Tag Archives: She Wore

Should Arsenal be targeting John Stones?

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So yesterday a question was asked to many (and others). That question I then put in the public realm on Twitter, just to see what people’s responses were. The question was a simple one.

https://twitter.com/KeenosAFC/status/686520552455041024

Three names seemed to get more mentions than any other. John Stones, Riyad Mahrez & Romelu Lukaku.

The last two, I would have no problem with the club targeting. However, John Stones, I just do not get it.

He is the current darling of the English sporting media. He can do no wrong. The next superstar youngster. Built up as a world class player. Despite having not really done much.

And that is my issue with John Stones, what has he actually done to justify people talking about a £40+million transfer fee?

21 years old, he has played 63 Premier League games, 3 times in Europe (the Europa League) and 7 times for England.

A lot of people compare him and his potential transfer to that of Rio Ferdinand when he joined Manchester United for £29.1 million. But there is a big difference.

In 2002, when Manchester United signed Ferdinand, he was 23 years old, had played over 180 times in the Premier League, over 20 England caps, and had played in a Champions League semi final. The player Manchester United signed was the real deal. A proven performer. Not yet the finished article, but close to it.

What you are getting in John Stones is the potential. He is nowhere near the player Ferdinand was 13 years ago, and whilst he has the potential to get their, it is a lot of money to pay on potential. He is completely unproven.

My other issue with him is when you ask people why they rate him, they reply “he is really good on the ball.” I might be old fashioned, but I want the best quality of my defender to be that he is a good defender. Being good on the ball means nothing if they can not defend. Give me a John Terry over a David Luiz any day of the week.

It is a frustration of mine. People ranting defenders for reasons other than defending. Joleen Lescott was rated highly because he scored a few goals. Leighton Baines because he has a great cross, takes a good corner and a good free kick.

Yes, these players might be good for your Fantasy Football team, but in the real world, they are average, as they are not great defenders. Give me Nacho Monreal above Leighton Baines. Or a few years back, Bacary Sagna over Dani Alves. A defenders job is to defend, not to be good on the ball, score goals, etc.

If they are good on the ball, or can contribute goals, then that is a bonus. It is a secondary attribute. Defending is the primary attribute.

And for me, at this moment in time, Stones is rated for his ability on the ball, not his defending.

You only have to look at Everton’s position in the table to understand their problems. Currently sitting 11th. A very low position for a side with so many ‘talented’ players (this raises another question as to whether Roberto Martinez is the most overrated manager in the league). There problem is clear, they concede too many goals. Which is confusing, as they have the (alleged) greatest young centre back in the game in John Stones. With the best right back in the league in Seamus Coleman and best left back in Leighton Baines.

Maybe all 3 are just vastly overrated?

When you look at John Stones’ price tag of £40+million it highlights the premium you pay for English players. For less than that, you could go and get the likes of Matts Hummels. An experienced, proven, better defender.

And anyway, Mertesacker & Koscielny are both better player’s.

So for John Stones, it is a no thanks from me.

Keenos

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Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain CENTRAL to Arsenal’s future

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For a while now I have been massively critical of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

He is now 22, and for me, he has not improved as a player from when he first joined the club. He still makes the same mistakes he made when he first came to Arsenal in a £12million deal from Southampton.

He still always looks a yard off the pace, a stone overweight and tries to take on one player too many. People used to have a go at Theo Walcott for having “no footballing brain” but at 22, Walcott was far superior than Chamberlain. And the stats prove it.

For a player so talented, or reportedly talented, Chamberlain does not score enough, or create enough. 6 goals in 95 Premier League games is just not good enough.

I saw a stat before this weekend that Chamberlain has never played more than 5 games in a row for Arsenal. This perhaps highlights his issues. He has never stayed fit enough, or inform enough, to get a run in the team. Likewise, he has never been given the chance to get the run in the team to build his confidence up and feel relaxed within the side.

This season, Chamberlain’s form / injuries / weight has been so poor that (along with his own form) he has fallen behind Joel Campbell in the reckoning for a first team place.

Of course, Campbell is the perfect example about how to not judge a player. 6 months ago he would have been on many peoples ‘deadwood’ list. Now he is an important squad member. So we should be careful not to write of Chamberlain.

Campbell got his chance, incidentally, when Chamberlain picked up yet another injury – he has had 9 in 3 years. He got his head down, worked hard, and kept it simple. Chamberlain could do with doing the same.

At the weekend, we saw Chamberlain’s best game in a long while for Arsenal. They key for me was that he was playing in the middle of the park. He just looked so more comfortable than out on the wing.

His best performance to date was now nearly 4 years ago, in a Champions League performance against AC Milan. Remembering back to that game, Oxlade-Chamberlain played in the middle of the park. He was dynamic and he was direct.

At the time, people will talking him up. “A gem of a player” Marco van Basten said. There was talk that he could be the new Steven Gerrard. With his dynamism, passing ability and shooting from distance.

Since that performance. He has stalled. And when he plays on the wing, he looks average.

For England he always looks a much better player. Looking through where he plays for his country, it always seems to be in the middle of the park, or on the left with the licence to drift in. When he plays wide right, he just does not look good enough.

He is just more comfortable in the middle of the park.

The problem at Arsenal is we have a lot of central midfielders. Ozil, Ramsey, Wilshere, Cazorla. All are about him in the pecking order. But he offers something different to all 4 of those with his ability to run with the ball. With Cazorla slowly coming to the end of his career, Chamberlain is perhaps the closest to being his replacement.

There is definitely a good player in Chamberlain waiting to break out. He is two footed, has some pace, and can beat a man with ease – a commodity that is rare in football. Jose Mourinho always talks about transitional players. Who can take the ball comfortable through areas of the pitch. From defence into midfield, midfield into attack, breaking the lines. Oxlade-Chamberlain certainly falls into this category. He just needs the chance. The luck. To get a run in the centre of the park.

Keenos

Wenger get’s it right as Arsenal progress

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Pre match, all the focus on team selection seemed to surround Sunderland and Sam Allardyce, with the fat walrus moaning to whoever would listen about the fixtures list. He made it clear early on that he would play a complete bunch of youngsters.

Throughout the build up, Arsenal seemed to be forgotten about. With a mid-week game away to Liverpool coming up, it had not really been discussed what changes Arsene Wenger would make.

On Twitter, the common consensus was that there would be whole sale changes, with everyone agreeing that we should rest the entire XI that would be likely to start against Liverpool. With Sunderland set to play the kids, Arsenal could surely afford to do so as well.

What happened with the team sheets came out was fairly surprising. Allaradyce had attempted to pull the wool over everyone’s eyes with his team selection.

Whilst it was by no means the strongest XI, and with a debutante in goal in the shape of 21 year old keeper Jordan Pickford, the outfield players were certainly not the kids that were threatened to be put out.

Regular starters John O’Shea, Patrick van Aanholt, Sebastian Coates, Jermain Lens, Steven Fletcher, Duncan Watmore and Lee Catermole all started. Only Billy Jones and Jermaine Defoe were missing from the regulars who had started most of this season.

Unlike most of Twitter, Arsene Wenger ignored what was coming out of the walruses mouth. He could have fallen into the trap and started the likes of Glen Kamara, Jeff & others. Instead, it was a strong line up with only one kid in the starting 11 – the impressive Alex Iwobi. Take him out (for maybe Aaron Ramsey) and it was a starting XI that you could see starting games in the Premier League.

Ever present Nacho Monreal was rested for Kieran Gibbs, and Mesut Ozil was given the rest everyone knew he would get, and needed. It was a side Wenger picked to win the game, no matter the players put out by Fat Sam. It was a strong side.

And it was the strength of the side, showing that Wenger does take the competition seriously – that saw us through. Despite going 1-0 down, and having a shaky moment when Steven Fletcher hit the bar when he really should have scored, Arsenal were never in trouble of going out,. It was a professional performance that you would expect from the quality of players put out by Wenger.

There were some outstanding performances that do deserve a mention.

Hector Bellerin, who could have been rested for Debuchy, showed once more that he is quickly becoming not just one of the best right backs in the Premier League, but one of the best in Europe. An international call up is surely on the horizon. A place in Spain’s Euro 2016 squad an outside bet.

He showed once again he is growing defensively, but it was his attacking that court the eye. Getting forward at every opportunity, putting in quality balls, and beating his opposing full back with ease. Were he a winger, we would be crowing about this performance. The fact he was at full back makes it ever more incredible.

And the vision and weight of the pass for Olivier Giroud’s goal was exceptional. Ozil-esque even. An ordinary player would have just smashed an aimless ball hard across the box, leaving the striker no chance to get on the end of it. Bellerin picked out Giroud with tremendous ease. And it actually makes you forget about his pass to Ramsey for the second. Again, a cool, calm pass where a lesser player would have smashed it.

It was also an impressive performance once more for Joel Campbell. His hunger and desire was there for all too see. He is still proving a lot of people, including myself, wrong. He is becoming an important squad player, growing with every game.

Where as in the summer we were looking to offload the Costa Rican, we must now be hoping that he signs a new contract, with his current one reportedly expiring at the end of this season. It would be interesting to see if he does get a new 4/5 year deal, if his hunger and desire remain, or once his future is secure, does he, like many others before, loose focus.

Calum Chambers also looked good in the holding midfield position. And both Iwobi and Jeff looked classy, showing that a Premier League loan deal till the end of the season might be beneficial for both’s future.

Overall, it was a solid performance by a solid side. Wenger got his team selection right, and we are into the hat for the 4th round draw.

The Double is still on.

Keenos