QPR are hoping to offload Jose Bosingwa by offering him a big-money payoff this month.
The Portuguese full-back arrived on a free transfer, after being released by Chelsea last summer, under the regime of former manager Mark Hughes.
However, he has fallen out with new boss Harry Redknapp after refusing to take his place on the substitutes bench against Fulham last month.
The Super Hoops are now desperate to get him out of the club and clear his £60,000-per-week wages from their expenditure.
But, Bosingwa is reportedly unwilling to leave easily and would likely struggle to find a club happy to match his salary demands.
This has force the Londoners into exploring the possibility of terminating his contract, which has two-and-a-half years to run.
The 30-year-old has allegedly been late for training on a number of occasions and shown very little commitment to the cause:
“It is very difficult. He has fallen out with the boss and now doesn’t want to be there, but is on a big contract.” Sources close to The Mirror have revealed.
“He has been one of the most difficult players at a club some of the players have ever seen. He turns up, listens to music and clearly wants to move on.”
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It is thought that a few clubs from Europe may be interested, but it is likely that QPR will have to heavily subsidise his earnings.
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has leapt to the defence of Luis Suarez, following his side’s 2-1 FA Cup victory against Mansfield.
The Uruguayan netted the Reds’ second goal of the game after appearing to have handled the ball to round goalkeeper Alan Marriott.
Referee Andre Marriner allowed the strike, leading to protests from the home side.
After the game Rodgers defended his talismanic forward, claiming that the blame should be laid on the officials:
“It’s not deliberate, as it’s pushed up and hit his hand. It’s up to the officials to decide that.” He told Sky Sports.
“That’s why they get paid as officials and I thought Andre Marriner was brilliant today.
“Maybe when you lose the game you look back on it and think it was unfortunate.
“We missed many more chances to put the game to bed but we got a wee bit of luck there, so it’s something we’ll take and move on.”
The Northern Irishman went on to state that there was no intention from Suarez and that his team were a little lucky to get the decision:
“I’ve just seen it again and there’s no doubt it was handball, but the referee and the officials ruled it wasn’t deliberate,
“I spoke to the fourth official when it was given because I couldn’t see and he said it was (handball), so I can only assume they thought it wasn’t deliberate.
“Obviously it was unfortunate for Mansfield and lucky for us that we got the goal, but it was a really professional performance from us.”
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New signing Daniel Sturridge opened the scoring early on before Suarez, who replaced the former Chelsea man, netted the second.
Mansfield’s Matt Green pulled one back late on, but the Stags were unable to complete a comeback.
Sunderland manager Martin O’Neill has revealed that he is planning to strengthen his backline this summer.
The Black Cats have one of the better defensive records in the bottom half of the Premier League, having conceded 38 goals this term, only seven more than table topping Manchester United.
But, O’Neill could lose up to four of his defenders at the end of the season, with Matt Kilgallon and Titus Bramble’s contracts due to expire and Kader Magane and Danny Rose set to return to Al-Hilal and Tottenham respectively at the end of their loan deals.
As a result, the former Aston Villa boss says bringing in new defenders is a priority, highlighting the full-back position as a particular worry:
“Phil is the only recognised full-back we have at the football club and it’s something we have to look at in the summer,” he is quoted by Sky Sports.
“Ideally, we need competition for places but we also need players playing in their proper positions, and the positions that they feel most comfortable in.”
“Danny Rose has been here on loan and he has done really well when he has played, but still that is a position that we would have to look at in the summer.”
O’Neill went on to praise Craig Gardner for his performances as a make shift full-back during Bardsley’s absence:
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“Craig Gardner has dropped back from midfield to play there while Phil has been out – and has done very well – but he’s not a specialist.”
Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson is set to offer centre back Rio Ferdinand a new one year contract at Old Trafford, according to the Daily Mail.
Ferdinand pulled out of the England squad for their crucial World Cup qualifiers last week and also missed United’s win at Sunderland yesterday.
The former West Ham and Leeds defender has been on inspiring form this season which lead to his England call up but a strict training reigeme leaves the 35 year old struggling to play more than one game a week.
United play Chelsea tomorrow in their FA Cup replay with the winners heading to Wembley to face Manchester City in a gripping semi-final tie.
Ferguson’s side have one hand on the Premier League title and so a number of players, including Ferdinand, were rested on Saturday allowing a strong side to run out at Stamford Bridge on Easter Monday.
‘Rio’s international career has been in doubt for a while. He hadn’t been picked for quite a few games,” Ferguson told the Daily Mail.
‘The physio and sports science departments here have been handling him in the correct way. He has enjoyed that and it has allowed him to have one of his best seasons.
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‘That is why Roy picked him, because his form has been absolutely outstanding. There’s a way that we are treating Rio in terms of getting him ready for big matches. As everyone knows, we try to get him ready for the games that really matter.”
Summary: Wigan missed the chance to move out of the relegation zone as they were undeservedly beaten by West Ham at Upton Park.
The Latics had the chance to overtake Aston Villa, who tackle Manchester United on Monday, but remain in the Premier League bottom three after squandering numerous opportunities in the capital.
Sam Allardyce and his players can now breathe easy after this win pushed them beyond the 40-point safety barrier and lifted them up into the top-half of the table.
Shaun Maloney wasted a glorious opportunity to put Wigan in front early on after Callum McManaman’s pass put him one-on-one with Jussi Jaaskelainen but fluffed his lines as the Hammers keeper narrowed the angle.
The home side soon took control and after a Kevin Nolan went close with a near post volley they finally broke the deadlock mid-way through the half as Matt Jarvis’ wicked inwinging cross from the left evaded everyone in the penalty area and sneaked past Jose into the far corner.
Still, Roberto Martinez’s men were undeterred with Jordi Gomez and Arouna Kone going close to an equaliser in the second half before Jaaskelainen kept out Emmerson Boyce’s header and denied James McArthur with a stunning save from point blank range.
And their profligacy was punished again as Andy Carroll acrobatically set up Nolan to volley past Joel with 10 minutes to go.
Sam Allardyce post match…”Their possession was better than ours but the chances they had they either missed or Jussi Jaaskelainen saved them. We knew Wigan would push forward which left them defensively weakened and we exposed them.”
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Roberto Martinez post match…”We should have had something from the game. The second half was as one-sided a game as you will see and to lose [the half] 1-0 was difficult to explain. The team looked a little bit affected by the [Manchester City] fixture on Wednesday.”
Good day for…Jussi Jaaskelainen: The veteran Finnish goalkeeper was the difference for West Ham today with a string of brilliant saves to deny Wigan a deserved goal and preserve a welcome clean sheet. Point blank stops from Maloney and McArthur the pick of the bunch.
Bad day for…Emmerson Boyce: Was given a torrid time by Jarvis on the left wing and allowed the West Ham ample time and space to pick out the cross that led to the first goal. Wasn’t up to much going forward for his own team either.
Over the past eight years or so, everyone at the Emirates, including the fans, the players and Arsene Wenger himself, appear to have been happy with the strategy; ‘slow and steady wins the race’.
Whilst other clubs and their supporters would have quickly turned on each other following Arsenal’s continual slide down the Premier League pecking order, in addition to an extended silverware drought, the Gunners faithful, barring a few outbursts of underlying anger from the Black Scarf movement and a handful of post-match protests at the start of the year, have always stood by their often criticised French gaffer.
[cat_link cat=”arsenal” type=”tower”]
Even during the current campaign, where arguments have been made that Wenger should be relieved of his duties at the Emirates, with a string of poor results towards the end of 2012, in addition to being knocked out of the Capital One Cup and FA Cup by lesser opposition, Bradford and Blackburn respectively, accuse an Arsenal supporter that their gaffer must go, and the vast majority would reply in militant defence of their spiritual and philosophical figurehead.
Yet it appears those in North London, who I myself have accused of being blindly loyal to their own detriment, could well have the last laugh. Whilst many assumed that the Financial Fair Play laws would eventually save Wenger’s job, an opportunity has now been handed to the Frenchman ahead of next season. With Chelsea and the two Manchester Clubs all undergoing changes to their management, Wenger, having outlived his old foe Sir Alex Ferguson, can now claim to be the longest serving manager in the English top flight, in addition to being the most successful in terms of silverware.
It begs the question as to whether Arsenal should be pushing for the title next season, amid the chaos of inevitable transition at the Premier League’s summit. Improvements will be widely expected at the Emirates over the course of the summer and the coming campaign, but should Wenger take advantage of the situation and take the club a step further, with next year representing their best opportunity for nearly a decade to be crowned Champions of England?
Despite consistency, stability and longevity being key words surrounding David Moyes’ appointment as the successor to Sir Alex Ferguson, there will undoubtedly be some teething pains at Old Trafford next season. The Scot will be desperate to step out of his fellow countryman’s shadow, starting with the coming transfer window. A new central midfielder will have to be brought in, with the most likely candidate being Marouane Fellaini, in addition to a replacement for the want-away Wayne Rooney. There are several other areas, including left-back and on the wings, that could also do with mild improvements, however the desire for evolution rather than revolution could restrict Moyes making wholesale changes during his first transfer period.
Nevertheless, there will be difficulties adjusting. Rooney’s departure would signify that a new style of play will need to be found, or at least modified from the current template, and the new United gaffer will be presented with the imposing challenge of balancing out results, consistency and his desire the club in a new direction.
The task will be made even harder with Moyes’ lack of experience at top level; there is little doubt over the Scot’s abilities as a manager, yet leading a club of Everton’s stature, with limited pressure for results or silverware, is a whole different challenge to being at the helm of one of Europe’s biggest footballing institutions. Although I believe that Moyes’ tenure will overall be a success, his naivety at the highest level will undoubtedly show at times during his first season at Old Trafford. Furthermore, he will be without the on-pitch experience of Paul Scholes, and the backroom knowledge of Mike Phelan and Rene Muelensteen.
It will be a similar, if not worse situation on the sky-blue side of Manchester. Whilst United are promoting a manager that has lived and breathed Premier League football for almost the entirety of his career as a head coach, Manchester City are set to bring in Manuel Pellegrini, a gaffer who has not only come up short during his only tenure at a big club, but furthermore, has never worked in England before.
His origins lay in the South American philosophy of the game, and although City’s head-honchos Txiki Begiristain and Ferran Soriano clearly envisage the former Premier League Champions moving towards a breed of football that most closely resembles Barcelona, the reality is that the squad at Eastlands consists on the most part of highly physical, hard working and robust footballers, with a few exceptions in the attacking department. The transition process, in addition to Pellegrini having to acclimatise himself with the English game, will hinder their chances of reclaiming the domestic title next season.
It does not mean however that the Gunners are in the best shape ahead of next season. On paper, I’d argue that their squad, in terms of the starting XI and the overall strength and depth, is the weakest of the Premier League’s top four. Although the level of talent now has a fairly even spread through all departments, the Gunners’ lack of real stars, with the exclusion of Jack Wilshere, has cost them in the big games this season, with domestic defeats coming against Man City, Man United, Chelsea and Tottenham, and not a single victory against any of the top three.
Yet, it will not necessarily be the big games that decide the title race next year. Amid City and Chelsea’s rather dormant campaigns, the Red Devils, despite losing on three out of four occasions to their closest league rivals, have claimed the Premiership trophy by simply steam-rolling results over the lesser teams. It’s a ploy of tactic that Arsene Wenger has undertook during the business end of the season, recording eight victories in their last ten fixtures, with five clean sheets in the process, against the top flight’s rank and file clubs.
Undoubtedly, grinding out the results rather than chasing down 3-0 wins will be the Frenchman’s approach ahead of next season, as it has produced the most consistent and efficient patch of form throughout a lukewarm campaign at the Emirates. But Wenger will still be expected to bring in new recruits of substantial quality over the summer to improve the Gunners’ starting XI.
Despite positive displays from Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny, another centre-back needs to be brought into the mix, and the reliance upon the likes of Santi Cazorla, Lukas Podolski and Theo Walcott for goals warrants the need for a new front man to rival Olivier Giroud, who appears to play in spurts of hot and cold form. Furthermore, although midfield is Arsenal’s strongest department, there is an imbalance in terms of physicality and defensive awareness that requires addressing in time for next season.
Therefore, we should be witnessing at the Emirates in the coming campaign a roster improved by the signing of a select few key individuals, but in terms of philosophy, tactics and methodology of play, there will unlikely be a reinvention of the wheel. With the foundations already set, and the Premier League’s most experienced manager, but more importantly, the title race’s most experienced manager at the helm, the Gunners should be in better stead than their division rivals to take advantage of the transition process and changing of the guard at the head of the English top flight.
Yet the only flaw in the plan will be sourced in West London. Should Jose Mourinho turn up at Stamford Bridge during the summer, Arsene Wenger will suddenly have a close rival in terms of experience, knowledge of the Premier League, and most vitally, success.
The outgoing Real Madrid manager brings with him a persona that immediately produces results through confidence alone, and furthermore the Chelsea squad will be readily recipient of Mourinho’s influence, with a number of his former employees still at the club, who now form the core of the first team’s leadership, in addition to a cast of young and hungry footballers still desperate to prove themselves on the domestic stage following two seasons of being a long way off the title race.
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The Blues represent the biggest challenge to Arsenal imposing themselves as dark horses next season. Their managerial appointment will be the only one out of the top three clubs that is not overall a step backwards, at least in the short term, but their roster, with a few mild improvements, can easily rival the strength and quality of the two Manchester clubs.
Whether or not Arsene Wenger can make the most out of a season that looks set to be the most unpredictable yet will largely depend upon how well the Gunners can integrate their summer signings. Whilst Chelsea, City and United will be struggling with teething pains, especially during the opening weeks of the campaign, Arsenal need to take advantage of being the most stabilised club in the top four, meaning that despite the presence of new recruits, Wenger must stick with his current mould of play and the current tactic of drawing out the 1-0 victories.
Perhaps the Gunners actually lifting the title is a bridge too far, considering the roster is still a few years of improvement away from challenging their divisional rivals in terms of quality, yet next season, taking the initiative and stating intent will be the most important factor in the title race.
Should Arsene Wenger lead his men to first place in the first few months of the season, whilst Chelsea, City and United are still finding their feet, he may be able to create a cushion of points that will put the pressure on his opponents, which will translate into media scrutiny and poor performances on the pitch, that will further slow down their predicted painful transition process.
They are still distant outsiders, as they have been for the best part of a decade, yet next season will by far be Arsenal’s biggest chance to close the gap between themselves and the Premier League title, and Arsene Wenger must use a mix of his abundance of experience as well as the smart aquisition of new recruits in the summer, to take advantage of what could be the most chaotic season in the history of the English top flight.
Over the last two seasons, Liverpool have attempted to rebuild the club by signing young, British players. Both Kenny Dalglish and Brendan Rodgers have focused on buying home-grown talent, in an effort to rebuild the club back to its successful roots. Jordan Henderson, Charlie Adam, Stewart Downing and Joe Allen are just a host of British players brought in to restore Liverpool’s former glory.
And after a successful first season in charge, Brendan Rodgers is set to use the transfer window once again to strengthen his squad. But it seems that the Northern Irishman is still interested in bringing in more home-grown talent to Anfield. Danny Rose has been the latest youngster from the British Isles to be linked with the club, which has raised questions from some Kopites.
Rose has been a rare positive for Sunderland, after completing his season on loan from parent club Tottenham. The 22-year-old has impressed for both club and country this season, featuring for the England Under-21 side and Great Britain Olympic team. And with doubts over Jose Enrique’s future at the Merseyside club, it seems Rose could be receiving a bid from the 5 times European cup winners.
But with the club’s amount of British players into the double figures, plus a whole host of youngsters in the academy from the UK as well, should the Reds be looking elsewhere now? January signing Philippe Coutinho has been an incredible purchase for Liverpool, scoring 3 goals and assisting 5 in his 13 appearances in a red shirt. His vision and passing has been admired by fans, who have enjoyed the Brazilian’s flair and trickery.
The speed, vision and dribbling ability shown by South American duo Suarez and Coutinho has lit up the Anfield turf for the second half of this season, helping the Reds score the 4th highest amount of goals this campaign. So Reds fans will want more players like them, who add the flair and skill that is rarely seen from English players. The Futsal skills displayed are rarely learnt by British footballers, and it shows. It seems that for every good English player, there is a better foreign one.
However, should Liverpool really be criticised for trying to be more British? Especially when players such as Henderson and Downing, who struggled so much in their first season at Anfield, have shown such an improvement under Rodgers. Defenders Glen Johnson and Jamie Carragher have been reliable as ever this season, whilst youngsters Jonjo Shelvey and Raheem Sterling have shown their potential too. And although Joe Allen has proved to be a huge flop since his move from Swansea, every club has a signing that doesn’t fit in.
Although Liverpool’s British talent have been strong this season, only one Red got into the PFA Premier League Team of the Year. Uruguayan Luis Suarez. Henderson and Downing were a long way off from getting into the Team of the Year, which had 4 British players in, highlighting the ability of players being produced across Europe and the rest of the world. And if you asked any Liverpool fan if they would rather have Juan Mata or Stewart Downing play in a Liverpool shirt, you would be looking at a 100% vote for the Spaniard.
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The Reds have enough players to meet the Premier League’s home-grown rules, many of whom are showing promise to become big players in the club’s future. But with Champions League ambitions, the club need to be signing some of the best players in world football. Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea will all be trying to sign prolific strikers and unbeatable defenders in the summer, irrespective of what nationality they are. Liverpool need to do the same if they are serious about qualifying for Europe’s elite.
Danny Rose is a promising left-back, and may well work wonders at Anfield. However, Liverpool need to look for players who are one of the best in their position, and then find out his nationality. If the Reds only look at British players, then they can’t be surprised when they discover that they aren’t in the top 4 next season. With England the 7th best team in the world in the FIFA rankings, Rodgers will struggle to find English players available that have the quality needed to fight in the Champions League. The Reds’ transfer policy needs to be about looking at talent before nationality, otherwise they will continue to watch the Champions League on TV instead of featuring in it themselves.
The search for Tottenham’s new number 9 seems to be gathering pace. With reports coming out of Spain from AS suggesting a move for Valencia’s Roberto Soldado may be in the offing. However, with such a deal likely to break the Premier League club’s transfer record are they not better off taking a risk on a cheaper proven alternative?
Dimitar Berbatov joined Tottenham from Leverkusen in July 2006 for a fee believed to be around the £10m mark. He gained great acclaim for 2 excellent seasons at White Hart Lane where he formed a fantastic partnership with Irishman Robbie Keane. A lazy and at times slothful figure, Spurs fans were won over by his sublime footballing skill which many to this day will remember fondly. He departed the club as part of a protracted saga with Manchester United, in a deal worth around £30m.
Berbatov even at a younger age was never a footballer to rely on out and out pace. His skill and trickery were enough to undo any defence and at the age of 32 this is still very much the case. A stellar year at Fulham where he has netted 15 goals in all competitions shows that the Bulgarian still possesses much the same talents that made him such an icon at Spurs. Upon re-signing the Bulgarian for Fulham, Martin Jol made the following endorsement whilst speaking to the clubs website:
“Dimitar is a player I’ve always admired. He’s a player of great quality and technical ability who will give me the attacking option I’ve been looking for. When he’s not scoring goals, his ingenuity often leads chances being created for his team-mates.”
It would be incredibly short sighted of me to think that this is the long-term solution to all Spurs striking problems, because it simply isn’t. However, Berbatov would offer an improvement on the current crop of strikers without placing too much of a burden on the finances. Defoe is often harshly criticized for his inability to contribute anything of worth whilst he himself isn’t scoring. By contrast as Jol outlines, Berbatov is not only an excellent goalscorer but he can also add to the creativity in the final third. Personally I think Berbatov would be an excellent second striker for Villas-Boas to bring off the bench when Spurs are struggling to break the opposition down. His enigmatic footballing character makes him the sort of player to create that necessary last minute opening when others cannot.
The Bulgarian became notorious at Spurs for his European cup pedigree. His 12 goals in 16 UEFA Cup appearances were key to a couple of decent cup runs for the club. With a busy schedule likely for the North Londoners next term, Berbatov could be extremely useful as an option in cup football.
Could Spurs fans forgive him for the United debacle? It is always difficult when a club puts so much faith in a player, only for the player to turn his back when a better offer comes along. He showed a lack of respect to Tottenham during his move and this is something which he will need to earn back rapidly. Would Spurs be lacking self-respect if they made a move for the Bulgarian? I would expect the Spurs hierarchy would be making the move for financial and footballing reasons if this deal were to happen. If the Gallas and Adebayor deals happened, then Berbatov certainly isn’t beyond the realms of possibility. For Levy the only real emotion here is one of quiet satisfaction at largely ripping off United in an overpriced £30m deal.
Would the Bulgarian want to come? Berbatov is a man with an overblown ego, with a belief the team should be built around him. At Fulham this is exactly the case. If he were to move back to Spurs he would be nothing more than a glamorised squad player, who would do his fair share of bench warming. In his early days this would have been an obscene suggestion for the Bulgarian, but now in the twilight of his career it is something he may just have to accept. The trade-off being that plausibly Spurs offer him the ability to have one last shot at achieving trophy success. Not only this but Spurs possess a far greater calibre of footballer than when he left. Sitting at the head of a dynamic midfield of Dembele, Paulinho and Sandro, he will have the supply that most frontman could only dream about.
For Tottenham as a club this deal is a risk worth taking. The player would be extremely cheap due to his age and current contract length. Should the move not work out for the club, a small transfer fee is easily written off. On the current market there really isn’t a great depth in striking talent for this kind of price. A top rated striker at the peak of his careers will set a club back £20m, whereas Berbatov with a few years left in him would represent a fraction of that. One of the most talented footballers to play for Spurs in the last decade or so, this man still has a lot left to offer.
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Manager Paul Lambert will allow goalkeeper Shay Given to leave Aston Villa if an acceptable offer comes in, reports the Mirror.
The 37-year old former Manchester City and Newcastle stopper has become surplus to requirements at Villa Park, finding himself number three in the pecking order after first choice keeper Brad Guzan and youngster Jed Steer.
Lambert had nothing but praise for Given, though, and said he would not stand in his way if he wants a move to get first team football.
“One thing with Shay is that he has been excellent. He is a great pro. He does everything right and a great goalkeeper,” Lambert said.
“I’ve spoken to Shay and if something happens, we will look at it. He wants to play. There is no two ways about it. He wants to play.
“But he is a positive influence around the place and that’s one thing you can never say about Shay, that’s he’s not a good professional.”
Offers are yet to materialise for the former Irish international, who has two-and-a-half years left on his contract. He was wanted by Liverpool as a backup for Simon Mignolet in the summer, but the transfer collapsed on deadline day.
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Championship side Doncaster are also interested in the stopper on a loan deal.
No one expected Arsenal to challenge for the title. And even when it was clear they were challenging for the title, no one really believed they were actually going to win it. It may seem odd that the team leading the Premier League for so much of the season could be so comprehensively dismissed. And yet this was the only logical conclusion that could be drawn. Arsenal hadn’t changed, so why would we expect different results?
The signing of Mesut Ozil for £42.5m triggered much a talk of a ‘New Arsenal’. But in reality, it doesn’t seem like there was a lot new about it. Okay, so the transfer fee was new. It even set a new record. However, there was nothing new about the type of player that Arsenal were buying. Ozil, while being very good at football, is a still a tackle-shy, neat passer of the ball who does his best work behind the centre forward – the type of player that Arsenal already had in their droves.
So why did Arsenal seem so much better this season? Many suggested that their overnight improvement was down to the signing of Mesut Ozil. The fact that Arsenal did not need another player like Ozil was irrelevant, what mattered was that they’d bought a player who was as good as Ozil. It was argued his sheer quality alone gave the club a ‘lift’ and this lift was responsible for the good results of the first three months of the season.
And while this is of course possible, it is quite probable that the difference in this season’s form is simply down to chance. Even a side with such obvious flaws as Arsenal is capable of putting together a decent season every 10 years or so. Essentially, 2013/2014 may just be the exception that proves the rule. However, if this is reality, but we believe that something has actually fundamentally changed, then it disguises the fact that such problems exist in the first place. If Arsenal believe their own hype, and continue to ignore their long-term problem areas, then we should expect normal service to resume next season.
Where Arsenal really needed to strengthen was in the position both directly in front and behind the No. 10. It has been long said that Arsenal failed to replace Patrick Viera with a similarly combative central midfielder. However, it’s also true that Arsenal have changed their style of play since the Frenchman’s departure. The Gunners have reduced their reliance on physicality and have sought to break teams down through the attritional virtues of sustained possession.
In making this move, Wenger has undoubtedly taken his queues from Iberia. Spain, and more specifically Barcelona, have been pioneers of this possession-centric football, and both deploy a deep-lying central midfielder who operates as a kind of metronome, keeping the ball moving from side-to-side as the team probes for space further up field. Wenger has attempted to follow this blueprint by making Mikel Arteta has chief defensive midfielder. And while the Spaniard has functioned well when Arsenal have been capable of bossing possession, his effectiveness tends to be diminished when Arsenal are drawn into a midfield battle.
The signing of Mathieu Flamini has gone some way to dealing with this problem but the Gunners have consistently looked frail in his absence. If Arsenal are to consistently challenge for the title next season then another midfielder along the same lines as the Frenchman is required.
The other glaring weakness in this Arsenal side is in front of goal. Wenger’s attempt to replace Robin Van Persie with Olivier Giroud and Lucas Podolski has largely been a failure. While both are capable of making positive contributions to general play, such praise tends to tell you all you need to know about a striker: they don’t score enough goals.
Perhaps the most damning argument against the idea that there is a ‘New Arsenal’ comes in the form of Yaya Sanogo. He is the a-typical Arsenal signing: young, French, unproven and injury-prone. Or perhaps the club’s January pursuit of Julian Draxler – another slight, silky attacking midfielder – is greater indicator that Arsenal are still Arsenal. Either way, both would seem to go a long way to discrediting the idea that anything has really changed.
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It would be crazy for us to expect different results at the Emirates when nothing is in fact different. While Arsenal have managed to put together a title challenge this season, it is quite possible that this merely represents the exception to the rule. The law of averages would suggest that in the long-run, Arsenal will revert to the mean struggle to finish in the top 4 next season. Of course, there is always time for things to change.
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