About Yesterdays game & this coming season First, Constructive criticism is always valid in football and noone is bigger than the club, not even the manager. But the criticism should be valid... As many who watched the game live in Turkey said in Arsenal fansTV, that it was a poor performace. Much more worrying thing is that we lost our first choice pivot due to injuries/suspension. But this squad is actually very good and just needs reinforcements in two positions : a quality CDM and a Wc Striker 1) Cdm/Defensive Box mid The holding mid role is one of the most important positions in Arsenal, it is our metronome. Arteta has done an exceptional job, considering that he was a CAM(the best tackling cam in Europe when he was at Everton), but Arteta has lost his pace. But he plays well in the pivot when he has protection and is not pressed, and Ramsey protects him well, Just like Pirlo is protected in Juve by Pogba and Vidal. Problem occurs when Rambo gets injured. No other midfielder has the tenacity to play the Box mid role as good as Ramsey. So in the absence of Ramsey, our midfield gets bypassed without any resistance. Even at Etihad, our midfield tried to fight back and we wasted 3-4 good chances. At Anfield, Bridge and Goodison it was total collapse. Away games are a big worry and a Mobile/Physical cdm is a must... 2) The strange case of Olivier Giroud Is Giroud a bad Striker? no Is Giroud good enough to be first choice? no Just like Arteta, Giroud has certain limitations, one of them is his inability to score against good defense playing high line especially away from Emirates and the other is that he cant create a goal for himself. Since the time of Judas and even after he left, it was Theo who used to score in big games for us. His injury really hampered us last season. Is Giroud & Kos not match fit? well Debuchy played 4 games for France NT and he looks fit so thats not an excuse. Even Falcao played his first game after 7 months at Emirates and looked deadly so the fitness issue is not an excuse. Giroud has scored 40 goals in 100 games, which is a good record but Theo scored far more from the right wing in 2012/13 season and looked deadly with Ozil before getting injured. Giroud scored 22 goals last year but with the amount of easy chances missed last season, it should had been 30(There is a video of his 31 missed chances of last season, half against Big teams). And in Big games, every small chance is vital, it can change the whole dimension of the team. Moreover, the criticism of Giroud is not based on this one game. Weve watched him for two years. Hes in his prime. Hes had plenty of opportunity and our midfield creates a plenty of chances for him. Hes adequate when hes at his best, but far too often hes a liability who drags the team down. Hence I think the criticism is fully justified, however harsh it may be. Some say We need him for set-pieces, but a strikers duty is to score goal, not to defend. Same reason why many mocked Song when he was at Arsenal. As a Gooner in Arseblog said Im a fan of Giroud, is a good player but not as a 1st teamer, he is good as a super sub. Technically it true. He has always performed well when brought on as a sub... But being realistic can we get a Worldclass striker? nope...since we lost Suarez saga, there are no Worldclass striker available at the right price. But This strikeforce can work. Giroud starting against Lower 12 PL teams and in FA cup is a very good option, Playing him to his strengths. Alexis/Joel/Sanogo in Bigger games with Theo on right flank can work. As Gary Linekar tweetd yesterday Playing in front of Arsenals midfield should guarantee a minimum of 25-30 PL goals a season for a striker against all kind of teams. Gary was actually suggesting that WC strikers would be frothing at the mouth with our midfield behind them. PS : But right now we need a CDM more as there are many realistic options out there. Manolas is done according to 7-8 sources. Everton will be a tough game. But as the season goes the Axis of Alexis-Ozil-Theo will become deadly, hope all 3 can stay fit. But a CDM and intelligent rotation of this squad can improve this squad vastly ~Arun Advaid
Posted on: Wed, 20 Aug 2014 08:38:05 +0000