With the (unconfirmed) news that any deal for Alexander Hleb is “on hold” due to discussions over the possible acquisition of Shaun Wright-Phillips from Manchester City, I got the old brain matter in gear and thought about what possible changes we could make to the team in order for our 4 pronged assault for 2005/2006?
Here’s my finding:
Goalkeeper
Although still prone to the odd silly mistake, Jens Lehman had a fantastic second half to the season. In truth he has everything you need in a GK : height, strength, arrogance but I especially admired the way he kept quiet and knuckled down when he got dropped. He’ll do for me.
Right Back
Whilst Lauren has many qualities, being a proper defensive RB is not one of them. On the few occasions I’ve seen Eboue play, he has all of Laurens attacking flair but does not get pulled out of position as much. Give him a run Arsene’. Not forgetting we also have Justin Hoyte in the wings.
Left Back
A lot of crap has been written about Ashley Cole and it’s up to the reader to decide it’s validity. However, he remains (for me) the best left back in the world and I’d love to keep him. Having said that, Gael Clichy would be the perfect replacement.
Central Defenders
Inevitably, Senderos’ form will dip at times so it’s important to keep both Toure’ and Campbell fit. As an addition to the squad, I have been a long time admirer of Phillipe Mexes, currently playing for the under achieving Roma.
Midfield
I’ll try to keep this short as we have so many:
Freddie is making all the “wrong” noises in the press (again if you believe it) and didn’t hit the heights this year. Maybe time to move on my old
mate. Although his overall play has been below standard, Bobby’s knack of banging in the goals is invaluable and I would be very sad to see him go.
Mark my words, Paddy will have a superb season. Captain magnifique! Gilberto will do what he does best. Break down the play and give! You will also expect the form of Cesc and Matty to fluctuate.
Would love to see SWP in preference to Hlieb although that would certainly signal the end of Freddie’s Arsenal career. Also think that Guti would be a good signing - would also offer Jose’ a Spanish shoulder to cry on.
Strikers
As for the strikers, well we have TH14 - nuff said. I believe Jose’ will really blossom this year (as long as TH14 gets off his back and starts to encourage him). I’ll not mention RVP, only to say he really excites me. Lets hope he’s cleared (if innocent). There will always be a place in my heart for the legend that is DB10. Sadly he will play only cameo roles this season but he’ll still be worth the admission fee. Carries himself like a footballer should and oozes class. This could also be a surprising season - in the form of Jeremie Alliadiere. He’s had terrible luck with injuries but I have a feeling he may explode this season.
Targets: Well I wouldn’t have been adverse to getting Michael Owen to knock in the scraps but with Henry, Reyes, van Persie(?), Bergkamp and Alliadiere all firing, who needs anyone else?
So there we have it! We’ll win the quadruple, the Ashes, Wimbledon and the British Open!!!!
Unless you know different????
NorthBank…..
29 Responses to “What we need is……..”
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June 24th, 2005 at 11:42 am
Left Back
A lot of crap has been written about Ashley Cole and it’s up to the reader to decide it’s validity.Midfield
I’ll try to keep this short as we have so many:
Freddie is making all the “wrong” noises in the press (again if you believe it) and didn’t hit the heights this year. Maybe time to move on my old
mate. Strikers
As for the strikers, well we have TH14 - nuff said. I believe Jose’ will really blossom this year (as long as TH14 gets off his back and starts to encourage him).
June 24th, 2005 at 12:40 pm
well said. basically agree with everything u said there NorthBank. here is how i feel:
Lehmann: underrated. he’s more solid than ppl thought.
Cole: ON THE PITCH, he always get the job done. that’s good enough for me.
Lauren: i too been very impressive with Eboue. Lauren is a good player, but not a very reliable RB, particular when against winger with speed and skills.
Sol, Kolo, Senderos: we now got enough depth and talent at the central back.
Pires: he will be HUGHLY missed if he leaves. He’s the “oil” that makes the Arsenal enegine works.
Ljungberg: as solid as ever. may need a back up as he’s been injury phroned in recent years.
Paddy: still the heartbeat of our team.
Gilberto: he will make his share of mistakes (like giving away silly possessions), overally though, still a soild shield in front of our back 4.
Cesc: needs to find a position before he could truely blossom.
Henry: The Man.
Reyes: he can only get better, and i believe he will, but probably at the left frank.
Van Persie: can only get better.
Ali: can only get better.
Quincy: can only get better.
Bergkamp: flash of the brilliance alone will work the money.
June 24th, 2005 at 1:12 pm
Hleb is obviously coming now, not SWP. It will be interesting to see whre Hleb plays as he is two footed. But I have faith in Wenger and think this signing will suffice. Midfield is strong enough now. However, if Pires leaves it will be a disaster - even though I would like to see him rotate with Reyes.
The striker we’re looking at, Adebayor, sounds a promising player, if wenger thinks he’s good enough I’ll go with that. All I know is, we have to get someone in.
I still think we need a goalkeeper to either replace or play as a short term understudy to Lehmann. Remember, Lehmann is suspended for the first 2 Champions League group games - I don’t want Almunia in goal for those it could be absolutely disastrous.
I also believe that Arsenal need a centre-back to fight with Toure, I don’t like Toure in Europe and think that he’s a weak link. He’s young still, but someone should be pressing him for that position.
Lauren is not good in Europe either, but maybe Eboue will break through.
So I think we need 4 players minimum, if Cole leaves, 5, and no-one walking out the door. Wenger has targeted 2 players by the looks of things, so this is a good start to our summer activities.
June 24th, 2005 at 2:09 pm
For those still on the fence about Lehmann (I’m not one of them, except like Danny said, we’ll need someone to cover for his suspensions that can hack it in Europe) you can watch him start for Germany against Brazil tomorrow at 12 PM on Fox Soccer Channel.
And don’t forget to check out Quincy at 9:30 AM on the same channel as Holland take on Nigeria. More than a few great talents in that one.
Just finished copying the Everton match and watching Bobby and Edu’ goals. Will be gutted to pieces if BOTH are gone come the start of the season. But I was thankful to be able to smile to myself when the announcer alluded to the fact that it may be Dennis’ last game.
All good comments, NorthBank, but I refuse to accept that Freddie will leave, or has even seriously stated anything to that effect. I truly think that all that were going have gone, and Wenger is in the business of giving us that depth that we need to launch deadly attacks on four fronts.
Optimism isn’t exactly vogue, but then again, it doesn’t hurt.
June 24th, 2005 at 2:48 pm
You have to remember, Goalkeepers get injured too. A long term injury to Lehmann, with only Almunia as back up could wipe out our season.
It’s not advisable to take such risks, especially as Lehmann is 36 in November, Wenger should get someone now and stop playing with fire. Last seasons goalkeeping situation was a humiliating joke when Lehmann got dropped.
June 24th, 2005 at 2:49 pm
Are you kidding about Freddie? He was our third top scorer last year. Plus we love him because he HAD red hair.
June 24th, 2005 at 2:58 pm
I still love Freddie, even though he got BALD head. but most importantly, he’s still EVERYWHERE!
June 24th, 2005 at 3:00 pm
Danny, aren’t we linked with Isaksson at Rennes? I realize it’s mostly rumor but he would fit perfectly I think as an understudy for a year since he’s pretty young for a keeper plus he already has a good bit of 1st team experience (but lacking in the CL, of course) & can gain some quick CL experience by starting their 1st 2 matches where Lehmann will be suspended.
I agree Lehmann, despite being a nutter, is far better than Almunia (horrible, horrible positioning on that goal 3rd or 4th goal against Man U) despite his heroics against Sheffield Utd. But as you said Lehmann is 36 & one heavy injury away from being retired.
It’ll also be interesting to see what happens with younger keepers Taylor & Stack who returns on loan from Millwall. Although I think Taylor has been linked with some moves away already, correct?
June 24th, 2005 at 4:19 pm
The only things that concerns me is our sub goal keeper. Lehman might retire after the world cup. He also might get injured or suspended. Alumnia is ok of some games, but I dont think he can climb up to the level that Arsenal is demanding these days.
As much I can see Taylor doing a great job there, he has been out the of feild for while, I mean he did not play in premier league game for a while.
I hope we can see a new signing for Goal keeper who is young and promissing. Not another Alex Manninger or another Alumnia …
See AW has not been good in brining GK. But I give him credit for bringing Jens. He is no doubt one of the good ones !
June 24th, 2005 at 4:20 pm
From my pov, no matter who Wenger adds to the team, I think he needs to start some form of rotation policy within the team to keep his players fresh and minimize injuries. Also this is one way to keep players on their toes. Playing Henry day-in-day-out may strengthen our attack but if he is too tired or injured during our fixture congestion, then it will not benefit Arsenal. I am not suggesting the type of rotation like what Tinkerman did for Chel$ki but a modified one that will keep our key players fresh. Hence it is great to have a player like Helb who can play across midfield. It will be fantastic to bring in SWP too as he can be a match winner like Henry. I hope Pires stay as well.
June 24th, 2005 at 7:31 pm
Good Post… Good commentary.
Jens. Well, he did play alot better towards the end of last season, and I thought he saved our ass against United in the FA Cup.
But if we have the chance to bring in a TOP NOTCH keeper, we should do it. Ike Cassilas was mentioned as a United target recently. If he is available in any way, shape, or form, he’d be the answer. Cudicini would be my 2nd choice, but he’s probably not available either. Buffon? I think those 3 are worth any risk. I don’t think we bring in a no-name just for the hell of it. I’d rather Stack or Taylor get a shot, than a wild card.
I think Lauren is vastly under-rated. If you look at the last game, the FA Cup, well, it would have been nice if Cesc did ANYTHING at all to help him out on the right side, in slowing Cristiano. He did not do a damned thing to help Lauren. Having said that, Eboue has looked good, and Hoyte has promise too.
Cole. No, I don’t think he’s the best in the world. No way. He is a very good player. Just not sure how he comes back into that locker room. Time will tell, and Clichy is a good replacement. That would mean you need a back-up for Clichy. You can’t have ONE left back you rely on.
Central D… I like all 3 of the players we have. Rotate them. Keep them fresh. Keep them healthy… and we’ll have big success.
Midfield. Hmmm… I haven’t seen or heard anything recently about SWP. Somebody guide me to that story. He’s not better than Freddie. If we bring in Hleb, then he can rotate with Freddie, and keep him fresh and in case of injury. Reyes and Pires will share time on the left. Thats a great pair. Cesc, Flamini, Paddy and Gilberto in the center. Just fine, thank you.
Strikers. Wow, we have alot of young talent.
Henry is fan-freaking-tastic. Nobody stupid enuf to argue that. Reyes, Quincy, Aliadiare, Lupoli, Bergy, and RVP (if he is sorted out). You’d think that one of the kids would break thru and make a big impact. I’d have said RVP, but who knows now. I’d love to see Ali get his chance. I think we are fine up front. UNLESS, again… you go out and get the PROVEN commodity. Owen? OK. I’d buy that. Trezegaut? I could see it. I’m just throwing names out. But I don’t want to bring in another “project”.
so in retrospect… Keeper! IF its a QUALITY NAME.
Midfielder, if someone is leaving… I’d say yes to Hleb or SWP. Striker? ONLY a big name… Defenders, IF Ash goes.
Bring in 2 or 3 Arsene. But please, make them COUNT! We are not that far from the promised land, especially if the young studs continue to blossom.
June 24th, 2005 at 8:00 pm
Okay, I’m a touch “overserved” at the moment but I think your post is effin’ spot on. Good one, Stagnolia.
Don’t mean to suggest I’m surprised, or anything.
I’m willing to bet you’re picking Wenger’s pocket, too. And I’m double willing to put my SEGA gold jersey up that NO ONE is leaving (to quote a great Jane’s Addiction tune). Bobby to Valencia or Inter or wherever for 2-3 mill? Puh-leese. If I’m right, a proven keeper with another 6 years in him, Adebayor just cause he’s perfect for us and he’s priced sensibly, SWP if he comes under 20 mill (c’mon, Citeh, you need the cash) and maybe, MAYBE a right back. I think you’re right about Lauren getting no help in the Cup. But then again, the whole formation was intended to kick and confuse. We got lucky and Jens had a blinder. I’ll take it.
Guessing Hleb will be here by the beginning of next week. Really think things are going to start moving now. Hope so, anyway.
June 24th, 2005 at 8:25 pm
I’m not sure who Wenger has been linked with in goalkeeping terms, but all I know is that playing Almunia is a terrible risk. What happens when we approach the Champions League group stage? Will Almunia be thrown in for his first games of the season? That would be suicide after some of his antics last season. The last thing we need is that sort of defenisive instability to start the competition.
This goalkeeping situation is very bad, I don’t think Wenger has any option than to buy a new first choice keeper and put him in immediately. Because if we buy a new keeper and he sits on the bench behind Lehmann, when the Champions League starts how will the players trust him if he’s never played with them before? They would be nervous with Almunia OR the new keeper. So surely a keeper should be brought in and played right from the start? I’m not sure there is a simple solution to this.
Personally I don’t know what Stack & Taylor are even doing at the club. If Wenger had any faith in them at all they would have played more games, and Almunia would never have been purchased in the first place.
June 24th, 2005 at 8:33 pm
I don’t think Lauren is underrated, he is fine for the Premiership but in the Champions League he is not really up to it.
Opponents are not even going down our left hand side anymore, coaches have spotted where the weak link is, and it’s Lauren. His positional sense is very poor, and he has cost us a lot of goals in that competition, maybe more than anyone.
Also Stag, you are saying rotate the central defenders, how? Neither Campbell or Senderos can play in Toure’s position, they are both too dependent on their left foot. You have probably notice how bad Campbell’s distribution is, he would be all over the place in Toure’s position. Senderos might be able to adapt, but I doubt it. So what if Toure gets injured? I really haven’t a clue what Wenger would do, thank god Cygan can’t play there either.
June 24th, 2005 at 8:57 pm
Agree with some of what you say….
GK: Need another world class one; Lehamann alone simply won’t do. I think wenger knows this, except no world class keeper with CL experience wants to leave their team now (not that I know of)
D: Ash is simply not the best L back in the world. He’s just not. Let’s not delude ourselves. IF he comes back, he’ll need to beg our forgiveness. If he doesn’t, Gael is not the best replacement because he is too short…..Yes defenders have to defend sometimes, even at Arsenal. We’ll need a taller L back.
M: We’re OK. I agree if Pires leaves, It’ll be a severe blow as he and TH14 know each other so well. Maybe that is where Hleb comes in??? FL8 has been talking some negative things which I don’t appreciate. He needs to get with it and have a better season. For me he did not contribute much in Europe. I think Guti would be good for us and Reyes.
F: don’t know this Adebayor kid, but sounds promising by what you describe. we need someone like him to get long balls to and to hold the ball and take the pressure off of TH14. This will make TH14 even more deadly (if that’s possible)…….As much as I love DB10, he will be part-timing it this season, and the not flying business has hurt us over the years in the CL.
Here’s to a trophy-filled season,
Go Gunners,
F
June 24th, 2005 at 9:08 pm
I believe the right wing has some responsibility to help the damned defender! Especially if he is having a bad day. You can’t field 11 superstars, unless you have 11 billion to spend. We don’t. So you have to pick your spots. United is in the Premier League, and they gave Ralphy fits! He just needs help at times from the winger. Its a team game! I wouldn’t be adverse to seeing us bring in a right back… but I’d imagine Arsene will see if Hoyte and Eboue can be the answer.
A defender can’t move over and play the other side? Good grief! Senderos played with Campbell last year, more than once! I believe he can adapt. Again, I wouldn’t be against bringing in a solid central defender either. I just don’t want to see projects… if we are going to spend the cash, get it done properly.
I’d rather see just 2 buys, and BOTH be sollid proven players… than 5 buys in which none are proven talent that can step in and perform.
June 24th, 2005 at 9:57 pm
Lauren, when encouraged I think, wants to be a right-sided midfielder. He’s serviceably pacey, although I agree he’s often caught out of position. Why? Stag more or less made the point.
Wenger’s been using him to improve the right-sided attack a la Cole. Freddie makes a run, Cesc is in the middle where he’s been drifting to help break up the five-man constipation and do the thru ball. Lauren’s high up the pitch, looking to make a cross or a clever lay off. Then, dispossession, long ball, and Lauren’s chasing a-hole. Champion’s league, can’t do that. Not in the knock-outs anyway.
Toure, I’m with you. What’s with his jumpy style? Looks like he’s three seconds away from a title on every ball. A little schizo, but when he’s on his athleticism overkills his responsibilities. He’s a monster. Like our keeper, we’re going to hope he’s had his rest.
And Sendy can play both sides well. Its Sol who can’t. Still, I would see if we can’t find a talented youngster to fill in. Cygan…well, I fear we haven’t seen the last of him.
June 24th, 2005 at 10:13 pm
You said that 4 out of the 6 forwards we have can only get better, what happens if they dont? By saying “can only get better” implies to me that you believe they are not the finished article. I agree they are not, they need another season to mature, bring in a proven class player…We can not put it all on El Tels shoulders again!
June 25th, 2005 at 12:46 am
I am with the rotation idea. I always beleived in it.
The question, where will Arsenal put all those Midfeilders.
We will have: Hleb, SWP, Cesce, Pires, Flamini, Veirra, Freddy, Gilberto, Bentley. and Maybe Gutti … where will AW play all those … I agree about CM but SWP, Helb, Peris, Freddy, Bentley are too much of headache to AW. Specially we have players like Bergy, and Reyes who can play realy well in the back for the striker.
See, I’d love to see SWP, but whome would I have to give up to see playing for him. I dunno, now I am excited about Helb… but so confused. I want to see more of Cesce and Benlty …
For Strikers, with Quincy looking promising, we have a good replacement for Henry, though I doubt he will play ahead of Persie or Reyes or Bergy. saying that Persie is in the Holland national team, he will demand to play more so Van Bastin will pick him up for the WC squad in Germany.
I think wenger should focus on Defenders and Goal Keepers …
June 25th, 2005 at 1:45 am
Nice article NBG, I agree with you on most of your ideas.
GK: Although it is true that Lehmann did have a much better second half of the season, it is also true that he had the benefit of a completely in form Senderos who didn’t allow many clear-cut chances on goal for Lehmann to deal with. I think that Arsene should seriously pursue the Portugese keeper Ricardo because he is still fairly young at 29 I think and Lehmann can’t have many good years left in him.
Defense: At right back we are very well set for the future with Eboue and Hoyte and meanwhile Lauren is a very capable stop gap for our two young boys. Centre backs are solid with the emergence of Phillippe and Kolo and a couple more years with Sol at world-class level. I still believe that we should keep Ashley despite all his efforts to rid himself of the jail that is Highbury, at least in his mind. There’s no denying that he is one of the top 2 left backs in the world along with Roberto Carlos.
Midfield: I think that the SWP signing would be absolutely brilliant, he seems like he has wanted to be in an Arsenal shirt for his whole life and he would fit in very well in our attacking style of football.
Strikers: Owen would be a dream signing but it seems like he won’t be going anywhere except Man U or Chelsea, so that doesn’t seem possible. But, hopefully RVP will be found innocent (if he is) and continue on the great progress that he made at the end of last season. I still believe that Reyes could be the answer as a complement to Thierry, he just needs to adjust to the English style of play.
So, to sum up, Ricardo, SWP, and maybe, just maybe, King Owen.
June 25th, 2005 at 8:18 am
Thats why we are just fans and Wenger is the manager who is paid the big bucks to solve those types of ‘headaches’
June 25th, 2005 at 10:31 am
Don’t really disagree with much here, but a few additional thoughts.
Don’t think he’ll bring in a veteran GK. Expect to see Jens for another 2-3 years, so he’ll bring in a young talent to be ready by then. I think we’ll have to ’suffer’ with Almunia as his backup (incl first couple of CL matches) this year. Not sure what’s going on with Stack and his legal problems.
RB - I too have liked what I see of Eboue. I frankly would like to see Toure as the main man here, while he backs up Sol/Senderos in the middle. I think Hoyte will go out on loan.
LB - Cole is not the best in the world, but pretty darned good, particularly going forward. Clichy is a more than able understudy.
Midfield - sounds like Hleb is coming (even though I’m very sceptical when Wenger is supposed to have said that he is in fact coming - very unlike him). Don’t know much about Hleb (wouldn’t even know how to pronounce his name!). Disagree that this would be the end of the line for Freddie. I expect Cesc to continue to impress, assuming he can get a rest at some point this summer. BTW, anyone seen his accurate deliveries on set pieces at the youth championships? Would be a significant upgrade, since frankly I think setpieces are one of our weaknesses, except direct freekicks from TH right outside the box.
Strikers - Would love to see TH get some more rest early in the year. Jose will be great. RVP - who knows? I agree that Ali could have a great year, if he can keep those injuries at bay. He looked strong (in every sense) when he came on towards the end of the season. I love Dennis - one of my top 4 Gunners of all time (together with Brady, Rix, Henry), but I don’t expect to see him much this year. He’s still amazing when given the space (Everton), but in a tight, physical game (CL, FA cup final) he disappears.
June 25th, 2005 at 10:49 am
I’ve heard we’ve been linked with Andreas Isaksson too, Curtisimo. I have a quick run-down on him. My Swedish mate told me that he’s quite good. He’s the first choice national keeper, and he’s played for Djurgarden, the traditional Allsvenskan powerhouse club.
(We ought to hate Djurgarden, they’re like the Man U of Sweden. If you want to support a Swedish side, support Enkoping, a very tiny club in a very tiny town outside Stockholm. The supporters are ace, and they used to have a Canadian goalkeeper, Kenny Stamatopoulos, who they called Kenny Starfighter. But with relegation Kenny left.)
But anyway, what Isaksson is doing at Rennes no one seems to know, as he probably could go to a bigger club. This is where we step in, I guess. Sounds like we could get him for fairly cheap, and though he doesn’t have European club experience (well, at least not much, I don’t know how much he played for Djurgarden in the Champions League) he did at least play every game for Sweden at Euro2004. For the record, Sweden beat Bulgaria 5-nil, drew with Italy 1-1 and drew with Denmark 2-2, and then lost on PKs to Holland in the quarter finals.
So all in all Isaksson might be a pretty good buy, especially when you consider his probable low transfer cost will appeal to the economist in Wenger.
I still hope though that Taylor is given more of a shot. Bob Wilson has so much faith in him, I wonder why Wenger doesn’t share that faith.
June 25th, 2005 at 4:20 pm
I saw both of Sweden’s draws in Euro2004. I hadn’t realized Isaksson was their keeper at the time. Guess I was too busy being mesmerized by Larsson & Zlatan’s play!
June 25th, 2005 at 6:55 pm
Where are folks reading that SWP is even on our radar screen?
I have read he is going to Chelsea for 18Million.
If thats the price for SWP, please… enjoy Chelsea and there rotation system. Its not my money, so generally, I don’t care about how much we spend! But in what country, other than Chelsea-land, is SWP an 18 million pound buy?
What a freaking joke.
There is no way in hell Arsene would spend that kind of cash on SWP. In my opinion, he’s not as good as Freddie, whom we already have under contract. I hope he goes for 18 mill. to Chelsea. Good luck!
June 25th, 2005 at 7:19 pm
I doubt Wright-Phillips will be at Arsenal or Chelsea next season. This is all paper talk. Hleb will fight with Ljungberg for right midfield, and Hleb is two footed so he can play left also - Wenger wouldn’t pay more than ?12m for Wright-Phillips anyway,
Chelsea don’t even need him.
June 25th, 2005 at 7:21 pm
I sort of agree with you, Stag. Shaun is definitely not worth 18 million pounds. But nor is he “better” than Ljungberg; I think the playing styles of the two are too different to allow for comparison. Certainly Shaun could fit in at the Arsenal even with Freddie, but again, no way will Arsene spend the 18 mil on just him. I guess it’s more out of the emotional connection that I want Shaun to sign with us.
June 25th, 2005 at 7:26 pm
Yeah but since when has that stopped them? They picked up three holding midfields (Makelele, Geremi, and Parker) when they only really needed the one. I bet they’d pick up Shaun only to flog him a season or so later.
June 26th, 2005 at 8:37 am
Well I hope they do buy him, because he would only unsettle Robben/Duff. As for Wright-Phillips, what makes him think he is better than those two? Might end up like Parker, in ruins.