Tag Archives: She Wore A Yellow Ribbon

Are Arsenal “shocking at defending”

The consensus was at the end of the last season, and the season before that, and before that, and to infinity and beyond, was that we needed at least one new first choice centreback,

Per Mertesacker was turns slower than milk, Laurent Koscielny is mistake ridden, Garbiel is a liability, and Calum Chambers has been ruined by Arsene Wenger. Not my words, but the words of many across various platforms.

And this morning I read this…

Is it true? Has Arsenal’s defending been shocking over the last 12 years? I decided to do some research.

On average, over the last 12 years, Arsenal have conceded 7 goals more than the Champions, and 10 goals more than the best defensive side. At no point over the last 12 years have we had the strongest defence in the league. That is clearly not good enough, and clearly a key reason why we have not won the league.

However, and there is always a however, I would like to break the table down further.

Since signing Laurent Koscileny, our average goals conceded a season increases by 3. But the least goals conceded in the league also increases – by 4; and the goals conceded by the Champions increases by 6.

This is mainly due to them stingy Manchester United and Chelsea sides of the mid to late 00’s being removed. In the 00’s, you had to concede under 30 to win the league. Since 2010, this has not been the case.

Arsenal defence might have got ‘worse’ but in comparison to the rest of the league, you could say it has improved.

The signing of Per Mertesacker in 2011 did not do much to massively improve Arsenal’s defence. The average by Arsenal, and across the league, changes very little. Although what is obvious on that table it the first year of Mertesacker joining. Arsenal conceded 49 goals. 14 of which were conceded in the first 5 games of the season.

In the remaining 33 games, of which Meretsacker played most, we conceded just 35 goals.

Since Thomas Vermaelen left Arsenal, and Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscileny became the undisputed first choice partnership for Arsenal, things have improved further.

Over the last 3 years, we have averaged just 2 goals less than the Champions.

Now whilst we have mot won the league, and that is the ultimate aim of any top side like Arsenal, I think we could all agree that over the last 3 years, it has not been goals conceded that have stopped us, but goals scored.

You could also say defensively, the bigger issue over the last 3 years has been in goal (before we signed Petr Cech) and the midfield protecting the defence, rather than the actual centre of the defence.

With Cech now number one, and defensive midfield options including Granit Xhaka, Mohamed Elneny & Francis Coquelin, we have the support around Mertesacker and Koscielny to go from strength to strength.

I have long been a big fan of Per Meresacker, but I think he does restrict the team. His lack of pace does not suit the tactics we play.

High pressing and defending the half way line does not suit a centre back with no pace. We saw it a few years back with John Terry, when André Villas-Boas instructed the team to defend the half way line. Terry was exposed.

Last year Leicester were champions and had the lowest goals against in the league. They did not do this by having the best defenders in the league, but by having a system that suited those defenders.

Robert Huth and Wes Morgan were camped for the entire season on the edge of their own box. They played to their attributes of power and strength. Had they defended on the half way line, they would not have won the league.

Often in defence, the tactics are more important than the personnel.

Over the last 12 years, at times our defence has been shocking. But on average over the 12, it has simply been below par, rather than shocking. And the defence has certainly improved since Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny became a partnership.

Over the last 6 years, the Champions have won the league with an average of 36 goals conceded. Arsenal are not too far away from having a Championship winning defence.

Arsenal defence is not as bad as what people make out. It has its odd blip, like against Southampton last season, but I am comfortable saying our back 5 is amongst the best in the Premier League.

Keenos
Follow @KeenosAFC

Is Arsenal’s policy on Junior Gunner to Silver Membership fair?

5 Replies

I became a Junior Gunner in 1995. I was 11. I did not come from a big footballing family. At the time, my mum would have said she was a West Ham fan (even though she was bought up in Finsbury Park) and my dad was more interested in The Tour de France. For my 11^th birthday, I got bought a junior Gunner membership and tickets to Arsenal v Aston Villa. Arsenal won 2-0. From that day on I was hooked to going to games.

9 year old Keenos

Every year I went to more games than the last. I moved from Junior Gunner to Cannon Club when I hit 17. I remained at Cannon Club until I was 19 and then automatically became a silver member. That was 12 years ago.

Recently the club have quietly changed their rules on this.

Many think this change is unfair, others think it is just. Here are some of the arguments for and against…

Against

One of the biggest issues is that they destroyed records of how long people had been members when we moved to the new stadium.

This means that everyone who was a member in 2006 has the same joining date.

Where this becomes highly unfair is you could have a Cannon Club member who has turned 18 now, who became a Junior Gunner at 3 years old (15 years ago) and their first 5 years get ignored. Written off. All because someone decided to destroy the records.

The Junior Gunners are the life blood of the club, they are the future.

18 is a crucial age. Drink, clubs and girls come into someone lives.

Previously to being 18, you could have a teenager who has not missed a game for many a year. They turn 18, and are ‘downgraded’ to a red membership. They no longer get priority on tickets. No longer go to as many games. And as other distractions come in, holidays in Magaluf to pay for, their interest in Arsenal dwindles. Until they stop going altogether. Arsenal are alienating their future.

The average age of match going fans in the Premier League is 41. Arsenal’s is higher than this. And going up.

By alienating the youth, both through expensive ticket prices and lack of availability of tickets, you are risking the clubs future. There will become a point a few years down the line where those who currently go week in week out are dead. And due to a whole generation of Arsenal fans being disregarded for the club, there is no one to take up the tickets. Resulting in even more being sold to corporations.

The youngsters at Arsenal are the future. They often make the noise. They go up and down the country. Turning round to them at 18 and saying they can no longer get priority for home games is simply wrong. They could have been going to every single game since they were 8. It is not “thanks for your support” but a big two fingers up at them.

Rather than blaming the stance or touts, Arsenal should do more to tackle the memberships clearly being used for touting. Investigate those who have more than one membership – I hear of plenty of people who have a season ticket, and numerous silver memberships they rarely use or loan out.

Remove the silver members who hold a membership who rarely go, or never go. It might be unfair, but these are taking up a spot on the silver membership list that could go to someone who go’s regular, go’s week in week out.

I wonder how many silvers are owned by companies. That only get used for Spurs, Chelsea, Liverpool & Manchester United.

It is these types of members that the club should be punishing, downgrading to red, not the loyal, regular youngsters.

Maybe they should just get rid of silver and red memberships altogether and introduce a home points system that is similar to the away system? The more you go, the more you can go in the future.

For

What the club say is completely right and fair.

There are only a limited number of silver members. You can not have every year Cannon Club members joining the silver membership automatically. This will create 2 problems

1) The silver membership will become oversubscribed

2) It is unfair on red members

The first point is self explanatory, but the second point needs expanding.

How is it fair that a Cannon Club member automatically gets a silver membership, over and above someone who is a red member who might have been a red member for a longer duration than the Cannon Club member.

Also, if the silver membership is limited, and Cannon Club members get priority over red members, you end up in a scenario where every year places come up on the silver membership, they are filled by Cannon Club members, and as a result the red membership never moves.

It is fair that if you join the club as a red member on the same day as someone who joins the club as a Junior Gunner, you both sit at the same place on the silver membership waiting list.

Whilst the club mentions ‘touts’ as a problem, I also know normal fans who have signed younger sisters and brothers up as Junior Gunners and then use their tickets. And then once the progressed from Cannon Club, they would upgrade to silver and have previously skipped the list.

Treating all Junior Gunners and red members equally is the correct thing to do.

Like with anything that happens in life, there are winners and losers. Everytime the government releases a budget, some pay a little extra, some pay a little less. You can not please all the people all the time. So what do you think?

Keenos
Follow @KeenosAFC

Delighted in Arsenal’s CENTRAL position

3 Replies

Up to this point, Arsenal’s transfer window has been a little under-whelming. Some might say that is not strong enough.

The team so clearly needs strengthening in the same, obvious places that it has needed strengthening for the last decade.

However, one place where I am happy with the make up of the squad is the middle of the park.

During the discussion about why Arsenal did not go for N’Golo Kante, my eyes were really opened up to the strength in depth we have in midfield moving forward into the 2016/17 Premier League season.

In Granit Xhaka, we have the man to make the team tick. A defensive leader who has the all round game to dominate the middle of the park whilst starting attacks. His ability will allow Aaron Ramsey to move further forward up the pitch, relinquish him of much his defensive duties, allow him to continue the great form he showed for Wales.

And then we have Mesut Ozil. A truly world class performer.

Imagine a side where Santi Cazorla and Jack Wilshere are not in the first team. They would start in the middle of the park for almost every side in the Premier League. A case could be made for both to start in Arsenal’s first team ahead of Ramsey.

When fit (and for Jack that is a big when they are both top players.

Then in behind them we have a new-ish boy. Mohamad Elneny, who performed well at the back end of last season. He will be a good understudy for Granit Xhaka.

This time last year, Francis Coquelin was our undisputed 1^st choice defensive midfield. It sent shivers down a fans spine when the names Flamini or Arteta on the team sheet. The fact that he is now 3^rd choice shows the improvements we have made in the area.

Oxlade-Chamberlain has a big season coming up for him. Make or break (although the same was said last year). And Iwobi has shown enough in 6 months that he deserves a place in the first team squad.

It is all very exciting.

There has been some very light talk that we might play a diamond. Even then, with a 4 man midfield, we look very strong.

This summer, we might have lost 3 midfielder in Flamini, Arteta & Tomas Rosicky, and replaced them with just one, Granti Xhaka, but we go into this year stronger, not weaker.

Last season, Rosicky and Arteta played less than 200 minutes of Premier League football between them. Those minutes do not exactly need replacing.

Another way to look at it is last year, we started the season with our defensive midfield options being:

Coquelin, Flamini, Arteta

This year, they are:

Xhaka, Elneny, Coquelin

The centre of the park is strong. Now Arsene Wenger needs to be focusing on the forward line and defence.

Keenos
Follow @KeenosAFC