Tag Archives: Arsenal

Signing defender won’t solve Arsenal defensive woes

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“We need a new central defender” I often read or hear.

Whilst new personnel will not go a miss at Arsenal, Laurent Koscielny is deteriorating by the week and those below him are not up to much, simply signing a new centre back does not solve Arsenal’s defensive problems.

After Liverpool spent £75m on Virgil van Dijk, Jamie Carragher had his say:

“This thing about Van Dijk is going to come in and fix this problem, it is absolute nonsense. That one player comes in and fixes the whole problem, he’s not that good.”

Earlier in the season, when Liverpool were heavily linked with van Dijk in August, Carragher had a heated debate with Jamie Redknapp over the signing of the Dutch centre back.

“On set pieces it’s not about the defenders. The way Liverpool are set up – set piece wise – they will always concede goals. No matter which defenders they buy or how much they cost – it won’t make a difference.”

A teams defensive problems are much more than just the personnel.

Signing a new defender would not solve the problem of the midfield not giving the defence enough protection.

The first goal yesterday came from Mesut Ozil giving the ball away and Granit Xhaka not following a runner – compare Xhaka’s attitude to that of Aaron Ramsey earlier in the first half.

A new centre back will not solve Arsenal’s goalkeeping issue – just like van Dijk does not solve Liverpool’s. Petr Cech is past it. Not just based on last nights error for the goal, but his form over the last 12 months.

And a new centre back will not solve the way we defend. The way we set up.

When it comes to defending, the team as a whole (not just the back 4) needs to be on the same hymn sheet. They are not. And this comes down to them being poorly coached, poorly instructed and poorly motivated.

A good defence is usually about the sum of its pieces. Under George Graham, Arsenal did not necessarily have the best individuals – look at how few caps Dixon, Winterburn and Bould won – but they had the best drilled unit. They knew their roles. They were organised. It was this that made them the best defence in the country – not the individuals.

Now I am not saying we do not need to be players. We do.

But Arsenal’s defensive problems go deeper than the individuals on the pitch. The problems start with Arsene Wenger.

As Jamie Carragher says about Liverpool, one player does not make a difference if the set up is wrong.

Keenos

Why are Arsenal targeting Jonny Evans?

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Jonny Evans had been a supposed Arsenal target for 18 months. When you say his name, a lot of Arsenal fans laugh. Why would we want a Manchester United reject who currently plays for WBA?

But then Manchester City, until recently, were also heavily linked with them. So clearly he is a player that, even if some fans do not rate, the likes of Pep Guardiola does.

So why are Arsenal targeting the Northern Irishman?

Arsenal need a centre back: with Per Mertesacker set to leave on a free transfer, Laurent Koscielny having ongoing injury issues, and Holding, Chambers and Mavropanos all still young and inexperienced, Arsenal need an experienced centre back to partner Shkodran Mustafi.

Evans is Premier League proven: Manchester City are about to spend £57m on Aymeric Laporte. As they have shown over the years, it is very easy to spend a lot of money on a centre back and get it wrong (John Stones – £47.5m, Nicolas Otamendi – £32m, Eliaquim Mangala – £40m, Matija Nastasic – £12m , Stefan Savic – £6m). Buying foreign, buying potential, is a big risk. Arguably their two best centre backs in recent years were their cheapest – Vincent Kompany (£6.7m) and Martín Demichelis (£3.5m).

With Jonny Evans, Arsenal are signing a player with over 250 Premier League appearances, 130 of which have been for Manchester United, the rest for WBA – so he has the right mix of being involved in successful teams and being a battle hardened centre back.

Age: John Stones was a big risk for Manchester City due to his lack of experience. Arsenal have the likes of Calum chambers, Rob Holding and the new Greek lad Mavropanos. They have youthful talent covered, but with Per going, the experience is dramatically reduced.

I was surprised that Evans was just 30 years old. I thought he was a lot older than that. He is a player who has looked after himself and does not have a poor injury record. He could have another 5 / 6 years at the top level.

Leadership: We have lacked a good leader for a decade. Jonny Evans is captain  of WBA and Northern Ireland.

Not only is he a captain, he is also an organiser. Often when Koscielny and Mustafi play together, the centre of the defence looks lost, disorganised. Evans is a director, someone who his centre back partner and the full backs can take their lead from.

Style of play: It perhaps go’s against Jonny Evans that he is very much a British centre back. He is no nonsense. But is that not what we have missed recently? Someone who can put their head in, who knows when to clear their lines, a simplistic player who sees defending as his main job.

But Evans can also play. Occasionally at Manchester United he moved into central midfield. He is not just a thug like Ryan Shawcross, he can actually play a bit as well.

Winner: Johnny Evans has 3 Premier League winners medals. In the 2012/13 season, with Nemanja Vidic injured, Evans was Rio Ferdinand’s partner at the back, as Manchester United won the league comfortably.

Home grown: It might not seem like much, but Premier League rules dictate you can only have 17 foreign players in your squad. Evans, having been at Manchester United since he 9, is home grown. This then frees up a foreign based squad position for players in alternative positions.

Price:  Finally, his price. This is where you all moan.

The fact is, Arsenal do not have a bottomless pit of money like Manchester City. We can not afford to spend £300m just on centre backs in the hope 2 of them make it. Evans is just £10m. If WBA get relegated, he reportedly has a £3m release clause.

So you are getting a Premier League proven centre back, a leader, a winner, for £10m. When yo use Virgil van Dijk going for £75m, Arsenal would be getting a steal for Evans. And at £3m, it would be a no brainer in the summer.

If you want a no nonsense, Premier League experienced defender, who would fit in straight away, you could do a lot worse than Evans for £10m.

Yes, Arsenal could target a Raphael Varane or Samuel Umtiti, or whichever centre back everyone that plays FIFA is currently using, but spending big does not guarantee you are getting what you pay for – as seen by Manchester City’s exploits in the central defence market.

Evans would be a reliable, experienced centre back to put alongside Mustafi.

 

Keenos

The FA Cup & Aubameyang update

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The FA Cup

For the first time in 22 years, since 1996, Arsenal are not in the 4th round of the FA Cup. And I am gutted.

I am sitting here at 10:12 writing this blog, really not sure what to do with myself? Do I go and fix the garden up after the rough winter we have had?Or maybe put on my wellies and go for a couple of hours stroll in Epping Forest up to the Owl on High Beach, a few pints then stroll back?

Maybe a trip to the garden centre and grab a couple more house plants? I am unsure, I feel lost. This must feel like what it is to be a Spurs fan, getting knocked out the cups early.

Oh well, at least I have a League Cup Final to look forward too, Pinnacle vip code 2018 states that we are not favourites with the bookmakers

Whilst writing this, David Moyes has popped up on Sky Sports News to discuss the upcoming Wigan v West Ham tie.

“They won the FA Cup and got relegated. I am sure if you asked Wigan fans, they would rather not win the FA Cup and still be in the Premier League”.

What a load of rubbish. It is up there with Spurs fans saying they do not want to win trophies, that playing in the Champions League is more important than winning a cup. It is like top 4 is a trophy. Or staying in the Premier League is a trophy.

It should not be surprising that David Moyes has this opinion, that cups mean nothing.

A manager for 20 years, his only trophy is the Football League second division, way back in 1999/2000.

He spent 11 years at Everton, and never won a trophy.

His target was clearly to finish in the top half of the table, rather than win a trophy.

I feel for West Ham fans that they have a manager who openly says he does not want to win things. How out of touch is he with the fans?

I am sure if you ask Wigan fans, the FA Cup win is the highlight of their lives. Same with Portsmouth fans. The cup means everything.

It is only those who have not won it for decades who devalue it.

I am gutted not being in it.

Aubameyang Update

The deal seems to be at a stalement.

The crack negotiating team have flown back to England as negotiations continue. I is dying a slow death.

If the deal does not go through, it perhaps highlights that the problems at the club are bigger than just Arsene Wenger.

Previously, whenever a transfer feel through, Wenger (rightly) got the blame. But this deal is showing that the club is rotten from the manager up.

How the deal has not been done yet is incredible.

Dortmund want to sell, Arsenal want to buy, Aubameyang wants to join. It should be an easy deal to get over the line.

Reports were that Dortmund want ~£55-£60m. That Arsenal wanted to initially pay £40m. This is the start of the negotiations.

Arsenal were apparently concerned with paying over the club-record £46.5m that they spent on Alexandre Lacazette in the summer. And this is where the frustration begins.

We are talking about Dortmund wanting about £10m more than this. Arsenal need to learn to ignore the milestones, stop being concerned about the criticism, and just get the deals done.

With the sales of Francis Coquelin and Theo Walcott, and the money made in the summer, Arsenal have a net spend of nearly £45m.

Are we really trying to break even for the season? That is lubricious.

We moved to compete with the best, for the best. Now I am not saying we should be spending the £200m on players that Manchester City are – we can not afford that – but we should not be looking to break even every season, in terms of transfer spend.

We have the money to get Aubameyang in. Let’s get it over the line.

Keenos