League Cup, Micah Richard, Willian, Kolasinac and more…

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League Cup

For the first time in god knows how long we enter the League Cup at the 2nd round stage.

I see plenty of mocking from Tottenham fans; but I remember when they had the “perfect season” a few years ago. 38 league games, knocked out in the 2nd round of the League Cup and 3rd round of the FA Cup. Just 40 games played.

So how seriously should Arsenal take the League Cup?

Without Europe we do not worry about fixture congestion, so no excuse not to play a strong team.

But also without Europe we have less games to keep those fringe players match sharp.

The reward of winning the League Cup is an ugly trophy; but nevertheless a trophy. But it only gets you qualification into next seasons Europa Conference.

Personally, I would like to see Mikel Arteta go all out and win it.

Winning breeds winning and a third trophy in 30 months after the FA Cup and Community Shield would be a good return when we have been in such a huge crisis.

But realistically I think we will rest and rotate.

Expect Aaron Ramsdale to get his first start. Maybe a run out for Hector Bellerin.

Gabriel will return to the defence following his lay off, probably partnering Rob Holding; whilst Nuno Taveras will get his first start at left back.

Midfield will probably be Mo Elneny and Granit Xhaka whilst Odegaard and Aubameyang will get their first start of the season up top.

Who plays wide right and left will be interesting. We might stick Reiss Nelson one side to try and get him in the shop window. That will leave Saka, Pepe, Willian and Smith Rowe playing on the left.

So it will still be a strong team, but one very much of fringe players and those coming back from injury.

WBA have started the Championship season well and have scored 11 goals in their first 4 games.

A defeat will only pile more pressure on Arteta.

Micah Richards

Micah Richards has joined the large group of pundits to sit and bash Arsenal from an uneducated stand point.

On Radio 5 lives, he said “Arsenal can’t attract the top top players” and “They’re buying second tier players”.

Lets take both stat

“Arsenal can’t attract the top top players”

Now I would class “top top players” as those amongst the best in the world. Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kevin de Bruyne, Neymar, Kylian Mbappe, etc.

Arsenal have never attracted this level of players.

We have always bought the level below that.

When we signed Thierry Henry in 1999, he was not amongst the best strikers in the world. That was Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Andriy Shevchenko, Christian Vieri, Gabriel Batistuta.

Robert Pires was not on the level of Zinadine Zidane when we bought him. Or Luis Figo, Francesco Totti or David Beckham.

Some might argue that Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil were “top top players”.

Ozil has the best case that he was, but Sanchez was clearly never on the same level as Messi and Neymar; and was often competing with Pedro for a place in the squad.

The saying used to be “Arsenal do not buy superstars, they make superstars” and most Arsenal fans are delighted that we are returning to buying younger, talented players rather than senior, established players nearing the end of their peak.

“They’re buying second tier players”

It is interesting to see what Richards is calling a “second tier player”.

Is he classing the likes like Messi, Ronaldo, Lewandowski, de Bruyne, Salah, etc as top tier? And then the level of players below that as second tier?

Or is he saying that “2nd tier” is Championship players?

If he is talking the former, than that links in to what we have discussed above.

Arsenal’s transfer policy should always to be buying players at the 2nd or 3rd tier and improving.

Look at Liverpool.

Mo Salah, Virgil van Dijk, Sadio Mane, Andrew Robertson, Joe Gomez, Fiminho.

These were not “top tier” players when they signed them.

Salah was at Roma, van Dijk and Mane at Southampton, Robertson at Hull City and Gomez at Charlton.

3 or 4 years ago would Richards have criticised Jurgen Klopp for buying “2nd tier” players? And look how that turned out…

If Richards is saying that White, Odegaard, Ramsdale, Lokonga and Taveras are “championship level players” then perhaps he is not the good pundit he thinks he is.

Arsenal are an easy target at the moment. So many pundits are talking about us without engaging their brains.

We have never signed the top top players of world football; we have always bought younger, 2nd tier players.

We make superstars; not buy them.

Willian, Kolasinac and Torreira

Looks like we might be finally getting rid of the 3 over the next 48 hours.

Will be interesting to see who actually goes; and it will show each players mentality.

If they decide to turn down Corinthians, Fenerbache and Fiorentina it will show a lack of drive and want to play football.

All 3 know they will remain unregistered at Arsenal this season; so they would basically be choosing not to play for the next 4 months rather than seek first team football elsewhere.

Hopefully all 3 go. And a few more.

Enjoy the game tonight.

Keenos

Sagna Comments Show “Lack of Understanding”

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“How can you spend €150million and only bring in young players”

How do you say “I do not understand Arsenal’s transfer policy” without saying “I do not understand Arsenal’s transfer policy”. well Bacary Sagna has done just that with his recent comments.

Arsenal’s transfer policy has been clear and obvious to anyone with half a brain.

We are targetting younger players with experience.

I am really baffled as to how Sagna either does not understand that, or has decided to be criticial of it. It is almost TalkSport-esque. Making an outlandish statement just for attention.

Sagna needs to realise that there is a huge difference between buying YOUNG players and buying YOUTH players.

Back in the mid 00s, Arsenal bought alot of youth players – the likes of Cesc Fabregas, Abou Diaby, Phillipe Senderos, Gael Clichy, Denilson and Niklas Bendtner.

These were all bought in as teenagers with very little, if any, senior experience to their name. The majority began their time with the club in the youth set up before quickly progressing to the senior team.

They needed experienced players around them to help them develop and progress.

What we have done this summer is not buy youth players but younger players.

For me, a young football is someone between 20 and 24.

They have experince of a few years of senior football but have not yet reached their peak and still have room for progession.

Ben White is 23. As is Aaron Ramsdale. Martin Ødegaard is 22 and Albert Sambi Lokonga is 21. Nuno Taveras is also 21.

These are not youth players but young players. And young players with plenty of experience.

White has played 164 games. Of that 36 were in the Premier League and 46 in the Championship. He was part of the England squad that made the Euro 2020 final.

Ramsdale has played in the Premier League fot the last two seasons, playing 75 out of 76 games. In total he has played 125 senior games and was with White in Southgate’s England squad.

Both are still young, but have plenty of experience in England.

Ødegaard has played over 200 senior games (if you take into account that Real Madrid’s B team play senior football). Those games span 4 different countries – Norway, Spain, Holland and England. He is also Norway’s captain.

Last season when regular captain Hendrik Van Crombrugge was out of the team, Vincent Kompany passed the captaincy to Lokonga – despite him being just 21 years old.

The Belgium midfielder has now played 80 league games at a senior level.

Finally Taveras is the only signing that comes to us without a great deal of experience under his belt.

Sagna talks about needing senior players, but take the midfield.

We have added Lokonga to a group which contains Thomas Partey, Granit Xhaka and Mohamed Elneny. Experience is clearly not the issue.

When you look at the teams transfer policy in recent years, we have spent a lot of money on experienced players that can make an impact in the present. But these players have cost us a lot of money which we have not got much return on.

Finally, Sagna says “when I was playing, anyone would be excited to join Arsenal”.

But this is what I think is great about our transer policy this summer.

We have signed players who are excited to join the club. We are not signing older players who see us as one last pay cheque, or because we were their only options, or offered them the most money.

When you consider that Sagna rejected a contract offer from Arsenal to jon Manchester City – getting one last big pay day – then perhaps he should not talk about “Arsenal DNA”.

If he continues down this route he can go into the box with Emmanuel Petit. Being critical of Arsenal in an attempt to build a media career.

Keenos

Bissouma to Arsenal would be a bad deal

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Following a very good performance from Brighton on Saturday against Watford, Arsenal Twitter had one thing on its mind.

“Sign Bossouma”.

For a while during early summer, Bissouma was one of our top targets and a deal looked close. But then everything went silent.

The possibility of a transfer probably died when we signed Ben White – it is always unlikely for one side to make two major signings from another side.

Having sold White for £50million, Brighton would be in no financial rush to sell Bissouma; especially to the same opponents.

But still Arsenal fans cry out for him; and I can understand why.

Bissouma is a very good midfielder. Covers a lot of ground. Reads the game well and at 24 is the right profile of player. But Arsenal should not go for him.

Football is all about balance.

Patrick Vieira would not have reached the heights he did without an Emmanuel Petit, Gilberto Silva or Didier Deschamps sitting in behind, mopping up.

Bissouma strength is getting around the field of play and pressing, but Arsenal already have someone like this in Thomas Partey.

Arsenal’s issue they tried to solve this summer was finding someone to partner Partey – a Granit Xhaka replacement.

Xhaka’s strengths are positional discipline and passing. It was why Manuel Locatelli was our primary replacement.

Xhaka’s strengths are Bissouma’s weakness.

Bissouma is not positionally disciplined and his passing is average.

Playing Bissouma and Partey together would not have the right balance; it would be two players who are too similar. It just would not work.

“But Bissouma could be competition for Partey”.

We have already signed that competition in Albert Sambo Lokonga.

Lokonga is one of the brightest midfield talents in Europe and heir-apparent to Partey in our midfield.

It would just make zero sense to spend big money on Bissouma when we have already invested in Lokonga who could potentially reach levels above the Brighton midfielder.

So in Bissouma’s position in midfield, we already have two players – Partey and Lokonga – who look to press, bully and drive forward with the ball.

The only way it would work is if Arsenal went to 433 and had a midfield of Bissouma Xhaka Partey.

This would actually be a strong midfield, although a bit too defensive for my liking. It would also mean only 3 of Pierre-Enrico Aubameyang, Alex Lacazette, Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka, Nicolas Pepe, Emile Smith Rowe and Gabriel Martinelli could start.

Our team lacks creativity at the moment so reducing the amount of attacking players on the field would have made matters worse.

We have also just invested heavy in Odegaard, a 10. But in 433 you would play without a 10.

Had we gone for Bissouma ahead of Odegaard, it would have shown a tactic switch to 433. We would not have needed Odegaard.

As it is, we signed the Norwegian and will stick to 4231.

Finally you have the issue of the African Cup of Nations.

Bissouma plays for Mali – although has not had a cap for 3 years (no idea why). Partey is Ghanaian and Mohamed Elneny Egyptian.

It would feel irresponsible to sign Bissouma as cover and competition for Partey; only to lose both for 6-8 weeks of the season in January and February 2022.

In summary, Bissouma is a really good player; but just not the player we need right now.

Keenos