Great result, awful stadium

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When Aaron Ramsey came at 1-0 and 25 minutes to go, my mate turned around to me and said “here we go, half an hour of hanging onto the lead.” My response was that it was frustrating when we are 1-0 up and our substitutes take the pace out of the team, resulting in us being unable to hit teams on the counter.

“FFS Ramsey” I shouted i the 93rd minute, as he missed his 3rd chance of the match. But by then, the game was over, we were 5-1 up, and it was said entirely in jest.

Arsenal played brilliantly. There first half play did not give them the goals they deserved, last ditch tackles in the first 10 minutes stopping us scoring a tap in.

When Arsene Wenger signed Alexis Sanchez, a few said he would be a striker. Wenger saw him as sharing attributes with Luis Suarez. His hard work, his technical ability, his pace and his ability to finish any chance. He could be Suarez without the attitude. Many scoffed, and it has taken into his 3rd season at Arsenal to be played up top.

And Arsenal’s opener reminded me a lot of Luis Suarez. Sanchez chased down a poor pass, got to the ball 1st, and was clean through with Mesut Ozil on his shoulder. Other players would not have chased down that ball, Sanchez did. GOAL.

His hat trick was brilliant. 3 different goals, including a sublime (albeit offside) 3rd where he left the keeper on the floor without even touching the ball. He is World Class.

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5-1 away from home took us into second place and closed the gap in goal difference. But as good as we were, West Ham were equally as bad.

Slaven Bilic looks a broken man. Just 6 months ago many Arsenal fans had him at the top of their list as a replacement for Wenger – I did find it odd that this was based on good punditry whilst working for the BBC, whilst the same fans moan about Wenger working for French television.

West Ham are 1 point above the relegation zone. 12 points from 14 games. And a big reason for that is the stadium.

The London Stadium (Olympic Stadium? Whatever it is now called) is awful.

However bad we all thought it might be, it was worse. A lot worse. It is simply not a football stadium.

Massive gaps throughout the stadium, a huge distance between upper and lower tier, a massive distance from the pitch, and West Ham fans unable to fill it.

I actually feel sorry for West Ham fans. At least when Arsenal moved, it was 2 roads over from the current stadium, and an arena purpose built for football. West Ham’s new ground is shit.

It is a 20 minute walk from the nearest station before a game, this turns into a 45 minute walk after a game, going backwards and forwards through the Olympic Park, through Westfields, to get to the station. And the area is grim at night.

No local pubs, no burger vans outside, no one selling flags, scarves, nothing associated with normal football grounds.

It actually makes me wonder whether next year I will be back (if they stay up). The stadium is that bad.

At the time they won the Olympic Stadium, West Ham fans thought they had won the lottery. But like with many lottery winners, there comes a darkness. And that darkness is a stadium which is not theres, not made for football, and where the stewards celebrate Arsenal goals.

And the ultimate darkness could be that they get relegated.

It was a great result, but it is an awful stadium.

Happy Sunday

Keenos

10 Potential Santi Cazorla Replacements

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Arsenal's Santi Cazorla goes down injured against Norwich City.

After yesterdays news that Santi Cazorla’s Arsenal career was almost certainly over, I wrote a few words about a Granit Xhaka / Aaron Ramsey axis being an ideal central midfield moving forward. out of that article, a load of names were thrown at me as potential Santi Cazorla replacements. Here are the top 10…

Isco

A long term favourite, the Real Madrid midfielder has found himself on the edges of the Real Madrid squad this season. There is no questioning his talent, but it is whether he is sorted for the deeper playmaking role that Cazorla made his own.

Everytime I have seen him perform, he has either been in the number 10 role, or on the wing. He is lightweight and is not great defensively. I would love him at Arsenal, but as a winger or more attacking player, not as a replacement for Santi Cazorla.

Marco Verratti

The Italian midfielder is another who has been on the Arsenal radar for a long, long time.

Like Cazorla, he is a midget, but has brilliant positional awareness and passes for fun. Verratti and Thiago Motta ran the game between Arsenal and PSG at the Emirates the other week.

He would certainly replace Cazorla’s creative ability in the middle of the park, but would he be up for the physical midfield battle of the Premier League?

Saul Niguez

I am a massive fan of Saul Niguez. The Atletico Madrid player is a terrific player. He is an al action central midfielder, reminding me a lot of Steven Gerrard. He can defend, he can attack. He can pass, he can score.

Would Atletico Madrid let him go? Certainly not easily, but they are traditionally a club who has to sell before they buy. With Diego Simeone set to leave Madrid this summer, there might be an exodus to follow.

Vincent Koziello

A new name to many, the 21 year old Nice midfielder has broken through to become a first team regular over the last 18 months.

Comparisons to Santi Cazorla mainly revolve around the fact that he is just 5’ 6” and plays in the middle of the park. With a 90%+ pass completion ratio, he has also consistently averaged over 3 tackles a game since his major break through last season.

He might be a bit small for the Premier League, but he certainly has tonnes of ability and punches above his weight.

Danny Drinkwater

With Leicester City’s crown now having slipped, from Premier League champions to relegation battle in 6 months, it is only a matter of time until the rats leave the sinking ship.

A lot of talk is about replacing Santi Cazorla’s playmaking ability. But in the Arsenal squad we already have the likes of Granit Xhaka, and potentially a returning Jack Wilshere, who can replace this.

Could a move for an out and out defensive talent (who is an adequate passer) free up someone like Granit Xhaka to become the midfield playmaker? Or is Danny Drinkwater just a French Francis Coquelin?

Marcos Llorente

The Real Madrid youngster is currently on loan at Alaves, where he has put in a string of impressive performances.

Linked fairly heavily with Arsenal recently, a move for Llorente would not happen until the summer. He finds his path to the Real Madrid 1st XI blocked by the impressive Casemiro, so is likely to have to look elsewhere next season for 1st team football.

He is a boyhood Real Madrid fan, so would take a lot of convincing to be prised away. Madrid’s recent policy of inserting buy back clauses into deals when selling their youngsters will mean plenty of negotiating for the Arsenal transfer team.

Cesc Fabregas

Perhaps the one name I saw spoken about mostly on social media last night. Would Arsenal (or Arsene) really move for the former captain?

Having turned down the chance in 2014 due to already having Mesut Ozil in the squad, Cesc would have to transform himself from the lazy number 10 he now is, to the all action central midfielder that he used to be.

When he first broke through at Arsenal, he did it all. Covered ground, tackled, passed, scored, assisted. But a mixture of his own ego, and fitness problems, saw him end up further up the pitch, and rarely putting in a shift.

Add in his ongoing niggling injuries, and the fact that Chelsea would unlikely sell to a title rival, why is he even being mentioned?

Adrien Rabiot

Yet another long term favourite of fans. Rabiot seems to have been around forever – he is still just 21.

Rabiot has more physicality than many of the others on the list so would be a bit more a defensive option. He has a decent left foot on him. But would he not just be another Granit Xhaka?

It is a worry that he has still yet to break through at PSG, but him being their might encourage them to allow Marco Verratti to leave.

A move for Rabiot would more be about filling squad places rather than as a Santi Cazorla replacement.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain

A replacement within. Could Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain finally get his break with Cazorla being out?

His best performances for Arsenal have been in the middle of the park. He certainly has the attacking ability of Cazorla, able to find space with a drop of the shoulder, and his drive forward and ability on the ball would give another tactical option in the middle of the park.

Oxlade-Chamberlain can defend, although he lacks the defensive awareness in the middle of the park.

There would also be fitness concerns. Does he have the basic level of fitness to play 90 minutes, covering ground, in the middle of the park.

Hakan Calhanoglu

I know little about the Turkish international, the German league does not interest me that much. But he is a name who has been floated around for 6 months.

An attacking midfielder, does he have the defensive work rate required?

Keenos

Santi Cazorla’s Arsenal career over – who will replace him?

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The news was as expected. Santi Cazorla has been told to undergo surgery for Achilles tendon injury.

A quick Google of recovery times shows that after surgery, someone will be able to walk unaided after 6 – 12 weeks. But will not be able to return to full activity for 6 months. Taking into account we are a football club, not a normal person going physio once a week, you could probably guestimate that Cazorla will be out for 4-6 months. Pretty much ruling him out for the season.

It is then safe to assume that Santi Cazorla’s Arsenal career is over.

Arsenal's Santi Cazorla goes down injured against Norwich City.

He is 32 in a few weeks and with 1 year left on his contract, Arsenal were already debating as to whether to reward him with a new contract. There had been little talk of one being on the table. Cazorla had also spoken a few times about finishing his career in Spain.

With his age and his recent injury record (2 serious injuries in 12 months) it will be a very big risk for Arsenal to offer Cazorla anything more than a one year deal. Cazorla would be crazy to accept – knowing that a Spanish club would possibly offer him more.

So the love story of Arsenal and their cheeky chappy Spanish dwarf is over.

So where does this leave Arsenal’s midfield?

We only discussed a week ago about how much Arsenal were missing Santi Cazorla. With his career at the club now almost certainly over, it is time to look at the options.

Like for like replacement

Santi Cazorla is unique. His two footedness is only equalled by Ronnie O’Sullivan’s ambidextrous snooker playing.

He might be small, and not be physically capable for a heated midfield battle, but he always gave his all, and his control, dribbling and passing ability got him out of trouble when up against bigger men.

He was able to wriggle out of tight situations where he should really be getting overpowered with ease. A drop of the should, a quick pass off both feet. And it is the way he opened up both sides of the pitch that made him such a danger.

The fact is, there is no one in world football who is as gifted off both feet as Santi Cazorla. So a like for like replacement is unlikely.

You might see the likes of Isco get mentioned as a replacement, yet he is more lightweight and does not have Santi’s gifts.

Nice midfielder Vincent Koziello has had some comparisons to Cazorla. But this is more due to his size than his ability. Cazorla is far superior.

The only man who gets close to Cazorla’s attributes is Dimitri Payet. But he does not have the attitude of Cazorla. He would not be able to adapt to playing deeper.

So the realise is, a like for like replacement is an unrealistic demand.

Midfield Combinations

If we can not get in a like for like replacement, we will have to look at getting the midfield pairing right. The strength of two being great than one (and the power of three setting us free).

Discounting Cazorla, Arsenal currently have 5 central midfielder’s on their books to chose from going forward (including 1 on loan). How would they match up, and how could they partner with each other?

Francis Coquelin: The legs of the midfield. He covers the ground. Arsenal’s Kante. It is he who when partnered with Cazorla, allowed Santi to stroll through a lot of games. He was Cazorla’s legs. Getting round the park, winning the ball, and laying it off to the Spaniard. It is unlikely that we will get in a player as gifted on the ball as Santi, so Coquelin’s lack of ability on the ball could see him drop down the pecking order.

Granit Xhaka: Once he gets up to speed (I am still baffled as to why Xhaka is not yet playing regulary), Xhaka will be a terrific ball playing holding midfielder. Very much in the Xabi Alonso / Michael Carrick role, he has a terrific passing range, but also has very good defensive awareness and a bit in the tackle. He is a bit more defensive than Cazorla, not as good in tight situations, and it just one footed. But his passing ability will be essential when it comes to replacing Cazorla.

Mohamed Elneny: Kind of a mix of Coquelin and Xhaka. He doesn’t cover as much defensively as Coquelin, but can get round the park more than Xhaka. He is a better passer than the Frenchman, but no where near as good as Granit. He has been exposed in a couple of recent games for not giving the defence enough cover, and not quite having enough creativity. He has a place in the Arsenal squad, but as cover, rather than first choice.

Jack Wilshere: By now he should be Arsenal captain. Instead he is on loan at Bournemouth. Some think, like Cazorla, he will not be seen at Arsenal again. If fit and firing, he would offer very similar to what Cazorla did. The passing ability, being able to take the ball in tight situations and wriggle out of them, he should be exceptional. He just lacks Cazorla’s ambidextrous. And then we have his injuries. Last year we planned to build the midfield around him, and he got injured. Can you really pencil a player into the 1st team if he can not be relied upon? I am not sure. Also, if Granit xhaka is behind him, Mesut Ozil ahead, we have a midfield 3 of left footers. Not much balance.

Aaron Ramsey: And that leaves everyones favourite, Aaron Ramsey. Who had a shocker mid week. But his class is undeniable (even if some do try and deny it). For me, his best position is as the ‘waterboy’ of the team. Doing the hard work between someone more defensive and someone more attacking. If we are under the cosh, he has the defensive awareness to sit in alongside the defensive midfielder. If we are on top, he is free to get forward and support the front 4. He just needs to be played in his right position.

So an Aaron Ramsey / Granit Xhaka combination. And it is a combination that could work.

One left footed, the other right, gives us balance not seen since Patrick Vieira and Emmanuel Petit. Xhaka has the defensive awareness and ability on the ball to sit in front of the back 4 and start the play, as Petit used too. Meanwhile Ramsey has the legs to get around the field, press a bit higher, a bit like Vieira did.

With Mesut Ozil ahead, it should give us plenty of creative fluidity, and plenty of defensive cover.

We would then have the options of Jack Wilshere, Mohamed Elneny and Francis Coquelin as cover depending on the opposition / injury situation.

 

Losing Cazorla will be tough. A popular player who offered so much on the pitch. But we now need to move on. Let’s get the Xhaka / Ramsey axis developed.

Who do you think should play central midfield (pick 2):

Keenos