Wenger - We need to add creativity and defensive strength

Wenger, in an interview with shareholders, has spoken of what he requires to finally bring back success to the Arsenal after 3 seasons without a trophy to show for it. He has pointed out in particular 2 positions where he wants to invest - A defensive player who can deal with long balls, and a creative player to add more of an edge to our attacking play:

“We didn’t give more goals away than any other team in the League on open play, nor on set pieces, but where we gave more goals away was on direct balls, in the air, through the middle, and most of the time on second balls. On set pieces and open play we were as good as Manchester United and Chelsea. The numbers are available. But we have to rectify how we deal with direct balls. When a team just goes for long, direct balls against us, we have to improve.”

“I will try to buy, maybe in the defensive area and one on the creative side of the game as well because we had some players, important players, who were out this year. We want as well to bring new talent in on the creative side of our game.

 The Independent is guessing Micah Richards or Raul Albiol for the defensive role, but I think the answer will be someone far less well know than those two, who would both cost £10-20m each and so would presumably be out of reach fincially in Wenger’s eyes. You would have thought though that Senderos would conform to that description that Wenger gives, of a tall defender who can head the ball, but evidently Senderos’ difficulty in defending with our high line means what he has in the air he loses due to his pace that strikers can expose by running the channels or looking for the ball over the top.

As for the creative player, presumably a midfielder who will be converted to a winger like in the case of Rosicky and Hleb, the likes of Michael Johnson, Diego, Niko Kranjcar and Hatem Ben Arfa have all been suggested by the press, although Johnson has been billed as a possible replacement for Flamini. I would have thought that it is likely again that Wenger will go for someone less well known such as Yoann Gouffran who can play on the wings and would come cheap, although Wenger is supposedly a big fan of Kranjcar and Ben Arfa, and has been in contact about Diego as well, so we can hope that a moreproven player such as those would be signed.

Tony Adams to appear in Arsenal youth friendly

As reported by me several weeks ago, tonight Arsenal are sending an XI team, to be made up mostly of reserve Arsenal players such as Barazite, Fonte, Nordtveit, Murphy etc, will be joined by Gunners hero Tony Adams as they play in a testimonial match against Dorchester in recognition of Brian Benjafield’s contribution to the Magpies.

Dorchester, who have been relegated from the Blue Square Premier South this season, will field a side with names such as Magpie legends such as “Matt Holmes, Mark Ormerod, Andy Harris, Scott Morgan, Tommy Killick, Matt Groves and Owen Pickard take to the field. Current Magpie Darren Watts is also expected to feature, as is young keeper Sean Lillington” acccording to the Dorset Echo, who also report that Benjafield himself will only be on the sidelines for this match.

“I’m really looking forward to seeing a few old faces and I’m happy to get the testimonial because the idea has been floating around for a while now. I won’t be playing but I will be on the touchline assisting Shaun Brooks,” said Brian Benjafield.

“The draw for us is that we have got an Arsenal XI coming down and a lot of thanks should go to Stuart Morgan for sorting that out and helping to bring Tony Adams as well.”

It is not known whether or not Tony Adams, who has been made guest of honour for the game, will actually take part in the match itself.

He’ll live to regret it- they always do….

“My priority is to stay here. I am very happy here. I am happy to play in the team and everything is good.”

Mathieu Flamini, 31st January, 2008.

Edu, Vieira, Henry, Wiltord, Overmars, Ljungberg, Lauren ……. All of these players have left Emirates Stadium after great spells at the club, and not one have hit the same heights again. Of course, Edu and Vieira have struggled with injuries, and all were older than Flamini when they left, but nevertheless, it is hard to think of a player who has gone on to better his career somewhere other than Arsenal after breaking through to the first team.

Yet still Flamini has seen the big money over in toubled and trophyless Milan and decided to jump ship, after his breakthrough season in football as a central midfielder, that he has Wenger to thank for playing him rather than letting him sit it out, play Gilberto and release him to the likes of Birmingham instead og the great AC Milan.

He showed a lack of loyalty at Marseille when he moved to Arsenal and he has done it again here,and although I personally think he should have stayed and proved he could repeat his performances as a Gunner with his pals, where his first team place was guaranteed and a handsome enough offer was on the table, but in the current climate money talks more than commitment to a cause and the talented Frenchman will now run all the way to the bank with his rumoured £144,000 a week deal (although some reports suggest this was far from the truth).

 Lets look first of all at what he has done this season:

- Added more energy and bite into the midfield.

- More of an attacking edge than when Gilberto plays.

- Peformed on the big stage when called upon.

Now he’s gone, it is these factors that we need to replace, or change our style of play for the second year running, something that is not an option in my mind. If we are to get a midfielder who does exactly what Flamini does, there are a couple of names who we have been linked with and would fulfill the role that is needed:

Gennaro Gattuso - There is no way I think he’ll leave to come here and presumably suffer a wage cut for his troubles, but if he did, he is the closest thing to Flamini on the planet in terms of playing style - he is fairly quick, very determined and aggressive in the tackle. He never stops running and some would say is a better and certainly more proven player than the Frenchman is. But realistically it’s never gonna happen.

Jean Makoun -  This is the most likely transfer it seems at the moment, and one I’d be over the moon with, as he is a player I rate a lot and is a realistic target. At Lille he took up a role similar to that of Flamini/Fabregas as Makoun/Bodmer and I think that a partnership with him and Cesc would be good. He is not fantastic on the ball but neither was Flamini and if we need energy and sommitment Makoun has got it.

Miguel Veloso and Gareth barry - Veloso and Gareth Barry have both been rumoured, although not particularly strong rumours, and both are similar style midfielders. They are more calm and flow through games rather than chase every ball, they make use of good positioning to do defensive work and going forward are far more technical and so this change would mean a difference in style, with more keep ball amongst cetral midfield than this season and possibly a far better chance of winning games when fabregas has an off day, as both have great passing ability. Whether or not this would make a midfield partnership that does not focus enough defensively is a difficult question to answer. The main downside is the cost - Barry would be around £15m in total, while Veloso you would have to pay about £20m in structured fees like with Nani/Anderson.

Arsenal to play African friendly?

Sunday World .co.za has reported this morning that Arsenal may be set to to travel to Africa for a pre-season game in what is the first time that I can remember us doing so. Mamelodi Sundowns are to be the opposition according to the paper, with The Gunners following in the footsteps of Barcelona who have previously played the Sundowns as leading South African entrepreneur and club owner Patrice Motsepe looks to raise the brand of his club around the world. However, it is not confirmed yet, although apparently a “source” claimed that:

“The deal could not have been done had it not been for the new sponsorship agreement. If it’s done at that level, it’s almost certain that an announcement about this game will be made when Nike launches their sponsorship with Sundowns before the end of the season.”

But Sundowns official Mahlatse Mphahlele has told the paper that as yet he has not been told of the plans to host Arsenal this summer:

“I was surprised when enquiries about the match started flooding in,” said Mphahlele. “We have not finalised our pre-season programme, so there is nothing I can tell you at the moment. We are focussing on finishing the season on a high note and possibly winning the Nedbank Cup.”

Source: http://www.sundayworld.co.za/swzones/sundayworldNEW/sport/sport1209854976.asp

I don’t know how reliable this is as a source, but if its true, the amount of other pre-season friendlies already confirmed, with games against Stuttgart, Barnet, Huddersfield, Juventus and Real Madrid all made official, means that this game would perhaps be used in place of our normal annual Austrian pre-season camp.

My take on Gareth Barry and the other rumours

As our season has finished effectively, the rumours about who we’re going to buy to ensure we are not in the same situation this time next year are growing steadily by the day.

The main player who will be touted between top four clubs in pre-season is Gareth Barry, Aston Villa captain. Already linked with Chelsea and Liverpool, as well as us, I think that there is very little chance of Wenger deciding to spend £15m on Barry just because he does not spend what he feels is too much for a player, even if it means letting go his chief transfer target and going for someone else instead. I would have to disagree with him on this one though. If Flamini is departing then we cannot afford to let one of the younger players such as Denilson or Song take over, and neither can we give Gilberto a first team place once more. Gilberto, while once a quality player, is now fading towards retirement unfortunately, and just does not offer the same energy and spirit Flamini does. Gareth Barry, on the other hand, has great positional awareness like Gilberto, but is nearing his prime, has good passing ability and brilliant leadership skills that have been shown by his club and country form this season.  It’s just unfortunate that despite him being a great potential replacement, his nationality adds another £5m to what a player of the same talents living in France would cost. It’s also a shame that this clone who lives in France does not exist, and so if we’re looking to replace Flamini, each possible transfer will offer different things than he does - unless the signing is Gattuso of course…

Another Englishman who has been labeled as a possible Flamini successor is Man City’s Michael Johnson, the England U21 international. I have got to say I am a big fan of his and he has all the signs of being a big player in a couple of years time. But there are two problems to signing him: 1. He is very much a box to box midfielder and at City has Hamann who deals with the scraps just ahead of the back four. This makes him too attacking to help give Fabregas the room and license to go forward that we need him to have. 2. He is nly 20/21 years of age - if we are going to replace experience with inexperience, then why not just promote Denilson into the first team? Another potential stopper on this deal is how much would City want for him - if it’s £5m then he would a good “luxury signing” if we buy a direct replacement for Flamini and a winger and perhaps even a striker or centre back. If it’s £10m you’d have to say it’d be a pointless signing.

Daniel De Ridder has also been linked with us in the last few days. Now this is a very strange rumour and one I don’t really believe to be honest. He looked a good player when he was younger, and even last summer I thought he did well for Holland, but after a year in the Premiership he has played in only a few games. Wenger I hope is going for a winger with a bit more quality than De Ridder, and although he’d come cheap he’d only do a job if we’re talking about him being 6th choice winger or something, and if that’s the case De Ridder wouldn’t come anyway.

The shock of this week’s transfer rumours has got to be the news that Australian U23 international and Sydney FC captain Mark Milliagan. Milligan is a right footed player who is comfortable across the back four, and has played this season in central midfield for his clubd. The reports say that he is close to signing for Arsenal, although his agent, while confirming Arsenal’s interest, has said that he has not been offered a contract yet:

Brookes (Milligan’s represntative) told setantasports.com that “Mark has had interest from Arsenal but has not been offered terms at this stage.”

Available on a free, Milligan is a low risk and versatile player, although there are question marks over his actual quality as a footballer that Arsenal demands in all positions, and so it remains to be seen whether or not Arsenal will swoop for the Aussie. Opinion is very much mixed on him, as you can read here: http://arsenal-mania.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=36711&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

I think that Milligan, as a squad player, could well give us a bit of needed extra stregth in depth, although of course a first team player his lack of experience rules him out completely.

lastly there is another triallist who is going to be at the club in the coming weeks, joinging the youth team in an annual tournament that takes place in Italy. His name is Nikos Karelis, a 16 year old striker hailing from tiny Greek team Ergotelis. He has already made his debut with his club side, making him the youngest player ever to play in the Greek Supe League, and he is excited by the prospect of a chance of making it at a big club:

”I know that it will be very difficult to start with but I am going there to succeed. Even if I don’t make it, I think I’ll gain lots of useful experience that will help me improve in the future.”

Arsenal snap up 15 year old Dutch prospect

It has been reported today by De Telegraaf, one of Holland’s biggest papers, that Arsenal have managed to convince another youngster that his future lies with the Gunners, with Turkish born Holland U17 International Oguzhan Özyakup choosing to leave AZ Alkmaar rather than wait for a chance in Holland before getting a transfer to one of Europe’s bigger clubs.

The reason that this is possible is through the current contractual situation regarding players under the age of 16, which stops potential stars from being held down to contracts keeping them at the club. This means that British clubs, for example, can raid clubs for the biggest talents and lure them here for both the clubs stature and also for the more lucrative contracts that they get. What’s more, we then only have to pay a small fee to the clubs that have been responsible for the players football education up until we sign them, with the fee being settled at a tribunal as in the case of Fran Merida if the two clubs cannot come to an agreement.

Unsurprisingly, Özyakup is a highly technical player who can play either on the right on in the middle of midfield, and like Ignasi Miquel he will arrive at the club when he turns 16. He is currently second top scorer for the B1 AZ Alkmaar side, having been moved up to the A1 category midway throught this season I believe. He has been impressing people at Alkmaar for some time, having scored all four goals in a game for the C2 side back in 2006, as well as working his way up from the Holland Under 15s to the U17s. The move to Arsenal will also take him closer to Holland team mate Jeffrey Bruma, the starlet now plying his trade with Chelsea, who, as well as obviously Nacer Barazite at Arsenal, will help him settle in Britain next season.

Thanks to http://youngguns.wordpress.com/2008/04/22/arsenal-sign-oguzhan-ozyakup-from-az-alkmaar/, where I first found out about this story.

Has the academy’s technical standard finally caught up with what is needed to succeed at Arsenal?

I’ve got to say, watching the Arsenal Reserves game yesterday, you can now see how much of a difference the fact that the academy has been around for a while now has made to the quality that we are now seemingly producing.

Yes, before we had the likes of Bentley, Cole, Sidwell and Harper, but generally speaking players who played for Arsenal have not been of a very high standard. Even the last time our reserves were winning matches, the only successful players from that reserve team were bought in from abroad - players like Larsson, Lupoli and Bendtner, with only Muamba impressing from the English side of things. Most of the other players have now dropped off the radar completely, except perhaps Gilbert who struggles on with injury and attitude problems at Arsenal.

This year though, all the players seem far more promising than ever before, particularly the English players, because the bought in players are always very good simply because they have been coached to play football from a very young age in an exceptional way. An ideal example of this is Nacer Barazite, with the young Dutchman again impressing against a fairly poor West ham team with his mix of brilliant technique and great football intelligence. But now you can see that the younger generation of English footballers, those coming through from the Under 18s to the reserves just now, are clearly more capable than ever before.

The likes of Wilshere, Thomas, Watt and Frimpong are showing that they can now make the step up to playing the Arsenal brand of football far more easily than any group of youngsters since Wengers arrival. Of course, this is only one part of what is needed for them to succeed, but it is at least looking far more promising, highlighted by Wenger’s previous claim this season that we have 13/14 year olds who have nothing more to learn technically. With this background work, we can now hope to see far more English youngsters at our club.

Jack Wilshere yesterday was brilliant, and got easily the best ovation I have heard for a player at Underhill for the reserves when he was finally brought off to give him time to recuperate before helping to lead Arsenal to the Under 18s Final by beating Aston Villa on Saturday. He showed that he has exactly what it takes to be an Arsenal player, tormenting the West Ham defence from the right hand side, either by ghosting past players, finding the right attacking pass or holding onto the ball under pressure. The watching Arsene Wenger must have been overjoyed to see that the academy is starting to give him exactly what he wants. And that was before the 16 year old Englishman curled the ball exquisitely past the keeper from 25 yards….

Jay Thomas has proved throughout this season for the reserves and while captaining the academy team, that he is has the uncommon English attribute of being a ball playing centre half, a defender who can fill in any position across the pitch and do a good job because he has the all round game that Arsenal’s almost total football style at times requires. Yesterday he out-Diaby’d the French international alongside him for presence and retaining the ball, showing that he could become a first teamer at Arsenal. The only question would be in which particular position his future lies.

The futures definitely bright, all we need to do now is to ensure the present is just as promising.

 

Arsenal coast past Reading

Football is a strange old game. A month ago we would have considered this a simple three points to carry on in our relentless bid to win the Premiership title. Yesterday morning, I was hoping for a win just to make sure third place was more or less sealed…

And while we did play well enough to beat a poor reading side, I can’t help feeling that the whole match just proved one of our main weaknesses in the past few months - our conversion of chances. We had 68% possession, 20 shots and 12 corners. How many goals did we score? 2. That is simply not good enough for a top four team, and I’m not sure how we can really improve this ratio. Is it just the fact that some teams have better luck? Or is it that we have appalling finsihers up front? I think that certainly van Persie should have scored a couple, but he did hit the bar and the post with one shot, and we had a ball cleared off the line, while Walcott also hit the bar in the match. It is those tiny differences that have caught us out this season, yesterday it was only the difference between 2-0 and 6-0, but at places like Birmingham, Old Trafford and Anfield, it has proved the difference between taking all three points or not, and also the difference between a successful side and a side whose season has finished in April.

Nevertheless, there were other positive things to take out of yesterday’s game. Theo Walcott proved that he can make a difference as a starter, skipping past Reading players and causing them problems. Adebayor showed the doubters once again that he can be a top striker. And Alex Song definitely illustrated what a changed player he has become this season, even in his less favoured position of centre back.

Having pressured for the first half, we found ourselves 2-0 up with goals from Adebnayor and a deflected Gilberto effort at half time, and we never looked like giving up the lead from there. The second half continued in the same fashion throughout the second half as well, with van Persie’s superb free kick that came off the bar and then the post being the closest Arsenal came to a third goal, although as I mentioned earlier, Theo Walcott was played through only for his left foot shot to hit the top of the bar, and when Fabregas was put one-on-one with the goalkeeper for the second time in the match, he too couldn’t convert, with Duberry blocking his shot on the line and leaving Arsenal settle for the 2-0 result.

Alexander Hleb could well be in trouble after he petulantly slapped Graham Murty in the face in an off-the-ball incident, and if he is banned for three games, it is all that he deserves for the blatant stupidty that he showed in doing that. It’s a shame that such a good player feels the need to do that sort of thing with the game won, and he will be punsihed deservedly for it.

How much of a difference will in-club promotion make next season? - Part 2

In the next part of my analysis of what we can hope to do next season, excluding any players coming in to the club or leaving, I will look at the state of a couple of our star reserve players, and try to guess at what their roles next season will be. Will they stay in the reserves, go on loan or actually make a difference to the squad. Below is a selection of the players most likely to make a difference.

Lukasz Fabianski - Not entirely sure that you would classify Fabianski as a reserve, but his first team chanceshave also been limited and so this is where I shall write about him, rather than in part 3. Fabianski is obviously by far the oldest “reserve” player, a fact that is unsurprising given his position as a goalkeeper, and I think that the promising Polish shot-stopper can hope to see a good increase in his first team chances next season. He has looked pretty good in the majority of the Carling Cup performances that he was given this year, while making a couple of world class saves for the reserves in the latter part of the season as well. I think that given Almunia has never looked like being anything other than a solid gap-filler in the goalkeeping slot, I think within a couple of years if we do not decide to invest in a new goalkeeper, Fabianski will be number one. What this means for next season is that I can see him being given responsibility for the FA Cup and Carling Cup as he steps up to the number 2 spot after Lehamnn’s inevitable departure.

Nacer Barazite - This young Dutchman is Arsenal’s best young hope in the reserves, having scored a total of 20 goals this season for the youth and reserve teams from his wide midfield or striker positions. He has shown why Wenger bought him to the Emirates at the age of 16, and looks to be a huge prospect for the future, and I think that next season will see him get chances at first team level in the Carling Cup, and perhaps even in proper first team games come later on in the season if he continues his progression. However, it may also be just as good an option to send him out on loan rather than limit him to about 5 appearances next season, and if so I can certainly see the likes of Wigan being interested, with Steve Bruce’s relationship with Arsenal, as well as some of the top Championship teams. I think that despite his evident promise, the reserve league plainly isn’t very competitive, and so a loan spell, at least after the Carling Cup run, will be what awaits for Barazite next season. Unless, that is, he really impresses in the pre-season games this summer.

Havard Nordtveit - Nordtveit has had a very assured first season in the reserves, and being made captain has certainly indicated that his Arsenal future looks birght. However, he is still very much learning the game, and I doubt that he will make any difference to the first team squad next season. Defending is very much something that you need experience for, and I think it will be another couple of seasons before we see his true potential. I wouldn’t rule out a loan move for him, however, and if he impresses there he could see himself in the first team set-up quicker than expected.

Vito Mannone - Mannone, at the age of 21, is still very young indeed for a goalkeeper, and will look perhaps for another loan spell next season as he seeks first team experience to propel his career onwards. He may take the step of moving to third choice goalkeeper following Lehmann’s departure, but rather than that I would expect instead for an experienced goalkeeper to come here on the cheap much like Mart Poom did.

As for the likes of Gavin Hoyte, Paul Rodgers, Rui Fonte, James Dunne and Rene Steer, I do not think that they will be any closer to the first team squad than they have been this year, although loan spells for them will undoubtedly give them a better chance. In particular Rodgers and Steer have impressed me, but I think unfortunately at a big club like Arsenal you have to have exceptional talent to succeed rather than good determination and good performances, and so it is very possible none of these will make it at Arsenal and after loan spells will leave the club as Jay Simpson will surely do this year.

How much of a difference will in-club promotion make for next season?

I was watching the footballing masterclass from Arsenal’s reserves at times against a very weak Derby side, and that got me wondering: what are the roles destined for the likes of Barazite and Nordtveit next season, along with returning loanees and the current players just outside the best 16? And more importantly, how much of a difference will these players make to the situation of not having enough squad depth to compete for the entire 38 games AND challenge for silverware in other competitions?

It has always been the plan that with each passing year, the conveyor belt of footballing talent will all get one year older and with that be promoted within the squad, and while this year the players on the fringe were that year too young, that year too inexperienced, will next year be different?

Over the next week or so I will be doing an article on each aspect of promotion inside the club - Loanees, Starlets, and Fringe Players, and see how much differece a year could make in our squad depth.

I shall start with the returning players from other clubs, starting with Carlos Vela.

Loanees:

Carlos Vela - A lot has been said by Arsenal fans about the 19 year old Mexican without him ever kicking a ball for Arsenal, and at the moment the trend seems to be to say he won’t be any use next season whatsoever, and that people saying he will be our saviour are wrong, yet no-one is calling him that by any stretch of the imagination. While he won’t be a first teamer immediately, not for a good few seasons most likely, he has the talent, the speed and the skill to make a difference off the bench, to change games as Walcott and Bendtner’s brief has been this year. He has spent two seasons playing first team, week in week out football, first for Salamanca where he was loved, and now at Osasuna in the second best league in the world, where he has drifted in and out of form like any 19 year old in the top leagues. An established Mexican international, he’ll add a bit more much-needed depth for the left wing position after a couple of months settling in England.

Mark Randall - Has struggled to break into the Burnley first team after a very promising couple of substitute appearances his first team chances have been limited very surprisingl. However, Wenger has always rated him highly, and I would expect his next season to be crucial in deciding his future. He has two options: to stay and fight for glimpses of first team action, or to tackle another loan spell at a Championship club for another season and see where it gets him. I would advise the latter because I can’t see him helping with Squad depth next season, with his game time more likely to be counted in minutes than hours.

Kieran Gibbs - After his great performance against Inter Milan in pre-season with the first team last summer, and then promising reserve performances followed up by another impressive game at Sheffield United in the Carling Cup, a loan spell at Norwich looked to be almost a finishing school before joing the first team squad next season. But the chances at struggling Norwich have been few and far between, never getting enough time to prove his quality, and the excitement surrounding him has died down. I think that most likely pre-season will decide his season, with the same choices as Randall has available to him to choose between. Purely because he is a wide player as well as being more versatile than Randall, sticking around could get him closer to the first team than another risky loan spell could, but I won’t be sure until he has pre-season with the first team this summer.

Fran Merida - Another difficult loan spell for a young gunner saw Merida travel back to Spain, with Real Sociedad signing him just before Chris Coleman was sacked as manager, and this was where it went wrong for him, as the replacement manager refused to start Merida, giving him a few minutes at the end of each game for no reason whatsoever. But that manager was also replaced I believe, and since then things have immediately looked better, with the young Spaniard netting the winner on his first start after the latest sacking. He has also been given a new long term contract recently and with that news I think that we shall see him around the first team set up next year in much the same way as Denilson was this year, playing the odd game as a substitute and starting Carling Cup games, gaining experience all the while.

Jay Simpson - The first thing to say about Simpson is that he has tried hard, both at Arsenal and now with Millwall, but I think he lacks the quality needed for Arsenal and a decent Championship club will come in for him and sign him for around £500K-£1m after his impressive spell at Millwall in League One. He has won several different awards there and no doubt a Wolves, Leicster, Crystal Palace type side will see him as a good substitute and one for the future and take him on.

Vincent van den Berg - Never has been impressive at Arsenal, and while I can’t say I know how his loan has gone I severely doubt it has been good enough to keep his career with the Gunners going. Therefore he will be leaving in the summer for pastures new as far as I am concerned.

Pedro Bothelo - Pedro has had a promising season at Salamanca so far, and will continue in Spain next year before coming to England in the summer of 2009.