Author Archives: keenosafc

5 changes Unai Emery needs to make at Arsenal

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Return to 4 at the back

I have never been a fan of 3 at the back.

It puts too much onus on the full backs, less to too much space in behind them and not enough cover in front.

To play 3 at the back you need your wide centre backs to be comfortable at full back.

Tottenham can do it as in Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweild, they have two central defenders who have previously played full back.

Arsenal need to return to 4 at the back.

Play Xhaka/Torreira in the middle

The axis of Granit Xhaka and Lucas Torreira is the best central midfield pairing in the Premier League.

The pair compliment each other. Both can defend, both can pass.

Torreira has allowed Xhaka to push further up the park, allowing him to be his aggressive self on the half way line. The Uruguayan also gives us that extra bit of protection when Xhaka miss reads a tackle or pass.

Both also have tremendous ability on the ball. Playing the pair gives the defence and goal keeper 2 options when playing out from the back. It is no surprise our passing is a lot better when both play.

Ultimately, the statistics speak for themselves:

Sign genuine width

Alex Iwobi is not good enough to play week in, week out. Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang are not natural wide men. Arsenal need to invest in a pair of wide forwards.

Playing 4 at the back, with Xhaka and Torreira in the middle, Arsenal have a stable base and centre. Add two wide men either side of a number 10 and the team is starting to take shape.

In the early part of the season, we were a threat in behind the opponents fulls backs. This was due to Iwobi and Aubameyang getting in behind – or making space for Bellerin and Monreal to get in behind.

With Iwobi and Mkhitaryan playing narrow, we lose all width and cover for the full backs.

Reiss Nelson returns in the summer. We need someone one the left hand side.

Decide his best striker

A tough decision needs to be made up top.

We have two top class strikers who broke our transfer record. Unai Emery needs to decide who his first choice is; and stick to it.

Do not panic

We have just lost our first game after going 22 unbeaten. We are in the race for 4th and progressing nicely in Europe.

Against Southampton we were a defensive mess. We were without our 3 first choice centre backs and started the game with a midfielder and a right back in central defence.

At the final whistle the only two defenders on the pitch have not started a league game for a combined 12 months.

There is not need to panic. No need to be rash in the transfer market.

Emery is here for the long term. Sanllehi and Mislintat have a long term vision. There is no need to rip that up just because we lost 1 game.

Keenos

How would long-term Arsenal target Adrien Rabiot fit in?

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Long term reported Arsenal target Adrien Rabiot has announced that he is set to leave PSG on a free transfer at the end of the season.

The 23-year-old central midfielder was linked with Arsenal over 6 years ago; when he was just a 17-year-old who had yet to play a game.

Over the years, he has been in and out of the PSG team and missed out on France’s World Cup success after refusing to be put on the reserve list.

A tall, elegant central midfielder, he has never really fulfilled his potential that he showed as a teenager – with PSG preferring the midfield partnership of Blaise Matuidi and Marco Verratti as he struggled to break through.

Last season under Unai Emery he played 50 games – starting 27 in the league and 8 in the Champions League.  He has continued to be first choice under Thomas Tuchel.

With Aaron Ramsey set to leave Arsenal as a free transfer, Arsenal could well see Rabiot is an indirect replacement.

Signing Rabiot would mean that Arsenal could cash in on Mohamed Elneny and line up with midfield options of:

Grant Xhaka
Lucas Torreira
Adrien Rabiot
Matteo Guendouzi
Ainsley Maitland-Niles

It would be an exciting group of central midfielders with plenty of strength and would more than cover Emery’s preference of playing 2 deep midfielders; with one out and out defensive and the other box-to-box in his favoured 4231 formation.

A sticking point would be as to what role Rabiot would play.

Emery has previously spoken about Rabiot being a defensive midfielder rather than a box-to-box; with the Frenchman believing he is more box-to-box.

Emery said: “Let’s talk about Rabiot. He’s a central midfielder, who is more comfortable playing as a defensive midfielder rather than a creative one. Even if he remains more of box-to-box, rather than a defensive midfielder.

“When you want to play with a defensive, creative and box-to-box-midfielders in fixed positions, Rabiot finds himself confronted to a problem. He has to run, run, run and not play in a fixed position statically. And even less so with his back turned on the action.

“Rabiot doesn’t really like playing as a defensive midfielder, he likes playing as a box-to-box, but I prefer him as a defensive midfielder. That’s why after the elimination against Real Madrid [in the 2017/18 Champions League], I told him he would play as a defensive midfielder.

“In that position, he can be faced with play and switch around with [Marco] Verratti. He is more competitive in these conditions. With certain players, you can’t impose a strict idea. You have to adapt yourself to their characteristics in order to win in individual and collective competitiveness.”

Another sticking point could be salary.

BeIN Sport reported earlier this month that Rabiot had turned down a new contract for a third time, with PSG reportedly offering him £6.32m a year to remain with the Ligue 1 champions. That works out to a little over £120,000 a week.

Granit Xhaka is reportedly on £90,000 a week; Lucas Torreira on £75,000 a week.

All 3 players are equally as talented, and would be in a fair fight for the 2 central midfield roles. What would it do to squad harmony if we bought Rabiot in on twice as much money (potentially) as Lucas Torreira?

Some will say that Rabiot is superior to Xhaka and therefore justifies the higher salary. However Emery is unlikely to see it that way.

Xhaka is box-to-box in the current set up, with Torreira as the more defensive option. Rabiot would more likely be competing with Torreira to play behind Xhaka.

Regardless, all 3 are close when it comes to their talent. To have vastly different salaries could be dangerous.

As seen, Rabiot would not be guaranteed a starting place at Arsenal. Himself, Xhaka and Torreira would be rotated – so would all still get plenty of game time. Would Rabiot go from regular starter at PSG to rotational starter at Arsenal?

A move for Rabiot would be a positive one for Arsenal. There are plenty of minutes to accommodate 3 top class midfielders and still find enough time to bleed through Matteo Guendouzi.

Guendouzi is still just 19 and would not have expected to have played so much this season – 9 starts in total in the league. He is still developing and is not yet at the standard of Rabiot, Torreira or Xhaka.

You can easily see a situation that in 3 years time, Arsenal cash in on a then 29-year-old Xhaka and promote Guendouzi. He will still be just 22-years-old (the same age as England’s next big talent Harry Winks is now!).

Guendouzi, Xhaka, Ramsey & Torreira have started 44 league games between them this season; so it is clear that there are plenty of games to go around.

The one loser would be Ainsley Maitland-Niles, but he would still have a future at the club.

Firstly he is a home-grown talent; which is very important. Secondly he can cover central midfield, left and right back, and is competent on the flanks.

Maitland-Niles is still just 21. He would get plenty of game time in the cups and would get the odd league game. His future at Arsenal is as a utility man.

Would I sign Rabiot on a free? Yes

Keenos

Arsenal to switch focus to the cups

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The defeat against Southampton have re-calibrated some fans expectations.

Personally I always thought this season, our minimum expectation would be to see us challenge for top 4 once more. A good season would be finishing 3rd (I expected Manchester City to run away with it, and Liverpool to finish adrift of them, but well ahead of 3rd). An average season would be 5th, just a handful of points behind 4th.

Despite losing to Southampton, my expectations have not changed. We are just 3 points of Chelsea in 4th, and 5 points behind Tottenham in 3rd.

Over at McBookie, you can get odds of 13/8 for Arsenal to finish top 4. These seem extremely long considering that there is just 3 points between us in 5th and Chelsea in 4th.

With fans changing their expectations, I have seen some say we should focus on top 4 rather than go for one of the cups. We are 6th favourites to win the FA Cup, 3rd favourites in the League Cup and 2nd favourites in the Europa League. The 6/1 on offer for the Europa League look attractive.

I would not sacrifice the League Cup this week for the weekend game against Burnley.

Firstly it is against Spurs. At no point is losing to Tottenham an “acceptable sacrifice”.

We need to take the game seriously and start off the next 22 game unbeaten run.

Manchester City away to Leicester City is not a foregone conclusion, and neither is Chelsea at home to Bournemouth. We could quite easily see ourselves in a semi-final against Leicester City, Middlesbrough or Bournemouth.

I would always take a trophy above finishing top 4.

And then we have the FA Cup. We face either Blackpool or Solihull Moors. It is another competition we must take seriously.

In 2019 we have the Europa League. By the time you read this we would know who we have in both the 2nd round and whatever round is after (is it last 64 or 32?)

The Europa League is perhaps an easier route to the Champions League than finishing top 4.

We were unlucky last year (or masters of our own downfall). We faced Atletico Madrid and it was woeful finishing and a defensive error that cost us the game, the trophy, a place in the Champions League and ultimately Arsene Wenger his job.

The Europa League is the competition we should take so seriously.

Fans argue over “trophy or top 4”. Well winning the Europa League gets you a trophy and that place in the Champions League.

In Unai Emery we have the right man for the Europa League. No one has won the competition more, and he has lifted the trophy on 3 of the last 5 occasions.

We have to be realistic in the league. It is going to take us time to sort out the mess Arsene Wenger left the squad in. Half a dozen transfer windows and £350million at least. Manchester City have the spending power and the Scousers are 3 years ahead of his.

Liverpool are running a similar self-sufficient model as we are.

Good coaching, good recruitment.

In 3 or 4 seasons time, Emery would have built a title challenging squad. In the meantime we need to keep growing and, unlike Liverpool, win a few trophies on the return to greatness.

Losing to Southampton changes nothing. It does not shift what our targets are. It just adjusts some fans expectations.

Back Emery, back the management team, back the Arsenal.

Keenos