramatic to date) he knew and reported everything that happened, when it happened and how it happened. To refresh your memory, this was a transfer that was sanctioned six hours to the transfer deadline. A bid was made but Arsene changed his mind and called it off. He then changed his mind again and decided to go for him until finally, he signed him. Ornstein also reported the transfers of Santos, Per, Ox, Gervinho, Park, Santi, Poldi and Giroud well before the club confirmed them.

Anyway, given the imminent arrival of Higuain, our attack is looking as potent as it has ever been. Ornstein also reported that on our priority list is a DM and an attacking midfielder. I think he meant a left sided attacker, and the reports linking us to Dimitri Payet of Lille, El sharaawy and Nani confirm this – sort of. This is what I’d like to discuss.

With Theo and Higuain we have a mobile team of goal scorers who can create for each other and support each other, generally forcing opposing defenders to earn their keep to the very last dime. On the left though, we lack a player of the same calibre as the aforementioned two.

We have Gervinho who the less said about him the better. Then we have Poldi who when played on the left has produced mixed performances. His defensive contributions and crossing ability are commendable but he lacks the kind of pace, movement, speed of thought or dribbling skills that make players such as Di Maria such a pain to play against. As a result, for large chunks of the season he has looked lethargic. I believe his best position is at the centre of the park, and his performances in Giroud’s absence seem to have convinced Wenger of this. His two goal performance against Wigan being proof of this. Given an extended run in that position would reinforce my point, however, unfortunately for him (but fortunately for us), it is looking likely that this will be a position that will be fiercely contested for.

Which brings me back to my subject matter. This leaves us with Gervinho and the Ox as the two contenders for the left slot. Obviously, Gervinho is not a player who Arsene can hinge the success of his team on. The Ox to me seems as the perfect solution, but Wenger seems adamant on his plans to develop him into a central midfielder. This means that we do not have a player who could adequately complete this devastating attacking trinity. The ideal player should have pace, should be technically up to par, should have good dribbling ability, should be mobile (and versatile), must be strong in his crossing and most of all should be a goal scorer.

Like mentioned earlier, we’ve been linked with Payet, El sharaawy and Nani. I’d like to add Jovetic, Cabella and Isco to this list.

With Payet we have a player who only bloomed recently and at 26 is entering his prime. He has tremendous pace, crossing and dribbling ability and has a very good shooting technique. He would come cheap but his main con is that being a late bloomer, he has very limited top flight experience and his ability to adapt to the EPL is very much in question (remember that Gervinho was at one point in time ahead of him in the pecking order).

Then we have El sharaawy, who would be perfect. He ticks all the boxes above and is a prolific goal scorer. The only concerns about him though, are his slight build, loyalty to the Milan cause and his price tag. Although with the arrival of Balotelli and the Milan president’s comments that he is not ”unsellable”, a bid of around 30 million would be enough to bring him over to the emirates.

Then we have Isco whose abilities I have discussed at length before. With him, however, we are at a disadvantage because Man City and Real Madrid are both after him. They both have unlimited resources, with City even having the edge, as their coach is Isco’s footballing father figure. It would take enormous effort and funds to land him but he is well and truly worth it.

We have Jovetic, who we’ve been linked with all summer. He is also one who ticks all the boxes above. He is the most versatile and mobile of the lot. He would cost around 25 million, but given the fact he has been vocal about his desire to leave, this amount can be negotiated to between 20-22 million. Not only did he speak fondly about Arsenal, Fiorentina prefer to sell him abroad if he is to leave, so I doubt that the transfer would be a complicated one (if we were to embark on it).

There’s also Cabella, whose club president said that he would cost around 80 million, although this is a hyperbole used to scare off any suitors. Cabella is fast, skilled, extremely enthusiastic and young. My issue with him is that he is a diver. He also is a bit raw, but just a bit. He is not as prolific as we would like but his talent is there for all to see, and we Gooners saw first-hand what he can do when we played Montpellier in the UCL. He is nowhere near the finished article, and I have no idea how much he would cost, but I think he is worth a look.

Finally there is Nani, my least favourite. He has top premier league experience and has won many trophies. My concerns about him are the same that Man Utd have. He is inconsistent and selfish. He is a player who places individual success above that of the team to the point where it affects his game (he has repeatedly said that he wants to beat Ronaldo to the ballon d’or; he also recently said that he is too good for a return to Portugal.) Nani is a player who would rather do it all himself, and quite honestly, that is the opposite of an Arsenal player. If Arsene thinks he can manage and bring out the best in him then I think he should go for him because despite all this he has the talent.

However Arsene decides to go, I hope that whoever he brings in to fill in the final attacking position is of the same ilk as Theo and Higuain. This would make our attack fearsome and with the kind of midfield and defence we have assembled, we would reacquire our status as a European footballing giant.

Written by: Marcus

What is going on with Walcott at the moment?

Let me first of all say, I am a big fan of Theo. I don’t think he is the best winger we have ever had, but he certainly is a great player to have in our team. His stats over the last two seasons are impressive, both in terms of goals scored (24 in 84 games) and assists (22 in 84 games). Just have a look around and you will not find many wingers who do significantly better than him – especially if you compare him with other 23 year old wingers. Compare his stats with the former legends of Pires and Ljungberg and you will see he really has not been doing badly over the last two seasons.

Sometimes Theo is great and sometimes he is disappointing. Even top-top classic wingers like Robben and Ribery have off-games now and again, as the wings are difficult areas to constantly make a difference, and the opposition often chooses to eliminate the danger by doubling up. Every player needs confidence and full fitness to perform well, but if a winger is lacking in these areas it will show more than in any other on-field position.

Taking all the above into account, I would be really happy if Theo would sign a new contract and spend his best football years at our beloved Arsenal. His game will definitely develop further and he could easily become a core player in our team again. But, it does not look like Theo will be signing a new contract for us.

When it was not done before the closure of the transfer window, I was not worried about it at all. Both parties seemed to be saying they wanted a new agreement and it would all be sorted out soon. Three weeks later and Theo has hardly featured for Arsenal and it looks like Arsene has just about lost his patience with him. The signs are, unfortunately, strongly pointing towards an exit in January.

I reckon part of the problem is that Walcott compares his salary with those of similar players at Chelsea and the Manchester Clubs, and thinks he should be offered a better package. I cannot blame him for that, but neither can I blame Arsenal for drawing a line in the sand at the rumoured £75k per week, and for sticking to their pay-structure. I also don’t think he is worth more than that.

I have been thinking for a while who could be a good replacement for Theo and although I was able to muster a few names – Victor Moses, Adam Johnson, Afellay came to mind – none of them made me feel excited. But then, unexpectedly, whilst watching our CL game this week, I really became interested in Montpellier’s nr20: the 22 year old Remy Cabella. I have watched the second half against Montpellier again this week – just concentrating on him, and what an all round impressive performance he had on Tuesday.

Cabella was a thorn in our side throughout the game. He was simply everywhere as he was not man-marked and clearly given a free role to wreak havoc. He has got a good first touch, great vision, excellent movement, technically very strong, and a fine passer of the ball. His audacious, bergkampesque chip over Mannone in the second half was a joy to watch; not just in terms of execution, but also for both seeing it and daring it. He also made a good run across our box, followed by a clean, low strike that just went wide in the first half.

Cabella has the potential to become the sort of footballer for whom people come to watch a game.

Cabella is 171 cm long, so quite small. You could say that he has a good height to become an Arsenal midfielder these days! He holds on to the ball really well, likes to track back and is not afraid to make a tackle. He has also got a great engine and is quite fast. His finishing still needs to improve a bit, as he lacked composure against us once or twice in front of goal, on Tuesday. Although, with three goals in five games this season, he might be starting to get this right as well.

He is not a typical, classical winger, but just like Gervinho and the Ox, he looks comfortable on the wings. He can take on a player and get past them by using his skills and tricks rather than relying on pure speed.

Anyway, it is a bit early still to say Cabella would make a good replacement for Theo, if he is indeed to leave. But let’s keep an eye on him and hopefully he will play again when Montpellier visits us at the Home of Football. Definitely a player worth watching over the next few months, and I would not be surprised at all if Wenger has already got plans in place to buy him.

Total Arsenal.