I've been thinking about the strength of our squad and how they have coped with the injuries we have had, who has taken there chance, who hasn't, who we currently feel confident in etc... When everyone is fit I think our first team, or the players who are most likely to be picked as our first team is: -------------------Cech------------------- Bellerin---Mert------Kosc----Monreal ---------Coquelin----Cazorla--------- Walcott/Ramsey--Ozil----Sanchez ----------------Giroud/Walcott---------- Then you have the group of players who have either shown they can do a good job when in the first team and the players who Wenger wants to give game time to: Gibbs, Gabriel, Chambers, Campbell, Wilshere, Welbeck, Oxocube (in this group based on me thinking Wenger has faith he will come good if he gets game time rather than me thinking he deserves it currently on merit!) And then there are the squad fillers: Ospina, Debuchy, Flamini (tries hard and has done a job but isn't of the required level), Arteta, Rosicky (in this group due to his age and injury issues) And a few youth players who can potentially fill in, Iwobi has looked decent for example but who knows which players are actually at a point they could step in if called upon regularly. Obviously we have had some players out with long term injuries and others out for various lengths of time but we have dealt with it reasonably well so far given we still sit top of the table and remain in the CL and FA Cup so far. And now we supposedly (though I'm never entirely convinced until I see them back on the pitch) have several players returning from injury soon. If I've got it right Welbeck, Coquelin, Rosicky, Sanchez and Ozil should all be returning from injury in the near future. Wilshere some time mid February, with Cazorla back in March? Not sure, think that's the last I heard. So we should have an almost completely fit squad ready for the business end of the season (though im sure we will pick up some new injuries along the way!). We have also added El Neny to the squad which adds another alternative in midfield to Flamini/Arteta which can only be a good thing. Where do you see weakness still in our squad? Who has stepped up that your confident in and who don't you want to see near the team? If you could still add one player to the squad in January what position would it be and do you have any ideas of a player that would be a realistic possibility? I'd like us to add another DM, preferably one with a physical presence though I'd also take a tidy DM with a good passing range, but I'd like a long term option rather than a stop gap so don't mind waiting for the summer to get the right player as I think we just about have the cover for this spot and Coquelin will be back in the team soon. With Arteta/Flamini/Rosicky all nearing the end of there playing careers with us adding El Neny still leaves us short after this season. Other than that a striker maybe but Giroud is on form and Walcott when played down the middle has looked good. Between them when Walcott didn't have to be shifted out wide they seemed to have a healthy competition going on for the striker spot which had them both playing really well, if we recapture that for the second half of the season with our squad fit and more wide options, I'd be happy with our forward options. I do think we could potentially fit another striker into the squad though given the injury issues with our squad. I don't know that many top strikers are available during this window and I wouldn't want a second rate striker who then stops us signing someone better in the summer. That's the problem with the January transfer window, the availability of the top targets isn't always good so it's sometimes a case of going for a gamble or sticking with what you've got. Maybe we can sort a loan signing to give extra cover up top? I've got no idea on individual players that are actually available to sign who fit those two positions though. Thoughts? What would you do? What are your expectations for the rest of the transfer window?
That turned into slightly more of a wall of text than I had meant it to be lol, could probably have been a little bit more succinct
1. For me, it remains to be seen whether our defensive midfield will be solidified with the acquisition of Elneny. Whilst he has looked good in some Europa games/YouTube clips we've seen of him, none of us know whether he is what we need or whether he will be good enough to slot into the team straight away. £5m is cheap, but would it not have been better to try and go for someone with more experience in a tougher league, instead of an unknown entity? I have my reservations about the heart of our midfield. I also have reservations about our strike-force. Giroud has done pretty well so far, but I don't expect him to keep this form up because he never does. Besides, he will be 30 this year and we need to start thinking about who will replace him. Welbeck, for me, will never be ruthless enough in front of goal, so up front is certainly an area where we need to look at strengthening. Also, although Mertesacker has had a good season so far, he is too slow with the ball at his feet. If we want to zip the ball around quicker when we play it out from the back and keep the opposition on their toes throughout, Mertesacker isn't the man. He takes too many touches and when he realises that he can't carry the ball forward, he will pass it back to Cech to lump it up the pitch. If we want to improve the quality of our football, we need a centre-half that is lighter on their feet. Perhaps Gabriel should be starting more. Finally, right-back may be a slight concern for us. Debuchy looks to have burned his bridges with Wenger and is set on leaving, but who would be the back-up for Bellerin? Contrary to where he was deployed at Southampton, Chambers isn't a fullback and the last time he played in that position, he got absolutely roasted by Jefferson Montero. Bellerin can't play every game from now until the end of the season. 2. Joel Campbell has been growing on me the more I see him play. He performed very well at Anfield and was our most positive player against Stoke. That being said, he needs to get into more goalscoring positions. He has a fantastic work-rate, decent acceleration, nimble feet and can play an exquisite through ball, but I'd like to see him position himself better in the opposition box. We all know the type of finishes he's capable of and I'd like to see him show it more in an Arsenal shirt. 3. Flamini and Arteta are both players who I'd prefer not to see near the Arsenal team again. They both have a very good attitude and will always work their socks off, but age is clearly catching up with both of them. They're not reliable, don't do the job we need them to do and we need more dynamic players to replace them.
In an ideal world, I'd like us to bring Jenkinson back from West Ham and buy a centre-forward. I still maintain that Aubameyang would be perfect for us, despite the £40m-50m price tag. Imagine a front 4 of Aubameyang, Sanchez, Ozil and Walcott. The speed would strike fear into the best of teams. Unfortunately, it looks like a pipe dream.
It's fine, I could only be bothered to read the first two paragraphs In all seriousness, on the midfield issue in particular we will be losing Flamini, Arteta and Rosicky in the summer, so I think a MF player will definitely be on Wenger's radar. He said recently that he's going to assess Elneny to see if he's more of a DM or a box to box player, that will determine who we go for in the summer, but with Cazorla getting on and Wilshere looking like injuries might get the better of him, then I think we should be looking at a player like Isco and possibly an out and out DM. Up front, Aubameyang would be perfect for us, quick, mobile, skilful, and a great finisher. As mentioned it would be a lethal front three and with a midfield reinforcement, we'd pretty much have the team that we've all been asking for. On a side note, I was listening to 5 Live the other night and an Arsenal fan phoned in to say that Mertesacker was a liability and should be replaced. What do people think ? Personally, whilst I think he's slow, his positional sense and interception skills make up for it, but do we need another CB too ?
Glad it was the same for you as it was for me.... You know when you're reading along and then you start to black out .....
Oh maaan that'd be nice. I'm not too worried about the core of our team as I think our view is skewed by the sheer volume of injuries we have. Coquelin and Santi together with Özil in front of them has shown how effective it can be. Realistically Ramsey, Wilshere and Elneny will be our central back ups which don't look like bad options to me (jury out on Elneny obviously). The problem is the reliability of Jack and how good Mo will be. If Mo turns out to be a Boss DM then hoo-ray, problems solved. If he's guff then we need some proper DM cover. Likewise I think in Wilshere we have a brilliant attacking option...when healthy. Do we get someone in who isn't constantly broken or is it unrealistic to think someone of the quality needed would be willing to play second fiddle to Mesut? For me, a striker of real quality should be our priority (who doesn't say this?!). As Brunel says bring back the Corporal as he'll be adequate backup for Bellerin and as AFCW says I'd wait until summer regarding the DM role. I think we have to give Elneny a a chance to show his worth. At some point we'll need to address CB but in some ways that's a trickier position to fill than strikers are. We're not in horrific shape squad-wise, we've just be shafted badly by injuries to key players.
Yeah, I touched on this in my post above. Mertesacker is a very solid player and his reading of the game is excellent, but he is too cumbersome. He slows our play down too often and takes too many touches on the ball. It's also harder for us to play a higher line and push further up the pitch because we will always be concerned about being vulnerable on the counter, exposing his lack of pace. It also means our midfield and attack have to drop a few yards deeper. My opinion is that we should get another centre-back, preferably a centre-back that is fast and has good distribution of the ball, but I understand why people may disagree. But crucially, a lot depends on what's happening with Chambers because I'm still not sure what role he's going to play in our team and I think Wenger isn't sure either. Is he going to be a defensive midfielder? Does Wenger want to mould him into a centre-half? Does Wenger want him to be adaptable and perform both roles as a useful squad player? Until we figure this out, there's always going to be uncertainty around his future and the future of our defence.
Ozil needs a back up and i think Jack should be his understudy, and given that he is normally only available for at most 25 games a season, that would give Ozil a rest in some games. if Elneny can be the DM back up for Coq then that solves the problem we all have had, as Coq can be rested, and we can sometimes play both of them ! we have sufficient midfield quality in Rambo/ox/campbell/Theo to rotate/rest Sanchez and then use the same [except Theo] to rest Cazorla. we have sufficient cover at FB in Nachoman/Gibbs and Bellerin/Jenkinson [bring him back asap]. we have Merts & Kos and Gabriel and Chambers to cover - i would expect a Merts replacement next season. up front we have Theo and la Big Unit. they have done well, and with Welbeck coming back gives us another option. i would love a £40m striker to add to these as that would be the finishing touch. i see that Pep G has updated his statement to say that he will come to PL at end of next season and not this summer. which long standing french PL manager has a contract to the end of next season ?
I saw this the other day too. He's been a long time admirer of Arsenal and he'd be a perfect fit when Wenger finally hangs up his broken zippered jacket.
I can not see anyway pep is going to come to us. The way we are run is all about long term stability, particularly linked to the way we operate financially. Pep is known to only stay at clubs for a short amount of time before moving on and has only managed two clubs - both easily with the biggest financial resources and playing squad in the league (barca rivalled by real of course). I think that guardiola would do amazing things with our style of play, tactics and our stature as a club, but I'm not sure he is the right man (or that he would be willing) to build our side into the truly dominant European force by developing our youngsters and shrewd signings around a few stellar signings a year.
Well Van Gaal, Pellegrini and Wenger all have contracts that run until 2017 so if Guardiola was going to take over at any of Arsenal, Utd or City he may have to wait until then. I don't think he is interested in the Chelsea job and with his comments that he may wait another year before managing in England it is likely the club he is going to doesn't want to be seen as disrespectful to there manager, which again I think could fit any of the three clubs. I can't see Utd wanting to sack Van Gaal given that he was handed a contract to stabilise the club and after Moyes they don't want to be seen as faffing around with manager changes, he retires at the end of his contract and unless he fails to get top four I think they will let him see out his contract. Arsenal would never remove Wenger and he will always see out his contract so he won't be going anywhere in the summer. And City seem to want to be seen as doing things the right way, they've stuck by managers far more than Chelsea for example and Pellegrini is an old, respected name who has been a success for them so I don't see them getting rid of him either.
I do think Arsenal suites Pep far better than either of the Manchester Clubs. The Club could be smart get him in and use this time to educate and train up our next manager. If - we already have this person in place as a coach. Then I could see Pep coming to Arsenal for a few years. That way he works with Wenger/ then works with Pep and should be in a good position to take over.
Pep's best destination would be Arsenal for many different reasons, but the best reason for me would be to create a long lasting legacy that Wenger and Fergie have accomplished. But whether that will happen is another thing, but someone will have to take over sooner or later from Wenger as he isn't getting any younger.
