I am finding it really hard to decide whether: 1. We had a slight "gap" in talent and have now made that up because some players have stepped up. 2. This is a false dawn with a few lucky results. 3. We still need a lot of new players because an entire wave of players from our youth system were not as good as the club thought they were. 4. We are being beaten only because a couple of teams have just condensed all the best talent in the league, by throwing money around. 5. We are one or two players away from being invincible again. Just add one or two players and they will click. 6. Our whole system and financial model is doomed to failure. It cannot possibly work. We need to risk the club, to win anything. You can't win anything investing conservatively. The answer (I fear) is a complex blend of all those things and it will take a smarter man than I am to figure out how much of each is true.
I fluctuate between most of these on a ten minute basis. The Podolski story has yet again mugged me into temporarily thinking all will be well again with the world. Fool me once shame on Arsenal, fool me 18 times shame on me...
Same here. It's too early to tell what the situation is. If we keep RVP, along with Poldi a top class midfield signing would really give us a shot in the arm. Our defensive problems are a bit of a mystery to me, the personnel is pretty good I think with plenty of cover; don't really know what's wrong there. Lack of midfield protection? Our attacking play isn't as efficient as it should be so the goals we've conceded hurt more than they should? Fully fit we have 3 very good CMs,( Kos, Verm and Mert) with potentially another one (Miquel) and an OK one (Djourou), and 4 very capable wing backs, Sagna and Santos the standout ones for me with Jenks and Gibbs very decent cover. I hope that bringing in some winners and shipping out some losers will create a stronger team work ethic and we'll once again make an impact on the league.
Fair play but even by your standards our first choice back four is strong. I think Santos was really beginning to show some form before he got injured. Having said that if we signed Van der Wiel and Vertonghen I wouldn't be distraught
I think we are 3 players short from having a great first team. I also think that we had a massive gap in talent that has been bridged but not completely. Podolski is one piece of the puzzle, I think an AM and DM (if we must play with a DM) are missing and I'd still say a beast of a CB, we are too easily breached. If I put my honest hat on, we aren't too far away from being challengers, we never have been - I've just been upset that our season started the way it did, it could've been avoided - and I would be on PISKIE's side of arguments
Our problem has always been defensive organisation. When Wenger came in he inherited a great defensive line that had impeccable organisation at the back. Wenger's system depends on controlling the game through possessional play and high paced collective closing down. Pretty much what Barcelona does. The main thing that Pep has instilled into all the Barcelona players is a high work ethic and a collective defending ethos. This is what makes playing Barcelona so difficult and intense for many. Even without the ball they just harry you to errors. Arsenal are too inconsistent when it comes to this and tend to switch off during games. A case in point is players like Arshavin not covering Gibbs when he's out of position, or when too many of our central midfielders advance and leave gaps. Where is our DM? Why is there a no one covering our back 4? Unless this changes we will continue to make mistakes that's why we need a freshening up of the management, someone who can whip our boys into better shape and organisation!
