Arseblog, the arsenal blog
8:12 am May 22, 2013 posted by arseblog - 140 arses

Squad assessment in 140 characters or less (ish)

Squad assessment in 140 characters or less (ish)

This time last year I spent a couple of days doing squad assessment posts, taking look at each player and giving them a grade.

We’ve been doing end of season ratings over on Arseblog News, but I thought, in order not to drag it out, we could Twitterfy the assessments this year and keep them below 140 characters each (mostly). Starting with:

GOALKEEPERS

Wojciech Szczeseny: Not outrageously bad but became a bit complacent, got dropped for Fabianski and came back more more focused. Can, and must, do better. C

Lukasz Fabianski: Came in from the cold after a year out injured, played well, got injured again. Gets a B on performances alone.

Vito Mannone: Had early season chances when Szczesny’s ankle was bollixed, did ok, but never enough to convince he’s got a long-term future. C-

DEFENDERS

Bacary Sagna: Struggled in what could be his final season with us. The impact of two broken legs hard to ignore. Loved that Sunderland display though C-.

Carl Jenkinson: Much improved, signed a new deal, now nearly as famous as his dad. C+.

Per Mertesacker: Solid, reliable, consistent, like an experienced pack mule. You try moving stuff up mountains without a mule. B+

Laurent Koscielny: Had some early season wobbles and was obviously hypnotised by Pulis when making the rugby tackle against Man City. Stormed back like a hero. B+

Thomas Vermaelen: It just never happened for the captain, his form was wayward, he gave away penalties and assists and found himself benched for the run-in. D

Sebastian Squillaci: *unfollowed* – Z

Johan Djourou: Played just twice before being shipped off to the Bundesliga to present a range of shows on ‘Die Shopping-Kanal’. N/G.

Kieran Gibbs: It’d fair to say he’s made progress this season. Still a bit brittle but left back looks healthy with the competition between him and Nacho. C+

Nacho Monreal: From Malaga to London in January. That is a change and a half but he coped well enough and hopefully we’ll see the best of him next season. C.

Andre Santos: #wtf :-( [instagram pic of some poo] – D-

MIDFIELD

Mikel Arteta: His consistency is amazing, faded towards the end of the season, but relished the responsibility and was a crucial part of the team. B

Abou Diaby: Started the season well but then                                                                      before coming back and then                                        once more. Knackered again, we should take him to the woods then drive off. E.

Aaron Ramsey: Grew as the season progressed and played a very important role in our end of season run-in. Has a good platform to kick on for next season. C+

Jack Wilshere: Worries about his injuries still dominate. Hopefully the surgery will see him get through next season without problems so he can reach his potential. C

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain: Suffered a bit from second-season syndrome but showed enough near the end to suggest he won’t be Terence Trent D’Arby. C-

Francis Coquelin: Arsene Wenger got his Coq out quite regularly in the first half of the season, but from January on we saw little of his thrusting runs or combative tackle. D

Tomas Rosicky: In cryogenic deep-freeze from August – February, made his now customary contribution to the run-in adding zip and energy to midfield. C+

Santi Cazorla: What a joy he is to watch, a brilliant signing who made a fantastic contribution. Player of the season for me. A.

ATTACK

Olivier Giroud: I think it’s been a decent season for the HFB. 17 goals, 11 assists. The issue was always that we had no back-up. Showed enough to suggest he can kick on next season. B

Lukas Podolski: Similarly Podolski’s stats are good, but it’s also easy to see why doubts exist about him and how he fits into the team in the long-term. B-

Theo Walcott: Finished top scorer, got a good load of assists too, and although still frustratingly uninvolved at times, had his best season by a long way. B+

Gervinho: Ended up with 7 goals and 5 assists but it’s the horror misses that people will remember. D-

Andrei Arshavin: Ultimately a massive disappointment, content to see out the final year of his contract. About as much use as an ashtray on a motorbike. F

Marouane Chamakh: *reported for spam* FO

—

So, there you go. If you want to have a look at the ones on Arseblog News, they’re here in parts 1 – defence, 2 – midfield and 3 – attack. Ratings are, of course, subjective and not meant to be definitive. Argue, debate, discuss, by all means, but don’t get your nose out of joint over them, life’s too short.

And speaking of life being too short, silly season is well and truly upon us with plenty of rumours flying about. I did enjoy the fella who declared that Arsenal had tabled a €30m bid for Stevan Jovetic, spent the next couple of hours re-tweeting the fact he was trending in certain regions, along with people’s tweets of praise, yet remained steadfastly silent when Fiorentina quite categorically denied they’d had any contact at all with Arsenal.

Given the expectation and, let’s face it, optimism (misplaced or not) that surrounds our summer business, I suspect there’ll be plenty more of this kind of stuff, as there’s nothing in this world that garners clicks and follows like an Arsenal transfer story. Worth bearing in mind, especially as we haven’t even reached June yet.

Till tomorrow.

Arseblog, the arsenal blog
7:20 pm May 21, 2013 posted by Anam Hassan - 4 arses

Tactics Column: The players of the season

Tactics Column: The players of the season

After Arsenal secured fourth place with the 1-0 win over Newcastle United and a chance of Champions League football next season, Arsene Wenger hailed his “special” players. In particular, he praised their mental strength as they overturned a seven-point gap from Tottenham Hotspur. The resilience showed in the team’s performances as they went nine league games unbeaten, and swapped their usual swashbuckling style for a more pragmatic approach. The belief was sowed after Arsenal’s Champions League win over Bayern Munich and set the tone for the rest of the season. It was a design based on efficiency, greater organisation and communication at the back but very reliant on taking what little chances the team creates. Arsenal took those chances and while getting to fourth place was overwhelmingly team effort, here are the five players who I think stood out most in 2012/13.

1. Santi Cazorla

The selfless way in which Santi Cazorla ended the season almost makes you forget just how good he was at the start of the campaign. Indeed, he had to alter his game twice for Arsenal in the season; the first, when he joined the club, as he was deployed in what was at the time, an unfamiliar role just behind the striker. He certainly gave no impressions as such when the season kicked-off and he started incredibly, asserting himself as the hub of creativity that Arsenal were built around. But that was also the team’s problem because at times – especially during a bleak period in the middle of the season – they were too reliant on the Spanish schemer.

Cazorla’s best performance was probably in the 3-1 win in October against West Ham United, showing just why he has the best passing figures in the final third of any player in the top 5 leagues. As ever, he glided across the pitch to always end up in dangerous positions but it’s remarkable to see just how high he played in that match: almost on level with Olivier Giroud. Actually, Wenger deserves a lot of credit for the tactical foresight to play Cazorla as the “second striker” and in the game, unsettled West Ham’s defence by starting high up, moving backwards to receive the ball and then bursting forward unexpectedly to get into good scoring or passing positions. That’s how he got his goal in the game, picking the ball up on the edge of the area and letting fly with his left-foot.

It was when Tomas Rosicky returned to the side that Arsenal could share the burden of creativity and Santi Cazorla was shifted to the left wing. He was less explosive from the side but he was no less influential, often drifting infield and getting into positions that he only knew how to get to, yet was still Arsenal’s chief playmaker. It will be interesting to see how Arsenal share the responsibility to create next season; fielding Cazorla in a roaming role on the left allows Wenger to name another creative midfielder in the line-up. Yet, Cazorla is so good that he must surely be central to Arsenal’s plans next season.

2. Per Mertesacker

Criminally, it took three-quarters of the season for Arsene Wenger to make Laurent Koscielny his 1st-choice centre-back (although it is said it might have come sooner had Naxto Monreal not arrived when he did as having a left-footer alongside him – Thomas Vermaelen – would supposedly bed him into the squad much quicker). Thankfully, Wenger realised Per Mertesacker’s worth earlier in the season although it came at a cost: a 2-1 defeat to Chelsea in September in which he was dropped because it was felt he lacked the mobility to cope with The Blues front four. However, Mertesacker was a mainstay in the side soon after.

Laurent Koscielny’s stellar end to the campaign was probably more aesthetically pleasing but Mertesacker represented an ideological shift to Arsenal’s backline, and that’s why he makes it ahead of him in this list. Because Per Mertesacker does things that the other centre-backs don’t do, and his presence in the line-up has a calming effect on whoever he partners. That has been evident in the case of Koscielny whose performances alongside captain Vermaelen had looked slightly erratic, as the stats show here, but has improved immensely with Mertesacker alongside him. Indeed, is there a case, considering the contrast in displays from the first half of the season to the second, that Mertesacker makes Koscielny better? The answer is probably no, but the fact that it is even discussed highlights how crucial Mertesacker has become to this Arsenal side.

3. Mikel Arteta

If I was to say Arsenal were a stronger team in 2012/13 as opposed to the last, much of that reasoning would be down to Mikel Arteta. Because last season was a side largely by the awesomeness of Robin van Persie and his goals masked structural deficiencies in the squad. Alex Song and Mikel Arteta weren’t much of a partnership as neither player took responsibility to hold in front of the defence. This season, Arteta has done just that on his own and in the second half of the campaign, was liberated in a sense, by the breakthrough of Aaron Ramsey.

Tactically, Arteta has been superb, breaking up play with both his reading of play and improved robustness in the challenge. Indeed, those are backed up by the stats, completing on average 3.2 tackles per game and 3 interceptions, making him Arsenal’s best defensive player (and top 10 in the Premier League). But he’s also the team’s first line of attack, initiating forward play with his accurate passing (and has an underrated burst of pace too which allows him to get away from the opponent’s first line of press).

4. Theo Walcott

While Gareth Bale often finds his free-kicks hit the back of the net with pinpoint accuracy, Theo Walcott can sometimes see his shanked horribly off-target. Both practice hard at set-pieces; Theo Walcott more so on his technique than necessarily trying to craft a niche from such shooting opportunities. For Gareth Bale, detail is everything, from the stance to the run up, and he strikes the ball in particular way so that it achieves maximum top spin rather than bend.

From that example, one might dissect a harsh conclusion of the paths of the two careers, but players both ought to be mentioned in the same breath as the season now that the season is behind us.

Theo Walcott’s numbers are magnificent, scoring 14 goals and delivering 10 assists altogether in the league. He’s not carried the team quite in the same sense Gareth Bale has, and in any case, the comparisons are unfair, but he’s transformed himself into one of the best players in the Premier League.

Walcott’s performances in the middle of the season in particular, were of the level we’d expect him to become and against Newcastle in the 7-3 win, he delivered one of the most destructive performances of the season. Theo Walcott is key for Arsenal because he’s probably the only player who gives depth to their attack, whether that’s starting from the middle or the right.

5. Olivier Giroud

The popularity of Olivier Giroud it’s argued is symptomatic of the club going nowhere fast. Whether that’s the case or not, it must be agreed that he has had to shoulder a tremendous amount of responsibility. He’s Arsenal’s only recognised striker – and as such, only probably makes this list by default. Nevertheless, it’s still been a big season for Giroud.

He has scored 11 league goals, which is not a shabby return for somebody who is still developing himself. But his role goes beyond being just the main goalscorer and as such, it is probably why Wenger is willing to overlook some of his deficiencies. Not that he has many because Giroud can do everything. He’s technical (for a big man), can hold the ball up, and bring others into play, runs the channels well and works very hard. That means it carries little risk for a team that is still adapting to playing with each other. In that sense, Giroud acts as bit of a buffer, lessening the impact of this adjustment period by taking hits for the team as they strive to find better balance and understanding. Of course, Giroud still has a fair bit to go before he can call himself Arsenal’s undisputed first-choice striker but for Wenger, that’s alright if only what Giroud does is make Arsenal play.

Honourable mentions

Aaron Ramsey: Had a great end to the campaign, and promises to be a crucial player for Arsenal once he becomes a little more decisive.

Kieran Gibbs: Has tough competition in the form of Monreal but has arguably surpassed him in recent months. His recovery speed is a huge plus.

Laurent Koscielny: Another player who ended the season well, if only because he never really got the chance earlier on. His anticipation is a joy to watch.

Arseblog, the arsenal blog
7:39 am May 21, 2013 posted by arseblog - 647 arses

Time for Arsenal to show ambition, not just talk about it

Time for Arsenal to show ambition, not just talk about it

So, off into the summer we go after a day of relative peace and enjoyment across Goonerdom.

There was much to bask in, those who belittle celebrations of where we finished miss the entire point of being a fan. When the papers write you off, when opposition managers do likewise … so prematurely too, and when the same manager has a pop at your goalkeeper for speaking what turned out to be the truth, there’s a lot of fun in gloating.

It doesn’t mean we’ve lost sight of the bigger picture or lack perspective about the season in general, but it’s as part and parcel of the game as goals and cards and tackles and fixture congestion and certain players celebrating in games they didn’t even play in. If you could find no enjoyment from the outcome of the final day (distinct from the day and the events as they were unfolding), then you might need to think again about why you follow football.

In the wake of that finish came a statement from Chief Executive Ivan Gazidis, who made it clear the club have greater ambitions than that and have plans to make things better this summer. He said:

It is important to reiterate that for everyone at the Club, qualification for the Champions League is not our ultimate ambition. Our majority owner Mr Kroenke has made it clear that while it’s an achievement to make the Champions League our ultimate objective is to win the major trophies. We all share that clear ambition and will be driving the Club forward to achieve it. Arsène and I have already been planning what we need to do to strengthen so we are better placed next season.

In terms of what he said, I don’t know that anyone could argue with the sentiment, but there’s certainly a credibility issue here. I know that gauging reaction to a piece online doesn’t provide you a definitive view of how fans think, but many people simply don’t believe him. The fact that below the statement came a link to renew gold level season tickets provided perfect fodder for those who think that this is all just cynically timed talk to get people to renew before we sell everyone and replace them with cheap, injured imports from Ligue 3 (is there a Ligue 3?).

While I’m convinced that this summer will see a change in how we spend and the quality of players we target, I can understand the other point of view also. Once bitten, and all that. We’ve heard the talk many times, but until people see Arsene and Ivan put the money where their mouth are they will remain skeptical. Actions speaking louder than words and all that.

I think the changes in our financial situation, along with the ever-increasing pressure for the club to create a team which can, at the very least, challenge for the title, will see us do more in the transfer market this summer than we have in any year under Arsene Wenger. We already have money to spend, the coffers are boosted by new commercial income which provides stability and increases spending power, plus we know we’ve got another year of Champions League income too, so there really are no excuses not to improve the team.

All three of the teams above us are about to change their managers, we’re now in a stronger position than we’ve ever been since the move to the new stadium, and while I’ve understood some of the caution of recent years, there comes a time when you have to speculate to accumulate. I don’t mean going out and just spending money for the sake of it, but using this financial power to purchase wisely and properly.

I don’t think you’ll ever stop Arsene Wenger trying to unearth the hidden gems, but you can take a gamble or two when you’ve brought in established quality. I’ve got no problem whatsoever with a free Yaya Sanogo as long as we draft in somebody with experience to immediately improve the team. Already we’ve seen names like Lewandowski and Higuain bandied about. Yes, please. This is the calibre of player we should be looking at in the first instance, and there’s no harm adding some depth to the squad with a Sanogo-esque deal once that’s done.

Maybe it’s just me and my glass half-full ways, but I think there’s a real chance for Arsenal to kick on to another level next season. That’s part of why finishing 4th was such a celebration because it makes it easier for us to do it. You have to be blind not to see the potential. Champions League football is a big draw for the kind of players we, hopefully, want to bring in, and although what we needed to wouldn’t have changed with a 5th place finish, it would have been so much more difficult to achieve.

We’ve come through some years of pain and austerity since the move to the Emirates, but the club have been very open in recent times about how they can do things differently now. The money is there, there’s some medium to long-term assurance about off-pitch income and how that can increase, we’ve maintained our place at Europe’s top table, and there is, in my opinion, the core of a good squad there.

I fully understand those who have doubts, but I really believe that with the proper additions, I don’t see any reason why we can’t fight properly for the title next season. And isn’t that what everyone has wanted all along? The trophy-less years are a frustration but the bigger issue for me is our lack of competitiveness and the inability to go the distance in a season. We now have what it takes to address that issue.

It’s easy to talk about how ambitious you are, it’s another thing entirely to show it. We’ve worked so hard to get to this point, it would be almost criminal not to take advantage of it. The money’s there, go spend it and spend it properly.

Till tomorrow.

Arseblog, the arsenal blog
8:17 am May 20, 2013 posted by arseblog - 388 arses

Newcastle 0-1 Arsenal: Goal, fourth, and multi-buy

Newcastle 0-1 Arsenal: Goal, fourth, and multi-buy

Match report – By the numbers – Player ratings – Video

Anyone who tells you they enjoyed any moment of yesterday that came before the final whistle in our game is either a liar or just not very well in the head.

I felt unwell throughout the game, stomach churningly unwell. Once Howard Webb had blown up, it was like I’d been given an injection of delicious morphine. When Theo Walcott bamboozled his way through the Newcastle defence and hit the post just after the news that Bale had scored at White Hart Lane, I had visions of that miss being like a Leicester penalty. It felt like a Newcastle goal was inevitable.

Thankfully, it didn’t happen, we closed the game out, won the match, finished fourth and secured Champions League football at the expense of our neighbours who, let it not be forgotten, crowed a bit too early after beating us at their place in February. Andre Vilas Boas spoke about how we were in a “negative spiral” and with a 7 point lead and 10 games to go it looked like a tall order, in fairness.

8 wins and 2 draws later, 26 points from 30, and here we are. Our spiral – wonderfully illustrated here by @Antouman – was the most positive we produced all season. We hadn’t gone any further than 5 games without a loss for the duration of the campaign, but when it came right down to it we produced at exactly the right time.

You have to give credit to the players for the way they ground out results and to the manager and his assistant for realising that this team needed to change in order to get where we needed to. There was, I believe, a realisation that we couldn’t play the expansive, attacking football Arsene Wenger likes. I think it came down to lack of quality in the squad and the manager cut his cloth accordingly.

Instead of going out to win games, we set out first and foremost not to lose them. The away win at Bayern Munich provided an instant boost after a miserable couple of weeks, and from then on we saw an Arsenal team that defended well and ground out results in a way that I don’t think I’ve ever seen from a Wenger team. Thomas Vermaelen, the club captain, was dropped for Laurent Koscielny and the goalkeeping situation was improved by the addition of Fabianski and the kick up the hole it gave Szczesny while he contemplated life on the bench and, at times, not even in the squad.

I don’t think we can underestimate what a risk the Fabianski move in particular was, bringing back an error prone keeper who had spent a year out of the game with injury, but in the end his record was P5, W5, keeping two vital clean sheets away at Munich and Swansea. As for Vermaelen, he struggled this season, no doubt about it, and when Koscielny came into the team he never looked back.

He’s forged an outstanding partnership with Per Mertesacker, they complement each other brilliantly, but it’s helped by the fact the Frenchman has developed into a quite brilliant centre-half. His performance yesterday epitomised the team over the last few months. He was solid, hard-working, brave and committed, and when Arsenal needed a goal from somewhere he gave it to us for the second year in a row.

Against West Brom last season he hooked home what turned out to be the winner in the 55th minute. Yesterday he hooked home the winner in the 52nd. Similar time, similar goals. If you’ve ever been hit by lightning, avoid standing under a tree in a storm with Koscielny because it strikes twice when that bloke is around. It was hard to see where a goal was coming from, I have to say, grabbing it in a 1-0 from a set-piece, how very Arsenal.

It meant an excruciating final half hour or so. It wasn’t a goal we built on, but became lead we were determined not to lose. Thankfully the home side weren’t up to much but like so many of the games in recent weeks it’s hard not to fear the deflection, the moment of brilliance, the spawny rebound. It never happened, and Sp*rs ultimate misery was compounded by misinformation that spread through the stands about a Newcastle equaliser.

Arsene, and the players, celebrated with vigour at the final whistle, and criticism of that is beyond churlish in my opinion. While there wasn’t a trophy at the end, this was a game with a huge amount at stake. Those who complain about celebrating would be vociferous and vicious about us finishing 5th, and, frankly, after the run-in they deserve to enjoy what they’ve done. I don’t think anybody’s suggesting it’s the same as actually winning something, but it has to be viewed in perspective and under the circumstances it was completely understandable.

We’ve just gone 10 games unbeaten in the league, beaten off Sp*rs to finish in the top four, got Champions League football next season, on the day what is there to not celebrate? Should teams who avoid relegation with a dramatic last day result remain stoic and unmoved by what they do? The league title is the main prize but within the league there are many smaller competitions and we were involved in one yesterday.

Afterwards, Arsene Wenger said:

In the last three months, I believe we have been remarkably consistent. We won every away game so it’s a good springboard for next season, to transfer that belief into the start of next season. Since February 1, we have taken more points than anybody else in the league. I don’t believe that’s just down to coincidence, just to the fact that the group has grown. This team has grown throughout the season.

And it’s hard to argue with that. Results bear it out and our final league position is the one we deserved based on what we did over the duration the season. Yet there’s still much to do and what we’ve done ought to the very minimum requirement for this football club. Without wishing to put a dampener on proceedings, we can’t forget the dismal cup exits, nor can we ignore the 17 point gap between us and the champions.

I don’t think that’s being negative, that’s being realistic, and while we should all enjoy what we’ve done since that defeat at Sp*rs, we can also want the manager and the team to improve for 2013-14. I was reading back on last season’s post-final game blog, and this is what I said at the bottom:

To be perfectly honest, I’m quite glad to see the back of this season. It can go and sodomise itself with a rusty spoon as far as I’m concerned. We can use the summer to recharge our batteries, take stock of where we are, and then make plans to improve. In the end there was a 20 point gap between us and the champions, and we need to work on closing that.

I feel much the same this time around. While there was a pay-off and release on the final day, I don’t think it was particularly enjoyable throughout. There was too much wrong, on and off the pitch, too much anger, too much frustration and silliness, and it was borne out of what the club did, or failed to do, in preparation for this campaign.

There’ll be those who’ll say it’s Groundhog Day, that we’ll simply repeat the cycle next year, but my hope is that it will be different simply because the financial landscape has changed. If we haven’t used the money available to us, a decision made by the manager, perhaps it was borne out of caution because we lacked a safety net. Now, with a big lump coming in from Emirates, and further funds to be added through the new kit deal, we’ve got the ability to spend bigger and better than we have.

And make no mistake that’s what we have to do. Arsene spoke about how it was great that we wouldn’t be losing players this summer. Although I think one or two will depart we won’t be losing a star (is that because we don’t have one to lose?!), and he’s right to speak about the benefit of stability. Yet stability without additions will mean stasis, we have to progress and improve.

Finishing fourth gives us the platform to attract good players because of Champions League football, the increased financial security gives us the ability to buy those players, and keeping the squad together allows us to take a step forward without having taken two backwards as we have in summers past.

But look, we’ve got a whole summer to worry about those things, to debate and discuss and get wrapped up in the silly season and speculation. For now, let’s take heart from the fact that both on the pitch and off, we can see with much more clarity how progress can be made, and take it from there.

Till tomorrow.