It has always been clear that our young team is very talented - but it has also been equally clear that their youth brings inconsistency which will only reduce with further experience. Basically, I want to give an upteemth analysis of our present team so that we can see where we really stand and maybe discuss possible January and summer arrivals - if any.
The Defence:
Present defence:
Lauren, Eboue, Hoyte, Toure, Gallas, Djorou, Senderos, Clichy.
Analysis:
Quick, mobile, good passers. Poor or ineffective headers of the ball, prone to lapses in concentration, wingbacks prone to being caught upfront.
Possible improvements:
Could include bring in a top defensive coach with Premiership experience, maybe an ex-player who knows how to handle the typical low-level English attacks that consist mainly of lofted balls into the box. Someone like Keown or Adams comes to mind.
Possible personnel reinforcement:
A new leftback to act as a credible backup and strong competitor to Clichy. Leighton Baines or Taiwo (of Marseille) could fit the bill.
The Midfield:
Present Midfield:
Hleb, Ljunberg, Walcott, Rosicky, Fabregas, Gilberto, Flamini, Diaby, Song, Denilson.
Analysis:
This midfield can create chances against any team in the world. But sometimes they dont have the strength to combat Premiership hardmen. They also do not score enough goals (ie. Hleb, Rosicky, Fabregas).
Possible improvemnts:
Clearing “dead wood” such as Ljunberg and Song. And replacing Ljunberg effectively with a top-class midfielder who can deputize or compete with Hleb and Rosicky for their spots.
Possible personnel reinforcement:
Ribery in for Ljunberg.
The Attack:
Present attack:
Henry, van Persie, Adebayor, Baptista, Aliadiere.
Analysis:
Henry has not been inform this season and van Persie and Adebayor have only got on form. As for Henry, they say class is permanent and form temporary, so expect him back in the goals very soon which should make for an interesting frontline. Added to the boys still out on loan, the attack does not look as bad as it did a few weeks ago.
Possible improvements (or hopes):
One or two loan stars coming back on form - with a little patience. Henry and Baptista hitting the goals like we know they can. van Persie and Adebayor continuing their present form.
Possible personnel reinforcements:
Maybe Bendtner, otherwise none.
The Goalies:
Present goalies:
Lehmann, Almunia, Poom
Analysis: Lehmann is on the retirement curve. Almunia is not a safe hand in any way. But Poom is a reasonable third choice.
Possible improvements:
New goalie(s).
Possible personnel reinforcements:
Shay Given, Gregory Coupet, Yoann Pele, Timo Hildebrand, Akinfeev, Craig Gordon, etc.
Personally, I will like to see Lehmann and Almunia capably replaced in the summer.
The loanees:
Bendtner, Lupoli, Gilbert, Larson, Muamba, Reyes, Stokes. Personally I would be surprised if any of these came back and made it into our first eleven. Bendtner is certainly the most interesting but he seems a bit on the impatient side.
The physical game:
This year we have not really had to cope with the physical game much as we had to last year because teams have found a new way to beat us. Why bother with crunching tackles when you can just punt a couple of high balls into the box?!
Squad depth:
When compared with Chelsea, Man U and Liverpool we are actually OK in this regards - as long as we dont have too many injuries at the same time.
Personal wish list:
- Fewer injuries for crying out loud.
- Consistency sooner than later!
- Better tactical decisions and flexibility from Wenger.
- IN: Shay Given, Leighton Baines (PL experience), Franck Ribery.
- OUT: Ljunberg, Song, Aliadiere, Almunia, Hoyte (on loan).
Team list and formation from next season:
———————-Given——————————
———————(Pele, Poom)————————
Eboue——–Toure————–Gallas————-Clichy
(Lauren)—–(Djorou)———-(Senderos)——–(Baines)
———————–Gilberto————————–
—————–(Denilson, Flamini)———————
Ribery—————Fabregas——————–Rosicky
(Hleb)—————(Diaby)——————–(Walcott)
————van Persie———————————–
————(Baptista)———————————–
————————————Henry—————-
————————————(Adebayor)———–
That is 24 quality players and with the experience gained from battling it out this season, we should be strong enough to properly challenge for the Premiership title.
33 Responses to “Team Analysis”
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December 28th, 2006 at 6:23 am
The questions that need answering are
1. Who is our left winger? Neither Rosicky nor Ljunberg can operate in a 4-4-2. Walcott is too young. Only option may be to sign a new player. Unless Henry can play there.
2. Who is Cesc’s backup? Certainly not Diaby. Without Cesc, there is no creative spark and the team is lost, as was visible in the Fulham and Wigan games. I would like to see Rosicky in that role, but Wenger is not willing.
3. Who is Gilberto’s backup? Certainly not Flamini. I hope it’s one of Diaby, Denilson, Song or Muamba?
4. Where will Baptista play? He won’t replace Cesc and he won’t accept 4th place behind Henry, Ade and RvP.
5. Who is Clichy’s backup?
My team for next year
GK: Lehmann, ?, Poom/Mannone
FB: Clichy, Hoyte/Gilbert/Garry/Traore
RB: Lauren, Eboue
CB: Toure, Gallas, Djourou, Senderos
LW: Henry, Walcott
RW: Hleb, Rosicky
CM: Gilberto, Cesc, Diaby, Flamini, Denilson/Muamba
FW: Ade, RvP, Baptista, Bendtner
We will have to spend money only on a new GK and we could make some money on Ljunberg and Aliadiere.
December 28th, 2006 at 7:21 am
Clichy’s back up is Baines from Wigan. Very taleneted left back, plays with Walcott in England U-21.
December 28th, 2006 at 7:32 am
I like your team, but I would switch Walcott and Ribery. Walcott is better on the right and Ribery is better on the left.
This is my team for the next year:
GK: Akinfeev, Pele, Poom
RB: Eboue, Gilbert
LB: Clichy, Bale, Traore
CB: Toure, Gallas, Senderos, Djourou, Connolly
DM: Gilberto, Denilson, Flamini
RM: Hleb, Walcott
LF: Rosicky, Ribery
CM: Fabregas, Diaby, Merida
FW: Henry, RvP, Adebayor, Baptista, Bendtner
I think it’s a very good squad. Maybe you will say there are too many players, but the youngsters like Traore, Merida, Connolly are given as a possibilities if we have too many injuries. If you exclude them you have 25 players.
December 28th, 2006 at 7:37 am
Will Baines - a regular at Wigan - accept a backup position to Clichy?
Jewell has already said that he won’t sell Baines for 4M GBP. Will AW pay more than that for a backup player?
December 28th, 2006 at 7:52 am
Well, not for a backup, but maybe for a player who can compete with Clichy for that left back spot. Why should Clichy be a first choice. Get another player who is capable of playing first team at Arsenal and let them fight for the position.
December 28th, 2006 at 7:58 am
I would love for that to happen but AW doesn’t. His teams always have a hierarchy. Why don’t we have players who can fight with Gilberto and Cesc? The positions where we have depth (CB and strikers) have come about purely by chance (Gallas and Baptista swaps) and not by design.
December 28th, 2006 at 8:01 am
That’s true.
December 28th, 2006 at 8:33 am
I would like a player that can come in for Cesc / Gilberto… because if one of these two go down with an injury, we have NOBODY that can adequately fill in for any period of time.
REO-COKER has been rumored… and think he would be quite good for us. Someone in his mold would suffice. The back-ups are young and unproven.
A #1 Keeper for next year is important… I seem to think Wenger has ideas on this already… we’ll have to wait until the Summer to find out.
I’d like to see Gallas play the remainder of the season HEALTHY… because I think that would tell us if we are all set at the back. Lauren’s return will help, as he is a proven steady influence, and Eboue can rotate some with him.
I very much like Hleb, Rosicky, Walcott… I don’t think we have interest in Ribery any longer and I doubt it will happen.
Up top… a healthy TH14 is ALL we need. RVP and Adebayor have stepped up in his absence, and they deserve the remaining minutes. Having Bendtner back for next year… is just fine. Aliadiare needs to play, and he’ll have to do so somewhere else, can’t see him getting his chance here, barring a long-term injury to someone.
December 28th, 2006 at 10:51 am
Not sure if we want an inexperienced left back like Baines to replace another inexperienced one in Clichy. If Lyons wants to do business, I would much prefer to go for Abidal. He would probably cost the same as what Wigan wants for Baines since English talent are supposed to fetch a ‘premium’
Both Helb and Rosicky can play in Cesc’s position if needed. Especially Helb who had in the past expressed a preference to play in the middle of the park. Both of their passing and dribbling skills can open up many defences easily. The one thing both of them lack at the moment is the tackling and tracking back ability which Cesc has stepped up big time this season. Diaby would hence be a better player to cover for Gilberto as both Denilson and Flamini lack the height to contend with aerial balls. No need to bring in Ribery.
In attack, I would prefer to partner Adebayor with Henry. RvP may produce moments of magic but for sustained involvement in the game to compensate for Henry’s drift-in and out of games, Adebayor’s energy will be needed. Hopefully Baptista can fulfill the role Wenger envisaged for him to give Arsenal more options in attack. Bendtler may be getting ahead of himself just bcos he is scoring goals freely for Birmingham - if he is not prepared to be patient, I say sell him to one of the European teams who are prepared to pay.
This is what I hope to see asap:
- Clichy and Walcott to beef up their bodies
- Wenger to employ an effective team rotation; imo, playing the same team against Watford and against Blackburn in a span of 4 days could be the reason for the tireness in a number of players and for Adebayor’s thigh injury.
December 28th, 2006 at 11:07 am
Recent comment from Moarinho:
‘This is a difficult period because we don’t have the players to improve things, rotate and put pressure on other players.’
And this one from Fergie:
‘We are coming to the part of the season where we have to utilise the squad and I need to show some of the players who haven’t been in the team regularly that I have confidence in them and that I trust them,’
Problem with Wenger is he tends to stick to the team pecking order for too long and only bring in the youngsters when there are injuries in the first team. Why has Baptista not started in more games is a mystery to me. Why had Ali only started one game so far only to disappear again is another mystery. When Reyes joined Arsenal, he was given plenty of chances to prove himself. The same can be said of Walcott. I speculate the reason is both Reyes and Walcott represent huge Arsenal financial investments and not playing them would be tantamount to making a bad business decision.
I hope I am wrong in my rantings but thats what I see from the outside.
December 28th, 2006 at 12:48 pm
I too wondered why someone like Walcott @ 17yo has been given the keys to the city and Bendtner/Stokes/Lupoli are sent to Buffalo. Come on! Now we’ve rode our horses into the ground and they’ve pulled up lame. No wonder. Benitez has been stubbornly pushing squad rotation in the face of the critics for this whole season. Now Ferguson and Mourinho have ‘discovered’ it. Playing our reserves in the Carling Cup does not count as squad rotation. Arsenal are in a precarious position in terms of squad depth. Granted, Arsenal did attempt to rest players against Wigan and Fulham. We all know how that ended up. I don’t have an answer, I just have concerns.
December 28th, 2006 at 4:10 pm
sheed, i think given will be a better choice than akinfeev….why?
because he already has premiership experience and he knows how to handle the longballs and the often illegal challenges of the defenders…continental keepers take time to get used to it. and a young arsenal team doesnt have much time.
so i think given with his ready made PL experience is better even though akinfeev is also a very good keeper.
December 28th, 2006 at 4:19 pm
@gunner4life: you said no need to bring in ribery. ok…but we NEED to replace ljunberg, because he is UTTERLY useless right now.
it doesnt have be ribery but someone solid, strong and two footed that can rotate with hleb and rosicky.
ribery is the only one i can think of now.
December 28th, 2006 at 4:24 pm
@nipuna: i know my post was very loooong…….but i addressed all your five points in the post….
however i think its highly unrealistic to put henry as a leftwinger…..come on!!!
December 28th, 2006 at 4:32 pm
Can someone tell me the best place to watch our games in New York, specifically the Sheffield and Charlton games? Thanks a lot!
Raphael
December 28th, 2006 at 4:34 pm
Henry on the left wing is not such a bad idea. I think he would be lethal in that position but in formation 4-3-3, not 4-4-2.
Imagine Henry attacks from the left, RvP from the right and Adebayor upfront. WOW!!!
December 28th, 2006 at 4:35 pm
Player rotation is an important skill for a manager to master. Bottom line, you rest one player at a time in the league, no more. Result, you get a first-teamer a break as well as give that back-up some playtime and the entire first team’s got his back. If the back-up plays well, it boosts his confidence and the teams confidence in him. If he doesn’t play as well as he hopes the team isn’t destablized and we still have a good chance to claim maximum points. But to do multiple changes by choice in a league game is foolish.
Fulham match: we’ve got our fourth choice CB playing due to injuries. Wenger decides now is a good time to rest both fullbacks and play Song all at the same time. Result, Boa Morte rips us a new one and we fall further behind in the title race in a game we should have won. We’ve got two perfectly fit fullbacks sitting at home watching Song and Senderos impersonate circus clowns on TV.
Somebody’s gotta say “Arsene, this is fu*king stupid”. Most of these fringe guys aren’t that good. They just look good playing with the stars. But to put them all out there at the same time is a recipe for disaster. There has to be someone out there that he listens to. When you send out a team like that, you can’t blame the players. Those points are gone and it’s the manager to blame.
December 28th, 2006 at 4:37 pm
Petr Cech didn’t have PL experience when he signed for Chelsea, but still he was the best GK in the Prem.
Akinfeev is the best young GK in the world, has experience in Europe, won Uefa Cup a couple of seasons ago, and played in the CL this year. I think he is the best choice.
December 28th, 2006 at 4:51 pm
yeah he is the exception to the rule.
every other GK that has come to england in the last 15 years took some months to settle down.
mention one other person !
December 28th, 2006 at 4:53 pm
Rami Shaaban and Manuel Almunia
December 28th, 2006 at 4:53 pm
yes, in a 4-3-3 but in a 4-4-2 putting henry on the left wing is crazy…….considering he is the highest goalscorer in the PL over the last 5 years.
December 28th, 2006 at 4:56 pm
hahaha
both are the most pointless keepers in arsenal history.
December 28th, 2006 at 4:59 pm
Better to wait a couple of months for Akinfeev to settle, and then to have world-class GK for 15 years, than to sign Given at 31 and he is not as good as some people say. Friedel is better than him, Jaaskelainen too.
December 28th, 2006 at 7:22 pm
Raphael: I can provide you with some recommendations depending on what part of Manhattan you’d like to see the game and what kind of atmosphere you are seeking. If you’re interested in seeing the game in another of the boroughs, I’m afraid I can’t be of much assistance other than to suggest going to the Fox Sports Channel website and looking at their list of pubs that carry FSC.
December 28th, 2006 at 9:09 pm
Agreed Ljundberg is no longer a factor in games. He shud be used sparingly just like Bergkamp in his final year. Walcott is groomed for Arsenal’s right side and he will take over from Ljundberg sooner or later. In the meantime, why not give Ali a chance at right midfield/wing? I don’t think he shud be written off without a run in the first team.
December 29th, 2006 at 12:15 am
well, we’ll be staying in williamsburg, but i suppose i was imagining watching somewhere in manhattan. is there a place with a big arsenal following? i’ve heard about a place called nevada smiths. any good? thanks for any suggestions.
December 29th, 2006 at 12:37 am
I said - “Only option may be to sign a new player. Unless Henry can play there.”
Only because I don’t see AW buying someone in Jan.
December 29th, 2006 at 12:50 am
Surprisingly, Bendtner is not the top scorer for Birmingham this season. He has scored 8 goals in 21 starts. McSheffrey has scored 12 in 25. Couldn’t find the assists count.
December 29th, 2006 at 12:58 am
Abidal is too old and would cost too much money.
I’ve never seen Diaby playing defensive mid, more of an attacking mid, even for the U-21’s.
van Persie’s too good to not play.
Bendtner’s going to be a very good player, if not for us for someone else. We need to keep him.
Clichy doesn’t need to beef up but needs to be harder to shake. He falls for every head fake thrown at him and a quick change of direction will lose him. His pace has helped make up for this but if he’s against someone who’s as fast as he is, it’s going to cost us.
I know he’s played in every game he’s been fit recently but I can’t see not playing Gilberto. If we go up big against Sheffield then maybe after an hour bring on Flamini for him.
December 29th, 2006 at 12:59 am
Bendtner, along with Seba Larson has got most of those assists.
December 29th, 2006 at 10:42 am
Nevada Smith’s is fine although it’s more of a ManU bar so that, if Arsenal is playing at the same time as ManU, Arsenal game will be shown on floor below ground level. However, Arsenal-Sheffield does not conflict with ManU game so you should be fine. Fyi, the following are listed in Fox Soccer Channel as pubs in Brooklyn where you could see game (which is being broadcast on Fox Soccer):
Eammon Doran’s, Brooklyn
Fox Soccer Channel subscriber
Floyd, 131 Atlantic Ave., Brooklyn
Fox Soccer Channel subscriber and indoor bocce court. Home of NY Spurs Supporters Club
Henry Grattans, 8814 3rd Ave, Brooklyn
Fox Soccer Channel subscriber
Iona, Brooklyn
Fox Soccer Channel subscriber
Snook Inn, Brooklyn
Fox Soccer Channel subscriber
I don’t know if any of these are in Williamsburg but they may well be more convenient to where you are staying than Nevada Smith’s which is on 74 3rd Avenue between 11th and 12th Streets in Manahattan.
December 29th, 2006 at 3:44 pm
Wow. Thanks a lot! That’s very kind of you. Now let’s hope for some good games and 6 points!
Raphael
December 29th, 2006 at 7:47 pm
Raphael:
You’re welcome. By the way, if you want to stay in Williamsburg, the place to go watch tomorrow’s game is Iona, 180 Grand Street (718) 302-6237.