On the defensive
By Nicholas Hartley on Tuesday, January 6, 2009
The mince pies are almost finished. The presents are all opened. Even the thousands of chocolates that seemed insurmountable a week ago are all but a distant memory. It can only mean one thing. Transfer time.
However this time round, it all feels a little bit different. For the first time in his tenure at the helm of Arsenal Football Club Arsène Wenger can rightfully feel he must act not only to sure up a challenge for the title, but to ensure European qualification. The recent dip in form has, for the first time, highlighted sever frailties in a talented, yet intolerably inconsistent group of players.
Goals have never been a problem under Wenger. His mercurial brand of eye catching, beautiful football has re-written the rule book for what the English game encapsulates. Defensively however, the start to the 2008/09 season has emphasized a worrying inability to not concede. Not for a very long has an Arsenal lead been so frail. The leaking hull of HMS Wenger needs suring up. And fast.
Recent murmurings of dressing room unrest seemed to have reared their ugly head once again with reports of a training ground bust up between Kolo Touré and former captain William Gallas. Despite Touré retracting a transfer request following the altercation, canny credit-crunched wheeler-dealers will surely eye an opportunity to grab a world class centre back at a bargain basement price. Couple this with Wenger's very public admission that together the pair do not present enough of an aerial barrier, and one does not need much insight to suggest a well rounded presence at the back might be on the wanted list.
The option to recall Phillipe Senderos from his loan spell at AC Milan mustn't be forgotten, should a sudden departure become a reality. By all accounts Senderos has blossomed during his time at the San Siro, something he seemed destined to not quite achieve while at Arsenal. This should not be surprising, given the faith shown in him by Wenger. As I watched I regularly found myself questioning his credentials as true Arsenal material, but took solace in the fact that a man of far greater footballing worth than myself saw him day in, day out on the training pitch. "He must", I reasoned, "do something right in training". The decision to send him to Milan would seem to suggest he has left in all but black ink, however he still remains a viable, if not ideal option should we be left short come January 31st.
Mikael Silvestre's arrival back in August 2008 has proven the value of an experienced head at the back when selection has been forced due to injuries to key centre half options. His early season performances have provided Wenger with a wealth of top-flight nouce and composure in high pressure situations, something I am sure the younger members of the squad have valued when thrust into the limelight in the wake of injuries. In truth, his performance against Villa was a key factor in us scraping (and we did scrape it, despite the lead!!!) a point. However, his apparent 3 weeks on the sidelines will surely act to further enhance the manager's January spending policy. His departure, and Wenger's apparent reservations of the Touré / Gallas paring could well give the promising Alex Song, or slightly more experienced Johan Djourou a good run in the side, however, both players undoubtedly come under the banner of "one for the future". Both have shown glimpses of the qualities that brought them to Wenger's attention, but neither can honestly been seen as immediate replacements for a title challenging back line.
What is key in at this moment in time is the purchase of a commanding, assertive holding midfielder, to complement our dynamic and forward thinking midfield. There have been notable performances in that position throughout the season. Abou Diaby has shown glimpses of the type of tenacious ball-winner we have so dearly missed since the departure of Mathieu Flammini last summer. However, such glimpses have been sporadic and lack the necessary consistency such a role demands.
Arsenal have not for many years been a team famed for getting rough and ready; rolling their sleeves up and going all "Terry Butcher" on the oppo. And this is of course why we have blossomed into a team iconic of the beautiful game. Figure-heads of passing football. Demonstrative of class and finesse over bully-boy tactics. But, as we have shown over the past 4 months, a time has come to dominate that holding midfield role. Since the departure of Flammini and Gilberto we have lacked a player who will happily sit and do the dirty work day in, day out. Who dominates from the back. Who wins the 50/50's and is happy to let those of more a more poetic disposition express their attacking prowess in the way we all know and love. This surely has to be Wenger's prime objective.
So where do we stand? Well, as I see it is not all doom and gloom. At centre back we do have quality, and numbers. They just haven't all been available at the same time. With a decent run of form and injury prevention I believe we have the makings of a defence to match any in the Premiership. In the holding role it is different. We are deficient. The likes of Abou Diaby and Alex Song are without doubt potential long-term replacements, but not yet. Neither has shown that they are ready to run the show as those before them have done so commandingly. A new face must surely be high on the shopping list.
The current economic climate has without doubt given this particular spending opportunity a twist that will have heavy implications for every club. If one thing is certain there will be no buying for buying's sake. Any signing's legitimacy will have been mulled over ten fold to usual. But, if any club, and any manager was going to make informed decisions on a player it is Arsenal and Wenger. His policy of buying on the basis of technical proficiency over name will no doubt bring another as yet unheard of player to the forefront of our thoughts.
With any luck, the defensive frailties exposed during the first half of the season will be quickly and firmly repaired, and all those who berate Wenger's policy of pairing the cream of world football's young talent with technically superior experience are put firmly in their place. There is, after all, only one Arsène Wenger.
User Comments
20theiceman10
Posted on 10 Jan, 2009 at 09:29 AM - Reply
sol campbell????come on one good season with arsenal and that was it..wenger needs a good centre half can you name many he has signed in his tenure of quality???
19aaron
Posted on 8 Jan, 2009 at 04:21 PM - Reply
bring back sol campbell big strong very experienced. and offer bentner to west ham plus cash for mark noble
18Aabbs7
Posted on 8 Jan, 2009 at 01:54 AM - Reply
Apparently according to all the London papers we'r going to get Arshavin, no doubt, hes a class player,however, surely the priority is a defensive midfielder and a defender.
I'd rather we sold Gallas than Toure, Toures our best defender as far as Im concerned.
17haidero
Posted on 7 Jan, 2009 at 11:13 PM - Reply
The Article is fantastic, no doubt about that; i think we suffer more from injuries & when one sees that: it affects the entire plan by AW. CAN ANY ONE TELL ME :IF this happened to other three big four : what would be the outcome? same hue & cry.hold on here we just need confidence a win or two would bring us back on the track; take my word.
16Ross
Posted on 7 Jan, 2009 at 02:48 PM - Reply
Good article for a fair assessment of the squad but the truth is that every team around us is and has been strengthening their squads for over a year now. I understand the current economic climate further restricts our options but if we are to remain a top European club we MUST add depth and experience (players who have won things) to our squad.
As good as our side can and do occassionally now play, our squad is not even near strong enough to compete at the top level anymore, two decent results (Man U and Chelsea) all season in reality.
A quality center back, defensive midfielder, 'natural' goal scorer and possibly a world class keeper are required for us to maintain the great reputation Wenger has built.
Tottenham currently seem to have more ambition than we do! After ten years of success compared to Spurs' little they still spend and are also in the process of constructing a new stadium.
15Babatunde
Posted on 7 Jan, 2009 at 02:04 PM - Reply
Are people blind? can't they see that adversity is bringing out the best in these young lads? why would Arsene want to go and buy now? the only reason would be to get a replacement for Tomas who has been out for so long. The only vacancy in the Arsenal squad right now is for an AM/Winger in the 24-27 age range.
I don't expect us to go and spend big for any DM or CB now, between Denilson, Song and Diaby we have the DM role covered and we also have the CB role covered.
Give this present squad a decent pre-season and we will be back in the big time.
14Gooner Get Ya
Posted on 7 Jan, 2009 at 01:33 PM - Reply
well said Muqeet and Kevin.
Some fans who expect trophies every season are unrealistic, glory supporters.
Wengers youth policy is the only way to compete with the big money boys as they sniff around for the best players using other teams scouts and them leap on them with big bucks to tempt them away from the original offer made. If the best young players want regular 1st team action in a top 4 team in the best league in the world then we are the best option.
13goonneer
Posted on 7 Jan, 2009 at 11:42 AM - Reply
Mike,There is no Reason why we cannot win it we just yet again have to rely on UNITED CHELSEA and LIVERPOOL slipping up and we have to WIN EVERY GAME we can afford about 2 draws i think at most so that therfore means we either have to beat CHELSEA at the Emirates UNITED at Old Trafford or LIVERPOOL at Anfeild no pressure eh !
My money is on champions league this year £500 to be exact at 18/1 no reason why we cannot do it we are just underrated
12gooner 4 life
Posted on 7 Jan, 2009 at 09:59 AM - Reply
absolutely agree with Muqeet Aman, well said son, and to throw in my 2 cents, i think everyone should let Wenger do all the work on transfers, he knows who the right players are for the club
11Kevin
Posted on 6 Jan, 2009 at 09:36 PM - Reply
I believe the global economic condition affected Wenger's decisions this year. I wouldn't be surprised that one or two EPL clubs go bankrupt in the near future.
10Muqeet Aman
Posted on 6 Jan, 2009 at 08:42 PM - Reply
I have seen everybody lambasting Wenger saying that he is not doing any good for the club. Remember the club is in deep turmoil.
Firstly the members of the board are fighting amongst themselves.
Secondly we are seriously short of cash because of the stadium and the financial crisis.
Finally adding salt to the wound there are players fighting amongst themselves.
If not for Wenger our club would be in the relegation zone.
He has done right in offloading players like Flamini and Diarra who were cry babies.
Song will mature soon believe me.
I think we should be more than happy with fourth place this season too.
9s_d -_-
Posted on 6 Jan, 2009 at 07:41 PM - Reply
quite simply a BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN ARTICLE. I would have lapped this up if it was about spuds :-) wonderful
i personally would like a CB tall and commanding, a workhorse DM and a winger.
8bedy
Posted on 6 Jan, 2009 at 04:24 PM - Reply
Sam,if you are AW you will sell Gallas a highest goal scorer defender in the PL mid season that is incredible. The solution is to keep two of them both Gallas and Toure as they are better than most of the defenders we are reading in the news that we want to buy.
You never value what you have untill it is lost.
7Marat Ayrapetyan
Posted on 6 Jan, 2009 at 04:18 PM - Reply
I absolutely agree that the main deficiency that Arsenal lineup now has is the quality defensive midfielder.
I'm from St. Petersburg, Russia, myself, and many people here are now discussing Andrei Arshavin's possible transfer to Arsenal. But why him? Why not another quality player from the same Zenit team, and much more needed for today's Arsenal - Anatoly Tymoschuk? Yes, he has preliminary agreement with Bayern Munich, but not final yet, because Bayern still tries to solve the contract situation with Van Bommel. So, Tymoschuk can go right now, and he can be not only a perfect DM, but also a real leader. You should watch him... better then Yaya Toure in my opinion.
6Gooner Terry
Posted on 6 Jan, 2009 at 03:41 PM - Reply
No matter how you try to describe Mr Wenger I think he is no longer the one we new five years ago. I do not even want to say anything about him because if he wants he can get good layers what he simply need to do is to compromise for the sake of us fans. He doesn't understand what we go through when our team is not winning or get any trophy. We wewer used to this team that was feared by opponents. Now every team is jumping on Arsenal without fear at all. Our players are not strong indeed to fight and win. Talent yes but no enough capability to stand still. Another thing is that if all of them are young it turns to be not competitive where you have mature players in other teams. The issue is to balance talent and maturity. yes we an have young ones but also have mature players as the majority.
Why does the leadership of Arsenal think of us fans if business is no longer an issue? Ok the outcome of all we are experiencing will cause the downfall of this beloved team.
Please if one of the board members cares, he should arise and do something. Thank you for the good article though.
5goonneer
Posted on 6 Jan, 2009 at 02:41 PM - Reply
AMAZING ABSOLUTELY AMAZING ARTICLE BIT LONG WINDED BUT ONE OF THE BEST I HAVE READ ON HERE FOR ONCE ON ARSENAL MANIA I HAVE NOTHING TO PUT OR COMMENT ON THIS ARTICLE IS BRILLIANT YOU HAVE HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD ABOUT EXPERIENCE KEEP AT IT NICHOLAS !!
I would like to see some of the comments posted on this article and what the critics say that come on this website because i Sir as an honoury Gooner from North London will be challenging them on every bad point they make about this article I have not yet found one !
4Sam
Posted on 6 Jan, 2009 at 01:49 PM - Reply
Senderos has BLOSSOMED??? He hasn't played. Kaladze, Maldini and Bonera are infront of him, and Alessandro Nesta is back next week after injury, so he will be 5th choice. Why should we recall a flop? If I were Wenger, I would sell Gallas, keep Toure. In terms of transfers, why don't we sign Sylvain Distin and Elano? Elano is reportedly desperate to leave and transfer listed since Tuesday (today), whilst Pompey have to sell apparently and defender Distin is unsettled. Two top players in the Premier League. In terms of a defensive midfielder, Inler would have fit the bill, but it appears we wont sign him now. Should have kept Lassana Diarra badly, but trust me, there is no better defensive midfielder in world football right now that YAYA Toure. What a player, my god. I watch La liga every week on sky and he is head and shoulders above everyone.
3wondrinfree
Posted on 6 Jan, 2009 at 01:42 PM - Reply
Just a thought regarding the urgency of buying players.
It is commonly believed that we need to have Champions League football to remain financially viable. Correct me if I am wrong, please, but if we get about 16 million for our Champions League involvement then surely spending more than this on new players would be counter-productive. Especially as you say we have Diaby and Song who are not quite ready now but show future promise.
If we contemplated the unthinkable, saved our money and came fifth (for one season) we could be better off than if we spent 20 million for one years Champions League.
2gefflo
Posted on 6 Jan, 2009 at 01:05 PM - Reply
Spot on mate, regarding Diaby he is not really an Vieira type like most fans like him to be. I see him more like behind striker type....
1mike
Posted on 6 Jan, 2009 at 12:43 PM - Reply
I am not sure we need a defensive midfielder at all. THis is actually a term used since maka at chelsea. Why do we have to have a defensive midfielder, we never had before. Ajnd flamini, though good is and never was, in my opinion the answer. He did well as a stand in left back and in midfield. But i watched some old re-runs the other day and flamini made the same mistakes that the likes of song is making. For me Diabi has improved since his return from injury and is now begining to look the part, also nasri looks very much better when playing a more central role. But i do believe we will come stronger as the season goes on, and i know im one of the few but i still think we will win the prem, i know its mad
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