It may not look like it but this is the Arsenal team we all wanted

Written by Joel Che on Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Results

Date	Time	C	Opponent	F	A	R	S
16 Aug	3:00 PM	P	West Bromwich Albion (H)	1	0	Win

After only a 1-0 win against lowly West Brom, the press brought out their notebooks from last season and replayed the same lines. If you are a Gooner then I want to remind you of the things we have been complaining about and wishing for in the last three miserable years.

Can you remember how we wished for a team that would win when they were playing well instead of draw?

Can you remember how we wished for a team that would win even when they were playing badly?

Can you remember how we wished for a team with a little more variation – more crosses, more long balls when needed?

Can you remember how we wished for a team that is more direct, where players who saw an opportunity would shoot instead of passing sideways?

Can you remember how we wished for a team that could come from behind and win?

Can you remember how we wished for a team that could win without Fabregas?

Did you watch the games against Stuttgart, Juventus, Real Madrid, Ajax, Seville, FC Twente and West Brom?

If so then you know that this team looks like what we wanted. It doesn't look like Manchester United or Chelsea or the Invincibles and it sure isn't easier on your nerves and definitely not all pretty but they are ticking the right boxes. The press has derided Arsenal for lack of resilience for three years but now Arsène is talking about resilience and nobody is listening.

Sure there are many reasons not to listen, the chief reason being that it's too early in the season. However, if I were judging the team only from what I've seen, then I'm pretty happy.

Arsenal still have glaring problems. It is hard to connect the midfield with the attack without Francesc Fabregas. But at least nobody is stubbornly trying that for 90 minutes now. They are trying long-balls and crosses when necessary. Yes, the midfield looks a little lightweight but Denilson is growing match-by-match and Wenger is looking for someone.

The strikers don't know each other but it looks like Carlos Vela and Nicklas Bendtner have a natural partnership and we are scoring while learning and most importantly, we are defending well. The midfield doesn't know how to play with any forwards except Emmanuel Adebayor. Yes, but we have to hope that they will learn quickly and that Fabregas can plug the problem in the short-term.

There are some good things.

The biggest bonus is that the fixture list for the next eight games is kind to Arsenal. We get to rehearse and get in shape and sort a few things out before massive challenges arise. Nasri looks good, he keeps trying to use his body but he will not get away with that as many times as against West Brom. However, it looks like he will win free-kicks and is capable of finding other ways.

The defence looks very good. Kolo Touré seems to me to be the odd one out now. William Gallas partners well with Philippe Senderos, Alex Song or Johan Djourou. Nasri and Robin van Persie are direct. There will be scoffed shots but some will go in. Denilson has done very well and Song is coming back soon since Cameroon are out of the Olympics.

One thing we must keep up is scoring early. Last year Adebayor was carrying the scoring burden alone and what with him needing four chances to score, Arsenal ended up with very tense situations till late when we finally got one and then the pressure of holding the lead ended up in inexperienced chaos and we ended up drawing or even conceding late goals and losing. It is therefore important that goals can come from Nasri, Fabregas and van Persie or even Theo Walcott earlier so we can control games.

Lastly, a word on our beloved Emmanuel Eboue.

Eboué has played in central midfield now a couple of times. Against Stuttgart he did surprisingly well but then he lost the guy that scored the goal against Arsenal. Eboué has not got the concentration of a top professional. Against West Brom I think he did pretty well too. Most of Arsenal's chances unfortunately fell to Eboue and Adebayor – two players that need a lot of chances or very clean chances to score.

I am trying to figure out Eboué and how Wenger sees him. Wenger compared him to Ray Parlour once and people thought it was disrespectful to Ray but I think Wenger was misunderstood. I was watching Manchester United in pre-season against Juventus and it occurred to me that most top teams have a guy like Eboué, like John O'Shea, like Geremi at Real Madrid and then Chelsea.

They are utility players. They are players who do a lot of things well enough and so you can play them anywhere. Some like Ray Parlour, can be excellent in one department too. You have these players for when you have injuries or when you are down to 10 men. They will make mistakes but above all, they will give you decent enough cover when necessary.

Eboué can play 90 minutes in a new position, make a few mistakes but do a job good enough for Premiership and European-level. Utility players are good footballers – that's the only way they can be such good all rounders. They will frustrate you because they will get themselves in fantastic positions but then run out of the skill to execute in the strange position they find themselves because they are not specialists. That is why it is easier to get frustrated with them.

Eboué will beat four players (most expert right-backs can't) and then play a neat one-two with Adebayor (most defenders can't) and then you get off your seat in expectation as he reaches the goal mouth and then poof! ... he miskicks wildly and collapses in a heap and of course, you get mad. But when was the last time you saw Ferreira, or Silvestre do that?

So that is why Eboué is not being sold. He is useful and a good insurance policy and probably worth the money. I think fans should see it like that and leave him alone – or even be thankful because he is definitely not a waste of money and right now he is not keeping anyone better out of the team. Yes, his decision making and shooting are crap but Eboué is very good on the ball.

His first touch is one of the best in the team. Most importantly, he is now very experienced on the pitch – he played 109 games for Arsenal and 28 Champions League games. Having him there instead of Aaron Ramsey in the West Brom game was sensible just for sheer experience. He did a good job in my view for guy playing in a new position for a day. I appreciated it!

My predictions for the season are here if you haven't read it. I just want to gloat now since they are going well on match day one and I urge you to forget them when things change!

User Comments

30

Kagiso Mothibi

Posted on 22 Aug, 2008 at 01:43 PM - Reply

Good comments in the article on Eboue(more or less)

Eboue is actually a talented player, who posseses skill, good change of pace, dribbling composure and combines well with others.
This was especially the case when he used to play right back and link up with Cesc and Hleb on regular basis.
And while his behaviour/antics may leave a lot to be desired... I'm not sure that's entirely relevant to assesing his actual ability as a footballer.

And it's really not surprising that his progress has been erratic at best... because just as he was turning into one of the more exciting wingbacks in the game, he got moved to midfield... (probably because he showed midfield-esque qualities at RWB).

I still think he's more suited for that RWB, and adds more creativity and options to the way Arsenal likes to play from there, as he is able to be both direct and indirect in his approach(that is cut out and provide crosses or cut in and link up with someone, usu. cesc and hleb at the time, and his decision making was actually exceptional in this regard)
...I also think RWB was the position where his development and maturation would have happened the quickest.

29

enrique

Posted on 22 Aug, 2008 at 06:25 AM - Reply

eboue should just go home he is better off in france or holland not premiership

28

gunner fan

Posted on 21 Aug, 2008 at 12:58 PM - Reply

silvestre signing is a good one.. bcoz if wenger signs a experianced midfielder (eg. alonso or inler) like everyone is expecting, then the team has a lot of depth, more so then we have in the past few years. It doesn't seem like it rite now but once everyone is fit there will be real competition for places. Look out for bischoff to shine wen he gets his chance

27

Trip

Posted on 21 Aug, 2008 at 12:11 PM - Reply

I don't know which Eboue you were watching last season but I don't think it can be the same one I was. When has he ever beaten four players? His natural inclination is to dibble past the opposing player and his success rate is woeful. Nine times out of ten he loses it or fails to make the pass afterwards. The part of the stands I sit in is pretty quiet most of the time and he's the only player to elicit some choice anglo-saxon phrases every time he gets the ball.

26

CJ

Posted on 21 Aug, 2008 at 04:01 AM - Reply

Well, Silvestre is in the house. Its official, done and dusted. I need more tequila.

25

Rofhiwa Razwiedani

Posted on 21 Aug, 2008 at 12:34 AM - Reply

I can not believe u Arsenal Fans. If you really understand Eboue situation u would not say all the staff u saying. Eboue was a great Right back before he got injureed and Mr Wenger Replaced him with Sagna. Sagna is gud defensively, but not as good in combination and going forward as Eboue, I thik Eboue is one of the best right backs in England, if you all remember the Champions league final against Barca, he had an awesome game, That season he was a revelation and all you all sang praises about him. Now That he is a Lauren situation,everybody is blamming him when he is playing off seasson. The only difference is that Wenger feels bad about it so he has to some how make him part of the 1st team. He is still young and he is so talented. The is no better Right back in England than him. He is in the Maldini mode, skill and can play ball. I do not believ all you guys, look at his situation and properly asses it. He of position for goodness sake. Hope you do and stop killing the poor kid. He is naughty I agree, and a child sometimes, but that who he is. Lay off him please. You just making his situation worse, he is a kid, this will affect him. Even worse his background does not help him. Come on guys, I can not believe you still can not understand Wenger even now. !!!!

24

Parv_Arsenalkid

Posted on 20 Aug, 2008 at 09:51 PM - Reply

21-GeneralWenger-

Posted on 20 Aug, 2008 at 04:32 PM - Reply
Lol..apparently we're in the market for Silvestre. He may be the 'one more signing' Wenger has promised us..lets just pray it never happens.
-----------------------------------------------------
Lol just happened all ur dreams hav come true Arsenal have just completed the signing of Mikel Silvestre.Good signing or not you decide?

23

Almanso

Posted on 20 Aug, 2008 at 05:56 PM - Reply

Why not try Toure as a holding midfielder in the coming somewhat easier games?
After all he came to Arsenal as a midfielder and in the absence of Fab he can give solidity and cover to the back four too.
I do not believe in him and Gallas in central defense at all. And in my opinion he is the best possible replacement for Flamini.

22

Almanso

Posted on 20 Aug, 2008 at 05:50 PM - Reply

Why not try Toure as a holding midfielder in the coming somewhat easier games?
After all he came to Arsenal as a midfielder and in the absence of Fab he can give solidity and cover to the back four too.
I do not believe in him and Gallas in central defense at all. And in my opinion he is the best possible replacement for Flamini.

21

-GeneralWenger-

Posted on 20 Aug, 2008 at 04:32 PM - Reply

Lol..apparently we're in the market for Silvestre. He may be the 'one more signing' Wenger has promised us..lets just pray it never happens.

20

elninio

Posted on 20 Aug, 2008 at 03:56 PM - Reply

Eboue to me is what Nelson Vivas was.... nothing but bad luck and not good enough for a title challenging Arsenal team.

19

delisa

Posted on 20 Aug, 2008 at 02:37 PM - Reply

quite impressing comments, yes the first 8 games favour us but thats not the point with the premiership esp the English one, just do a study and find out why I'm sayng that. May our Thomas Rosisky get well soon so the middle field shape up.

18

Medlar

Posted on 20 Aug, 2008 at 02:20 PM - Reply

To be a good utility player you need a football brain. The match stats (courtesy of telegraph.co.uk) say it all. Eboue managed 48 passes, Denilson 84. Playing in midfield requires vision, creativity and most of all execution. Eboue is a utility player with the wrong strengths. Both Flamini and Parlour read the game well and were good industriouys, distributors of the ball. Eboue likes to run with the ball and is not a natural one-touch player. As a right-back, right-wing substitute OK. But midfield. No, this is a position too far.

17

Michael

Posted on 20 Aug, 2008 at 02:00 PM - Reply

I mostly agree with what you say about Eboue. The problem is that he really doesn't improve. Most players will improve their shooting or not give the ball away as much over time, yet he continues to play the same. What is most frustrating is that he is often in a position where he can make the decisive pass or shot and he ends up squandering it. Too often Arsenal attacks ended once he had the ball.

16

Cha Li San

Posted on 20 Aug, 2008 at 01:31 PM - Reply

if you compare the relative costs, it'll probably be more like 800% more stisfying

15

Hericoni

Posted on 20 Aug, 2008 at 01:23 PM - Reply

Excellent write-up and I have to admit that I very much like your assessment of football. Maybe you should become a football manager in the future...Am serious! I never for once run my mouth on Eboue because I know how important he is to Arsenal. Same goes for Adebayor. My major concern has been Toure & Gallas combination which doesn't seems to gel at all. Hey guys! I just found an excellent Central Back for Arsenal. Talking about skills, stamina, height, confidence, tackling & marking. His name is Dele Adeleye. If we fail to sign this player, then we might lose him to rival teams. He currently plays for Nigeria's Olympic Squad called Dream Team IV & guess what? We all have the chance to watch him play in a very exciting final which will be Nigeria Vs Argentina on Sat. @ 05:00 GMT!!! Don't miss this match because the two teams are full of excellent players like Messy, Riquame, Aguerro etc (Argentina) Versus Nsofor, Odemwingie, Anichebe, Ogbuke, Adeleye etc (Nigeria). These are almost the same set of players who played against themselves in the 2005 under 21 finals & thats to show that these generations will storm the world soon just like Kanu & Ronaldo's set did after playing against themselves in the same Olympic Semi-Finals of 1996. Remember Roberto Carlos, Ronaldo, Dida etc & Kanu, Amokachi, Babayayo, Okocha? They were in that 1996 set and they've changed the football world afterwards! History is about to repeat itself! Men, I can't wait. GuNnErS-TiLl-I-DiE!!!

14

GWelch

Posted on 20 Aug, 2008 at 01:17 PM - Reply

Far too early to start assessing the teams form or capabilities this season IMO, but I can see your point about Toure (also a hero of mine) not fitting in, it's sad but im also not too sure if him and Gallas are a match made for Arsenal. We have had better results when they are paired with others, this may be because before Gallas was made captain Toure was always chief at the back. Last season Gallas was given the band, first in a while since a defender has had it and possibly this is a bit of aa upset as Toure was used to dictating, not Gallas. (Toure should have got the band last season, not Gallas) All what you said about Eboue is what I said all last season when everyone was slagging him off (most people who comment about him dont have a clue what there on about anyway), my only concern is he has to stop being a moaner and get on with the game. That's really his only downfall!

13

tungamirai bizah

Posted on 20 Aug, 2008 at 12:50 PM - Reply

i remember once when eboue scored against a german team in the champions league coming from a blind side.he didnt do what he does more often now(pass when there is a chance to shoot).i think wenger should allow everyone to shoot when an opportunity arises,this is becoz there are increased chances to score when shooting from a distance,look at scholes,lampard,ballack,deco(against pompey)no wonder they get results even when they are playing badly.

12

Matt Beattie

Posted on 20 Aug, 2008 at 12:29 PM - Reply

Nice comment about Silvestre by the way!

11

georgewhitlock

Posted on 20 Aug, 2008 at 12:28 PM - Reply

i agree and think that Eboue is a good player, and YES he does need a lot of shooting practice.
But what i dont like about him is the constant cheating.
One minute he'll get a tiny flick on the heel and he'll go down like a sack of shight! The next minute hes flying in hard as nails and expecting to get away with it.
If he wants to be the bully player then do it, because i think we need one and he would be a good one BUT dont be a woos at the same time.
And as for the rest of the squad i think the whole link to Silvestre coming to us is a DIABOLICAL decision and Wengers only intrerested because Mikel is french. But we do definitely need a quality midfielder to link with fabregas, personally i think Barry wouldve been the man. But we'll see what Denilson, Song or Diaby can do.

10

gunner fan

Posted on 20 Aug, 2008 at 12:12 PM - Reply

Eboue is not so skilled to be a midfielder, particulary because he is not so talented as many others in the arsenal squad, but one thing that stands out is that he is good on the ball and understands the wenger system very well, i thought he made good passes against west brom and also had good positioning. All that is very important. Its unfortunate that he gets to take the shots when he really cant.

9

Derek

Posted on 20 Aug, 2008 at 11:40 AM - Reply

Keep hearing media comments about our thin squad. They seem to forget that United also fielded a couple of unknown teenagers against Newcastle + we got a much better result with our weakened squad (minus Fab + co.) than United (minus Ronaldo).

8

mpintshi

Posted on 20 Aug, 2008 at 11:39 AM - Reply

I think Eboue is a decent player who just needs composure in front of goal to become a very good player. Eboue always seems to get himself into good scoring positions but lacks the composure and striking technique to get his shots on target which is probably why he seems so indecisive whenever he gets into a good shooting position.

7

Ole Gunner

Posted on 20 Aug, 2008 at 11:15 AM - Reply

Adebayor wasn't carrying the scoring weight alone. Yes, there was a period when he got most of the goals. But we had 15 scorers last season.

By the way, your captcha thing sucks. It's too difficult.

6

Flash

Posted on 20 Aug, 2008 at 11:09 AM - Reply

All too often we critisise players only to then realise what they offer to the team....Gilberto, Flamini, and Hleb spring to mind

I'll stick my neck out...Manu Eboue is a GOOD player, the only thing that frustrates me with him are his ANTICS.

AND..Yes he has a short fuse
Yes he needs shooting practice

BUT His positives outweigh the negatives (Which can be sorted)

He has pace (all you can see sometimes when he is running is teeth! So funny!)
He is Very mobile
He has stamina
He has strength
He can deliver a telling cross
He links play well
He can provide a sheild to thh right hand side

If Arsene can get his shooting better work on his technique he is too rash you don't have to knock the cover off the ball... and he gets a few goals we will heaqr different talk about him.

5

ultradoc

Posted on 20 Aug, 2008 at 11:07 AM - Reply

I don`t get it. Pires for fabregas becos of some very very farsighted brilliant plan but no ramsey for eboue against a relegation team??

4

zrf

Posted on 20 Aug, 2008 at 11:04 AM - Reply

although eboue did good at centre midfield, he is best at his natural position - right back. sagna is the preferred choice now, but eboue can be used on the right wing like last season because he is clearly the best crosser at arsenal. and in cup games when sagna is rested, eboue can fill at right back

3

Evan

Posted on 20 Aug, 2008 at 10:32 AM - Reply

nice article, once the injuried players get back and the new players settle in they will be much more effiecent than last season.

Also I fully argee with you about Eboue I thought he played well last game in a central role, he just needs to learn how to shoot!. People should stop giving him shiet all the time.

2

adwick

Posted on 20 Aug, 2008 at 10:26 AM - Reply

A decent review of our situation and it's good to see some deserved positivity.

I think we're all guilty of having short memories when it comes to AFC and you're right to point out some of the massive improvements we've made.

All the doom and gloom merchants need to get some perspective and be proud to be a gooner no matter what is happening on the pitch.

We won't win as much as Utd and Chelsea, but when we do, it will be 100% more satisfying.

1

brew

Posted on 20 Aug, 2008 at 10:25 AM - Reply

Good write up and assessment of Eboue!

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