with the Van Persie - Walcott partnership, so its reasonable to say Podolski can still have a big impact at Arsenal.
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Monday 29 April 2013
THE PUZZLE OF PODOLSKI
with the Van Persie - Walcott partnership, so its reasonable to say Podolski can still have a big impact at Arsenal.
Thursday 18 April 2013
The Return of #LeBoss
Tuesday 13 November 2012
A TALE OF TACTICS FOR WENGER
This is becoming a theme for us over recent years and it has to be said, it doesn't seem to take much for us to slip into old, bad habits. In seasons gone by we generally start the season with all the improvements we hope to see from our team, we get all optimistic and then we get a couple of injuries and it seems like the players forget all of the key defensive improvements we have made at the beginning of the season.
We have all seen the importance of pressing the ball when trying to get it (Barcelona have implemented this brilliantly over past seasons), yet we seem to have begun to stand off the opponent and allow them to play again. This is all good if the team wants to go away, sit deep and hit a team on the counter-attack (Liverpool away). We were extremely resolute against Stoke which did hinder us as an attacking threat but we looked organised, drilled, confident and disciplined.
FRAGILE
VERMAELEN: LOW ON CONFIDENCE |
A few weeks down the line and we look "fragile", a word being bandied around a lot at the moment and even in the most unfortunate circumstances this word should not be affiliated with the calibre of players we have. Our captain, Vermaelen is arguably the most fragile of all, contributing to a lot of poor goals being conceded and clearly not being an advocate of paying attention to key details. He has started hoofing the ball quite regularly and been shunted out to left-back - telling signs that his confidence has been badly shattered. Wenger has confirmed that Vermaelens confidence is low, ‘I think what has happened to him in recent weeks has affected his confidence.'
Even more alarming is, this is during a season where we are expected to improve defensively as we have now acquired a defensive connoisseur in the shape of Steve Bould. He has been brought in to address these lingering issues that have halted our progress for many years. I would expect Bould to be mentoring our centre-backs but the only 1 to have excelled is Mertesacker, who has been a rock for us. Is this down to Bould having a better understanding of Mertesackers style? Or maybe the fact the defender is simply already a proven international defender with the composure and a better understanding of what is needed to succeed at Arsenal?
ARSENE WENGER |
Arsene Wenger is an attack-minded coach. Nobody has ever had the privilege of calling him a negative manager but what he is seemingly lacking is the tactical nous needed to shuffle the team around and get us playing in order to get the 3 points and move on to the next game. 2-0 up vs Schalke and then Fulham should be followed by a comfortable performance where we totally take the sting out of the game by using our experience. Instead, we need more of a cushion to keep us from throwing the points away, which of course, we did.
Wenger has in the past, suggested his teams will win as long as they play to their strengths. Unfortunately this is not the case anymore as the quality is not the same. We are lacking the similar quality to absolutely dominate games, pass teams off the park and wear them down.
However, in Wengers defence, the team is a very new team and still adapting to each other as well as the Premier League and its robust demands. After being out for 524 days, Wilshere explained, “we still have a lot of new players. I have only played with them three times and we feel we are getting better and better as a team, and that we are bonding. Hopefully things will just get better from here."
BALANCE
Our team is lacking the physical balance needed in midfield, we have a particularly small midfield which is not the strongest. The man held responsible for restoring any balance in our midfield is Diaby and its not a coincidence that since his injury we have performed poorly. I'm of the opinion that the Wilshere-Arteta-Cazorla will not work how we would all love it to as it is too small and our biggest hope of it working is that the players find a much-required cohesion to dominate the ball and retain it under pressure. Our tallest midfielder, in what many would class as our best midfield, is Mikel Arteta at 5ft 9 ins. This is causing us to not retain the ball well under pressure and is allowing us to be overpowered in midfield. This is where the "fragile" problem stems from.
Wenger has put all of his eggs in one basket with Diaby and clearly it has backfired. His physicality occupies players from other teams and enables Cazorla to find space. Cazorla is the man we need to get on the ball and make things happen. For this purpose in itself, Diaby is key. When he doesn't play, the balance needed for a defensive game where teams get stuck into us or want to play a game of football against us is gone. Where is the protector or midfield general we need? Where is the runner in midfield? The legs of the midfield? It sounds like an out-dated requirement but it isn't (ask Barcelona, who bought our midfield hard-man).
MAROUANE FELLAINI |
The blend in the team is not quite there in a number of positions. I actually feel our defence is the most complete part of the pitch for us although there is clearly a problem with defending in our team, but its exactly that - the team. I wouldn't put the blame on the players, they don't buy themselves' or pick themselves'. Wenger has to address the balance and wisen up tactically.
Saturday 30 June 2012
ROBIN VAN PODOLSKI
With all remaining Arsenal players no longer participating in the Euros, we now look forward to the hectic transfer window speculation which promises to be filled with minute-by-minute updates on who Arsenal are "making moves" for, blah, blah, blah... As we all know, Arsenal have already snapped up two of Europes most proflific strikers last season and we are not even in July.
Welcome Olivier Giroud. More so, welcome to Lukas Podolski, whose future position in the Arsenal team is inexplicably linked to whether Van Persie signs a new deal at Arsenal. The parallel between the two is there for us to see.
Even if you compare the comments made by Wenger upon signing both players, he hails the comparable qualities of both players'. When Wenger signed Robin van Persie in 2004, he said, "He can play on the left side of midfield, as a creative player behind the main strikers or as a target man." Sound familiar?
Robin van Persie with his PFA Award |
Many Arsenal fans are becoming used to players having 1 or 2 great seasons and then leaving after years of waiting for them to deliver. However, once a player leaves we always have an internal solution who is ready to step up but quite honestly, in the case of RvP, we have Bendtner, Vela, Chamakh and Park Chu-Young who are not capable of scoring the amount of goals Arsenal require from their strikers.
You can call me sceptical but this does have me wonder why Wenger moved so sharply for Lukas Podolski, 27, who is left footed, similar in style to our own Robin van Persie, 28, and has even been playing in the same false number 9 role for FC Koln while wearing the number 10 shirt. When players are brought into the team it is normally to give you a different option in that department.
Not only this but Arsenal took the decision to wrap up this deal and announce it in May BEFORE the season had even finished. As Arsenal announced the signing of Podolski, Wenger said, “He is a versatile striker - he can play through the middle, behind the striker, up front, on the left and on the right." This highlights the almost identical similarities when comparing the two players.
Lukas Podolski |
Announcing a deal so early is far from a typical Arsenal scenario. Was this Wenger ensuring we had a striker already in, incase van Persie decides to leave? Or was this Wenger genuinely adding to our armoury in order to provide cover/options to our ONLY top class striker.
Wenger has spoken of the desperate need to help van Persie with goals coming from different parts of the pitch and this has to be undoubtedly his WORST collection of strikers in his 16 year tenure. However, with the 25 man squad rule, your players MUST be capable of covering different positons and our current bunch of strikers, except van Persie, are not versatile enough.
We also have a vacant left wing slot and regardless of whether we love Oxlade-Chamberlain or not not, Podolski is not coming to play second fiddle to him or Gervinho. With Arshavin looking likely to move back to Zenit and Benayoun not being signed permanently, Podolski will give us a totally different option on the left hand side as a left-sided, left footed attacker.
The similarities run deep in the pair; They both had a poor Euro 2012 tournament, in comparison to the standards they have set, with both of their solitary goals even coming with their weaker right foot!
I honestly hope Podolski is coming to be his own man and not simply fill the boots of a departing van Persie.
Tuesday 24 January 2012
SLIPPING STANDARDS
The substitution that confused home fans |
Wilshere (right) yet to feature this season |
Steve Bould linked with Assistant role |
Saturday 21 January 2012
CHECKPOINT FOR ARSENAL
However, in the build up to this game the murmurings seem to have begun again; with Arsenal losing 3 out of the last 6 league games, Wenger's position being questioned and van Persie yet to sign a new deal. As always is the case, Arsenal seem to have severe injury problems, with arguably more injuries than in the last encounter. The lack of full backs available is a serious concern and there is a possibility of there being as many as 8 of the same players who played in the game at Old Trafford remaining in the line up for the return fixture.
Sunday 6 November 2011
ANDRE SANTOS: A GIFT AND A CURSE
Welcoming Andre Santos; A flamboyant wing-back originating from Brazil.
He has emerged into the first-team eleven with a swagger and presence only to be expected from the brilliant Brazilian school of wing-backs.
He arrived at Arsenal Football club on transfer deadline day, with the usual stigma attached to Brazilian defenders; very good going forward but poor in defence. A general idea of his instincts were to be confirmed when he chose the No.11 jersey commonly used for wingers. This signalled the intent of the wing -back, who at the age of 28, would be classed as experienced cover for Kieran Gibbs.
However, Santos had other ideas which have seen him become something of a cult figure at The Emirates. He has scored 2 goals in 7 starts including a key goal in the 5-3 victory against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
He makes marauding runs which display the typical traits of a Brazilian wing-back. Years of studying Roberto Carlos and Cafu prove the mentality ingrained into a Brazilian wing-back is "attack is the best form of defence".
The entertainment factor Santos provides is top class and there is no denying that his forays into the final third leave us exposed at the back but he brings a new dimension to the Arsenal attack, which hasn't been so productive since the days of Ashley Cole.
The Brazilian flair which Arsenal have been crying out for, has been a welcome addition as far as I'm concerned. The fact that Santos can already boast the same amount of goals that Clichy scored in his entire Arsenal career shows the cutting edge he will bring to the Arsenal team in attack.
As Wenger has said, “I feel it’s an important part of winning – having a full-back who creates.” I agree.