By AllezKev.
We are well into the middle of that period of the season when two/three games a week take place. When the aesthetics of the teams performance lessens in importance and it’s more a case of keeping going. Grinding out positive results like the Huddersfield game which I really enjoyed. Conserving as much energy as possible along the way, whilst rotating players even and keeping everyone as fit as you can. The latter is something which is testing us right now.
No trophy can be won at this draining stage of the campaign but it’s very easy to pretty much lose everything within a couple of weeks. We’ve just lost our first match in twenty three so tomorrow it’s important to win again. Not only because it’s that lot down the road but to put defeat out of our minds again.
Emery has so far shown admirable foresight in shuffling his pack whilst not seemingly prioritising any competition over another. His changes in personnel and systems show a freshness and imagination which has transformed a formerly bored looking squad who seemed set in a land of mediocrity.
It’s interesting to reflect on November for example. A month where in recent years we’ve become accustomed to the wheels coming off of our season, out of everything except the FA Cup before the snow melts. As it stands today, we’re still competing in four competitions, albeit the league is out of reach. Not points wise, but reality.
The current crisis, it’s Arsenal so we must have a crisis, especially after Sunday, surrounds our centre backs and as it’s all over NewsNow, it must be true! As Stuart Pearce would endlessly say ‘At this moment in time’ a new centre back must be high on the agenda for most Gooners.’ Or if Peter Beardsley was still working as a pundit, I’m sure he would agree with Stuart using the cliche ‘To be fair’ in almost every sentence. I used to enjoy counting how many times he would say ‘to be fair’as it was usually more interesting than what he was actually struggling to say, to be fair…
Anyway, at this moment in time we have about 11 players on our professional books who can ‘do a job’ at centre back although ‘do a job’ isn’t good enough.
Sokratis, Mustafi, Koscielny, Lichtsteiner, Monreal, Jenkinson and Pleguezuelo and Medley have all featured this season. Behind them there’s young Ballard on the edge of the squad and Mavropanos who is set to return this month. Calum Chambers is on loan at Fulham and of course Holding is out until next season and will hopefully return as good as new. If push comes to shove, Elneny can play in defence too, well, he did last season under Wenger.
We might have numbers but what we don’t have is vast experience. We don’t know how many games a week Koscielny will be able to play, nor do we know when Mustafi will return which basically leaves us with Sokratis as our only certainty. So until January at least, our defence is going to be a bit of mixed bag.
After Danny Welbeck suffered his long term injury, noises were being made about signing an attacking player but perhaps now Raul, Sven and co need to turn their attention elsewhere. Defence and defenders, just one would make a difference and see us through until the summer.
With Bellerin now out until next year, Lichtsteiner will need to play at right back but again, his ageing legs probably won’t cope with playing every game from now until after the New Year. It’s unlikely we can recall Chambers and unless Emery is ready to call upon Zech Medley, we’ve just the three central defenders available. The return of Mavropanos would ease our problems but even so, he’s played less competitive football than Medley this season. Throwing him in would be a risk perhaps. Great if it goes well, damaging if it doesn’t.
FFP, a topical subject at this moment in time. Wages, income, all are issues which will affect Emery’s ability to improve the squad in the short term, leaving the Spaniard in a position where he’s making do post-Holding.
As said, Pleguezuelo and Jenkinson have both played centre back this season and did ok in Cup ties against average opposition but long term it’s doubtful that either will be at Arsenal beyond this summer otherwise they would have been on the subs bench a few times in bigger games.
Zech Medley is an interesting player, big and technical, a left footer who has shown a lot of promise since leaving Chelsea. This season is perhaps a year too soon for him in a position you grow into. Centre back is less about playing off the cuff, it’s more about experience, positioning, reading the game which only comes with games in the League Cup and the UEFA Cup rather than the unforgiving Premier League. But long term Zech could save the club a lot of money, in fact we have a group of academy graduates who the club must be hoping can develop into 1st team squad material given our financial position. If 3 or 4 of them can make the grade then it’ll allow Mislintat more latitude to divert funds elsewhere for the next Guendouzi or next Torrieira.
That’s all fine and dandy long term, but what about this season and what/who Emery needs to push us over the line during the 2nd half of the season?
Does Emery go for an experienced signing in defence this January?
Gary Cahill has been mooted in the rumours. He’s 32 and will want a permanent move. His wages at Chelsea are high and seeing as this is likely to be his last big move, he’ll probably want a 3 year deal which is a big financial commitment with no sell on value. Signing him would be a risk. In any case, would Chelsea actually sell to a direct competitor for a top four finish?
Eric Bailly, who was linked to Arsenal before he followed the Mkhitarayan trail to Old Trafford, has continually linked to us since last summer, thanks in most part to his hyper active agent. He’s 25 years old and has been seriously messed up by Mourinho and both in terms of wages and transfer fee. He’d be another expensive signing. Personally I’m not too sure about this one and like Chelsea, would Mourinho really sell a player to Arsenal if he thought the player would make a serious difference to our team? Remember the fuss he made over Petr Cech a few years back?
I’d rather see Sven Mislintat bring in another gnarled and reasonably priced performer from the Bundesliga. Someone who can improve our levels of shithousery for an affordable fee on sensible wages and who can pass on his experience to our young defenders.
Which begs the question, who’s likely to be available next month?
Morning Kev, good post.
A defender for me because of the injury to Holding and now Bellerin. If that’s all we sign then so be it. I think I’m midfield and up top we have enough to get by until the summer, although saying that, if Torreira gets injured, we’ll have a big problem imo.
If Torreira gets injured, we are up shit creek, Rico 🙂 🙂
I think he was below par the other day, and it told on our defenders.
That’s not meant to be critical of the guy, more saying how damn important he is.
Cracking post, Kev.
As for who/what we will sign, if we are to select one only, I’d have to say a fullback, but only if it’s a high profile guy with plenty of upside.
Morning all.
I just read Joe Say has quit.
Is it true?
I hope not 🙂
Agree Scott, a bad day for too many at once.
Sacked Scott. So Sky Sports report..
Morning all.
The moronic midget has left the EPL. You have to hope for ever! He’ll not be missed or mourned now that he has achieved total knobbshiip! As my good wife would say, “gone? Good shut (riddance).
New players? Not Cahill, he’s just an accident waiting to happen, at least once or more, every game. Bailly even if we wanted him I doubt he’ll leave manure any time soon, at least not until a new manager is employed. He may even find himself a ‘new signing’ now the miserable one has left! I should, however, quite like to see one of our young players promoted to first team duties. I’ll leave open the choice of youngster to those who have been following the juniors progress, Rick and Kev in particular.
As a general comment. It seems that we have acquired an injury list as long as your arm, just as we have every season for about the last ten! I suppose it was injuries that allowed us to rock up, come November with such a depleated squad that winning was almost impossible, as to an extent it seemed to be last Sunday. And, as it may be tomorrow night. The scum have got their most influential player(s) back. Eriksson, Alli, Son etc etc. And be sure Pockethanderchief will pick his strongest team, he has revenge to take from a couple of weeks ago. The last time we played well! Now we have a hugely depleated squad and team, one that they will feel is, there for the taking.
Don’t want to be a prophet of doom but I think I’m just being realistic, about our chances, now and in the future. Hope I’m wrong, totally wrong, but we’ll see.
A really dull, cool and windy day here. Not a nice day. (Poor old Mourinho, hhahahahahahahaha)
As a stopgap, Cahill wouldn’t be a bad option until the rest of the season Wavy, but not on a three year deal if that’s what he’s after.
Talk sport touting Wenger for United , now that would be interesting.
For a defender there must be someone out there a Gabriel Paulista type , al;though perhaps we have to watch the home players rule if it’s to replace Holding in the squad.
I’d love to see Wenger at Utd…
So Moanhio has been sacked, a good thing for Manure but maybe not so good for the rest of the Premiership clubs, they may actually employ a good stopgap who will improve them quite quickly. .
Sorry Rico, quote “the candidate will be drawn from outside the club, but will not be former Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger”.
Poor little Joe Say.
I was hoping he’d outlast Fergies tenure 🙂
After watching the Soton game, it’s no wonder we have a large injury list.
We got the crap kicked out of us but then, that’s been happening for a long time now.
Maybe one day officials will simply apply the rules.
Wouldn’t that be nice?
To answer your question Kev, a defender for me. Monreal can fill in for one of the central defender spots, but we need another experienced player as cover for, or replacement for, Koscielny. Despite having been following the training and listening to the coaching he doesn’t seem to have absorbed much of it, going by what we saw in the Southampton game at least.
Following this morning’s sacking, I can’t see any players leaving Old Toilet for the time being, so Eric Bailey is an unlikely prospect.
Old ‘Arry has just come out of the jungle, he might fit the bill, he’d probably be able to keep them out of the relegation places but it’s a long commute from Sandbanks to Old Toilet, but then there is a vacant suite at the Lowry Hotel now.
Carrick has the gig until seasons end.
Still laughing my head off 🙂
The ghost of Fergie is still over the manager’s seat . It will take them a lomg time to get a top manager that will work under those circumstances . Which made it right that Wenger walked and did not go upstairs so to speak.
I’m not surprised Cicero, I think they’ll get Zidane in the summer..
There’s a piece in The Telegraph this morning about Manure wanting to appoint a director of football. The difficulty was that Mourinho didn’t want to work under one, so no decision had been made. Now, however, the way is open for Woodward to sort the management out, perhaps by finally moving the two fossils, Ferguson and Charlton, into the retirement home.
How ironic that Mourinho didn’t want a DoF…
Blackpool it is .
Shame, I hoped Solihull would win it. They nearly did too.
New post up now.
Having taken in the play against Huddersfield and Southampton , Should we bin Ozil and do a deal with Ramsey.
Discuss.