transition – Page 2 – Bergkampesque

Arsenal’s 2013-14 formation options: With Suarez and without him

August 15, 2013August 15, 2013TotalArsenal

What is Arsenal’s ideal formation and starting XI this season?

Is Suarez coming or not? Who will replace Gervinho? Why haven’t we bought a DM? These questions have been asked too often over the past few weeks. So let’s bring the focus back to what should be most important: what happens ON the field.

There are infinite options for how a team lines up on the field. Ideally, the formation a team uses is specially designed to get the best out of the players the team has. The 4-3-3 that Arsenal currently uses was designed to really get the best out of two players in particular, Robin van Persie and Cesc Fabregas. However, both of these players are gone now and the question has been asked since the departure of van Persie: should Arsenal change formation to get the best out of the players we still have?

In my opinion, there are a few formations Arsenal could use to get the best out of our current players, but some depend on whether Suarez arrives or not. Therefore, there are two scenarios: with Suarez, and without Suarez.

With Suarez:

Suarez’s ability to play as a second striker (also known as a supporting striker, or SS), gives Arsene the option of lining up with two forwards who could play well off each other. There are pros and cons to every line up.

Possibility 1:

Pros:

1) Giroud’s excellent link up play will create lots of chances for both Suarez and himself.

2) Allows Santi to play out on the left (arguably his best position).

Cons:

1) Rosicky has no spot in this line up.

2) Santi and Walcott (along with our other wingers) would have to work a lot harder defensively.

3) Suarez has to take less shots and be more of a team player with lots of passing (not necessarily all bad, but could reduce his goal talley).

This line up has more cons than pros, but allows for a very dangerous attacking two, and possibly a more solid defense with the wingers being forced to play further back. Santi could also play as an SS with Poldi or Ox on the left. Also, Poldi and Suarez both can player either SS or ST. Finally, we could have Wilshere as part of the “defensive” two in the midfield and not have him worry as much defensively because we would have more defensive wingers.

Possibility 2:

Pros:

1) A dangerous front three with many different players who could play in a multiple of those positions.

2) Our wingers wouldn’t have to work as hard defensively (a pro for Santi out left more than anyone else).

3) Rosicky still has a spot in the team.

Cons:

1) Without a strong DM, it’s still a risk to play Jack as one of the two in the DM pivot.

2) We have no World Class AM like we used to have with Fabregas.

This is essentially the formation we play now, but with the option of Suarez anywhere across the front three. It has fewer cons than pros, but we still lack the WC AM really required to unlock the full potential of this formation. If we brought Cesc back, this would be our perfect formation. This formation could also have Rosicky at AM, Ox on either wing, Poldi in the middle, Suarez in the middle, etc.

Possibility 3:

Pros:

1) A more solid defensive midfield.

2) We could get the best out of multiple attacking midfields (Suarez/Santi, Suarez/Rosicky, Rosicky/Santi, etc).

3) Our outside backs could go forward more freely.

Cons:

1) Basically no room for the wingers in our squad.

2) Not much aerial service for Giroud.

3) Suarez would have to play a deeper role.

This would be a very strange change of formation for us, but it has a good number of pros and cons. It would give us lots of attacking power through the middle, but it basically eliminates wingers from our team. However, with the Ox’s and Santi’s ability to play AM and Poldi’s and Theo’s desire to play ST, we wouldn’t necessarily be entirely removing them from the team. The strangest and least likely of the three, but maybe it could be an option in games against teams with very weak midfields?

Without Suarez:

With the Wenger’s desire to not spend, we may end up with no signings (or at least, not more than just Sanogo). Wenger says this squad could win the title, but maybe part of the reason he thinks that is because of a new secret formation he has up his sleeve? Let’s explore our options.

Possibility 1:

Pros:

1) This is a formation the team is familiar with.

2) This allows Santi to play freely.

Cons:

1) Still no WC AM.

2) A relatively weak defensive midfield.

3) A lack of options up front.

This is basically the same formation as last year. Obviously changes could be made like Rosicky in the middle and so on.

Possibility 2:

Pros:

1) A solid defensive midfield.

2) Space on the wings for the outside backs.

3) We could get the best out of multiple attacking midfields (Suarez/Santi, Suarez/Rosicky, Rosicky/Santi, etc).

Cons:

1) Basically no room for the wingers in our squad.

2) Not much aerial service for Giroud.

This is the same as the 3^rd formation with Suarez, but this time minus him. A strange formation, but it could be used in times when we need a goal or against teams with a weak midfield. More of a formation you’d use in times of need than a regular thing. Not ideal without Suarez.

Possibility 3:

Pros:

1) We would be more solid defensively.

2) Allows Jack to play more with less risk defensively.

Cons:

1) The front three would have to do most of the creating and would be very isolated.

2) The connection between the midfield and front three is weak.

This formation is not perfect, but would allow Jack and Ramsey to make space in the hole between the oppositions’ wingers and fullbacks. This would also allow Jack to play with less risk defensively. This could work well and we could be countered on less, or it could backfire and leave us horribly exposed depending on the way this formation is played.

Overall, the best option is probably to not get tied to one formation. The first and second formations with Suarez are probably the best two, but neither is perfect. The best formation would almost be 4-2-2(wide)-1-1, if Wenger could find a way to make the very loose midfield compact defensively.

I’ll leave the question to you guys: pick your ideal starting 11 and formation, one with Suarez and one without (it doesn’t have to be one of the ones I mentioned above). Do NOT include room for other signings in either of those line ups.

This post in meant to get people away from the TW for a little while so everyone remains sane (at least for one more day). 😉

Thanks for reading. 😀

Written by: Dylan.

Message from TotalArsenal:

All bloggers, regulars and new ones, are invited to join Bergkampesque this season for the UMF League AND/OR the BK BOING! FF League. Please check out these links for more info and how you can join us.

https://bergkampesque.com/umf-explained/

https://bergkampesque.com/bk-boing-ff-league/

Go on, join us for the fun, pride and prizes, and it is all free! 😛

What will Arsene do if Per, Mikel or OG get badly injured?

August 8, 2013August 8, 2013TotalArsenal

I have not got a clue what is going on any more with Arsenal in terms of strengthening the squad; and I am sure not to be the only one. Come on Arsene, Gazidis, Kroenke; don’t wave with big piles of cash and say you can strengthen the squad with whoever you want, only to whimper out each and every time when it comes to the crux!

The majority of the fans have stood with you through thick and thin and understood the need to sacrifice our top-competitiveness, in order to complete the transition and strengthen the club’s long term position among the very elite. But now is time to act, to complete, to do and not dither any more!

The chase of marquee signing(s) seems to have each and everyone occupied at the club. Yet, what will happen if there is RIGHT NOW a serious injury to either Mertesacker, Arteta or Giroud? And let’s not even talk about more than one injury to any of these three!

Who will replace Per’s organisational skills in the team? Who will guard the back four and bring structure and organisation to our midfield if Arteta is not around? And who will lead the line and provide a target and purpose to our attack if Ollie is not available?

We have very little back up at CB anyway, but the specific skill-set of BFG has no cover whatsoever. We already lack midfielders who know how to defend properly, and without Arteta we would be so vulnerable; yet, we have seen no strengthening in this area, and if anybody is bought in the next few weeks then surely he would have to be worked into the first team/squad? If OG cannot play we have nobody who can take over from him; and let’s hope nobody is not planning to put this sort of pressure on Sanogo….

Forget the marquee signing, we are clearly not going to get one. But there is no excuse whatsoever for not strengthening the squad in the above mentioned key areas.

I know there is time left but why wait for so long? Why take the risk?

Written by: a confused TotalArsenal.

Thoughts on Arsenal after watching Dortmund v Bayern

July 28, 2013July 28, 2013TotalArsenal

I watched the Dortmund – Bayern German ‘Super Cup’ game yesterday to see how they would get on and what sort of system of football they would play. If anything, it proved to me once more that both managers and football systems are equally important as (the quality of the) players. I also wanted to see how their systems of football compared to what we have seen from Arsenal this early season, albeit against weaker opposition.

Dortmund were deserved 4-2 winners, as they played the better football throughout the game, except for a couple of short spells when Bayern were able to assert some pressure on them. Dortmund played very similar football to us, operating as a solid unit in front of their back-four and turning from defence into attack in a flash, with quick balls over the top for Lewandowski or, the once again very impressive, Reus to capitalise on – they should have been 3-0 up after just twenty minutes played.

When Die Borussen had the ball in front of the Bayern box they were able to play the passing triangles to pick holes in a surprisingly weak Lederhosen defence, and get themselves into fine scoring positions.

Bayern were less comfortable in controlling the game by playing the ball round in order to create well thought-through attacks, and they were also sluggish in their turn-arounds most of the time. They really missed Schweinsteiger to help them control midfield; the not fully fit German only came on when it was already too late.

Bayern seemed to be playing in a 4-1-4-1 formation which is a reflection of Guardiola’s desire to keep the ball as much as possible in the opposition’s half. But, to his agitation, his players did not work hard enough, and the Dortmund midfielders were very good at keeping the ball and passing their way through Bayern’s midfield with relative ease.

They did not seem to miss their own traitor, Gotze, much as Gündoğan took over from him almost seamlessly. This is once again proof how good a manager Klopp is, who focuses on the system of football he wants to play and then fits players into it, rather than the other way around.

It was also interesting to see that most goals were instigated from the wing, and how much havoc was created in both Bayern and Dortmund’s defence from these areas in general. Good wing play, whether from the wingers or the full backs, is absolutely essential, and both German teams are very well equipped in these areas.

Comparing Arsenal with both of last season’s CL finalists, I can confidently say that our system of football is pretty similar to that of Dortmund.

In the last four games, we have seen a pattern of:

Playing relatively compact at the back with two DM keeping everything tight and organised;
Quick turn-arounds from defence to attack with balls over the top as well as diagonal balls to launch a winger from our own half (mostly Theo).
Better organised in defence, with Mertesacker leading it and both Koz and Sagna playing good too;
Good use of the wings with mostly ‘proper wingers’ using speed and skill to get behind defences;
Good, intricate and patient passing of the ball whilst trying to find a deadly opening when playing in and around the opposition’s box;
Being very direct when chances occur, having led to us scoring a lot of goals in pre-season.

I really like what I saw from Arsenal until now and it shows what Arsene and Steve can do with this team when they can have, and keep, them together. We now need to see how our team will hold out against tougher competition and we will have ample opportunity to test this in the next two weeks.

Although I would be delighted to add a super quality player to the squad this summer – especially somebody who won the CL recently would be very good to add – I am just as keen to get solid back-up for the likes of Arteta, Mertesacker (or Sagna if he is to become our fourth choice CB), Giroud and possible Szczesny, although Fabianski has been doing more than okay until now.

This, rather than the signing of three or more world-class players as so many seem to want, is key; and I am confident it will happen this summer.

If we can strengthen our spine and add one quality attacker, Arsenal could go far this summer, and I don’t think we would be far away from Europe’s club finalists at all.

Written by: TotalArsenal.

Eight early-season Arsenal conclusions and line-up v Urawa Red Diamonds

July 25, 2013July 25, 2013TotalArsenal

Will we see more of Mr Reliable as one of our CBs on Friday?

Whilst the transfer shenanigans continue without any let-off, Arsenal’s current team has actually been playing some very watchable footie. It is fair to say that the opposition has not been much to write home about until now, but nevertheless our football has been good.

It is only early days and things could change a lot over the next four weeks, but based on the first three games of the campaign we can pull a few conclusions:

Wall of RamTeta: it looks very much that Arsene will continue with Arteta and Ramsey in the double-DM pivot. Enough has been written about this in recent posts, so no more on this from me now.
Our AM, whether it is Rosicky or Wilshere, have been very quick in turning the game from defence to attack. They very often opt for the ball over the top, or a diagonal ball to find one of the wingers with a precision pass. Our AMs have been very mobile and driven to move the game forward quickly, and long may it continue.
The team has been pressing the opposition really well given the rustiness at this stage of the campaign and the humid weather in Asia. Ramsey has been leading by example with regards to this but the whole team has been chipping in, and collectively they have been very successful in winning back the ball regularly until now.
Theo, but also Gnabry and to a lesser extent Ryo, are being ‘launched’ constantly from midfield. This is all part of our quick defence to attack turnaround approach, and for the first time in a long while Arsenal are now really utilising the speed of Theo and others. It has led to many very good chances for Theo and I expect to see more of it this season, with our Speedy Gonzales hopefully converting more of his opportunities. Theo has got the speed and the good first touch, and now he needs to improve his lethalness. He will improve further this season, I reckon.
The full backs – one at a time – are once again key in setting up attacks from the wing. Unfortunately, Jenkinson and Gibbs have looked rusty until now, but they are both players who appear to need a number of games in a row before they start to shine.
Giroud has looked very positive and focussed until now, and six goals in three games will help him to build further on this. He will, of course, face tougher opposition this season, but his sharpness up-front is a very welcome sight.
Zelalem has been showing us lots of promise until now. He is very confident, calm and classy on the ball and can pick a through-ball with incredible ease. A great prospect.
Ox and Jack have looked really up for it and, IF they can stay fit for long spells this season, they will be……dare I say it……like two new quality signings.

All in all, plenty of positives and let’s hope the team will continue to progress over the next few weeks.

Predicted Line-up against Urawa Red Diamonds:

I reckon Fab will start in goal, and Jenkinson and Gibbs will get another chance to become more effective both in defence (especially Jenkinson) and up-front. I expect Sagna and Mertesacker to start, although there is a chance that Sagna will play with Miquel. I am expecting Arteta and Ramsey to get a rest and for Arsene to try another double DM combination tomorrow. Ox needs a start and Aneke should get a proper test as well, so I am going for these two tomorrow.

I expect Jack to play in the hole from the start and Myachi and Theo (or Gnabry) on the wing, and Giroud will probably not start this time round, so I am going for the Pod as our striker. The latter needs a good game and I have a feeling Wenger will give him the striker position tomorrow.

Enjoy the game fellow Gooners!

Written by: TotalArsenal.

The one player who will make all the difference this season

July 22, 2013July 22, 2013TotalArsenal

Arsenal continue to be linked with all sorts of so called super-quality players, who can hit the ground running, and hopefully, add a different dimension to our team.

We definitely could do with a spark, a bit of magic in our team, a big BOING as Glic would have it – especially in midfield: an AM who can conduct our play, score goals and produce plenty of assists.

Others feel what we really need is a super quality striker who can bag 20+ PL goals next season, and/or make other attackers a lot more effective.

Many feel we can only make real progress if Arsenal buy an AM and ST of the highest quality, and this might well happen this summer.

Most of us expect any additional spark to have to come from outside the club but, as every season has its own surprises, could it be that Wenger is getting one player from the current squad ready to do add that extra dimension, the new spark, the talent that will move us forwards to the next level?

And what if he is banking, or should I say gambling, not on one but two players to do just that?

We might get a back-up CB, PL experienced back-up GK, and hopefully a beast of a DM (with additional football skills) to strengthen the ‘back-seven’: GK, back four and double DM-pivot. This will enable us to remain solid defensively throughout the season. But the spark/extra dimension is likely to come from the (predominantly) attacking four: the AM and three front men – assuming Arsene will continue with our 4-2-1-3 formation. Although, I should add the b2b midfielder will also play a crucial role.

In Pod, Giroud and Cazorla we have players who can do their job really well, and as they are all entering their second season in the PL and are in the very best years of a footballer’s career, more can be expected of them. Maybe, it will be one of them who will bring that bit of extra dimension next season. Cazorla has definitely come a long way in providing it for us last season.

There could be an unexpected semi-spark/dimension from one of the youngsters: Yaya Sanogo, Gnabry, Eisfeld, Ryo, etc. You just never know!

But I am going to go for at least one, if not two, of the super talents of Theo, Ox and Jack. A fully fit Jack will make a tremendous difference this season; Theo is likely to progress further as a winger/striker and might reach that extra-dimension level; but my hard cash is on the Ox.

There is something about the body language of AOC that makes me think he is ready for the big stage. Our number 15 will become twenty years old two days before the start of the new PL season, and I reckon this will be his breakthrough year. There is something about his posture, his facial expressions, and his general demeanour that makes me think he will be the one this season. It is just a gut-feeling, but my gut is feeling good! 🙂

The Ox: ready to add the extra spark next season?

I am still hoping we add some extra-spark from outside this summer, and I am sure we will, but we might (also) get a lot of fun from a guy we have been developing to start firing from all cylinders on the biggest stage: I reckon the Ox has sharpened his horns now and is ready to take on the world.

Written by: TotalArsenal.

Arsenal best-11 players in 2013-14, if we had kept all Wenger Gems

July 9, 2013July 9, 2013TotalArsenal

The Torture Window has once again presented us with a few twists and turns. It looks like we will not get Higuain until RM have signed a marquee striker themselves this summer, and this could take a long time.

Los Blancos are still smarting from losing out on Neymar, and the Brazilian’s stellar performances during that made-up tournament last month, as well as Ronaldo’s comment that he wished Neymar had come to his current employer, will only have rubbed more salt into the wound.

They are under pressure from the fans to add new players to the squad, and there is little chance they will let Higuain go before they have contracted a top quality replacement. With Cavani almost certainly going to the Eifel Tower Oilers, they will struggle to find a player of the required calibre to help them beat Barcelona to the title next season. Their next target is likely to be a man with occasional cannibalistic tendencies, whom Arsenal happen to be interested in as well….or was that a smoke-screen? I certainly hope so…

It is all very tiring and who knows how it all will end this summer. Buying experienced, ready-to-go quality players from the top, and sub-top, European clubs is proving to be very hard.

What is also frustrating is that Arsenal could have been in a very different position right now. If we had only been able to keep hold of our star players over the last seven years and had added on average a new £15m player every year, we would have had a very strong team right now.

Arsene could have focussed this summer in getting an experienced GK as back-up for our young and promising Pole between poles, and buy one or two players to add depth to the squad. Job done!

The 2013-2014 Arsenal Team could have looked like this:

A great mixture of self-developed youth players/Wenger-gems and newly bought, experienced players. The seven added experienced/quality players over the last seven years are Mertesacker, Sagna, Koscielny, Cazorla, Podolski, Arteta and TV, and if we had also kept Song, Clichy and Nasri, and we add the likes of Ramsey, Ox, TV, Rosicky etc, we would have had not just a very strong first team, but a more than decent bench as well.

We all know that the club were not in a position to hold on to most of our top players over the last seven years. However, going forward, we appear to be in a strong position to both keep hold of our top players and add quality every year. All we need is patience…

But there appears to be now a lack of time and patience to allow Wenger to build another top quality team bottom upwards and by adding a few typical Wenger gems; and I believe that even Arsene himself does not have the patience any more, and possibly time, to do so.

So, it is all about adding a number of players who will add quality to the wider squad and Arsene’s first choice eleven, in order for us to properly compete for silverware next season.

Of course I welcome this, but the above first eleven and wider squad show us what sort of team we could have had right now.

Written by: TotalArsenal.

Arsenal Fixtures: Doable Start & Festive Season, Monstrous March, Doable Finish.

June 19, 2013TotalArsenal

Today: two post about next season’s fixture list: first one by Marcus and then one by TotalArsenal.

Hey Arsene, what do you make of next season's fixture list? :) — Hey Arsene, what do you make of next season’s fixture list? 🙂

This is going to be a short post, probably the shortest I have ever
written. The fixture list is out and we now have a basic idea of how
our season is going to shape up. Before I begin though, I have to ask,
why are big fixtures arranged back to back? You find that if you play
Chelsea one weekend, the next you’re pitted against City, United or
LFC. And this goes for everyone in the top four, at least over the
past couple of seasons. Weird.

Anyway, this upcoming season presents a unique opportunity in our
race for the title. This is because our first 10 games are all very
winnable, even with the squad we have now. We play Aston villa,
Fulham, Spurs at home, Sunderland, Stoke, Swansea, West Brom, Norwich,
Palace and finally LFC at home. Based on the results last season,
these are games that we should pick up 3 points. Even against Spurs,
considering for the past few seasons we have given them a 5-2 hiding
whenever they’ve visited the Emirates.

I will not even compare our fixtures with the fixtures that Chelsea,
Utd and City have because 30 points in the first 10 games would almost
certainly not only place us at the summit, but also create a
considerable gap between us and our title rivals.

This is the opportunity I was talking about.

Even with the squad we currently have, this is a very achievable goal.
Add a few top class players and you realize that this is what Wenger
should be gearing the team to achieve. The league is certainly not won
in 10 games but it would put us in very good stead to win the league.

This opportunity is extended because in the last six games, we face
Everton, West Ham, Hull, Newcastle, West Brom and conclude at Norwich.
Another run of very winnable games. A case can be made about how
Everton are no walk overs, but with their change of guard and the
possible departure of key players such as Fellaini and Baines, they
may not be the same team that has previously held their own against
the league giants.

Please bear in mind that I am not at all saying that these games will
be walk overs: not by any stretch of the imagination. I am mainly
considering our previous records against these teams. My brother
always tells me that there are no small teams in the EPL and I agree
with him fully. It being one of the most unpredictable and competitive
leagues in the world, you can NEVER underestimate anyone.

All I am saying, is that the odds are on our side and through shrewd business in
the transfer window and proper preparation, we could find ourselves in
a very enviable position come this time next year.

My optimism flows eternal.

Written by: Marcus.

————————————————————————————————————————

The fixtures list has been announced and in order to see what it will mean for Arsenal, I am analyzing it from a number of angles: start, post inter-lull games, festive period, away up-North, congestion of top fixtures and finish.

But before doing so, I should state that the only thing that really matters is to play as if every game is as difficult and important as another. Arsenal have often been at their worst when expected to win easily and many times it has cost us dearly.

Start

As Marcus wrote above, the start is relatively easy. It offers a good opportunity to get momentum going and accrue valuable points, and it should allow us to ease in any new top players we buy this summer. However, we have often dropped points at Fulham, Swansea and Sunderland away and we will need to be at our best to beat them. I would sign up now for 24 points from the first 10 games, especially if we can do it without losing any of the games; anything more would be even better, but I am not going to bank on it.

Post inter-lull games

The top teams often drop points when they play away after an international break, whilst they usually scrape through a win when playing at home. We play Sunderland away after the first break, and Norwich and Southampton at home during the following inter-lulls, so not too bad for us. However, we’ll play the Spuds away after the March inter-lull, which is far from ideal. This is also the first game of the most challenging period during the season for Arsenal, and it would have been a lot better if we could have started it with a home game.

Festive period

In general, the top teams gain a similar number of points during the festive season. Everybody drops points as fatigue and weather conditions often take their toll. First we play the Chavs at home, which is a fine opportunity to start the festive periods with some momentum, but then it is West Ham and, a probably bitterly cold, Newcastle away, after which we play Cardiff at home. All in all, not too bad.

Away Up-North

Last season, we had played all our away games, bar NU, by January, and in my view, this was one of the reasons we were able to finish so strongly. Arsenal were only beaten by the horrible Mancs up-North last season, but we still dropped a lot of points, especially in the North-West. This season the away fixtures are spread out over the season and at no point do we have two in a row. In February, we play Liverpool away and then three days later the Mancs at home, which is not ideal. With Blackburn, Bolton, Wigan, Blackpool, Middlesbrough, etc all no longer in the PL, the North has less of a fear factor for us, although Hull returns to the PL this season.

Congestion of top fixtures

Everyone will have noticed the monstrous March fixtures. As per above, there is an international break after which we will play the Spuds away first, followed by Chavs (away), Northern Oilers (home) and Everton (away). I don’t like this at all and it could easily make or break our season. But, if we want to win the PL next season, we need to overcome, or at least equal, those teams during these game, whether home or away. Arsene will not like the idea that he will get his players back from the internal break just a few days before the start of this crunch-period. No doubt, this is the biggest negative of the fixtures list.

Season’s finish

The last five games of the season are relatively easy with home games against West Ham, NU and West Brom, and away games at Hull and Norwich. However, some of these games might be against teams fighting for survival and, once again, we cannot afford to underestimate any of them.

So in a nutshell: a good chance to start well, gain momentum and embed the new players into the team; reasonable fixtures during the festive period, two home and two away games after the international breaks, a monstrous second half of March, and a doable finish.

What do you make of it all fine, fellow Gooners?

Written by TotalArsenal.

Full Arsenal Fixtures List:

August
17 Aston Villa (H)
24 Fulham (A)
31 Tottenham (H)

September
14 Sunderland (A)
21 Stoke (H)
28 Swansea (A)

October
5 West Brom (A)
19 Norwich (H)
26 Crystal Palace (A)

November
2 Liverpool (H)
9 Man Utd (A)
23 Southampton (H)
30 Cardiff (A)

December
3 Hull (H)
7 Everton (H)
14 Man City (A)
21 Chelsea (H)
26 West Ham (A)
28 Newcastle (A)

January
1 Cardiff (H)
11 Aston Villa (A)
18 Fulham (H)
28 Southampton (A)

February
1 Crystal Palace (H)
8 Liverpool (A)
11 Man Utd (H)
22 Sunderland (H)

March
1 Stoke (A)
8 Swansea (H)
15 Tottenham (A)
22 Chelsea (A)
29 Man City (H)

April
5 Everton (A)
12 West Ham (H)
19 Hull (A)
26 Newcastle (H)

May
3 West Brom (H)
11 Norwich (A)

Jack has it; Vermaelen had it and will again. But Arsenal lack Presence!

June 4, 2013June 4, 2013TotalArsenal

I originally opined on this several posts back and made the point that from my favorite kids movie, Megamind, the only thing that differentiates villains and super-villains, is “Presentation!” For a reminder see the last bits of:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbkKVDVkFgY

One could almost re-quote the last bit as “Oh you’re a team alright but you’re not super. Oh Yeah! What’s the difference?!?” … Presence!

More specifically, there is quite a lot of grumpiness amongst Arsenal fans of late, and by late, I mean the last 2-3 years. While many bemoan a lack of cups that we all want anyway, it often moves on towards discussions of how we could be better if only we had the world’s greatest footballer: Cesc Cesar Isco Wanyama Jovetic-Higuain.

Despite his rather long name, this footballer has one thing going for them compared to lesser lights like Mr Andrey Ryo Manone Santos-Squillaci, and that is Presence!

Presence (noun) = The state or fact of existing, occurring, or being present in a place or thing.
Presence! (noun!) = The state or fact of existing, occurring, or being present in a place or thing that causes fear or anxiety amongst ones competitors.

Not to be confused with:

Presence (noun?) = A person or thing that exists or is present in a place but is not seen: “the monks became aware of a strange presence”. This is Andre Santos on defense!

So what is Presence! Well, and this will appeal to Glic I am sure, the definition of ‘Presence!’ is a lot like that attributed to pornography. I can’t define it but I know it when I see it.

So, let’s call Presence! that fear engendered in opponents when a player has the ball, or is even near the action sometimes. From there, let me say who I think has Presence! and who is, shall I say, merely present.

Presence!

Cesc – at Arsenal the added creativity he brought made everyone else, even Nasri, better, and when he had the ball other teams tended to over focus on him. To our benefit and their detriment. Presence! makes others better and perhaps made Cesc appear better than he is!
RvJ – had no Presence! before last season really, but after that run, every time the ball heads towards him every other player on the opposing defense gets an immediate case of “pucker fever” … Presence! can be made or developed, you don’t have to be born with it.
Messi and Ronaldo – obviously! Keeping with our superhero format, with great talent comes great Presence!
Yaya and Kompany – the spine of Man City in recent years, and on form they make the middle of the field a place of fear, thus compressing the pitch to the obvious benefit of their entire team. To feel Yaya’s or Vincent’s presence (small “p”) while not even looking at them is to know that Presence! isn’t just about scoring it’s about influencing the entire pitch.

Negative Presence!

Santos – what teams don’t relish seeing him in our line-up.
Gervinho – either dominates the world or gets confused and goes out to lunch. If he’s not on, he can be ignored, and he’s often note quite on.

Historical Presence! And we had it in spades!!

Adams – had Presence! and then some as a defender, as does Verm on his day!
DB10 – perhaps a most obvious example.
Thierry – when he had the ball or was merely lurking around the left corner of the box, everyone knew where he was and was looking that way.

And many others we could all add, each of whose unique attributes and abilities, as well as consistency over time, made sure everyone knew they were about.

That leads to my next point that Presence! is a tangible but also transient thing. Rooney had it, and then bang this year with RvJ about, gone! One could almost define Presence! the consistency of the very best form that influences the entire game just by the players mere presence on the pitch.

For Glic, who is way more concise than I am, this is just Boing! when watching YouTube highlights… 🙂

Somehow, we lack that Presence! and to get to the next level need to find the people outside, or within our team, who can develop it.

So, who are the likely candidates! I would posit the following noting that these are merely my opinions and that anything free, like my opinion, comes with no guarantee…

At Arsenal:

Theo – if he can figure out how to be something more than just pace for goals, just like Thierry
Santi – may well get it this year with the right formation around him
Koz, Gibbs – with time
Vermaelen – has all the potential needs his head on square focus
Podolski – why isnt 100 caps and over 40 goals for Germany feared more …?
Jack – in spades and can do it already, needs to be healthy for a full season…

You will note there are many names missing and I may have missed a few.

And amongst our many targets and possibilities:

Jovetic – at the risk of TAs displeasure, not for me
Higuain – at the risk of HHs admiration, yes
Isco – only in Glic’s mind but he has the Boing! factor
Villa – yes, but only for 1-2 years

Arsenal have been blessed in past with many such players, who made all around them better while shrinking the pitch on defense and expanding it on offense. Just by their Presence! and the way teams were forced to consistently acknowledge them and hedge towards them…

I think we have several emerging talents with that potential, and that the right person in this TW will add to it. The real questions for you Gooners might be:

Presence! Fact or jgc professorial fiction?
Presence! Don’t need it, cuz we got it, or just don’t need it if we play this ___ esoteric formation and lineup
Presence! Who will bring it to us in this TW? Who won’t?
Presence! Do we need it on offence, defence or both, or will that one special DM solve it all?

I think we’ve discussed all the answers to all these really, already in past posts. So, let me ask one real question… What one change will give Arsenal the Presence! it’s quality players deserve. The Presence! to make other teams half give up on our arrival on the pitch.

I honestly think we are that close, it may not be players but simply time or formation, but we need Presence! Because…

Presence! (noun) = the small difference between fighting for 3-4^th or 1^st.

Written by: jgc.

Arsenal are in a great position but how to return to the glory days?

June 2, 2013June 2, 2013TotalArsenal

We all know about the transitional period which started when Arsenal left Highbury and moved to the Emirates stadium, at the end of the 05-06 season. It has not been an easy transition for us die-hard fans or the club itself, following our successful years in the final decade at Highbury.

So many questions have been asked and as fans we can only speculate. How does a club that wins the EPL undefeated, go on and not win a championship since then? Was it the right move for us? Has Arsene Wenger lost his touch or passion since putting together an ‘Invincibles’ team that no other club may ever match?

We all know what has happened since the 06-07 season. It has been a dry spell of trophies and near misses, but more so, we have seen the emergence of billionaires choosing to play FIFA in real life. The Arsenal-Man United rivalry has been scaled down and its importance is no longer title deciding. The blue side of Manchester has now become a strong player in the EPL, due to the investments of billionaires in order to buy success. Chelsea has had its success due to the heavy investment of Roman Abramovic. Money definitely allows you to be able to offer higher wages in order to lure talent to your club, and it also allows you to beat other clubs in negotiating transfer fees.

Since our move to The Emirates, Arsenal has not been able to compete on a level playing field with other teams. The choice was made to control the stadium debt and in return we did not have the funds available to compete in the transfer market. Arsene Wenger has always been a good spotter of talent, and with Arsenal’s global exposure we were able to lure good players to our beloved team. This is not the case these days. We have been unable to compete with the rising demand of players’ wages, thanks to greedy agents who know that there are many sides out there now that will offer an average player extraordinarily high wages to sit on a bench.

I believe that we have reached a turning point and we are now in a position to start to claim back our rightful place amongst the Elite in Europe. I am not talking just about the EPL: we have to raise our level to where we are competitive again in Europe. Let’s use the passion and drive that we displayed against Bayern Munich this season past and against AC Milan the season before. In order to do this, we need to invest in our squad, change our wage structure and become more competitive in the market.

A friend (unfortunately a Liverpool fan) has always said to me, The Arsenal started acting on the Final Fair Play rules, which are now coming into play, about a decade before everyone else. He is right. This has happened due to all the debt incurred in our move and the prudence of the board not to jeopardize the future of this brilliant club.

It seems that it is now time for us to capitalize on our situation.

We are now starting to get more business partners on board; we have a new kit supplier, which is one of the best deals in the football world at the moment. We are starting to clear out players on high and yet underserved wages, and we have a decent transfer kitty.

As usual we have been linked with so many players in this off-season and it will be interesting to see the intent shown by the board and also by AW. It is time that The Arsenal knocked a few of these teams off their perch and the good guys came out on top. There are not many clubs in Europe that have our history or our financial stability. Let’s get back to winning ways, a winning mentality and back to our Glory Days.

I would like to put it to you guys as to what you all believe is needed by our Glorious Club to get us where we belong.

We have covered the players that we would like to see in our squad next year in the past few weeks, but I would like your opinions as to what you would change to get us to the next level.

In my opinion we are not too far away from becoming more competitive and challenge for trophies.

Would you approve more money to be spent than the reported £70m on transfers? If so what limitations would you set taking into account our financial model?
How would you make The Emirates a fortress and improve the atmosphere?
In what position do we need to add a quality player in order to build a competitive squad?

Written by: AlexGunners

Is there a “generational divide” at Arsenal and, if so, what does it mean?

May 29, 2013May 30, 2013TotalArsenal

Theo Walcott, interviewed just after Arsenal beat Newcastle 1-nil to clinch 4^th place and the final Champions’ league place said something along the lines of, “We did it, which is great for such a young team, but we’re not satisfied with 4^th and now we want to push on and challenge for the title”….

Very nice Theo and a good explanation about our celebrations and how it sets the stage for bigger things. Still, it got me thinking….Are we a truly a young team, and if not, what does it mean going forward?…. Moreover, how do we get from here to there? And (finally) can we expect this team (plus the transfer business over the summer) to really allow us to push on towards our higher aspirations? It’s my belief that our manager has a “plan” which, to the extent it has panned out in the past, gives us a measure of guidance for the future.

After the stadium move “the plan” was clearly based around youth. We couldn’t compete when it came to buying the top, ready-made stars given the new power of Abramovich’s Chelsea. And, of course, this only got more difficult with the emergence of Sheik Mansour’s Manchester City, and (as always) Sir Alex determined to borrow as much as needed to keep Rooney (and bring in others) across town….

Nonetheless, the plan had a measure of promise, and, while some of our younger guys (I’m thinking of Denilson here…) didn’t really pan out, others looked (very) promising. Flashing back to the World Cup final of 2010, we saw our own Robin van Persie as the starting Center Forward for the Netherlands and (our own) Cesc Fabregas as the guy who came on and secured the trophy for Spain with his assist to Iniesta. Sure, “Young Guns” Samir Nasri and Theo Walcott got left off their respective national teams, but both squads underperformed and we thought maybe it would light a fire under the two (very promising) players. A few others (Bendtner, Song and Vela come to mind) did get to play in the tournament, albeit with mixed results.

Of course, 2010-11 wasn’t a breakthrough season at Arsenal and the plan then came in for a major overhaul in the past two off-seasons. Cesc returning to Barcelona was always on the horizon but the hope was to delay it as long as possible. Nasri having his head not just turned, but fully yanked, (Linda Blair style http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sO9FD7zI7k0 ) by ManCity’s offer to double the one we had tabled, was something beyond the realm of the normal. Certainly it wasn’t the plan when we bought (and developed) him from Marseilles. Arsene famously spoke of the book he could write and his quip about top teams not losing their two best players suggested that our activities in the summer 2011 window were not exactly choreographed. Queue up early season humiliations (the 0-2 vs Liverpool almost as bad as 8-2 at Old Trafford…), a series of desperation buys at the transfer deadline, and, finally, a very long haul to a final day bum squeaker at West Brom. Ugh.

And then it got worse. Summer 2012 saw another remarkable remaking of the Arsenal first team. Our top scorer, Robin van Persie and our 2^nd top scorer (and best assist creator) Theo Walcott were allowing their contracts to wind down (as Nasri had the year before) and the former burnt his bridges on (US) independence day with an outrageous message to the fans. Meanwhile, this public show of indiscipline was matched by more insidious ones from our best midfielder, Alex Song, who was well known for being indifferent to fines for tardiness. RvP and Song would be gone before the season kicked off while the Walcott contract saga persisted into the new year. The bottom line is that three of our best players threatened to leave us and two actually did. Another long year, another last day nail-biter, another “ugh.”

So, these past two summers have been all about replacing our best players, while hoping that losing them wouldn’t kill us. Two years ago, at the transfer deadline, we got Mikel Arteta, Per Mertesacker, Andre Santos and Park Chu Young. (Earlier in the summer we also bought Gervinho and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.) Last summer we brought in Lucas Poldolski, Olivier Giroud and Santi Cazorla.

These buy were essential (well, at least the ones that panned out…) and they completely re-shaped the squad. They have also represented a real change in policy as the players we bought were (mostly) older ones. The ones who have emerged as starters, most certainly ARE older. Among the guys who are now in the first 11 (at least when healthy) Arteta is now 31, Mertesacker is 28, Poldoski will be 28 in a week, Giroud is “only” 26 (27 in September) and Cazorla is 28. We also picked up Nacho Monreal (27) in the January window (to spell injured Kieran Gibbs, while sending Andre Santos, 30, out on loan). Add in regulars Bacary Sagna (30), Tomas Rosicky (32) and Laurent Koscielny (27) along with Captain Tomas Vermaelen (27) and a large part of the core of the squad would seem to be at that age where they are playing at the peak of their physical and technical abilities. We cannot realistically expect huge improvements out of this group in the future….

On the other hand, Arsenal also made a conscious effort to promote the idea of an up and coming British core of young players. When Theo Walcott (24) finally signed a contract extension, the team also announced that several other contracts had recently been extended. These included Jack Wilshere (21), Gibbs (23), Carl Jenkinson (21), Aaron Ramsey (22) and Oxlade-Chamberlain (19).

There are some other key young players in the team. Keeper Wojciech Szczesny is 23 and Francis Coquelin is 22.

Intriguingly we have no 25 year olds, though Gervinho only just turned 26 a few days ago.

OK, so what? Well, as research goes, that’s about as deep as I get….

Still, when I look at nothing but the ages of the players I see a generational divide. And I think this would be exacerbated if we looked at the actual contribution (minutes played) of the guys 26-27+ and those 24 and under. The bottom line is that (due to changes in plan…) we are currently NOT a young team and that we will require a LOT of new guys to come in and replace the older guys as their play drops off. Because we are not in a position to buy ready-made, prime-aged players (although maybe Red Arse and others who think FFP may mute the market for top, prime-aged players, might disagree…) I predict several seasons of significant transition for our team.

In other words, the ripple effect of losing Cesc and Nasri in Summer 2011, and RvP and Song in 2012, will be felt for years to come. Theo, it turns out, wasn’t quite right about us being such a young team….

This fact should not be seen as “all bad”….First off, against all the odds, we were able to keep our CL spot these past two seasons and this last year (in particular) saw the real development of young guys like Theo Walcott and Aaron Ramsey. Jack Wilshere is still sorting out his fitness issues but his talent seems extremely promising. It’s astounding that the Ox is still only 19 and his cameo in place of Arteta in the final match (and in matches with the English National team) showed that (maybe) he can do a job all over the pitch. Jenkinson, red card at Sunderland notwithstanding, did quite well in the several periods when he stepped in for Sagna.

Additionally many of the older guys look really keen to be in this Arsenal side and we’ve seen the departure of players who had big issues with discipline or keeping fit (I’m thinking of Song and Arshavin here). A collective atmosphere of personal discipline and fitness (have you seen the abs on the likes of old boys Sagna and Nacho….or the running of Rosicky?…) can go a long way to keeping these older fellows contributing in fresh ways. With a couple of additional savvy and fit older guys (maybe at Keeper and Striker, and on the cheap, of course….) this mind-set might be reinforced…

With the bulk of our transfer funds, however, we need to think about adding to this collective in a judicious, almost surgical fashion and improving the team, with a keen eye to the longer term.

This may mean using our resources to buy younger guys with real “potential” rather than ready-made, more mature players who have already shown they can produce on the biggest stages. We should, I think, be looking for guys to augment the 24 and under group rather than the 26+ guys.

Other threads have discussed the strengths and weaknesses of our squad in specific areas of the pitch and suggested where key players might be added, ideally while keeping the hard fought sense of team accomplishment (the “Springvincibles” mentality) intact.

The teams above us are using big money transfers and big salaries and new (big money) managers. Quality is quality, but sometimes a strong “team” can beat a bloated brigade of all-stars—and not just in one-offs (the Cups) but over the longer haul–if the focus is correct. This is what I am hoping for this off-season and as we start up again in August. Still, I think we must keep our expectations realistic and know that it will take time, simply given the age demographics of our squad….

What do the rest of you think?….

Written by: 17 highburyterrace

Please note: posts on BK tend to come out in the evenings, but sometimes at different times of the day. If you would like to be made aware of a new post coming out, you can sign up for email alerts. See right side of blog and enter your details in ‘Follow blog via email’. TotalArsenal.