Tag Archives: Santi Cazorla

Arsenal Down to the Bare Bones

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So tomorrow the season kicks off with Arsenal playing Aston Villa. But who is actually left to pull on an Arsenal shirt? After selling or releasing 22 players from both our first team squad and reserves squad and loaning out an additional 6, it leaves Arsenal with a 24 man squad.

Of these 24 men, according to physioroom.com, 11 are currently out injured and unavailable for 1st team action against Aston Villa. Even with my simple GCSE in maths, I can work out that this leaves us with 13 men available from out 1st team. Of this 13, two are Ju-Young Park and Nicklas Bendtner. It also contains 2 goalkeeper.s That leaves us with just 9 outfield players available from our first team squad.

So before the season has even started, we are down to the bare bones.

Now I would not be surprised if Theo Walcott, Bacary Sagna and Aaron Ramsay shake off their knocks and are fit to start tomorrow. However, worse case scenario and they do not, what are we actually left with?

With Sagna out, Carl Jenkinson will start at right back. Inside him will be Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertersacker. At left back Kieran Gibbs. A solid enough defence which, unless Benteke get’s one on one with Mertersacker, should be good enough to nullify Aston Villa. These 4 are our only fit defenders though. And anyone who has watched our under-21s in pre-season will know there is no one yet ready to step up. God forbid one of these pick up an injury. We will soon be recalling Johan Djourou back from his loan spell to play at right back!

Moving forward, it gets worrying. Of the 8 midfielders listed on our website, 5 are injured (Arteta, Ramsay, Rosicky, Diaby, Frimpong), and 1 (Cazorla) is unfit and has just been to Ecuador and bag for a pointless friendly with Spain. In an ideal world, he would not play.The world is not ideal. That leaves us with Jack Wilshere, and unfit Santi Cazorla and Ryo Miyaichi, who is actually a wing forward and has clearly been added to the ‘midfield’ tab just to make it look like more than what we have. So basically, if Ramsay does not get fit, we have 2 central mdifielders. What is likely is Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will drop inside and play the role he has recently played for England against Scotland. But this will mean Cazorla and Wilshere playing deep. We will be bullied.

With Podolski and Giroud fit upfront, they will start. But that is where we now come up short. In all the players I have mentioned, we are now 1 short. So what are out options?

  • Pray that either Ramsay or Walcott get fit
  • Play Bendtner right wing
  • Play Gedion Zelalem, Thomas Eisfield or Kristoffer Olsson
  • Announce the signing of 3/4 players in the pre-match press conference today
  • Play Steve Bould

To be this short before a ball has been kicked is a result of our lack of transfer activity. Yes, we were correct in selling/releasing these players, as most were either ‘deadwood’ senior players, or youngsters who were never going to make it, but a lack of signings is costing us dear. Had we secured Etienne Capoue, Stevan Jovetic or Gonzalo Higuain, rather than spend 2 weeks chasing and unsettling Luis Suarez to no avail, we would not be in this situation.

If you have a pair of boots in your cupboard, bring them to the game. There is a very good chance you might get a spot on The Arsenal bench. Infact, I am surprised our board are not selling places on our bench to the highest bidder. What a money raiser that would be for them!

Dropped points against Aston Villa is a direct result of our poor transfer window.

Keenos

An International Rant

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The Premier League season starts this weekend. Teams are doing their last minute preparation. Practising team specific drills. Who should mark who at set pieces. Who the opponents danger men are. Do they tend to go on the inside are out. What night club the players will visit after the game. And numerous other things that teams discuss before a Premier League match. And it is especially important this week. With it being the first game of the season and all. Getting off to a good start can mean a good season. Likewise a bad start can lead to a bad season. And a bad performance from Arsenal against Aston Villa could set a volatile tone to the next few games. This week is of über (did I just use über?) importance.

That is how I should be starting my first proper post on our new website. However, thanks to FIFA/UEFA or whoever decides on the International calendar, we are interrupted with by a mid week international before the season has even started. Can we even call it an international break?

Those boffins at FIFA (I just looked up that its them who decide) have once again scheduled an international match in August. Yes, it might be England v Scotland. The longest running international footballing rivalry, but frankly, I could not give a shit. I will not be watching. I will just be keeping an ear out for whatever player will get the guaranteed ‘Arsenal Player Injured on International Duty’ award for this break.

It is more frustrating that my manager can not continue talking to the dozens of players he is about to buy. It is frustrating that the team are unable to prepare properly for the forthcoming game. It is frustrating that our players are flying half way around the globe 3 days before the season starts. In summary:

  • Per Mertersacker and Lukas Podolski are in Germany playing a friendly against Paraguay
  • Wojciech Szczesny travel home to Poland squad for a friendly against Denmark
  • Bacary Sagna, Laurent Koscielny and Olivier Giroud are all in the squad for a friendly in Belgium
  • Jack Wilshere, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Theo Walcott make the short trip to Wembley for the Scotland friendly
  • Santi Cazorla travels to Ecuador for a friendly

All games are pointless and mean nothing. And it is that last call up of Santi Cazoirla that highlights the frustration. He has not had a proper pre-season due to his participation in FIFA’s Confederations Cup (A glorified Friendly Tournament). He has not yet played a full (or even major) part in a pre-season friendly, but instead of him being at the club, getting fitness, with perhaps a start away to Fulham being in mind, he is being flown out to Ecuador for a money spinning friendly. How is this right?

Now I full well know that every team is effected by this. And in ‘theory’ that makes it fair. But it still is not correct. How can it be right that a player potential picks up an injury which could see him out for a portion of the season, before he has even played for his club? And what if it is a new signing.

Take Jesus Navas at Manchester City for example. He has also struggled for fitness in pre-season for similar reasons as Cazorla. And he is also on the plane to Ecuador. Now say in that game, he breaks his leg and is out for the season? Manchester City have just spent £14.9m on a player who they are then robbed of by his country. Yes, injuries can happen at any point, but if this happened to an Arsenal player, it would leave a bitter taste in your mouth.

Whilst the Premier League, Serie A and La Liga might not of started, the Bundesliga & Ligue 1 have played its 1st round of games. Whilst the Dutch Eredivisie are already two games. And they all suffer from the same halt to pre (or early) season preparations.

FIFA have at least seen sense. This year is the last of the August International. However, the scrapping of this does not solve the problem of the early international break damaging a teams early preparation. The next round of international fixtures are on the 6th and 20th of September. That means the Premier League would of got in 3 rounds of games between the two international breaks. By the time the final whistle go’s between Ukraine and England, Jack Wilshere (who has barely played in 2013) would of played 3 games for England, and 3 for Arsenal. How is this right?

FIFA needs to go further. As well as scrapping the August International, they should also scrap the September International. How can teams get any early season momentum up if by the time they have played 3 games, they get 2 weeks off? And how frustrating is this for the fans? After 9 weeks without football, with Arsenal, fans get 3 weekends of it, until it stops for 2 weeks. And lets be honest, who really cares for international football?

The entire calender needs to be reviewed. Less friendlies. Less pointless qualifiers (what is the point of playing San Marino, Luxemburg, Scotland or Andorra?). International football needs to evaluate it position within the football calender. Club football is now king. And other then the World Cup and Continental Championships, very few are interested. The Premier League, The Champions League, this is what has become important.

International football is dying and rather then it trying to still act like it is important, it needs to learn its place.

No more international breaks before October.

That is the solution.

Keenos