What have the Gunners'pre-season form and the decisions of Arsene Wenger taught us about the season to come for the North London giants?
COMMENT
By Solace Chukwu
By Solace Chukwu
So that’s four preseason friendlies for The Arsenal. Two wins, two draws. Two impressive displays, two not-so-impressive. Consider the Jekyll-and-Hyde nature of the Gunners’ performances over the duration of the previous season and you would conclude normal service has resumed.
You would, of course, be sorely mistaken.
Manager Arsene Wenger, newly unhindered by financial restrictions, has stumped up considerable investment to strengthen the team. Three of the four new acquisitions have already made their debuts for the club and looked impressive, the exception being Colombian goalkeeper David Ospina who is recuperating from a minor thigh injury.
Four games is a small sample size, and they were just friendlies, but why should that stop us from drawing a few conclusions?
The new shape looks promising
Over both games at the Emirates Cup, there has been a huge shift away from the default 4-2-3-1 that has been Arsenal’s set-up over the last couple of seasons to a 4-3-3. Wenger fiddled with the latter formation last season with mixed results, a gritty 1-0 win over the enemy Tottenham, a hammering away at Chelsea and a draw away at erstwhile European Champions Bayern Munich.
While that experimentation was down to a crippling injury situation, there is an indication this is a more permanent shift.
For one thing, the departure of long-time right-back Bacary Sagna has changed the way the team plays out from the back. His compatriot and replacement Mathieu Debuchy is capable enough in the air, but rather than finding him with goal kicks, the centre-backs now split wide either side of the penalty area to receive the pass out from the goalkeeper.
The 4-3-3 gives the team more solidity in the middle, and is the best way to accommodate the plethora of central midfielders in the team. This will likely push club record signing Mesut Ozil wide, but as we saw at the World Cup, it is not a role he is unfamiliar with.
Manager Arsene Wenger, newly unhindered by financial restrictions, has stumped up considerable investment to strengthen the team. Three of the four new acquisitions have already made their debuts for the club and looked impressive, the exception being Colombian goalkeeper David Ospina who is recuperating from a minor thigh injury.
Four games is a small sample size, and they were just friendlies, but why should that stop us from drawing a few conclusions?
The new shape looks promising
Over both games at the Emirates Cup, there has been a huge shift away from the default 4-2-3-1 that has been Arsenal’s set-up over the last couple of seasons to a 4-3-3. Wenger fiddled with the latter formation last season with mixed results, a gritty 1-0 win over the enemy Tottenham, a hammering away at Chelsea and a draw away at erstwhile European Champions Bayern Munich.
While that experimentation was down to a crippling injury situation, there is an indication this is a more permanent shift.
For one thing, the departure of long-time right-back Bacary Sagna has changed the way the team plays out from the back. His compatriot and replacement Mathieu Debuchy is capable enough in the air, but rather than finding him with goal kicks, the centre-backs now split wide either side of the penalty area to receive the pass out from the goalkeeper.
The 4-3-3 gives the team more solidity in the middle, and is the best way to accommodate the plethora of central midfielders in the team. This will likely push club record signing Mesut Ozil wide, but as we saw at the World Cup, it is not a role he is unfamiliar with.
Defensive midfielder needed...put your hand down, Sami Khedira
Vice-captain Mikel Arteta has been a great servant to the club since he was signed in 2012, making the transition to the deep midfield role seamlessly. Never blessed with great pace, he compensates quite well with his reading of the game and efficiency in possession.
That said, it was painfully apparent last season that the club needs a more imposing physical presence at the base of midfield. Against the really top sides, Arteta found it difficult to come to grips with the speed of the game. If the fans saw it, you can bet Wenger saw it too.
This makes the club’s reported pursuit of Sami Khedira downright puzzling. The German is a brilliant player, a European club champion and World Cup winner. However, if the shift to a 4-3-3 is a permanent one, then he is the least suitable to play the anchor role.
When the centre-backs split wide, they often find themselves under immediate pressure. This places a tremendous amount of responsibility on the midfield anchor to drop in and receive the ball from the goalkeeper, often with his back to the play, in order to play out from the back.
This is not quite Khedira’s game. For all his qualities, he does not have the calm under pressure, or vision that is a necessity for the role. Khedira is an intelligent runner and provides great energy in midfield, is fierce in the tackle and covers ground quickly. All great attributes, but the requirements of the team should be given priority.
More suitable to the needs of the team would be Southampton’s Morgan Schneiderlin, who is unsettled at St. Mary’s, or Sporting midfielder William Carvalho.
Vice-captain Mikel Arteta has been a great servant to the club since he was signed in 2012, making the transition to the deep midfield role seamlessly. Never blessed with great pace, he compensates quite well with his reading of the game and efficiency in possession.
That said, it was painfully apparent last season that the club needs a more imposing physical presence at the base of midfield. Against the really top sides, Arteta found it difficult to come to grips with the speed of the game. If the fans saw it, you can bet Wenger saw it too.
This makes the club’s reported pursuit of Sami Khedira downright puzzling. The German is a brilliant player, a European club champion and World Cup winner. However, if the shift to a 4-3-3 is a permanent one, then he is the least suitable to play the anchor role.
When the centre-backs split wide, they often find themselves under immediate pressure. This places a tremendous amount of responsibility on the midfield anchor to drop in and receive the ball from the goalkeeper, often with his back to the play, in order to play out from the back.
This is not quite Khedira’s game. For all his qualities, he does not have the calm under pressure, or vision that is a necessity for the role. Khedira is an intelligent runner and provides great energy in midfield, is fierce in the tackle and covers ground quickly. All great attributes, but the requirements of the team should be given priority.
More suitable to the needs of the team would be Southampton’s Morgan Schneiderlin, who is unsettled at St. Mary’s, or Sporting midfielder William Carvalho.
Replace Thomas Vermaelen
There are those who believe a player should only leave on the club’s terms, and construe this to be some litmus test for the ‘ambition’ of a club. The truth is, whether we like it or not, player power is very real and contracts do not count for very much if a player has his mind set on leaving.
Thomas Vermaelen is the club captain, but, with the arrival of Calum Chambers, finds himself fourth in the pecking order at Arsenal. His exit is looking increasingly likely, with interest from Manchester United among others. This will doubtless inspire tortuous Robin van Persie flashbacks for Gunners everywhere, but Wenger is a loyal manager, and Vermaelen has handled his demotion to bit-part player very professionally. If it is a move to United he wants, the manager will not stand in his way.
More important is his squad place, which must be filled. While it is not an urgent need, it is an important one, especially in the long term. Chambers will be back-up for big Per Mertesacker in the short term, and his replacement long-term.
There are those who believe a player should only leave on the club’s terms, and construe this to be some litmus test for the ‘ambition’ of a club. The truth is, whether we like it or not, player power is very real and contracts do not count for very much if a player has his mind set on leaving.
Thomas Vermaelen is the club captain, but, with the arrival of Calum Chambers, finds himself fourth in the pecking order at Arsenal. His exit is looking increasingly likely, with interest from Manchester United among others. This will doubtless inspire tortuous Robin van Persie flashbacks for Gunners everywhere, but Wenger is a loyal manager, and Vermaelen has handled his demotion to bit-part player very professionally. If it is a move to United he wants, the manager will not stand in his way.
More important is his squad place, which must be filled. While it is not an urgent need, it is an important one, especially in the long term. Chambers will be back-up for big Per Mertesacker in the short term, and his replacement long-term.
Monreal is not the solution
Wenger’s dalliance with Nacho Monreal at centre-back has root in logic. It makes sense that he wants a left-footed player on the left side of the centre-back pairing in order to make playing out the back easier. The rather unfortunate truth is that Monreal is the least suited to the role.
He frequently struggles in 1v1 situations, especially against pace, and is not blessed with great balance. Watch him when the ball is played in behind him, especially over the top and he has to turn. No, that is not a remake of ‘The Exorcist’, but it comes damn near close.
Guess who else is left-footed? Thomas Vermaelen. Shame he cannot defend.
A more palatable option would be to promote from within. Isaac Hayden was impressive against New York Red Bulls, and it was a bit of a disappointment he was not given a run-out at the Emirates Cup over the two games. Ignasi Miquel is also an option.
Wenger’s dalliance with Nacho Monreal at centre-back has root in logic. It makes sense that he wants a left-footed player on the left side of the centre-back pairing in order to make playing out the back easier. The rather unfortunate truth is that Monreal is the least suited to the role.
He frequently struggles in 1v1 situations, especially against pace, and is not blessed with great balance. Watch him when the ball is played in behind him, especially over the top and he has to turn. No, that is not a remake of ‘The Exorcist’, but it comes damn near close.
Guess who else is left-footed? Thomas Vermaelen. Shame he cannot defend.
A more palatable option would be to promote from within. Isaac Hayden was impressive against New York Red Bulls, and it was a bit of a disappointment he was not given a run-out at the Emirates Cup over the two games. Ignasi Miquel is also an option.
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