AFCB writer Daniel Brookes on the satisfaction of watching young players develop…

This week, I have been mostly pondering a comment left on one of our Editor-in-Chief’s posts last week. The comment regarded Theo Walcott and was dropped by ‘James Robin’. It went as follows:

“If we have players that need development, why aren’t they sent on loan? Why do we have to suffer for their development needs? Our title rivals aren’t developing players on a large scale, they throw one or two maximum, we have many development projects.”

Being the pensive son-of-a-gun I am, I’ve spent a great deal of time wondering whether James has a point. It’s true that Arsenal is a club of young players and we’re perennially regarded as a young team with potential. It’s also true that this ‘potential’ often manifests itself as an excuse for not winning trophies in the eyes of many supporters and commentators. The ‘next year will be our time’ mentality that has since instilled itself in our minds has become a familiar excuse shield for some, a reason to lambast Wenger at every opportunity for others.

At first, I thought James did have a strong case. When browsing the Chelsea team sheet, there is very little room for newcomers or home grown potential. As the league leaders, Chelsea never really showcased a player that wasn’t already a household name or a renowned reputation. There were sparse appearances for Ross Turnbull (forced in through injury), Daniel Sturridge and Nemanja Matić, throughout the season, but they only managed 28 appearances in all competitions between them.

This is vastly at odds with Arsenal, who were routinely giving starting roles to players like Abou Diaby, Aaron Ramsey, Denilson, Vela, Fabianski and Gibbs. We could argue until we’re blue in the face about whether these players are deserved first-team players or not, but the fact is they are all definitely developing, they definitely get game time, and they’re hopefully nowhere near their peaks.

It is probably logical to assume that Chelsea boast such an array of talent thanks to their multimillion pounds worth of investment. They don’t need to rely on young, up and coming players and can plug any gap with a new signing. It’s the same story at Manchester City – we’re not going to see Michael Johnson get an extensive run of games this season, and not long ago he was one of the most promising young English players going around. Excess money signals the end of wafer-thin squads, and any obligation to youth players whatsoever. Even writing that sentence depresses me.

That’s really as far as the point goes. It is otherwise wrong to assume that Arsenal fans have an unfair burden placed on them in terms of suffering nurtured talent. Take a look at Manchester United who chased Chelsea down to the last and (like us!) were title challengers. They’ve given playing time to Darren Gibson, Macheda and Obertan, as well as Fabio and Rafael, and do Nani and Anderson count? Perhaps the only difference is that Fergie has paid eye-watering sums for some of these players.

Furthermore, look at the experience of the Manchester United team. It comes from a glut of players they nurtured through their youth ranks. Scholes and Giggs are still pulling the strings in midfield, whilst nobody was complaining then Beckham was being developed into a global superstar. The formula quite clearly works as their trophy haul over the last ten year suggests.

Looking at the issue another way, watching footballers develop – far from being an insufferable aspect of being a fan – is actually one of the reasons I enjoy football so much. I can say hands down that one of my favourite moments as a supporter came from watching Cesc Fabregas come-of-age during his 2006 Champions League run, particularly in the latter stages. It was somehow like watching the taste of freshly baked bread. I’ve had similar eyebrow raising moments upon seeing Abou Diaby shine like a rough diamond in the miasmatic French national team during the World Cup, or in watching our ‘reserve squad’ crack skulls in the league cup.

What I always find particularly frustrating is that our own fans equate our failure to win a trophy over the last five years with achieving nothing. That’s simply not the case. What the club has achieved with the players they have is something that should be lauded, and I don’t think in five or ten years time that I’d ever remember the sporadic FA Cup garnish on a particular season more than I’d revel in the fact that I’ve watched a player learn and then express his trade at our club to the point of worldwide acclaim. Who can honestly say that clubs like Aston Villa or Everton would be improved by signing players such as Nasri or Diaby? In my opinion, there’s is something special about the way we operate and we get the best out of these types of players.

Of course, an obvious criticism is that Arsenal fails to hang on to many of its nurtured talents, but it’s rare that any player who leaves us is successful elsewhere, and players are lured away from more successful clubs than ours. You can develop footballing talent so far, but you can’t instill the common sense which might have brought happier times to the careers of players such as Hleb, Flamini and Adebayor had they stayed.

In a game that now encompasses so many detestable aspects – cheating, diving, grinding out results, excessive wealth, ill-educated and mercenary players, I think that following a successful player’s development is one of the last true reasons to follow a football team.

Thoughts?

Have your say on this week’s ‘From The Left Wing’ by leaving a comment.

Despite Manuel Almunia’s excellent game against Blackburn on Saturday, I still want Mark Schwarzer to sign from Fulham before the transfer window closes tomorrow.

As an Australian who keenly follows the Premier League, I have seen more of Schwarzer than most people. This is not a way of belittling anybody’s opinion, it is just a simple fact.

Schwarzer may be 37 but he has the right combination of attributes that we need in a goalkeeper right now: good communication skills, consistent positioning, excellent judgment in the air and the psychological temperament to bounce back from the minimal mistakes he makes.

He is a consistent shot-stopper and also has a good record for saving penalties but that is not why Arsene Wenger wants to buy him. He wants him because he has a calm, controlled demeanor that is superior to any other goalkeeper on our books.

I have seen Schwarzer play in virtually every situation you could see a goalkeeper play: crucial and run-of-the-mill Premier League games, FA Cup ties, UEFA Cup games, a UEFA Cup Final, grueling Asian World Cup qualifiers played in extreme heat, two World Cups and perhaps the most tense and important game of them all, Australia’s 2005 World Cup qualifying play-off against Uruguay.

He has made mistakes, more in the early part of his career than the latter, but perhaps the best thing about Schwarzer is that he likes to save his best appearances for the big games.

I’ve already mentioned the 2005 qualifier, where he played a blinder and saved two penalties in the shootout, but there is also his amazing effort in last season’s UEFA Cup semi-final in Hamburg and numerous Premier League Man of the Match performances against the likes of Manchester United and Arsenal.

In my opinion, Schwarzer is the right goalkeeper to complete this Arsenal squad. He will improve our communication skill on the pitch, help us concede fewer goals and will improve the leadership in the squad. He will also give players like Lukasz Fabianski and Wojceich Sczcesny someone to look up to and learn from to improve their own games.

The good news is that Fulham manager Mark Hughes has confirmed that Schwarzer wants to join Arsenal. The better news is that Hughes is making arrangements for that move to become a reality, organising to bring in Shay Given on loan to allow Schwarzer to cap off a fine career by playing for a Champions League club.

Being a Fulham player, there will be no ‘settling in’ time for Schwarzer at Arsenal. He lives in London and has done for several years. If signed he will be ready to play immediately and will be well and truly up for the task.

I think Schwarzer will sign for Arsenal before the window shuts and I will be delighted if he does.

What it means for Almunia, who has been a wonderful and loyal servant to the club and a classy professional during this time, I don’t know. But it will improve Arsenal and at the end of the day that is what must come first.

Thoughts?

Have your say on Arsenal’s possible signing of Mark Schwarzer by leaving a comment.

AFCB writer Daniel Brookes comments on Theo Walcott in ‘From The Left Wing’…

You have to feel sorry for Theo Walcott sometimes. As an Arsenal fan, I’ve watched him progress over the last three or four years and thought of him simply as a young player who must have a certain amount of quality to be playing first team football for a title-challenging club. A club that he’s been turning out for since the age of 17 no less. Does any one else really think any different of the guy?

Well apparently they do. This weekend Theo netted his first club hat-trick against Blackpool and his reward was a mauling on national television at the hands of every one’s favourite pundit, Alan Hansen, who took time out of his busy ‘being a cock’ schedule to be a cock about Theo.

Hansen’s main problem with Theo was that he ‘was good, but he isn’t the world’s best’, a title that neither Walcott nor any member of the Arsenal staff or support has ever claimed, though that obviously doesn’t matter. Furthermore, Walcott was slammed for displaying instinctive and intuitive brilliance that didn’t quite match his decision making at other times. It’s probably worth keeping in mind that Hansen said of Walcott just before the world cup that ‘he needs to learn to think as fast as he can run.’ – when he is now seemingly criticising him for quite the opposite.

Nobody is getting carried away with his hat-trick against a team who are likely to be the Premier League’s whipping boys this season. Nobody has slapped a 50m price tag on his head, put him forward for player of the year or suggested he is anywhere near the same calibre as Lionel Messi and pals. He’s just our right winger and he netted a hat-trick, hats off to the lad.

Every Arsenal fan knows the weaknesses of Theo’s game, but we are also fully aware that he has a good ten+ years of football ahead of him and he will develop into an even better player. That’s not to say that he isn’t good enough for our first team set-up already – he has a respectable amount of international experience and some high profile Champions League games under his belt, I just think his best is yet to come and that that is an exciting prospect.

The criticism is not even wholly unjustified, but what stands out is the disproportionate amount of abuse Theo seems to get compared to his contemporaries. Hansen, of course, is only one of his detractors, but what I do not understand is how often he bares the brunt of other people’s ‘professional opinion’ after he has just done something quite incredible.

When he was left out of England’s doomed World Cup squad, I think there was an overall feeling here that his omission was warranted. In the friendly matches England played prior to the world cup, the commentators and pundits were approximately 3000% more critical of Theo than any other player on the pitch that I can remember.

It’s literally bewildering, considering Theo was left out in favour of an unfit Shaun Wright-Phillips, who wasn’t even making the first team at City, and James Milner – a player who would still struggle to beat the left back if you lined up with a training cone in that position. Both Wright-Phillips and Milner were utterly obtuse and lumbering in their international matches over the summer, yet the criticism seemed to fall solely on the manager for selecting them, rather than their poor performances directly. Those are two players who have chalked up over 30m in transfer expenses each, by the way, but seemingly still have no extra obligation to perform.

There is no mystical conveyor belt which churns out legendary footballers, but I believe brilliance can be acquired in some cases through experience and confidence. I wonder what people thought of Thierry Henry’s ‘footballing brain’ when he was 21? I also wonder how Walcott will react in the next match when after scoring a hat-trick he switches on the television and sees someone announcing that he did well, but will never be a great player?

Walcott simply offers our attacking line up some real penetration and he always looks committed to the cause. I have high hopes this season if he is no longer afraid to draw fouls, shoot, set-up or leave his marker for dead. As for his faults, I’ve only ever seen him unsuccessful, never lazy. Perhaps he could dodge so much attention if he switched to the opposite wing, maybe took on a more Eastern European nationality and picked and chose the games he turns up for. Until then I’ll applaud his resolve.

There is no reason to scrutinise Walcott more than any other young player, and given the fact that he is more down-to-earth than Newton’s apple, I can’t imagine him ever suffocating on his own pomp and grandeur like Ronaldo. He brings none of this on himself and thus I can only feel sorry for him as he apparently owes England some sort of incredible set-the-world-alight career from here on out. What do you mean he only scored three goals today? We’d best tear him apart.

Have your say on this week’s ‘From The Left Wing’ by leaving a comment.

AFCB writer Daniel Brookes provides a typically alternative view in ‘From The Left Wing’…

Welcome one and welcome all to my first article on the new-look AFCB. By way of introduction, my name is Dan, I live in London, I’ve been following Arsenal for about 16 years now and my current favourite player is Alex Song.

Now that we’re all enamoured, I’m going to get on with my ramblings regarding the new season ahead and tell you why, to be honest, I’m not really all that excited about it!

I find myself in a curious situation as the only England-based writer on a blog that lauds an England-based team. Because of this, I feel obliged to get the violins out and expose the plight of thousands of similar fans, like me, who have suffered a double-whammy of footballing disappointment over the past few months, thanks to their commitment to both Arsenal, and our laughing stock of a national team.

Seeing Arsenal throw in the towel at the end of last season and slump into a final day scrap for third place was a truly miserable (albeit familiar) experience. Let’s all be honest, it was one of our best seasons in a good few years, yet we only just pipped our favourite neighbours to third place. I was down, but I comforted myself with the knowledge that I had two massive reasons to keep faith in the beautiful game.

Firstly, a World Cup was just around the corner – that’s pure footballing brilliance distilled, refined and sprayed into our faces over six weeks of multicultural partying. Secondly, Arsene Wenger, one of the game’s undisputed masters of discovering obscure footballing talent, was heading to South Africa filled with a crystal clear knowledge of his team’s weaknesses. I still feel the slight twinge of anticipation and excitement when I recall these reasons; it was going to be a brilliant summer!

Perhaps you can already see where I’m going with this.

It takes a herculean effort for English football supporters, entrenched deep in their generations-old club loyalties, to suddenly begin to support a national team comprised of the exact same players they deride and spit fire at, week after week, year after year. But somehow we manage to club together, we ignore the obvious foible of having a foreign manager who can’t speak the national language, and we temporarily pardon the fact that half the squad would rather be sleeping their way through seedy nightclubs and dodging stints in Her Majesty’s Prisons for beating up their fans. We quite naively and hopelessly build our expectations to feverish levels.

Then, come crunch time, we watch the team play. Oh God. The memories, the nightmares, the failure. England were woeful and I’m certainly in no hurry for the next World Cup to roll around. The disappointment was almost, almost enough to make me want to throw in the towel and be done with it all. How can I carry on following a sport that routinely assaults me with so much depression!?

Daniel wasn't the only one who struggled to watch England's World Cup "performance".

Still… at least Arsene was there. Arsene, talent-spotter extraordinaire was surely casting his beady eye over any of the 700-odd players on display, ready to pounce with laser precision and whirlwind speed, ready to execute a flurry of transfer activity which would plug the leaks in our squad once and for all and leave our competitors stoic in his wake.

Surely the only speculation would be about which countries these hidden gems would come from? Would it be a burly Slovenian centre-back or a gangly Algerian reserve goalkeeper. Maybe even the bus driver for the South Korean team, or the local kid playing keepy-uppy in the park opposite his hotel?

Err, well… it was actually none of the above. In fact it wasn’t anybody.

Arsene did his best to keep the speculation-mill churning though. He heaped praise on Keisuke Honda, a wafer-thin attacking midfielder, obviously a man in the mould of what the Arsenal midfield desperately needs right now. Then we were linked with unconvincing Italian goalkeeper Federico Marchetti, who showed true Arsenal goalkeeping potential by conceding 4 goals from 6 shots during his brief campaign.

Although he wasn’t signing anybody of note, Arsene was doing a pretty good job of clearing out the scrap metal from our squad. It’s just a shame he was doing an even better job of not replacing them.

Now, fast forward to our first game of the season. Whereas we possessed an embarrassment of riches up front, even without our two best offensive players, we still maintained an embarrassment of squad depth at the back. Our goalkeeper was picked as the best of a bad bunch, and an unfit Alex Song was the only player capable of coming off the bench to fill in at centre back. That’s the same Alex Song who is also the club’s only defensive midfielder this year (and last). This is a bewildering lack of cover for a first team that seems to collect injuries as if they were rare foreign coins and who seem to end crocked for half the season if they play when the pollen count is too high.

The gaps in our team seem obvious to every Arsenal and opposition fan and I suspect even the manager, but with a couple of weeks left of an open transfer window and the season already underway, I can’t help but feel a little short-changed after a summer filled with so much potential!

I simply wonder, do we have any right to get our hopes up for the coming season? Coming from Arsene’s biggest fan, all I can hope for is an injury-free campaign or a flurry of signings before the transfer window closes, because this may well be our last year with the world’s most ingenious central midfielder running our centre stage.

I hope as always for the best!

Have your say on the first ever ‘From The Left Wing’ by leaving a comment.

The spectacular, brand-spanking new AFCB Writing Team provides their predictions for the upcoming season. Just don’t take Alan Dixon-Lawrenson’s too seriously…

Where will Arsenal finish in the league this season?

Andrew Weber: It very much depends on signings made before the end of transfer window. No higher than third is no-one is brought in, possible champions if a goalkeeper and fourth centre-back are added.

Daniel Brookes: I think third place is the best case scenario if we do not sign at least two new players before the summer’s out. Our defence has been weak for the past four or five season, and now it’s a ghost town, we need some new faces in there as any serious injury will leave us very short at the back.

Andrew Enloe: I’ll be optimistic and say champions. If you’re not stupidly optimistic about a few things then what’s the point of following a football team?

Fatema Farhat: On top of the table – need I say anymore?

Darragh Murray: Tough to say, the competition is definitely harder this season. My heart says first, but brain says 3rd or 4th. We still need another central defender and need to replace the goalkeeper.

N’jabred Yemi Jr: Optimism says 1st, reality says 2nd.

Alan Dixon-Lawrenson: Relegated. Unless they can somehow sign John Terry during the transfer window. If that happens, then they’ll finish first.

How far will they go in the UEFA Champions League?

AW: The Champions League is such a lottery times. Anything more than the quarter-finals would be a success.

DB: They’ll qualify from the group and make it to the quarter finals where they’ll be knocked out by another English team. Woe.

AE: I can see an appearance in the final.

FF: We will win that as well. Yes, I’m a dreamer.

DM: Trying to be realistic – Quarter finals. I hope I’m surprised.

NYJ: Quarter-finals at least.

ADL: Look, I’ve always said that you don’t win things with kids. Thus I think Arsenal won’t do that well.

Can Cesc Fabregas improve on his performances of last season?

AW: It’s unlikely he will have a better season numbers-wise than last time around. His experience, leadership and general impact will still be huge though, and could push the rest of the team as far as they need to go to win the title.

DB: Cesc has made the most assists in the top five leagues in Europe over the past five years. I would be happy if he simply maintained his consistency! The only way he can get better is to stay fit for the entire season, and here’s hoping he does just that.

AE: Cesc’s professionalism and consistency won’t falter.  His goal count, however, depends on if Wenger decides to play Nasri or Denilson in the remaining midfield spot.

FF: Totally, he will spread that winning feeling amongst his team mates and lead by example.

DM: I think Cesc is a player of great integrity. He understand that playing well for Arsenal means getting more starts for Spain.

NYJ: Definitely, but it’s quite hard to improve on 19 goals and 19 assists as a midfielder.

ADL: Only if he signs for Barcelona.

Which player do you think will surprise everybody this season?

AW: Last season I expected Johan Djourou to have a breakthrough season only to see his chances ruined by injury. If he can avoid the same problems then I expect him to be a nailed-on starter next to Thomas Vermaelen, rather than new signing Koscielny.

DB: I’m going to ignore the billions of promising under-20s and say Nasri. He showed moments of jaw-dropping class last year but lacked the consistency to dazzle us as fans. I think he’ll pull out all the stops this year and have a sort of ‘Alex Hleb’s final season’ season, only hopefully without the leaving part.

AE: I expect a big season from Andrey Arshavin.  The surprise of the pre-season for me has been his workrate — at least compared with last season — and I think that will carry over.

FF: I will say Diaby.

DM: I think Walcott, if he can avoid injury, might come into his own this season. Also Nasri looked sharp in pre-season.

NYJ: Koscielny.

ADL: Almunia. He will surprise everyone by replacing Robin Van Persie during injury time at Old Trafford, and scoring via a scorpion kick. Top corner.

Should Arsene Wenger prioritise the FA Cup more highly this season after five seasons without a trophy?

AW: It all depends on injuries. If we have players available then we should definitely try a little harder win it.

DB: I think he should take it more seriously, if only to make sure that we don’t get humiliated by either our rivals or lesser teams in the competition. It’s still a massive competition in England, I would love to see us win it.

AE: He probably should, but he won’t.  Depends on injuries.

FF: No, the youngsters do well and I personally want the other major trophies.

DM: Definitely. Lots of competition for this cup now. City, Spurs and Everton will be pushing hard for silverware as well.

NYJ: Yes. It’s high time.

ADL: The FA Cup is the pinnacle of English football. I actually think we should ban Arsenal from competing until they sign more English players.

Who would you play in goals if no goalkeeper is signed before the window closes?

AW: Wojciech Szczęsny has earned his opportunity to play after a great loan season at Brentford. He appears stronger, calmer and more confident than the other options despite his age.

DB: This question gives me all sorts of existential nightmares and brings me out in a cold sweat at night. I think at the end of the day it has to be Almunia, purely because he makes slightly fewer gaffs-per-minute than Fabianski. I’d send Fabianski and Mannone out on loan (perhaps for the next three or four years) and stick Sczeznenz… the Polish dude as our number two.

AE: Eesh.  Almunia.

FF: Mannone.

DM: Almunia is still the best option we have. Fabianski is not up to it.

NYJ: Almunia of course!

ADL: I think the era of player-manager should be revived and Arsene take on the burden of goalkeeping. Hey, Arsenal can do no worse than Fabianski.

Theo Walcott’s season appears to be a bit make-or-break, which way do you think it will go?

AW: I think he will probably do enough to have us answering the same question next season. He’ll have moments of real impact but will probably still let himself down with his decision-making.

DB: He’s going to tear it up this year, if he stays fit he’ll be absolutely brilliant, put your house on it!

AE: He’ll have a better season.  He’s had a summer off and if he avoids the injuries then he’ll get his confidence back.

FF: He’s had the reality check. Has a lot to prove. He will shine.

DM: If he can avoid injury, he’ll do well.

NYJ: Very well but not extraordinary, spurred on by missing the World Cup.

ADL: He is English and therefore he will always do well.

What about Arsenal’s biggest new name – Marouane Chamakh – how will he fit in?

AW: Chamakh is set for a huge year. He appears to have the right attitude and his aerial ability, workrate and durability will make him a vital player for us this season.

DB: At the moment I am going to assume that he is like a good version of Nick Bendtner, and therefore he’ll do the unthinkable with all the chances our midfield assist machine provides for him – convert them. I reckon he’ll have a successful first season and reach double figures easily!

AE: I mainly see him as a substitute for Van Persie, though if Wenger can use Bendtner on the right then I can see Chamakh used in a fluid 4-3-3 on the right or something.

FF: He will compliment van Persie extremely well. I’m a fan already.

DM: I think he will be good. We need a big guy to bully the other team, hold the ball up and feed the likes of Arshavin, Cesc and Van Persie.

NYJ: Perfectly. I see him putting a lot of effort and adding some goals.

ADL: Chamakh will fit like a square peg in a round hole. Wenger will be undone by his pursuit of bargain signings. He should have signed Emile Heskey instead.

Who do you think will finish as top goalscorer?

AW: If Robin van Persie doesn’t top the scorers we will really struggle to win the league.

DB: RvP – He had a dry spell in the world cup and he should be desperate to get amongst the goals again. If we can keep feeding the beast, he’ll keep turning on a sixpence and smashing them in.

AE: Arshavin.  He knows he had a poor season last time out and has a point to prove.

FF: Van Persie, as long as he stays fit.

DM: Van Persie.

NYJ: Robin Van Persie.

ADL: One of either Jack Wilshere, Kieran Gibbs or Theo Walcott.

What do you think? Let us know your answers by leaving a comment.

Following the 4-0 final day win over Fulham, I thought it interesting to provide a very brief statistical comparison of Arsenal’s performance in the 2008/09 and 2009/10 seasons.

League Position

2008/09: 4th
2009/10: 3rd

Conclusion: An improvement of one place on last season – in the process navigating the unwanted task of playing early-season Champions League qualifying games after a World Cup.

League Points

2008/09: 72
2009/10: 75

Conclusion: An improvement of 3 points on last season – despite some woeful results since our title charge was ended at White Hart Lane.

Points off 1st Place

2008/09: 18
2009/10: 11

Conclusion: An improvement of 7 points from last season – a marked  improvement relative to the other sides at the top.

Goal Difference

2008/09: +31
2009/10: +42

Conclusion: An improvement of 11 on last season. Interesting to note that Chelsea’s goal difference improved by 27 and Manchester United’s by 14.

Goals Scored

2008/09: 68
2009/10: 83

Conclusion: An improvement of 15 goals on last season.

Goals Conceded

2008/09: 37
2009/10: 41

Conclusion: A regression of 4 goals on last season, despite the addition of the superb Thomas Vermaelen and the inspirational return of Sol Campbell.

General Conclusions

In every single important statistical indicator we have improved – except the number of goals conceded.

The biggest indicator of our progression this season is an improvement of our league position from 4th to 3rd. It is an achievement made more impressive by the improved performances of Tottenham and Manchester City and the prediction by many in the media that we would finish in 5th position and miss out on the Champions League altogether.

Chelsea won the title with four less points than Manchester United did last season despite scoring a record number of goals and having a quite remarkable goal difference of +71. That we managed to close the gap on the Premier League champions from 18 points to 11 points is a good indicator of our relative improvement in a league that has tightened significantly.

An improvement of 15 goals on last season indicates a good improvement in the attacking third, even despite a barren mid-season period where we struggled without Robin van Persie and Nicklas Bendtner, and a quite horrendous end-of-season run that has yielded poor results.

As I mentioned the one area that we have regressed is defensively, with four more goals being conceded than last season. There are a multitude of reasons why this has happened – Johan Djourou’s early-season injury left us a little short on depth at the back and our goalkeepers have been extremely disappointing – yet the simple fact is that it is an area of our game that needs to be improved.

Overall though, we should be relatively happy in the knowledge that 2009/10 has been a significant improvement on 2008/09 even despite the huge increase in the number of injuries we have suffered.

Thoughts?

Have your say on the 2009/10 season by leaving a comment.

With just two games left in the Premier League season and third place all but secured, I’m going to follow Arsene Wenger’s example and talk about transfer today. 

I’m going to keep it short and simple. I am going to name the positions that I feel we need new players and also a realistic example of the type of players who could fill those positions.

To get straight to the point I feel we need to make three or four signings this off-season: a goalkeeper, one or two central defenders (depending on who leaves in the break) and a striker.

Word from the manager is that he is going to conclude whatever deals he is working on before the World Cup starts, just like Tomas Rosicky’s signing in 2006. Let’s hope it all works out.

Goalkeeper

In goals I feel both Manuel Almunia and Lukasz Fabianski have lost the faith of the manager and the supporters with their error-strewn performances this year. Fabianski has time on his side and the raw ability to recover from the horrendous start to his Arsenal career, but for Almunia there really is no going back. I believe Wenger needs to bring in a good-quality goalkeeper of decent size, with reasonable amount of experience, to come in with intention of playing the entire season as No 1.

Realistic Target: Manuel Neuer (Schalke)

Central Defence

With Alex Song’s ability to play at centre-back in emergency situations, we need to start next season with four reliable central-defenders (not including Mikael Silvestre). Thomas Vermaelen is a shoe-in while Johan Djourou will be back from injury, but question-marks remain over both William Gallas’ and Sol Campbell’s participation next season. Personally I think Campbell will stay and Gallas will go and if that is the case, I would like to see Djourou promoted to the first-choice position and a new signing come in to fill the fourth spot.

Realistic Target: Serdar Tasci (Stuttgart)

Striker

At the start of this season our 4-3-3 formation contained a frontline of Andrey Arshavin, Robin van Persie and Nicklas Bendtner, an ideal balance of physical power, pace and trickery. When van Persie and Bendtner both suffered serious injuries and Arshavin played alone up front that balance was lost, the high-pressure game disappeared and we struggled to score nearly as many goals. The manager knew this and immediately went about recruiting Marouane Chamakh from Bordeaux to provide the physical outlet we so desperately needed, however the Moroccan was under contract and the French club would not let him go.

Signing Chamakh this summer is imperative to our ability to score goals next season, not because he will get bucket-loads by himself, but because it will ensure that we will never go without a strong player capable of leading the line. The 4-3-3 formation that we started the season with relies on hard-work from the front line to push up high and pressure the opposing defenders and allowing Chamakh to rotate with Bendtner and van Persie will mean we stay fresh during the injury-free periods and cope well when we’re under the strain.

Realistic Target: Marouane Chamakh (Bordeaux)

Thoughts?

Have your say on potential transfer targets in the comments (and please, please, please try and stay on the topic!).

Real Madrid were knocked out the Champions League last night, leaving the trio of Manchester United, Lyon and Bayern Munich to join Arsenal in the quarter-finals.

No-one would argue against the fact that with Madrid topping the Spanish league and players like Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka in their team they looked a decent chance of winning the competition this season. And while their recent record in the Champions League is quite simply pathetic – six Round of 16 defeats in a row – Madrid’s exit makes Arsenal’s life just that little bit easier.

The Premier League will resume this weekend but with half of the final eight quarter-finalists decided, I do feel like lingering on the Champions League and the reality of us actually winning the big-eared trophy.

Our form this season in the league would indicate that facing Manchester United or Chelsea (if they get through) in the next round is probably going to cause us some trouble. Bayern Munich have Arjen Robben in form and Franck Ribery back from injury and despite a schizophrenic season have somehow made their way to the summit of the Bundesliga.

As for Madrid’s conquerors, Lyon are a unit that have exceptional talent and a remarkable tactician at the head of their operations.

Claude Puel produced the masterstroke of the European season against Madrid overnight by pulling of Jean-Alain Boumsong and asking Jeromy Toulalan to play at centre-back. The move freed up Cris to play as a sweeper and clogged the midfield to nullify Real and provide a platform for Cesar Delgado and Miralem Pjanic to exert their attacking influence on the game.

If Puel, who actually served as captain in the Monaco side Arsene Wenger managed all those years ago, continues to show such tactical acumen his Lyon side are likely to cause us real problems should we meet them in the next round or beyond. Lyon are a team to avoid, I feel.

Of the four positions still up for grabs I would put my house on Sevilla, Barcelona and Bordeaux to qualify. Meanwhile Chelsea v Inter Milan is as balanced a tie as you will ever see with the winner likely assume the status of competition favourites.

Barcelona’s qualities do not need repeating while Bordeaux are much like Lyon, guided by a superb manager in Laurent Blanc and possessing the sort of team ethic that saw Porto win the trophy in 2003. Should Arsenal face the French champions there will also be the added novelty of attempting to preventing Marouane Chamakh, a man set to join our club at the end of the season, from having a telling impact on the tie.

Sevilla are probably the weakest of all the prospective opponents in eyes: always hovering around the Champions League places in Spain but only really making an impact in the second tier of European competition with two UEFA Cup wins in 2006 and 2007. They are a good side but if I had to choose the opponent that would offer us the best hope of getting through to the semi-finals it would be them.

I suppose what this is all amounting to is the old cliche that there are no really easy games left at this level of the Champions League. We are certainly a good chance of winning the tournament for the first time in our history this season yet there is still a very long way to go.

But with the quality of teams on show it will be hard not to enjoy every minute of it.

Thoughts?

Have your say on Arsenal’s Champions League chances by leaving a comment.

Emmanuel Adebayor just can’t leave Arsenal alone, can he?

The latest in a long line of interviews where he attempts to portray himself as some sort of angel, hard-done by Arsenal and Arsene Wenger is quite frankly, laughable.

And while I really shouldn’t take the bait I’m going to by carving up his latest comments to show that once-and-for-all, Adebayor is a delusional liar of the highest order.

“Arsène Wenger can never say that I wanted to leave. It was because Arsène didn’t want me any more.”

That is probably because you spent the previous summer trying to get a move to Barcelona or Milan and when the deal fell through, failed to put any real effort in on the pitch.

“The most annoying thing about the whole story is when people say I wanted to leave for the money. If I had really wanted to, I would have left two years ago for the money and gone to Milan or Barcelona.”

You did want to go for money and to move to a “bigger” club. The problem was, they wouldn’t pay the buy-out fee and it dashed your hopes of joining the club you wanted to. Quite frankly you couldn’t have left “if you had really wanted to” because you were under contract and neither of those clubs were willing to pay the amount needed to buy you, probably because they didn’t think you were worth it. Just 7 goals in 17 starts as well as seven games out with suspension probably indicates they were right.

“I read that it was me who was the troublemaker in the changing room. That’s unbelievable. If one player can say that I, Emmanuel Adebayor, spoke badly to anyone in the changing rooms then I’d honestly like to know who it is. It has never happened in my life.”

If you had any morsel of intelligence you would realise that you can be a disruption in the changing room without speaking badly of players. At a club like Arsenal where team spirit and unity is paramount to the potential success of the manager and the squad, publicly looking for a move and then getting a massive, unjustified pay-rise as a result is bound to cause a few problems.  You might not have the players to “f*** off” to their faces, but you certainly did it with your actions and pathetic on-field displays last season.

“If Arsène has a big heart we can go on a TV show to have a debate and he will never say I told him I wanted to leave the club. He’ll never say that. He knows it full well.”

And you know full well that no person would be stupid enough to go on a TV show with you to have a debate over something as pointless as this. Arsene Wenger has better things to do with his time, like building a team of players actually capable of winning the league as opposed to a bunch of overpaid, overrated mercenaries who can only quantify success as sneaking into the Champions League.

“It will be 90 minutes of hell. The fans will boo me, insult me, because, until now, they haven’t understood why I left. I’m the bad guy.”

We fully understand the reason you left and that’s why you are the bad guy. You deserve to be booed, insulted and given hell because Arsene Wenger and the club turned you from a young pretender into a player capable of leading the line for one of the best clubs in the world. Yet you still wanted more and were happy to essentially f*** the club over in order to get it. That’s why you deserve the reception you will undoubtedly get.

“I shouldn’t have done that [the celebration] but we are all human. I made a mistake, but who doesn’t?”

Pointing out other peoples mistakes doesn’t make what you did OK. It just shows yet again that you are happy to deflect any of your wrong-doings onto other people.

I just can’t wait for Arsenal v City at The Emirates. What about you?

Have your say on Emmanuel Adebayor’s lies by leaving a comment.

I’ve just got some quick thoughts/feelings on last night’s game, which I’ll go into more detail on in tomorrow’s post:

The Aaron Ramsey injury was ridiculous and unfair. It cannot be a coincidence that we have had three players taken out by opponents in the past five years, ending in serious injuries. After ignoring the opportunity to put things right after Eduardo’s leg break, the FA need to sort things out quickly. Fortunately Ramsey’s country of birth should make it far more likely that something is done.

On a personal level, Ramsey’s injury reduced me to tears. I couldn’t believe it. A 19-year-old on the rise, in superb form for one of the best teams in the world and he gets taken out. One of Ramsey’s best attribute is his natural bottle and willingness to fight hard in the middle of the pitch and I do hope he can get that back.

I am sad for Ramsey but the fact that the team were able to go on and win made this the best game of the season for me. Our goals were terrific, we took our chances and were able to compose ourselves brilliantly after a period of shock after the injury. A complete team performance under incredibly difficult circumstances has left us just three points off the top of the table. Remarkable and a clear sign that we have the character and bottle to go on and win the title.

Cesc Fabregas’ contribution and leadership against Stoke was unbelievable. Not only did he dominate the centre of the pitch in his usual fashion, but produced four moments in the final 15 minutes that underlined his status as a cool, composed player and an inspirational leader.

First he scored the winning penalty under extreme pressure, knowing full well that a miss could have ended our title charge. Second, he set up Thomas Vermaelen for the third when it would have been easier to take a shot of his own. Third, he brought down one of the Stoke players from behind and followed it up by putting a finger to the lips to Tony Pulis, as if to say “We’re Arsenal and we will not be pushed around.” And fourth, he pulled the team together in a huddle at the end of the match to make them realise what they had achieved and underlined the fact that they achieved it together. Absolutely inspirational stuff.

Thoughts?

Have your say on Arsenal’s 3-1 win over Stoke by leaving a comment.