Finally, A Settled Side
Though Chelsea are still attempting some stupid bite at Gallas in response to his comment that Mourinho has mistreated him. Well.. Victor Predictor said it well that if everything said about Gallas was true, why then were Chelsea trying so hard to keep Gallas? If Buffon says that he will deliberately concede goal unless he is sold, I am sure Juve will be more than happy to sell him the first day they are allowed to do so.
Also, Gallas is a France international and he knows well that scoring an own goal is never good for his reputation. When you consider every player wanted to do their best to earn their place in World Cup, there was no way Gallas would attempt such stupid thing last season. I am not saying that Gallas is the most loyal servant around but I believe Chelsea were not saying the exact truth there. Not that they should say anything to begin with.
I'm still waiting for Mourinho to come up with his arrogant comment though. It just isn't complete without a quote for him.
That aside, we are now having a settled camp fully focused on the new season, hopefully.
Defenders
Assuming that Gallas is genuinely happy to play for us, we now have the kind of centreback partnership that I always yearn for. Two quick and strong centrebacks with authority. They may need time to understand each other but the moment they adapt, they will be our rock.
I am not forgetting Djorou whom I rate above Senderos. In three years time, Senderos may grow into a superb defender but at the moment, the big Swiss is still not completely ready. Gallas will not harm his progress. Gallas is an experienced world class player who will help our young defenders to progress. They only need to be patient.
I reckon Wenger will still look for a quality left back as Clichy is injury prone and apart from him, we do not have a natural player in that position. Djorou should be able to play in that position though. Flamini too has proven that he is reliable. This guy seems to be happy to play anywhere; precious soldier indeed. Eboue needs polishing but he has the potential.
Farewell Cygan. I am sorry for all the criticism from me and many other fans. You are definitely a professional and humble player who was genuinely proud to play for Arsenal.
Attackers
I wanted to separate midfielders from strikers but it seems that they affect each other.
Many seem to worry about Adebayor and van Persie now that Wenger has brought in Baptista who, according to le boss, will be playing as half striker or attacking midfielder. Surely Gilberto's coverage is essential in our attacking play and Cesc is the conductor. Baptista has shown that despite the claim that he is versatile to play anywhere, he is not too effective playing as winger. Therefore, it seems logical that Baptista's presence will only affect Adebayor, van Persie and probably Aliadiere.
I disagree though.
I think Baptista is a wild card who gives Wenger more option in his tactical approach. There are times when teams are just staying in their own half and this is the time where we could afford to take Gilberto out and send Baptista in to cause some damage from the midfield.
There are times when the priority is to avoid conceeding. We could play 4-5-1 with Cesc-Gilberto-Baptista in the centre midfield. Baptista's physical presence will give Cesc more protection and take away some attention from the Spaniard.
I think Wenger knows that van Persie is a very special player. He will have his chance this season. He needs to improve his teamwork though.
Hleb still struggles to find consistency but I think he will recapture his previous season's form in few weeks time.
Now Rosicky is a tricky one. I still believe that he is much much better playing in the centre midfield, Fabregas role. I know almost all Arsenal fans (apart from Anti probably) will not want to see Cesc's place challenged by anyone else. If Wenger were to bid for Kaka, probably most Arsenal fans would ask 'What will happen to Cesc?'. Yes.. we love him that much.
But Rosicky is a very good player and he deserves his chance to play in his best position. Sometimes Cesc does not play well and that is the time Wenger should try to move Rosicky to the centre midfield and allow him to impose himself there. Rosicky is not at his best playing wide. Don't we have Walcott and Ljungberg to play left wing?
It seems that we suddenly run out of winger this time around.
Conclusion
I have not talked about Lehmann, Almunia, Lauren, etc. I think they will have no issue. Denilson get no.15 and I wonder if he will follow the previous no.15's path to become a revelation this season.
All in all, this season will not be less exciting. We are theoritically much stronger this time around. We have adapted to the lost of Vieira, we have young talents who have matured significantly, and we have some top addition to the squad.
Bring on Boro!
Also, Gallas is a France international and he knows well that scoring an own goal is never good for his reputation. When you consider every player wanted to do their best to earn their place in World Cup, there was no way Gallas would attempt such stupid thing last season. I am not saying that Gallas is the most loyal servant around but I believe Chelsea were not saying the exact truth there. Not that they should say anything to begin with.
I'm still waiting for Mourinho to come up with his arrogant comment though. It just isn't complete without a quote for him.
That aside, we are now having a settled camp fully focused on the new season, hopefully.
Defenders
Assuming that Gallas is genuinely happy to play for us, we now have the kind of centreback partnership that I always yearn for. Two quick and strong centrebacks with authority. They may need time to understand each other but the moment they adapt, they will be our rock.
I am not forgetting Djorou whom I rate above Senderos. In three years time, Senderos may grow into a superb defender but at the moment, the big Swiss is still not completely ready. Gallas will not harm his progress. Gallas is an experienced world class player who will help our young defenders to progress. They only need to be patient.
I reckon Wenger will still look for a quality left back as Clichy is injury prone and apart from him, we do not have a natural player in that position. Djorou should be able to play in that position though. Flamini too has proven that he is reliable. This guy seems to be happy to play anywhere; precious soldier indeed. Eboue needs polishing but he has the potential.
Farewell Cygan. I am sorry for all the criticism from me and many other fans. You are definitely a professional and humble player who was genuinely proud to play for Arsenal.
Attackers
I wanted to separate midfielders from strikers but it seems that they affect each other.
Many seem to worry about Adebayor and van Persie now that Wenger has brought in Baptista who, according to le boss, will be playing as half striker or attacking midfielder. Surely Gilberto's coverage is essential in our attacking play and Cesc is the conductor. Baptista has shown that despite the claim that he is versatile to play anywhere, he is not too effective playing as winger. Therefore, it seems logical that Baptista's presence will only affect Adebayor, van Persie and probably Aliadiere.
I disagree though.
I think Baptista is a wild card who gives Wenger more option in his tactical approach. There are times when teams are just staying in their own half and this is the time where we could afford to take Gilberto out and send Baptista in to cause some damage from the midfield.
There are times when the priority is to avoid conceeding. We could play 4-5-1 with Cesc-Gilberto-Baptista in the centre midfield. Baptista's physical presence will give Cesc more protection and take away some attention from the Spaniard.
I think Wenger knows that van Persie is a very special player. He will have his chance this season. He needs to improve his teamwork though.
Hleb still struggles to find consistency but I think he will recapture his previous season's form in few weeks time.
Now Rosicky is a tricky one. I still believe that he is much much better playing in the centre midfield, Fabregas role. I know almost all Arsenal fans (apart from Anti probably) will not want to see Cesc's place challenged by anyone else. If Wenger were to bid for Kaka, probably most Arsenal fans would ask 'What will happen to Cesc?'. Yes.. we love him that much.
But Rosicky is a very good player and he deserves his chance to play in his best position. Sometimes Cesc does not play well and that is the time Wenger should try to move Rosicky to the centre midfield and allow him to impose himself there. Rosicky is not at his best playing wide. Don't we have Walcott and Ljungberg to play left wing?
It seems that we suddenly run out of winger this time around.
Conclusion
I have not talked about Lehmann, Almunia, Lauren, etc. I think they will have no issue. Denilson get no.15 and I wonder if he will follow the previous no.15's path to become a revelation this season.
All in all, this season will not be less exciting. We are theoritically much stronger this time around. We have adapted to the lost of Vieira, we have young talents who have matured significantly, and we have some top addition to the squad.
Bring on Boro!
posted by phoenix chix at 4:59 PM
3 Comments:
hey dude. nice article. i especially like the fact about your view on gallas and buffon.
as for wingers, i kinda thought that we have an abundance of them. besides the faithful & trusted ljungberg, we also have helb, walcott and rosicky. yes, i think rosicky should be played there. he can cut in anytime and offer that additional option. moreover, we still have v.persie who played right flank for holland. but i really doubt wenger will play him there.
anyway, it's a good read today. cheers!
Thanks =)
Hmm.. good point. v Persie can play right or left flank if he needs to. So we have Ljungberg, Hleb, Rosicky, Walcott, and van Persie to cover two positions.
Well I actually think that we need some traditional wingers to give us more width in our play. Now that we got Baptista and Adebayor who could actually head the ball, crosses can be useful.
In any case, let's wait and see how Wenger play his cards against Boro. Gonna be exciting!
wa..like reading a John Dykes leh..
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