To further the interesting discussion on possible formations next season - a lot of interesting comments have been made in the previous article.
I am in agreement with people like Sheed, etc, that think that 4-3-3 could be a viable option for next season. But I dont just think it is a viable option, I am almost certain that this is what AW has planned for next season. A few pointers. He is not really buying typical 4-4-2 players. Also some of the players we have are not typical 4-4-2 players.
Our new pitch of which AW decided the dimensions is very large. I think it will probably be the largest in the league (similar to the Nou camp). A 4-4-2 can not work on this kind of pitch and especially with our style of play. The answer to this is NOT the 4-5-1 but the 4-3-3. AW only used the 4-5-1 out of necessity and desperation. Note that the 4-3-3 is probably the most attacking formation possible (when played right). The only 2 teams I know that actually play it are Barcelona and Lyon. And they play very offensive football and on very big pitches (you see the similarities?).
The premise of the 4-3-3 is that the front 3 dont really defend that much. Just as Ronaldinho, Giuly, Messi and co dont really defend much. Meaning that the CMs have to help out a bit more defensively and they must be very good passers to bring the ball quickly and accurately to the forwards early enough.
The disadvantage of this formation is that this might leave the wingbacks a bit vulnerable - the CMs will have to help them out. The advantage is that the team with this formation is attacking constantly and is holding the ball upfront consistently. Ofcourse we know that the best form of defense is by an effective offense. Barcelona does this very, very well. Their defenders and their keeper will not enter a lot of top teams…yet they are Spanish and CL champions. This is because of their attack.
Also: we are moving to a new stadium where most of the fans in the stadium will be paying through their noses for tickets - the most expensive in the land and probably in the world! Guess what? These people dont want to see defensive play. They want a spectacle. They want panache. For the ticket money they will be paying they will DEMAND it. A large percentage of the people that will be in the stadium wont be hardcore Arsenal fans, they will be a lot of people there just because we have a reputation as an attacking and entertaining side. They are rich and they are a bit fickle. These people are needed to actually fill a 60,000 seater stadium while paying exorbitant fees.
Only a spectacle - ala what Barca feeds their fans will do. Our 2004 style of play will also work - the only problem is the very large pitch, which means there is not much possibility of very short, crisp passes.
Now, concerning our team, I know for sure that AW is a very big fan of how Barca play. A lot of his recent buys in the last 2 years seem to be geared at a 4-3-3.
Walcott, RvP, Ade, Reyes, Rosicky, Hleb and Ribery (yes, im jumping the gun, i know).
Next season, we wont play with wingers, just the same way Ronaldinho and Messi are not wingers - but with AMs/CFs types with good dribbling and close control - Hleb, Rosicky, Reyes and possible Ribery fit this bill. Note also that 3 CMs will benefit Senderos and Gilberto immensely.
I think we will see us turning out for us next season like this. (Note I am totally going to jump the gun and put in Ribery and Davies instead of Campbell in there). I also assume Cole stays - though this is seeming unlikely by the day.
Lehmann (Almunia)
Eboue (Gilbert) - Toure (Djorou) - Senderos (Davies) - Cole (Clichy)
Rosicky (Ljunberg) - Gilberto (Flamini) - Cesc (Diaby)
Hleb (RvP) - Henry (Ade) - Ribery (Reyes)
This still leaves room for Walcott, Lauren, Song, Lupoli, Bendter etc. In truth we cant keep more than 22 players in our first team and keep them all satisfied, so expect some fringe players to leave.
Though I think if we buy Ribery then we will try to sell Reyes. Because one or two of them will get really frustrated. So maybe Hleb, RvP and Ribery (or Reyes) can altenate between 2 spots. And we can also put in Walcott in there. RvP as impressed me greatly in that position and I think this is where his future lies. Also note that Ljunberg?s future is in the middle like in last seasons CL matches.
Ribery and Hleb can be our own Ronaldinho and Messi (even though these 2 players are entirely in a class of their own). Our vulnerability will be the space infront of the full backs…but guess what Barca survived with Gio and Belleti…we have Cole and Eboue, a much better duo.
Also: AW will DEFINITELY not bring back Vieira (even though I wont mind this). He never goes back to a player he has sold or to a player who has snubbed him (Baptista).
All in all, AW will probably not buy more than one or two more players. I think if Cole stays and Sol too (or is replaced effectively) and we get somebody in the mold of Ribery and a 2nd keeper to challenge Lehmann a bit….we will have quite a strong team able to challenge for four cups. We might even be able to sell Reyes, if Real come in with a 15 million pound bid.
In conclusion, I am saying that AW will open the new stadium with explosive, attacking, all-out football. Similar in a lot of ways to the way Barca play. This is his philosophy, this is his legacy, he planned and built up the stadium - he wont play tactical or defensive football in it - this I am absolutely sure of.
And the 4-3-3 (or slight variations) is the only formation that will allow him to act out his dream fully on such a huge pitch.
Will this be able to take back the premiership this next season. Maybe! But probably not. Watch out though for 2007/2008. And I will bet 50 bucks on that!
46 Responses to “Four - Three - Three”
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July 10th, 2006 at 8:21 am
WOW! i wrote this like 2 months ago….thot it would never get posted…..
anyway my opinion remains generally the same with the exception of vieira who i think we definitelz dont need anymore!
July 10th, 2006 at 8:31 am
Interestingly constructed article.
But as people say here football is not the same as Championship Manager.
Gelling as a team is more important than formations and to so point players.
Getting a team to play together, is a hard thing to do.
The differences between 4 5 1 and 4 3 3 can be very small.
You attack as 4 3 3 and defend as 4 5 1.
Your theory that the front three dont defend is a bit basic.
Even Henry defends. By chasing the ball high up the pitch when the opposition has the ball in defence acts as a form of defence.
That said, if the front three dont go into their own half of the box it adds pressure to the midfield three.
You would therefore need two holding midfield players and one creative player. We lack holding midfield players so I dont think we will do that.
Also having three fowards will mean that the balls will go out to the wings and the ball will be crossed into the box, but who will be there? Henry to head the ball in? I dont think so. Fabregas joining the play? I dont think so?
The three forwards you are refering to, would need to come back a bit to create space in the middle, so they can work together. As the pitch will be bigger the distance between the front three will be massive as well.
July 10th, 2006 at 8:47 am
Two years ago, in order to counter the oppositions packing the midfield with 4-5-1, Wolverhampton Wanderers manager Glenn Hoddle instructed the ground man to expand the size of the pitch.
If report is true AW instructed to make the new pitch bigger, the idea is clear…
July 10th, 2006 at 8:53 am
ofcourse henry defends!
even ronaldinho and riquelme defend….
but in a really attacking 4-3-3 the front 3 are given far less defensive responsibility.
and in a real 4-3-3 there are NO real wingers (apart from the wingbacks coming to support) so there will be not really be an increase in crosses! there are 2 supporting forwards (think ronaldinho, bergkamp, etc) supporting a main striker.
July 10th, 2006 at 8:57 am
OK then you dont have any width.
With a traditional 4 4 2, you have width two wingers and two CM’s.
Three central forwards, will create space in the middle but I dont think it would work for us.
Our biggest success came in the CL where we played 4 5 1 breaking into 4 4 3 where the midfield two infront of the holding player found space on the break with small neat passes.
July 10th, 2006 at 9:04 am
yeah, but the specs for the emirates pitch was settled over 2 years ago….. at a time when 4-5-1 was not even in fashion yet…pre-mourinho days….
it is possible we are going to continue with a 4-4-2….but we still have only 3 strikers and we are not really being linked to so many strikers…..
yet we have a surplus of attacking midfielders and potential supporting strikers….
gilberto and cesc are almost definitely going to be in our first team this season…..yet if these two play alone in a 2 man central midfield we will have exactly the same problems as last season….
and i just cant see AW playing a 4-5-1 for a whole season…
July 10th, 2006 at 9:04 am
yeah, but the specs for the emirates pitch was settled over 2 years ago….. at a time when 4-5-1 was not even in fashion yet…pre-mourinho days….
it is possible we are going to continue with a 4-4-2….but we still have only 3 strikers and we are not really being linked to so many strikers…..
yet we have a surplus of attacking midfielders and potential supporting strikers….
gilberto and cesc are almost definitely going to be in our first team this season…..yet if these two play alone in a 2 man central midfield we will have exactly the same problems as last season….
and i just cant see AW playing a 4-5-1 for a whole season…
anyway, this is all guess work…..the next couple of buys by AW will paint us much clearer picture…
July 10th, 2006 at 9:08 am
well, barca and lyon play with 4-3-3 yet they have a lot of width……it just means that their wingbacks have more work to do…..
July 10th, 2006 at 9:33 am
Total football!!!
But can’t see it happening. I don’t agree that the players AW signed are suited for this formaiton. Hleb as a supporting striker? Nope, maybe for one of the 2 CM positions, competing with Cesc, Rosicky and Diaby for a place in the first 11. Ribery is a pure winger, he likes to beat people with dribbling or just run past them, so he is more suited for a 4-4-2. And if we want to play 4-3-3 we must keep Reyes, his best position is a supporting striker, so with him and RvP behind Henry, WOW…
But as I said, can’t see Wenger change his style of play, I expect Arsenal to play 4-4-2 next season.
July 10th, 2006 at 9:33 am
If Arsenal plays 4-3-3, the team will need to start to play more long balls out of defence to the forwards/wingers to latch on because trying to play the ball thru the opposition’s 5 man midfield will be futile. Wenger’s preferred formation is 4-4-2 with quick wing-backs doubling as wingers so I will be surprised if he change formation next season.
July 10th, 2006 at 9:51 am
Good article (and even better if you wrote this 2 months ago). You must have written this on the eve of the Rosicky signing and before everyone really got a chance to see what Ribery can do or where Ribery could have slotted in for the French team.
I did think on how Arsenal’s playing style would have changed with the new stadium. Arsenal did have the option of keeping the pitch small but I couldn’t see them going for that. My fear was back in the days when Arsenal played CL football at Wembley, they were exposed with the bigger pitch. But I hope the team gets enough training on the new ground and I am sure Wenger has thought about that.
They need a few players for sure and in a way it is good to hear players saying they want to sign for Arsenal. That is one story we have not had enough of in the past 2-3 years.
July 10th, 2006 at 11:23 am
Fred, the size of the pitch can be adjusted at ANY time. Highbury was an exception because the actual size of the ground surface itself.
As I said, Glenn Hoddle expanded the pitch size of Wolves home field MID WAY of the season.
July 10th, 2006 at 11:27 am
Good point gunner4life. + the fact we have two extremely attacking minded full backs in Cole and Eboue. 4-3-3 will leave our central halfs even more exposed at the back, meaning a quick counter attacking team like Chelsea will have Kolo and Senderos for breakfast.
July 10th, 2006 at 11:49 am
I’ve always believed deeply in the 4-3-3, and think the blend of personnel and the change of home pitch space cited in this article make this shift in formation a logical - and enticing - prospect for the Gunners as they move into this promising new era.
July 10th, 2006 at 12:07 pm
senderos for breakfast…..probably….
but kolo….no way, he’s got great recovery….
my point is that barca use this and are not frequently exposed ‘cos they impose their will on their games both in the league and in the CL. and in spain there are also a lot of defensive and fast counter attacking teams too…though probably not on the same level with chelsea i agree.
the point is: we can’t play defensive football this next season!!! this goes against everything AW stands for…yeah, last season we were on the ropes…but wenger won’t want to join chelsea on the 4-5-1 bandwagon.
BUT with 4-4-2, we will still have fabregas and gilberto alone AGAIN like last season…but on a BIGGER pitch…
so what other options are there really?
yeah, 4-3-3 is a lot of work…..but then again attacking football always is…..
would we stay with 4-4-2 and risk seeing the same problems of last season….or will join the “evil axis” that play the 4-5-1 that is killing football…….
OR will we join the other TOTAL FOOTBALL teams like holland (70s), ajax (70s and early 90s), etc…
i think wenger will prefer to join this last group.
also may i reiterate that our ticket prices will be the HIGHEST in the world … no other stadium with such a capacity as even close to our ticket prices….
we won’t have a chance filling it with dour football. Only a spectacle will allow the average fan give out his month’s salary for a game’s ticket….and with a smile on his face!
and even poor souls like me…shelling out money on cable tv won’t mind a spectacle at all…..god knows football is what helps keep a lot of us moderately happy in this world where turning on cnn or bbc is cue for hearing disaster “breaking news” everyday!!
and can AW deliver ??
SURE HE CAN!
July 10th, 2006 at 12:19 pm
and the midfield three wil have to cover when they bomb forward.
If you wanted to play 4 3 3 the forwards would be like Reyes Henry and RVP or Walcott instead of Reyes.
That might work but you would need Yaya Toure, Fabregas and Diaby in midfield for there to be a balance.
July 10th, 2006 at 12:21 pm
I favour any formation that creates attacking football.
I’m getting bored of all these defensive formations being used today. Okay I know you use what it takes to win but that doesn’t mean I have to like it. I didn’t much like watching Henry play CF and waiting for the long ball either. No surprise that this WC for example had such a low goal count.
Total football - why the hell not, anything to make the game more exciting. Yes, I’m being selfish as a fan but I’m okay with that.
July 10th, 2006 at 12:22 pm
Yup, the fickle 30000 on the season ticket waiting list will turn away in droves if we don’t play 433.
July 10th, 2006 at 12:28 pm
this was beaten to death in the will we/won’t we qualify for the CL next season as some thought it’d be the end of Arsenal if we didn’t. Avg London salary ?40k, avg disposable income ?16.5k - that buys a few tickets.
July 10th, 2006 at 12:42 pm
I’ll start by noting that I greatly prefer our TH14 to the TH12 that i saw the last few weeks.
During the WC, I saw an Henry that desperately wanted to be the 4-5-1 spear point, with chances created from there. Thru the Brazil match we saw it in the frustrating (for him and us) number of offside calls when the link was not just right, especially on the over the top vertical play that we Gooners love so much. During Portugal and Italy we saw the opposite. Whether due to tactical instructions or from TH aggro, Henry held back and appeared to be lurking in a central second wave position, only nominally the lone striker. There were times yesterday when I was wondered aloud why Henry was not in the box.
My point is twofold. First, I think that our man Henry flourishes in the 4-5-1 and we better well have better linkage than we saw between he and Reyes last season before we commit to a 4-3-3.
Second, what a credit to the quality of the France side for them to progress as they did with such a disappointing performance from Henry, one of the best players in the world. Not all his fault, but a combination of personnel and style mismatches; the ego battles that we’ve all read about (though silenced by the winning run); and yes, less clinical finishing than we’ve come to expect from Henry.
There is a reason why TH14 bagged 27 for us last year and I’d be careful before we threw that away.
July 10th, 2006 at 12:55 pm
why remain anonymous dear sir?
July 10th, 2006 at 1:08 pm
u have a good point…..
average london salary is high…..but u must be joking to think such a massive number will continue to pay a massive percentage of their salary on just football !!! (forget abt holidays, savings, new car? etc!)
why should a north londoner watch a team (with hardly any north londoners) and pay excessively if he won’t be thoroughly entertained……
people wont pay the HIGHEST TICKET fees in the world just to watch CHESS games….just the same way u wont shell out to watch a dreadful movie……whoever u are!
July 10th, 2006 at 1:30 pm
Fred, don’t get me wrong. I actually love your idea. ‘Cos surely i love attacking football much more than negative football. A few more Mourinho the game will be killed.
July 10th, 2006 at 1:38 pm
This one was mine - not sure why it registered anon.
July 10th, 2006 at 2:07 pm
A few thoughts:
1. AW has thankfully and stubbornly stuck with the 4-4-2 in the EPL regardless of the team on the pitch or the opposing formation. There are a few exceptions, but AW usually plays the football he wants.
2. Especially if AC3 stays (and maybe if he doesn’t), we’ll continue to have two speedy fullbacks who are suited to charging forward. The holding midfielder is one of the enablers of these movements. Who will cover in a 4-3-3?
3. We’ve played in a 4-4-2 for years and are consistantly the most exciting, entertaining and high-scoring club in England. I don’t see why there’d be any need for change.
July 10th, 2006 at 2:11 pm
I like the 4-3-3 and I believe that with Adebayor in the team it will be very scary to deal with. Who would want to deal with any of our strikers on that big, big field? van Persie’s got shakes, Henry’s got turbos and Adebayor’s got tricks.
Granted I don’t see all three of them playing at the same time for the entire game, it’s still going to be interesting to see. I believe Gilberto will be better because the big field will give him more time. Also Flamini tracks back better than Fabregas. I would still like to see someone come in and truly challenge Gilberto; not Song or Flamini, but some new and experienced blood (Vogel). Who said that? Enough with the subliminal mind games!
We’ve got too many midfielders to play with 3 strikers but we do need a holding mid and a new CB, then we can challenge for titles on all fronts. Let’s make it happen Arsene.
July 10th, 2006 at 2:14 pm
There’s a problem with your system in that it’s far too attacking and it also has to assume that Arsenal will always have the lion’s share of possession. There’s no defensive midfielders except Gilberto, whilst the defence itself (Senderos, Eboue) cannot be trusted enough to be exposed like that. In fact, how would Eboue get forward with Ljungberg and Hleb in front of him - they’d all be in eachothers way?
You’re also pushing Henry into the middle, and he doesn’t like it there. If there’s one player you don’t want to upset positionally it’s Henry - he’s too influential to tamper with like that - see how France fail to get the best out of him.
Besides, if you utilise brave attacking systems like that in some games but not others you tend to confuse the players - footballers like to know where everyone else is on the pitch, week in week out. If one minute it’s 4-4-2, the week after 4-3-3, and the next 4-5-1 in Champions League etc, you won’t ever get a cohesive performance.
Wenger will stick to 4-4-2, and when the game is stretched he will bring on more attacking players depending on the situation. We’ve seen it before when in the last 10 minutes he has 4 strikers on the pitch.
In theory, attack, attack, attack sounds great and we have the players to do it, in reality it can backfire horribly.
July 10th, 2006 at 2:23 pm
Theoretically it makes sense, when you look at how small Highbury is you would think a 5-man midfield would totally incapacitate Arsenal. Yet although most teams come to Highbury and play that way, our home form is still generally excellent.
Maybe a bigger pitch could count in our favour in the last 20 minutes - if the opposition gets more tired closing down the space, but it’s yet to be proven. I still think home form is very much psychological and to do with the crowd support and players being used to playing on a particular surface, irrespective of the size of the pitch etc.
July 10th, 2006 at 2:30 pm
Wenger will stick to 4-4-2, and so he should.
Last year Wenger was forced into playing 4-5-1 because of injuries, and I believe had he not been forced into it we never would have got to the Champions League final.
Wenger is a poor tactician, that has always been my belief. He buys fantastic players and gives them great belief, but tactics are his big let down.
He still has to learn that, especially in the Champions League, a lot of teams are better than Arsenal, and to have too much confidence in your players can be a bad thing. Hopefully he will have learned this from last season.
For proof I was disappointed that he stuck to 4-5-1 against Villarreal, because they were not a great team and 4-4-2 would have seen them off comfortably, but because Arsenal played negative 4-4-2 we nearly came a cropper for no good reason.
He has to learn when to brave and when to be cautious.
July 10th, 2006 at 2:32 pm
Sorry, played negative 4-5-1 they nearly came a cropper.
July 10th, 2006 at 3:44 pm
I wouldn’t say AW is a poor tactican. Getting a team play fluent passing football will take a lot more tactical skills than coaches who only know how to pack their players in midfield or defence in order to stop opposition playing football; or swing a high cross into the box for their 6 foot 7 central forward.
I believe AW knows the OPTIONAL TACTICS. He just too stubborn to use it.
Say, when we are trailing a goal with 10 minutes to go, it doesn’t take a SPECIAL ONE genius to know that perhaps u should just tell the players to bomb the long ball into the box. It’s IMPOSSIBLE that Wenger does not aware of this option. But he rarely used it.
There is a plus side out of it though: as our players would have no choice but to master their passing game. ‘Cos there is no easy way out, no plan B. We are a passing team, so we keep doing the passing. Perhaps we would lose a few odd games, yet at the same time it makes our passing game even better. As we play it all the time, regardless of any circumstances.
Take England at the World Cup, because of Peter Crouch, the level of their playing standard actually dropped. ‘Cos instead of passing around trying to find a way to break through the oppostion’s defence, now they had an EASY WAY OUT, just bomb a high ball into the box. Players are human, when there is an easy way, they would tend to take it.
It may work every now and then, yet in a long run, the team will suffer because of it.
July 10th, 2006 at 3:55 pm
You post is strange, you say: “I believe AW knows the OPTIONAL TACTICS. He just too stubborn to use it.”
Well isn’t that the whole point? Tactics is having the bravery and intelligence to implement your ideas. It’s no good saying I’m a great tactician but never implement great tactics - surely that’s a bad tactician?
Wenger’s poor tactical decisions go way way beyond what to do in the last 10 minutes when the game’s at stalemate, and often managers have little control at that stage anyway - no matter what is said before the game. It’s usually his starting eleven, and the fact that, apart from last season - when he had no choice - for practically 10 years he played 4-4-2 no matter how good or bad the opposition.
Wenger believed that if Arsenal were on their game, they would beat anybody regardless of the system or tactics, which is pure folly. Last season proved that, because it was only by nullifying the opposition through playing 5-4-1 that Arsenal got through the rounds. And even more proof is how many far inferior teams beat or drew with Arsenaln through using tactics that Wenger refused to implement himself when found in similar circumstances. Quite often Wenger would just send the team out on a suicide mission.
July 10th, 2006 at 5:54 pm
Danny, there is no exact definition of a great tactician, IMO.
For instance, take Sven Ericksson. He got England played a different formation for every different game throughout the World Cup Finals campaign. Surely his tactical sense is FLEXIBLE enough, yet it didn’t work well.
AW is his total opposite, he sticks with what he likes to play.
These two schools of tactical approach all have their pros and cons. Yet we can’t say either one is poor in terms of tactical awareness.
I feel strange to see all the criticism pointing towards Sven in terms of his tactical approcah (of keep changing formations). As far as I can recall, he’s reknown as one of the best tacticans of the game. That’s why he got hired by England at the first place, in place of Kevin Keegan, who himself publicly admitted he’s TACTICALLY not good enough.
So there you go, I believe a lot of things are by HIGHSIGHT. If a manager takes a gamble and make a change of tactical approach, when it works, all a sudden he’ll become an TACTICAL EXPERT. When it fails, he become a TACTICAL IDOIT.
That happened most often in Alex Ferguson. Who loved to, and never shy of making tactical shifts throughout his Man Utd career. Therefore i observated a funny trend of comments from the press towards Fergie. One moment he’s a tactical genius, the next moment he has “lost the plot”!
Danny, as u pointed out previously yourself, last season Wenger’s decison to play 4-5-1 was more down to ACCIDENT than INTENTION. He’s hands were tight by our injury crisis. So he made a shift, and it worked, so all a sudden i heard praise from his tactical shift from some fans and media.
So what exactly is the TRUTH here? As I said, a lot of things and analysis in football is by HINGSIGHT. The truth is somewhere in between.
And in Wenger’s case, he made it all the way to the top, and won Arsenal a record number of trophies under him. He gotta be an all-around manager in order to achieve that. He’s not an “one-off”, he did it in one decade’s in charge, and did a good job CONSISTENTLY in one of the most competitive leagues of the world. If he’s tactical naive, he can’t possibly achieve that can he?
July 10th, 2006 at 7:41 pm
I agree with some of what you say, but prior to last year Wenger’s Champions League record really stunk, and it was only when he was forced to change tactic that it worked - I don’t think it was an accident that Arsenal made it to the final playing a different style of football to Wenger’s 9-year paralysis of 4-4-2.
Nobody was expecting Wenger to make the final every year, but to fail to get past the quarters for his first 9 years was really dismal - especially with the players he had at his disposal. He was clearly was not getting the best out of the players available and it was obvious that inferior teams were tactically outclassing Arsenal time and time again in Europe - but not in the Premiership.
I think you have to make a distinction between domestic and European success - European success is the elite. All of Wenger’s trophies have been domestic, and whilst Wenger is a master of building big, strong powerful passing teams that can bulldoze most English opposition cyclically when it functions well, in Europe it’s a different ball game completely.
So yes, of course Wenger is no tactical fool - obviously. But I think when it comes to the very top level, moving out of the domestic league - he falters badly. Next season will be VERY interesting in the Champions League, if the team is performing well domestically, will he return to 4-4-2 for ALL Champions League games, or mix it up? I think this will be the true test of what he’s learned last year.
July 11th, 2006 at 12:09 am
I am a huge fan of 4-3-3 ..but I think that Arsenal need to buy better Central Backs in this case. I like Sendy, but kind of feel scared when we depend so much on him.
Remember that Diaby will be out for a bit and also Lauren.
I like Ade to be Henry’s sub and nothing more. Not cause he is not good enough, but cause he never gets along with Henry. And playing 4-4-2 with both up is not that effecitve and does not use the 100% of them.
Would love to see RVP Henry Ribery … this will rip the sh*t out of any team.
Our CM are more attacking .. so this will put too much on our Back line ..
Very excited for next season.
July 11th, 2006 at 3:02 am
Moving to a new stadium will not be easy. I remember reading an article (can’t seem to locate it now) that Soton and ManCity had miserable home records in the debut season in their new stadiums.
Agreed that they are poor teams and Arsenal is in a different league, but there are bound to be problems when moving from a narrow Highbury pitch to a really large Ashburton Grove. Let’s not forget our dismal shows at Wenbley in the CL.
July 11th, 2006 at 3:55 am
of course football and cinema are slightly different. you underestimate the loyalty of football fans, for many it defines part of their life, just ask tottenham fans - they pay practically the same as us to watch a team which will never win anything and doesn’t play particulalry nice football, yet somehow they manage to fill their ground week in week out. People do go without that holiday, that new car, savings, etc so they can support their team, it’s nothing new. and it’s not really correct to define arsenal fans as north londoners who would be that bothered if north londoners are in the team - that’s a low priority for fans who would rather see the worlds best players than some misty eyed nostalgia version of local boys for a local team - even in the 30s we had plenty of welsh, scottish, norvern in the team and you only have to look at the ‘best ever arsenal xi’ to see how much it matters.
July 11th, 2006 at 4:27 am
So we’re being linked to Appiah, Ribery, Yaya, Saviola, Torres, i also read Mexes from ASRoma, Curties Davies, Buffon, it’s just pandemonium right now, but all in all i hope Arsene has learnt his lessons from last year and with some luck concerning injuries he can get a good chemistry going this season……….Cause he knows…don’t he?
July 11th, 2006 at 4:50 am
Deal or no deal?
I love Cesc, he’s already a great player and defnitely has the potential to be one of the finest midfielders in world football - he’s already most of the way there. He’s got vision, a great pass and a whole lot of heart. He’s much stronger than many give him credit for and, at 19, he’s just proved himself a better player than Senna and Xavi for Spain (though I think Xavi was still scared of injuring himself again, but even his passing wasn’t very incisive). BUT, I’m not sure we can ever win the EPL with Cesc in midfield, in 442, which is what gets the best out of the player who is already the best attacker in the world. Be it Yaya, Appiah, Diaby, we probably need someone in there who is a physical presence to play alongside Gilberto and with a nickname like the beast, Baptista fits the bill. He ended the season with Real very strongly.
Ideally, I’d have both, but Baptista (24) + a fat wad of cash and maybe…
July 11th, 2006 at 5:12 am
Do you watch Spanish football? Baptista is more “The Mouse” than “The Beast”, for a player of his size he doesn’t put himself about at all, in fact he’s always falling over.
He did improve towards then end of last season, but I wouldn’t want him in Arsenal’s midfield.
July 11th, 2006 at 6:08 am
I think Appiah looks the best among the CMs being linked with us (Yaya and Baptista amongst others). He looks like he can play defensive and offensive CM. Quite like Diaby, which is exactly what we need, since Diaby is gone for most of the season.
July 11th, 2006 at 6:09 am
Danny, I think that’s a bit unfair. It took him a while to settle in at his new club and it would have taken him that long to settle at Arsenal. He did more than improve at the end of the season; he finished very strong. Besides Beckham, I think he was Madrid’s best player and I wouldn’t mind seeing him at Arsenal.
Now that he’s got his Spanish pass it’s only a matter of their management allowing him to leave. If I were Fabio Capello, some players would be leaving Madrid but Baptista would be very much a part of my plans. We’d be very fortunate to get him.
July 11th, 2006 at 6:50 am
I agree with you nipuna. At 24, Appiah’s a very experienced midfielder who’s won championships at Juventus. I think Yaya Toure’s a good player but there are certain intangibles that he simply can not provide our midfield that Appiah can, mainly leadership. We could have had Appiah last year but I’m not going there.
I wanted to see Ribery at Arsenal before the World Cup but since then we’ve signed Rosicky and there’s no room for Ribery. Besides, we don’t need another little guy in our midfield. We’ve got bigger fish to fry in our defense and holding midfield. I still like Johann Vogel or Sebastian Kehl challenge Gilberto. We need to be better there.
In the back, if Cole leaves we should try and bring in Zambrotta to Arsenal. He played LB for Juve and is taller and IMO better than Cole. We could possibly do a Cole for Gallas move and that could take care of our Sol replacement.
So I’m thinking Vogel or Kehl at holding midfield, Gallas or Davies at CB, and maybe Appiah and Arsenal are legit EPL/CL championship contenders. We’re talking buying 2 players, maybe three. We’ll have to pay for them but Arsenal are considered a big team now. We’ve got to do the business.
July 11th, 2006 at 8:20 am
I agree. I don’t think AW can get by it sticking with 442 on both domestic and European front. Against more tactical minded European sides, 4-5-1 does look like a more safe bet. I believe he will stick by it, afterall it worked last year. Be it he found this winning formula by accident or intention, if it doesn’t break, really no need to fix it. Hopefully he will do just the same.
July 11th, 2006 at 8:56 am
You are wrong. Ade and Henry get along very well. From Ade, RvP and JAR, I think that Henry want Adebayor to be his striking partner, they played quite well in the second half of the season. They complement each other nicely.
July 12th, 2006 at 7:56 am
I think you have the wrong end of the stick here.
A normal season ticket will cost around 1300GBP.
This is not too much.
If you want a more expensive one, fill your boots.
If you want a club level one, you would normally fund this through your business, and let them pay for it, as you can be seen to be entertaining clients.
To go to a show in London, you can pay ?50, a round of golf could be ?75 plus with membership there being well above the rate for a season ticket.
The expensive seats and boxes have ALL sold, and they have for the next four years. This is going to generate more money than Highbury did.
Also the prices for normal seats at Spurs and Chelsea, can be seen to be higher than at Arsenal.
What Arsenal have done, is brought out loads of expensive corporate seating, and published the expected revenues.