Part II - What is stopping Arsenal from winning?

In our last edition of What is stopping Arsenal from winning?, we had discussed on the issues with our backline and defensive midfield. Let's see more on the attacking midfield options of Arsenal.

Attacking Midfield
Arsenal boasts of one of the best attacking midfield any football club can dream about. The likes of Fabregas, Nasri, Rosicky, Arshavin and Walcott raises few eyebrows in amusement. These are all world class players who can break any defensive traps in style. But why we are not still a formidable team? Guys its actually funny to remind you that most of the time most of our players would be injured. It had been very tough for Arsenal to find all our players fit and competing for the starting XI. Not sure whether this is a curse from some team we had defeated sometime back.

A special mentione needs to be made on Denilson and Diaby for holding on the attacking responsibilities and breaking the defenses for fun. In this season we haven't seen Nasri, Rosicky and Walcott yet. We Arsenalites always believes when all are there we will rock. But often forgets the fact that there is no state like that for us. I am not at all aware of what kind of training for fitness our team holds so don't want to comment on that. I saw how Nasri got injured and to me it was ridiculous. Its mere ill-luck that broke his leg. Poor Diaby how much he might be feeling sad for that.

Francesc Fabregas
Cesc is at his best when he is lying low with long balls and starting the movement from Arsenal end and later he is feary when he grabs the last pass to strike it in the back of the net for the same pass which he started back in his own half. He had been instrumental in counter attacks with his great vision and long passes. Early was deadly with Adebayor who is history in Arsenal now. Will look forward to see similar or more tougher bond with Bendtner in future.

Tomas Rosicky
Infact Arsenal had not seen much of him yet. He is very dangerous anywhere outside the box. If this guy is given space outside the box he don't care to pass the ball or enter the box. One of the best long range shots I have seen in Arsenal ranks. In recent past he had been highly prone to injuries and fighting hard to be fit. This guy is a very hard working player and hope to see more from him this season to enable Wenger to make a perfect squad.

Andrei Arshavin
Joined Arsenal ranks this year January but he had jelled with the team as if he had been playing for years. He is deadly inside the box, outside the box and has killer shots which no goalkeeper can even imagine. No wonder Almunia had been doing better now. Arshavin can single handedly break into defences with his speed and tricks. He is a very good dribbler of the ball and can be the next Bergkamp with the kind of tricks he has in his bag now. The only problem I found is that he is not at all good with Robin Van Persie. But very good with Bendtner and ok with Eduardo. Hope Arsene had noticed the samething.

Samir Nasri
Arsenal is yet to see his best. He is one of the best attacking midfielders in the world and at his age he is still growing. This guy has exceptionally good dribbling skills and very good at dead balls too. Arsenal should be able to utilize him for freekicks and corners going forward. Currently he is out for couple of weeks more due to a injury during pre-season training. One thing we noticed about Nasri is his skill to avoid tackles. That is commendable and tough to break down. He has good pace and growing every game.

Theo Walcott
No more a winger for Arsenal. This year Theo is hoping to play the central striker role which we feel is foolishness from him. There was one guy Wenger told to play as striker after his tenure as a left winger in 20yrs of age and his name was Thiery Henry. Not sure about Walcott yet. But he has good pace and dribbling skills. Needs to improve on his passing and finishing. He can run miles with the ball beating all but that is not football. He needs to work on his football skills along with the dribbling and runs. Once he improves his passing and finishing which is expected by the end of this year, you know what a deadly weapon Arsene will have in his Arsenal.

Denilson and Diaby
The two D's has been the revelation of the season with their extra-ordinary passing and marking. They had been able to fill the boots of Cesc when he was not playing in last couple of matches. What we need to look for is the consistency which Diaby had never shown. Hope he doesn't get injured this season again to spoil his chances in Arsenal. Denilson had been Wenger's favourite from last season and had been playing almost all the matches. He cannot be treated as a holding midfielder due to his tendency to go forward too often. Since he started the goal scoring for Arsenal this season, lets hope its a great season for him and Arsenal.

The kids to watch out for this season is Aaron Ramsey, Jack Wilshere and Fran Merida.
Arsene Wenger will be looking for growing these kids for the future of Arsenal without Fabregas and Arshavin.

Will continue on this topic with attacking options later.

Part I - What is stopping Arsenal from winning?

Guys this could be a blog with lot of things to debate on. To start with what is that our team lacks now? We often tend to get carried away with the goals we score and forget that there is something that is standing strong between Arsenal and the silverware. This is not just onething but quite a few. I would be mean if I don't admit that Arsene Wenger is the best person Arsenal can get with their limited spending policy and hefty loans.

1. Wing Backs
Arsenal often boasts of couple of the most terrific wing backs in the football now. But think about it guys. Who Sagna or Clichy or both? Its funny to even think of. Be frank with yourself and ask yourself how many times you have seen Sagna curling in a wonderful cross? I haven't seen many in all these years! Guys believe the fact you can't run away from it..its just not happening. Sagna is good at getting back to the Right Back role and tackling the ball from the opponents boots. He will never be considered as a threat going forward. Now let's get to the much talked about and respected Clichy...what's there in him that makes us love him? Its nothing but his speed. He is quick at his feet and can catch up with the best forwards in the world. Is he good at attacking and taking over the role of a perfect wing back. He is kind of ok? Yeah true...Kind off..He is not good at doing that. He is more comfortable in winning balls and running with the ball. Observe yourself before you consider my words. We have two prodigy's in bench named Traore and Gibbs. To be fair to them both are more attacking than Clichy but due to lack of experience they are terrible defensively. Both of them needs matches to grow and Arsene needs to decide whether to loan them off or give them more matches. My pick would be Traore for the future and Gibbs would be better off being a left midfielder.

2. Defensive Midfielder/Snatchers
Defensive Midfielders are often seen and respected as the people who control the game. They are always in a commanding position since they often get more possession compared other players if he is good at his job. If you take a look at the Arsenal teams which had been widely respected and feared in recent past you would know what was in there. People feared Henry or Bergkamp, but why? There was always a Viera, Ray Parlour, Edu, Gilberto Silva, Flamini and few others to snatch the ball from the opposition. This is the difference. Arsenal's backbone had been that defensive midfield which was damaged and destroyed by the greedy departure of few players. So what's the remedy? We can see a rejuvenated Alex Song doing well in that position. Cutting off passes, making that excellent long and short passes to control the game. But how often does he get forward? With Song eventhough he is good at his new role he is bad at going forward like all the greats before him. This could be later a disadvantage to us. I don't expect Song to have long runs with the ball or dribble past people but atleast he should keep a higher position. A territory somewhere in the center of the pitch. Denilson cannot be seen as a defensive midfielder since he tends to get forward too often more than what I mentioned above. Diaby is another option Wenger has who can control the game. But he is played as an offensive partner to strikers that he hardly gets any defensive duty. Other options Arsenal has includes Rosicky, Nasri, Walcott and Fabregas non of them will be played as a defensive player. So who can play that role? Imagine what will happen when Song gets injured or goes for African Nations cup? At sametime if Denilson gets injured where is Arsenal midfield? Who will hold the lines? We need to definetely spend on a defensive midfielder or help on of our defenders to step up and get converted to a defensive midfielder. The stature and physique helps Senderos to be one if at all Arsene permits.

Read more on Offensive Problems in our next blog.