Gooner Talk

Watching our collapse against Manchester United set me to thinking about what changes we need to make at Arsenal. Right now we just aren’t good enough to win a trophy. We need to offload some players and we need to start looking at other players who could come in and address our shortcomings.

Goalkeepers. Almunia has had a good season, but is he good enough at his age for us to build our future around him? Fabianski was a serious disappointment in the FA Cup semifinal and despite some memorable saves during the season, he just leaves me a little short on confidence. There is nobody coming up from the Reserves right now who merits consideration either so I feel Wenger needs to look to bring in somebody else.

Defence. Our main weakness. Our lack of depth cost us a chance to win trophies this year and it seriously needs to be remedied. Sagna is a decent right back, but he really needs to work on crossing the ball. He doesn’t really frighten people when he comes forward. Behind him we have Eboue, who Wenger prefers playing in midfield, Hoyte and Gilbert. Hoyte is young and raw and hopefully the loan at Watford did him some good. However, based on what I saw of him earlier this season, he is not an adequate replacement if Sagna gets injured. Gilbert will probably be sold, having had a good loan spell at Leicester.

At left back we have a number of players but they are mostly young and inexperienced. Clichy had an okay season, plagued by defensive errors mixed with some fine attacking play. Clichy’s injury at the end of the season hurt us and we’ll only be able to wonder how his presence could have changed the outcomes of some of our key matches at the end of the season. Gibbs is a young and raw talent who has great potential. Wenger needs to put him out on loan next season and get the experience he needs to come back and push Clichy for the job. Armand Traore has been out on loan this past season and returns next season, perhaps as a back or as a winger? Wenger may keep him around to backup Clichy or push him further forward to provide us with a real left winger. Pedro Botelho is another youngster with potential, but he’ll probably not get a work permit for another year.

In the middle Wenger opted to go with the two shorter but quick centre backs, which means we cannot dominate the high balls the way we should. Will William Gallas return? He had a pretty good season and his loss at the tail end was devastating. Given the turmoil around his dismissal as captain during the season I fully expect him to leave. Kolo Toure had an awful first half to the season but came on and played well in the second half. He and Gallas are similar, but Kolo is younger and faster, which is why Wenger will want to keep him around. He is also more of a team player and has a better attitude around the locker room.

Behind these two stands Johann Djourou, who had a decent season and seemed to play more confidently. Is Djourou good enough to take Gallas’s place (if he leaves)? Maybe, but I’d feel better if Arsenal went out and acquired someone else. Mikael Silvestre played more than I expected this season and was not a total disaster. He is a liability playing against the likes of Chelsea and ManUnited. Arsenal still control the fate of Philippe Senderos and one wonders what will become of him in the next four months. Alex Song played in the middle but was not particularly impressive there. His future is in midfield. There is nobody in the reserves ready to step up and play yet. Havard Nordveit is on loan in Norway and Kyle Bartley needs at least another year.

Midfield. Our weak midfield was unable to provide enough protection for our suspect defence this season and it cost us big time. Many of the players improved dramatically, particularly Alex Song, but we still lack the tough edge needed to dominate the middle. The holding midfielder position was the biggest problem for most of the year after Wenger chose not to buy anyone to replace Flamini and Gilberto. Denilson improved greatly during the season but I feel he lacks the physical edge to dominate the big games. He is quick, efficient, and hard working but by the end of the season he was looking tired and flat. Alex Song, on the other hand, got better as the season wore on and is playing very well right now. In fact I feel he’s the most improved player on the team and this season marks a coming out of sorts. Is he the player of the future here? Perhaps he is. Wenger will be tempted not to buy another central midfielder because he has a trio of young stars emerging from the youth squad. Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, Francis Coquelin, and Emanuel Frimpong are all fabulous talents who will be knocking on the door next season for their opportunities.

Cesc Fabregas will probably remain with Arsenal for at least one more season (I hope). I believe he feels Arshavin could make a big difference and want to give it a go at Arsenal for another year. I still feel Cesc needs to improve on his corner kicks and free kicks and he needs more time to gel with all of his new teammates in midfield. Abou Diaby has been a big disappointment for me, he just hasn’t taken that big step forward in his career. He has loads of potential but he’s always injured, often being played out of position, and dwells on the ball too long. The time has come for him to move on. Behind him sit a number of potential future stars such as Aaron Ramsey, Jack Wilshere, Fran Merida, and Henri Lansbury. Wenger’s dilemma is what to do with these youngsters and how to integrate them into the side. They all need experience and some may be loaned. However Ramsey and Merida are at the point where next season should be the season they start to come into the squad and contribute. Wilshere is still young and might be loaned out next January. Lansbury is coming off a sensational loan spell at Scunthorpe and deserves consideration. I haven’t even mentioned Mark Randall who will probably be loan out as well if he isn’t sold.

On the right Theo Walcott came of age this season. He became more confident and assertive and looked our most dangerous player. It is essential that we renew his contract. Behind him sits Emmanuel Eboue. I believe Wenger likes Eboue, wants him to succeed as a winger and may keep him around another year. I wouldn’t. I appreciate the way he dribbles and scares defences, but his end product is usually a feeble shot or an inaccurate pass. He did have a few good games near the end of the season, but fans won’t forgive him for being sent off against Spurs. Arshavin can play on the right and Nacer Barazite returns from his loan spell at Derby. He has the potential to contribute at this position.

On the left we have an abundance of talent. Arshavin can play on the left, Nasri can play on the left … both had good seasons, Rosicky can play on the left, Traore can play on the left, Merida can play on the left. Where does Rosicky fit in? Will Arsenal keep him around another year? Do they have too many players who play on the left? Both Nasri and Arshavin can play on the right as well, but who will Wenger keep and who will he move?

Attack. Emmanuel Adebayor has to go. His attitude this year, his work rate, his productivity all a disappointment … and he’s being paid more than ever. On the eve of our biggest game of the year comes the news that he wants to play for AC Milan. Can he not keep his mouth shut until the season is over? I appreciate the physical assets he brings to the game, but he’s not bringing the mental assets to the games this season the way he did a year ago. He definitely has taken a step back this season. Too bad we can’t get the 30 million pounds we were offered last summer for him.

Robin van Persie has had a great season and until March he had been pretty much injury free. Will he sign a new contract? Maybe. I hope he does. Nicklas Bendtner is still a raw product, but he shows signs of great things to come. He needs to be more clinical in front of goal, his first touch could be a little better, but he doesn’t lack confidence and he plays with energy (something Adebayor doesn’t always do). Eduardo never really contributed this season, constantly picking up small injuries which hampered his return. If he can overcome this he could be effective next season. He does have the honour of scoring the most outrageous goal of the season though. Carlos Vela is young, goes to ground a little too easily, but he oozes skill and could become a star. Jay Simpson will return from West Brom and may stick around next season. He works hard and has a good attitude.

So there we have it. I believe Gallas, Eboue, Senderos, Diaby, and Adebayor will probably be on the way out. Silvestre could be out as well, but Wenger probably wants him to mentor some of the younger players. Tomas Rosicky will be interesting to watch. If Arsenal believe he won’t last a season they’ll probably send him packing as well. Who Wenger will buy, nobody knows, but next year Andrei Arshavin could be a big factor if the Gunners are to contest for the Premier League.

Every summer it seems that yet another star, a great player – be it our leading marksman or the steel of our midfield – that, thanks to Wenger, has grown into an icon for the club with a worldwide reputation of quality to go with that, leaves the club for what most of the departures describe as “a new challenge”. A new challenge where they get paid more. It’s become an annual tradition – a habit, if you will. If you asked me why it keeps occuring I couldn’t tell you, I will probably remain dazzled every time another one walks out the door, leaving some of us frustrated and angry while the rest of us (I’d categorize myself into this next category) are left with every fibre of our bodies heavily confused. Haven’t they ever heard of the Arsenal Curse? There might be more categories, but over-simplifying things is an underestimated tool, one I like to use to its’ full extent. For example: Arsenal – Good, Others – Bad. See, it has advantages. It reduces the need of thinking.

Fading need of using my brain aside, in the recent and not too distant years we Arsenal fans have had to deal with parting from once beloved and adored heroes such as Henry, Vieira, Anelka, Pires, Wright and more. Now they might have had their own reasons for leaving – I’m not writing this to air out the anger, sense of betrayal and frustration that I’ve grudgingly kept inside myself all these years that the players mentioned above have inflicted on me, I’m writing this to praise what we have left. Not because of the fact that they’re still here – the best possible indicator of loyalty there is, but because of how they got here and what it means for our future.

Wenger might have upset a Gunner or two with his quaint way of bringing players in during the various transfer windows, or perhaps his lack of bringing players in is a more accurate description. It’s an opinion that is quite commonly shared all over the world, even a few Gooners adhere to that myth which, unfortunately, leads to them complaining about it on the internet – probably the least successful way of dealing with the problem imaginable, not just because it has the potential to provoke a chain reaction of discontent and, sometimes, hostility towards Wenger (which is the last thing we need, trust me) but also because it’s extremely annoying to read.

But, if it’s true that “he never brings any players in, and when he does, there’s too few of them”, then my question, my dear doubters, is this: how can we still be where we are, playing the football that we do? The answer to that is in fact the very same method and philosophy that so many, not only the Arsenal fans, criticise every year.

When Vieira left Wenger ended up buying no one. Instead he promoted the young Fabregas who was eagerly waiting in the ranks, aching to prove his worth. When Henry left many were crying out in desperation for a replacement, but Wenger ended up buying no one – I didn’t count Eduardo, seeing as the only replacement worthy of mentioning would be another player of the same stature as the one who left, and while I don’t intend on having a go at the Croatian league, it’s hardly the kind of place Henry’s immediate successor would ply his trade in. Instead Adebayor, bought for less than my younger brother’s weekly allowance (who is only 11, by the way), stepped up and scored more than anyone ever expected. Apart from Wenger, that is. This year Flamini and Gilberto (and Diarra, kind of) left a hole in the centre of midfield and no one has been brought in to cover up.

But that’s not completely true. On 31 August 2006, Denílson joined Arsenal for a fee of £3.4 million. It sure seems to me that Denilson is doing exactly what Fabregas and Adebayor managed before him; taking over after a prominent predecessor without the need for Wenger to splash the cash. Against Blackburn at Ewood Park Denilson actually out-shined Fabregas throughout the game. Now, Fabregas was actually playing like a normal, mortal human being back then instead of in the scintillating way us Gooners have grown custom to,  but still an impressive performance from our Brazilian nonetheless. While watching the game I noted that the Denilson-Fabregas partnership worked in exactly the same way that Flamini-Fabregas did. They covered up for eachother and “took turns” going forward, with the emphatic scoreline 0-4 being all the proof of it’s success anyone could ever ask for.

So that’s pretty much what Wenger does. He buys young, he buys cheap and he buys people with bags of potential so when yet another one leaves us for pastures anew we’ll be fully set and prepared for yet another teenage sensation to step it up and dazzle us in ways that should be illegal.

The next time an important mainstay departs I’ll be worried if Wenger buys big, because that, above all, will be a signal that he abandoned his successful methods and that should worry you far more than the actual loss of an important player. I’ll be all smiles he if buys no one, promotes someone from within and buys another promising youngster if Fabregas ever leaves. Pretty much like saying ciao to Flamini, send him off to sunny Italy, where referee’s are for sale and women have chest hair, promoting Denilson from within and buying Ramsey. This will not disrupt the harmony of the squad and it will make sure that the club avoids the lure of spending astronomical sums of money for players that will never produce performances to match the inflated price tag. Buying like some of the supporters are asking Wenger to do will take us to the same path that Manchester United and Chelsea are currently walking, inevitably ending up in an abyss of doom and forced demotion. Watching a young player come to the club, develop and then break through into the first team is one of the high-points of my life – it’s also why I find the Carling Cup the most exciting of all competitions to watch. It’s also the reason why we’ll always be at the top while making profit. Our cheap way of persistent succession will be remembered for eternity. Buying players for £20+ million will not have the same effect and, most importantly, it will not by a long shot guarantee success in any way.

Our fellow title-contenders (and Liverpool too) really should adopt the same method to avoid bankruptcy. Imagine another top team using the same methods.

If Torres goes – who will be there for them if they don’t spend? N’Gog? You’re having a laugh. It would be impossible for Liverpool, Chelsea and Man U to keep the same level of quality within their starting lineup without spending as soon as an important player leaves. C.Ronaldo is United’s most important player and Fabregas is ours – who will be most equipped to deal with the loss of their star performer? I have no difficulties seeing Denilson keeping the same level he did against Blackburn, but I can never see Nani scoring more than 10 goals per season. And then Nani cost around £20 million.

The future is bright, the future is Arsenal. When our rivals will be forced to sell all their highly rated players we will still be here, running circles around our opponents and scoring brilliantly constructed aesthetic goals for fun.

As we told you several days ago, Stephen Appiah will not be moving to the Emirates Stadium, after Gunners boss Arsene Wenger revealed he is “not on the case” of the Ghananian skipper.

Appiah, 27,  was linked with a whole host of Premier League clubs mainly because he is available outside the transfer window having been released by Fenerbahce prior to the end of August.

Wenger confirmed to the British press earlier this afternoon that he has no interest in bringing Appiah to the club.

“No, we are not on the case,” Wenger told a press conference on Thursday.

Since the departure of Mathieu Flamini and Gilberto Silva, Arsenal have yet to have made moves in the transfer market to replace either; apart from signing youngster Amaury Bischoff.

The Accra-born star would of added plenty of experience to Wenger’s thin squad; but the Frenchman has already confirmed that he is to stick with what he’s got – at least until January, that is.

According to reports, Arsenal are keeping tabs on Ghana midfielder Stephen Appiah.

It was reported that West Ham had also made an offer for the former Fenerbahce midfielder, but Arsene Wenger could also be on the look out for the experienced stalwart.

Appiah is one of the most highly regarded midfielders in Africa and has been named in his country’s national squad for the first time in nearly a year.

Since the departure of Mathieu Flamini and Gilberto Silva, Arsenal have yet to have made moves in the transfer market to replace either; apart from signing youngster Amaury Bischoff.

The 27-year-old Accra-born star would add plenty of experience to his squad; and his signing on a free transfer would be outside of the transfer window.

In other news, Cardiff have denied reports that suggested they tried to lure Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey back to Ninian Park on loan.

Reports on Tuesday indicated the Bluebirds made contact with Arsenal to check whether they could have the 17-year-old – who only moved to the Emirates for £5million in the summer – back on a short-term loan deal.

But Cardiff chairman Peter Ridsdale revealed to the BBC:

“No approach has been made.”

Boss Dave Jones is on the lookout for a new midfielder after losing Riccardo Scimeca for at least two months with ankle ligament damage but Ramsey was seemingly not an option.

Arsenal are reportedly closing in on the signing of Saint Etienne’s deep-lying playmaker Blaise Matuidi according to Sky Sports News.

Gunners boss Arsene Wenger has been linked with a number of midfielder’s this summer since declaring that he was looking to bring one quality player in midfield to the Emirates Stadium earlier this summer.

Liverpool’s Xabi Alonso, along with Everton targets Jonathan De Guzman and Stephane Mbia have all been reportedly targets for Wenger, who has lost key midfielder’s Mathieu Flamini, Gilberto Silva and Alexander Hleb during this transfer window.

Arsenal’s French-based scout Gilles Grimandi has seen the Matuidi in action for Les Verts and Arsene Wenger is also a known admirer of the Tolouse-born star.

However, it has now emerged that it is 21-year-old Matuidi that is set to join the Gunners, with it not known how advanced talks are between St Etienne and Arsenal.

French Under-21 International Matuidi joined Etienne from Troyes last summer, making 36 appearances for the Ligue 1 team last season and is one of France’s most sought-after prospects.

There are myriad annual sporting events: Wimbledon, The Six Nations, The British Open Championships and of course the Barclays Premier League. Internally, The Premier League has it’s own idiosyncratic, yearly occurrences and every Arsenal fan’s personal favourite is the Gunners 4th place prediction.

I am yet to read an article in any newspaper or non-opinionated website that realistically uses last season’s facts upon which to base their oh-so-well-argued predictions. The bulk of football pundits forecast a two-horse race for this season, which I can forgive them for. However the colossal dissatisfaction for Gooners occurs when Liverpool are prophesied to appear one place above Arsenal by the Oracles of the sport. The surprising aspect of this season’s predictions is that the pundits’ bubble of pseudo-infallibility was so violently burst by Arsenal last season. Why the press are yet to acknowledge Wenger and co.’s loud warning shot from last season is anybody’s guess. But I have set out to question the status quo that has developed within the inner-circles of sports journalism.

“Exodus” has to be the most used word of Arsenal’s pre-season. Some hyperbole was to be expected after the transfers of Flamini and Hleb were tediously drawn out, but the using the term “Exodus” to describe what happened at the Emirates is bordering on blasphemy. Flamini leaving is a loss, there is no use in arguing otherwise and a new defensive midfielder needs to be signed post-haste (Gokhan who?). Hleb however is not a large blow, he was – dare I say it – overrated. In 109 appearances for Arsenal, Hleb scored 11 goals and provided 9 assists, no wonder Wenger was “comfortable” with his departure. There has also been a direct replacement in the form of the Marseille man, Samir Nasri. Nasri is an archetypal Wenger signing. At Marseille the 21 year-old played on 102 occasions in which he hit the back of the net 13 times and assisted his teammates 17 times. You do the math(s).

A player often referenced to in Arsenal’s 4th place predictions is Gilberto Silva. No Arsenal fan can ever forget Gilberto and the way in which he played for Arsenal with true pride. He was an integral part of The Invincibles and a true gentleman of the sport, but, as callous as it sounds, he had peaked. Flamini was clearly superior and the Brazilian’s overall form had dropped slightly which is all its takes for Wenger to deny you that first team spot. The press has overstated the significance of his move to Panathinaikos, he was not a viable long-term solution to the defensive-midfield dilemma and a quick glance at the name of his new club is testament to Wenger’s decision to let him go.

All too often it is forgotten that 4 of Arsenal’s starting 11 were also in the PFA Team of the Year and I hasten to add that all 4 of those players (Sagna, Clichy, Fabregas and Adebayor) are still with us.

Jose Mourinho and the rest of the UK’s press would have you believe that Liverpool are better than Arsenal and will therefore come 3rd this season at the expense of Arsenal. Never has such a claim been so unfounded. In the past 5 Premier League seasons Arsenal have come 4th twice, in 05/06 Arsenal’s form in the league was way below-par and some dodgy food spared us the embarrassment of 5th place. In the 06/07 season Arsenal were 4th on goal difference, effectively joint 3rd. Thus there is no real justification for Liverpool being put up on the 3rd place pedestal. The most recent evidence suggests that Liverpool were fighting more with Everton for 4th place rather than with Arsenal for 3rd until the Toffees went slightly off the boil. Liverpool are an overrated team far too reliant on both Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrad who ride their luck like it was their own personal pony (see Standard Liege ball crossing the line) These optimistic predictions merely get their fans’ hopes up, until the league titles escapes them by Christmas, again.

The hugely hyped up strike force of Robbie “Rip-Off” Keane and Fernando Torres failed to score against the Belgian champions, now lets see them have a pop at scoring away at Aston Villa. You’d expect that journalists would be the people realistic/cynical enough to see that Liverpool are still lacking in major positions. Not only are they in an obscene amount of debt (that would have increased by £18m had Barry arrived at the club), but also Rafa Benitez is a strong favourite for winning this decade’s “Worst Manager on the Transfer Market” award.

The wall of hype around Liverpool is completely unprecedented and hopefully will soon come crashing down. Last year the write-off actually helped as Arsenal had next-to-no pressure on them, fans have even grown accustomed to the annual write-off, so maybe the factual imbalance by the predictors works in the club’s favour. As Wenger acknowledges, “The speculation is always against us. It was against us last season and it will be against us again this year.” Hey, maybe the Annual Arsenal Write-Off has become a great English tradition, and we all know how sensitive we can be when it comes to tradition.

In other non-rant related news, Arsenal secured a vital 2-0 win over Steve McClaren’s new outfit, FC Twente, with a performance uglier than Quasimodo first thing Monday morning. With a frustrating number of players injured for the game, the first hour of the match featured too many heart-in-mouth moments for most Gooners’ liking. There was a distinct feeling that a solitary goal would kill off Twente’s spirited challenge and Gallas’ scrappy goal was enough before the Walcott-to-Adebayor-to-goal process that we all know and love, killed the game off.

Despite being a win of monumental importance (in terms of finance and footballing status) the match showed that Arsenal can (and hopefully will) grind out the required results. McClaren felt hard done by and looked disenchanted in his post-match interview. It’s that feeling I want the managers of teams we play to have more often, instead of praising his side for salvaging a point from the game. The team needs to come out on top after being second best in matches and seize victory from the brink of defeat (or draw). Not only does it bank 3 priceless points but it sends out a strong psychological message: “You may play better than us, but we will still find a way to beat you.” That’s the mentality that Arsenal need and that Manchester United already have, and something that they use much to their advantage (see Man U 2-1 Arsenal, 13/04/08). Wenger has honed in on this mental issue and hopefully, like we saw against Twente, Arsenal will be able to churn out more wins through sheer hard graft.