Assuming we make one significant summer acquisitions (Hleb probably), plus some younger longer-term talents), and a couple of departures (Cygan, Taylor), here?s my expected Arsene depth-chart for ?05/?06. I expect AW to convince Cole to stay. Hoping Pires will be here, but getting more concerned. Love the Gilberto/Cesc combo, but probably won?t see it much except for the inevitable Vieira injuries/suspension. Would love to see Owen, but very unlikely. Guti could happen - it would be a more traditional Wenger experienced acquisition: very talented, but somewhat out of favor with his current club. E.g. Pires, Henry.
GK -
Lehman
Almunia
Stack? ? not sure of his legal situation
New 20ish GK
RB -
Toure
Eboue
Lauren
Hoyte
CBs -
Senderos & Campbell
Toure
new 20ish CB
Djourou
LB -
Cole
Clichy
Eboue
RM -
Freddie
Hleb
Quincy
Bentley
Lauren
CMs -
Gilberto & Vieira
Cesc
Flamini
Larsson
LM -
Pires
Hleb
Quincy
Clichy
Reyes
CFs -
Henry & Reyes
Van Persie?
Aliadiere
Bergkamp
Lupoli
This season?s ?Senderos/Cesc? newcomer award: Quincy
Potential to break through to make meaningful contribution this year: Eboue, Aliadiere, Lupoli, Djourou, Larsson
Make or break year: Bentley
?06/’07 potential breakthrough: Smith, Stokes, Muamba
I expect Hoyte, Smith and Larsson to go out on loan. Maybe Aliadiere.
22 Responses to “Depth chart”
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June 27th, 2005 at 7:48 am
Looks about right. A few things though:
Quincy cant play on the right can he? we’ve seen him upfront and on the left but never on the right?
Hleb as cover for the left?
Dont be suprised if Cygan is still at arsenal when the season starts, and it also looks like Aliadiere might be off to celtic on loan.
We’re going to need a new striker, thats for sure. With Bergkamp only playing a bit-part, RVP’s future unclear, Lupoli still not upto standard it leaves us a bit short upfront.
June 27th, 2005 at 8:25 am
I have been waiting for this and know Stag will not agree with me here but I think this is the best time to cash in on PV for ?30M. I will let him go anytime with the new bloke “Hleb” about to join the greatest club on earth.
People have to lived in the world of reality and if the story in the sun is true, I hope Arsenal do the right thing and let him go. This is will be our last chance knowing even without PV we have the best midfield players provided they are all fit and well. Gilberto with Hleb will do the business plus ?30M in the bank. We need the moeny.
Plese this is nothing to do with PV but common sense knowing we need a good striker/CD at the moment not to forget a good goalie.
Stag what do you think?
June 27th, 2005 at 8:50 am
Love G, you know I don’t want to see our CAPTAIN go anywhere… and was hoping for a nice quiet Summer for PV!
I believe it might be a bad signal / sign for the team and players if Vieira is sold. What would Freddie say now about our ambitions, when we are selling our Captain. I remember Henry making comments last season about leaving if Vieira left.
If we got $30 million for Vieira, I believe it would be a shrewd business deal for the Arsenal Football Club. I don’t believe PV’s value is going to go up in the next few years.
The problem is, we don’t have any player in the team that fits his role. You can dislike Vieira, hate him, think he is over-rated, I’ve heard all the non-sense. But, if you don’t bring in a player that replaces him, that fills the role of tough physical and mental player in the middle of the pitch, this Arsenal finesse team will be walked over by more than a few teams.
Sell Vieira for 30Million? I’d say NO. But lets say YES, and then you tell me WHO we are bringing in during the Summer… and if that shows what ambitions this club really has for this season & next. Tell me Henry won’t be sold next to Barcelona… or if PV goes, why he shouldn’t say, SELL ME too!
I think selling Paddy would open up a bigger can of worms than imaginable, UNLESS a proven star, a proven lion, is brought in to play the middle of the park.
Let me tell you, thats not Cesc or Gilberto or Hleb or anyone else we currently have. There’s nobody close to the role he plays.
Its Football. Anything can happen, and usually does. Vieira could be sold tomorrow. So could Henry. Its who you replace the players with that signals your ambitions.
June 27th, 2005 at 8:53 am
Maybe I’ll chime in, l_G, while Stag is sharpening his pencil.
Selling Paddy off right now would be a mistake. His apparent newfound loyalties at what must be the very peak of his career makes him essential in his role as captain. He can lead by example on and off the pitch, even through the summer, and Wenger and he now have the working relationship that could get us deep into Europe. Its as if his entire career has been leading to this moment. As Wenger isn’t much for cashing on his stars since he buys smartly and inexpensively (Reyes notwithstanding), Paddy may once again be the most important figure for AFC. A linchpin.
And I’m not sure we need money that badly, either. Wenger isn’t making purchases based on what we have, as in, he wouldn’t buy more if we had more. He’s got what he needs from the club to fill in just where he thinks we need filling. If Ali goes to Celtic?depending on what happens to Bentley? he’ll be the only Gunner not giving a direct return for his wages to the side. We’ve got no Crespo’s in our squad. Wenger runs a tight ship, and every pound/Euro is working towards the team.
Wenger’s also believe in the Pires, Henry, Vieira triumvirate. Breaking it could weaken three careers. He’d rather be buried with Highbury.
June 27th, 2005 at 8:57 am
Wanted to add that Ali is the only real ACTIVE Gunner poised to step up that would be on loan, besides Bentley. I know we’re likely to have a keeper out, young defender, etc.
And I agree with Stag when he says Paddy would need to be replaced. Good luck with that task.
June 27th, 2005 at 8:59 am
and let me add this…
I don’t care about the 30 million, unless its SPENT on players. I don’t give a rat’s ass about the Club cashing in a star and profiting 30 million at all… as I don’t have stock in the club. I want a WINNER on the pitch. IF, we were to sell Vieira, there is no guarantee we’d spend the money to bolster the squad.
And on Aliadiare… I am not very happy at all about him possibly going out on loan. I think he has more than deserved his chance here at the AFC. He has fought hard and battled back from injuries repeatedly. Why not sell him back to France, like he said he was interested in doing?
If we aren’t going to play Aliadiare this season, I say let this talented kid go back to his native France and try and restart/blossom his career. He should be STARTING a number of games for Arsenal next season, not suiting up in a season long loan to Celtic… especially with RVP’s status in total question. That, makes ZERO sense.
June 27th, 2005 at 9:13 am
and…
Stuart Taylor has apparently severed ties with the Arsenal Football Club, and will be with Aston Villa next season. (SkySports)
June 27th, 2005 at 9:15 am
It is not the 30m pounds that Arsenal can get for PV4. He is still in the prime of his career although last season was somewhat a form dip for him which I believe can be attributed to injuries. By selling the club captain, Arsenal will be sending a message to the other players that we lack ambition. Henry was quoted last season that he will question Arsenal’s ambition if Arsenal had let Viera go to RM. The repurcussions thru the team will be enormous and negative. And who do we have at the moment who can step in to be the captain?!
If we are going to release any one player, I rather it be Reyes to RM than Viera. Reyes caused Arsenal 17m pounds 1.5yrs ago and except for a few great moments, he has not been Arsenal’s differentiator for a large part. What he has is potential which unfortunately, we are not seeing all of it at the moment. So why not trade him over to RM for Owen instead? I say keep Viera as he is for now, too important to Arsenal to be released.
June 27th, 2005 at 9:58 am
Well, latest rumour is that Robinho to Madrid move has broken down. So maybe we will have him to partner Henry up front. Wouldnt that be some spectacle!
Our left mid is still a bit weak thou, considering that you really only have Pires and Reyes as an out and out winger
June 27th, 2005 at 10:51 am
Love G, I think you may be onto something about selling Viera. I know it would be a shrewd business move, but the question is, would it be such a good football move. With no decent attempt made to hold Edu, Pires possibly departing as well, selling Viera would be way too high a level of upheaval to put on the team in one summer. If we were to not win either the league or the CL next year than everyone would pile on Wenger for having sold him.
Luckily However I have just read a story that says Pires, Viera and Henry are staying. I dont know if its true though.
June 27th, 2005 at 10:56 am
Courtesy of Sporting Life.com:
[Arsenal star Robin van Persie has been released from custody in Holland after spending two weeks behind bars over rape allegations.
The 21-year-old striker had been custody in Rotterdam since being arrested on Monday June 13, after a woman accused him of sexually assaulting her.
A prosecution spokeswoman said Van Persie had been released earlier on Monday afternoon and was now free to return to England.
She said he remained a suspect, but that it was no longer necessary to hold him for the purposes of the investigation.]
This doesn’t mean he won’t be charged, but its a step in the right direction. Remaining a suspect, is much different than being charged.
June 27th, 2005 at 11:03 am
I Knew he was being framed all along.
A top football player like Van Persie has women by the millions lined up around the block waiting to take their clothes off for him. He does not need to commit rape in order to get laid. The Dutch police must have been stupid not to have arrested and charged the woman in question for filing a false report on the spot.
June 27th, 2005 at 11:14 am
I’m not sure this means he’s all in the clear as he still remains a suspect. I think this means that they’ve gotten all the evidence they can get with him in custody and that to hold him longer they would have to officially charge him.
It bodes well that a case hasn’t been secured against him yet, but its difficult to tell where the Dutch police are in process. They could be collecting more witnesses’ testimony, checking alibis, separating facts from fiction, etc.
I agree, however, that these things, if they turn out to be false, do damage anyway. Any move by RvP in the wake of this will likely be viewed with suspicion. If the poor kid is in the same city where a crime of this nature is committed, his name will be dredged up and it’ll start all over. If it could be proven that the “victim” was lying, it should carry a heavy penalty.
June 27th, 2005 at 11:24 am
LoveG, of the annual Vieira War of Debate, I would love to join in too!
Let me put it this way - if we sell a striker, Henry for example, it would be a great loss to us. But if we want to use the money (from selling Henry) on buying ourselves another top striker, Schenkov or Ronaldinho (wrong spelling i know!) for example, we would land ourselves a striker with less quality (than Henry IMO) but not too far away.
If we sell Vieira, sure we would get the cash, but the problem is - how do we replace him with a midfielder of the similiar quality? Steven Gerrard asides, I can’t think of anyone else in the world now is as dominated as a central midfielder as Paddy. I don’t care how ppl been saying Paddy is not the same player he once was, the simple fact is if there IS really someone else out there as good as him, the likes Real and Juve wouldn’t keep coming back and try to price him away would they?
Money is only good when u can use them to buy a proper replacement.
June 27th, 2005 at 11:33 am
I see you mentioned Stokes. I’m interested to see how far/fast this Irish kid can progress/develop. He’s shown some pretty decent skill for a 17 yr. old in some reserve matches. Plus I think he plays wide or can play wide so maybe he’s a long term candidate for that right midfield/wing spot.
Personally I think Bentley will be gone for good soon or next year.
June 27th, 2005 at 11:59 am
Plus we dont know yet whether or not the new players coming in will be adequate replacement for Edu
June 27th, 2005 at 12:10 pm
My suspicion is that the people in the Dutch legal system who are investigating the case are RVP haters.
The woman who filed the false report deserves to be put away for a long time.
June 27th, 2005 at 12:49 pm
How do you know Hleb can play central midfield? What type of player is Hleb? Do you even know? What makes him an adequate replacement for Vieira?
When you answer these questions, perhaps we can consider whether your opinion is more than lunacy.
June 27th, 2005 at 1:20 pm
I understand where you coming from but I guess you did not read or understand where I was coming from. You right anything can happen in football and with the amount of quality midfielders we have selling PV to improve our squad is not a bad idea if it is ?30m.
June 27th, 2005 at 1:22 pm
Scotty I’ve my navy kit on. But hey I have to loved Stag. He came up with some good points and respect him for that.
June 27th, 2005 at 4:16 pm
If we in fact could get 30mm pounds for Vieira, Wenger should probably sell him. Agree that in that case we would need to strengthen the midfield, but with say Guti for 8-12mm + one or two other established stars, we should be in pretty good shape. Gilberto/Cesc is my favorite pairing anyway.
However, 30mm pounds is way above Patrick’s market value at this point. Wenger (reluctantly) had agreed to sell him to RM for 22 or 23mm a year ago, and his value is probably off 25% or so since then. He was great until 2 years ago, good in 03/04 and nothing special last year. Combined with him being injury prone and some question marks about his longevity (something about one leg being significantly shorter than the other), probably means you couldn’t get more than 16-18mm for him.
At that price, there’s no way I would sell him. Hopefully he and Gilberto can pick up the partnership where they were at the end of 03/04, and then Wenger can find ways to rotate/utilize Cesc/Flamini, we should be in good shape in the middle of the park.
I’ve no idea if Hleb will play a role in the middle; sounds like he’s more of a wide player.?
June 27th, 2005 at 4:24 pm
Agree about giving Ali a real chance this year. 20 or so full games. I think he could give Henry a real breather every now and then. I guess the news are a little bit better on RVP today, but still a lot of uncertainty there.
I assume the reason Wenger is not selling him to France, is that he really believes in his long term potential.
I might be wrong, but I believe the ’season-long’ loans have some clause about potentially bringing him back early if we need him for injuries or whatever.
If he goes out on loan, Celtic would be a good choice: intensity of British football, play in Europe….