Transfers – Page 11 – Bergkampesque

Is that what the ‘little boy inside’ cried out for, Robin?

April 1, 2013TotalArsenal

Robin van Persie has been speaking to Dutch media in recent weeks; about how he just made the right decision to join Manchester United. He said he should not have left Arsenal earlier or later, and that he could see himself finish his career at United, as they care so much more about ‘the older’ player.

Robin van Persie will win the league with United this year and well done to him. He had more than his fair share in his new club’s achievement so he deserves the credit. He scored 19 PL goals; only one less than Hernandez and Rooney put together and he won many a game for the Mancs singlehandedly, mainly during the first half of the season.

However, he only scored one goal in the last twelve games for MU, and he has once again not produced the goods when it really matters. Against Real Madrid he had a number of opportunities in both legs, but a lack of composure let him down time and again; very similar to his performances for us against Milan in the CL a year earlier and for the Dutch national team in recent years.

Today, in a crucial match for his team to win a ‘double’ this season, he was given the role of super-sub. He came on in 61^st minute in order to turn the game round, after Demba had put the Chavs ahead by doing something the Dutchman himself used to do when he still played for a proper football playing team; scoring from a ball over the top with a piece of fine technical finishing.

Once again, he fluffed his lines as his team worked hard to get him in a promising position. The magic has somehow disappeared, and to be fair to him, this happens to all strikers. But RvP is paid an incredible £1m a month now and for that money surely more is expected by the Mancs’ owners and fans. Four under-par performances against Chelsea – he was a ‘super-sub’ in the FA cup home draw as well – and Real Madrid; and two painful, gloryless cup-exits.

He will be able to say he won a Premiership’s medal at the end of this season, but who is to say he would not have done the same if had he stayed at Arsenal and scored his 19 PL goals for the mighty red and white? In the end, we conceded only two goals more, but scored eleven goals less than MU.

But he had no patience and wanted the big money, rather than fulfil his contract and pay back the club for all that it had done for him. The little boy was screaming loads and loads of cash at him and that he would win so much more with United. The inner-voice was so loud, it made him go against the club and burn all his bridges with a disgraceful statement.

Well the little boy was partly right, and who knows what he will still be able to win with MU in the following years, but I cannot help but take some satisfaction out of his recent failings.

The man who once said he is a ‘Gunner for Life’ and that he ‘loves the club and that will always be the case’, but who still left us in the lurch at the first opportunity, is going through a mighty dip in performance. And long may it continue.

Written by: a still bitter TotalArsenal

Four reasons why Arsenal should not buy another GK this summer

March 29, 2013TotalArsenal

Will Wojciech be our nr1 Goalkeeper next season?

Arsenal fans (especially us on Bergkampesque) have been holding many great debates and discussions regarding who should join and leave Arsenal in the coming summer. Once the season is over, Wenger will be looking to buy players in a number of different positions to strengthen our squad, in preparation for competing for major trophies next season. Wenger will certainly be looking to acquire players in some/all of the following positions: GK, CB, RB (only if Sagna leaves Arsenal at the end of the season), DM and CF/ST.

Many Arsenal fans have been calling for Wenger to buy a new GK for the last couple of seasons, with Szczesny being our only competent GK in our squad, and with Fabianski and Mannone both classed as being unreliable. This season, Szczesny has been a shadow of his former self: we have seen a dramatic loss in form which has led to us witnessing Wojciech making many schoolboy errors throughout this season in very important matches for us. And now even more Arsenal fans are calling for Wenger to buy a new GK in the summer, to help relieve some of the pressure on our young No.1 GK.

However, I feel we do not need to buy a new GK in the summer for a number of reasons.

Buying a new GK would certainly make Szczesny lose all of his confidence and would lead to his form dipping even more. We have seen this already at Arsenal when Fabianski came into the Arsenal team for Almunia, and most recently, when Szczesny came into the Arsenal team for Fabianski. Almunia and Fabianski lost all of their remaining confidence, meaning that whenever they played for us they were just a bag of nerves.

With 70 million to spend in the summer and Wenger needing to strengthen the squad in a number of positions over the summer, I think a new GK is not a necessity and buying one would not be the best way to utilise our transfer budget.

Buying a GK would use up a considerable amount of our transfer budget which could be better used and invested on outfield players. I feel we need a new CB, DM and CF/ST much more than a new GK. In the last few matches Fabianski has played in goal and has looked pretty solid. Therefore I propose we extend Fabainski’s contract by one year, as he is perfectly capable of stepping in for Szczesny when needed, and buy a new GK in a couple of seasons’ time.

Szczesny’s development would also suffer if a new GK is brought in. At the tender age of 22 years old it is essential that Szczesny gets as much game time as possible so he can continue to mature and develop as a GK. Other young GK’s in the Prem i.e. De Gea and Hart have also made numerous mistakes which have cost their teams vital points, with the latter also making many mistakes for his country. Szczesny must play as many matches as possible so he can learn from his mistakes and grow into an experienced world class GK.

Also, if a new GK does come to Arsenal in the summer, would he even be the GK we need? If we were to get a GK, he would need to be a fair bit older than Szczesny, and experienced at playing at top club and international level; so he would be able to teach and guide Szczesny by sharing his experiences and wisdom with him.

We would not even be able to attract this type of GK as he would want a guaranteed starting spot which would completely ruin the development of Szczesny, which I feel Wenger does not want to do. Why would an experienced GK who has played at the top level throughout his career at club and international level want to warm our bench? This means that any experienced GK who would be willing to sit on our bench would not be worthwhile buying, as it is likely that he would not have the quality to improve on the likes of Fabianski and Mannone.

I would love to hear your thoughts on the topic.

Written by: AFC

The one PL player who best complements Arsenal’s top-core of players – Have your say!

March 27, 2013March 27, 2013TotalArsenal

During this interlull period, I thought I’d take the opportunity to have some fun on BK. If you look at every team in the Premier League, you could say that each club is built on the foundation of three players (some teams obviously have more than three, but for the sake of this article, let’s assume only three). These three players can be seen as the integral pieces of the team, as without them, the respective clubs would lose their established identity, or not have accomplished as much success this season (and seasons past in some cases).

The following is an entirely subjective list that I believe contains the three key players at each club, with additional cases easily being made for the players in brackets:

Arsenal – Wilshere, Cazorla and Walcott

Aston Villa – Benteke, Clark, Vlaar (Guzan or Westwood)

Chelsea – Lampard, Mata, A.Cole (Cech or Hazard)

Everton – Fellaini, Baines, Pienaar (Howard)

Fulham – Berbatov, Hangeland, Schwarzer (Ruiz)

Liverpool – Suarez, Gerrard, G.Johnson (Reina)

Man City – Hart, Yaya Toure, Kompany (Silva or Aguero)

Man Utd – van Persie, Rooney, Vidic (Evra)

Newcastle – Sissoko, Krul, Cabaye (Ben Arfa or Coloccini)

Norwich – Snodgrass, Ruddy, Holt

QPR – Cesar, Remy, Taarabt

Reading – McAnuff, Pogrebnyak, Federici

Southampton – Lambert, Schneiderlin, Ramirez (Boruc)

Stoke – Begovic, Shawcross, Huth (Walters)

Sunderland – Mignolet, Sessegnon, O’Shea (Fletcher or Cuellar)

Swansea – Michu, A.Williams, Vorm

Tottenham – Bale, Lloris, Vertonghen

West Brom – Foster, Olsson, Long (McAuley, Lukaku or Morrison)

West Ham – Jaaskelainen, Diame, Nolan (O’Brien)

Wigan – Kone, Al Habsi, Maloney

I am not claiming that teams with players listed in brackets have more than three players that construct the foundation of their respective teams, but that not being a fan of their respective clubs, I’m not totally sure if one is of greater importance than the three I listed.

Regardless, the point of this article is not to debate the players I’ve listed for each club (some clubs were incredibly difficult to even distinguish three important players), but to establish which player you would want most from any other team in the Premier League (to complement the three I’ve listed for our club), aside from the three players I’ve listed for each team.

For Arsenal, I have chosen Jack and Santi as centerpieces for our club for obvious reasons – they are by far the most skilled players on our side and when at their best, lead this team in providing our attack with shape and purpose. Without Jack and Santi, we’d definitely be a mid-table side lacking creative instincts; and they both are the closest things to world-class talents at Arsenal.

However, I struggled with the third key player, since based on history and past seasons, the honour could have easily been bestowed upon Sagna, Vermaelen or Koscielny.

Nacho is still too new to this team and there is debate among many supporters as to whether he or Gibbs should be first choice. If Szczesny or Ox were ever to meet their high potentials, or Gibbs or Diaby were ever able to consistently stay fit/healthy, each one would also be included in the discussion of our third most crucial player. With that said, I went with Theo simply because he is leading our team in goals and assists (tied with Santi and Podolski in each category respectively), is capable of providing quality crosses, and his pace makes him a terror for opposing defenders.

Personally, my choice to complement the trio of Wilshere, Cazorla and Walcott would be Matija Nastasic from Manchester City.

The modern game demands that defenders be as comfortable playing the ball as they are with clearing it; Nastasic is the epitome of a ball-playing center half, who is rarely beaten by either pace or fancy dribbling/ball control. With a tackle win percentage of 96% (top in the league), a successful clearance percentage of 59% (top 10 in the PL), only 1 error leading to a shot (tied in 2^nd among defenders in the PL) and 0 errors leading to goals and no own goals (top in the PL); it’s easy to see why Nastasic is a viable candidate.

Of course, the case could be made against Nastasic that it’s easy to be a top defender when you’re playing with steady, veteran players in Kompany, Zabaleta and Clichy beside you, and a world-class keeper in Joe Hart, behind you. However, watching Nastasic play this season, I can honestly give him full credit for further stabilizing the City back line, and not just being a product of an already stable back four/five.

What makes Nastasic’s accomplishments even more outstanding, is the fact that he’s accomplished incredible statistics for a defender at the tender age of 19, and who is in his first season of one of the top leagues in the world. In addition, he is playing in one of the most demanding positions mentally, and is constantly challenged by some of the best attackers in the world.

Now, I would like to open the floor to the rest of you. Do you believe the three players I’ve listed for Arsenal make up the foundation for our team? If not, who do you believe should take their place?

And who would you like to see at Arsenal from any of the other clubs in the EPL, excluding the players I’ve listed (however, you can choose from the players in brackets)?

Written by: Highbury Harmony.

Take a sad Song and make it better – Arsene bring back our DM!

March 11, 2013TotalArsenal

Despite all the diving, the card-waving and general theatrics, I still love to watch Barcelona play football. If you love football, there is no way around it: Barcelona play the best, and most enjoyable to watch, football in Europe at the moment.

But there is something quite despicable about the Catalan club and this is mostly to do with the things that happen outside the football arena, at least initially. Barcelona have a tendency to buy players they do not really need, and will happily let them waste away on the bench or totally on the side-lines, without giving them a proper opportunity to proof themselves. I reckon a lot of this has to do with the way the club is organised from a managerial/governance point of view.

Every so many years, elections are being held in which the members of the club vote to choose their president. Since 2010, Sandro Rosell has been Barcelona’s president, and as the members of the club are all supporters – Rosell received 61% of the vote of a record turnout of 57000 members back in 2010 – one can only become president by promising lots of things.

And the best way to get members to vote for a candidate-president is by promising to buy players. With Barcelona’s fine first squad, and the continuous high-quality output from their youth development schemes, there is usually very little need for the sort of players Barcelona purchase. The likes of Hleb, Afellay, and now Alex Song, and to a certain extent the same goes for Fabregas, are the players who come to mind. But there are more players who were mainly bought for one key purpose: the president giving the members something back for having been voted in by them and/or keep them happy going forward.

And buying players from Arsenal, or from one of the Dutch top clubs – there is a strong historic link between Barcelona and Holland as many of you will know – is a sexy thing to do and which is likely to appease the fans.

Barcelona is not the only club who is guilty of this – indeed it can be argued that Arsenal did the same with the purchase of Park – but we seem to suffer disproportionately from it. Of course, Arsenal do not have to let them go, but a combination of a BoD who loves to balance the books and the gullibility of the players in question, has often led to the club letting key players go to the Catalans without much resistance.

Hleb has become a shadow of the promising player he was at Arsenal and the same could easily happen to Alex Song. He has been used sparingly by Barcelona this season and very often as a late substitute. I reckon he was bought mainly, and simply, because Barcelona could, and Rosell wanted to keep the members happy and on his side.

I hate it when that happens: Song is a fine player who is at a stage in his career when he has to play a lot in order to become better and better. He had a great season for us; finding the middle way between helping out defensively, and providing attacking impetus at the same time. I reckon we miss him even more than Van Judas this season, and he would have been once again one of our key players.

I would love to see him back in the squad and becoming our deepest laying DM. Some of you will say he is not disciplined enough for this, but I reckon that is nonsense. Last season, he was asked to help out creating opportunities up-front, and he did so with great verve. And I am sure if he was asked to fully concentrate on sitting back and protecting our defence, he will do so with full commitment and great quality. And it is also nice to know that sometimes he can produce a bit of magic when nobody is expecting it.

He was a player Arsenal could not afford to let go without replacing him properly. And if there is any chance to get him back for a decent price this summer, I hope Arsene will forget and forgive whatever it was that made him agree to sell the Cameroonian last summer, and bring him back to the home of football as soon as possible.

Let’s hope that his great talent does not get wasted in the same way as Hleb’s got wasted. Arsene if you can, please bring him back home: he belongs at Arsenal.

Written by: TotalArsenal.

The one player who will make all the difference for Arsenal

February 27, 2013February 27, 2013TotalArsenal

First of all, great news that Dennis is finally getting a statue outside our stadium. The most sensible thing the club has done in a long while! 🙂

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One of the most heard sentences by fellow Gooners, and indeed almost all ‘big football club’ fans, is that our/their club only need to buy two more quality players in order to become a force to be reckoned with again.

During the last two seasons, Arsenal bought a lot more than two players, but we also let a number of star players depart. As a result, adding two or more players did not have the desired effect, as the gaps left by the likes of Fabregas, Song and Van Judas needed to be filled before any additional progress could be made. Rather than making progress, Arsene is now constantly trying to get back to where we were at the end of the previous season.

This has to stop, and there are now good signs that Arsenal will be able to hold on to their key players, for at least two to three seasons. With this in mind, the theory that adding two or three quality players will move our team to the very top again, might have some merit.

I say ‘might’, as there are no guarantees, and there are plenty of examples of where this theory has not worked out.

Real Madrid famously decided to try and conquer the might of their fiercest rivals Barcelona, by spending around £300m in one summer on the likes of Benzema, Ronaldo and Kaka, etc. Despite yesterday’s humiliating defeat of Barca, and winning the Spanish League last season, it is fair to say that Real have been unable to stop the Catalans being top dog in Spanish football over the last five years or so.

Chelsea added £80m worth of players in 2012, and that after just ‘winning’ the CL cup, and yet they did not even progress from their CL group and are, just like us, not going to win the league yet again. And then there is Liverpool, who allowed Dalglish to spend £100m in order for the club to make the final move upwards… The rest is history.

I have little doubt that Arsene will get at least a couple more players this summer to improve the squad. However, I am a big believer that ultimately it will be a single individual who will make the real difference again at Arsenal. Dennis Bergkamp’s arrival helped Arsenal to gradually become an all-round better team, and to slightly lesser extent, Sol Campbell North-London move from the dark side to the home of good football, had a significant impact as well.

I believe that gradually, Wilshere will be the player with whom we will move to the very top again. The likes of Ox, Gibbs, Theo, Nacho, Cazorla, Podolski and Szczesny are likely to add further quality to the first team. The squad needs strengthening in one or two central defensive areas (defence and midfield), we also could do with a top class striker, and a top quality winger would also not go amiss. Wenger will no doubt develop one or two players into the above mentioned positions, but is also likely to buy a couple of quality players over the coming summer.

But this is not just a matter of buying players for particular positions; we also need to look for certain characteristics.

The one player who is to make a big difference needs to be of special quality; technically and tactically. He also needs to add leadership and steel to our first team, and have the drive and motivation to help move this team to the very top. He also needs to fit like a glove into Arsene/Arsenal’s philosophy of football.

It does not necessary need to be a superstar, but just the right player to join us now and who is simply the missing piece in the Wilshere-Wengerball jigsaw.

Who do you think this special player could be, and why?

I have some ideas of who this might be, and I will share these with you in the next 24 hours or so. But I don’t want to steer the debate too much for now.

Over to you, fine fellow Gooners! 🙂

Written by: Total Arsenal.

No Time for Losers: Ruthless Wenger is Raising the Bar

February 13, 2013February 13, 2013TotalArsenal

‘Whoever said money can’t buy happiness isn’t spending it right’

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A lot has been said about Arsene’s player purchases over the years. He can get it really right but also awfully wrong sometimes.

Under Wenger, Arsenal have always refrained from buying top notch – experienced and in their prime – A-class players. We landed Sol Campbell on a free from the Spuds, and both Arshavin and Reyes were highly rated players, but not regarded as top-class, or ‘super-quality’.

Arsene became the champion of discovering and polishing gems. He brought and subsequently developed so many fine players over the years: from Henry to van Judas, from Ljunberg to Pires, and from Vieira to Fabregas.

However, he also brought to the club a significant number of fiascos; and especially since our move to the new stadium, there have been quite a few who have not made the grade: those who are often ungenerously labelled ‘deadwood’ by the fans.

There is a view, not just by those who want Wenger out, that the Frenchman does not know what he is doing anymore and that he got more wrong than right recently. It could be that Arsenal’s scouting system needs an overhaul, but I am pretty sure every player who joins us will have had the full approval of Wenger, and he therefore should be held responsible to a large extent for the number of players who did not make the grade at Arsenal.

Some feel that Arsene has too many responsibilities and therefore needs more support, especially with regards to buying and selling players.

I reckon there is a bit of truth in all the above mentioned views: Wenger is not perfect at all, and mistakes have been made.

Those who are more generously inclined towards our manager argue that he has had a small budget with which he had to fill a number of vacancies in the squad over the last few years. As a result, he had to take more risks with finding new, good and yet affordable, players. Finding quality players who could hit the ground running was made a lot harder for Wenger as a result of the competition increasing significantly over the last few years, and him simultaneously being faced with the departure of a number of his best players, which he seemingly could do nothing about.

I tend to be in the latter camp, and also reckon that Wenger just has not got the time anymore to spend ages on developing players into gems. The competition is now far too fierce, and combined with a lack of winning silverware in recent years, it means there is very little room and time for failure.

Luckily, we have seen a big improvement in recent purchases: Giroud, Podolski and Cazorla have added a lot of quality to our team and have been effective for us from the start of the season. Early signs re Nacho are also very promising. It also looks like Arsene is in the market to add another one or two quality players during the summer.

In the meantime, Wenger has been managing out a number of players who have not made the grade, or appear to no longer fit in his plans. Chamakh, Denilson, Santos, Bendtner, Park, Frimpong and Djourou are all out on loan, with the main aim of running their contracts down and reducing the wage bill. Although, there might still be space for Frimpong and Djourou in Arsene’s squad for next season; it is too early to be definite about this.

Other players seem to feature only seldom or never at all: Rosicky, Arshavin and Squillaci. The last two are clearly left to run their contracts down, but I don’t understand why Rosicky, who only signed a new contract last season, does not feature a lot more this season.

The good thing about this new apparent ruthlessness of Arsene is that it is creating space to get the best out of the two pillars that should bring our beloved club back to the very top again: bringing through youth/raw gems on the one hand, and buying experienced, quality players on the other. It is also telling the players clearly that they have to perform to the highest standards or they will face the axe.

I often feel a bit of sadness when I see Chamakh on the West Ham bench, and think back about Denilson, and very possibly, Djourou not making the grade at Arsenal. But that is what top sport is all about, and hanging on to players who do not make the grade will inevitably hold back talents within the squad who might have what it takes to make it at Arsenal.

Arsenal have now entered a new era in which most of our key players are signed up to long contracts and good, quality players (although still not super, superstars) can be bought on an annual basis, whilst only the very best of our youth/raw gems will make it to the top from now onwards. With improving revenue streams and FFP at least having some effect, this should be a very good formula for making us very competitive again.

But it is just as important to keep the level of expectations high and to let players go as soon as it becomes clear they are not going to make it at Arsenal. Arsene’s apparent new ruthlessness is therefore a welcome sight.

Written by: Total Arsenal.

The man to complete the arsenal jigsaw up-front

February 12, 2013February 12, 2013TotalArsenal

First of all, what a game against Sunderland! What performances by Wilshere, Cazorla, Sagna and Szczesny. Beautiful football in the first half and determined resolve in the second half to see the game out. We are finally showing that we have what it takes to grind out those results when things aren’t going our way. Fantastic. I won’t dwell on that though as it isn’t why I am writing this post.

It is no secret that Wenger has been and still is in the market for a new striker. Many names have been thrown in the hat such as Ba, Cavani, Adrian Lopez and Villa. Ba ended up at Chelsea, Cavani is out of Arsenal’s price range (if history is anything to go by), Lopez and Villa were denied transfers by their respective clubs. Villa has expressed his desire to join Arsenal but I believe for someone about to turn 32, his train has already passed. Don’t get me wrong, I believe he still is in his prime but at 32 years old and 14 million quid, we would be signing a player with, at the very most, 2-3 more years at the top level. Doesn’t seem worth it to me.

Which brings me to my subject matter; the 1.86m tall Fiorentina striker, Stevan Jovetić.

Reports have been emerging that Arsene has made the 23 year old Montenegrin his top transfer priority in the summer. How accurate these reports are, I do not know. What I do know is that he is the perfect fit for this current crop of Arsenal players.

Jovetić possesses a skill set which currently is lackingin Arsenal’s attack. He is an incredibly skilled player who can use his dribbling and ball control to create space for both himself and his team mates. The Montenegrin also possesses a shot technique that makes him prolific both in and out of the box. Jovetić also possesses the silky touch to combine with other players around him the ‘Arsenal way’.

He may not have Walcott’s pace or Giroud’s physique, but that is the point. He brings a whole new dimension to the Arsenal attack, best compared to Arsenal legend, Dennis Bergkamp.

At 23 years old, he still has loads of room to improve and under Wenger’s tutelage, you can bet he will. A scary thought indeed. His price has been touted to be between the 20 and 25 million pound mark, which would shatter Arsenal’s current transfer record, but I believe it to be well worth it.

We would be acquiring a world class talent who would without a doubt develop into a world beater and most of all, offer 10+ years of service.

What say you, faithful gooners?

Written by: Marcus.

August 2013: Bergkamp new coach, 4-4-2, Capoue new DM, Isco new Winger

February 6, 2013TotalArsenal

Well, that would be my wish-list for the new season.

As it is very quiet with us having to endure another mini-interlull, I thought it would be fun to blog today about what changes all of us would like to see at the start of the 2013-2014 season. I wrote yesterday about the good building blocks being put into place by Arsenal, in order to once again make a sustained effort to bring home silverware. For good order, I will repeat them again, as they should form a good basis for further discussions today:

A British core of very talented players with real passion for the club;
The acquisition of predominantly Spanish and German quality, experienced players;
The upwards push of talents coming through from our player development system;
The removal of players who have not made the grade by either selling them or loaning them out till their contracts expire, or just letting them run out their contracts;
All key players have been signed up on long term contracts now, which should enable us to hold on to players, at least in the next few years;
More money available from now on, to both hold on to players better – by steadily and responsibly increasing their salaries if and when appropriate – and attract two or three quality players every season.

In order for today’s blogging to have a bit of structure, I propose you answer the following questions:

With almost all our new British talents signed up, it would be really good to see a talented and well respected coach join Arsenal’s management team. Bergkamp would be my first choice, but who would you like that to be?
With three attackers who all want to play in the middle – Pod, Giroud and Theo – and two more options to play centrally – Ox and Gervinho – and good quality midfielders across all positions – I would love us to play 4-4-2 from next season onwards. I reckon it will get the best out of the combo of Theo and Giroud, and with the likes of Cazorla, Ox, Gervinho, Pod, Gibbs, Coquelin on the wing, we have players who can combine the defensive and attacking tasks of the mid-wing positions really well. But what would your ideal formation be?
If we are to play 4-4-2, I reckon we need, even more than now, a beast of DM to join Arsenal over the summer. Capoue ticks all the boxes for me. If Arsenal is indeed able to hold onto all key players this summer, and you could make one quality signing, spending in the region of £15-20m, who would you want to join Arsenal over the summer?
I would love another quality CB, but if we can get Capoue I could live with giving TV, Koz, BFG and Miguel/Djourou another chance to form a solid defence; although I could change my mind if we don’t see a step improvement in our defensive performances over the next four months. So, if I could add one more, reasonably affordable, player to the squad; it would be a really exciting, fast and technically gifted, goal scoring and assist making, quality winger. Isco would tick all the boxes and with already three Spanish players in our starting-11 currently, I reckon Isco would fit in really well. And Remy Cabella, Giroud’s former team mate at Montpellier, would be a very good second choice. But who would like to add as a second choice?

To repeat the questions:

Who would you like to join us as an extra coach?
What would be your ideal formation for the next season?
Who would be your priority signing over the summer?
Who would be your ‘in an ideal world’, additional signing this summer?

Remember, it is just a bit of fun!

Written by: Total Arsenal.

‘Nacho’s Anyone’? What this super signing will bring to Arsenal: in-depth analysis.

February 1, 2013February 1, 2013TotalArsenal

“What is important is that you bring in players who can strengthen your team, or you do nothing, you’re strong enough to do nothing. We could do with top quality, one more, but you have to find him. If I bring a normal player in, I give the club a problem.” – Arsene Wenger

There was much debate that the mighty Arsene Wenger would let us down yet again in the transfer window and that he would not reinforce the team with the necessary parts to at least qualify for Champions League next year. However, it appeared the old, wise man still had a trick up his sleeve and he deceived us all. At the 11^th hour of the January 31^st transfer deadline, Arsene perhaps pulled off the most significant coup in the January window: Malaga’s starting Left Back, Nacho Monreal.

Before you rush to proclaim that Chelsea did good business with Ba and Newcastle with Yanga-Mbiwa and Sissoko, you need to understand my criteria for rating Nacho as the highest quality signing. Nacho was one of the few transfers not subject to: 1) a buy-out clause or an expiring contract, 2) under performance at his respective club or 3) a falling out with either the manager or club. He’s also a Spanish International playing back-up to one of the best LBs in the world in Jordi Alba, and the whole Spanish squad itself is considered to represent the golden generation of football.

Nacho was a former product of struggling side Osasuna before making the first major move of his career to Malaga in 2011. Last season, Monreal out-dueled Eliseu for the starting LB role, and was an integral part of their surprising Champions League qualification and 4^th place finish in La Liga.

It was rumoured that he started learning English last year in preparation of a move to Arsenal this summer, and that our very own Santi played a huge role in persuading the Spanish International to join him at the Emirates.

However, the process was immediately sped up due to Kieran Gibbs’ injury yesterday. This short-term injury could end up being a blessing in disguise, since we had an immediate need for cover at LB and Nacho is widely considered to be the second best LB in La Liga by a host of Spanish papers. This is particularly impressive when you consider some of the LBs currently plying their trade in La Liga: Fabio Coentrao, Marcelo, Filipe Luis, Aly Cissoko, Adriano etc.

He has a relatively good track record for avoiding injuries and the only significant time he missed was two months in both 2008/09 (malleolar injury) and 2010/11 (meniscal laceration). This season he dealt with some back problems in October that kept him out for just over a month, but everything seems to be cleared up now.

I’ve had the pleasure of watching Nacho play with Malaga for a little over a year now and I truly believe we have bought a special player who is astute at both ends of the pitch. Defensively his positional play and awareness are good, he’s not afraid to get involved physically and is noted to be quite decent in aerial duels. Still, like most Spanish players, he is better known for his great ball control and the innate ability to play tiki taka football to escape pressure. Nacho has good pace and the stamina to run up and down the pitch for an entire game, with a penchant for good link up play with his forwards.

With that said, Nacho’s game is not flashy and he doesn’t have one particular skill that will blow you away. He doesn’t have blistering pace or slick dribbling skills; he’s a well composed, steadying presence at the back that Arsenal will be able to rely on game after game. His tackling and ability to close down on players one on one is quite outstanding, as he’s had an 83% tackle success rate this year, compared to Kieran Gibbs’ 69%. Nacho has averaged 2.1 tackles and 2.1 interceptions per game, while also contributing 1 goal, 2 assists, 0.8 shots/game and 0.4 key passes/game in 14 appearances for Malaga in La Liga this year.

In his Osasuna days, he really had to work on his crossing and delivery since the aerial attack was the focal point of their offense (Osasuna’s playing style is the closest thing to StokeCity in La Liga). Despite Nacho’s statistics showing that he has only successfully completed 6 of 25 crosses this year, one must bear in mind that Malaga’s attack is focused around playing the ball along the ground, with a balanced approach down the wings and through the middle. I suspect that Nacho’s crossing ability has been under utilized at Malaga and believe that Giroud can be the immediate beneficiary of his early or late crossing ability; now that Nacho will be given the license to do so more often.

There has been a lot of praise about the blossoming partnership between Podolski and Gibbs, and fans were particularly concerned when Gibbs went down with a hamstring injury for the second time yesterday. I see no reason why the partnership cannot continue, and most likely improve, with Nacho at the LB position – his passing is more accurate and his defensive play is stronger since he was brought up through the ranks as a genuine fullback. One must bear in mind that Gibbs was originally a winger who was converted to a fullback and this is the cause for his occasional mental lapses in defensive zone coverage.

One might wonder what the signing of Nacho means to the long-term future of Kieran Gibbs. Fortunately, Nacho is not seen as a long-term replacement for Gibbs since he will turn 27 this February, and will bring some much needed competition, experience and depth to the LB position. Nacho will act as an invaluable mentor and his natural talents in crossing, positional play and technical ability can be passed on to Gibbs.

Gibbs’ injury history has been well documented and this will give him the opportunity to not be so heavily relied upon, and the necessary rest to prevent injuries. However, Nacho is cup tied with Malaga and will not be able to feature for Arsenal when they take on Bayern Munich on February 19^th. Luckily, Gibbs may be back to full fitness by then and Arsene can ensure that when he does return, he will not be unnecessarily rushed back into the first team for both Champions League and domestic games.

Going forward this purchase will undoubtedly be a massive boost for our team and perhaps reignite the play of our own little creative wizard, Santi, who formed a fantastic partnership down the left with Nacho at Malaga last year. It’s also a signal of intent to the rest of the Premier League that Arsenal is still capable of attracting top quality talent and actually has the financial resources at its disposal. Don’t be fooled by the relatively modest £8 million transfer fee involved with the purchase of Nacho Monreal; Arsenal were just fortunate to once again capitalize on the dire financial situation plaguing Malaga CF and most of Spain.

Here’s to wishing that Nacho has a successful Arsenal career and that his transition into our squad is seamless!

Written By: The Gooner

The Big Feeble German – Per, was ist los mit dir?! Arsene, add some defensive steel, please!

January 31, 2013January 31, 2013TotalArsenal

What has happened to our Big F*cking German all of a sudden? Yes, we have always known he is not the fastest; that he is not the best jumper in the league; and that he turns on his axis slower than an oil tanker stuck in the Thames, but he compensated for most of this with his ability to read the game so well, his organisational skills, and the calm he brought to our defending at the back.

Per, was ist los mit dir?

What has happened to our cool and controlled German warrior? I have always been a big fan of Mertesacker, as I feel he adds something to our defence that all our other defenders and our GK need, and at the same time lack themselves; calm, organisational skills, extrovert motivational skills, and ability to read the game so well.

But recently, especially since his return from sickness during the Christmas period, he has not looked himself anymore, and has regularly been all over the place in our defence.

Without Per finding back his form and composure again, und sehr schnell bitte, Arsenal will be in big problems. In an ideal world, I would like Arsene to find a Central Defender with the organisational skills of Mertesacker, and Vermaelen’s physical abilities – mean tackling, speed, and force in the air: we need a new Sol Campbell so desperately!

But these sorts of players are notoriously hard to find, and other than Vincent Kompany at Man City, none of the current PL top teams can boost a world-class central defender in their teams at the moment. Terry at Chelsea and Vidic at MU still have their moments now and again, but they are spent forces going forward.

There is a minute chance that Arsene will still buy a quality CB before the closure of the TW, but whoever it might be, he will take time to settle in and make a meaningful difference during the remainder of the season.

I am not giving up on the BFG just yet, but I feel strongly that the rest of our season will depend on him finding back his form as soon as possible: if he doesn’t, I reckon we are doomed. TV and Koz are too similar to be our CB-pairing and neither of them have been in consistently good form themselves.

Our strike-force is hitting form with on average 2.5 goals per game since Theo has fully returned to our first-team again, and Ollie is starting to find his feet properly in the PL; but they cannot compensate enough for the incredibly poor defensive performances of late.

Arsenal effectively gave away all three games in the first half of each one of them, against fellow Top-Four contenders; ManCity, Chelsea, and now Liverpool. After those awful first half defensive performances, it became an uphill struggle, which we failed to complete successfully each and every time.

Although, in hindsight, our draw against Liverpool was not as bad as it first looked, given Chelsea’s and Spuds’ drawing their games as well, and at least keeping Pool three points behind us for the time being.

If Arsene is not able to find a quality CB before midnight, we can only hope he will be able to buy the beast of a defensive midfielder most of us have been crying out for. I have written so much about the need for such a DM that I am not going to spend one more word on it today.

Come on Arsene, add some steel and organisational skills to our defensive positions before it is well and truly too late!

Written by: Total Arsenal.