Tag Archives: She Wore

Arsenal’s transfer window round-up

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Well that was an interesting window for The Arsenal.

Off the field there were some positives, even if on the field it was a bit ropey. Hopefully the dealings we saw were less controlled by Arsene Wenger and indicate that his time at Arsenal is coming to an end.

So how did the transfer window turn out for Arsenal?

We went into January with 2 key players able to negotiate a free transfer abroad. We ended the month with one committed to stay until 2021 and the other out the day.

Mesut Ozil staying is great news. It has been interesting to watch the pendulum swing over the first half of the season. Many in August would have preferred to keep Alexis Sanchez and let Ozil leave. By mid-January, it had swung to the majority wanting Ozil to stay.

Losing Sanchez was disappointing. He is a great player. Up there amongst the best in the world. Arsenal swapped him for Henrik Mkhitaryan. It was a good deal all round.

Another positive was the players out. I bet a number of fans used the Pinnacle vip code 2018 to predict that the likes of Theo Walcott were not going to be hanging around.

Arsenal raised £50m in selling Olivier Giroud, Francis Coquelin and Theo Walcott. Three players who had started 2 Premier League game between them this season.

All go with their head held high, knowing that they gave 100% to the cause. Walcott for me will always go down as one of the most underrated players of the last 10 years.

Over 100 goals at around 3.6 games a goal is not to be sniffed at. He might never have been the prettiest player in the world but he was effective.

Regardless of my opinion, both were surplus to requirements. No longer required.

Then we have Pierre-Emerick Aubemeyang. A truly world class striker – even if some of the northern media had gone out of their way to deride his talents.

To get him for £56m is great value. A club record. To effectively sell Walcott and giroud, and buy the Gabonian (is that correct?) is fantastic.

Over two transfer windows, we have seen Sanogo, Szczęsny, Gabriel, Gibbs, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Coquelin, Debuchy, Walcott and Giroud leave. Players who were not really part of our present, let along the future.

Hopefully this is the beginning of clearing the decks for the new manager.

With Santi Cazorla, Mertesacker, Jenkinson, Perez, Akpom and Campbell also set to leave in the summer, it will be 14 players who many would have classed “dead wood” out the door in a little over 12 months.

This frees up squad places and wages for players who are better than those who have gone.

What we now need to do is ensure we invest in the right mixture of proven talent like Aubemeyang, and young talent like Konstantinos Mavropanos, the young Greek centre back who joined early January.

So we saw players who were not needed leave, and players who are ready for the first team join. Good news.

I have always been of the Sir Alex Ferguson school of thought. That you improve the first team every window. By improving the first team, the previous first team player then becomes a squad player, and the weakest squad player is then allowed to leave.

By buying Aubemeyang, all strikers have had to shuffle down one, and Giroud has fallen out of the bottom. We are infinitely stronger.

Now we just need to do something about the manager.

Keenos

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