The powerfully built Everton man offers the tough tackling robust
qualities of a defensive midfielder whilst also being able to provide the goal threat and assist making attributes of an attacking midfielder.
23 year old Dutch international Strootman offers the battling
qualities of a defensive midfielder, the type of which Moyes could certainly do with in his Man United squad, with the offensive abilities of a playmaker.
Not exact matches
We need at least five
quality players a defender, goalkeeper, a
defensive midfielder, a attacking
midfielder and a striker Though winning the f.a cup did take a bit
of pressure
of him only time will tell There got to be a new structure at the club, and get rid
of the also rans like Lucas Perez, Jenkinson, debuchy and sagono for starters
Well it's done now...... but I'd hazard a guess he wanted an established central
midfield partnership with strongest possible
defensive qualities (Coquelin / Elneny) infront
of an untried, young, emergency centre back pairing.
Wenger is good but he's not a genius, le coq trains under hm everyday and he cudnt see his
quality until he had no choice than to use hm, had it being one
of wilshere or ramsey was fit then... he wud ve used one
of dem as our
defensive midfielder... SMH
Burnley will do him a lot
of good, wish we'll get a
quality beastlike leader defender who'd shout at his players and take responsibility, how I miss keown.perfect Transfer will see debuchy, chambers and an aggressive
defensive midfielder join auba and miki
It's difficult to blame Ozil for the difficulties he's faced at Arsenal without looking at the big picture... like the fans, he too was lied to by Wenger... there is no doubt in my mind that he was told by Wenger that he was trying desperately to recreate our earlier success by acquiring players that fit the system he ran when Henry was in his prime... as we know this hasn't happened... in order for Ozl to flourish he needs some speed up front, forwards that can make intelligent runs, a boss in the
midfield to compensate for his obvious
defensive liabilities and defenders who can transition from defence to offence quickly and efficiently... much like he had in Real and with the German National squad... unfortunately he ended up on a squad that has a striker who plays with his back to goal, very few intelligent runs into the box, minus Sanchez, no one to take pressure off him in the
midfield, once Cazorla was injured, average
defensive midfielders around him, which simply highlighted his lacking
defensive qualities and defenders who lack the necessary cutting edge when it comes to transitional passing... instead
of blaming Ozil, which is simply too easy, especially considering his mopey disposition, we should be asking ownership and / or Wenger why they brought him in if they didn't intend on doing what was necessary to get the best from him... can you imagine Ozil playing with the likes
of Henry, Viera, Petit and Pires, it would be incredibly to watch and even more difficult to stop... so the only thing different between his experiences in Real and with the German team versus his time at Arsenal are the players around him and we all know who is in charge
of making those decisions, the Grinch who stole soccer
Why buy another striker when the glaring weakness in the team is the lack
of quality centre backs and
defensive midfielder?
In central
midfield, Michael Carrick showed his wortth for England against Lithuania and should be brought in as one
of the more
defensive options for the match against Italy, who have plenty
of quality in that area
of the pitch.
The next big name transfer for Arsenal will be a
defensive midfielder of better
quality than Alex Song.
So clearly the club needed a
defensive midfielder who would succeed the ones we have, provided the funds were available and a player
of the right
quality was available.
Strikers - Lacazette COULD and Auba SHOULD have the
quality to play in a 442 or 3421 but we need to address what we don't have now that we had in abundance during our years
of success, namely
DEFENSIVE STABILITY
MIDFIELD CREATIVITY / With all round abilities WINGERS WITH PACE.
In the
midfield, (including RWB & LWB) we have a whole bunch
of tweeners... none offer the full package, none make sense in our manager's current favourite formation, except for Sead on the left and Ox on the right, and all
of them have never shown any consistency for more than a heartbeat... Sead, who I'm including in this category because
of our present formation, looks like a positive addition, minus his occasional brain farts, but I would rather see what he could do in a back 4 before making my mind up... Ox, who has never played better, which isn't saying much considering his largely underwhelming play in previous seasons, seems to have found a home in this new formation; unfortunately, can we really expect this oft - injured player to handle the taxing duties that come with said position over the long haul, not to mention, it looks like he has no intention
of staying... Ramsey has relied on the empathy that stems from his gruesome injury years ago and the excitement that was generated a few years back when he finally seemed to put in altogether, but on the whole he has been a big disappointment (neither he nor the Ox have scored enough to warrant a regular spot)... Wiltshire should be put on a weekly contract then played until he suffers his first injury, if and when that occurs he should be shipped - out and no one should very be allowed to say his name on club grounds ever again... Elnehy & Coq are average players who couldn't make any
of the top 7 teams currently in the EPL... both have showed some great energy on the pitch, but neither are top
quality and no good team can afford to have that many average players on their bench playing the same position, especially with Coq's injury history / discipline concerns and Elheny's headless chicken tendencies... as for Xhaka, his tenure here so far has been incredibly underwhelming... we know he has some skills to provide the long ball but his
defensive work is piss poor and he gives the ball away too cheaply and far too often... finally, the enigma himself, Ozil, so much skill with his left foot but his presence has been more frustrating than uplifting... in many respects his failure has been directly related to the failure
of this club to provide him with the necessary players up front, minus Sanchez
of course, and unless something drastic happens very soon his legacy will be largely a negative one (much like Wenger's)
Xhaka has his
qualities, but playing the
defensive midfielder role like Kante does, is not one
of them.
He is our best
midfielder, has a mix if the
defensive qualities of Coq and passing and shooting ability
of Santi.
We're covered in terms
of numbers in the
defensive midfield role, though I'd like to see the
quality improve.
We can not carry these two in the same side in view
of their
defensive deficiciencies.In the absence
of a top
quality defensive midfielder I would play Elneny along with Xhaka.
Speaking
of CM, (I feel like a parrot saying this over and over again) but we desperately need a Top
quality defensive midfielder.
The lack
of defensive qualities in our
midfielders and wingers (Iwobi, Chamberlain, Ramsey, Walcott, Reine Adelaide etc.) is our problem.
Are you serious??? That's not even mentioning the clear lack
of defensive depth and no
quality holding
midfielder.
Arsenal has depth, but it isn't
quality squad depth, Rosiscky, Cazorla, Ozil all play the same position and neither
of them add a great deal more than the other, our
midfield is stoked but the areas we actually need depth in are barren, we have no solid
defensive midfielder with our usual reliance on a CAM moved back, as a result players like Ramsey and Wilshere who are box to box players end up creating more imbalance in an already unbalanced team.
While I am no manager, I'd seek a strong
defensive midfielder in the summer to partner Wilshere or Rambo, replace Cech with a ball playing goalkeeper
of significant
quality and consider replacing Bellerin on the right
of our defence.
Im still confused as why wenger did nt sign a
quality defensive midfielder, which we are in need
of!
This is an incredibly difficult question to answer for a variety
of reasons, most importantly because over the years our once vaunted «beautiful» style
of play has become a shadow
of it's former self, only to be replaced by a less than stellar «plug and play» mentality where players play out
of position and adjustments / substitutions are rarely forthcoming before the 75th minute... if you look at our current players, very few would make sense in the traditional Wengerian system... at present, we don't have the personnel to move the ball quickly from deep - lying position, efficient one touch
midfielders that can make the necessary through balls or the disciplined and pacey forwards to stretch defences into wide positions, without the aid
of the backs coming up into the final 3rd, so that we can attack the
defensive lanes in the same clinical fashion we did years ago... on this current squad, we have only 1 central defender on staf, Mustafi, who seems to have any prowess in the offensive zone or who can even pass two zones through so that we can advance play quickly out
of our own end (I have seen some inklings that suggest Holding might have some offensive
qualities but too early to tell)... unfortunately Mustafi has a tendency to get himself in trouble when he gets overly aggressive on the ball... from our backs out wide, we've seen pace from the likes
of Bellerin and Gibbs and the spirited albeit offensively stunted play
of Monreal, but none
of these players possess the skill - set required in the offensive zone for the new Wenger scheme which requires deft touches, timely runs to the baseline and consistent crossing, especially when Giroud was playing and his ratio
of scored goals per clear chances was relatively low (better last year though)... obviously I like Bellerin's future prospects, as you can't teach pace, but I do worry that he regressed last season, which was obvious to Wenger because there was no way he would have used Ox as the right side wing - back so often knowing that Barcelona could come calling in the off - season, if he thought otherwise... as for our
midfielders, not a single one, minus the more confident Xhaka I watched played for the Swiss national team a couple years ago, who truly makes sense under the traditional Wenger model... Ramsey holds onto the ball too long, gives the ball away cheaply far too often and abandons his
defensive responsibilities on a regular basis (doesn't score enough recently to justify): that being said, I've always thought he does possess a little something special, unfortunately he thinks so too... Xhaka is a little too slow to ever boss the
midfield and he tends to telegraph his one true strength, his long ball play: although I must admit he did get a bit better during some points in the latter part
of last season... it always made me wonder why whenever he played with Coq Wenger always seemed to play Francis in a more advanced role on the pitch... as for Coq, he is way too reckless at the wrong times and has exhibited little offensive prowess yet finds himself in and around the box far too often... let's face it Wenger was ready to throw him in the trash heap when injuries forced him to use Francis and then he had the nerve to act like this was all part
of a bigger Wenger constructed plan... he like Ramsey, Xhaka and Elneny don't offer the skills necessary to satisfy the quick transitory nature
of our old offensive scheme or the stout
defensive mindset needed to protect the
defensive zone so that our offensive players can remain aggressive in the final third... on the front end, we have Ozil, a player
of immense skill but stunted by his physical demeanor that tends to offend, the fact that he's been played out
of position far too many times since arriving and that the players in front
of him, minus Sanchez, make little to no sense considering what he has to offer (especially Giroud); just think about the quick counter-attack offence in Real or the space and protection he receives in the German National team's
midfield, where teams couldn't afford to focus too heavily on one individual... this player was a passing «specialist» long before he arrived in North London, so only an arrogant or ignorant individual would try to reinvent the wheel and / or not surround such a talent with the necessary components... in regards to Ox, Walcott and Welbeck, although they all possess serious talents I see them in large part as headless chickens who are on the injury table too much, lack the necessary first - touch and / or lack the finishing flair to warrant their inclusion in a regular starting eleven; I would say that,
of the 3, Ox showed the most upside once we went to a back 3, but even he became a bit too consumed by his pending contract talks before the season ended and that concerned me a bit... if I had to choose one
of those 3 players to stay on it would be Ox due to his potential as a plausible alternative to Bellerin in that wing - back position should we continue to use that formation... in Sanchez, we get one
of the most committed skill players we've seen on this squad for some years but that could all change soon, if it hasn't already
of course... strangely enough, even he doesn't make sense given the constructs
of the original Wenger offensive model because he holds onto the ball too long and he will give the ball up a little too often in the offensive zone... a fact that is largely forgotten due to his infectious energy and the fact that the numbers he has achieved seem to justify the means... finally, and in many ways most crucially, Giroud, there is nothing about this team or the offensive system that Wenger has traditionally employed that would even suggest such a player would make sense as a starter... too slow, too inefficient and way too easily dispossessed... once again, I think he has some special skills and, at times, has showed some world - class
qualities but he's lack
of mobility is an albatross around the necks
of our offence... so when you ask who would be our best starting 11, I don't have a clue because
of the 5 or 6 players that truly deserve a place in this side, 1 just arrived, 3 aren't under contract beyond 2018 and the other was just sold to Juve... man, this is theraputic because following this team is like an addiction to heroin without the benefits
But if, as I expect, the manager restricts himself to just a couple
of new signings then I hope that they are a top
quality defensive midfielder and a proven striker and I would love that striker to be the player that The Mirror has us and Manchester United heavily linked with, Pierre Emerick - Aubameyang.
Alike to Carrick, Jorginho is a deep - lying
midfielder who possesses a fantastic vision and ability to thread
quality balls through some
of Europe's best
defensive units.
There is no debate as to the importance
of the activities measured, to the
qualities needed
of a
defensive midfielder.
Every man and his dog knows that we are in desperate need
of a
defensive midfielder and a central defender and considering that there are no shortage
of those in the market, Le Prof should really land
quality reinforcements and stop complaining about his backline being «bit soft».
442 is bad not just cos Giroud brace shouldn't make us forget who he is and how he kills the tempo
of game but also cos for a 442 u need a complete
midfielder to partner ur DM which cazorla isn't, he is a deeplying playmaker and ll struggle in a standard 442 cos he lacks the workrate and
defensive qualities n also Ozil always struggle when he starts from the wing.
Bring in Ospina for Cech; Gabriel for Koscielny (Kos is 31 and its time we start testing Gabriel and Holding beside Mustafi to see what our long term first choice
defensive partnership will look like); Gibbs for Monreal (Wenger needs to start rotating these 2 more frequently as we need to ascertain if Gibbs can adequately produce the
quality to hold that position from next season for a few years as I'm thinking this might be Nacho's last or penultimate season with Arsenal, it will also give a hint as to the type
of Left - back to target in the summer — first teamer or backup and age as well); I'll like to see an Elneny — Xhaka partnership in this fixture as we might just never know, this might be our replica
of the Kos Mustafa partnership in the centre
of the park, Two disciplined (positionally, i mean) central
midfielders who can play box to box; Chamberlain for Iwobi, and Perez for Alexis should do the work.
I will say it again Coquelin is the only true DM arsenal has, Chambers can be converted into a DM also, which i feel would be his most suited position, Xhaka is not really a DM but more a deep lying playmaker with some
defensive qualities, cazorla also has that trait, Ramsay, Iwobi and wilshere are actually want to be number 10s, who are considered box to box
midfielders but both lack the
defensive discilpline, Elneny is our only box to box
midfielder who is very disciplined and Ozil our number 10 who although provides a lot
of assist does not provide a goal treat.
Are you really naive enough to believe that Wenger would bring anyone into this current locker room that is going to be given a strong voice... have you not been watching, listening or reading about our club for years... Lehman is a blind Wenger follower, which is the only reason he was even considered... just for a second think
of all the strong personalities that have played for this club that have never been seriously considered even though they have expressed legitimate interest in participating in the coaching process... even worse, think
of all the former greats who aren't even allowed on the same pitch as Wenger because they have offered their advice and / or criticism to the infallible one... I dare you to find a manager that has distanced himself from his former players as much as this man... it's the very reason why only one player I can think
of has ever returned to play for Wenger and that was Flamini, which was hilarious considering we were desperately looking for a top
quality defensive midfielder but Wenger could somehow find no one better than Flamini in the whole wide world... let's face it this club was simply trying to appease it's disgruntled fans by declaring that Wenger would no longer be given Ca rte Blanche when it came to the backroom staff so they probably asked him to give them a list
of those who he would allow in the locker room... on that list he wrote Lehman, Pires and Bergkamp, likely because the first two are the only former players who haven't publicly questioned his horrible decision - making and the last one because he won't get in an airplane
Wenger's stubbornness to not sign the right type
of players (ie top
defensive midfielder and years without a top striker) and the top
quality players has cost us.
Yeah I'm bang on with you Grandad.Chambers again looked fairly solid and certainly did not let the side down like Mustafi AGAIN.Holding came on and did what was required from him in the centre as Chambers moved to RB.COULD Chambers and Holding really perform together as CB's in a back four?NO and nor could anyone else without the TOP
QUALITY CENTRAL
DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDER we have been crying out for since the departure
of Gilberto.
Thinking
of quality defensive midfielders who are in their prime is just but some worthless dream.
and sad truth is we only need a couple more real
quality signings... but seems wenger is already digging his heals in... i think he still believes that diaby is the man for
defensive midfield, that arteta can still run the mid field that grioud will finally come good in epl or that sonogo will bully other defences... none
of these assumptions is grounded in reality (that s the problem with having an economist as a football manager)... and there is no excuse for overpaid professional athletes to be exhausted after a couple
of competitive games..
Kondogbia offers similar characteristics to Dembele in terms
of a powerful presence in
midfield with
defensive and attacking
qualities, and so he would be a smart addition.
Khedira won the Champions League in May and then played a prominent role in Germany's World Cup triumph over the summer and is therefore clearly a
quality performer and perhaps the ideal man to balance out the heaps
of midfield creativity at Arsenal with some much needed
defensive nous.
Time for some brutal honesty... this team, as it stands, is in no better position to compete next season than they were 12 months ago, minus the fact that some fans have been easily snowed by the acquisition
of Lacazette, the free transfer LB and the release
of Sanogo... if you look at the facts carefully you will see a team that still has far more questions than answers... to better show what I mean by this statement I will briefly discuss the current state
of affairs on a position - by - position basis... in goal we have 4 potential candidates, but in reality we have only 1 option with any real future and somehow he's the only one we have actively tried to get rid
of for years because he and his father were a little too involved on social media and he got caught smoking (funny how people still defend Wiltshire under the same and far worse circumstances)... you would think we would want to keep any goaltender that Juventus had interest in, as they seem to have a pretty good history when it comes to that position... as far as the defenders on our current roster there are only a few individuals whom have the skill and / or youth worthy
of our time and / or investment, as such we should get rid
of anyone who doesn't meet those simple requirements, which means we should get rid
of DeBouchy, Gibbs, Gabriel, Mertz and loan out Chambers to see if last seasons foray with Middlesborough was an anomaly or a prediction
of things to come... some fans have lamented wildly about the return
of Mertz to the starting lineup due to his FA Cup performance but these sort
of pie in the sky meanderings are indicative
of what's wrong with this club and it's wishy - washy fan - base... in addition to these moves the club should aggressively pursue the acquisition
of dominant and mobile CB to stabilize an all too fragile
defensive group that has self - destructed on numerous occasions over the past 5 seasons... moving forward and building on our need to re-establish our once dominant presence throughout the middle
of the park we need to target a CDM then do whatever it takes to get that player into the fold without any
of the usual nickel and diming we have become famous for (this kind
of ruthless haggling has cost us numerous special players and certainly can't help make the player in question feel good about the way their future potential employer feels about them)... in order for us to become dominant again we need to be strong up the middle again from Goalkeeper to CB to DM to ACM to striker, like we did in our most glorious years before and during Wenger's reign... with this in mind, if we want Ozil to be that dominant attacking
midfielder we can't keep leaving him exposed to constant ridicule about his lack
of defensive prowess and provide him with the proper players in the final third... he was never a good
defensive player in Real or with the German National squad and they certainly didn't suffer as a result
of his presence on the pitch... as for the rest
of the
midfield the blame falls squarely in the hands
of Wenger and Gazidis, the fact that Ramsey, Ox, Sanchez and even Ozil were allowed to regularly start when none
of the aforementioned had more than a year left under contract is criminal for a club
of this size and financial might... the fact that we could find money for Walcott and Xhaka, who weren't even guaranteed starters, means that our whole business model needs a complete overhaul... for me it's time to get rid
of some serious deadweight, even if it means selling them below what you believe their market value is just to simply right this ship and change the stagnant culture that currently exists... this means saying goodbye to Wiltshire, Elneny, Carzola, Walcott and Ramsey... everyone, minus Elneny, have spent just as much time on the training table as on the field
of play, which would be manageable if they weren't so inconsistent from a performance standpoint (excluding Carzola, who is like the recent version
of Rosicky — too bad, both will be deeply missed)... in their places we need to bring in some proven performers with no history
of injuries... up front, although I do like the possibilities that a player like Lacazette presents, the fact that we had to wait so many years to acquire some true
quality at the striker position falls once again squarely at the feet
of Wenger... this issue highlights the ultimate scam being perpetrated by this club since the arrival
of Kroenke: pretend your a small market club when it comes to making purchases but milk your fans like a big market club when it comes to ticket prices and merchandising... I believe the reason why Wenger hasn't pursued someone
of Henry's
quality, minus a fairly inexpensive RVP, was that he knew that they would demand players
of a similar ilk to be brought on board and that wasn't possible when the business model was that
of a «selling» club... does it really make sense that we could only make a cheeky bid for Suarez, or that we couldn't get Higuain over the line when he was being offered up for half the price he eventually went to Juve for, or that we've only paid any interest to strikers who were clearly not going to press their current teams to let them go to Arsenal like Benzema or Cavani... just part
of the facade that finally came crashing down when Sanchez finally called their bluff... the fact remains that no one wants to win more than Sanchez, including Wenger, and although I don't agree with everything that he has done off the field, I would much rather have Alexis front and center than a manager who has clearly bought into the Kroenke model in large part due to the fact that his enormous ego suggests that only he could accomplish great things without breaking the bank... unfortunately that isn't possible anymore as the game has changed quite dramatically in the last 15 years, which has left a largely complacent and complicit Wenger on the outside looking in... so don't blame those players who demanded more and were left wanting... don't blame those fans who have tried desperately to raise awareness for several years when cracks began to appear... place the blame at the feet
of those who were well aware all along
of the potential pitfalls
of just such a plan but continued to follow it even when it was no longer a financial necessity, like it ever really was...
None
of our central
midfielders (Wilshere, Ramsey, Xhaka, Eleny) are
of the necessary
quality for either
Defensive midfielder or Box2Box like other teams have ie Kante, Matic, Fernandino, Pogba, Gundogan, Wanyama, Sissoko
The obvious conclusion any thinking person should draw let alone one paid 8 million quid is that
quality makes a difference at the top
of EPL and the team needs a
defensive midfielder at the same level as santi or alexi... Coquellin did a great job yday but he isn't that
quality....
Arsenal have been in need
of a top
quality defensive midfielder for a number
of years, with players such as Francis Coquelin and more recently Granit Xhaka failing to excel at the Emirates.
In my opinion, the best we Arsenal fans can hope for in the January transfer window is the arrival
of a new centre - back, but we can be hopeful
of a
quality defensive midfielder coming in in the summer.
But the part
of our game that needs improving is our
defensive play, that's why we need a proper
defensive midfielder — a player with power,
quality, the ability to win aerial duels and a
defensive mind to snuff out attacks before they happen.
so arsene wenger should leave aside giroud being french or keeping his french reputation and fire olivier giroud and brings us a striker
of arsenal
quality,
defensive midfielder adding on lecoq plus elneny and a central defender if at all we are to be successful.
To move forward, they need to acquire more
quality, especially in defence and in the middle
of the park as a
quality defensive midfielder would be a great addition to the squad.
According to reports, Sunderland manager Sam Allardyce is desperate to sign a
quality defensive midfielder with Onazi, whose contract with the Italian Serie A side runs until 2018, top
of his wishlist.
But if the latest story is true, it appears the Gunners will need to keep looking for a new
defensive midfielder of the
quality of the newly - crowned World Cup winner.
However, if the money is invested in
defensive upgrades primarily — a possible option given Liverpool's wealth
of midfield and attacking options — a more balanced Reds squad in terms
of quality could prove more beneficial in the long term.
Francis Coquelin has re-invented himself at Arsenal and looks like he is good enough to start on a regular basis in
defensive midfield, after a string
of top
quality performances from him.