Now that the transfer window is closed, what do people make of Arsenal’s first team squad till New Year? On the last day, we lost Hoyte and Bentley but got Poom. The players who left were in areas where we are quite strong - defence and wingers. The GK department has been strengthened, though Poom looks more like a short-term solution. The areas where we are short in numbers is central midfield and strikers, but we have good players there. I think Hleb can cover in the middle and Reyes or Pires or Hleb can play as a support striker. Maybe Quincy will also feature. The key is to remain fit and free from suspensions. If we manage it, I don’t see a problem. So I am keeping my fingers crossed and cheering Arsenal on. What say you?
18 Responses to “Strength in Depth”
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September 1st, 2005 at 8:54 am
It is surely an ambitious move to secure the service of Sunderland’s fourth choice keeper!! Poom was all right in his younger days, but has been out injured for a while. Wenger must know something I don’t, after all he is the master!
I think it was very positive that Bentley didn’t go on a permanent transfer, if he has a good season he could still play a part in the future Arsenal team. I furthermore believe that Ebone is a better player that Hoyte so it is great to see him go for some experience, he is still young.
The problem still remains; we don’t have a tough tackling midfielder, a ball winner. Gilberto is not, Cesc is not but Flamini could be!! Where is Mezzerano? Why is he still playing in Argentina and not a Highbury??
September 1st, 2005 at 8:59 am
We can only wait and see what happens. Personally I feel the squad is much too thin, 2 or 3 key injuries and this Arsenal team is very weak. Even without injuries I think Arsenal will drop points here and there, particularly at Liverpool & Man Utd. I think it is likely that we’ll be 8pts behind Chelsea/Man Utd by Christmas.
Otherwise, I think we need a few players to surprise us, Reyes, Van Persie, Senderos. All three need to grow up fast, come out of their shells and impose themselves on games like never before. I suppose my disagreement with Wenger is that he thinks they are ready, and I don’t.
Time will tell, I hope I’m wrong and he’s right. Even if it means some dipshits in here putting the boot in.
September 1st, 2005 at 9:13 am
I think you are spot on! A lot of players need to step up and have a great season for things not to turn bad!!
September 1st, 2005 at 9:17 am
I like Mascherano too. Wenger was very interested in him last summer when it appeared that Vieira would leave. Well, Vieira has left now, but Mascherano has not come. He recently made a big money ($15 million) move to Corinthians in Brazil to join his international teammate Carlos Tevez.
September 1st, 2005 at 9:18 am
Yes you are right, thanks for the update. We could actually use them both!!
September 1st, 2005 at 9:19 am
I think it’s high time Reyes performed. He has been around for 1.5 years and hasn’t justified his 17 million pound price tag. Van Persie has had a year under his belt (with some problems) and Senderos even less than that. But they are doing better than Reyes.
September 1st, 2005 at 9:34 am
I agree with a few here that, although our first team is formidable once they’re all on the same page, injuries could hurt us even more than they did last season. However, the same could be true for our main rivals to the title.
If its not a ruse to keep him out of an easy WC qualifier, John Terry is out for a month with a knee problem. Even with all their wasted talent, could he be the linchpin that when loosened collapses their house of cards? Depends on who they have coming up, maybe. As for United, only Roonitaur and Ruud look like scoring. Were one of them to bow out, their goals could dry up. At The Arsenal we score and make goals from a variety of places, and that will be needed for us to compete this season. Henry can’t do it all and adjust to his new role. With quite a few youngsters on the fast track to make sure we do, a lot of work and growing will need to be done.
I just read an interesting piece at ANR about Wenger’s control freak rigidity and in some ways have to agree. Most of us here work and live in environments where we have little control, so we need to be more practical. Its no wonder we’re often left scratching our heads at some of Wenger’s moves, and worry that his luck is running out. The league has adapted to us. I can only hope that we still know how to rise to the occasion and pull away.
We’re thin, but versatile. Let’s hope there’s enough power to keep the “system” running on all cylinders come May.
September 1st, 2005 at 9:34 am
I think Reyes is confused as to whether he is a winger or a striker. I think he is more comfortable and better as a winger.
September 1st, 2005 at 9:40 am
I too read that article on ANR. Most people accuse Arsenal of not having a plan B. Wenger thinks if people play to the gameplan correctly, we don’t need one. But as history as pointed out, sometimes it works (unbeaten season) and sometimes it doesn’t (last season). The next few games will tell us a lot. Boro, Everton and ManCity are decent mid-table teams. West Ham and West Brom are fighting against relegation. CL games have always been a struggle of us. Let’s see how we fare.
September 1st, 2005 at 10:18 am
Sadly Abrahamovic bought them both for his Brazilian feeder club. Mascherano is a midget anyway and to be honest you don’t need a tough tackling midfielder, I would hardly class Makalele as one would you? After Makalele, Silva is the best defensive midfielder in the league and certainly one of the best in the world - we are facked if he gets injured though.
September 1st, 2005 at 10:37 am
The only player Chelsea would struggle to replace is Makalele, Carvahlo can come in for Terry and they actually gain pace at the back at the slight expense of great aerial ability..sadly Terry will be back for October when they play Bolton, Liverpool, Everton and Blackburn.
September 1st, 2005 at 10:52 am
What the article will no doubt not admit to however is that MANY highly succesful people are “control freaks.” Artists, businessmen, athletes, coaches, politicians, etc. The geniuses in these fields & throughout history have been predominately “control freaks.”
Yes, Wenger may be a control freak, but he ever earns my respect b/c if you fail with your methods at least you have stayed true to yourself & your beliefs and the doubts of things such as “maybe if I would’ve trusted my instincts more” or “maybe it was the straying from my tactics/methods” etc. don’t factor in.
At the end of the day, you win your way, it’s so much more satisfying & if you lose your way, you can have the piece of mind that at least you just got beat fair & square. The opinions of others, esp. twits like us ranting on a message board really DON’T cause people like Wenger to lose sleep at night however much we want to believe our opinions matter…
Our sqaud is a bit thin, Wenger has made some interesting, perhaps questionable moves, we will have a mighty challenge on our hands this season… but it’s going to be fun & interesting!
Up the Arse! Kepp the faith!
For my Gooner brethren in the South-
REMEMBER KATRINA!
REMEMBER THE GULF COAST!
September 1st, 2005 at 10:52 am
I wrote a post yesterday on this exact thing; Strength in Depth. One point worth repeating is in the unbeaten season, we definitely had strength in depth. When Vieira was down, came back too soon and re-aggrevated the same injury, our strong bench kept our unbeaten run going. Ljunberg and Cole were also injured but it allowed us to see how good Clichy was and that Parlour could still play some good football. Everyone also got to see how good Edu was as well (esp.in the CL against Celta Vigo). With those guys we had players who could come in and the team didn’t miss a beat. We were so dangerous then. With Gilberto back, we really didn’t need to change too much.
Now, with Vieira gone, we appear to be a bit soft in the middle and it’s not an issue of having depth but having midfielders who can reproduce the same standard. Our young guys don’t have a choice. Wenger has placed his trust in them and they have to perform. If they don’t Wenger will look like Manure when they sold Stam or Madrid when they sold Makelele.
September 1st, 2005 at 11:04 am
Absoultely brilliant piece, Curt! IF AW would listen to any other but himself, I would have lost my respect to him, bet he would have lost the respect to himself. You win it your way, lost it your way. That’s what a great manager should be. Get somebody to tell Brian Clough, Alex Ferguson how to run their team, or who to buy who to sell? Not a chance.
September 1st, 2005 at 11:53 am
Well said. But control freaks are, by their very nature, flawed, they often fail to see their own undoing.
I guess we are picking apart these flaws, but that doesn’t make us twits.
I don’t need to be the President of America to know that it’s wrong to lie to a nation and thieve countries of their oil, and I don’t have to be Arsene Wenger to analyse where his football management tactics are going wrong.
Of course that doesn’t mean I could do his job any better, but that doesn’t make me or others wrong either.
September 1st, 2005 at 11:57 am
I’m not sure Vieira’s absence has been shown up in any of our matches so far, but of course we still need someone in case of injuries - too late now though.
I’m still far more concerned by the defence and the lack of striking power.
September 1st, 2005 at 1:12 pm
You don’t need to be the President to know much of anything these days. And vice versa to a degree. As always, its WHO you know. One man cannot run the show anymore when corporate interests are so tied into politics. I’m still waiting for the bully pulpit statement telling us to conserve gas while we cultivate other sources of energy. I’ll be waiting a long time, I think. Still, the situation shouldn’t be oversimplified. Democratic influence over a major source of the world’s fossil fuels surely factors in there somewhere, but so does religious fundamentalism and extremism born of years of being whipped and left behind as a serving class. And then there’s the Saudi’s…
Anyway, as I see it, the only favorable option being a control freak affords you over other flawed types in power is when those flaws are exposed, they’re easy to identify and possibly correct. One chef pretty much defines accountability when the soup sucks.
At least we know where The Arsenal are trying to go and how they’re trying to get there. Now we’ll see if it gets us close.
September 2nd, 2005 at 12:27 pm
Well said DannyT: I am excited at the thought of the young talent coming of age, esp. Reyes. And you are spot on, this really will determine whether Arsenal win trophies this year or not. Without goals against top opposition (which have been hard to come by last two years) and goals late in matches against mid-table opposition in February we won’t have much to celebrate. The kids have got to step up!