Team Preview: Arsenal [Barclays Premier League 2014-15 Preview Series - 17/20] The Premier League 2014-15 is coming. During the 20 days to go, were previewing one team per day. This series is made with the help of: /u/thejanitorch4 /u/tet- /u/icameheretodrinkmilk /u/minminsaur /u/scaryberry /u/obi-wan-kenobi-nil /u/gilleard and all the preview guest contributors and club subreddits. This teams guest contributor is /u/Sulphur32Team Preview: [Barclays Premier League 2014-15 Preview Series - 17/20] Arsenal Football ClubAbout:Est: 1886Nickname: The GunnersStadium: Emirates StadiumCapacity: 60,338arsenal/homehttps://twitter/ArsenalClub subs: /r/gunners, /r/goonerspremierleaguehttps://twitter/premierleagueLeague sub: /r/PremierLeague/Last seasons team previewScarys noob preview for this teamStrip: Home Away ThirdNotable honours:Title or trophyNo.First Division / Premier League13FA Cup (current holders)11League Cup2European Cup Winners Cup1History:Arsenal were Founded in 1886 in Woolwich, originally named Dial Square. In 1893 they became the first club from the south of England to join the Football League. In 1913, they moved north across the city to Arsenal Stadium in Highbury. In the 1930s, they won five League Championship titles and two FA Cups. After a lean period in the post-war years they won the League and FA Cup Double, in the 1970–71 season, and in the 1990s and first decade of the 21st century, won two more Doubles and reached the 2006 UEFA Champions League Final. The club has a fierce rivalry with neighbours Tottenham Hotspur, theyll contest the North London derby twice in the league this year. Arsenal has one of the highest incomes and largest fanbases in the world. Forbess 2014 estimate put Arsenal as the fifth most valuable association football club in the world, valued at more than $1.3 billion.Recently:It was Wengers arrival in 1996 that took Arsenal in a U-turn. Prophetically, Legend Dennis Bergkamp turned up before the Wenger revolution. The old guard names of George Grahams fortress were replaced with swash-buckling knights: Vieira, Anelka, Petit, Overmars. Wenger built smartly and quietly. He revolutionised the British game. Between 1997 and 2002 Arsenal won two domestic doubles. Jaw-dropping football. 2003-04 was Invincible: 26 wins, 12 draws, zero defeats. The crown jewel, Thierry Henry, epitomised Wengers Arsenal: on his day he looked as if hed already seen the match highlights.Last season: Words by /u/Sulphur32Performance during 2013-14:PosGWDLGfGaGdLuCs%Pts4th3824776841+2794579Table keyLeague form, 2013-14 vs 2012-13, from The GuardianWell, we won a trophy. So that was nice. Even the most cynical Arsenal fans can’t help but be overjoyed at ending the so-called “drought”, and there is a widespread belief that winning the FA Cup, along with the club’s newfound financial power, will allow the squad to kick on and challenge for the Premier League and Champions League. Another highlight of the season was beating Spurs three times, twice in the league and once during the FA Cup run, without conceding a goal. Aaron Ramsey started the season looking like a solid, dependable performer in midfield but exploded into a top player capable of scoring from anywhere and displaying excellent creativity, all on top of an excellent defensive contribution.Per Mertesacker made the most appearances for Arsenal last season with 52 in all competitions. In that time he scored 3 goals and formed a strong partnership with Laurent Koscielny... Arsenal went the whole season at home unbeaten apart from a 3-1 loss on the first day of the season to Aston Villa... Arsenal failed to win their 3 away games to the teams who finished above them in the league (Man City, Liverpool & Chelsea), and in doing so, they conceded a total of 17 goals.Arsenal were remarkably consistent in grinding out results against mid and lower table teams. However, we’re all aware of the shocking deficiencies which caused them to surrender their lead in the title race and slip to 4th place. The familiar scourge of muscular injuries caused Ramsey to miss three months of the season. Walcott, Oxlade-Chamberlain and Podolski were further long-term casualties. And then there were the disasters at the Etihad, Anfield, Stamford Bridge and Goodison Park. Arsenal did not behave like a title-contending team in these matches, appearing to lose all self-control and seemingly unable to come to terms with what was happening.W W W W W W - Last six league form/u/gilleards 2014-15 Pixel PreviewFollow@ThePixelPLThis season: Words by /u/Sulphur32First 3 lg games:HomeAwaySat 16 Aug Arsenalv Crystal PalaceSat 23 Aug Evertonv ArsenalSun 31 Aug Leicesterv ArsenalComplete league fixtures for 2014-15 from premierleagueWenger, in the eyes of some, still has a lot of prove next season. Part of this has been going on this summer: after years of austerity fans want to see him put his money where his mouth is and make some big signings. Most Arsenal fans bar some angry middle-aged men on “ArsenalFanTV” are very happy with acquisitions such as Alexis Sanchez and Mathieu Debuchy. However there remains a general clamour for a physically imposing defensive midfield player, as doubts persist over Mikel Arteta’s suitability for the role. Moving forward, fans expect to see a more sustained title challenge next year, and vastly improved performances in games against the top teams in the division.In hindsight the summer of 2011 marked a transition period for Arsenal, after suffering years of flesh wounds in the transfer market Wenger’s young team finally had the heart ripped out of it with the sales of Francesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri. Ever since then a new team combining youthful exuberance with veteran campaigners has struggled to find any sort of consistency against the league’s top teams, until last season, in which they were consistently awful. With the spine of his new team in place, supplemented with a few signings, fans are hopeful that Arsenal will be able to match the best next season.Summer signings:Incoming PlayerPositionPriceFromTransfer TypeAlexis SánchezFW£35mBarcelonaFullMatthieu DebuchyRB£10mNewcastle UnitedFullDavid OspinaGK£3mNiceFullCalum ChambersCB£11mSouthamptonFullList of all completed team transfers from Sky SportsPossible first 11: Words by /u/alterheroAmongst Arsenal fans, the general consensus is that the following formation would be the strongest available first 11: Wojciech Szczęsny Mathieu Debuchy - Per Mertesacker - Laurent Koscielny - Kieran Gibbs Mikel Arteta(C) - Aaron Ramsey Theo Walcott - Mesut Özil - Alexis Sanchez Olivier Giroud However, recent comments from Arsene Wenger hint at the possibility of Alexis Sanchez being deployed as a striker.Key Players: Aaron Ramsey Alexis Sanchez Mesut OzilWildcard: Joel CampbellFormation: Wenger will most likely set up his team in his favoured 4-2-3-1/4-3-3 formation. The interesting question is whether he will persist with Olivier Giroud as the main striker, or have Alexis Sanchez play that role. The rest of the starting lineup looks very similar to last season with Debuchy slotting in as a direct replacement for Bacary Sagna at right-back. Alexis Sanchez will likely take Santi Cazorlas position on the left side of the attacking midfield trio.Squad Depth: Wengers team is pretty well stocked in most departments with good replacements in almost every position. There is still a bit of a worry about the defensive midfield and centre back position which are still a bit short, but could be sorted out by the start of the season. The striking department might be another point of contention in terms of depth, but between Olivier Giroud, Alexis Sanchez, Joel Campbell and Yaya Sanogo, there should be enough numbers up front to go through the season.Season Outlook: Wenger has moved early and decisively in the market so far to improve the squad, and plug some holes, which is very encouraging. One of the main problems addressed was the lack of pace up front with the signing of Sanchez as the team struggled to create as many chances in the absence of Theo Walcott, Oxlade-Chamberlain and Aaron Ramsey for large chunks of the season last year. All in all, the team is shaping up very nicely, and are probably a good holding midfielder away from having a real go at the premier league title. At this point though, Chelsea and City still possess better squads overall so a 3rd place finish is a highly likely outcome.Watch out for: Words by /u/Sulphur32Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain: The manager appears to have a lot of confidence in ‘The Ox’, both as a winger and a central midfielder. This has backfired on occasion, such as during the 6-0 defeat at Chelsea in which Oxlade-Chamberlain, playing as a central midfielder, completely failed to protect the back four. However he has all of the attributes needed to be a top-class player, and showed flashes in an injury-ravaged campaign, putting in excellent performances against the likes of Bayern Munich and Liverpool. Fitness and consistency will be key for him next season.Alexis Sanchez: All eyes will naturally be on him as one of the Premier League’s highest-profile new arrivals, and I’m sure that Alexis will live up to expectations. However it will be intriguing to see in what position he plays, as Wenger has hinted that he expects him to play as a central striker next season. It is as yet unclear as to whether he will replace Olivier Giroud as a lone striker, or will play just off the front-man as he did in his last season at Udinese, perhaps the most successful of his career so far. At any rate he will have to hit the ground running in the Premier League, despite the competition’s reputation as being a difficult one for foreign forwards to adapt to.Kieran Gibbs: After Baines’ rather disappointing World Cup performances, and with the advantage of experience over Luke Shaw, Gibbs must surely see the upcoming season as a golden chance to stake his claim to a permanent spot in the England squad. A much more understated and unspectacular player than his English rivals, the defensive prowess he offers (especially in the air) may make him an attractive option to the cautious Roy Hodgson.Full squad list for 2014-15 from TransfermarktThe manager: Words by /u/Growlbot_Arsène WengerBirth date: 22 October 1949 (age 64)Birth place: Strasbourg, FrancePrevious Position: MidfielderManagerial record:Clubs managedGWDLWin percentageArsenal1,01057823819457.23Total1,44677932134653.87Table keyInto his 18th year at the club and Wenger has seen it all. Even so, it took an FA Cup in May to give him breathing room. The feeling of holding a trophy again, the open top bus parade and a sense of rebirth must have bought renewed optimism. Two big names have booked taxis to Colney training ground; last season Mesut Özil, and this, Alexis Sánchez. £75m of prime world class talent. Against his instincts, Arsène has come to accept that nowadays you have to spend to win the Premier League. The gunners showed mental and physical frailty when tested last season, they went too early and suffered with cruel injuries. Ramsey will be key again and more goals are required from the midfield artists. Arsène could be lifting a bigger trophy in 2015, but it would be useful this time to have a little luck along the way.Discussion points: Words by /u/tet-Arsené Wenger finally shown Arsenal’s financial muscle by shocking the world to sign Mesut Ozil a year ago. This time around, he has upped the bar again with the acquisition of Chile’s Alexis Sanchez. Is this the start of Arsenal becoming a major force again, or will they always be one step behind United, City and Chelsea?With Jack Wilshere being publicly scrutinised by Paul Scholes regarding his stunted development, will he get inspired or turn into yet another promising English midfielder who never really becomes world class?If you can spare a second, vote here for where Arsenal will finish the season. Live poll results will be in tomorrows preview (Chelsea)Yesterdays Everton live poll resultsPoll results so farPoll voting will be live for all the teams until 15th AugustPrevious Previews | Future Preview schedule
Posted on: Tue, 12 Aug 2014 20:23:13 +0000
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