Why signing Victor Wanyama would release the shackles on Santi and Wilshere

January 25, 2013January 25, 2013TotalArsenal

Is Wanyama the beast of a DM we so desperately need?

Much has been made of Arsenal’s midfield with the arrival of Santi Cazorla and return of Jack Wilshere. On Paper, Arsenal ideally have the strongest midfield in the league, but that hasn’t been the case on the pitch.

The preferred combination in the middle of the park consists of the supremely talented trio of Wilshere, Cazorla and Arteta who, on paper, all possess the ability to outplay any team short of Barcelona. That has not been the case and has been, in my opinion, the foremost cause for Arsenal’s poor campaign so far. This is primarily because of the deeper, defensive midfield position.

Since the departure of Mathieu Flamini, Arsenal have never had a player whose sole purpose in the team is to protect the back four, break up play using brute strength and sheer intimidation, and generally bully the opposition players. Alex song was groomed for the role, but as soon as he made his first successful through ball and realized he could attack, he never looked back. For all his assists, Song left Arsenal extremely vulnerable to the counter attack during his forward surges; and punished we were. Severally in fact.

Then came Mikel Arteta. I must say he performed this role very well last season but people seem to forget that he is an attacking midfielder and has been all his life. It is commendable that he did so well last term but eventually this move was always going to backfire for a couple of reasons.

First and fore most, Arteta’s game is all in the mind and not the body. He is a footballer first and an athlete second. This means that his greatest assets are his ability to read the game and his passing abilities, and while these are fantastic attributes to have, they may not work completely for a defensive midfielder; especially in a league as physical and as fast paced as the EPL.

Secondly, Arteta is a very slow player and doesn’t have the pace to chase down players when he loses possession; nor does he have the muscle to hold on to the ball when he has it. This has resonated this season, as Arteta has struggled against teams who press hard and use brute force at a high tempo.

This has had a domino effect because as a result we lose possession very easily. It means that Wilshere and Cazorla along with our wide players have to track back and help out as we are constantly under siege.

Ultimately, this then curbs our attacking play and our strikers end up with little to no service, which means Arsenal are now unable to control games like we are used to do.

Which brings me to Victor Wanyama. This 21 year old Kenyan midfielder plays for Celtic as a midfield destroyer. He is a man mountain in the mould of Michael Essien, with good pace and a Wilshere-esque type of work rate and heart. He was signed from Beerschot for £600,000 in 2011 but Neil Lennon now values him at around £15M: such has been his impact!

This season he has been a revelation in the Celtic midfield; propelling them past Barca to the champions league knock out stages. Wanyama can best be compared to Micheal Essien in terms of physique and style of play. He is adept in the tackle and can bully even the toughest players in the EPL. His versatility means that he can play at the centre of defence, or even at right back. He is also a technical player who can pass his way out of any situation, and can produce sublime long passes.

He is also oddly quite the proficient goal scorer with 6 goals so far this season; one against Barcelona. This is because he has excellent aerial ability and has quite a shot on him. Every time you watch Celtic play, it is difficult not to notice him due to his dominance in the midfield.

As far as Arsenal goes, this is just what the doctor prescribed. He would be the missing link that releases the creative shackles on Santi and Wilshere, allowing them to do what they do best: unlock defences.

Signing Wanyama would be a master stroke for Wenger as he would slot seamlessly into the EPL, and very few players have his kind of physique, if any. He has the determination and work ethic to hassle down and tirelessly dispossess opponents; all the while committing only a few fouls. He would also increase our aerial threat during set pieces.

Best of all, at £15M, he’d be signing a player who would make an instant impact, yet still have room for improvement; Wanyama being 21 years old.

We would have to fend off interest from Fergie and act fast, but it would be well worth it!

Watch him here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2KJWzV8T5Q

Written by: Marcus.

24 goals/assists in 24 games and yet Gooners are not convinced about him?!

January 18, 2013January 18, 2013TotalArsenal

Give Theo a chance! Cavani-Cruelty. Jack gave Arsenal its identity back.

Give Theo a chance!

It has been disappointing to read the negative comments and fans player ratings across the blogospere of Theo’s recent performances. In the last game, against Swansea, Walcott managed to get into scoring positions on a number of occasions and he also was able to get his fellow striker Giroud in on goal a few times. Theo missed his chances and of course he should be judged on that. However, he got close on a number of occasions and on another day he would have scored two or three goals: such is football.

He has played 24 games for us, and many of them were as a substitute. However, he has already amassed 14 goals and 10 assists; that’s 1 goal/assist per game. In the last two seasons Walcott had either a goal or an assist in 22% of all our PL goals. What is it that people are not getting re Walcott? It is about time to drop the gut-feeling and look at the hard stats. It is a must Arsenal sign him up, and I for one will be a very happy bunny when we do so.

He wants to be a central striker and in order to do so, Arsene will have to adopt the way the team plays. The way Arsenal were set up on Wednesday might be the way forward, and of course it will take time for things to settle down and the necessary automatisms starting to work. But we’ll get there, and I have no doubt that Theo can become one of Arsenal’s greatest goal scorers if and when he commits to the club for the long term. His partnership with Giroud is a potential match made in heaven, but it will need to be developed, and we need to remain patient.

Cavani-Cruelty

I have written before how much I despise the transfer window gossip circus. 99% is made up and will leave fellow bloggers with constant feelings of disappointment. The latest gossip is based on Arsenal spending BIG money on Cavani. Those of you who have seen Cavani play, and I don’t mean in a video compilation but at least one whole match, will know what a phenomenally good striker he is. He would suit perfectly into Arsenal, no doubt about that, and if we are moving towards a 4-4-2 formation it would be even more perfect: we could have Cavani and Theo to start, with Giroud and Podolski as back-up; or Giroud and Cavani to start.

But it is very unlikely to happen. He is a sought after striker and comes at a very high price. If any of the oil-clubs show a serious interest then we are likely to be out-bid by them, unless of course he really would insist on going only to Arsenal. I cannot see it happen myself, and I can see it all end in tears.

Jack gave Arsenal its identity back

It was fantastic to see JW10 in the hole on Wednesday. With Coquelin and Diaby dominating the midfield behind him, Jack was able to dictate our attacking play. He gave the team shape and focus and real attacking intent. Arsenal created a lot of chances through playing football on the floor, and that against an opponent that was set up, and very well-drilled, in avoiding this from happening. Jack cracked the Jacks’ structure though, and this has been missed so badly recently.

Jack’s ability to move into space in front of him with the ball, as well as passing it round with ease and composure, made all the difference. As soon as he goes past one or two players, everything is on the move, and gaps start to appear in the opposition’s defensive wall(s), which Jack spots and either moves into or plays the ball into. We have missed this a lot with Santi, who looks almost constantly to pass the ball and receive it back, without necessarily making much progress. I feel Jack has more forward thrust and makes things happen. Santi playing on the wing might suit Arsenal and him best. There is more freedom to move around the field and yet he gives good cover to our wing-back as well. He is a great player and has the potential to develop into our new Pires.

But there is no doubt in my mind that Jack gave Arsenal back its identity, with his vision, passing, penetrating, passion and drive, and I expect Arsene to start with the same eleven on Sunday. I also would like to stress again that Coquelin and Diaby made a real difference for us. Together they were able to protect our midfield better and also support Jack going forward. Both are good tacklers and good in the air, and they will get better the longer they can play together, and either of them can play well with Arteta as well.

I still really want a beast of a DM, as Diaby is so injury prone and Coquelin is not yet the finished article, but the combination of Diaby-Coquelin and Jack worked really well against Swansea.

Let’s see how they hold out against the Chavs on Sunday!

Written by: Total Arsenal.

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.

Nasri, Adebayor, Clichy and Toure: what a waste of talent!

January 12, 2013TotalArsenal

Hey Arsene, how many of those you flogged to Man City have become flops?

Almost anybody who is developed under Wenger’s tutelage is likely to reach their full potential: as in getting the very best out of themselves. A lot can be said about Arsene, but most will agree that he is brilliant at developing individual players to a very high standard. It does not always work out and there are plenty of players who do not make the grade, but this is to be expected at a top club. However, even if they have to leave Arsenal, they will know that they have had a first class football education, and that in the end they really were not good enough to make it at Arsenal.

Polishing raw diamonds into top class gems is a painstaking process, and many top clubs don’t bother with it but rather buy ready-made, experienced players who can be slotted into the first team straightaway. The only way to compete with those who can afford to make massive losses in order to ‘win’ silverware, is to develop your own top players and then hold on to them.

Ajax have developed so many fine talents over the years, but just cannot keep hold of them; and as a result they have suffered in Europe, and even domestically. Barcelona are able to keep hold of their youth development gems and nobody can be in doubt how powerful and successful their strategy has made them.

Arsenal are in danger of becoming more like Ajax and less and less like Barcelona, and as per previous posts, the most important thing is for Arsenal to hold on to their best players from now on. This has to be priority nr.1 for the foreseeable future.

During and after the building of the new stadium, Arsene had no other choice than buy cheap but talented raw diamonds with the hope that he could turn them into good-to-great players for Arsenal. It is not a cheap system, as talents will have to be offered good contracts, both in terms of length and wages; and there will always be a significant number of players who do not make it into the first team.

Selling players to make space for new talent, and to fund the expensive youth/raw talent development programmes is by itself not a bad thing to do, but key is not to sell your very best players. Dortmund appear to have found the right balance in that respect.

Letting Adebayor and Toure go for a lot of money to MC did not hurt us too much. Adebayor was decent but not great and Toure did also not leave a huge gap behind. Letting Nasri, Clichy and Fabregas go simultaneously in 2011, however, hurt us a lot more, and this summer’s departure of Song and Van Judas has also hurt us significantly.

Tomorrow, we face Manchester City; the club that made huge losses every season since the arrival of the oil sheikhs. Arsenal cashed in significantly on player exchanges with the Northern Oilers over the last few years.

All four players involved were missed at some point, though. We could have done with Clichy last season, when all our left backs were injured for a long period. Toure could have helped us on numerous ocassions when we were low on quality CB-cover during the last few seasons. We also missed Nasri when both Jack and Diaby were out for the season, and we could have done with Adebayor as back up striker to Van Judas during the last two seasons.

All four players went for money and, to a certain extent, for glory. Clichy, Toure and Nasri have a PL winners medal and their pockets are full of gold coins. Adebayor’s career, once looking so promising, has gone totally cold. He is now at the Spuds and that says it all really.

Clichy has played 53 games in one and half season, and it is fair to say he made the best of his switch to MC. However, his recent form has not been brilliant and I would not be surprised if he will become a regular bench warmer anytime soon. At 27 years old that would be a real shame.

Toure has been a bench warmer for quite a while now, as both Lescott and the formidable Kompany are Mancini’s preferred CB-pair. Kolo has played only 29 times in all competitions over the last 1.5 seasons, and those last two years have been his prime years, as he will become 32 in March this year.

And then there is Nasri; not so long ago a promising talent, but with 9 goals in 61 appearances for MC, and regularly not in the starting eleven this season, it looks like his career is also fizzing out rapidly at the moment. Once he was being compared with the great French players Zidane and our own Pires, but now pundits and fans question his drive and general attitude.

Leaving Arsenal for bags full of cash very often comes with a price to pay, and that is slowly but steadily disappearing into obscurity: from a first eleven player; to a bench warmer; to a fringe player; to going out on loan; and eventually to being paid off and dumped to a secondary club.

Of course things can still change again for Nasri, Toure, Adebayor and Clichy but to me it looks like four once talented players – chosen and developed to very high standards by Wenger – are all going on a downward spiral; one more rapidly than the other, but down they go. What a waste of talent.

Written by: Total Arsenal.

Happy & Prosperous New Year Fellow Gooners: Ten Wishes for 2013

January 1, 2013January 1, 2013TotalArsenal

I would like to wish all fellow Gooners a happy & prosperous New Year!

Here are my ten wishes for the New Year (in no particular order):

A top-three finish: both the Chavs and the Northern Oilers are there for the taking and we can finish in the top-three, no doubt about that!
The team to keep its mojo now and to find the perfect balance between a mean defence and attacking football;
A Diaby miracle: he is fit again apparently and I am hoping he will stay fit for most of the remainder of the season to help us finish as high as possible in the league;
Theo to commit long term to Arsenal and the purchase of an additional, quality winger;
A beast of a DM (see previous post for reasons why);
Change of captaincy: TV is a great player but not a great captain. In fact, the captaincy makes him weaker, and there are good potential captains in our team: Mertesacker, Arteta, Wilshere, Szczesny;
A good cup-run either in the CL, or FA-cup. It would be great to beat Bayern Munich, and if we do, this team can get far in the CL. In a way, the same goes for the Swansea away game: a win there could mean the start of a great FA-cup run;
No return to a busy sick bay: it is absolutely fantastic that we have all key players fit and available now, and long may it continue – our bench is looking very strong now;
Holding on to all our key players for once this summer. Arsene to be given full support by the BoD to continue building a top-team by not selling any of our key players, and giving him sufficient funds to strengthen where needed;
Dennis to join our coaching staff and to get a statue at Ashburton Grove!

Victoria Concordia Crescit! 🙂

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! 🙂

Arsenal miss the Invincibles, but let’s meet the Possibles: January targets examined

December 14, 2012December 14, 2012TotalArsenal

While being linked to world-class talents like Edinson Cavani of Napoli, Marouane Fellaini of Everton and Radamel Falcao of Atletico is flattering, Wenger has stated on numerous occasions that he will not overspend in the transfer market.

“I totally agree with Cruyff (on not needing to splash out millions to win the Champions League – and I won’t change…I could have left 10 times to join another club but I didn’t because I have worked with the same vision and philosophy at Arsenal for the last 16 years — and that won’t change.”

“The game is not all about money. We have to continue to believe that it’s not only about that.”

Let me make it clear that I don’t buy the media hype surrounding all the players we’ve been linked to or any of the deals for these players being “as good as done”. If you’re convinced these deals are guaranteed to happen in January, let me remind you of past failures like Mata, Cahill, Ibrahimovic, Drogba, van Nistlerooy, Hazard, Pato, Ozil etc. I only approach the rumours with cautious optimism that Wenger recognizes our squad needs further strengthening to truly compete.

The following list is meant to be a comprehensive analysis of the abilities of some of the players we’ve been linked to. All scouting reports are based on games and individual film I’ve watched on each:

Isco – One of my favourite current footballers, the game seems to slow down when he is on the pitch. It seems as though there are endless possibilities for the Malaga starlet when the ball is at his feet; his first touch is sublime, he can dribble around you, take on 3 defenders, take a devastating curling shot or play give and go in the traditional Spanish way. In addition, he has a very good center of balance and pace reminiscent of Wilshere. Not only that, but Isco has the on-field awareness to know when a defender closes in on him when receiving a pass. He effectively turns or moves into space or creates a foul from the opposing player. Isco has the balance to stay on his feet and the pace to play out wide. He represents another option to offer our attack a more direct approach and has an eye for the final dangerous ball. His 2 goals, 2 assists, 2.5 key passes per game and average of 4.8 successful dribbles per game in 4 Champions League appearances are proof of his ability. His La Liga stats, while not as impressive as his CL ones, are still noteworthy for his age (20) and from a hybrid CAM/LW. 1 goal every 5 games, 1 assist every 15 games, and almost a shot on goal every game. His game still needs further refinement but there are no doubts in my mind that he’ll make a seamless transition if purchased, much like his Malaga counterpart that we bought this summer.

Rumoured transfer fee before wages and agent fee: £ 16.9million

Etienne Capoue – Arsenal are often criticized for lacking character and a fearless leader that can motivate and rally others. Wilshere can eventually be the unequivocal leader for us, but currently it’s too big of a burden to place on the shoulders of a 20 year old that just came back from a 16-month layoff. The 6’2 product from Toulouse represents everything Arsenal is sorely lacking: a presence who can strike fear in the hearts of the opposition, a no-nonsense tackler and prowls around the field until he gets the ball back. Naturally one would question if this breed of player would lack the required skill to play Arsenal football. However, Capoue can control the ball relatively well, makes the simple short passes and can run up field and link up with teammates. If acquired, he would represent the first purchase by Wenger to replace what Vieira was to this team (outside of his immense talent) – a player who could give vocal leadership and hold others accountable. The entire Arsenal squad has become complacent and a brittle level of confidence is plaguing the squad. Arsene has always been renowned as a passionate coach who encourages his players to express themselves on the pitch. What he’s missing is the link that can inspire others to push forward and to never give up. Despite not being known for his offence, Capoue’s statistics in Ligue 1 are quite impressive, registering 3 goals and 2 assists in 14 games this year. He was also named to Ligue 1’s team of the year in 2011-12. His 2011-12 statistics show that he conceded about two free kicks per game, but was only booked with 7 yellow cards and 1 red card over the year. It’s evident from watching him that Capoue is a hard tackler who is capable of shutting down the opposition’s skilled players. Combine all that with his 75.2% success rate in aerial battles and you have quite the talented holding midfielder. It’s not all good news though as Capoue needs further refinement in his offensive game and learn to be more effective with his passing (only a 76.5% pass completion rate).

Rumoured transfer fee before wages and agent fee: £ 10-15million

Jesus Navas – He was heavily linked with Arsenal in the summer transfer window but the whispers have been non-existent ever since. Navas is an orthodox right-winger and a true world-class talent. He has the pace to burn defenders out wide, the ball control to match his speed and supreme delivery both on crosses and passes the ground. He can finish if given the opportunity too and his style is very direct and does not need much space to produce extremely dangerous in-swinging balls (79 successful crosses last season alone). Being a Spanish international, his ability to play beautiful tiki taka football has been well documented and he’s firmly entrenched in Vicente del Bosque’s side. Over the past 4 seasons (2008/09-2011/12), Navas has established himself as one of the best distributors in the most technical league in the world with 45 assists. Of greater importance, he is rumoured to be high on Cazorla’s list of players that he hopes Wenger will pursue. Keeping our top players happy will help in retaining them for years to come. However, much like any other player, Navas isn’t without weaknesses. The greatest fear would lie outside of the pitch, where he has a history of struggling with homesickness, anxiety and seizures. He blocked a move to Chelsea in August 2006 and was only able to make his international debut for Spain in 2009 due to homesickness. On the bright side, he has taken measures to overcome this condition and has now traveled internationally with Spain and joined a US tour with Sevilla this pre-season. Other concerns would be his strength as he has a slight build and to be more clinical with his finishing. Due to Sevilla’s current financial situation, it is believed that the immensely talented winger could be had for a discount price despite holding a buy-out clause of £ 35million.

Rumoured transfer fee before wages and agent fee: £ 15-20million

Adrian Lopez – A player heavily scouted by Arsenal the past couple years, Adrian broke onto the scene with Atletico Madrid last year. He was especially impressive in their Europa League championship run with 10 goals and 2 assists in 15 appearances. Adrian is in a similar situation as Walcott, refusing to extend his contract, which currently has a £ 14.4million buyout clause. As a result, his playing time has suffered and he’s been a disappointment with only 1 goal in 6 La Liga starts. People are quick judge Adrian on his production this season, but it’s difficult to find form without any continuity in playing time. What Adrian does offer is incredible pace, is outstanding in the air, has great ball control and dribbling and is comfortable playing tiki taka thanks to his Spanish football development. In addition, he’s versatile enough to play anywhere up front whether as a striker or on the wing. Possible weaknesses include over dribbling and no prior history to suggest that he’s a clinical finisher. However, Adrian is considered to be a late bloomer who is only starting to realize his vast potential and has represented the mighty Spanish giants nationally at almost every level since the age of 16.

Rumoured transfer fee before wages and agent fee: £ 14.4million

Kevin Strootman – At 22 years of age, Strootman still has bags of potential and is a prototypical box-to-box midfielder. He’s versatile enough to play as a holding midfielder, but is at his best galloping up and down the pitch (similar style to Diaby) in order to capitalize on his blossoming offensive instincts. When watching him play, he has an elegance and flair that reminds you of a certain Dutchman who recently departed the Emirates, is left footed and even slightly resembles him in height and appearance. Just like van Judas, he shows bundles of emotion within reason and isn’t afraid to be in the thick of any battle on the pitch. Strootman is quite clinical for a midfielder, scoring 5 times for PSV Eindhoven this season in only 9 games (albeit in a less competitive Eredivisie). He’s quite physical and uses his strength to tackle the opposing team, maintain/create space and shield the ball from opposing players. He also would be able to offer Arsenal that vocal presence on the pitch and is not afraid to hold players accountable for their play. Strootman can also spray the ball all over the field and is comfortable with both short passes and those over the top long balls that we have sorely missed since Cesc’s departure. Downsides to Strootman’s game include inconsistent intensity, lack of defensive concentration and average acceleration/quickness. Despite having strong character, he is victim to drifting in and out of games and can get caught watching plays develop. The inconsistent intensity is especially evident in his approach to his defensive responsibilities. He often jogs back to his own end of the pitch and can be accused of lazy, mistimed tackles that result in him being out of position. His ability to read opponents’ movements and break up plays could also stand to improve. Strootman has a very powerful running style and once he gets going is difficult to catch up with, but he still lacks the acceleration and quickness you’d like to see from a top end midfielder. He is definitely not a finished article and would need some seasoning (especially his speed) before he could comfortably adapt to the EPL.

Rumoured transfer fee before wages and agent fee: £ 20million

Remy Cabella – All you need to know about Cabella is that Pires is a big fan of the young lad and believes that Cabella is just like Wenger’s summer signing, Santi Cazorla. Much like Santi being forced out wide due to circumstance at Malaga, Cabella’s long-term calling will not be as a right mid, but be centrally as an attacking midfielder. Cabella is a small technical player who is very quick and adept at creating space. Evident in our Champions League clashes vs. Montpellier, Cabella displayed great touch, remarkable ball control and dribbling, decent crossing ability and the confidence to shoot from distance. His ability to execute at top speed is very important since fast players have a tough time making important decisions at top speed. Cabella caused problems for us in both games down the right side and really spread out our defense with Podolski constantly needing to track back to support Gibbs when he was in possession of the ball. He is currently tied atop Montpellier’s scoring leaders with 5 goals in 16 games and leads the team with 4 assists. There’s also the added bonus that he played with Giroud during Montpellier’s title run last season and is only 22 years of age.

Rumoured transfer fee before wages and agent fee: £ 5-10million

Hatem Ben Arfa – A player renowned for his flair and ability to take on defenders in tight spaces, Ben Arfa is also capable of producing some beautiful crosses, score from range and can occasionally play some deadly long balls. Last season, he finally turned the corner on his career after being out of action for 11 months with a broken tibia and fibula, in addition to a surgery that was not allowing his shin to heal properly. This season was supposed to see Newcastle and Ben Arfa establish themselves among the Premier League’s top 6 clubs again, but they have seriously regressed. Whether it be because of the drain the Europa league schedule has had on the squad, injuries or Pardew’s stale tactics, it’s clear that Newcastle is in need of change. HBA is most effective when played slightly more centrally, where he can harness his creativity and link up with teammates. Currently, Pardew has Ben Arfa playing out too far wide on the right in a 4-4-2, limiting his effectiveness and offensive production. In a 4-3-3, HBA is much more effective on the RW and can cut into the middle on his left and produce dangerous opportunities on goal. He’s the type of talent that can truly create something special out of nothing, but realizing his full potential is hindered by his selfish attitude and penchant for over dribbling. He’s certainly grown as an individual since joining Newcastle, but glimpses of his poor attitude occasionally resurface (issues were well documented with the French national team this past summer). In terms of his over dribbling, he often takes it upon himself to try and change the outcome of a game; in the process leaves teammates frustrated wondering why he never passed the ball to them when they were wide open.

Rumoured transfer fee before wages and agent fee: £ 20million

Demba Ba – The Senegalese striker has been quite prolific his whole career and has continued to prove his worth since joining Newcastle in 2011. 16 goals in 32 games last season and 10 goals in 16 games this year are impressive in such a competitive league. Much like Ben Arfa, Ba’s success is dependent on the formation that Pardew uses. Ba is most productive as a lone striker leading the line and this was evident when Papiss Cisse joined Newcastle in the January transfer window last year; Ba only scored 1 goal after his arrival and was pushed out to the LW. Ba has great power and strength, is an aerial threat, has good ball control and is a great finisher. At 6’2, he’s got decent pace but could stand to have better acceleration. He doesn’t offer versatility in attack and needs good delivery from the wings and midfield to score goals. Despite needing delivery, Ba can link up well with teammates to create space for himself to shoot.

Rumoured transfer fee before wages and agent fee: £ 7.5million

Klaas-Jan Huntelaar – (already analyzed in previous article, “Beckham, Huntelaar, Strootman and the 4-4-2 show can truly begin”)

Rumoured transfer fee before wages and agent fee: between £ 5-10million

Wilfried Zaha – (already analyzed in previous article “Wilfried Zaha: Arsenal’s Missing Link is Holloway’s Precious”)

Rumoured transfer fee before wages and agent fee: £ 18million

It’s difficult to choose exactly whom I think Wenger should buy in January, as adaptation to the English game and Arsenal’s system is unpredictable. However, I am convinced that any world-class talent should succeed in any environment. With that said, I believe Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Jesus Navas (homesick free) would be the ideal additions. Arsenal currently has many quality talents, but is lacking game changers of top quality outside of Cazorla and Wilshere. Huntelaar would provide the clinical finishing that we’ve been sorely lacking this year and allow Santi to be more confident in expressing his creative instincts. At 29 years of age, Huntelaar is in the prime of his career and should not be seen as a long-term replacement threat to Giroud. He can act as a mentor for Giroud and give him more time to adapt to the English game. Giroud will still get all the Champions League starts given that Huntelaar cannot represent any other team after already appearing for Schalke in the tournament. The dream acquisition of Jesus Navas should be straightforward. A winger who can produce deadly crosses, has pace, ball control and a direct style of play are in dire need at Arsenal. The right side would be so tantalizing with the link up play and innate understanding of movement between Cazorla, Arteta and Navas. He’s also an extraordinary distributor, which would only see Giroud, Podolski and Huntelaar (in my scenario) benefit even further.

Another missing element in this team is a destroyer in the midfield who is fearless and brings leadership, heart and “spine”.

Etienne Capoue would certainly appear to be the ideal solution, but I’m not convinced he’s the type of top quality player Wenger will be looking to buy in January. However, if Wenger opted to beef up his midfield with such a player, I would not be opposed to the move in any way.

Any quality reinforcements would be an improvement over players like Chamakh, Santos, Squillaci, and Ramsey etc. and should be welcomed at this point.

Of the aforementioned transfer targets whom would you identify as the suitable option(s) to right the ship? Can of any them improve our team’s current output? Are there any other realistic targets you’d like Arsenal to buy?

Written by: The Gooner.

Beckham, Huntelaar and Strootman and the 4-4-2 show can truly begin!

December 3, 2012December 3, 2012TotalArsenal

I usually don’t do transfer gossip stuff on Bergkampesque, as I cannot stand the endless and mostly fictitious nature of it.

However, sometimes a bit of virtual shop-therapy is needed to lighten the weight on our brains, and the gravitational pull on our souls.

As said many times before, I am not a fan of our current 4-3-3 formation, and would prefer it if we played more regularly in a 4-5-1 formation.

Like Arsene, I like midfielders, and the midfield being dominated by us in such a way that our defence has little to do, and we are bossing the opponents in their own half. More than anything, this is what I miss about our current Arsenal: the almost total dominance of midfield in games.

With the right personnel, a 4-5-1 formation can be awesome, and I reckon we should go back to this formation ASAP in order to regain our control over games, and start winning again. Giroud is our ideal target man and there is a plethora of midfielders to choose from.

But, I do like the sound of the growing rumour that Huntelaar is on his way to Arsenal. Firstly, he is a fantastic, classic CF – he reminds me a bit of Alan Shearer – as we have seen recently in our sobering encounters with Schalke 04. If we can add him to Giroud and Podolski as our CF options, then clearly we will have a strike-force to reckon with.

Secondly, he is very ambitious and relatively very fit for his age (he did not play that many 90 minutes games during his time in Spain and Italy), and he would like to outperform van Judas big style! That sort of hunger to perform would be very welcome at Arsenal at the moment.

But, thirdly, and most importantly, rumours linking us with ‘The Hunter’ should mean Arsene is considering changing to a 4-4-2 formation. Giroud and Huntelaar are proper, full-blooded CF’s and it would be a waste of their talents to play them anywhere else, or keep one of them on the bench for too long. Both can play slightly behind the other, and I reckon Giroud would be best at this; but they are both goal scoring machines: awesome weapons, hungry for quality ammunition!

In a 4-4-2 formation, with two very good CF’s, Arsenal need good left and right midfielders, who can get to the by-line, make very smart runs with and without the ball, and are excellent at crossing the ball into the box.

It would be a total understatement if I said that we could improve in this area at the moment. Sagna and Jenkinson, our options in the right back position, are not too bad at crossing the ball into the box, but other than that the service for Giroud and Podolski has been very poor generally.

If we are to get the best out of our promising talents of Gnabry, Ox, Eisfeld, Myachi, Coquelin, etc, we really could do with a(n old) master in midfield wing-play and crossing the ball into the box, and that’s where Beckham could fill a void for one to two seasons at Arsenal.

Beckham at the Emirates

He does not even have to play every week; his presence and guidance to the youngsters would simply be of incredible value. The best way for up and coming talents to improve significantly is by learning from a master and David Beckham would be a very interesting option for us: his crossing ability, combined with his set-piece shooting skills are simply still top-notch. I cannot imagine him being too expensive either, as his added commercial value would compensate for his wage package.

Finally, in a 4-4-2 system it would be good to have another all-round, defensively minded, central midfielder. I am not surprised to hear rumours that Arsenal is one of the teams interested in Kevin Strootman of PSV Eindhoven. He is quickly becoming a fine, multi-skilled midfielder and the thought of him working together with Wilshere in the heart of midfield is simply mouth-watering for me. With Cazorla in the LM position and Beckham in the RM position, our team would mean business.

The likes of Arteta, Rosicky, Podolski, Coquelin, Eisfeld, Myachi, Gnabry, Ox, and one or two others, could be great back-up for various positions in midfield. Podolski, and maybe even Theo, would be perfect back-up options for our two CFs Giroud and Huntelaar.

Well, I have definitely made myself feel better with writing this post, but would these purchases and changes to our formation lighten your mood as well?

Total Arsenal.

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

Mannone is ok, but is ok good enough for Arsenal?

November 2, 2012TotalArsenal

Following the continued injury to our so called No.1 goal keeper, Szscezny, we have had the young Italian keeper, Mannone, known by many as Man One, guarding the sticks for us for a number of games.

I don’t think it would be fair to label him as simply a good ‘shot stopper’ and nothing else, because in a number of games he has pulled off some critically important saves, either to keep us in the game, or enabling us to hold out for a win.
The game against QPR showed this very well with two vital saves late on, particularly the block against Machie who had made a fantastic run which left our defence for dead and all of us thinking he would score.

And yet ………………… there is something frighteningly fragile about his ability when it comes to dealing with crosses or, as in the Norwich game, his lack of anticipation in getting down to strong shots, which on that occasion he spooned out to Holt for an easy tap in for what became the winning goal rather than pushing it around the post .

It would be invidious to blame our occasional lapses entirely on Man One, after all he is just a single cog in our overall defence, and we do have the best ‘goals against’ record in the Premier League. The Zonal Marking tactic does not always seem to have been mastered by the rest of the defence, and this has allowed the opposition forwards to attack the ball and leave our centre backs flatfooted and Mannone looking clueless.

That said, he has often made vitally necessary saves but has looked uncomfortable and often flustered when called upon to do so. It must also be said that most of the goals he has conceded did not come from open play, other than the Norwich one which springs to mind, but almost all of them have come from set piece corners or free kicks.

While we are at it, can I point out his useless kicking from dead ball situations or when clearing pass backs? Well, OK, that is my initial thought but the cause of this problem almost certainly lies initially with the defence, who have developed a foible of passing the ball back to him, even when there are forwards running at him, rather than taking responsibility on themselves for clearing our lines.

As it happens, at the moment, we do not have any choice in playing Man One as both Chezzer and Flappy are out injured. In truth, even if Fabianski was fit, I doubt that he would play as both the management and the fans have completely lost faith in him.

So, is Mannone going to revert back to being our No.2, rather than remaining as our No.1 when Chezzer comes back from injury? I think that will be the case, not because he does not have confidence in himself, he has already said he sees himself as our No.1 keeper, and he undoubtedly is an ‘OK keeper’, but that is the point – he is just an OK keeper, he is still unproven and I fear he just does not have it in him to become a ‘great’ keeper and that is what a club like Arsenal undoubtedly needs.

We also have another product of the youth system coming through, with young Martinez getting splendid reviews in the Reserve and U21 games, in the recent past, so does that mean when Chezzer returns from injury we will be seeing a revamped goal keeping set up; with Man One carrying out his threat to move on to get regular first team football, if he does not stay at No.1, and Martinez taking his place as the No.2 keeper?

I am not so sure. This would appear to smack, to a certain degree, of Arsene promoting ‘OK but not potentially great players’ from within the clubs youth system, and particularly in the goal keeping position, rather than looking at our needs and finding a keeper that meets those requirements.

That would beg the question, “why is it that we have not looked further afield to buy another David Seaman or even another Mad Jens”? It can be argued that we need a ready-made, first class keeper, now, who will win us games, like Hart is doing at City, rather than someone who occasionally saves us from losing games, but in any case needs much more time to develop his potential?

This draws us back into the discussion as to whether this is a sensible, premeditated and calculated choice made by Arsene to promote keepers from within the youth ranks as the best way forward, in order to solve a problem in a critical position that requires the highest quality player needed at the very top level of the game; or is it perhaps, instead, another reflection of having to make do with what we have, in order to conserve our cash resources, and enable us to keep to the self sustainability model that the Board are committed to?

What do you think?

Written by Red Arse.

Arsenal need to cut through the cost cutting!

October 31, 2012TotalArsenal

It is quite evident that the Arsenal transfer policy has been a really divisive issue between the fans. No one doubts the fervent desire of both sides of the divide for their team to do well and win trophies, but a sometimes ugly divide there most certainly is.

How has this come about?

Well for a start, the divide does not break down into older fans seeing things one way and the younger fans another way. Oh no – it is rather more complex than that! All older fans have normally supported the club for many, many years and have fond memories of wonderful Arsenal triumphs, including the first Double with Charlie George, George Graham and others heroes of the 1970s as well as other League, FA Cup, League Cup and yet more Doubles under Arsene Wenger. They also remember the dead, dull seasons when Arsenal were patsies and won fook all, not that they were deterred from supporting their team.

The younger fans have been fortunate that both first George Graham and then Arsene Wenger delivered trophies over a comparatively short period of time. And then it stopped. For seven long years while the new stadium was being built the Gooners went back to winning fook all.

From a certain section of the oldsters and the youngsters, up went the cry “It’s Wenger’s fault”, “It’s the tight fisted b*stards who own the club who are at fault”, “it’s intolerable that we fans are denied our bragging rights, and basking in the reflected glory of our team, and just because Wenger/The Board won’t spend some fooking money”, and so on and so on.

The other camp, also composed of a mixture of oldsters and youngsters, tried to take a more pragmatic view of events, and quickly adopted the moral high ground. Their battle cry was aimed at “the Oily Barons”, “the Billionaires and their playthings”, together with sometimes smug comments regarding “self sustainability”, and “just wait until FFP kicks in”, and so on and so forth.

Those are, baldly put, some of the things that have led to disunity among the fans, with each side convinced they are right.

But what unites them?

Well for a start, neither group look back fondly at either the recent past or even much further back and say “Ah, I remember 1974 when we won nothing, but we had a jolly good Balance Sheet”, neither, I suspect, will anyone smile sweetly at a fellow Gunner and say, “2008 what a great year that was, we won fook all again, but my goodness we showed all the others how NOT to spend money and we produced a beautiful set of self sustaining Accounts”.

The vast majority of fans will agree that there has been an undeniable tightening of the screws, in terms of the ticket cost of attending a game, and the additional exorbitant costs of buying a pint or a plate of fish and chips. In addition to those almost unavoidable costs – you could cut out the fish and chips and buy a greasy burger instead – there are, in addition, the transport costs of getting to the ground.

So what are we to make of all this?

I am sure that Arsene and the current owners see themselves as the caretakers of something special. Something that goes right to the heart of not just the local community, but all Arsenal fans worldwide. They want to protect and nurture the heritage of a wonderful club which is steeped in history, and not just for the here and now, but also for the foreseeable future, and they do not want to ever risk the club living beyond its means and ending up in hock to the banks, or going bust like the great Scottish club, Glasgow Rangers.

So, if we are to accept the above, at least for the sake of argument, what has happened to cause the unpleasant divide between the fans and the animosity shown to the Board of Directors?

I see Arsene Wenger caught up in his commitment to the protection of the club and his loyalty to his employers who own the club. Through financial forces he has no control over, he loses key players on a regular basis to the siren call of more money, and the greater chances of winning trophies elsewhere.

However, rather than re-investing the money received from the sale of top quality players, he buys good, or adequate players who may have potential. This policy carried out over a year or two may not be a bad thing, but as it happens on a regular basis both the club, and therefore the team, are insidiously weakened.

This policy has a double whammy effect, in that even if we were we not losing our best players to our immediate competitors, and therefore boosting their trophy winning chances at our expense, but when a quality player becomes available we take a submissive approach to competing for his signature, which was crystallized in the words of Arsene, some years ago, when he said, “we wait for Man United to choose who they want to buy, then we go on the market”.

Sadly, we now have to wait for the ‘top three’ in this country, as well as the clubs owned all over Europe by other “Oily Barons”, to buy who they want, and leave us to scrap for the left-overs.

Even within the self sustainability model, there is an argument for us to spend selectively on a top name player, at whatever the current market price is, and meet the cost of the required salaries. In effect, on the Balance Sheet, we would simply be swopping our cash asset for a player asset. Non footballing companies do this all the time. They buy, with cash, to get stock which they sell at a profit. It’s called entrepreneurship!!

That leaves the question of how to plug the ‘losses’ that the club currently incurs, which at the moment it does by selling players. This can, should and must be achieved by much improved commercial deals, just like all our competitor clubs are doing.

We also have to recognize the fact that in reality these quality player acquisitions will increase our chances of winning trophies, which will then increase our fan base, which in turn will generate more sales/more profits, which will enable us to win more trophies, and so on and on in a virtuous circle.

Arsenal need to give me a call!!

Written by: Red Arse.