Contract issues

Evening everyone.

Still not much happening due to a flurry of international games, but at least all our players have come through unscathed for now.

Well, actually, there's one exception: Mesut Ozil. The German hasn't featured for die Mannschaft twice, both in their loss to Argentine and in their narrow win over Scotland. This casts a shadow of doubt over Ozil's potential involvement on Saturday.

Those of you who watched Leicester vs Arsenal should remember how our playmaker hurt his ankle and needed lengthy treatment on the sidelines. Had he sustained that knock a couple of minutes earlier, Mesut would have been substituted, but he didn't and thus we had no chance to take the German off. Instead, he played the remainder of the game and this, I suspect, wasn't the best thing for him to have done.

So now Ozil is a doubt for Man City game. The reigning champions have problems of their own, with Kompany and Jovetic both likely to miss through injury, so that's a bonus, which can make our life easier.

The seriousness of Ozil's injury is yet to be confirmed by the manager, so maybe his absence from the Germany squad was a precaution above all else, but even if it wasn't, we have players to fill the hypothetical void left by Mesut. Not ideal, we all remember how Arsenal struggled to create chances without the German, but not end-of-the-world stuff either.

For starters, there's Tomas Rosicky, who's expressed his displeasure at not being player regularly. Then again, Ozil played on the wing, so we may introduce Oxlade on the left with Sanchez on the right or vice versa. Now that we have Welbeck, Arsene can afford to ease Sanchez into his new position. I'll go over our options in the usual preview, the picture should become clearer by then.

In other news, Arteta and Giroud seem to be on the brink of being offered new contracts. The Frenchman should get a two-year extension, while our captain will get only a one-year deal. His current one expires in less than twelve months. Giroud is under contract until 2016.

I've already talked about how Giroud is important to our current set-up, so I have no problem with him staying. We're yet to see what role Welbeck will fulfil, so Giroud's position is also unclear, but Olivier is definitely a quality back-up striker, if not more. I suspect the Frenchman will be behind Sanchez in the pecking order (after the Chilean adapts, of course), but, as these two have completely different playstyles, it's not saying much. With Welbeck on board things become complicated, but we'll see.

Arteta, meanwhile, is no less important, than Giroud. The Spaniard was made captain for a number of reasons. Firstly, he is a leader and his mere presence is vital. He helps his teammates, supports them, spurs them on when needed be. Arteta is important for the morale of the team.

The other reason is that the Spaniard remains a crucial cog in our machine. Deployed as a deep-lying midfielder he sweeps up and helps the defenders out, while his metronomic passing sets a tempo to our game. There's a criticism aimed at Mikel for not being fast enough on the ball (he may be, but I still cannot recall when was the last time Arteta lost it under pressure). Also, the Spaniard was vilified for his weak display against the top sides, but I tend to look at these results as a collective failure.

However, complications regarding Arteta's role may arise. We all know Arsene is somewhat reluctant to offer big contracts to players over 30 (Arteta turns 33 in March) and it's for a reason: more often than not these players have to accept reduced roles. The reduced roles usually bring about reduced salaries, something that won't make our skipper happy. It's not like he's one of the highest-paid at the Club, so a drop in wages may be tangible.

Finally for today, Jack Wilshere has hit back at Jamie Rednapp for being a two-bit idiot (I kid, I kid. He IS an idiot, but Jack hasn't said so.) Rednapp said there are no more excuses for Wilshere not to perform, to which the Englishman replied:

“To hear people go on TV and say: ‘He’s got to get fitter,’ well, I don’t need that. I listen to people like the boss here, Gary Neville, people who talk a lot of sense and can help me with my game. It doesn’t ‘hurt’ me, hearing criticism from ex-players. It probably disappoints me a little bit more. I heard what Robbie Savage said and that was, if you like, the first ex-player to give me constructive criticism. I respected that. I’ll take criticism. I know that’s part and parcel of football. But when it’s just reckless and aggressive, I don’t listen.”

There's a good boy. Frankly, Wilshere knows he has to deliver, but criticising him after just one game is as absurd as it gets. You can read the rest of the interview here.

That's it for today, back in a couple of days with fresh news

Until then

Follow me on Twitter (@AlexBaguzin)

Uefa finally talking sense + squad depth

Evening everyone.

Despite the Interlull in full swing we still have new bobs and bits to discuss. I'll start with the elite managers' meeting in Nyon.

Truth be told, I didn't understand the purpose of it up until today. Why yank the best managers out of their respective clubs for two days? Just so that they could shake hands and say some things about one another? For the most part, that's exactly what they did, but there's also an upside to the proceedings.

Thing is, Uefa is willing to listen to the opinions of the most tactically astute managers. It remains to be seen, whether Platini and Co just listen and then dismiss the talk as nonsense or they actually might change something, but rumours are in place about some possible changes. These include a revamp of an away goal rule and the way teams are being seeded into pots.

Why do I think it's more than just rumours? Because it was in the Guardian (just click the link above) and this paper rarely runs a story with nothing to back it up.

I'm sure you are familiar with the away goal rule and so you can get why managers want to try and change it. Honestly, why does such an important thing as progressing in a major European tournament has to depend on geographical whims? Now it's not as hard to beat teams away from home, so why does a 3-1 has more value than a 2-0? Why, if you have conceded at home, does it have to be such a big deal? We all know that a team which plays first leg away from home is more likely to go through. They just have to score once to put the chances of the opposition in serious jeopardy.

How heartbreaking was it to see Arsenal heroically beat Bayern away only to crash out on aggregate due to scoring only two goals away? Both teams have scored three, why is it okay for one of these to qualify and the other bade farewell?

The other change sounds scary, but it also sounds raw and unlikely. Someone came up with idea, that only champions have to be seeded in the first pot. So either Barca or Real Madrid, for instance, will only be seeded in the second? And what does it mean for teams that qualify from third or fourth place? They' ll be seeded in the third or fourth pot respectively and will potentially have to fight three teams, which have done better in their respective leagues? Imagine Arsenal finishing fourth (God forbid) and be seeded with Real, Napoli and, say, Schalke. How's that fair?

Good thing is, it's all talk at this stage and any potential changes are far from being introduced. So not to worry right now, but it'll be interesting to see, whether Uefa really cares about football and will take the managers' view.If they don't, then this meeting was just a PR exercise.

In other news, Podolski revealed he had a talk with Arsene about his prospects:

"I had a very good conversation with the manager. He has stressed he is putting trust in me and my qualities."

However, Poldi's decision to stay can also be the consequence of no offers being on table:

“A move away from Arsenal did not fall through because I had no offers to move. 

“There have been enquiries from other countries, also from Bundesliga clubs, but I am from Cologne and it would have been tough for me to represent any other German club." 

Frankly, I don't much care why Poldi stayed. The fact that he did is the most important, however, it should be noted that he is more or less happy with his position and ready to fight for his place and to contribute in the process.

The German is a kind of player who's unlikely to become our regular starter (esp. given his age), but it doesn't mean he's of no use. On the contrary, I view him as a kind of super-sub (not quite Chicharito, but still), who can make his stamp on the game by coming on and scoring.

Poldi also adds much-needed depth to our side, ensuring the manager has options and various ways to tackle problems, should they arise. Also, Poldi has experience some of our younger players lack, experience, which can be crucial sometimes, which can make the difference in a game.

That's it for today. Sorry it's a bit short, but the hour is late and I'm dead on my feet. More here later, as soon as it appears.

Have a good weekend

Follow me on Twitter (@AlexBaguzin)

Thoughts on Welbeck's role

Hello folks.

The Interlull continues to drag by, with most Arsenal players away on international duty. These include Calum Chambers (who made his first appearance for the Three Lions yesterday). Danny Welbeck was also involved in England's narrow 1-0 win over Norway, coming on as a substitute at around 70th minute mark. I later saw cries on Twitter that Welbeck deserved to become MoM for his performance, but that's not important for me. What matters is that Danny is alright and not down with this ankle injury. There are at least two more games ahead, though, so every our player will have enough time to get well and truly knackered.

We are yet to see the manager's take on our latest addition, as Arsene attends some kind of elite managers' get-together in Nyon. But Webeck has already given an interview to the official site. He said all the usual nicities and looked a decent chap, until he started using "we", referring to him as part of this Arsenal team. At this point he became a true hero for most our fans and a downright traitor for United (to put it mildly).

The interview aside, we also had an opportunity to look at Welbeck's departure through the eyes of a United fan. He talks at length about what Welbeck can bring to the side. I'll try dissecting it:

"Physically, Welbeck is a superb athlete, having an excellent combination of strength and mobility in addition to superb stamina. This makes it difficult to know how to defend against him because, although he prefers running in behind, he is very comfortable with his back to goal."

That's really good to hear. I suspect Welbeck will most likely be deployed as a target man in Giroud's absence, simply because we have Sanchez and Walcott, who excel at running in behind. Also, I'm not exactly sure Giroud will be first choice upon returning, but we'll cross that bridge when we get there.

On how technical Welbeck is with the ball at his feet:

"I'd say Danny's technique is on a similar level to Ramsey, very good though not on the elite level of the likes of Ozil and Wilshere. He is inconsistent when trying flicks and tricks but his passing, particularly in tight spaces, is top notch for a striker."

Someone duly noted that we haven't had a striker who can run with the ball since van Persie left. And you can see what they mean. I feel highly uneasy every time Giroud receives the ball facing the goal, to say nothing about Sanogo. To have a target man, who can also work with the ball is soothing. Another point scored for Danny.

On what weaknesses Welbeck has:

"Welbeck's main weakness, indeed I'd say his only truly major one, is his finishing, which admittedly is a pretty fundamental weakness for a striker. This isn't a matter of technique because if you look at the goals he has scored, there are a lot of high-quality finishes in there, it's more a combination of nerves and pressure."

He then goes on to elaborate this thought by saying Welbeck had to fight for his place with van Persie and Rooney, which forced him to rush his chances. What is surprising, is that Danny had a very good conversion rate, when given a run-out in his favoured central position in 2011-2012. He had a better conversion rate than Rooney and later van Persie. He also outstrips Giroud by quite some distance when it comes to putting chances away.

On Welbeck's wide role:

"This has been more about bad luck on Welbeck's part than anything else. Between 2008 and 2010 he played 24 games for United and eight more on loan at Preston before going on loan to Sunderland for a season. He got the chance to play up front in 2011/12 and generally did a very good job but then we signed Van Persie and that, combined with a lack of decent left-sided wingers meant that he was shifted wide, not unlike how Wilshere was shifted wide for Arsenal last season due to a combination of injuries and Ramsey's form."

I'm pretty sure we won't use Welbeck wide often. It'll definitely be madness now, when we have plenty other flank players and Giroud out. We'll see what happens upon the Frenchman's return, but asking Danny to play on the left with Cazorla, Podolski, Campbell and even Alexis in the squad will look odd, to say the least.

Finally, on how Giroud compares to Welbeck:

"Firstly his lack of mobility means he can't occupy both centre backs, which means the defence will always have a man spare to track runners from midfield. Secondly, his absolute refusal to countenance making a run behind the defence, whilst being stubbornness that Ian Paisley would be proud of, makes it so much easier for teams to press high against Arsenal, reducing the space that players like Ozil, Wilshere and Cazorla have to work in and putting more pressure on the defensive midfielder, which, whether it be Arteta or Flamini, is not something you really want."

Danny solves this problem, as he can run behind defenses, forcing centre-backs to be an alert. This in it's turn, allows Ozil and Co to operate more freely, which can cause immense problems to the opposition.

In other words, Welbeck sounds just the man we need. Not only in the short-term, but for years to come. If Wenger helps the Englishman to fulfil the potential the young man definitely has. If you feel like it, you can read the rest of the interview here.

That's it for now, back as soon as something new pops up.

Until later

Follow me on Twitter (@AlexBaguzin)

Season preview = transfer window review: Welbeck becomes our latest addition

First things first: with less than two hours to go before the transfer window's closure, Arsenal has signed Danny Welbeck. The first one to inform the fans of this signing was Alan Smith, former Gooner himself. He was apparently sitting through some kind of interview when he got a notification. Alan took to Twitter immediately to relay the news: "Welbeck to Arsenal. 16 million."

I have to say, that's a very good addition. The Englishman is only 23, he's a versatile striker who can play both with his back to the goal and facing it. He can also play on the flank, though he seems less effective there.

The general reaction from United fans (and their opinion is more informed, than ours) is that we have signed a very good striker. Danny was deemed surplus to requirements at United after the Red Devils signed Falcao. We were also told to have been in the mix for the Colombian, but I doubt it, especially after I've seen his wage demands: 346k per week! His one-year-loan has cost United 20 million and there's a compulsory buy-out clause at the end of it. Something around 65 million. Although this 20 million loan price tag includes (at least partly) Falcao's ridiculous wage demands, I don't think it's a reasonable price to pay. Yes, he's very good, yes, he fits our system, but he's also 28. Good luck to him at United, but Falcao to Arsenal? No thanks.

With all that in mind, I think it's time for a season preview. I know we've already played five games, but the picture wasn't complete until today. Now it is and we can get down to what Arsenal fans can expect from this season:

Goalkeepers

Fabianski and Viviano left us as soon as their contracts expired and it was obvious we needed at least one quality keeper. Whether it would be just an experienced shot-stopper like Schwarzer or someone to genuinely challenge Szczesny was not very important. Just because everyone knew Wojciech would start the season as our number one.

However, it's fair to say we've got more than we could have expected, when David Ospina, one of the goalkeepers who shined at the World Cup, signed for us. For a meagre sum of 3.5 million. A bit later Damien Martinez was promoted to the first squad and it became obvious to further arrivals in that area will happen. Not that we needed any.

The conclusion: we have two quality keepers on our hands and a young player who, with time, may well become good enough to be our number one. Szczesny will start most games for now, barring an injury to the Pole, but I'm sure Ospina will play in the cups and will get his shot at the first team sooner, rather than later.

Defenders

Our most troublesome area. The departed Sagna was replaced quickly and efficiently by his compatriot Debuchy and then we added Chambers on top. We bought the Englishman as back-up to Debuchy and so have let Jenks go on loan, as he seemingly had no chance to play regularly. This is one of our not-so-good decisions during this summer.

Jenks was quickly followed out of the door by our captain Thomas Vermaelen, but, unlike Jenko, Thomas left us permanently, signing a contract with Barcelona. Arsene promised to buy a CB, specifically emphasizing that Chambers was bought as a right-back, but no CB arrived.

We started the season with a pair of central defenders Koscielny-Chambers, cause Mertesacker had a prolonged holiday. At one point during the Community Shield game, we had Kos substituted for Monreal, as the former was not completely fit due to his continued involvement with France's national squad. All our hopes were piled on the deadline day of the transfer window to sign a CB, but none came. Worse still, Miquel completed his permanent switch to Norwich  and that means we have only six senior defenders right now. Seven, if we promote Bellerin (which we should have done regardless), but two of these will only be 19, meaning Mert and Kos are the only senior centre-halves at our disposal. Not pretty, we are skating on very thin ice here. Of course both Chambers and Monreal can deputise at the centre, even Flamini can play there, but it's not their best positions.

The conclusion: we are very short in this particular area and I fear that might come back to haunt us during the campaign. I cannot, for the world of me, understand why we haven't signed Nastasic, who was definitely available. Or Papastatopolous. Or Manolas. We are now basically asking Koscielny and Mertesacker to play in four competitions, which can amount to 50-60 games in total. Thank God Per has quit international football, but Arsene better have some contingency plan still.

Midfielders

We are not short in this area, that's for sure. Though the fabled DM never arrived, I always thought it's unlikely for two reasons:

1. Chambers can play there. Even more, Arsene himself said that's where the Englishman will play in the future. Not this season, however, as Calum is badly needed elsewhere.
2. Arteta was made captain, which basically makes him undroppable. He's an important cog in our machine, one of AW's most trusted players and I don't think the boss made Mikel our skipper to then unceremoniously drop him to give way to a shiny new buy.

In all other areas, we have an abundance of talented players. Wilshere, Ramsey, Rosicky, Cazorla, Ozil. No buys here makes complete sense, although I do wonder whether we have made a mistake by not re-signing Cesc Fabregas. Of course we know Arsene wants to build a team around Ozil, but seeing Cesc rock at Chelsea as basically a DM breaks my heart. If nothing else, we may have deployed our former player alongside Arteta or Ramsey at the base of the triquetra (assuming we stick to 4-2-3-1). Still, the Spaniard would have cost around 25 million and that could have cornered us in other areas in financial respect. And these other areas needed investments badly.

The conclusion: bar, possibly, a DM we are as well-stocked as it gets. Once again we face the risk of being overrun in midfield in big games, but I hope Arsene will figure a way around it. Change the formation, maybe play Chambers there. Anyway, we're likely to see an overhaul in defensive midfield next season, as Arteta, Flamini, Diaby and Coquelin (don't laugh) enter the last year of their respective contracts.

Strikers

Exceeding expectations. We've set the right tone to our summer by signing Sanchez early on, the went on to retain Campbell's services and rounded the summer off by signing Danny Welbeck after Giroud sustained a serious ankle injury. Whether that last buy was dictated by the domino effect (Danny became available after United signed Falcao), the fans (singing "sign some f*cking players" at the Leicester game) or it was a pre-planned event by Wenger and Co we'll never know for certain. However, as things stand, we are well off up front even with Giroud out until New Year.

Should the flanks be a concern? They should, if Arsene continues to deploy Ozil there, but from a purely tactical point of view. Number-wise we have a lot of players. Walcott, Oxlade, Cazorla, Podolski, Campbell. Rosicky can play there, if needed be. There are lingering doubts over Poldi's and Campbell's contribution, but I think both need to be given time. Then we'll judge them in terms of what both can bring to the team.

The conclusion: without Welbeck we would have looked frail, having only unconvincing Sanogo as a target-man. With Danny, we have options available for whatever plan Arsene chooses to utilise. I think Tim Stillman was right, when he pointed out in his column, that, for now, we'll play with a target man and as soon as Sanchez adapts to our style and we adapt to his, the Chilean will become our main forward. Welbeck and Giroud will become "Plan B", in case "Plan A" doesn't work. Sounds good.

Overall

Personally, Arsene has surprised me. Though I stated before the window opened that we need 4-6 signings to build on our success and compete till the end, I never actually thought we'd sign more than three players. Have to give the gaffer credit, where it's due.

For now, it's hard to say whether we can mount a serious title challenge, as we haven't truly clicked yet, but then I guess no one did. We'll know more after 10-15 games.

As for the other tournaments, I'd say we can go the distance in all of them. Definitely in the national cups, as we've won one of these even without some nice additions. Champions League presents, of course, a much more serious challenge, especially since we've landed in one of the hardest groups. But we have experience qualifying for the knock-out stages for, like, 13 consecutive seasons and when we get there, the game is on. Teams rarely make it to the last sixteen without a good reason.

That's it for today, probably will be back it two days, as the Interlull kicks in and news will be on the thin.

Until later, have a good week

Follow me on Twitter (@AlexBaguzin)

Leicester 1-1 Arsenal: poor performance highlights our problems

Evening folks.

So, yesterday we've dropped points against Leicester. As if this in itself wasn't enough, the Foxes actually could have nicked a win in the dying seconds, but for a brilliant save from Szczesny and a miss from Drinkwater. There was also that one-on-one, which nearly resulted in me having a heart attack, but some bloke put the ball into the side netting. However, let's start at the beginning.

The line-up

It featured some surprises alright. The defense was the same as from our midweek game, however midfield and attack were tampered with by the manager. Oxlade and Wilshere (amazingly) dropped to the bench. The only explanation I can give is that both Englishmen were called up to Ruy Hodgson's side and so they need a little R&R. Ramsey and Sanogo came in.

Our formation? Seemingly 4-1-4-1: Flamini in the holdnig role, Ramsey and Cazorla centrally, Alexis and Ozil on the flanks. Now, say whatever you want, but there's a reason Ozil said he's not at his best on the left: he really is far from his prime there. Who would have thought?

The first half

We tried to dominate the game by seizing control of possession and two problems became exposed immediately:

1. Leicester looked very dangerous on the counter, using our left flank to great effect. No surprise: Ozil is not the one to track runners. He switched flanks with Sanchez as the half progressed and that addressed the issue somewhat.
2. Sanogo isn't technical enough to lead our line. Every time he received the ball he looked at a loss at what he should with it. This caused if not downright anger among the fans, then definitely confusion. With such quality players to feed him, it was frustrating to watch every move break down because the Frenchman is obviously inept. Not his fault he's being played, though. However, I was surprised that Sanchez wasn't trusted to spearhead our attack after a brilliant showing from the Chilean against Besiktas.

Our domination finally found an outlet, when Sanchez slotted home around the half-hour mark. However, the excitement was short-lived, as Leicester immediately came up with a response. A move down our right led to a cross and poor positioning from Koscielny led to that cross' connection with Ulloa's head. 1-1.

Now, a word for Koscielny: though he was at fault for the goal, he suffered from a concussion minutes earlier, but, instead of being subbed, the Frenchman was patched up, given a swimming cap and rushed back into action. An unwise decision from whoever made it led to that equaliser, not Koscielny's poor positioning. Laurent was subsequently taken off and Chambers came on.

The rest of the half wasn't very interesting. Arsenal tried to break down Leicester's organised defense and Leiceister tried to hurt us on the counter. However, I'd like to note how atrocious of a referee Anthony Taylor was. Hammond alone committed at least five cynical fouls inside the first 45 minutes, but didn't receive a yellow. Under other circumstances he would have been sent off midway through the half.

The second half

As we clearly lacked fluidity during the first period, I thought Arsene would make a change to shake things up. The situation wasn't hopeless, like it had been a week before at Goodison, but it was also unclear how we were going to win the game. Unless Sanchez and Cazorla pulled a rabbit out of their hat. I wasn't much counting on Ozil, as the German looked unconvincing on the flank. Really isn't his position.

However, no changes were made and the trend continued. Sanogo missed an opportunity after finding some space early on, but, apart from that, not much went our way. I was dying to see Ox introduced at the expense of Sanogo, so that one of the two our players who really tried to make something happen (Sanchez) would be shifted infield and play as CF. The fans on the stands were apparently asking Wenger (quite loudly and not very politely) to sign a striker.

Nothing happened until around the 70th minute, when finally Ox and (surprisingly) Poldi were thrown into the mix for Sanogo and Cazorla respectively. In an even more surprising twist, Podolski tried to play CF and Alexis remained on the flank. Do you know how many passes Poldi made? Four. Four passes in almost 20 minutes. No wonder he's not playing CF week in, week out.

The only presentable chance we created was when Ramsey's headed effort was saved by Schmeichel. I really think the Welshman should have nodded the ball back across goal, as Sanogo was waiting for a tap-in, but there's just no guarantee the Frenchman would have taken his chance.

We actually could have lost the game as I've mentioned above, but, mercifully, we didn't. 1-1 and this result raises a lot of questions.

The aftermath

Outrage. Public outcry from Arsenal fans. Immense pressure heaped on Arsene to buy players today. But the man himself is to blame for this. Sure, @arsenalvision made a good point on Twitter on how we just haven't clicked yet and I agree. We all saw glimpses of how deadly we can be against Besiktas, so the quality is definitely there, as I've written in the preview. But it's also about how many (good) players we have to cover up for others and how we perform using the system Arsene chooses.

I was scared out of my wits when Mert went down in pain, after Ulloa hacked him down. Chambers was already on and we had no defenders on the bench. Not even Bellerin. At this point I'm not even sure it was the right decision to let Jenks go, when we are in such a spot of bother. With rumours linking Hayden away from the club and Miquel with one foot in Norwich already, we don't have ANY back-up at centre-back.

We also have a problem up front, if we are willing to rely on a target-man system without Giroud. Sanogo just isn't ready and we have no one else. Remy joined up forces with Chelsea, Cavani is not for sale, Mandzukic is already in Atletico. Even forwards like Balotelli, Cerci and Hernandez moved clubs, so it's not like there were no striker available.

Though there is a silver lining to the proceedings, with Borussia re-signing Kagawa, which may well cause the domino effect and let us have Reus. At the expense of Podolski, most likely. There are also rumours this morning linking us to Carvalho and Falcao and I hope there's something stirring there. We'll see in a day. Maybe that's the reason behind Kroenke's sudden appearance in London. We need some hard cash for Falcao.

That's it, back tomorrow with a review of our actions during deadline day. Hope I'll be here discussing three grand signings. Fingers crossed.

For immediate updates, follow me on Twitter (@AlexBaguzin)