Tag Archives: Premier League

Where do Arsenal need to strengthen in January?

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We have to be realistic when it comes to the January transfer window.

History shows that not much business is done in January. That sides will not go out and buy 5 it 6 players. Arsenal have notoriously done little business in January, and I do not expect that to change.

I would be surprised if Arsene Wenger signed kore than a single player.

So what should we buy in January?

Central Defender

After 3 clean sheets in a row in the Premier League, Arsenal conceded 3 against Manchester United.

This follows conceding 3 against Manchester City and 4 against Liverpool.

Whilst we got clean sheets against Chelsea and Tottenham, we have conceded 19 goals in the league this season. That is 10 more than Manchester United and Manchester City. It is more goals conceded than bottom of the table Swansea.

We have conceded 25 goals in 23 games in all competitions. A statistic which is simply not good enough.

With Shrokdan Mustafi limping off against Manchester United, he looks set for a spell on the sidelines for the second time this season.

More worrying is Laurent Koscielny.

The senior centre back made key errors against Manchester United and looked off the pace.

At 32, he has been managing a long term Achilles problem, and playing 3 times in a week looked to be a step too far for him. Maybe he is on the wain?

A commanding centre back will take the pressure of Koscielny to play every game, and improve a problematic area of the pitch.

Defensive Midfielder

How long have we needed a commanding defensive midfielder for?

We have not had a world class player in this position since Gilberto Silva left in 2008. And not had a specialist in that position since the first incarnation of Matthieu Flamini at Arsenal.

2 seasons ago we had the straight choice between Granit Xhaka and N’Golo Kante. At the time we picked Xhaka due to his superior passing. It looks like a massive mistake.

Back then, I thought Xhaka was an inspired signing. He had the grit and aggression, but could also play a bit.

In hindsight – and Football is very easy in hindsight – we went for the wrong man.

Xhaka has not settled in the Premier League, and looks slow and ponderous on the ball. Signed for his Ball playing ability, he gives it away too much and has been at fault for many goals due to his poor passing.

He is clearly not suited to the deep lying position in the Premier League and is struggling with the pace.

I imagine in Spain or Italy, where you get more time on the ball, he would shine. He should also potentially play higher up the field, like he did for Borussia Monchengladbach and for Switzerland.

Out poor defensive performance this season is not just down to the defence, but also down to the midfield.

Xhaka does not give the defence enough cover, and his sloppy play has led to many goals conceded. He is not the solution to our defensive midfield problem.

Sanchez / Ozil Replacement

Both will leave us this summer.

Sanchez has been awful recently.

Getting one replacement in January reduces the pressure in the summer and means one player has been at the club, in English Football, for 6 months.

Not much else to say on this one as we all know both need replacing.

So which position do you think we need to strengthen in January?

Keenos

Why never Arsenal?

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During the Huddersfield v Manchester City game, the conversation turned to how brilliant the Manchester City side was.

That with 12 games gone, they have won 11, drawn 1, scoring 42 and conceding just 8. Their goal difference is already +34 and they are 8 points clear at the top. Only an idiot would not say they are not an awesome team.

The conversation soon moved on to Arsenal this season.

Now we all want to compete for league titles. To compete should be a minimum requirement – although I would also argue that to win is a minimum requirement. But with City in such great form, and looking to break all sorts of records (they are on a 21 game unbeaten run in the league, losing just 2 league games this calendar year), would it really be a failure to finish below them?

To a man, we all agreed no. That if City get 90+ points, it would have taken a herculean effort to finish above them. An impossible effort infact.

Since we last won the Premier League – back in 2004 – no side has ever gained more than 90 points and not won the league. 4 times in 13 seasons, sides have breached the 90 point mark and secured the title. You can easily argue that 90+ points guarantees you the title.

Lowering the barrier by a single win – so 87 points, only once  has a team got above 87 points and failed to win the league – Manchester United in 2011/12 when they finished level on points with Manchester City.

Again, you could argue that 87 points will almost guarantee you the title.

In the last 13 seasons, the league has been won by 87+ points 9 times. In each of these seasons, it would have been near impossible, based on recent history, for Arsenal to have gained more points and gone on to win the title.

In those 9 seasons, it would not have been a poor season to finish second. The best team one and, in the majority of the cases, won by a distance. Finishing second would be nothing to be ashamed of in those season, we all agreed.

But then I asked the question; Why never Arsenal? Why do we always sit there and say Well done Manchester City / Chelsea / Manchester United. Great teams, would have been impossible to catch you anyone.

Why can we not expect Arsenal to ever get 87+ points?

It is easy to praise others, to say well done, to agree that finishing above Manchester City if they get 87+ points this season would be impossible.

Just like no-one was ever going to finish above Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea in the 2004/05 (91 points) and 2005/06 seasons (95 points), or Manchester United in 2012/13 (89 points – won the league by 11) and 2008/09 (90 points).

There have been 4 seasons since we won the league unbeaten in 2004 when the league was won by less than 87 points. So why then could Arsenal not have got 87+ in those seasons?

Why are we sitting around praising other teams mammoth points totals, instead of saying why can we not accrue a massive points total.

In Arsene Wenger’s time at Arsenal, we have breached the magical 87 point mark just twice. In 2001/02 and 2003/04.

Only twice since 2003/04 have we breached the 80 point mark – 2004/05 and 2007/08. No team has won the Premier League with less than 80 points since Manchester United in 1998/99.

Whilst other teams in the last 13 years have gone on to get mammoth points totals which would guarantee them the league, Arsenal have failed to get close.

On 4 occasions in that period, a team has won the league with less than 87 points. Twice sides have won the league with 80/81 points.

Why could Arsenal have not gone on in those seasons to be the side that gets 87 points?

Whilst you should give praise where it is due, and it is not a failure to finish second to a team getting 90+ points, it is a clear failure that Arsenal have not got anywhere near the points total required to be champions in the majority of the seasons since we last won a trophy.

Finishing 2nd to Manchester City this season will not be a failure. Finishing 2nd to Leicester City when they only won 81 points is a failure.

Only twice in those 13 years have we won more points than Leicester did in 2015/16.

So rather than praise a side for breaking records, as the question Why can it not be Arsenal that is breaking the records?

Why never Arsenal?

And we all know the answer…

Keenos

Burnley caps off brilliant week for Arsenal

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If Carlsberg did great weeks and all that…

It started the Saturday before last. An early kick off against that lot up the road. It was supposed to be a game where Spurs cement themselves as the premiere club in North London. Show that the power shift is real. That despite the lack of trophies, they are top dogs.

Arsenal played them off the park. Destroyed Spurs. And showed that North London is red. And the drink up in the afternoon and evening was incredible.

Roll on to Sunday, and whilst we were all nursing hangovers and what-not, the world of Arsenal Twitter was exploding with #TeaGate as journalists up and down the country who make a living by winding up fans for hits got wound up themselves. How did this happen? Arsenal posted a GIF of Mesut Ozil drinking a cup of tea.

The fall out was hilarious as journalists who make a career winding up Arsenal fans then denied that they had ever written an article intended to wind up.

It ended with a lot of journalists realising that they were not as popular as they thought.

On Wednesday morning, we all set off to cologne for what ended up an epic trip.

Despite Arsenal’s defeat, a great time was had by all. 3 days on the beer in cold, wet Germany. It was one of those where you only understand how great it was if you were there.

To prove that the result was secondary, despite Arsenal losing, we still managed to secure top spot in the group with a game to go.

In the Europa League, it is all about qualifying using as little energy as possible. Arsenal got through with two games to go and secured top place with a game to go, all whilst barely using a single first team player.

Over the years, the Europa League has proved a thorn in the side of many teams as they historically struggle at the weekend fixtures. Arsenal have won 3 of the 5 weekend fixtures, and drawn away to Chelsea. The sole defeat being against Manchester City.

I am still recovering now…

And then we move on to Saturday. Spurs drop points. Liverpool drop points. Chelsea drop points. Arsenal set to play Sunday with a chance to get above Liverpool and Spurs and a single point behind Chelsea.

A dull, turgid game up North. Cold and wet. We struggled. The game petering out to a draw, Aaron Ramsey gets pushed over in the penalty area. Penalty. Goal. 92nd minute.

Is there anything better in football than an injury time winner? What a great way to beat the horrible lot from up North.

It was the 3rd time in a row that we had beaten thuggish Burnley with a last minute winner.

October 2016, it was a 92nd minute Laurent Koscielny winner to break the hearts of Burnley fans. 3 months on, Alexis Sanchez hit a 98th minute penalty, having seen Burnley score their own debatable penalty to equalise in the 93rd minute.

And then we come to yesterday, another penalty from Sanchez, this time in the 92nd minute. How Burnley must hat injury time against The Arsenal.

Maybe if their players, big tough guys like Ashley Barnes, did not spend the game throwing themselves to the floor at every opportunity, feigning injury, then there would not be as much injury time?

To top it off, #twitterclarets on Twitter made it an entertaining end to a great week.

Seeing those Burnley fans cry their salty tears over losing to Arsenal once more in injury time was the cherry on the cake.

And to top it all off, we end the weekend above Spurs.

Keenos