Champions League Preview – Schalke 04

Arsenal will be looking to put their lackluster weekend performance against Norwich City behind them quickly as they take on German powerhouse Schalke 04 in the Champions League group stage on Wednesday.

The Opponent

Nestled in West Germany Schalke 04 are one of German football’s giants having won the Bundesliga seven times and finished as runners-up nine times in the clubs history despite being slightly overshadowed by Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich.

Their current season is going particularly well as they sit third in the league having taken 17 points from eight games, distancing them from fourth place rivals Borussia Dortmund by five points.

As far as form goes Schalke are red hot right now, having won three of their last five games and only losing once in that time against league leaders Bayern Munich.

Schalke will try to build on their success at the weekend as they dominantly beat bitter rivals Borussia Dortmund 1-2 in the Revierderby.

Key Players

The obvious threat to Arsenal’s defense is the impressive Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, a player who scored 29 times in the Bundesliga last season and has continued his solid goal scoring record having scored three league goals already this season.

Huntelaar has an immense finisher who can seemingly produce scoring opportunities out of absolutely nothing, pair this with superb heading abilities and Huntelaar is a formidable attacking opponent.

Schalke 04 captain Benedikt Howedes has proved himself to be one of the clubs key players in the past few years and has recently broken into the German national team and could prove to be a thorn in the side of Arsenal’s forwards.

24-year-old Howedes is an exceptional interceptor of balls and a hard tackler who commits very few fouls, making his disciplined but effective approach to defending tough to break down.

Barcelona loanee Ibrahim Afellay has taken no time at all to get used to life in the German league, having scored twice in five starts.

Afellay excels on the ground with strong ball control and dribbling attributes that could prove problematic for Arsenal’s fullbacks if they are caught napping, what makes the Dutch international even more dangerous is the fact that he isn’t afraid to have a shot from range.

Injuries

Kyriakos Papadopoulos – Virus

Julian Draxler – Forearm

Sergio Escudero – Groin

Vassilis Pliatsikas – Knee

Arsenal

The Gunners will be frustrated following their disappointing 1-0 loss to relegation favourites Norwich City on Saturday and will aim to get back on track with a win against tough competition at home.

A stat that works in the favour of Arsenal is the fact that the Gunners are unbeaten in 16 Champions League home matches and have not lost at home to a foreign club in an astonishing 45 times, since 2003.

What makes the matchup even more sweeter (statistically) is the fact that Arsenal have not lost to German visitors in their last six games, having recorded nine victories against Bundesliga sides.

Key Players

One of Arsenal’s newest recruits Lukas Podolski brings with him a huge amount of experience against German sides, including Schalke, and has a good history of goals against the club having scored four times against them.

Podolski will look to expose the Schalke 04’s frailties with a combination of long shots, short passes and of course his phenomenal direct free kick ability.

Arsenal’s lofty German defender Per Mertesacker will bring even more experience against Schalke to the Gunners squad on Wednesday having made 12 appearances against the side in his time at Werder Bremen.

The in-form defender will be aiming to build on his strong start to the season, despite having made only 9 tackles in eight appearances for the club.

Finally, Arsenal’s number 24, Vito Mannone, will make his third Champions League appearance of the season between the sticks and will face one of the biggest challenges of his young career so far.

Schalke have no shortage of attacking options and the young Italian will have to be at his best if he is to guide Arsenal to nine points from three group stage games.

Injuries:

Theo Walcott – Lung

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – Hip

Tomas Rosicky – Tendon

Abou Diaby – Thigh strain

Laurent Koscielny – Back (*Edit* Now Available) 

Kieran Gibbs – Thigh

Wojciech Szczesny – Ankle

Lukasz Fabianski – Back

Olivier Giroud – The Misfiring Gunner

Olivier Giroud ended last season as Ligue 1’s joint top scorer with 21 league goals and was signed by Arsenal in the 2012 summer transfer window for an initial fee of £9.6million to bolster the sides forward line.

At first there was no pressure on the 26-year-old to settle into his new life in London as a member of Arsenal, why would there have been? Robin van Persie was still an Arsenal player and although transfer negotiations looked frosty, Arsenal were quietly optimistic.

As we all know, this optimism soon changed to an empty feeling that Arsenal fans have become frustratingly familiar with. The Arsenal board felt that despite the key departure the team for next season was fine and that no reinforcements would be brought in (despite funds being available).

It was time for Giroud to step up to the plate as Arsenal’s number one striker, having never played in the Premier League or with his new teammates in a competitive match before.

Whether you believe Olivier was originally signed as a replacement for Robin van Persie or if he was signed as reinforcement for a depleted, and if I’m being honest, poor, crop of strikers, something has not clicked for the Frenchman in his Arsenal career so far. Why is this?

‘Replacing’ Van Persie was never going to be easy and it would have been foolish to have expected Giroud to do so immediately, but of course Arsenal is a big club and playing for a big club means big pressure from the fans who demand goals.

Although Olivier told reporters he was “not worried about the pressure” it was clear that the weight on his shoulders was huge and it was visible to see in his first few Premier League games.

The first day of the season should have seen the France international score his first goal against Sunderland, but instead he knocked the ball just wide. At Montpellier a year earlier he would have buried that shot and from Giroud’s facial expressions the pressure and frustration was there for all to see.

It was a similar story at Stoke City a week later, one clear cut chance which ended in the Frenchman driving a scorpion kick into the ground before it plopped over the crossbar, and of course that wonder strike that so nearly launched his Arsenal career on a positive note.

The talent is there, there is no question about that. Olivier’s movement off the ball is stunning and his supporting role in assisting his teammates is another key area of his game that is commonly overlooked by fans and pundits with the player racking up three assists this season already.

But he was not signed to assist teammates, he was signed by Arsenal to bury the ball into the net courtesy of his colleagues hard work, something which is not currently happening.

Having recently watched Arsenal’s latest abysmal performance against Norwich City, one part of Arsenal’s game clearly stood out. A lack of crosses into a lofty Giroud waiting for balls in the box.

Arsenal are trying to work the ball through into the penalty area, while this is a great tactic at times, Giroud thrives off of his strong aerial duel attributes and although Carl Jenkinson launched a few balls into the Norwich box, there were not enough similar balls for Giroud to truly shine.

The last two goals Giroud scored, for France and Arsenal, were both from crosses outside the area which found Giroud lurking in the middle waiting to pounce. If Arsenal utilize Olivier’s obvious talents then he will score a lot of goals, there is no doubt about that.

It is unfair to be putting so much pressure on Giroud so early in his Arsenal career, especially with his strengths not being currently addressed by the direction of his teams tactics, and with mounting pressure from not just Arsenal fans but taunting chants from rival fans the pressure will only grow.

Yes, he should have scored a few more goals than he already has but there is an extreme amount of pressure on the player, but have faith in Olivier, he is a proven goalscorer who is currently not being utilized to his full potential

The £35million Question – Will Arsenal spend big in January?

If yesterday’s loss to relegation favourites Norwich City told Arsenal supporters anything, it’s that reinforcements are a must in January if the team are going to challenge for anything above fourth place in the Premier League.

Various reports have suggested that Arsenal’s board have handed Arsene Wenger a war chest of  £35million to spend in the January transfer window, with players already starting to be linked with the club.

Unfortunately for Arsenal fans, there have been rumours that Wenger may not delve into this hefty sum of cash and bolster his squad in the winter window, however I believe this is untrue.

Wenger appears to have lost some faith in new signing Olivier Giroud as a short term replacement for Robin van Persie and now sees the Frenchman as his long term successor, while pacey winger Theo Walcott looks destined to leave the club in the window with Liverpool showing increasing interest in his services.

This points towards at least one or two players coming into the team in January, with another striker and another wide player the priority.

Atletico Madrid’s out of favour forward Adrián López has been hotly tipped as Wenger’s number one target for the January window, a player that I would personally welcome to the club with open arms.

Having played at left wing, striker, attacking midfield and right midfield already this season Adrián would in fact cover both a replacement for Walcott and a backup for Giroud (who would offer a different playing style), and with a reported buyout clause of around £14-15million he would be an absolute bargain.

Many fans are calling for Wenger to chase Athletic Bilbao’s towering striker Fernando Llorente, however with his playing style very similar to that of Giroud’s, paired with the fact that clubs like Juventus, Manchester City, Chelsea and Real Madrid interested it would be unlikely that Arsenal would enter into a transfer dogfight for the Spaniard.

While much of the transfer speculation is focused on the search for another striker another area that Arsenal need to find more competition for is goalkeeper, with Wojciech Szczesny’s only competition for the role of first choice keeper being the unpredictable Vito Mannone.

An experienced keeper or another young talent (think Borussia Monchengladbach’s Marc-André ter Stegen) who could challenge Szczesny for the number one role would be a wise investment and promote stronger displays from a young crop of goalkeepers.

It would be foolish for Wenger not to spend the funds made available to him and although the side has some immense talents in the shape of Podolski, Wilshere, Cazorla and more there is a lot of room for improvement.

If Arsenal want to challenge for trophies in the second half of the season then reinforcements are needed, whether these reinforcements will arrive is a different matter altogether.

Gervinho – Wenger’s latest work of genius.

Arsenal’s versatile Ivorian forward Gervinho struggled to hit the ground running in the Premier League last year, but this season has been a completely different story for the 25-year-old.

One of the most attractive parts of Gervinho’s game is his ability to play across the entire front line, this season he has played at right-wing, left-wing and thanks to a lot of hard work in the offseason, at striker too.

This ability has given Arsene Wenger a very dangerous attacking force at his disposal with Spanish ace Santi Cazorla, German powerhouse Lukas Podolski as well as Gervinho all  able to switch positions on the front line throughout the game, terrorizing defenders.

Initially signed as a right-winger Gervinho has made a name for himself at striker this season with the player netting three goals in three appearances at the position, conversely on the right-wing this season he’s appeared twice and scored once.

It has to be said that with Santi Cazorla’s genius in the midfield is making the rest of the Arsenal forwards look phenomenal, but Gervinho’s ability is starting to speak for itself.

Santi Cazorla and Mikel Arteta are the pass masters of the Arsenal midfield, but surprisingly Gervinho is not far behind them. With a pass success rate of 87.3% so far this season, Gervinho is statistically a better passer than Lukas Podolski and Abou Diaby.

It would seem that Gervinho’s only problem so far this season has been nerves, particularly in front of goal, these nerves have led to his unpredictable performances that often bring a lot of criticism from Arsenal fans.

A great example of these nerves getting the better of the Ivorian was his poor first touch against Manchester City which would have almost certainly led to a goal.

Despite his mistake, Wenger was so impressed by Gervinho’s performance against Man City that he told Arsenal.com: “I liked what he did and it was in the back of my mind. It is interesting because he is such a great mover and he is so quick so when he is central,

“Once he gets ahead of the central defender it is difficult to catch him back.”

Gervinho is developing into an exciting striker and has definitely adapted to the style of the Premier League, Theo Walcott should be worried because it looks like his colleague on the wing has made the transition to the lead forward role and he is impressing more with every game he starts there.

Player Review – Carl Jenkinson (vs. Manchester City)

Carl Jenkinson continued his meteoric rise to hero status among Arsenal supporters as he impressed in his fifth successive league outing, this time against reigning champions Manchester City.

The 20-year-old again showed scintillating form in both his attacking and defensive play, bombing up into the depths of Manchester City’s half and then back to defend his own goal without hesitation.

Early on in the game Jenkinson was tasked with keeping quiet pacey ex-Swansea winger Scott Sinclair, a task he completed with ease, not allowing the Manchester City man to get the better of him once.

Coming into the game Jenkinson had not allowed an opposing player to dribble past him, a statistic he retained at the end of the City game despite the likes of Sergio Aguero, Carlos Tevez and Yaya Toure all pitted against him.

It’s amazing to think how far the youngster has come from being part of the infamous squad that sunk to an 8-2 defeat against Manchester United, to a calm and collected defensive wall on the right flank.

His defensive prowess is clear for all to see, but what is equally impressive about young Jenkinson is the offensive side of his game that he showcased on Sunday.

Throughout the latter stages of the second half the Finland U-21 stunned the Manchester City defense with marauding runs down the right of the pitch.

The best example of this actually came in the first half when Mikel Arteta launched a through ball into the path of a charging Jenkinson, only for the ball to be collected by England international Joleon Lescott.

Unfortunately for the City man a fired up Jenkinson soon won back the ball and bolted into the box, coolly slotting a ball back to Lukas Podolski who proceeded to launch the ball into orbit.

In the dying moments of the second half Jenkinson was an ever present force in the Arsenal attack, constantly pushing up and pressuring the Manchester City defenders while putting an almost continuous stream of crosses into the middle for hungry forwards.

His final move of the game, a potential match winner, was an outstanding run that he created himself by intercepting a pass and then exchanging a neat headed one-two with Aaron Ramsey.

As if from nowhere Jenkinson shot onto the ball, cruising round a lethargic Javi Garcia and was heading for goal. Or so we all thought. The only way the Spaniard could stop the storming Arsenal player was to jump on his back and bring him down.

Carl Jenkinson played a key role in securing a 1-1 draw at one of the toughest stadium’s in Europe to come away with a point as his tireless runs, solid defensive work and near-perfect passing were a thorn in City’s side all afternoon.

Bacary Sagna should be thinking long and hard about his future because Arsenal seem to have found their new favourite right back.

Super Santi – Arsenal’s midfield savior?

Last season Arsenal lacked a creative presence in the top end of the midfield, Jack Wilshere was out with a string of frustrating injuries and the the departures of Samir Nasri and Cesc Fabregas in the summer left the Gunners relying mainly on holding midfielder Alex Song for creativity.

In the summer Arsene Wenger worked his transfer magic, stealing an absolute gem from cash strapped La Liga side Malaga in the form of Spanish ace Santi Cazorla, immediately solving his sides creative issues.

Cazorla has been nothing short of a star for Arsenal in his first few games at the club, asserting himself as the heir to Fabregas’ crown as Arsenal’s midfield king.

The little Spaniard has a variety of tools that make him the complete midfield package, but the most polished of these tools is almost definitely his passing ability.

In the Premier League season so far Cazorla has completed 333 out of the 367 passes he has attempted, that’s a pass success rate of 90.7% and an absolutely outstanding statistic. To call little Santi a pass master would be a understatement.

Not only does he make a lot of passes, he makes a lot of important passes. In his first five EPL games Santi has racked up two assists and 20 key passes, four per game making him an absolutely vital cog in Arsenal’s midfield.

Santi has revolutionized the firepower at the front of Arsenal’s midfield. His link-up play with fellow summer signing Lukas Podolski is as if they had been playing together for years and his chemistry with Abou Diaby and Mikel Arteta make Arsenal’s midfield a formidable force for the first time in a while.

The ever smiling, ever shooting, ever speedy Santi Cazorla has settled into life at Arsenal very nicely and it is already hard to imagine Arsenal without his tiresome presence in the middle.

Arsene Wenger has done it again, he’s managed to bag Arsenal another absolute gem and we should be very thankful to our manager for this early Christmas present.

Arsenal – Dark horse this season?

A new beginning

There is a lot to be positive about if you are an Arsenal fan as we approach the third game of the new campaign.

Three top class players have joined the ranks of the Gunners including the firepower of strikers Olivier Giroud and Lukas Podolski, while midfield maestro Santi Cazorla has blazed through defenses and established himself as an instant hit.

New signing and Germany international Lukas Podolski will add firepower to Arsenal this season.

Arsenal are now free of two personalities that hindered the club last season and over the summer. Robin van Persie’s contract situation was a constant shadow that hung over Arsenal’s last campaign,  this distraction is now gone and £24million that will be reinvested in the club has replaced the striker.

Also, Alex Song is now no longer an Arsenal player following his transfer to Barcelona. Labelled “lazy” and lacking professionalism by club sources the player is no longer going to have a negative influence on his teammates.

Air of positivity 

At the start of last season Arsenal were without influential captain Cesc Fabregas and France international Samir Nasri after both forced transfers out of the club.

Heading into 2011-2012 season Arsenal was a mess and lacked top quality players, leading to splashing a lot of cash in the days before and on deadline day to fill holes in the squad.

This year it is all different. RvP’s loss is softened considerably with the arrival of Giroud and Podolski who were at the club before the Dutchman left, with the two players scoring over 20 goals each last season in Ligue 1 and the Bundesliga respectively.

Santi Cazorla has been brought in as a reinforcement in the midfield and his creativity, dribbling and all round ability has had an instant effect on the side, it is fair to say the little Spaniard has been an absolute sensation so far.

Miniature midfielder Santi Cazorla has been an instant hit.

Arséne Wenger has faith in this team and after the Stoke game he said: “There is some work to do on the training ground but you can feel the potential,” and he is completely right.

I can not remember a season where I was this excited about an Arsenal team and what makes the prospect of this season even more mouthwatering is that Wenger is no where near done in the transfer market yet, three more signings are expected, all of which are to be “super quality”.

Rock solid defense

Arsenal have yet to concede a goal, no other team in the Premier League has achieved this other than Swansea and Sunderland, and the latter have played only once.

Steve Bould has worked his magic on a defensive lineup which had many fans worried coming into the season with first choice right-back Bacary Sagna recovering from a broken leg, leaving Carl Jenkinson to fill in and Laurent Koscielny out with a calf injury.

Jenkinson has been Arsenal’s surprise package of the season so far.

Surprisingly, what we have witnessed is one of the most solid Arsenal defenses in a very long time with the likes of Jenkinson looking confident pushing forward as well as defending, a far cry from the player we saw experience an absolute horror show against Manchester United early last season.

Of course, reinforcements are still desperately needed but the prospect of a utility defender coming in to the squad as well as Jenkinson and Kieran Gibbs’ development coming along strongly is great news.

Quietly confident

I know for a fact that I am not the only Arsenal fan out there who believes that Arsenal will be the surprise package of the Premier League this season, there is a large group of positive Gooners out there.

Chelsea have improved, offensively, but they are still weak at the back and despite taking nine points from three games they would have been expected to take all three wins.

City have appeared slightly lost in their first two games as well as defensively poor, conceding two times against plucky Southampton and twice against Liverpool. In terms of transfers Jack Rodwell and Scott Sinclair are all the champions can boast so far.

United look like the favourites for the title with the addition of Van Persie, but with Rooney, Hernandez and Welbeck all starting behind RvP tensions may flair and a squad implosion could be on the cards.

Liverpool, where to start? A reluctant Nuri Sahin, ex-Swansea midfielder Joe Allen and the unproven Fabio Borini join a weak side who were battered by West Brom in the opening game of the season 3-0. They ought to provide a test for Arsenal this week, but not in the long run.

Of course, United, City and Chelsea are still three of the best clubs in Europe and will by no means be pushovers this season, but I do believe that Arsenal have taken a step towards bridging the gap and are heading to the level of these teams, maybe not this season but if the progression continues then maybe next season.

Arsenal will surprise this season and I feel confident that for the fist time in a while the Gunners will have a legitimate shot at silverware in at least one competition.

Ignore the pundits and look at the facts, this is an Arsenal team that means business.

Big season ahead for Gervinho

The story so far

Gervinho was one of the biggest signings Arsenal made last season, the Ivory Coast international was the man Arséne Wenger expected to replace the erratic Andrei Arshavin on the left wing, but things didn’t work out.

The 25-year-old struggled to adapt to life in the Premier League and was sent off in his first league appearance after an altercation with the infamous Joey Barton and following his return he struggled to cope with the physicality of the English game.

The winger left for the African Cup of Nations in early 2012 and endured the heartbreak of missing a vital penalty which handed Zambia victory in the final. He never recovered from the disappointment and returned to Arsenal a different player.

Gervinho (Left) was never the same player after his return from the African Cup of Nations.

Gervinho lost his place in the first team to the likes of Chelsea-loanee Yossi Benayoun and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and found himself mainly making appearances off the bench for the remainder of the season.

An impressive start

Once the season ended Gervinho set to work on finding his Lille form where he was widely regarded as one of he best dribblers in Europe and a constant threat to slot the ball to key forwards in the box.

His hard work paid off. He scored twice in preseason matches with one against Southampton and another against FC Koln as well as assisting starlet Thomas Eisfeld against Kitchee FC.

But he didn’t stop there, Gervinho took his impressive form into the first game of the season, a home clash with a tricky Sunderland side who were determined to shut down Arsenal’s midfield and, as it is popularly called now, ‘park the bus’ in front of goal.

Gervinho was at his record breaking best against Sunderland.

The winger started the match and was an energetic presence on the left flank attempting 20 dribbles past players, the most sine Ronaldo in the 2005-2006 season, and completed 10 of those to set a new Premier  League record.

Not only did he dribble effectively but he also had four shots on goal which does not sound a lot but when you take into consideration that was more than strikers Olivier Giroud and Lukas Podolski, who both had two, it is an impressive statistic.

Driven by ambition

Gervinho is a known admirer of Arsenal legend Robert Pires and has openly stated that he wants to replicate the Frenchman’s sophomore season where he achieved great things at Arsenal including a Footballer of the Year award.

Gervinho said: “You should always look at these examples from the past. Robert is a fantastic player, very experienced, and I saw this for myself [when Pires was] training here.

“I really hope to emulate Robert Pires in my second season, hopefully do even better, but I hope to carve out my own niche of course.

Doing even better than the legendary Robert Pires is an extremely tall task, but the Ivorian’s ambition must be admired and if it is the driving force behind his recent performances on the pitch it should be nurtured.

Gervinho has a make or break season ahead of him. If he can continue his form then he will be one of Arsenal’s most valuable assets and when the new squad gels his linking with Santi Cazorla, Olivier Giroud and Lukas Podolski will be a very exciting prospect.

But, if Gervinho regresses to his post African Cup of Nations form he may be moved elsewhere next summer if the right offer comes in and with the prospect of Jesus Navas joining the Gunners, he may be under even more pressure to perform than he already is.

Fixtures: August to December

With just one week till the start of the Premier League season and with Arsenal taking part in four competitions the club will have a very busy schedule in the first half of the season.

August

HOME – 18th August (Sat @ 15:00), Arsenal vs. Sunderland (Premier League)

AWAY – 26th August (Sun @ 13:30), Stoke City vs. Arsenal (Premier League)

September

AWAY – 2nd September (Sun @ 13:30), Liverpool vs. Arsenal (Premier League)

HOME – 15th September (Sat @ 15:00), Arsenal vs. Southampton (Premier League)

TBA – 18/19th September (Tue/Wed @ 19:45), TBA vs. Arsenal (UEFA Champions League)

AWAY – 23rd September (Sun @ 16:00), Manchester City vs. Arsenal (Premier League)

TBA – 26th September (Wed @ TBA), TBA vs. Arsenal (Capital One Cup)

HOME – 29th September (Sat @ 12:45), Arsenal vs. Chelsea (Premier League)

October

TBA – 2/3rd October (Tue/Wed @ 19:45), TBA vs. Arsenal (UEFA Champions League)

AWAY – 6th October (Sat @17:30), West Ham United vs. Arsenal (Premier League)

AWAY – 20th October (Sat @ 17:30), Norwich vs. Arsenal (Premier League)

TBA – 23/24th October (Tue/Wed @ 19:45), TBA vs. Arsenal (UEFA Champions League)

HOME – 27th October (Sat @ 15:00), Arsenal vs. QPR (Premier League)

November

AWAY – 3rd November (Sat @ 12:45), Manchester United vs. Arsenal (Premier League)

TBA – 6/7th November (Tue/Wed @ 19:45), TBA vs. Arsenal (UEFA Champions League)

HOME – 10th November (Sat @ 15:00), Arsenal vs. Fulham (Premier League)

HOME – 17th November (Sat @ 12:45), Arsenal vs. Tottenham Hotspur (Premier League)

TBA – 20/21st November (Tue/Wed @ 19:45), TBA vs. Arsenal (UEFA Champions League)

AWAY – 24th November (Sat @ 17:30), Aston Villa vs. Arsenal (Premier League)

AWAY – 28th November (Wed @ 19:45), Everton vs. Arsenal (Premier League)

December

HOME – 1st December (Sat @ 15:00), Arsenal vs. Swansea (Premier League)

TBA – 4/5th December (Tue/Wed @ 19:45), TBA vs. Arsenal (UEFA Champions League)

HOME – 8th December (Sat @ 15:00), Arsenal vs. West Brom (Premier League)

AWAY – 15th December (Sat @ 15:00), Reading vs. Arsenal (Premier League)

AWAY – 22nd December (Sat @ 15:00), Wigan Athletic vs. Arsenal (Premier League)

HOME – 26th December (Wed @ 15:00), Arsenal vs. West Ham (Premier League)

HOME – 29th December (Sat @ 15:00), Arsenal vs. Newcastle (Premier League)

We’ll be updating this list when fixtures for both the UEFA Champions League and Capital One Cup are announced.

Spotlight: A defensive midfield conundrum

Arsenal have been in need of a strong defensive minded midfielder for a few seasons now and with current ‘defensive’ midfielder Alex Song proving his worth as a creative player last season, as well as attracting interest from Barcelona, Arsene Wenger may be looking to change things up.

The French manager has several options and if Barcelona do make an offer that the Gunners can not refuse there are a few players who are more than capable of filling Song’s boots.

Yann M’Vila

Rennes midfielder Yann M’Vila has been linked with Arsenal for over a year now and although the player has been rumored to have signed a contract with the club several times, it seems that a deal for the player is now dead.

That’s unless Song does move to the Spanish giants, in which case Arsenal will be poised to make a move for the player and with Rennes admitting they are unable to buy until they sell the Frenchman, he could be available at a good price.

Defensively M’Vila is miles ahead of Alex Song and focusing purely on league performances the Rennes midfielder made, on average, 3.1 tackles per game compared to Song’s 2.9.

That doesn’t sound like much of a difference, but pair that with the fact that M’Vila made 2.5 interceptions and only 0.8 fouls on average and then compare that to Song’s poor 1.9 interceptions and 2.1 fouls and it starts to become clearer who is better defensively.

Yann M’Vila would be the best defensively minded option for Arsenal

If we now focus on offensive statistics the tables are significantly turned, Song for example made an incredible 11 assists last season, while M’Vila made just two.

Both had few shots per game, with Song having just 0.4 on average and M’Vila only slightly better on 0.7 and the two are similar with regard to key passes, with Song making 1.4 per game and M’Vila making 1.1.

Finally, it is important to also take into consideration how well the players keep hold of the ball and the amount they are dispossessed during a game, Song is poor in this area, being dispossessed at least once a game with an average of 1.6 while M’Vila is much more reassuring at 0.7.

It is very clear from these statistics that Yann M’Vila is a far more efficient player defensively than Song, however the Cameroonian’s ability as a creative and attacking force is undisputed and far superior.

Etienne Capoue

Toulouse midfielder Etienne Capoue is another defensive midfielder who has been linked with Arsenal, as well as Barcelona, in this transfer window and the Frenchman could be an interesting possibility for Wenger.

Tackling is an area where Capoue is most similar to Song, making an average of 2.8 tackles per game, a slight concern especially as this is slightly less than offensively minded Cameroon international.

Interceptions are where Capoue really excels making 3.5 interceptions on average per game, far superior to Song and M’Vila, another area the player stands out compared to the others is his clearances, averaging three per game compared to  M’Vila’s 1.7 and Song’s 1.2.

Offensively Capoue would be a step down from Song, but certainly a step up from Yann M’Vila with the player scoring three times and making four assists all season, more goals than Song (scored once) and more assists than M’Vila (assisted twice).

Capoue is dispossessed as often as Alex Song and also makes far fewer key passes during a game making Capoue far less desirable when adding to the push forward, although his height makes him a very dangerous threat at set plays.

Barcelona’s interest will decide route Wenger takes

It seems now that Arsenal will only make a move for a defensive midfielder now if Alex Song leaves for Spain, with Cazorla and possibly Sahin (who can play as a defensive midfielder) adding to an already competitive battle for first team places in Arsenal’s midfield.

However, with two-years left on his current contract there is no reason for Arsenal to sell Song if they don’t want to and some sources are suggesting that Arsenal are unwilling to do business with the Catalan club after their shenanigans in the Cesc Fabregas transfer saga.

If Wenger is forced to move for a defensively minded midfielder it seems like Capoue would make the most sense for Arsenal with his balanced defensive and offensive abilities.

Versatility makes Capoue another interesting solution taking into consideration that he made three appearances as a central defender last time, an asset Wenger could certainly use considering the almost inevitable injuries his defense will face.