Strength in Depth – Part I August 11, 2009

So, Arsene Wenger has revealed that he is unlikely to sign anyone until the season starts. Surprise! Surprise!But he was not asked if he will sign anyone before the window slams shut. So, how well stocked is our squad? Does he need to dip into his treasury and get a player or two in? Even if we do, will Wenger do it? And if he does buy someone, in what positions do we need cover? This might turn out to be a long post; so I will split this into two or three parts. The first part here covers the goalkeeper and defenders.

There are three fundamental assumptions I have made in writing this piece.

(a) Arsene believes that all players in his team have the requisite quality. He would not have signed them, if he was not convinced about that.

(b) I believe if we have 3 players for every position, with two of those players proven to be ready and one who has the right potential (and preferably played in the Carling Cup last season), we are well stocked.

(c) By all accounts, Arsenal are going to be playing a 4-3-3 this season. Arsene thinks this will bring the necessary defensive stability

On the basis of these assumptions, let us try and list down the team options:

Goalkeeper:

Almunia/Fabianski/Mannone(Szczesny) – Rumors abound that Arsenal are still in the market for a goal keeper. I like Almunia – he is solid without being spectacular. He kept us in several games last season with some excellent saves. Were he English, he would have git a lot more credit than he does now. Fabianski is still shaky and not ready for a long stretch of matches. I like Szczesny better than Mannone for both football and scrabble, and can see Mannone moving on next season. I think we have our bases covered here with Shea and McDermott next in line

Central Defense:

Gallas/Vermaleen; Song/Djourou; Senderos/Silvestre

If Senderos does move (and I think he will, though I wouldn’t mind him staying), we may sign someone. Or Wenger might decide that 5 people are good enough. The key here is that Wenger considers Song to be a central defender. He has made public statements to that effect and whenever he has had a chance, has experimented with Song there in pre-season. We need to defend set pieces better. All of us supporters can see that, so I am sure Wenger can as well. Will more time spent in the training ground sort out the problem? Or does Wenger need to bring in an Adams or a Keown? I don’t have the answers, but that is why Wenger is getting paid what he is.

I would also like to add a line for those who believe that Silvestre and Senderos are not good enough. They are your 5th and 6th choice center backs, for heavens sake! Who are the 5th and 6th choice at Man Utd or Chelsea or Liverpool? I am sure Mikael and Philippe are far better!

Left Back:

Clichy/Gibbs/Traore

Thanks to Cashley Cole’s timely departure, this part of our larder is fairly well stocked. All three are good going forward, but slightly susceptible defensively. I would like to believe that they, Cole and Gibbs especially, will cut out the mistakes after being on a steep learning curve for the last couple of seasons.

Right Back:

Sagna/Eboue/Hoyte (Lasbury)

I think we have a problem here. Sagna is clearly our first choice and I think he is great – solid, dependable and a great character. Eboue is being groomed as the back-up right back (after the failed experiment in mid-field for the last couple of seasons) and I have no complaints there as well. He is better than Sagna going forward, though his defensive positioning needs to improve. At third choice, we have a toss up between Gavin Hoyte and Henri Lansbury. Hoyte as pace to burn, but I think he will go out on loan this season (I doubt he has the nous to make it at Arsenal, though I would love to be proven wrong on this) and Lansbury will cover as 3rd choice. So far, so good. Where I am really concerned, is in the winter, when Eboue goes off for the ACN. If Sagna get injured for some time then, we are looking at Lansbury playing some really critical games in Jan/Feb. It might work, a la Gibbs, but it would be a very big risk. However, I don’t see Le Boss covering for this eventuality, so I can do nothing but worry and hope that Sagna stays fit during the ACN.

So that covers  my analysis of the back 5 – will be back with more tomorrow.

Meanwhile, a call to all Bangalore based Gooners – can we plan on catching up for the Everton match at some mutually convenient place?

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