Hi Guys,
I haven’t written for JustArsenal for a while, but I thought we should discuss about the players we have right now, and what to expect next season in the context of ‘who is going to come in and who is going out’, So here are our current defensive options:
Goalkeepers: Szczęsny, Ospina, Martinez
I heard lots of people saying that we should sell our previous number one Szczęsny and buy a new goalkeeper. If you take into account that the dip in his form this season (along with the smoking incident) then add his father’s comments, it looks fair that most of the people are asking for him to be sold, but this is not how football works! You simply just don’t sell the previous season’s Golden Glove winner just because he lost some form. Simon Mignolet is the best example of this. He was rubbish at the start of the season and was replaced, but he got his chance back and now he is flourishing as he was doing before. Same goes with Joe Hart last season at Man City. It is very simple; you do not simply sell your player because he under performed half of a season, If we go by this logic then we should have already sold 90% of our team, moreover why would we want to sell our goalkeeper in his early 20s who can serve the club for at least another decade.
People are taking about Petr Cech coming in. Frankly speaking I cannot see Mourinho selling him to us, no matter what he says, and it will be kind of a luxury buy for us. If we have to pay 10 million for him we should spend it going for a better CDM.
Verdict: Expected outgoing : None
Expected Incoming : None
RB: Jenkinson, Debuchy, Bellerin
Bellerin has been a revelation this season, but so is Jenkinson while playing on loan for West Ham. Again I hear people saying we should sell Jenkinson but I don’t know why. Do you want to sell a British player in his early 20s just because you have Bellerin? Debuchy is not getting any younger and if we go by his injurious track record for us, we might need Jenkinson. And before you guys say that we have Chambers to cover I should remind you about the Swansea game, and many others, where he was ripped apart by quick wingers. For me he is not a RB and he should be either playing CB or CDM. One more thing which I would like to point out is that, out of all the three, Jenkinson has the best crossing ability – and with he style we play where Giroud is our target man, I don’t think it is wise to sell Jenkinson
Verdict : Expected outgoing : Jenkinson ( Maybe on loan again)
Expected Incoming : None
CB: Kos, Gabriel, Per, Chambers
I don’t see any one coming until we are shipping out Mertesacker. We have four centre backs and if we add Monreal and Debuchy to mix then we have SIX CB and I see no reason for us buying a new CB until or unless Mertesacker is leaving.
Verdict : Expected outgoing : Mertesacker (50%)
Expected Incoming : Subotic
LB: Monreal, Gibbs
Monreal has been in the finest form this season even replacing Gibbs as our number one. Next season I don’t see Arsene buying us a new LB (maybe next to next season) but our current two LBs are pretty good and on fire
Verdict : Expected outgoing : None
Expected Incoming : None
Will write about our midfield options in the next post
Thanks,
Kushal