On the defensive
Written by Asser Ghozlan on Wednesday, July 28, 2010
So as the pre-season limbering carried on with another routine 4-0 outing, this time against SC Neusiedl, the almost-inevitable declaration of Sol Campbell's imminent departure was announced. Not Celtic, nor Sunderland, though close enough, with the Christmas links to Newcastle United seemingly finally coming to fruition.
I don't know what to make of Sol's decision to jump ship, but from a Club perspective, we are now very much staring a potentially tight situation right in our face. With Gallas, Campbell (yes, even Silvestre) all gone, we are now left with 24 year-old Thomas Vermaelen, who's been in English football for a mere twelve months, as the most experienced central defender at the Club. And of course, it won't be lost on Arsène Wenger that we cannot win titles with just him, a novice in Laurent Koscielny and an injury-prone youngster in Johan Djourou available at his disposal.
So, a defender is on the way. He must be.
When? Where from and who? This is all anybody's guess, though not Wenger himself, one suspects. What worries me is that Wenger might have actually been banking on retaining Campbell's services, and so there might have been no one on his mind after all. This is all highly unlikely conspiracy theory talk, however (hopefully anyway), as the manager has time and again stressed the need for bulking up on numbers at the back.
The names out there certainly seem exciting enough. First we had Gary Cahill or Philippe Mexes, now it's on to Bruno Alves, Per Mertesacker and Phil Jagielka. All interesting stuff, but whether we are actually interested in any of those, only Arsène knows, I suppose!
A similar confusion seems to have befallen the issue of the number 1. There are rumours abound that Wenger is looking to offload the much-maligned Manuel Almunia before making a move for anyone. Schwarzer, Stekelenburg, Marchetti, you name it. The latter certainly seems to have popped up from nowhere, with news that the Cagliari shot-stopper has handed in a transfer request with views of moving to a "bigger club".
Not only that, but Cagliari president Massimo Cellino took it upon himself to declare to the world in true Italian style that the "only real club pushing for his signature" was Arsenal.
Only real club? There must be some fake clubs in the mix out there for Senor Marchetti, then.
As I said, this is all well and good, but the real question is, are the board and Wenger ready to take action and secure the necessary defensive signings to get us into contention?
Forgive me for sounding a bit paranoid now, but this is Arsène Wenger we are talking about after all, a man not exactly renowned for delivering all of his promises when it comes to the transfer market, and a man definitely renowned for his obstinate belief in youth and technique over strength and experience.
My only hope is that all such links and names arise from a sheer belief within the Club that it is only a matter of time before the necessary defensive signings are accrued, and not just a frenzy cooked up by the media to fill up their columns (and get the Arsenal supporters excited over bugger all).
Finally, good to hear the likes of Vermaelen and Gaël Clichy highlight the importance of brushing off the "good team" tag and finally landing the Premier League title. Yes, we've heard it all before, and yes, it is becoming rather boring. But those guys are winners, and to be totally frank, are good enough to rule this league, and so it is time to put words into practice.
As for Sol Campbell, thank you for all you've done to this Club, past and present. A true Arsenal legend, and one we should not be totally disappointed with having chosen the move north. He did leave Spurs for us after all, so this is to be expected!
And if you ask yourself whether you would rather have held on to him or our Captain this summer, I think I know whom you would've plumped for.
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