I like that the new season is just a few days away and from an Arsenal point of view there’s no news to speak of. Unless you consider an £8m bid for Chiek Tiote news.
I don’t, I have to say. I think I’d rather get tuberculosis than Tiote. Consumption. A bells palsy of the testicles. Super croop. Delineated dropsy. Crimean influenza. Bastarding ringpiece. Pustulating brucellosis. Seeping nipple pox. Anything.
If I recall correctly, there was an air of high dudgeon this time last summer, because the only piece of transfer business we had done was to bring back Mathieu Flamini. This time around it’s all a bit different. It feels better, well … because it is better. I think we’re probably one signing away from being all set but of course that depends on the quality of that signing.
When Arsene Wenger spoke about the possibility of bringing in a ‘versatile’ player, I took it to mean (as we discussed on the Arsecast Extra this week), that he was looking for a player who can play at centre-half and in midfield. Not a defender who can also fill in at full back because in that regard we’re well stocked.
Our right back options are Debuchy, Chambers and Bellerin (now the fastest man alive if you hadn’t already heard). At left back we have the improving Kieran Gibbs and Nacho Monreal. And if the worst happens and we face a full-backian crisis like we did a couple of years ago, the aforementioned Flamini can do a job there in the short-term if we really need it.
So, a player who can play at centre-half and in midfield. Like, say, a young man we bought from Southampton about the whom the manager said of him at centre-half:
I saw him there when I bought him and I play him there. For a 19-year-old he had an outstanding performance today. The kind of performance he delivered today is very promising. It’s impressive because he hasn’t got a long history in this position because he was a right back and I think if all goes well he has a good career there in front of him.
And also about him in midfield:
I believe he can play in defensive midfield and that’s where I see him. He can play a major role because, in what I observe, he has the qualities to impose himself in this part of the team.
Given that it’s very difficult to find a player like that in the first place, and we appear to have one – albeit one who has some learning and developing to do – I wonder if we might sign a more traditional defender and use the versatility of Chambers to fill the gaps as and when required.
There’s some talk of a Greek defender called Kostas Manolas, who currently plays for Olympiakos. He’s 23 and would certainly fit one of the profiles we could go for. If we accept that Mertesacker and Koscielny are going to be our first choice central defensive partnership when everyone’s fit and ready, a player of his age makes a certain amount of sense. Coming from the Greek League, he’d have time to settle in, learn from those two and not be hugely upset to be considered a back-up choice to the main two.
The other options for me are: a) bring in a veteran central defender who would also be accepting of his place in the pecking order, but when you consider the Squilvestre way that method has gone for us in the past, I’d be a little worried about it. Or b) splash out on a big name player who would immediately compete with Koscielny and Mertesacker.
If I had to put money on it, I think I’d go for the young guy coming in to learn with the idea of developing him into a player who can take over in the long-term. It’s not that our central defensive partnership is old, by any means, but with Per at 29 and Koscielny now 28 (29 next month), it’s something we should probably be thinking about to a certain extent. And any young player that comes in to learn from those two will get a very nice education indeed.
After that, however, I can see us closing the cheque book (although I’m very open to surprises), and the rest of our business will be players going the other way. Candidates for that include:
Serge Gnabry – he’s now got Walcott, Alexis and Oxlade-Chamberlain ahead of him and his chances of first team football this season are slim. He is carrying a bit of an injury apparently – it’s suspiciously quiet in that regard too after he more or less disappeared from action last season – but a season on loan in the Premier League would do him the world of good.
Ryo Miyaichi – also injured but has even less chance than Gnabry of playing this season. From what I’m told, we’re open to letting him go on a permanent basis.
Francis Coquelin – he looks bigger than I remembered, he’s certainly bulked up in the last year or so, but the manager seemed to lose faith in him the season before last and he spent last year away on a not altogether successful loan. I can’t see him getting the games he wants at his age, so before the end of August we’re likely to get our Coq out.
Finally, some interesting stuff from new skipper Mikel Arteta on Joel Campbell. He says:
He’s got great feet, great technique, he’s very creative and he’s a young lad who is full of energy and is enthusiastic. He wants to stay here, he wants to make his stamp here and I think the boss is going to give him a chance.
I’m still a bit dubious as to whether or not he’s going to make an impact. There’s a lot of competition in all three forward positions, so he’s going to have to really fight to make a mark here this season. I don’t know enough about him as a character to know if he’s willing to do that, but obviously it’d be good if he did. Otherwise, he might join the list of the Depaaaaarted (/shit Boston accent).
Right, lots to do today, have a good one, more here tomorrow.
