Why Wenger won't buy Arsenal a new centre back
Monday, 28 July 08, 04:21 PM · Comments(25)
I've been ill with a horrible virus, so I thought today was a good time to watch Arsenal's 2007-2008 Season Review that has been sitting untouched in my DVD rack for about a month. Partially despondent at Arsenal's third successive trophyless season, it's sometimes difficult to look objectively at how the team performed from August 2007 through to May 2008. Emotions have the habit of distorting opinions, which then become fixed. Watching this DVD has, however, given me a more rounded view and fresh optimism for the season ahead, but also a more realistic assessment of where Arsenal need to improve to take another step closer towards that elusive major trophy.
From watching the Season Review, the following things stood out like a sore thumb:
1. Almunia improved tremendously as the season progressed
2. Adebayor and Bendtner give Arsenal a completely new dimension that we've never had under Wenger before
3. Gallas was not as bad a captain for Arsenal as everyone makes out
4. We missed Van Persie terribly in the latter half of the season
5. Eduardo is a lethal predator more than capable of filling Ian Wright's empty boots
6. Gael Clichy still has a lot of improving to do
The one thing that really stood out from watching Arsenal's season both surprised me and made me realise why Arsene Wenger will not be purchasing a centre-back this summer. Why? Because it's starkly apparent that 75% of the goals Arsenal conceded last season came from the defensive left-side of the pitch. Goals conceded from corners or set-piece crosses were relatively few, likewise long balls down the middle cause few problems to Toure or Gallas, but the difference between goals conceded from crosses defended by Clichy on the left-side and Sagna on the right-side was immense.
If you have two centre-backs who aren't great in the air, it's not a problem at corners or set pieces as long as you're organised and have your big guys marking their big guys, but it is a problem if in open play the full backs are not getting tight enough to their man and stopping dangerous crosses coming in. I'm afraid Clichy has a lot of improving to do in this respect, the amount of goals conceded that are generated from his side of the pitch demands significant room for improvement.
That's why Wenger is not buying a centre-back, he believes Gallas and Toure are good enough to win Arsenal major trophies and that the significant defensive improvement needs to come from Gael Clichy - not them.
Of course, it would be unfair to pile all the blame on Clichy, what protection is he getting? Rosicky is a very hard worker and more prone to helping out his left back than Diaby or Hleb, but Rosicky was injured most of the season - this could have made a difference. Sagna is without doubt a fabulous defender - better than Clichy, but often has the added protection of Eboue on the right side. However, Clichy still needs to improve defensively, and I believe Wenger and his coaches will work hard on the player in training, because that's where he expects to save Arsenal 10 goals next term - not by tampering with the centre-backs.
Of course the problem with buying a centre-back is that you cannot buy composure. Either you purchase a world class, ready-made lynchpin that has been there seen it and done it - and basically drop Toure or Gallas - or you bring in somebody like Micah Richards, a very bright young talent that can attempt to force his way into the team. But again, when the heat is on, who knows how the likes of Richards or any other wannabe would react under pressure? The sort of pressure that Senderos crumbles under, and for a man of Toure's experience still needs to show a lot more composure. Personally, I would follow Wenger's instincts and hope for continued improvement from our enthusiastic left back - who I am a massive admirer of by the way. Having said that, I still believe that Senderos will never be good enough and should be replaced by a brighter emerging talent - and one that doesn't have the surname Djourou or Song.
By the way, something else emerged from watching the DVD, if Adebayor left it would be a big blow to Arsenal and could prove to be a
major setback. I don't believe Arsenal should cave in to his wage demands under any circumstances - and the player has a lot to prove if he stays, but to say this player would not be missed or
is easily replaceable is nonsense. Besides, if Adebayor improves as much next term as he did last, Arsenal might be more willing to pay him a world class strikers salary, because that's exactly
what he would be.
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i have to say i disagree i dont feel clichy is the biggest problem n the defense as you say. although i havent the chance to watch the season review as you have i watched the big games last season and we lost to man u away because of gallas and gilberto, we lost to chelsea away becoz of gallas's inability to deal properly with direct aerial balls. watch the fa cup game against man u, gallas fails to intercept a direct ball from carrick and nani scores. look at how we strugle against aston villa wen john carew plays man u nva hav dat problem bcoz vidic wins 90% of the aerial battles. watch wen we play against peter crouch he makes gallas look stupid really its embarrasing. to be honest i would luv a skrtel or agger in our team. gallas and toure are exactly the same type of defender. man u hav rio & vidic, chelsea hav terry and carvalho, liverpool hav agger and carragher even pompey hav distin and sol. personally i feel we need to stop playin the high line so much and buy an aerially stronger cb and drop back a bit even steven taylor would be an improvement to our defence. an example of the unneccesary high line is the game against boro at towards the end of the season wen a direct freekick for boro put tuncay through and he squares for aliadiere to score. clichy is definately not as big a problem as you claim, maybe i will change my mind when i see the sason review
Very interesting and insightful analysis. Enjoyed reading this, thank you!
I'm amazed at your rating of Clichy. He had an amazingly high success rate on tackles (86%) and that was by far the highest in the league.
One thing I will say though is that I knew that teams have for 5-6 years now attacked Arsenal by playing long balls behind the left full back. It apparently works as you seem to be saying.
But I wnat to point out that during the business side of the season when games went against us, most of the goals came from the right or the middle. Gallas and Toure were very culpable especially.
If I remember we seem to let more goals in once Sagna got injured and Toure played as right back. Senderos was in the middle with Gallas, so yeah, that might explains the panic. I think Clichy improve a lot last year, but still some way to go. He's poor in the air and positionally could be better defensively, sometimes he doesn't do enough to close down crosses just hangs a leg out whereas Sagna gets stuck right in.
I find it hard to see Clichy as the weak link in our defence. When you look at the individual players, its hard to criticise any of them very strongly, and I suspect our defensive issues are down to a structural problem in Wengerball, as someone else on here suggests. An interesting point regarding last season is that Wenger said afterwards he was surprised Clichy came through it injury free, he never expected he could play so many games. So what did Wenger plan to do at left back, then, if this good fortune had not come to pass? Play Traore there? He clearly wasn't up to it, and even Wenger now seems to accept this by playing him in midfield. Play Gallas there, then? That would have meant playing Senderos in the centre. Ok at a pinch, but not a very wise plan if you're expecting to do it on a regular basis because you don't think the first choice left back can stay fit for long. So, was Wenger winging it? Or did he have another plan? I guess he would have played Flamini there, but that would have been a big loss to the middle, especially after Diarra left...
Clichy was voted the top left full-back in the Premiership. So something here doesn't add up.
The biggest defence problem we have is Gallas thinking he's a midfielder. He leaves Senderos and Toure to face the music alone too often, then berates them if we concede a goal. He should stay back more to support the defence instead of the midfield.
25 Comments · Add yours
Good article, i have yet to watch the season review. You seam to make very valid points. I think that we have to except that under Wenger we will concede goals. Now we have stoped counter attack football anyway. Vidic and Rio are not that much better than Gallas and Toure, we just allow them more fredom to roam forward. COME ON THE GUNNERS
That part about Clichy sounds.. interesting. Would be good if you could show some examples of that for us who don't have the Season Review DVD.