Tag Archives: Arsenal

10 academy graduates see Arsenal through

3 Replies

Well that was an interesting match wasn’t it…

Somehow, despite every senior player on the pitch being atrocious, we got through, we won, we are in the hat for the next round of the Copacabana Cup after beating Norwich 2-1 in Extra Time.

Hero of the night was Arsenal youngster Eddie Nketiah who came off the bench to save the day for Arsenal.

Over the years I have debated with GC on numerous platforms about having local lads in the team. I have always been of the opinion that if they are good enough, they will get in the side, and they we are a global football team in a global game chasing top honours. We are not care in the community, we should not deliberately have a weaker side just to accommodate local lads.

Yes, in theory, I would love us to be like an Athletic Bilbao, where we have 11 lads all from Islington in the starting XI, but then we would be a mid table side with no hope of success, like Bilbao.

But it was pleasing to see yesterday Arsenal give game time to 10 academy graduates.

In the days of modern academy’s, not all 10 were local born lads who have been with the club since they were 8.

Goal keeper Matt Macey, making his first team debut, was signed from Bristol Rovers at the age of 18. At just 23, he put in a solid performance with a couple of exceptional saves. A critic would say he should have been out quicker for their goal, but overall he can be please with his Arsenal debut.

Macey became the first English goal keeper to play for Arsenal in a senior game at home since moving to the emirates Stadium.

Reiss Nelson – from Elephant and Castle – impressed once more in the wing back position. With Arsenal pretty much through in Europe, I would not mind him starting a few games behind the striker, as he is clearly a talented attacker. And still just 17.

On the other side of the pitch, Essex boy Ainsley Maitland-Niles (from Ilford) did well. He is clearly not a left wing back, and a few of our attacks broke down when he had to cut in on the right side. If we do give Nelson a chance higher up the pitch, I would like to see Maitland-Niles move across to the right where he will be more comfortable. He could prove to be good long-term cover for Hector Bellerin.

Chuba Akpom, now 22, will probably be frustrated by his nights work. The Canning Town lad did not play poorly, infact him coming on injected much needed pace at the top of the field. His frustrations will be that whilst he made his debut 3 years ago, he is still awaiting his first goal, whilst Nketiah got two on his debut. Akpom’s future is shakey as other younger strikers begin to impress.

Eddie Nketiah has only been with the club for 2 years, having been released by Chelsea in 2015. The Lewisham lad took both his goals very well, and I am sure there will be plenty of loan offers from Championship sides on the table in January.

https://twitter.com/ThierryHenry/status/922939965734096898

Josh da Silva (another Ilford born Essex boy) and Joe Willock (Waltham Forest) also got another appearance under their belt, both coming on in the second half of Extra Time.

Arsenal also had 3 senior players on the pitch who came through the youth system.

Stevenage’s finest, Jack Wilshere continued his rehabilitation playing 114 minutes. This after a 15 minute run out on Sunday.

The extra time probably means he will now not play against Swansea on Saturday as Arsenal take it slowly with him. Everyone’s hears would have been in their mouths at one point when it seemed he was holding his groin, but he battled through.

Francis Coquelin, who came through the academy system alongside Wilshere – via France – had a poor game. His technique was shown up once more, and he has to realise that he is not a playmaker. He should be told not to cross the halfway line.

The final academy graduate, and most successful in recent years, was Lagos born Alex Iwobi, who has been with the club since he was 9. He had a mixed game, but it must be remembered he is still just 21. Not much older than many of the other youngsters, yet considered a senior player.

Writing this blog, it is interesting how far and wide young players now come from. The dream of XI Islington Boys will never happen. The 10 academy lads did have a lot of Londoners in it, but the closest you get to a proper local lad is Joe Willock, who was born not too far from the Hale End Academy.

It is actually interesting walking through Walthamstow Central Station at about 7pm. You see a load of youngsters in their Arsenal tracksuits getting on the train home, to whatever part of London the reside in – the journey to Lewisham or Elephant & Castle that Nelson or Nketiah would have made as teenagers is an hour long one.

None of the Arsenal youngsters performed poorly, but they were nearly let down by their senior pros.

Olivier Giroud did nothing. He struggles when teams defend high.

The current formation does not suit Theo Walcott. He is not an Alexis Sanchez. He does not have the technique to play in tight spaces behind the striker. If we are going to continue mirroring the formations no matter who plays, Walcott surely has to drop to the bench.

Coquelin, as previously said, was poor. He thinks he is an attacking player, but too often play breaks down with him in advanced positions.

Wilshere and Iwobi also had poor games. Neither seemed to know who was playing central midfield and who was supposed to be attacking.

All 5 had poor games, and none of them will be screaming to start in the Premier League team.

One senior player who did look good was Mathieu Debuchy.

Debuchy has had an unlucky time of it at Arsenal, with injury and the development of Hector Bellerin meaning that he became surplus to requirements.

He has thrown his toys out of the pram more than once and his time at the club looked to be over this summer. But he played well yesterday.

As long as his attitude remains positive and he stays fit, he provides good cover for Bellerin at right wing back, and on the right hand side of the defensive 3. I do not think he lost a header yesterday.

Debuchy should look at Nacho Monreal and the way the Spaniard has re-invented himself and, despite being 32, take the same positive approach.

On the two points that Norwich fans are moaning about, it was never a red card for Mohamad Elneny. The Norwich player was a long way from goal, Holding was up with play, and the Norwich player cut infront of Elneny.

What could Elneny do? Anyone who drives knows that if, on a motorway, a car swerves infront of you and slams on the breaks, no matter how quick you reactions are, you will go into the back of them.

As for the penalty, there was almost no contact. He did not pull him back. He did little wrong. An example of the fact that contact does not mean it is a foul.

I was impressed by 20 year old James Maddison. I first saw him a couple of years ago as a teenager playing for Coventry, and he looked very comfortable on the ball. He would not have been out of place in an Arsenal shirt last night. The lad has a big future.

So we are in the quarter final of the only domestic trophy Arsene Wenger has never won. Manchester United and Man City are also already in the hat, with Chelsea and Spurs to play tonight.

The big clubs are often criticised for not taking the tournament seriously, but there is going to be a big presence from those sides in the QF.

Too early to be dreaming about another trip to Wembley?

Keenos

Which Premier League sides lack the cojones?

9 Replies

Last weekend, a big fuss was made over Arsenal losing to Watford. Convicted thug, Troy Deeney, went straight to the nearest television studio, in his best court suit, to declare that Arsenal simply did not have the cojones.

7 days on, and Watford let go a 1 goal lead to lose 4-2 to Watford. Deeney, who does not have the fitness to play 90 minutes, was taken off with 10 minutes to go and the scores at 2-2.

Did Deeney stand there in the changing room, lamenting his team mates, telling them how they had let themselves down, their family down, the bumblebee mascot down, and how they did not have the cojones? Probably not. He probably drove straight to Birmingham for a few beers with his mates before stamping on the head of a defenceless student.

Troy found out how quickly the earth spins round. It is easy boasting about how you smash an opponent as soon as you come on the field when you win, but how about all them times you lose Troy?

The weekend showed just how tough the Premier League is. Manchester City apart, every other top team as showed a lack of cojones at some point.

On Saturday, Manchester United lost against the then favourites-to-be-relegated Huddersfield. The Huddersfield players showed a lot more class than Troy Deeney, as none went on TV abusing their opponents. It was Manchester United’s first defeat of the season. But an unexpected one.

There was also tears in Liverpool as the Scourers lost away to Spurs.

It was not just losing, but it was the manor of the defeat. 4-1.

Liverpool remind me of Arsenal, when they lose against a top side, they lose heavily, 4 against Spurs, 5 against Manchester City.

They have also dropped points against Watford, Newcastle and Burnley, and sit 9th in the league. Jurgen Klopp’s crown has slipped with a drifting win percentage. Now under 50% with a worse record than the likes of Brendan Rodgers.

No mention of their players lacking the cojones though.

Then we have Chelsea. The current Champions.

They showed some cojones on Saturday to come back from 2-1 down to beat Watford. But then the weekend before they played Crystal Palace, with 0 goals and 0 points this season. They lost 2-1. Having already lost at home to Manchester City, and that opening day defeat to Burnley, they sit with an identical record to Arsenal.

Do their players lack the cojones? Or does it just show that bar Manchester City, every other side is a little bit average.

We then come to Arsenal, We know about Watford and Stoke, and that defeat to Liverpool. Lots made about the club in crisis, but we are level with Chelsea and ahead of Liverpool. A long way behind Manchester City though – and that is what is important.

Spurs got a good win against Liverpool to go level on points against Manchester United. But it was not too long ago that they were struggling to win at home – draws against Swansea and Burnley. They are in fine form at the minute, yet still they are closer to Arsenal 94 points ahead) then they are to Manchester City (5 points behind).

Very little talk about cojones when they failed to beat Burnley or Swansea.

Manchester City look awesome. But then Leyton Orient would look awesome if they spent over £500m in 3 summers, on top of the billion pounds they spent in the 6 or 7 years previous.

With what they have spent recently, Manchester City should be winning titles every year. There last success in the league was 4 years ago. And they have just a single League Cup since.

None of this justifies Arsenal’s predicament. No title in 12 years is not good enough. Not using your finances to their full capability is not good enough.

We are not giving ourselves the best chance of success. At least if you try, then fail, at least you have tried. In recent transfer windows, we have not tried.

This season, every side will drop points against teams they really should beat. It happens every season. It is why the bookies are rich and the punters poor.

The only side that looks infallible so far is Manchester City. But then we are only 9 games in.

An early prediction, Manchester City will further ahead of second, than second is ahead of 6th. The other 5 sides are all a similar level of averageness – even if the press like to paint one club in crisis and the other as brilliant.

It will be a rollercoaster of a season.

Keenos

Arsenal’s square pegged midfield

9 Replies

Arsenal have massive problems in the middle of the park.

Even after beating Everton 5-2, the problems are clear to see for everyone – bar Arsene Wenger it seems. Our midfield is extremely unbalanced.

This season, a lot of goals have been due to errors in the middle of the park. Players either giving the ball away in dangerous situations, or not tracking their man. A lot of the blame can be put on Grant Xhaka. But the problem is deeper than one man, it is the fact we are playing midfielders in positions that are unnatural to them.

Grant Xhaka

When we signed Grant Xhaka, I was excited about the prospect of him joining the club.

A man who I had rated for some time, he was brilliant on the ball, but also had a bite in his challenge. He looked to be the ideal man to sit in front of the back 4.

At the time, we had a choice, Granit Xhaka or N’Golo Kante.

Kante was clearly stronger defensively, and the ability to cover more ground, whilst Xhaka was a better footballer, better with the ball at his feet.

Having chased Xabi Alonso a few years back, Wenger went for Xhaka, a man who could win the ball and start the attacks. But it is clear now that he is the wrong sort of player.

A few years after missing out on Alonso, we signed Mikel Arteta. Another deep lying midfielder known more for his ability on the ball, rather than his defensive strength.

We have lacked a midfielder who defends first since the first incarnation of Matheiu Flamini, and have not had someone who was World Class at that job since Gilberto Silva.

Whilst some point to Xabi Alonso as one that got away, for Liverpool he did not play as the out and out defensive midfielder – he had Javier Mascherano behind him. And at Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, he played for sides where his deep lying play making ability was more important than his ability to win the ball.

In Xhaka, we got perhaps the closest thing to Alonso in the modern game. It looked ideal, but is has turned out to be a disaster.

Granit Xhaka would be more comfortable further up the field, as the box to box midfielder playing between a defensive midfielder and Mesut Ozil. Where Aaron Ramsey plays.

At the time we signed Xhaka, I made a case that we could have accommodated Xhaka and Kante. We went for Xhaka, in hindsight we should have signed Kante.

For Switzerland, Xhaka is brilliant. For Monchengladbach, he made the Bundesliga team of the year. Both times he plays next to a more defensive player.

Granit Xhaka would be more comfortable further up the field, as the box to box midfielder playing between a defensive midfielder and Mesut Ozil. Where Aaron Ramsey plays.

Aaron Ramsey

Like Granit Xhaka, Aaron Ramsey plays better for his country than his club. And this is down to one reason. For Wales he plays in his favourite position.

Ramsey is brilliant when he plays in an advanced position, just behind a striker. He is like Frank Lampard. He has the ability to make late runs into the box, to score goals, to drift in unnoticed.

His best season to date for Arsenal was 2013/14, he scored 16 goals in 34 games. The majority of these games were playing behind Olivier Giroud. Picking up the loose ball and scoring goals. He had finally found his position.

But with Alexis Sanchez coming in, Ramsey soon found himself playing deeper once more, where he just does not have the positional discipline or passing ability to control games.

I look at the goals Frank Lampard scored. The goals Dele Alli is scoring for Spurs behind Harry Kane, and Aaron Ramsey can do this, he just needs to play further up the field.

If / when Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil leave Arsenal, playing Ramsey higher up the field is an option.

The closer to the opponents goal he is, the less of a liability he is (and more likely that he will score goals).

Jack Wilshere

In recent weeks, Jack Wilshere has been brilliant against lesser opposition. This has lead many people to state that he should be starting in the first XI instead of Granit Xhaka.

This is a case of the fans calling for a square peg in a round hole.

For the B team (is that what we are calling the Europa League / League Cup side?) Wilshire has been playing behind the striker, as the most advanced midfielder. He has basically been doing the Mesut Ozil job.

He has done well. Very well. But we still need to take things slowly with him.

Fans calling for him to replace Xhaka have failed to understand the role he is currently playing.

Now if they were demanding him to replace Ozil (or Sanchez) or maybe even Ramsey, I could understand.

But Wilshere has impressed with his creative displays, his work on the edge of the opponents box, not for his defensive work.

Wilshere has never been a defensive player. Like Granit Xhaka, he can play deep but does not defend. Put him next to a Kante and he will excel. Play him instead of Kante and we will be exposed defensively – just like we are with Xhaka in the side.

When Wilshere does come in to the Premier League side, he should be doing so to replicate his B team performances. That means playing higher up the pitch.

Arsenal’s midfield has been a problem for many years. Whilst Granit Xhaka was a good player, he has turned out to be the wrong player and is clearly facing a crisis in confidence.

Moving forward in the short term, maybe it is time to return to Coquelin and play Xhaka close to him to start the attacks. Or as Wilshere regains fitness, allow him to go a little deeper, but not full-defensive.

At Manchester City, Fernandinho has given the side great balance this season. Putting in a defensive shift allowing the likes of Kevin de Bruyne and David Silva to drift around the pitch, find space, and start attacks.

Arsenal need to find their Fernandinho. But then we have needed one for over 10 years.

To be a competitive title chasing side, we need to play the right players in their best positions

Keenos