Written by Mean Lean on Thursday, 11 October 2012 11:08

Arsenal FC are really missing a trick here, this football lark is doing ok I suppose in terms of interest but they really should open the stadiums on Thursday's and charge top dollar for Gooners to come in and watch the big screens, we could have people pull up spreadsheets and pie charts showing us a breakdown of Vic Akers yearly pay packet or something.

I cannot remember a time where interest in the club's finances has been so obsessive as it is today from Gooners.

Fair play to the likes of Swiss Ramble who has an excellent knowledge of finances in the game, clearly it is his profession and it is great to have someone to break it down to Gooners like myself who gets corrected by my 10 year old daughter when it comes to maths. But when Arsenal win and the only thing you can find within you to talk about is the salary that Ivan Gazidis earns or how much 17 year old reserve defender takes home then personally it is a stretch too far. Fair play if that wets your appetite but personally, I find it all a little tedious.

And no, the irony that I have spent the last five minutes talking about this subject isn't lost on me.

So to that football thing that we used to enjoy so much. Much of the talk yesterday was about captain Thomas Vermaelen waxing lyrical about Jacky Wilshere and the work he has done to improve his physique. He certainly looks stockier than when we last saw him gliding around the Emirates pitch.

His build was certainly a weakness back then. As feisty and tenacious as he was, he could be barged over so what better way to spend the last 14 months than to pump some iron.

Is there a Gooner out there that hasn't suffered the embarrassment of leaving a pool of dribble underneath them on their desk as thoughts drift to what a midfield trio of Jack Wilshere, Mikel Arteta and Santi Cazorla will look like eventually? Probably not. I do wonder what the manager feels about the height of that midfield area. Abou Diaby gives us the perfect balance due to his physique but as we know the trouble is he cannot remain fit, or at least hasn't as yet.

I suspect I am in the minority but at this stage of their careers when fit and both at their very best, I think Abou Diaby would be the more influential player (yeah I said it!) but having said that I like the fact that Wilshere is a combination of dribbler and one touch passer when he needs to be, I also feel that Wilshere will be the better player in time, probably not very much time either.

I have a thing for triangle passing moves, it stirs something deep within me. The idea of our midfield in full flow popping passes together at speed is almost as exciting as a goal. I am looking forward until the day where Arsene has most if not all his midfield options fit and available for selection.

The Daily Mail wrote an article yesterday about Arsene's search for a new striker. Well respected Twitter source @AFCCamden was talking about the same thing earlier that day so I get the feeling that a journalist read that tweet and decided to write an article about it, rather than it being any of his own work.

It wouldn't surprise me at all if we already had a target in mind and I thought as much during the summer. Before the transfer windowed had closed, Arsene spoke in his press conference that if he couldn't bring what he wanted then he would do so in January. I wondered why Arsene was speaking about the January window when the summer one hadn't yet closed. It seemed to me that Arsene wanted players that were not available to him at the time and he knew that he had to wait.

This was pretty much all but confirmed when Chamakh only made a short cameo in the capital one cup against Coventry. If he was in Arsene's plans then he would have started that game. With so many forwards having left either permanently (Grrr) or on loan, we are clearly short in that area.

Many names have been bandied about but I quite like the idea of having a Gervinho type forward. A skilful, technical speedster but with the added composure and clinicalness in front of goal.

It is quite strange because I can see the player in my mind, he is completely made up but he is bloody good.

Anyway, transfer speculation really should be stuff back into the shoe box and slid under the bed until December at least.

In other news Laurent Koscielny is now fit again after a brief scare at the French training ground, he should play for his country which is quite a good thing as he has not had a great deal of football thus far.

That's your lot for now, oh and if you're on Twitter then give me a follow @ArsenalVision

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Comments (9)

• 11-Oct-2012 13:00 | | Waterboy
  

  Hi ML! Another good post! I was wondering why thou you think we are short in the central striking department? By my count there's Giroud, Gervinho, Walcott and Podolski who in my opinion can all play in that solitary position. IMO each of those players also brings a slightly different set of skills to the role which in my view provides Arsenal with sufficient attacking diversity without the team having to diverge to far from their normal method of attack. Even if you take Podolski out of the above list, as he seems to be a permenant figure in the LCAM role, that still leaves Giroud, Gervinho and Walcott all competing for the same role. IMO that is more than sufficient quality in depth. If there is any position I think is lacking quality in depth it's the LCAM role. Beyond Podolski all I can think of to fill that role is Gnabry and he is still very very young despite his obvious talent. Ramsey and Ox appear to be the two key contenders for the RCAM role with Eisfeld a possible third choice, after some impressive performances IMO for the Under 21s. As always interested to hear your thoughts?

• 11-Oct-2012 13:12 | | Anonymous
  

  but surely ml you have witnessed the last few years the "assasination" arsenal gets in the press and the rivals tauntings that mess up with our idiotic fans minds?
  
  the rivals come out taunting the arsenal fans about expensive tickets and no trophies and the stupid arsenal fan bites the bait and starts attacking his own club
  
  they dont care about the club;s stability...they dont care about the football the team plays...they are gloryseekers who thought wenger;s early succes was going to be the rule, while ignoring the circumstances which have shaped the epl.
  
  chief muppet for all this is the twat at ast who thinks he speaks for everyone when in fact he is only expressing his personal frustration.....the ones who are most critical are also the ones who would like to see an ex kgb uzbeki genocidal cunt owning the club....

• 11-Oct-2012 13:13 | | MeanLean
  

  Hey Waterboy,
  
  I think we are short at center forward because most of our attacking players are primarily used in wider areas. Arsene went with Podolski up front once and wasn't convinced judging by his post match comments that said it was only his first game.
  
  Gervinho by trade is a wide player although I have been very impressed with him centrally thus far.
  
  Arsene likes to have a link up player in that position and only Giroud and Chamakh further down the ladder can do that job.
  
  Theo Walcott has started as a center forward once as far as I can remember, funnily enough he scored a hat trick but was absent from the team play. He was very young though, that CL game at home, cannot remember the opposition now.
  
  The closest youngster we have to breaking through is yet another wide forward, out of all areas, I see the center forward position as the one area that Arsene would look to bring someone into.

• 12-Oct-2012 08:28 | | Waterboy
  

  You make some really good points ML! Do you have any suggestions as to who you think Arsene might go for?

• 12-Oct-2012 08:47 | | MeanLean
  

  I don't have a name in mind, I don't watch enough football outside of the Premier League to be honest but I do have the exact picture of player in my mind. Picture this, South American (doesn't have to be but that it what I have) about 5"9, stocky but quick and mobile. Think, Serge Gnabry in build.
  
  Two footed with powerful legs, quick and technically very good. Able to drop off his center backs kill Cazorla's passes and has the ability to play passes in behind full backs for our wide forwards but his strength is in the box. Play the ball into his feet and he can dribble in tight spaces and shoot powerfully.
  
  Sounds like a crock of old shit I know but its weird how vivid it is in my mind.

• 12-Oct-2012 10:10 | | 'desi'gner gooner  - @Waterboy - we have a candidate for the left winge
  

  @Waterboy you rightly mentioned that Podolski has made the left wing attacking role his own and also Gervinho playing down the middle seems to be suiting us very nicely indeed. I mentioned in one of my earlier posts that I would love to see Andre Santos come on as substitute late on in games when we replace a tired prince poldi.....And he could even start there when Poldi is unavailable. He has all the makings of an exciting left winger - infact I always see him as a left winger disguising himself as a left back!!! Of course that is only possible when we have a fully fit kieran gibbs....
  
  And if Gibbs is unavailable & Santos is playing at left back - then Gervinho can always take up the role of the left winger - remember that is his original position. We definitely need a central striker because both Gervinho & Walcott(his contract situation unfortunately means we can't really count on him) are both converts and we cant be relying only on those two - in case Giroud were to get injured. I fully agree with ML when he says that Chamakh is definitely not in Wenger's long term plans otherwise he would have featured more prominently in the League Cup game.
  IMO we only have Giroud & Gervinho who we can count on....Walcott cannot be relied upon until he signs the damn thing and Chamakh needs a couple of hat-tricks in the reserve games to be even considered confident enough to make a difference in a premier league game. I feel sad for the fella but then thats just how things are....I think a step down the ladder or a move back to france would be better for Chamakh's career.
  So a central striker is definitely needed and I just have a sneaky feeling that Wenger might just break the bank this time around!!! And if he doesn't I won't be suprised if he went for another young gem and taking the mickey out of everyone....

• 12-Oct-2012 11:50 | | Waterboy
  

  ML, i dont think your description sound like a crock of shit at all! What i think it sound like is Sergio Aguero! And if Wenger can discover and recruit the next Aguero i will be a very happy Gooner!! Btw i believe Augero is 5'8! So close!! :-)

• 12-Oct-2012 13:04 | | Waterboy
  

  Hi 'Desi'gner Gooner! Thanks for your reply post! I really like your idea of Santos being played in rotation with Podolski in the LCAM role. From what I've seen of the Brazilian he seems to have the natural attacking inclination to make incisive off the ball runs into the box as well as a soft touch, some of that famous Brazilian flair and good passing skills to link Arsenal's attacking play thru Cazorla and create himself. He does appear to be a bit lazy with tracking back thou which is something he needs to work on.
  
  If Santos was to be transformed into a LCAM thou, a new LB would appear to be needed to rotate with Gibbs, unless Meade or Angha (who have shared the LB spot for the Under 21s this season) where promoted. Alternatively Coquelin or Yennaris could be other options, thou Coquelin has been pretty vocal about regarding himself as a central midfielder and not a fullback. I have to admit having a bit of a soft spot for local boy Yennaris and would love to see him find a spot in the first team, even at LB (despite not being left footed or having played there for the Under 21s). I think Yennaris has the necessary skill set (attacking off the ball runner, tenacious tackler, hard worker, good touch and effective passer) thou his lack of experience in that position might count against him as a credible option.
  
  Regarding Walcott, I can understand why it would be difficult for Wenger to invest in converting a player who is stalling on signing a new deal in the final year of his existing contract (if that even is a factor). That said, I think he is a bloody good third choice central striker for the team to have.
  
  I'm still not convinced we cant rely on Gervinho as a central striking option, despite being converted to the position. I think he brings something different to the role than Giroud, particular with his dynamic lateral movement and dribbling skills. And provided our LCAM and RCAM players are making attacking runs into the box and our CAM is threading balls through to those advancing midfielders and offering a long range shooting threat, Arsenal's attacking play shouldn't suffer from Gervinho operating in a different fashion to the more centrally based Giroud. I certainly feel Gervinho is better suited to the central striking role that as a left or right central attacking midfielder.
  
  I can understand though that Walcott's precarious contractual situation does raise a question mark over whether another central striker is required in January, in case Walcott elects to leave the club on a free at season's end (I don't see Wenger selling him in January). Also I can see the benefit another central striker in the mould of Giroud would bring to the team in terms of depth but I don't see Arsenal paying a fortune for a third choice central striker. Unless a Benzema type player becomes available on the cheap and Wenger has plans to push Giroud and Gervinho down the pecking order.
  
  I think a talented youngster in the mould of Giroud and to compete with Afobe might be the way Arsenal go, but obviously it will depend a lot on what happens between now and the January transfer window opening.

• 14-Oct-2012 18:57 | | Andy Mack
  

  Theo can be a good CF when the opposition play a high line. I'm not sure he can do it when they don't as he doesn't appear to respond well when CB/FBs are pressing his back as he faces away fron goal.
  But that could work quite well. Some of our best games have the front 3 swapping positions every few minutes so the opposing defenders don't get comfortable. Doing that with Giroud isn't so easy as he's not a winger, whereas Theo, Poldi, Gerv and Oxe can all do that very easily.
  It drags defenders into areas they're not happy and plots them all against Theo/Oxes speed at some time during the game.
  They can't tackle Poldi in the same way that they tackle Theo etc etc.
  
  I'm hoping Afobe has a good year to Bolton as I think he has great potential and would really like to see him in the squad.

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