Morning all,
a nice win yesterday in the Emirates Cup against Atletico Madrid but in truth the game itself was pretty dull until the last 10 minutes or so.
Again we saw the manager use three central midfielders with two further forward behind a single striker, yesterday that was Robin van Persie. There’s not a great deal to say about the game. Defensively we showed we’re still a bit suspect from set-pieces when the smallest man on the pitch was left all alone at the back post but why anybody should be surprised at that is beyond me.
On a positive note it was good to see Tomas Rosicky back and looking sharp. He got a good 45 minutes under his belt, the manager is clearly going to ease him back into things, and Rosicky played like a man who has missed his football. When asked about his return AW said:
I am pleased, but cautious. He has not played for 18 months so I am not a dreamer. If he gets through the next two months without set-backs, then we have won the battle, but it is not won yet.
Fingers crossed because if he can stay fit he certainly adds something to this team.
And watching yesterday, even though the game wasn’t much to write home about, I couldn’t help but get excited about the season ahead. Aaron Ramsey looks like he’s grown up and played well, Jack Wilshere lit up the second half and this is a young man who has got so much potential it’s scary, and then Andrei Arshavin showed why he’s got a huge role to play in the campaign ahead.
He got two goals, the first tellingly from a pass from Fabregas – I wonder how many times we’ll see that this season – and the second, after poor defending had allowed the Spaniards to equalise, from an almost impossible angle.
It was his awareness and desire in the final minutes of a pre-season friendly that made the goal and the manager was keen to talk up the ‘dangerous‘ Russian. With a proper pre-season under his belt and being well and truly settled in England now there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be excited about what he’s capable of producing.
Arsenalist has the goals from yesterday.
Asked about transfers and the possibility of Patrick Vieira Arsene said:
I will be looking at all the options we have during the week, and then we close. I believe we have quite a strong squad now. If we can add one or two players, we will do it, but not more.
He wants to get any deals done before the season starts saying he would only buy at the end of the transfer window if there was ‘a big accident’ involving one of the players. If there’s any buying done it’ll be done before the first match against Everton.
And while the boss is talking all the time about the wealth of attacking talent we have, and he’s right, we have so many options, I’m still concerned that in midfield and at the back we’re not as strong as we might be.
The departure of Philippe Senderos to Everton (not announced officially but a done deal) means that we’ve gone from having serious depth at the centre-half position to being a couple of injuries away from fielding Song and Sylvester there.
People might question the logic of selling Senderos and keeping Sylvester, I would certainly have questions to ask about it, but the reality is that Sylvester has no transfer value whatsoever. Senderos was in the last year of his contract, he could leave on a free next summer, and Everton needed a centre-half with the potential departure of Lescott and the injury which will keep Jagielka out till Christmas. I think it’s a good signing for Everton and a decent move for Senderos. I just have a feeling we might regret letting him go.
Especially as it makes the need for a signing or two all the more pressing. I know the manager considers Alex Song when he talks about the number of centre-halves at the club but he really has to make a decision one way or another about his position. Is he a centre-half? Then play him there consistently, not just when we’re down to our bare bones.
If he’s a centre-half then maybe we don’t need to buy another one, but if that’s the case then we definitely need to buy a midfielder because Song, whatever you think of him, is the only one who looks like he can play that defensive midfield role. Players need defined roles in their careers, particularly when they’re young. Swapping Song between a midfield and defensive position means he’s never going to be one or the other. It can’t be good for him and it can’t be good for the team.
So let’s see what he does before the Everton game, because from what he said at yesterday’s press conference there’ll be nothing doing after that except in drastic circumstances.
He was asked also about the possible departure of Eboue and more or less ruled it out. He wouldn’t confirm or deny a Fiorentina bid but you can’t help thinking that if the money were good enough he’d be inclined to sell. I suppose that, again, is dependent on who he might be thinking of bringing in.
So, for all my excitement at seeing us play again (and it was nice to see us in red again), I’m still a touch concerned. I’m optimistic but cautious. What’s clear is that there’s a huge amount of talent in this squad and that with a couple of clever additions we’d be really, really strong. But then we’ve been down this road before, I think. Anyway, fingers crossed.
There’s another game today, of course, Rangers at 4pm and no doubt there’ll be some squad shifting around. I want another look at Jack Wilshere. As I said on Twitter yesterday he’s like a gift from Middle-Earth, a little footballing hobbit genius.
Till tomorrow.
