So the new season is upon us, we kick off tomorrow against West Brom and as is traditional on Arseblog here’s a preview of our squad.
Goalkeepers: Jens Lehmann was a hugely experienced keeper yet it was his mistakes that gave the chance to Manuel Almunia last time around. Almunia probably never expected to get a chance at a club as big as Arsenal and he took it well. There’s a big difference between the scatty, nervous Almunia who came to the club a few years ago and the one we see today. He’s more confident, more solid and I thought he had a very good season last time around.
He could probably be a bit more dominant in the area but he’s a good shot stopper and distributes the ball well. What kept him on his toes last season was the fact that Jens Lehmann was just waiting for a mistake so he could claim the number one jersey again. It didn’t happen and that shows he can cope with pressure. This time around he’s got Lukasz Fabianski pushing him and after the display against Sevilla I feel a lot more confident about the young Pole. I know it was only a pre-season game but it was a breakthrough performance for him. Behind him there’s Italian Vito Mannone making up the goalkeeping trinity. I don’t really have any worries in this area:
Verdict: Almunia may not have the profile of Cech, van der Sar or Reina but I don’t think he’s too far away from them in terms of quality and is probably underrated. We’re as solid as anyone else here.
Defence: Last season we had an obvious weakness in the centre of defence and to my mind that still exists. There are legitimate questions to be asked about the Toure – Gallas partnership and, for me at least, both of those players operate better with a more traditional stopper behind them. They might be our best two defenders but they don’t make the best pairing. Senderos made mistakes last season but it shouldn’t be forgotten that he and Gallas forged a decent partnership during the early part of the 2008 while Toure was away. That his mistakes came in such a profile game meant they won’t be forgotten while the good stuff is.
Johann Djourou is back from Birmingham and he did well against Twente the other night. Let’s remember that Senderos is just 23 and Djourou 21, still very, very young in the life of a centre-half and I suppose the manager is counting on them having more experience and being better this time around. Whether that happens or not remains to be seen.
Our first choice full backs are as good as you get anywhere. Clichy and Sagna were both wonderfully consistent last season and contributed a great deal to the side. Given how often they get forward though you might ask for a little more from them in the final third but that’s probably just being picky. I do have concerns about our back-up for them though. After Sagna we probably have Eboue who is certainly a better right back than right winger but that’s not saying much, while Armand Traore at left back is still way too raw in my opinion. He’s definitely one that needs a loan spell to gain experience.
After that it’s a struggle, especially with Justin Hoyte (who can play right back, left back and in the centre at a push) seemingly on his way out of the club. I think it’s probably the best thing for him and for his career but it leaves us a little light at the back should we suffer injuries. And given the fact this is Arsenal I think it’s fair to assume we’re going to suffer injuries.
Verdict: I’m concerned that our frailty from last season has not been addressed and that we’ll remain vulnerable to that ball through the middle which opens us up like butter. I think we could probably do with a signing in here.
Midfield: Ahhh midfield, so many words have been spoken about this area during the summer. But let’s start with the positives. I think if we see Walcott and Nasri emerged on the right and left respectively we’ll improve in those positions. Theo still struggles to impose himself on games, as witnessed the other night, but at the end of the day the stats will show he got an assist. Nasri is young but has a lot of experience – 4 seasons under his belt at Marseille and 12 French caps. He’s got more of an eye for goal than Hleb and while the Belarussian might be better at ball retention there were too many times when you wanted him to retent the fucking thing in the goal. Nasri can provide more from an attacking and end product point of view.
Eboue was an experiment that failed at right wing last season. I’d be very disappointed to see him play there again this season for a sustained period although I have a feeling he may start tomorrow to add some experience to a very young central partnership. Rosicky is a fine player when he’s fit but as we all know that happens as rarely as a Hleb goal.
It’s the centre where we have the main issue of course and I think everyone knows what’s required. With Cesc injured and Diaby as injury prone as your common or garden Rosicky then we’re left with Denilson and 17 year old Aaron Ramsey. After that it’s 16 year old Jack Wilshere. With the greatest of respect to those young players that’s not good enough for a club like Arsenal and for a club which has lofty ambitions like winning the league or the Champions League. We need to spend money on a quality player to play alongside Cesc and there are plenty of games for the others to make their mark and push for the first team.
We need a ‘Flamini’ in my opinion. Someone whose energy and workrate allows Cesc to go forward more and to exploit the attacking side of his game. It worked very well last season, Cesc was in double figures for goals and as our most creative player we have to set ourselves up to get the best out of him. Who that player will be is beyond me though. The usual suspects like Barry, Alonso and Yaya Toure are all cup-tied for the Champions League now so that may rule them out, unless the boss decides we can cope in Europe this season and he prioritises the domestic league. Wenger says a signing will definitely be made before the return leg against FC Twente, we just have to wait and see who it is.
Verdict: Better on the wings but too weak in the middle just at the moment. We can thank our lucky stars our start to the season isn’t more tricky. Get a quality player in alongside Cesc though and I think we’ll all feel more comfortable and it will give the squad that extra depth it needs.
Strikers: We’ve got good strikers but they all beg questions. Can Adebayor repeat the goalscoring feats of last season? Will van Persie stay fit for the duration of the campaign? Can Bendtner push on and get more goals this time? Will Carlos Vela adapt quickly enough to the Premier League? Can Eduardo recover from that horrific injury and be the player he was beforehand?
I suppose the one thing you can say is that we have plenty of competition, especially if Theo Walcott can play up there too. A lot depends on the two most experienced strikers. Adebayor and van Persie showed they link up well in pre-season but we have to be mindful of the kind of the service they get and this goes back to midfield. If Cesc has a partner who gives him licence to go forward then he’ll create chances for them and for the others. If we ask too much of Cesc from a defensive point of view we could struggle a bit.
What’s good is that both Adebayor and van Persie have a lot to prove. Adebayor needs to win the fans back after his summer shennanigans, van Persie needs to show people that for all his undoubted talent and ability he’s a player we can count on. How many of you cringed on Wednesday night after his clash with the Twente keeper? I know I did and the fact that he stayed on was almost a surprise. He’s been unfortunate with injuries but we’ve also been patient, it’s payback time now please, Robin.
I like Bendtner, he looks a bit lazy but he scores goals. As I pointed out some time back he got more goals in one season from the bench than Aliadiere in his entire Arsenal career. Some of those goals were vital too. He’s still young and quite raw but he’ll get us 10-15 goals I think. Vela offers something different, pace, direct running and he doesn’t looked overawed so far. Eduardo, well, we’ll see. Henrik Larsson came back from a terrible injury and it never looked like it affected him for a second, so I think it’s down to how strong the Crozilian is mentally. Fingers crossed because he was beginning to look a fine player before it happened.
Verdict: Bags of talent and ability but much depends on the service they get and on them answering the questions posed above. There are goals there though and decent competition between them. With a 7 man bench this season there’s pressure on those on the pitch to perform because they know there’s someone waiting to take their place. Quietly confident.
Overall: I think everyone has written us off already, which is quite nice really. I enjoy that in a way. They did it last season and we came close. However, this time I think even the most positive of fans knows that we need to bolster the squad to be realistic contenders at home and in Europe. I have a feeling we’re going to bring in not just the one player Arsene talks about but another one too. That’s not based on any inside info or anything just a hunch.
What’s also going to be important this season is leadership. Let’s start everyone with a clean slate and put what happened last season behind us. Gallas must show that he’s learned from his mistakes. Kolo has to step up and be a leader, Cesc will always lead by example but as one of the senior players in the squad he’s got some responsibility too. With Flamini gone we’re kind of a quiet team, he was always talking, barking orders, organising and we might miss that.
If the pain of last season is as raw for the players as it is for the fans then that’s got to be a huge motivational factor. We got ourselves into a fantastic position and we blew it, there’s no other way of putting it. There’s more pressure this year, there’s a bigger expectation of silverware from the fans and there’s this unease that I spoke about in the week about the state of our squad.
However, I think the guts of a good side is there, add to that properly and we’re just as capable of winning the league as anyone else. I find it difficult not to be positive and excited at the start of a new season. I see us winning every game. I know it’s not going to happen but a man can dream, can’t he? I’d be much more positive with some additions to the squad and given there’s two weeks between now and the close of the transfer window I think we’ll be in a much better position to judge at that point.
If we get off to a good start though and get points on the board then I think everyone’s outlook will be a little rosier. For now though, come on you goooooooooooners!
Right then, quick round-up of the news. Adebayor says we need to win dirty and talks positively about the new season, Justin Hoyte could be on his way to Boro and Toure and Nasri are likely to be in the squad for tomorrow’s game against West Brom (whose manager has nice things to say about Arsene Wenger). Now for the Arsecast.
In this week’s show I chat with Goodplaya about the midweek game and the start of the new season, there are some of your voicemail thoughts on how we’ll fare, the man in the bar has a player history, there’s a tale of the unexpected and more.
To subscribe to the Arsecast in iTunes simply click here, the direct feed URL is here, to download this week’s arsecast directly – click here (16mb MP3). You can find the arsecast archives here. And you can listen directly below without leaving this very page.
As well as that there’s a dedicated Arsecast hotline available all season long should you desire to make a comment, get something off your chest, share a song a chant or hilarious anecdote. Feel free to call it any time during the week, it’ll go to voicemail and you can leave your message. The number from inside the UK is 020 3286 6360 or from outside the UK it’s +44 20 3286 6360.
Right, that’s enough. I’m knackered after all that. I might go back to bed. Till tomorrow.
