The Questions for THE Quest by SB
The Quest for the title continues.
I believe this is the season where we are and will be considered serious title contenders. All the teams (title contenders) have strengthened and so did we. We strengthened defense. Petr Cech is the biggest part of this upgrade and Gabriel has settled in well and is raring to go. Regardless of transfers or no transfers we are a title team. (Hear me out).
The Questions:
GK: Cech –He could be the most important player for Arsenal this season. Huge upgrade. Ospina, a more than able backup.
Defense: Koscielny, Gabriel, Per, Chambers
The best part of this defense line-up is we have two pairs of mostly similar type of players.
Koscielny and Gabriel: From what I saw the 2 are very similar in style and speed. Defensive bosses kind of players.
Chambers and Per: The more static of the 4. Height is a similarity and a bonus. Chambers should be groomed to take over Per’s place in the long run.
So inspite of Per & Kos partnership, we would be best served (IMO) if we start pairing them with opposites Koscielny & Chambers; Per & Gabriel. This would ensure that our defensive stability and experience will not be hugely disturbed. This would be the building process for the future. This would also depend on the opposition.
LB: Monreal, Gibbs
Pretty much set. Monreal is good enough for another season at the least and Gibbs is the perceived longstanding successor to Cole and I hope this is his season.
RB: Debuchy, Bellerin
Settled and set.
The defensive line-up should be rotated/played as a team. For example if Chambers is playing then Debuchy should be the RB and for Per it should be Bellerin so that one complements the other in a way that their strengths are complementary. Similarly Monreal should be the LB when Gabriel is playing and Gibbs when Koscielny is there. This would ensure there would be enough experience to cover the back 4 at any given time.
DM/CM: Coquelin, Wilshere, Ramsey, Cazorla
Similar situation to the defense 4 where Ramsey & Wilshere are very similar (B2B). But Santi is 30. So with an eye on the future we should start pairing them as Coq & Ramsey and Wilshere & Cazorla. Coq is the destroyer and Ramsey can be the deep lying playmaker/B2B. Now, Wilshere I believe should be groomed to be the mixture of Coq & Ramsey (he certainly has the ability to and also proved it with England last year). But to do this consistently he should be taught and nurtured about the defensive duties and so playing him as the defensive of the two should help him improve his overall game as he is pretty much proven in his attacking capabilities. Cazorla is the deep lying playmaker. Our version of Fabregas (of Chelsea). That being said our aim should be to groom Wilshere and Ramsey to be THE pairing in a couple of seasons.
AM: Ozil – Should be the first choice. Wilshere/Ramsey/Cazorla can cover in his absence.
LW: Sanchez – Nothing to say. He owns that role. But including a youngster (someone like Adelaide) as a backup would be a good investment for the future.
RW: Walcott, Oxlade
Well covered and stable. Oxlade can step in, in case Walcott is ST.
ST: Giroud, Welbeck, Akpom
The key area of concern. We need a proven and accomplished finisher.
Transfer Requirements: Striker is the primary objective but if Walcott is to be played consistently as a striker, we would need a world class winger. Also Akpom should be given a chance against the lesser teams.
The team is strong enough now to be able to challenge for the title but to actually win it and do well in Champions League, we need a world class goal scorer (either a winger or a striker depending on the plan for Walcott).
Rotating the players could be the way to go this season depending on the opposition. Progress in UCL should also be top priority.
I am very optimistic and hopeful of the coming season.
PS: I might be wrong. I am no manager. But this is my honest opinion as we need to try differently and aim for the best.
Cheers mates
Santosh Balivada
Benzema was on a plane yesterday as he flew to China to fulfil some sponsor obligations ahead of the new season
its a different worLd on Instagram where he was spotted in EngLand!………. Obsession kiLLs! L()L
Costa limped off with a hamstring injury and is doubtful for Sunday
but then Costa is doubtful for every game but still plays except international matches
my thoughts exactly, mind games by Moron’hio
Arsenal will be on top of the
EPL table on the 1st of Jan 2016.
I for one think Walcott will be a very good striker and will shock people on how good he will be. I still think we should sign a world class striker if we can but if we don’t i wont be worrying as much as other people are!
The striker conundrum, whether to buy a striker or not. I believe its a question whether Wenger is confident about Welbeck leading the line rather than Walcott. We all know Walcott is a good finisher, but he can’t dribble past players nor can he hold up play.
I for one would like to see a striker signing. A world class one. But I know we can’t go all gung Ho and spend top dollar. And I also hope Wenger will not spend cheap hooker money on a striker like Llorente.
If Lewi is available, then Perfect.
The Hunger games…….. The Moanihno games…… The Mind games!
Cech will help us to win the EPL this season. I noticed in the Wolfsburg game he was shouting at our defence telling them to move out.
okay Cech may help at the back……. But who will help at the front?……. This is where the need for reinforcements come in!
Wenger like to buy players that can play in multiple positions. We have got Thoe, Giroud and Akpom who can play upfront. We just might buy a left winger so Sanchez could move upfront if needed.
Sorry Theo I have got the flu.
Malen!!!!
I enjoyed reading your article, you have good insight especially on player positions (Chambers CB, Chamberlain RW or even LW to rotate with Sanchez if necessary).
Right now, I honestly feel Arsenal are on the brink or at least in the process of negotiating another world class player. Wenger realizes we need an out and out CF to compete with Giroud. In my opinion, Walcott is best on the wings where there is space for him to utilize his pace effectively. There is no reason why he cannot cut in and shoot like we have see him do before, but to make him a CF I think would handicap his abilities slightly, especially against certain teams where we need more physicality up front. So essentially, we are left with Giroud and Welbeck as our primary CF options. Akpom looks promising and I definitely want to see more of him this season, but I still feel we need someone slightly more flexible than Giroud with proven ability at the highest level.
This is why I think Benzema would be a welcome addition to our squad as I think he has all the abilities Giroud has, plus more pace and skill. For what is available right now, he is probably our best option. Sure, there are better CF’s out there but are all currently unavailable and this is why if we wish to be sure title contenders this season and after, we need to bring him in now.
I still worry though about our defensive midfield. This season we have Coquelin from the get go which is awesome, but also dare I say it a higher risk of him getting injured. I honestly think this will make or break our season as if he does get injured, we have Arteta as backup which with much respect to the Spaniard, he just is not cut out for that type of commitment and dirty work. Let’s hope Wenger has another surprise deal pending for a DM. I have read a few rumours concerning Lars Bender, he would be perfect to rotate with Coquelin.
I agree Big Gun Theo is one turn going face to face with a big CB who will go through him to get the ball. It will happen, but if Theo plans to be a counter attacking striker great but how many teams play us with a high line like Tottenham did the game he got injured.
It would seem to make sense for Benzema to move, otherwise he will waste his best years in Ronaldo’s shadow, but I’m not sure he has the intelligence to see that. His main priority seems to be some woman ATM……
Are we going to raid Barcelona again and take Sergio Busquets off their hands.
One thing that I think shoudl be added is Iwobi should be cover for the LW, and played as often as possible with Akpom. They have played together for so long now that they are very good together. In pre-season we saw a lot of blind passes between the two and great interplay.
Also Sanchez rates Akpom very highly and has nicknamed him Titi, (Thierry Henry’s nickname). Should be the breakthrough season for Akpom. If in 4-5 Years he isn’t a first team regular it is a serious negative.
I like the way Akpom plays but he needs to learn to look up and see if there is a better option rather than trying to do it all himself.
A very good article
and i like this point “Rotating the players could be the way to go this season depending on the opposition. Progress in UCL should also be top priority.” – totally agree…AW should start changing his familiar subbing tactics…Players can be brought on abit earlier than the usual 75Min mark and also in games that we way ahead, key players like Ozil, Sanchez should be given rests so they fresher on next games.
Was so excited about Benzema when I saw he on plane to London.
Think I was sucker punched 🙁
you and the rest of us 🙁
Either Benzema, Lewandowski, Ibrahimovic, Cavani, Aubmeyang, Reus, Greizmann, Draxler or Pedro would be nice.
Also either Busquets, Carvalho, Krychowiak, Bender or Gustavo would be nice too
Come on Wenger. Lets sweep some trophies
I really liked this article good break down of our team. We still need a striker to challenge with Giroud which would allow him to show of his best quality (Impact Sub) would love Benzema he would be perfect.
We still need a DM…Wilshere is still to raw and he likes his attacking mentality more Santi is getting on in age and I see Ramsey being his replacement (I would prefer Isco). But we do need a DM who has first team experience and as of today we are linked with Busquets. He would be very ideal experience, knowledge, guts and has great close footwork him and Santi would terrorise the midfield…
Sorry but anyone who thinks coquellin arteta alternation will dominate midfield ain’t on planet football … A decent combo for ncastle or Everton but ain’t going to deliver titles … Striker and forceful DM remain necessary to move beyond third or fourth place …. Again
Agree. Don’t want to rely on MA or Wilshire as backup for Coq. Imagine those two facing a counter attack from top club, with Per as their support. Absolute nightmare.
Wilshire can rotate with Ozil, and Arteta should rotate with assistant coach Bould. I like Arteta, but as a coach not a player.
Lastly, I think squad rotation to avoid over playing more important than new striker, based on those available. Better selection of top wingers than top strikers.
A message to Mourinho. Cech out our new look squad with our youngsters coming through.
maybe we dont need a striker..Wlacott scores nearly ever game he plays centrally..and we have the very dangerous Gnabry to occupy the right. Welbeck can be 4 th choice after Giroud and Akpom.
This article is the Best Pizza in the World of Gunners… I pray for no injuries and a EPL title then Next year UCL..
Good article. I agreed in all but 2 aspects.
1 – Wilshere is not and never will be a DM. He can play deeper but he is not a DM. For England he does a job – but England are currently terrible. From his deep role he is England’s most creative player…which says more about the state of the England team than it does about Wilshere’s ability as a DM. He struggles positionally, his tackling is not that great and he is not that great at judging the ball in the air to make up for his small stature. No, he could play deeper in an attacking game, but he is certainly not a DM in the sense that we usually use a DM and wouldn’t cope with counter attacks or applied pressure nearly as well as Coq. He may be an upgrade on Arteta though…which again says more about Arteta than Jack. P.S. Jack is one of my fave players so this isn’t me slating him – it’s just not his position.
2 – Left wing is our shortest position. I’m sorry but everyone says Alexis has it pinned down…and he does but only because Wenger likes a player cutting inside. He also likes players to swap wings and swap into the CF position. With no left sided natural attackers this highly limits our team shape because EVERY player is shifting towards the right. Now granted, it has worked before (Pires + Henry) but our biggest issue in attack always comes down to lack of width and this left sided problem remains a constant annoyance. Iwobi/Adelaide look like great options for a young covering player but I honestly think this is a problem position for us and has been for years. I’d worry less about RW if we are buying a winger and more about LW because this is the most open position. Ox looks like he’s about to jump up a level…possibly a HUGE jump. No need for a WC RW if we’ve got Ox, Theo, Welbeck and Alexis who can all play there…but only Alexis who can play LW. When you realise our only left footed players are Jack , Ozil and the two footed Santi, you realise why our width towards the left is pretty buggered as it takes a CM to drift out there to want to stay on their left foot!
I agree with your assertion that our transfer market priority should be a CF or goal scoring winger. Personally I see Wenger going for a Winger because the CF market looks dead. He has a history of converting wide men to CFs so he’ll probably look at some powerful, fast, technical wingers who have a knack for finishing rather than crossing. Hopefully he’s a left footer. I’d add that a DM cover would be a good buy. Carvalho is my current pick, he’s reasonably unproven on the biggest stage but has shown more than enough talent to make it there. I’d love to see us go in for him as cover and competition for Coq with the option to play a 2 man wall of the both of them. Many other options out there but I think these are our 2 priority positions.
Yo boys anyone tryna join a fantasy premier league? Its real competitive every year. The code is 403175-258509.
GO GUNNERS!!!! Bring hone the titile!!