Arsenal

Arsenal's new attacking signings show promise

2012-07-11T10:34:00.000-07:00

Why I think Arsenal’s new attacking signings will do well

After last year’s transfer fiasco involving Samir Nasri and Cesc Fabregas, it’s obvious why Arsene Wenger had no intention of going through that again and has quickly made up his mind to sort out transfers early to allow the squad to settle. Therefore, Arsenal has sorted out what in my opinion were two great signings fairly early into the transfer window. This is clearly promising for Arsenal as in recent years, Arsenal have not been very active in the transfer window and when they have, it’s not been top quality players coming to the Emirates. As well as that, a lot of the times, the signings aren’t even the right positions, in which improvement is required. So, that leads me to the two players who I have a lot of faith in.

Lukas Podolski

Someone certainly means business

Now, we have all seen Euro 2012 and it's important not to feel disillusioned in the sense that after his not so appealing tournament performance, he will disappoint playing in the Premier League. When he played for Germany, he was placed out on the left, which is undoubtedly not currently his best position, but he will probably be placed there anyway for Arsenal. However, as he will have pre-season practise in the role, he'll soar in no time. Last season was clearly great for him statistically, netting 14 goals and four assists from 19 appearances in a central striking position. Keep in mind he was only used four times as a left-winger, so his performances on the left for Germany this summer can be pretty much put to bed.

Podolski, made obvious by his 100+ appearances for the German national team provides a huge deal of much needed experience. He is a left footed attacker known for his strong shot, technique and probing attacks from the left side. With the amount of goals he scores and is capable of scoring, he surely has composure and reliability up front.

Olivier Giroud

He’s looking sharp

The French striker didn’t feature as much during Euro 2012, with Laurent Blanc opting to play Karim Benzema, for obvious reasons. Yet, when he did play he showed promise and if you look at the games he has played in for France it’s clear what he can bring onto the pitch for Arsenal. For example, in France's warm-up game against Iceland, when he was introduced into the game, he entirely changed it. This was due to his decision to plunge himself into Iceland's defensive line and cause them problems. Not only did this force Iceland to play deeper, but it allowed France the opportunity to play some direct balls into the box. Now, this is an option, I’ve mentioned before which I think is greatly needed to give further supply to our attack. I think he should play on the right side and will have no issues playing alongside RVP and Podolski.
Of course, Giroud also has a strikers' instinct, proven by the 21 goals he scored last season. So, he has a good left foot and can take a set piece. His presence will force the opposing defence five yards further back than what they currently would be when defending against Arsenal.

Podolski and Giroud-Welcome to Arsenal FC

What this season could've been with better signings

2012-06-11T12:14:00.002-07:00

How would Arsenal have been better?

It’s simple isn't it? If Arsenal sorted out signings more efficiently rather than "panic-buying" and gave better offers, the gunners would have had top class players. Unfortunately, what is nowadays a regular occurrence in the Arsenal camp, the gunners failed to buy considerably highly rated players. Excluding, Mikel Arteta who had a great first season and was another key player in securing Champions League football for the gunners.

There were several players linked with Arsenal, even in the January transfer window that Arsenal should have bought or at least done their best to bring those players to the Emirates. I'm talking about the likes of Chris Samba and Yann M'vila (who Arsenal are still strongly linked with) etc. These additions to the squad would've without a doubt in my opinion made significant change and brought something fresh to the team. More importantly, there would've been stability in the link between the defence and attack. Just think if we signed a strong defender, we would be much more organised at the back and we could provide a more attacking threat with a top quality striker.

A few players we should have signed:

1) Juan Mata

Another genious spaniard

Juan Mata is clearly a top player who would be welcome to any team. He would easily fit into a team that are fast paced in attack and technically good. These are qualities Arsenal have been known for over many years. So, it's obvious he would fit nicely into the Arsenal set up. Take a look at the formation first of all, which is 4-3-3. A formation suited for the way Arsenal quickly move the ball around the park and allow all players to be brought into their style of play. Mata could simply dive right in and with his skilful play, be able to work his way through the opposing team's defence. The formation also allows freedom on either wings or through the middle as the players are well spread out on the pitch. Being an attacking player, Mata should be well suited to this more attacking formation. Then of course, he is a striker who knows how to score. A key area in which Arsenal have relied mainly on Robin Van Persie to provide the goods this season. Mata is a quick and tricky dribbler making him difficult to tackle and he is a neat finisher both close and long range. He is mainly left footed, but has the ability to use both feet with his classy footwork. Clearly, he has proven all these points in his first season in the Premier League at Chelsea, as in my opinion he's been one of the most influential players for them. The Spaniard would have benefited Arsenal greatly upfront.

2) Gary Cahill

The type of defender you want

When you think of a solid defence, you think of organisation, power, leadership and consistency. These are all qualities Gary Cahill has. He is the type of all-round defender you would want by your side at centre half. He is a very determined and committed player and even provides an attacking threat which he has shown by scoring goals for both Chelsea and England. Also, he shows off his strength in challenges and is like many defenders a great tackler. In addition to this, he has the makings of a leader and surely has the potential to be up there with the likes of fellow centre-half John Terry. Perhaps even take over captaincy from Terry at Chelsea later on. Gary Cahill has a dominant presence and consistently shows his best whenever he plays. It's unfortunate the gunners were unable to sign him as he would have had a reliable player in Thomas Vermaelen beside him. Gary Cahill would've been a valuable player to Arsenal who are in dire need of a solid back four.

3) Stewart Downing

A tricky winger

First of all, let me start by saying I couldn't really understand why Downing joined Liverpool. Liverpool weren't in the Champions League for starters. I thought Arsenal had placed a good enough bid, but then again maybe they didn't or perhaps Downing simply preferred Liverpool. Whatever the reasons, Stewart Downing is a Liverpool player. In my opinion, Downing would've provided much needed assistance to Arsenal attackers which I feel at times over the years we have lacked. Now scoring goals is another matter as Downing didn't score any league goals this season, something Liverpool struggled to do generally anyway so I suppose it wasn't entirely his fault. Downing even in a recent interview said he was embarrassed by not scoring any goals, but I'm sure he would've scored if he opted to join Arsenal instead. Anyway, Downing adds pace and trickery on the wing making him difficult to handle and therefore he would perhaps have been a credible player for the gunners. Especially, due to the likes of Theo Walcott and Gervinho letting Arsenal down on some occasions, over the course of the season. This is probably why Oxlade Chamberlain has shone so well, because he has been much better, despite his lack of experience. The formation of 4-3-3 would've have been good for Downing too as it would've have given more freedom to run down the wings. So, I think Stewart Downing could have been a fine Arsenal player.

Let me know from the comments what you thought about these players and who you feel would've been a good addition to the Arsenal squad.

Players who I feel underperformed this season 11/12

2012-06-11T11:58:00.002-07:00

Who I feel disappointed this season

Obviously you can't be the best all the time, unless you are the best player in the world i.e. Lionel Messi and if you make a mistake it is quickly overshadowed by your brilliance or simply the commentators/pundits not really caring and deciding to continue to just point out how great you are. Now I’m not implying that playing in the Premier League, arguably the best football league in the world is easy, no not for a second. How could I? However, a player’s form shouldn't be bad throughout the entire season and surely has to improve gradually. In addition to this, it would be harsh to say that a player new to the Premier league should be amazing right from the get go, but they have to show some level of consistency or sign of improvement sooner rather than later. Then again some players aren't new and are still unable to get better.

Arsenal players in recent years appear to have a tendency of not being able to get to their best. This clearly is not what any Arsenal fans would want and of course when a new player comes in who is supposedly good, we would have high hopes. Unfortunately, this season in particular old and new players have underperformed. Although, at times we could say there has been a glimmer of hope.

Here are a few who I feel have underperformed:

1) Andre Santos

This is how we would want to react when we know he's playing

Firstly, Andre Santos seemed to be a decent wing-back after what he accomplished at his previously club. It sounded like a good player to mend what was a very fragile Arsenal defence. However, it didn't quite turn out that way. Andre Santos is a player who cares more about his attacking game, instead of what he should be known for which is a solid defender. As well as that, from what we have seen, it is evident that he is lacks in fitness. These are all key things required to be able to play in the Premier league. Due to this, many opposing layers were able to skip pass the Brazilian sometimes in ease. On the other hand, he isn’t too bad attacking. He has definitely shown this by scoring important goals in some key games for the gunners such as the victory over Chelsea and scoring a vital goal against W.B.A ensuring Arsenal secured 3^rd place. So, he has shown some signs that he can make it, but he does lack what Arsenal desperately need which is helping build a stable Arsenal defence.

2) Marouane Chamakh

Where has he gone?

Let me start by explaining the caption for the image of the Arsenal striker above for those who don't understand. I mean how his Arsenal career began so bright and then he sorted of faded away. When beginning his career at Arsenal, he seemed like another powerful striker, who is good in the air and not bad on the ball. However, what was good about him did not last. He became sloppy on the ball at times and was and still is unable to get back to his goal scoring form. Just 1 goal in 19 games says it all. This season, it has become clear that he has must have a good pre-season so that he can try to regain what attracted Arsenal to him in the first place. Due to him not being able to continue his form, he has been left on the bench. He has quickly been replaced by future prospects and frankly players doing better than him. Surely, if he started his career well, why can’t he back to his best?

3) Andrey Arshavin

Is he the one now silenced?

Don't get me wrong; when Andrey Arshavin joined Arsenal, he was an outstanding player. Just see what has got to be the best performance from him in the 4-4 draw with Liverpool. He scored all four of those goals. That was how good he was when he joined the gunners. His wonderful form progressed through the following couple seasons. Unfortunately, like other players, his form has now dipped, a lot. He used to terrorise the opposing back four, but now cannot. He even chipped in with goals here and there, but this season at a lot of the times he found it difficult to find the back of the net. Now due to this, he is no longer a fan favourite and I too was a great admirer of him, but how can we cheer for him when he fails to deliver. Although, he has shown some brilliance. For example, when he created that terrific cross for the legendary Thierry Henry to score against Sunderland. Unfortunately, reports suggest Andrey Arshavin is returning to his former club Zenit St Petersburg.