Arsenal: Signs of Improvement from Last Season

Another season has started and yet again the unrelenting sea of questions floods our minds: What has been done to improve the team’s fighting chances from last season? What has been improved?

Major or minor changes, one thing is certain: the team is not the same as last year.


Defence

Watching those matches last season, not once or twice sympathizers of Arsenal shuddered at the thought of losing either of the two first-choice defenders—Thomas Vermaelen and William Gallas.

And how wouldn’t they? Just a quick peek at the available options sitting on the bench was enough to perceive the inadequate defensive depth.

Arsene Wenger had 36-year-old Sol Campbell, 32-year-old-with-obvious-signs-of-aging Mikael Silvestre, and fallen-out-of-favour Philippe Senderos at his disposal.

This year though, things look slightly different.

The unused Senderos left the club along with three other over-30 defenders—Gallas, Silvestre, and Campbell.

In their shoes stepped Laurent Koscielny, Djohan Djourou—who missed the whole last season due to a serious injury—and the recent acquisition Sebastien Squillaci.

While a quick glimpse may reveal that this has done absolutely nothing to ease the depth problem—four out, two in—this conclusion would be nevertheless deceiving.

William Gallas has been directly replaced by Sebastien Squillaci. Both are experienced enough and with somehow similar characteristics.

Sol Campbell and Michael Silvestre have been replaced by Johan Djourou (who can be considered a new signing) and Laurent Koscielny.

As you can see, the ratio has changed: three out, three in. Meaningless to say, the incumbent defenders are much younger, and so possessing the needed pace to deal with the high Premier League’s tempo.


Midfield

The midfield was top class last season. Inspired, they created goals, scored them, and had wide variety in their game. Hardly a lot could be done to improve this further. But it has.

Keeping Cesc Fabregas was the main event that ensured the safe environment for the younger players to develop in stayed intact. Securing the main holding block is not the only positive outcome of this summer though.

Youngsters such as Jack Wilshere and Theo Walcott have improved tremendously, despite what most critics say about them.

Wilshere was awarded his first ever international call, and Theo Walcott hinted for his world-class potential by scoring a hat-trick against newly-promoted Blackpool.

These are sure signs that Wenger has two upgraded options at his disposal for this year’s Premier League battle.

On top of that, the influential Thomas Rosicky’s return from injury is a further moral boost for his team-mates. Add to the picture the overt signs that Samir Nasri is getting used to the English way of football and the future looks bright.


Attack

Although little has changed in the forward ranks, reasons for smiling are not totally absent. Having let go of Eduardo, Wenger has acquired a physically strong striker with great heading abilities in Maroune Chamakh.

This exchange could be viewed as an improvement since, unfortunately, Edu looked as he was not able to shake off his horrific encounter with Birmingham’s defender Martin Taylor a couple of years ago.

At the beginning of the last season, Arsenal started well and strolled to the top of the table. This was partly due to the form that Robin van Persie was in.

However, after he received an injury during an international friendly match with his country, the Gunners started struggling to find goals. With a little more luck this year, the Arsenal goal-making machine will stay fit which could be exactly the dose needed to cure the title-drought disease.



Player Growth

It’s a mistake to consider a player stays at the same level of quality every season.

This is exactly the case at Arsenal, especially with the young footballers.

Theo Walcott, Jack Wilshere, Alex Song, Abou Diaby, Aaron Ramsey, Samir Nasri, Vito Mannone, Wojceich Szczesny, Emannuel Frimpong, Kieran Gibbs, Carlos Vela and Nicholas Bendtner have all gone through the tribulations of growing as players.

And they continue to do so.

Since last year, we have seen signs of growth and that shouldn’t be discounted. Alex Song transformed into an important first team player and will beyond doubt continue to develop.

Similar is the case with Theo Walcott. The short quick striker was used predominantly on the wing as part of his development process. Against Blackpool, we saw him efficiently swapping positions with his attacking partner Maroune Chamakh which only hinted how deadly Walcott can be in the centre.

Nicholas Bendtner also proved to be on the right track last year. He more than adequately played the role of a lone striker when no one else was there to do it.


Conclusion

Arsenal are not the same team as last season; that should be clear. Improvements which seem minor at a first glance are actually huge steps towards the completion of the team.

Arsene Wenger wouldn’t have signed another contract if he wasn’t sure of that.

With a little more luck, the seed that was planted years ago, that grew into a young tree, might grow into a strong, unmovable oak.

And the sea of questions floods our minds again, only this time it is: How will these improvements help? Is the team ready at last?

Arsenal: Four Things We Learned From the Gunners' Visit To Anfield

he first brick of Arsenal's newest Premier League campaign was laid yesterday in front of a uncomfortable crowd of Liverpool fans jam-packing the mythical Anfield. The match was going to be tough and all the players and managerial staff knew it.

As the game progressed, an image, differing from the one pundits and fans had in their minds, began to form.

With a pretty evenly distributed arms between the two teams, the skirmish finished in justified stalemate, 1-1. The boredom of the result was dispersed by the affairs that unfolded in front of the- content-to-see-the-beginning-of-the-new-season football fans.

Four events, especially, pointed the direction of a truth-seeking gaze – truths that may just well lead to repairing the past mistakes or foretelling the outcome for the teams and new season.



An Average Arsenal without Captain Cesc Fabregas

After Wenger's statements in early preseason preparation, it was hardly surprising to see that two of the most important players for Arsenal were not going to take part in the season opening game at Anfield. Leaving Robin van Persie on the bench, and team captain Cesc Fabregas completely out of the squad, Arsene Wenger stayed true to his intentions to give them a good rest after a tiring World Cup.

That inevitably affected Arsenal.

At times, despite the creative flair of Samir Nasri, and Andrey Arshavin, the Gunners looked unimaginative and dull. Simple short passes and persistence through the centre, especially in the first half, painted the picture of a team trying to keep possession but lacking sharpness to capitalize from it at the same time.

The final touch was missing. The distributions to the lone striker upfront were predictable and easy to deal with for the experienced Liverpool backs.

Someone with vision was missing to wreak havoc in the Liverpool defense with a well executed through or high balls. Someone exactly like Fabregas.

The team needs him, for his absence was once again felt on the field. Despite grabbing a valuable point in a difficult encounter, the staff must work throughout the season to ensure that the team will not fall into the void of relying on a single player.



New Signings Ready for the Premier League Challenge

Arsene Wenger is known for his accurate assessment of talent and right qualities when looking for possible team-upgrading players. Maybe he has succeeded in doing that yet again.

Maroune Chamakh looked like exactly the type of weapon Arsenal needs for its attack. His energy and fearless commitments to clashes provided another dimension for the Gunners's game. And in one such case, it proved to be crucial for the final result.

Maroune lurched forward to meet Pepe Reina for a 50-50 ball, won it, and following Reina's mistake, evened the result near the end of the game.

The other signing, Lauren Koscielny, also put up a good official debut. His performance was tainted only by the second yellow card he received in injury time.

Near the end of the first half, he felt what was like to play in the Premier League when new Liverpool addition Joe Cole made a committed tackle that missed the ball, landing on the French defender's right leg.

If it hadn't been the protecting pads, Koscielny's career at Arsenal could have been brought to an abrupt setback. But he found strength to go back and finished the game with a resolute facial expression.

While it's too early to conclude whether the new signings are a success, they must be credited for their good start. “A piece of English football; we are not afraid to taste it.”

Once again, well done, Mr. Wenger.


The Gunners Face a Familiar Season of Pain Yet Again

The excessive use of force to disrupt the technical game of the men clad in red and white has turned into something of a trade mark for the opposing teams. And how can you blame them? It has worked miracles so far with its efficiency.

The tactics look bound to stay the same this season. A single game has passed, and we already see the signs of concern.

Joe Cole's tackle on Lauren Koscielny and Steven Gerrard's sweep on Maroune Chamakh are just the beginning. The Arsenal players have to toughen up in order to deal with this problem. But that is not the only solution.

The referees must be more strict and able to differentiate between commitment and just pure ill-intended aggression. Something they have failed to do on numerous occasions in the previous years.

One thing is certain: the Gunners will have to test their pain threshold once again, and hopefully, this time, they'll come out on top with no major casualties.



Scoring Goals Out of the Blue Can Make the Difference

We all know that the difference between a good team and the champion is that the champion will score important goals even when they do not deserved to. How many times have we seen Manchester United or Chelsea play bad and be victorious?

This is exactly what happened with Arsenal on Saturday.

That's not to say they didn't deserve the draw, but they were certainly heading for a defeat had it not been the lucky Chamakh intervention that lead to the mistake of Pepe Reina.

If Arsenal can sustain the spirit they showed against Liverpool, luck just might turn the tide this season.

One game – a tough one – one point. It's not what someone would call a disappointment.

Arsenal: Tweaks to Defense Is the Key to Long-Awaited Title Glory

“Titles are won by the defense” said Tony Adams, Mr. Arsenal, in an interview earlier this year. Actually, he is not far from the truth.

While there are a lot more other factors that could contribute to a successful football campaign, history has backed his statement more than once.

Last season, the team with the second-best defense, but nevertheless with the best attack, snatched the precious silverware.

A careful look at the statistics from the seven seasons preceding that event will reveal that the teams that have managed to concede the fewest goals have been crowned champions of England (2009 Manchester United—24 goals conceded, ’08 Manchester United—22, ’07 Manchester United—27, ’06 Chelsea—22, ’05 Chelsea—15, ’04 Arsenal—26, ’03 Manchester United—34).

As you can see, a big factor for winning what seems to be one of the hardest competitions, apart from obviously scoring more than 90 goals, is to concede less than 30 goals.

That, however, looks beyond the currently drowned in trophy-drought Arsenal.
Why you may ask? Well, because Arsene Wenger’s team is still a few steps away from being complete.

While the men carrying the red badge showed enviable skills in attack, they somehow failed to curb the goal galore at the other end of the field. Since the famous “Invincible” season which the Gunners finished without suffering a single defeat, they have performed under the requirements set by their own genius.

Last season, Arsenal conceded 41 goals, the one before 37, in 2008—31, ’07—35, ‘06—31, ‘05—36. The matter of fact is that Wenger’s men have been conceding more than 30 goals in every season after their last Premier League triumph.

But before pessimism envelops us, we must remind ourselves of the transition that Arsenal has been going through since that undefeated run in 2004. The erection of the new Emirates Stadium undeniably delayed the rebuilding of the squad due to financial issues, but also opened new doors for further development.

Now, Arsenal is gathering the fruits off the tree that was planted four years ago (Emirates Stadium was opened in 2006). Things are slowly returning to normal, and although the team is still incomplete, it is in no way far from it.

Wenger has managed to put together a squad capable of inflicting deadly damage to any opposition. But that has not been enough, and the French tactician knows it. The time has come to smooth out the defense.

Last season’s partnership between William Gallas and Belgian revelation Thomas Vermaelen managed to defy the critics.

Following consistent good performances by the two, Arsenal’s carefree life at the back was cut prematurely short by an injury of William Gallas which uncovered the insufficient defensive depth.

That shook the defensive stability, and eventually Arsenal finished the league third, having conceded 41 goals in the process.

A fast forward up to now, and we see that little has been done to alleviate this pain.

An exodus of experienced, but considered by some unfit to play due to their age, defenders has occurred.

William Gallas, Philippe Senderos, Sol Campbell, and Mikael Silvestre bid their farewell to the Arsenal cause. The signing of Laurent Koscielny has put the fans’ minds to rest for a while, but certainly more needs to be done to avoid a repetition of last season’s scenario.

And I’m not saying this only when considering the defensive depth of the team. With one more defender, the depth will be sufficient, and if not, the problem will possibly be delayed up until the winter transfer window.

The thing is that the defender needed must be the right one.

At the moment, Arsenal has three capable and of similar mould central defenders: Thomas Vermaelen, Laurent Koscielny, and Johan Djourou—all of them posses pace, strength, and good positioning. This type of defenders would fit perfectly well into the dynamic style of play that Wenger is obviously trying to implement.

The facts are that Vermaelen has the tendency to go forward, Djourou has been tested as a midfielder in preseason, and Koscielny is still adapting, so we must wait a bit for him.

Their speed supports the dynamism and allows them to go forward when set pieces are involved. If the attack is unsuccessful, for example, they can hurriedly track back to prevent any damage from counter-attacks.

Add Song, who can also track back to help them defend, and things look bright on paper.

So far so good, but what lacks is dependability—a defender that does all the little seemingly insignificant things and stays responsibly back at all times; a tall defender preferably with above average speed and very good positioning. Not someone to organize the defense, but someone who is stable and consistent at doing his defensive responsibilities; someone in the mould of Steve Bould, for example.

This way the other defenders will feel safe to contribute to the attack of the team.
The only one I can think of, and that Arsenal have in the current squad, is Johan Djourou. He fits the bill, but his injury proneness might create headaches as the new season starts.

A good way of dealing with this problem is by buying one more defender of those depicted qualities. If Le Professor does that then the team would be only one step away from completion—and that would be the goal keeper step.

With the new fascinating emblem that the Emirates Stadium is, the leverage has drastically multiplied, and as time passes by it will continue to do so.

Let’s just hope Arsene Wenger will listen to the advice of one of his ex-players, Tony Adams, and will put the final brick into the defensive wall.

You never know, the title might be one central defender away. Just the right one.