A TALE OF 3 TEAMS…… by Ben Westrov
There has been major surgery on the Arsenal playing squad over the last couple of years but has anyone noticed the symmetry of what has taken place ? Three very balanced teams can be constructed, segmented into ‘the departed’, ‘the constants’ and ‘the newbies’. This is how they look :
THE DEPARTED
Ospina/Szczesny
Debuchy Chambers Gabriel Gibbs
Carzola Coquelin
Walcott/Chamberlain Wilshere Sanchez
Giroud
The obvious manager : Arsene Wenger
THE CONSTANTS
Cech
Bellerin Müstafi Koscielny Monreal
Xhaka Elneny
Iwobi Ozil Ramsey
Welbeck
The obvious manager : Steve Bould
THE NEWBIES
Leno
Lichtsteiner Sokratis Mavropanos Kolasinac
Torreira Guendouzi
Mkhitaryan Maitland-Niles Aubameyang
Lacazette
The obvious manager : Unai Emery
It prompts two obvious questions; which of the three teams would be come out on top in a small tournament? Who would feature in a composite team of the three?
What it does suggest is that there has been a very orderly and carefully thought through transition over the last thirty months or so. A complete team has been moved on, a complete team has provided some stability and a complete team has been acquired. In that time, Arsenal FC have stumbled but not fallen and, who knows, they may be on the cusp of a powerful renaissance.
Ben Westrov