One thing which most of you would have noticed , when a team
is winning or is on a good run the blogs/articles come thick and fast(specially
from the fans) praising the team spirit and the quality of the squad, I being
no exception to this trend have decided to right a piece on the current squad .
So here goes my first blog , from 2013 Feb we started a good run of games after Bayern
Munich literally swept the Emirates floor with our team , tough day , Jack was
crying during the interview . He seemed like the only leader and world class
player among our ranks . That was a big blow to our ambitions,however we
bounced back and played the entire season after that like something was on
stake . That raised the expectations of the fans and the players , every fan
wanted a big signing and the players were never shy in admitting that the squad
can do with some revamp . The less I talk about the Aston Villa game the better
.However keeping the past performances
aside I would like to throw some light
on the current squad members and the mellowness they have brought about to the
team .
Stats
correct as of 30th Sept(courtesy Arsenal.com)
If we compare the current Arsenal squad with the Man Utd
squad(yeah, they are going through a lean patch lets bash em!!) The core of the
Man Utd team is on the wrong side of thirties Vidic,Evra,Ferdinand,Carrick,Giggs,Van
Persie(heh,intentionally added him ) are in the twilight of their
careers. That’s where we pipe them.
We are no pushovers now for the big boys,”Go hard on them they can’t dish out any of
it” well well well try tackling us now!! Tackle Jack 5 times and he will still
survive (Godfather part 1 comes to mind)
,gone are the days of 2008-09 when we were infamously labeled as “Boys”, be very scared now
opponents because these so called boys have grown up . Let’s take an example of
Jack smoking in public, a couple of seasons ago that would have had dire
affects but now that we have players who can fill in his position and the other
being our good run of form this incident can be put to cold bag .Smoke on Jacky boy(Ah well!).
We are looking more confident after we score and our defense
can hold the fort, however that was not the case a few seasons ago .When the
opponents were throwing the kitchen sink during the last minutes we pushed back
like scared b*tches, last but not the least we are truly playing “Wengerball”
and we know that when Arsene’s philosophy is put into practice not even
Barcelona have an answer.
GoalKeepers:
This is a position which has been under scrutiny over the
past decade or so, Szczesny 23, is still
learning the trade and sometimes his concentration level and decision making
may not be up to the mark but his commitment can never be questioned. He has
thrived on the settled central defensive partnership of Per and Kos, seems like
they have formulated a good understanding among them. The new signing Viviano
27 , can prove to be a shrewd bit of business but he has to wait and take his
opportunity whenever it comes . Fabianski 29’s, career has been marred with injuries,
he blew hot and cold ever since he joined us , I believe he will look for
greener pastures come June . I would have been satisfied had we signed
Schwarzer from Fulham as he could have added valuable experience.
Central Defenders:
The average age of our defenders is 27 year , the defenders
generally are at the peak of their game during the late 20s. Age plays a very
important factor in this position, the level of understanding,commitment and
focus comes with experience . The likes of Nesta,Vidic,Puyol,Baresi
,Adams,Cannavaro and Moore all enjoyed their best years during the late 20s .
Per is 29 , Koscielny 28 and Vermaelen 27
those are really good numbers . We have a set of defenders who are at
the prime of their game.
When Arsene joined Arsenal ,he inherited a set of
experienced and world class defenders namely
Bould,Keown,Adams,Winterburn,Dixon they played a vital role in Arsene’s
instant success. Bould is still here and has done a plausible work with our
defence. A wise guy once said “Matches are
won by scoring goals but titles are won by defending “ .The maturity and
good decision making of the defenders help the goalkeeper , it’s that early
shout that makes a difference between a win and a loss .Koscielny , Per and Vermaelen
have played together for quite some time . Having played together for a reasonable amount of time, they know which
one of them should go for a tackle and
when to fall back , more so the understanding between Per and Kos has started
bearing fruits . I have a huge confidence in Vermaelen though , he is a born
leader , injuries and playing out of position have not helped him but we can
notice that Arsene holds him in great regards ,he trusts him and has given him
the coveted Captain’s armband . I feel the best is yet to come from the central
defender’s partnership.
Full backs :
In modern game every player has to contribute ,the full
backs are no exception . The first priority is to keep a clean sheet the other
being to assist the attacking players and occasionally chipping in with some goals.
We have EPL’s most promising left back pairing in Gibbs and
Nacho , the right back positions being held by Sagna and Jenkinson , I gotta
say that we have the exact recipe for a title winning team here. Gibbs is 23 ,
Jenkinson 21 and then we have experienced
lads in Sagna 30 and Nacho 27 both full time internationals . Both positions
have a mentor and a young enthusiastic apprentice , Arsene can easily choose if
he needs solid defence , generally away from home or an attacking threat out
wide with fullbacks overlapping and creating havoc in the opposition half .
Central Midfielders :
Central mid is the heart beat of the team, everything passes
through them . The players playing in this position should possess class and tenacity, aggression
and astuteness. When we talk about experience we have lads like Arteta 31(but
hairs still perfect),Flamini 29,Rosicky 33(his “footballing age” is 31 though,atleast
he thinks the same about himself, hah!!),Cazorla 28, Diaby 27( oh heck!!) on
the other hand we have promising youngsters in Ramsey 22,Jack 21 and a world
class player in Ozil 24.
Foul Jack and Flamini is there to snatch your eyes , raise a
finger on Ozil and Arteta comes out of the blue to calm things down . We can
dictate the tempo of difficult games away from home now that we have an
experienced head who knows when to start a counter and when to play keep ball. Nonetheless
the ability of the youngsters coupled with the experience which the older folks
have transferred to them is priceless and we are reaping rewards for the same .
Flamini has been a revelation since he joined us and I
don’t know how many times he has watched “The day of the jackal “, he has
displayed the hunger and what it takes to play for the shirt and the fans have
again taken him to their hearts .
Our midfield is currently the best in the premier league and
has the right balance, the players go together like a house on fire.Enticing when we think about it “Flamini wins the tackle and passes to Arteta who playes a long ball to Cazorla ,upon crowded by 3-4 players Cazorla shifts the ball to his right feet and passes to jack who in turn goes past 2 players as if they are not even there and brings Ozil into action who effortlessly squares it to Ramsey who has made a lung bursting run from midfield and boom!! “.
Forwards :
The incredibly handsome bloke from France is a work horse ,
he tries to win every header be it in the opposition’s box, half line or the
Sebastian larrson-esque fizzed in crosses by the opponents , he is 26 year old and
has grown leaps and bounds , he looks like a better finisher now and makes
intelligent runs on and off the ball , he can pass , chip and flick ,oh darn !!
his link up play is awesome,If you give him a birthday gift he will pass it
back.
Walcott ,24 has started showing maturity , enough of “I will play in the center and take all the
set pieces “ thing, having players like
Pires and Thierry around in training does have its good affects . Seems like he
has worked a lot with the long balls coming from midfield , previously he used
to miss the first touch when those kind of balls were delivered , now I am
beginning to see a lot of improvement specially in his finishing.
Podolski, 28 the guy with a boyish grin and by far the
loudest guy in the dressing room AHA! ,he always likes to share a joke or two,
when on the pitch he knows what he is doing , his decision making is world
class , one of the few guys who will like to have a shot from outside the box,
this feature of his game has been accepted by many of our youngsters , we are
now taking more shots from outside the box just to keep the defenders on the
back foot and bang !! All of a sudden Giroud makes a near post run and smashes
the ball into the net.
This will be a huge season for the Ox , 20 . Still learning
from the likes of Theo and Santi , he can be a mixture of both and a truly
class player. Sadly he is currently nursing a long term injury , will like to see him
comeback with all guns blazing .
One youngster who has benefited the most due the absence of
Poldi,Ox and Theo is Gnabry ,18 . The calmness which he displayed when he
slotted the ball into the net against Swansea defies his age , the German has
already exhibited glimpses of maturity , he religiously tracks back whenever
the opposition has the ball and always tries to bring a player in better
position into the game .
Bendtner,Akpom,Ryo,Park(who is this guy?) and Sanogo will
also play a part role in this campaign , I hope they take their opportunities .
In a nutshell, the foundation is solid and world class
players want to come to Arsenal, we have got the most experienced Manager in
the premier league and we are playing an attractive yet calculated brand of
football, the next step will be to win silverware and starting the golden era again .
So long guys, Cheers.
