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I wonder if the writer did watch any of Germany's world cup 2010 games, or more precisely Germany vs Messi's Argentina!
My Vision
Written by Mean Lean on Tuesday, 27 September 2011 14:05
When it rains it pours, at least when the Arsenal are concerned. If it is not our club being shot at from all angles, it is usually injuries that rears its ever so ugly head. Jack Wilshere's operation is not exactly breaking news but information filtered through yesterday that our very gifted midfielder will be out of action until February at the earliest. In other words, most of this season has pretty much been crossed off and that is a terrible shame for a young player but not only that, a very important cog in the Arsenal system.
Wilshere seems to be the type of person who is strong enough mentally to get through this injury but for the short term it is a massive slam on the brakes of his development. He was only supposed to play a handful of games, be brought in slowly and perhaps even another loan period but he impressed so much in pre season and training, along with the usual collection of injuries to other players in the same position and he was thrusted into the spotlight.
The lad just wasn't at all phased and he instead grew and improved as the weeks went by. His first season ended with Jack being amongst the positives of the season.
I expected Wilshere to take another step forward this season, glimpses of those strides were being shown in pre season. His link up play in the Asia tour and then the chipped assist in Germany to Gervinho were a few examples of that until lady luck decided it was time to turn her back on Wilshere at the Emirates cup, although the injury problem struck whilst playing for England. Theo Walcott and Robin Van Persie can tell you stories of Internationals jamming a massive spanner in the works of club football.
So I am gutted, cannot help but sulk a little bit about it because Jack Wilshere in full flow is part of the reason why I enjoy watching Arsenal play football on a weekly basis.
It is ironic that Jack Wilshere got his chance due to a long term injury to a young midfielder who was higher up in the pecking order. Aaron Ramsey was starting to establish himself as a first choice midfielder. Scoring cracking left foot shots at Portsmouth, drilling shots past the West Ham keeper at Upton park before he was well and truly Shawcrossed.
Two seasons later the tables have turned. Aaron Ramsey is that youngster again, trying to find consistency and trying to stamp his authority on games while Wilshere is out of action for the long term.
Both hugely talented players but with different skill sets. Ramsey hadn't managed to hit the ground running during pre season. While Wilshere was dominating games, Ramsey was flickering in and out of matches. He was proving to be somewhat of a mixed bag, Producing wonderful defence splitting passes like the one that Theo latched onto before lifting the ball over the keeper in our Asia tour but also vanishing from games or giving the ball away cheaply.
His inconsistency spilled over into the start of the season but it now that we are beginning to see more consistency over the whole 90 minutes. He was one of the 'better' Arsenal players at Old Trafford. He was the man of the match for the Welsh against England, was back to his best in the first half at Blackburn and then played a part in all of the goals against Bolton at the weekend.
It is not easy to be away from the game for so long and then having to start again rebuilding physically as well as the mental problems it would cause so it is no surprise that it is taking Aaron a little bit of time to get back to his previous level.
Hopefully he is showing that form again and the only way is up for Ramsey now. We want to be in a position where we are wondering how Wilshere will get back into the team because that will mean that his team mates are doing a very good job in his absence.
I reckon Rambo has plenty of midfield goals in him once he takes off. He takes free kicks for his country and packs a good punch behind his strikes, that is certainly a current advantage he has over Wilshere so far but Wilshere currently had a knack of getting more involved in the game, both defensively and offensively.
It is just great that we have the pair of them, a duo that could become part of the best midfield combination in the country in a few years, there is no reason why that cannot happen.
In other injury news, we are missing three more players from our victory at the weekend. Laurent Koscielny was limping around at the end of the Bolton game, we now know that it was an ankle injury. Theo Walcott will not recover in time for midweek and Gervinho also picked up a knock and will be unavailable for Wednesday's Champions League match against Olympiakos. Hopefully all of those will recover in time to spank the Spuds.
So three of our four first choice defenders are missing, you can throw in Squillaci on top of that as well which is just madness and very Arsenal like.
Vermaelen, Djourou, Koscielny and Squillaci are all missing so Arsene can choose between Miquel or possibly moving back Song to partner the Merte. It would be pretty cool if we managed to get through our midweek game against Olympiakos with, you know, maybe zero injuries. As out there as it seems, it would make me feel pretty good.
What those injuries do mean, is a chance to see Rosicky and Arteta together. Some readers may screw their faces up at that but I like the idea of two proper one touch footballers together who can pass and move together. I loved watching Rosicky and Nasri a couple of seasons ago, they worked so well as a duo and I am hoping for something similar when they both eventually play.
The injuries are a pain but at least we have the man mountain that is Per Mertesacker. He is more of a gentle giant than the 'beast' that many Arsenal fans were wetting their pants over during the summer.
Arsene had some good things to say about the German.
"Per is getting stronger and stronger, He is calm, intelligent and he is now showing clearly that he can lead the defence."
I really do not quite know what to make of Mertesacker. I like what I have seen so far but I have no sense of what he can be once he is totally suited to the English game. I also wonder what he will be like against a world class striker. Time will tell but he is starting to progress well.
Ok, that is my lot for today. There should be an article from a reader later on about Robin van Persie, so tell your friends and their uncles, cousins wife's neighbour to come and check back later.
Match preview from myself tomorrow.
Fancy writing your own articles for fellow Gooners to read? Click Your Vision section.
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27-Sep-2011 16:13 | | MeanLean
I am talking about playing for Arsenal, in our system, with a new partner, in a new country, in a new team. That was the point. He has done well overall but I want to see how he deals with a quality striker before making a certain judgement.
However, I like what I have seen so far as I said in my article.
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28-Sep-2011 00:50 | | East Stand Alex - Reservations on RamsayGood article, as always, Mr Lean,
My view on Aaron Ramsay has always been that he has one technical fault which may prevent him hitting the heights of top class. But, as a caveat, I thought he was adapting and much improved in the Bolton game (for me he was the man of the match), which gives me hope it can be coached out.
What I see is that he tends to receive the ball quite square, rather changing angle when it's on the way and controlling the ball on the half turn. The effect (I think) being that the ball can bounce a little too far when it is pinged at him fast; that he can be closed down and forced off the ball as he can't see what's arriving at the crucial moment; and that he slows the game down as he needs a little longer to turn if he's not passing it off on the first touch.
I think he mostly gets away with it because he has amazingly quick feet and excellent balance, so he can still keep the ball under heavy pressure, but at the highest level it shows. In contrast to Fabregas, who always turned his body before taking his first touch, I think Aaron suffers when playing further forward because of this.
I feel it's one of those problems inherent in old school youth coaching whereby if you can keep doing well and winning games, nobody criticises, or encourages work on different aspects of the game. I think Walcott must have suffered this as well, probably always told to push the ball past his opponent and use his pace, rather than practising variation.
But with Ramsay, hopefully the half-turn can be coached into his instinct so he does it under pressure. Otherwise I see him doing well as a deep lying box-to box midfielder but think he will struggle when he has to play as much with his back to goal.
I think Aaron has a great character, and a lot of talent as a passer, shooter and finisher, so I hope he does complete his game, and he has plenty of time to do so. Even if Arsenal need as many complete players as they can get, right now.
Or, I may just be plain wrong. Would be interested to hear your opinion.
Keep up the great site.
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28-Sep-2011 00:57 | | East Stand Alex - correctionSorry, in the second paragraph there should be a 'than' in: 'rather changing angle' (between rather and changing). So it reads: , rather than changing angle when.
Oops
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28-Sep-2011 10:35 | | indian gooner forever... - great observation dude..........Thats a great observation dude........actually I m a huge admirer of Ramsey but somehow I had never noticed this flaw in his game. Now when I actually think of it - you are absolutely correct in that regard......But I am sure it can be ironed out especially given his young age. He is surely going to be a huge player for the Arsenal. In fact as Mean Lean pointed out - him and Wilshere could be a devastating combination in the long run......
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