The season’s last international break is behind us and the final bookmark of 2014-15 is lovingly removed. The curtain is looming as we skilfully finger the riff to ‘The Final Countdown’ on our air keyboards. (They’re a thing). Arsene Wenger recently remarked that “95% of the players will still be here next season.” The inference being that 5% of the current squad will be told to mind their backsides as they negotiate the exit door. “Podolski, you’re cut. Walcott, sign a contract or you’re cut. Diaby, you’re definitely cut. How are you bleeding? I didn’t literally cut you! IT WAS JUST A TURN OF PHRASE!”
Arsenal’s priorities for the home straight are relatively clear. Retain the FA Cup and finish in the top 4, preferably in 3rd or even 2nd place. But Arsene Wenger will also be cultivating impressions ready for his close season squad amendments. Some players will be playing for contracts, some for regular starting berths and some for their futures. So which players are in the most sensitive situations? For whom doth the bell toll? I cocked a glance at three players for whom the final 6 weeks of the season are particularly important. (I assumed you have read quite enough about Theo Walcott so I left him out. Which, by now, I imagine he’s pretty used to. Fnar, fnar).
WOJCIECH SZCZESNY
In the immediate aftermath of Szczesny’s nightmare performance at Southampton (and his tobacco based insolence thereafter), I appeared on the ArseAmerica podcast with James from @northbanklower. Ben said that, according to his sources, Szczesny was finished at Arsenal. Bear in mind that this was prior to Szczesny’s ‘official’ dropping against Stoke City in the Premier League. The Southampton debacle was followed by an FA Cup match where Ospina’s selection was more a matter of policy. I confess that I thought Wojciech’s banishment would be a temporary measure.
I felt that he would be ushered straight back into the starting line up with either a good performance in the FA Cup, or an Ospina howler. Truth be told, if you’d asked me in January, I would have bet cash money that Szczesny would be back in Pole position (chortle, chortle) by February. It has been three months now since his eviction and there is no end in sight. The irony here of course, is that he missed last season’s FA Cup semi-final and final due to his status as number one. In his new role as deputy and, thus, cup goalkeeper, he may yet play on both occasions this year.
What is obvious is that we have passed the statute of limitations for a mere managerial kick up the bum. It is obvious that Arsene Wenger harbours serious doubts about Szczesny’s temperament, if not his ability. To unwittingly quote Adolf Hitler, it looks as though Arsene Wenger’s patience is now at an end with his goalkeeping upstart. Alarm bells began to sound when the manager eschewed the chance to drop Ospina in the wake of the Monaco home match, when the air was thick with revolution. (Not a single player from that match could have complained about being subsequently dropped).
If Ospina stays fit, then Szczesny has a maximum of two opportunities left this season to prove himself worthy of the gloves. Yet one is left with the impression that, while Szczesny may not have quite progressed as much as he ought to have, it’s not his ability that’s on trial here. The bulk of his work will have to take place at London Colney, where he will have to keep his shoes nicely buffed, his parting well combed and his ciggies concealed in his kit bag. Having lost his place in the Poland team (to Fabianski, another irony Szczesny will fail to see the amusing side of), he may look to force the issue of his future himself. But if Wenger continues to exile the Pole, then a summer sale will begin to look like a logical conclusion to this fandango.
Mathieu FLAMINI
With the unexpected rise of Francis Coquelin (I’ll not debase myself with a crude ‘Rising Coq’ gag), Mathieu Flamini has become a forgotten man. Flamini’s signing in the summer of 2013 always felt like something of a band aid until somebody better made eyes at Arsenal. I’m not sure any of us expected Francis Coquelin to be the flutterer of eyelashes there. But his notable performances have earned him a 4 year deal. Meanwhile, depending on who you believe, Arsenal are either negotiating or have agreed a one year contract extension with captain Mikel Arteta.
Whether the Spaniard is able to wrestle his place back from Coquelin remains to be seen, but even in the event that he doesn’t, Arteta is one of Wenger’s most trusted lieutenants. It’s very easy to imagine the manager wanting to keep him around due to his influence and leadership. There are plenty of whispers that suggest that the Lego-haired hunk is priming himself for a coaching career. It’s an impression formed at distance, admittedly, and that is inherent with danger, but it’s difficult to imagine Flamini exudes the same authority when not on the pitch frantically waving his arms.
Arteta gives the impression that his training ground presence adds value. With Coquelin and Arteta ahead of him in the pecking order, the Corsican might struggle for opportunities. Wenger could yet reinforce the defensive midfield position further in the summer. Coquelin and Arteta are good options, but somebody that could form a hybrid of their respective qualities (Arqelin? Coqteta?) would be preferable. The writing looks to be on the wall for Flamini, but there again, that was the case for Coquelin himself not long ago.
Per MERTESACKER
It would be melodramatic to say that the BFG is playing for his Arsenal future, but Mertesacker may be playing for his place in the starting line-up. When Gabriel was signed from Villarreal back in January, many of us assumed that he would act as a cushion and an ice pack for Laurent Koscielny’s throbbing Achilles. But 3 of Gabriel’s 4 starts thus far have been alongside the Frenchman. Gabriel has started the last 3 Premier League matches that he has been fit for.
Back in September, I mused that Wenger’s vision for this team does not entirely suit Mertesacker or Arteta. Whilst modifications have been made since, the emergence of players such as Bellerin and Coquelin has turned Arsenal into a more energetic outfit. Joachim Low dropped Mertesacker from Germany’s starting line-up during the World Cup for much the same reason, which may have expedited his decision to retire from the national side. @jcav90 ponders here whether dropping Per would enable Arsenal to play a different style.
Mertesacker had a difficult start to the season, but with plenty of caveats it must be said. Namely a truncated pre-season with an unsettled defence. The man himself admitted that winning the World Cup had left him with motivational issues. Coquelin’s emergence could be bad news for Mertesacker, because if the Coq removes Arteta from the starting line-up, then Per has lost a key link in the chain. Both he and Arteta defend in a similar, stand offish style that relies on positional intelligence.
The captain and vice-captain also have a penchant for playing possession smartly through the lines. Mertesacker to Arteta is one of the more frequent passing combinations you’ll see when both start. The presence of both requires Arsenal to play in a slightly different way that compliments their qualities. With Coquelin’s increased role and the acquisition of Gabriel, Wenger is no longer as wedded to the presence of both. The BFG is not going to get any more mobile.
He will have to prove that his qualities bring balance to a team that otherwise threatens to morph into an uncomplimentary mould.
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