Morning all.
Seldom have I taken what Jamie Carragher has to say about Arsenal seriously, in fact since he’s been a commentator for Sky Sports, more often than not I’ve hit the mute button on my remote or turned him off altogether. Recently though, he’s been quite positive about Mikel Arteta’s tactics and the team in general, he certainly was after our defeat of Aston Villa. “No team is doing what Arsenal do” he said, or something similar. He was talking about the way the players move both on and off the ball and the way they work together as a unit.
Writing in The Telegraph he said:
Criticism that Arsenal lack a superstar in and around the penalty area should be taken as a slight by Saka, given what he has done for his club. His goal against Villa was his 100th for club and country, which by any standard is a significant achievement for someone whose best years ought to be in front of him.
He’s right but not just about Bukayo Saka. Saka deserves all the credit he gets but I think it takes a great group of players to help any single player in the team to be at their best. There seems to be a lot of fuss made about our lack of quality up front but I think that opinion is harsh. Viktor Gyokeres, Martin Odegaard, Ebe Eze, Christos Tzolis, Kai Havertz and even Noni Madueke who on his day can produce a moment of, well, I wouldn’t say magic but he can keep his marker on the back foot. Bruno Guimaraes has been know to be pretty good in and around the box too. If all the above players stay fit and perform to the levels we know many of them can, this could be another good season.
What makes a superstar in any case? A player who scores 30 goals a season with half of them coming from the penalty spot? A player who bombs past his defender each time he gets the ball but his cross doesn’t find a teammate or simply a player who makes things happen for others as well as himself? Or simply a player who stands out from the rest? If it’s the last one, I think the critics will be waiting a long time because barring the odd one or two, I think our players stand out alongside the rest and that’s what makes a great team in my opinion.
Yes, we might look light on the left side of attack but with Eze and Madueke, we have depth. One has the pace, the other has the skill and intelligence, at least on his day he has and as suggested before, with the way our left backs play, I think we’ll be ok.
James Scanlon, who Arsenal signed this summer will be 20 years old in a few weeks time and I suspect Mikel Arteta is already thinking about him on the left if he proves himself in training. I cannot think a player of his age has been brought to the club for the academy alone.
Superstars? We have more than one it’s just that ours aren’t only in and around the box..
Catch up in the comments.
