Selling Cesc means blowing this team up
First — I’m not buying that
I’m not going to tell you what to do but there is no way in hell I’m buying an Arsenal kit that looks like a can of Red Bull. Maybe one day some blogger called “West Upper” will use this kit as an ironic paean to his or her youth and the days when Arsenal were struggling to maintain 4th place while the Premier League was awash in foreign money.
I don’t know.
Is there anyone who genuinely likes this design?
Cescond
For those of you who don’t already know I subscribe to L’Equipe’s RSS feed because they are generally very reliable when it comes to transfer news. So when I read today’s headline that Cesc is out the door I will admit to feeling a pit in my stomach. I felt slightly better reading the entire story because the content is mostly recycled from other reports and at one point even quotes the Grauniad. But when I step back and look at things objectively I have to admit, it looks like Arsenal are negotiating.
One thing that’s been bothering me about this is the casual nature with which some bloggers and readers seem to be handling the sale of this player because for me, selling Cesc is a major change in direction for the club.
Tactically, the team is built around Cesc. Arsenal don’t have a collection of slick passing central midfielders on accident. Arsenal don’t play Bendtner, Theo, Arshavin, and Nasri on the “wing” because Arsene Wenger is stupid or because Arsenal don’t have the money to buy real wing players — for the price of central players like Arshavin, Theo, and Nasri Arsenal could have bought six wing players if they wanted.
Instead, Arsenal designed a system around Cesc Fabregas, starting with a 4-5-1 and morphing into the 4-3-3. This allowed Cesc to be more creative in midfield while relieving him of the defensive duties that a midfielder in a 4-4-2 would traditionally be expected to carry. Moreover, the tippy-tappy football, the possession based offense, and the high line with wing backs bombing forward are all a product of having four central midfielders on the pitch at all times. It was a system designed for Cesc and selling Cesc means changing the system, right?
The other thing that bothers me is this idea that selling Cesc means that Nasri will just step right in and take over the central midfield role. Maybe he could do that but I haven’t seen anywhere near the consistent quality going forward or back from Nasri that I’ve seen from Cesc.
I’m not saying that I dislike Nasri, his dribbling skills are probably the best on the team at the moment and he scores big goals in big games. But even with all his quality he doesn’t have the same skill set that Cesc has. I know that I’ll get stick for this but Nasri’s range of passing is poor, he doesn’t play through balls (Cesc averages two completed per game, no one else on the team even averages one), he drifts in and out of games, and from what I can tell, putting him in the center of Arsenal’s attack means that once again we have to play a 4-3-3.
I also want to mention that at a time when Arsenal fans are calling for “players who will die for the shirt” we will be swapping a guy who came to us when he was 16 and really appreciates the opportunity this team has given him for a guy who is pretty much banking on half a good season and holding the club hostage over what look to me unreasonable salary demands.
Nasri isn’t a bad player, or a bad human being, I just don’t see him as a replacement for Cesc. In fact, I don’t see anyone in world football as a direct replacement, except a couple of fellas who play for Barcelona.
So, while I know it’s popular right now to just want an end to the saga, or to say that so-and-so can replace Cesc, I completely disagree. Cesc is irreplaceable and selling him means a massive change to everything about the way that this club plays.
Arturo the Third
Which brings me to Arturo Vidal. My regular readers know that I’ve been high on Vidal since the start of the transfer window. From what I’ve seen he was the second best player in the Bundesliga and while he suffers a bit from indiscipline he’s the kind of all action player that Arsenal would need if they are going to sell Cesc and switch to a different, more 4-4-2 formation. In fact, I think you could play Jack and Vidal through the middle and they would terrify the opposition.
Vidal averaged 4.7 tackles per game and from that got just 4 yellow cards and 1 red. Song averaged 3.3 tackles per game and committed 2 fouls per but also gathered 7 yellow cards and 1 red. So, while the rap on Vidal is his indiscipline, Arsenal’s current crop of midfielders make Vidal look like a pussycat.
But Vidal is more than just a tackler, he drew 4 fouls a game while only averaging 3 turnovers per and led his team in key passes per game with 1.94, the same number as Samir Nasri. He also averaged a completed cross per game and 4 completed long balls per while Nasri was just 1 and 1. Oh, and he scored 10 goals (mostly from pens) and added a team leading 11 assists.
In short, he’s a tenacious defender, a great ball winner, is safe with the ball, has tremendous range passing, finds open players, is committed to his team, and a leader in the midfield. Vidal is a box-to-box player who could team with Jack to make a formidable midfield duo for years to come.
Add in some true wing players like Gervinho and that kid from Spain who doesn’t want to play for Arsenal, then buy Gary Cahill by trading him for Denilson, Diaby, Squillaci, Vela, and Chamakh, and add the final piece by bringing in Moussa Sow and BAM — you’re playing football manager…
Joking aside, we’ll see what Wenger does but, like I predicted at the start of the season it’s looking a lot like this team is being blown up. And that means a lot of work ahead rebuilding.
Or… maybe we’ll fulfill some folks wishes and just play Henri Lansbury in all 11 starting positions. After all, he scored the goal against Tottenham and jumped really high in the air. Clearly he’s ready for the big time.
Comments
Good post. Worrying about Cesc – we recovered from the sale of Henry, who was our most important player, but Cesc is more central to our play; everything goes through him while Henry was mainly there to finish things off/set up a team mate. Practically all of our moves rely on Cesc getting them going. The rest DESPERATELY need to step up when he leaves. Otherwise, bye bye Champions League.
Oh, and that Vidal sounds like a beast. Get him!
@15yearoldgooner, you make a great point about Henry. I meant to work in the data from when we lost Vieira and how the team took a huge hit and then how when we lost Henry the team took another hit but I didn’t.
Here’s the original post: http://www.7amkickoff.com/2011/turn-the-m-upside-down/
What I’m really terrified of is that Arsenal will take another big hit and that at a time when we are being outspent by 4 or 5 other clubs will drop below the Champions League spots.
This would almost certainly result in Arsene’s departure and from there we will have to see if some really great manager like Sam Allardyce can fix us.
Considering we based our recent team around Cesc, if we end up selling him which looks likely then it might signal a change in team formation probably going back to a 442 formation. Personally i would let Cesc go for a decent price and use the money to solidify our defense i think our midfield is still good without Cesc as long as we stop giving away goals for fun.
@angelic beardy,
Going back to a 442 would be a tactical disaster. Control of the middle with 3 players, whether through a 4231, a 433 or a 451 is essential at the top level in today’s game. Even in Man U’s so-called 4411 they only make it work because Rooney drops back on the deepest midfielder, and that’s a half-solution that Barca exposed well.
In a shock revelation, I quite like the new kit (please don’t ban me, Tim
I am also now resigned to Cesc going – I always thought he was giving us one more season to leave the club as a trophy winning captain and that hasn’t happened; I simply can’t see him doing it again.
So, BOOM. Over to you Arsene…
Compared to last year’s mustard top and garnet shorts, I like the away kit. Not saying I’d buy it, but it’s an improvement from last year.
@fourstar, most people I’m seeing online in the blogs and on twitter like this new kit. as do I.
All I have to say is that this situation is killing me. I love Cesc, but sure it is annoying for everyone involved in this constant tapping up: Teammates, AW, Cesc, fans…. Sort it out already, cheezeburguersus!!
Two things that have been commonly said on this blog and other Arsenal blogs since the transfer window opened;
A) If Clichy goes, we can move Vermaelen to left-back and still go after Samba and/or Cahill
B) If Fabregas goes, we can move Nasri into a more central role.
A) Is an assinine assumption that Vermaelen would even be happy to move to left-back. He’s a CB, and left-back requires a different kind of engine. When Tottenham inquired after him in 2008 as a left-back, he more or less told them to take a hike.
B) Nasri is not a midfield general. The Barca game two years ago in the Nou Camp was proof enough for me. He was a black hole in the middle – holding the ball, taking extra touches, losing the ball. Can Nasri make a killer pass? Yes. Does he have a good footballing brain? No doubt. But can he play the Cesc one-two touch game, is he willing to do like Cesc and lay off a 5 yard pass, move three steps, accept the ball back, lay off again… etc. I don’t think so.
Vermaelen is not the answer to losing Clichy. And Nasri is not the answer to losing Fabregas.
@Masterba…ker,
you do realize that Vermaelen was playing LB for Ajax when we signed him? that is why people are saying he could fill the void. I’m thinking he can fill in for when Gibbs is inevitably out injured.
also, Wenger and Nasris old coach (in Marseille?) both say Nasri is best in the mid compared to the wings…
I have to say too, that in the last matches from the season I quite liked RVP dropping a little (a little). I always thought of him as the “in the hole” player, more than leading the attack. Also Arshavin can play off a main striker. And so Nasri, Gervinho(?) and Ramsey.
Looking forward to what system will be used next season.
So true, exactly how it should be seen. Cesc is key to us, we don’t have any other players with consistent creativity, Nasri had maybe 2 assists and has no vision, Wilshere played too deep and too safe, Ramsey was never known for his passing regardless of his hype, Diaby meh, Denilson please go back to Brazil, and we won’t sign a Sneijder obviously.
We are toothless and lack any sort of consistent creative edge on the pitch without Cesc, especially not against clever defenses who close down space.
If Cesc goes, our attack goes, our midfield is awfully average without him, as many games have shown it.
@fred,
Wilshire played in a double pivot on purpose. Your negativity sucks.
Bang on on all points, very good read, good to see some reason still exists in our fanbase, keep it up!
Next season starting line-up;
Sczescny
Sagna/Djourou/Vermaelen/Gibbs
Wilshere/Song/Ramsey
Gervinho/RvP/Walcott
Fabianski, Koscielny, Eboue, Miyachi, Frimprong, Arshavin, Chamahk on the bench.
Who couldn’t get excited about that line-up?
Sorry, but if Djourou is starting alongside Vermaelen, I can’t say I’d be excited.
You do realize I was being facetious? That line-up is weak, especially when you consider how injury prone RvP, Walcott and Gibbs are.
That is not a line-up that would make anyone afraid. Not that anyone was really afraid of us this past year anyways.
Sorry, I didn’t realize the facetiousness. Normally I do, but not this time.
@Masterba…ker, That line-up should be good for 5th or 6th place. What happens when Gibbs trips on the touchline and is out for 3 months with an ankle injury?
@Joel, Traore.
I am resigned to losing Cesc but holding my tears till the day he actually leaves. It will be a sad, sad day for us gooners the day he signs for Barcelona. He epitomizes the youth project and our passing game. He is the reason why a lot of other players have wanted to join us (Ramsey for example). Without him we would have never made it to Champions League every year. He has risked his health on the pitch because he wanted so desperately to win something with this team before he leaves but the management has let him down with their penny pinching and failing to build a proper team around him. When Barcelona kept tapping him up each and every year, he still kept his class and didn’t come out to declare publicly that he wants a transfer. For me, he is THE arsenal player, the heart of the team and the face of the club. It’s just fucking depressing that we can’t hold onto him any longer.
I truly believe Arsenal Football Club are tired of dealing with this as much as the rest of us are tired of reading/ hearing about it.
By firmly placing the ball in Barca’s cheap dirty broke-ass court they are, in my opinion, trying to show Cesc that for all their tapping up and DNA swapping stories, Barca just don’t value him that much…
There’s a reason a 15 Year Old be-mulleted Cesc left Mas Que Un Cul in the first place…
Also, how did you come up about speaking french?
Can you believe that by this time last year we had already signed Chamackh and Koscielny?
I would hate to Cesc go because of the points Tim and many of you have outlined above. Wenger has said he will do everything he can to keep his best players so letting Cesc would be really strange, especially since he is still on a long term contract. We hold the cards as it were.
I am not convinced that Wenger plans to blow up the team. Once we start to see a player actually being purchased or sold, we’ll know what his plans for the team are.
My thoughts exactly. Sell Fab, change the whole team dynamics. Some of our best link up play comes from Cesc, Walcott and RVP. I am not sure how Nasri in the middle works with RVP. Nasri’s passing was utilized well by Chamakh last year. Even so, without Cesc, Arsenal is never creative enough. Our passing is often slow, unless RVP drops deep. This does not indicate that Nasri is not a good passer of the ball, just that everything about our passing philosophy over the last few years was based on Cesc. If we sell Cesc, we will have to alter a lot of things within the team.
let cesc go, and the squad will be.sscezny sagna cahil vaemrlin clicy song alvarez wishere nasri walcott v persie. bence= gervinho ramsey arshavin fabianski djourou gibbs
I actually don’t think Cesc is leaving this year. I think Farcelona are making their usual noises, as they do every year, but they effed it up again. By coming out and treating Cesc like an old tyre (“wear and tear” my arse), I think they may have irredeemably damaged their own worth in Cesc’s eyes. I just think he’s too polite (or is it politic) to say so. Either way, we’re not going to let him go for less than what we said we would (about 40 million, I believe), and that means that Farca will have to cough it up, which they won’t ’cause they don’t really want or need Cesc in the first place.
Oh… and no… not buying the away kit, not buying the home kit, either. I might… might… just buy the scarf (and use it to wring the necks of the gits who came up with these horror shows in the first place).
Truly agree with you Tim that there is no like for like replacement for Cesc, the team has been built around him and we will have to reshape our method of play.
On the flip side, those are the exact reasons why I prefer to see him go now rather than later. Having your team based upon your Captain who everyone, including his teammates, know has his heart elsewhere is counter productive and stifles team growth.
Coming off a less than stellar season and the realization that we have to add new blood in order to ascend the heights once again makes this, in my humble opinion, the perfect opportunity.
Arsene MK ?
Person on the current squad closest to Cesc’s skill set is Ramsey but he is 1-2 years away from imposing himself on the team.
@Tim,
Red Bull, exact same thoughts I had yesterday
No mention of Arsene apparently spurning a 10MM pound offering for Diaby? If true, I’m aghast. Tantalizing talent, misses every other game due to injury, and shows up to half the ones he’s healthy for. He’s not a DM, which we need, so what is his role???
Anyway, as for Fabregas, I actually think folks fully appreciate Cesc’s value to the club, particularly given how everyone claims they’d be hugely angered were he to go to Barca for a penny less than 50MM. Not sure how we’d replace the element of magic he brings. Were he to leave, however, I think we go 4-2-3-1. If we are to snare a few of these true wingers, particularly Gervinho, I feel it would reflect Arsene’s acknowledgement that we need players on the wing willing and able to better take the ball into the box with a dribble attack, rather than playing hot potato with the ball out on the box perimeter.
As for Nasri, maybe he wouldn’t disappear in games if he were full-time playing central? Slot him centrally right behind RvP, playing more up front, flanked by Theo on the right and our big left wing signing. Have Jack run the middle of the field along with our DM. What I want to see more than anything this season offensively is for us to get more dribble attack penetration, particularly from the left side, creating finishes for Nasri, RvP and Theo on the other side. Considering we could be without Cesc and his array of through balls, we’ll need the likes of a Gervinho and Theo to simply take the ball towards goal themselves.
@ArseChicago,
Diaby just had ankle surgery a few weeks back and is therefore not fit. Can’t see a team making a bid on an injured player.
Would personally prefer us to use just one DM who slots into the back four when our WB moves into attack like how Gilberto and Petit used to do. Easier to keep defensive shape and less decision making required.
Right now, we are using our wingers to defend in our defensive third which has resulted in our flanks left wide open at times.
If we were offered 49m would we take it? I think the club will.
What could 24.5m buy? (I’m assuming that if history holds, we only spend half of what we get in). Jagielka and Baines? Benzema? Phil Jones (hahaha)?
Bit unfair on Lansbury. The kid is quality and made a real crack at it while on loan. would to love to see him make it at Arsenal.
The day i saw thierry henry walk out at nou-camp in barca kit to be presented brought a tear to my eye. He was all arsenal. He loved us and we loved him. A special player and person that will always be an Arsenal legend. No matter where he plays he will be tied to arsenal.
My feeling on cesc will be quite different. It’ll be more along the lines of now you got your wish, good luck but i wont be following your career from here on.
If our style is based on cesc then maybe its a good thing he goes. Because our style has gotten stale, boring, slow and frustrating to watch alot of the time. Now the invincibles, they had speed, urgency and style.
was Arsenal creative enough before Cesc got into the team? i believe so and we still will. we worried when players leave and it will remain so.
our issues are beyond who is creative and where they should play.
If we lose Cesc I’m very worried we will finish outside the top 4 and miss out on the CL next season. He is a huge part of our team and I don’t think he can be replaced.
@Joel, If by ‘replaced’ you mean ‘find another player who slots into his position and plays the same kind of game to the same standard’ then no, he can’t.
But if, as Tim suggests in the post, he does go then you have no option than to tear up the plan and re-jig the entire team, system, formation, game-plan. And therefore you don’t necessarily need a ‘replacement’.
From espn:
Former Arsenal player Perry Groves tells talkSPORT: “If he [Cesc Fabregas] signs for Barcelona, I don’t think any Arsenal fan will moan. We’ve had him for eight years. We got him for nothing. We’re going to sell him for £35million. He’s not up there with the Arsenal greats. He’s a very good player, he’s been an excellent player for Arsenal, but you wouldn’t put him up there with Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira and Dennis Bergkamp.”
@ArseChicago, If Arsenal had won things while Cesc was captain, perhaps we would all include him as a great. As it stands, I agree, he will go down as a great Arsenal player, but not an Arsenal legend.
In a very silly “silly season”, this is one more piece of goodness from Tim/7AM. Vidal’s stats looks amazing (at least on whoscored.com) and Nasri is no Cesc. Van Persie is probably the best Cesc replacement there is, and if we put him in Cesc’s spot, we’d need 2 new forwards, at least one of whom is Van Persie quality. Arsenal’s style of offensive play is built around Van Persie and Cesc. Amazing control, incisive passing, big game mentality, consistent perfomance, and split second decision making. Arsenal really needed another player or two in that mold, losing Cesc would take us further from where we want to be. All of Arsenal’s other skill players lack some of those key attributes. Wilshere is close, but hasn’t shown the killer passing. Nasri is the same, as well as fading badly at the end of his one good season. The rest are even further away. If players like that were easy to find, you can bet Arsenal have already tried to buy them. I don’t see us benefiting from the sale of Cesc, and unless we get 45 or 50 million for him, losing him would be tough to recover from.
We play a different style than Manchester United but they’ve won all these titles, including a Champs League, in the last few years without having a midfield wizard like Fabregas. How have they done it (other than cheating, diving and Fergie time)? Great goalkeeping, Vidic at CB, great wing play, hard work and not making mistakes.
Ok, so we lose Cesc. Can we compensate, then, by buttressing the CB and DM positions, both physically and mentally, by getting a more true winger on at least the left side, and perhaps another clinical finisher?
I don’t think Wenger will want to sell Cesc this season. And selling him in the future I think will depend on how Rambo progresses this season. If Nasri signs an extension I think he’ll play more attacking midfielder than a play maker. Ramsey is probably more like Cesc as he ends up making runs from the deep into the box better than anyone else in the team (maybe Diaby).
Cesc however is peerless. Can you imagine henderson is twenty million. What is Cesc’s value? Well you don’t put a price on something you don’t want to sell…
Sick of Barca ,sick of AW ,sick of Cesc ,sick of hearing the word potential after 60yrs of going to see the Arsenal I wish I had never wasted money on another season ticket
I don’t see anything wrong with rebuilding the team this year. We haven’t won anything with Cesc and don’t look like winning anything soon unless we make a big change now. Maybe it’s time to move on? He’s a wonderful player certainly but no one is irreplaceable at the Arsenal. Do need to get some new blood in though.
@Steve the Gooner,
Totally agree mate, time to start a new and positive chapter in our history. Great player, poor Captain. We need a core built upon a foundation of leadership. A few more with the mentality of Vermaelen, RVP and Sagna are needed.
I still think Cesc won’t go. I don’t deny that we might be negotiating though if there was an offer, why wasn’t it mentioned on the official site of both clubs like was done last year? If we are basing this on news reports, what about Pastore saying Barcelona have been in touch with Palermo, Neymar having a 45 million euro bid accepted by 5 clubs, including Barcelona.
Perhaps Barcelona have been overstating their financial difficulties but they surely do have some problems in that regard. Would they actually want to blow a major chunk (if not all) of their budget on what is a luxury signing, and one they know they can get a few years down the line anyway? Unless there are heavy incentives and add ons, I don’t think Barca will even come close to an acceptable figure. (Personally I would say at least GBP 45m)
Oh and Vidal has been championed by you, and I won’t question that. He may well be a great player. I’m just mistrustful of figures showing how good he is in attack because the Bundesliga just doesn’t seem very good defensively to me.
On the shirt, when I first saw it (months ago) my reaction was a HELL NO!!! I think that reaction has mellowed down and it actually doesn’t look bad. Not sure it has an emotional connect though. However, I predict it will sell on the basis of the 125 anniversary and because apparently blue sells more than yellow.
@Shard, Farcelona have no intention of buying Cesc. They’ll take him if they can get him cheap, but all they’re doing now, as they’ve been doing the last couple of years, is rattling the cage and trying to distract the captain of the one team that actually beat them in the CL.
I also think they like to keep Cesc in the spot-light to use him as a scare tactic against their younger players… “Look at him… he has our DNA, but he hasn’t won anything since he left… poor Cesc, he should come home…” Bah…
In a few months, the decade-long domination of the Arsenal system and in a few years he can go back to Spain laden down with all the trophies he could ever want.
@JV Mauer, Good point about the scare tactic. I wish Barcelona would cut out their scummy tactics though. they are a pleasure to watch on the field mostly, but all I can think while watching them is that I can’t wait for them to fall apart. Not long ago they had 6 years without a trophy, despite no new stadium and domination of TV money in Spain. They seem too full of themselves.
I think we’re in the minority though when we say Cesc won’t be going anywhere. I mean even Tim seems to agree with the newspapers. Not usual that.
@Shard, I honestly don’t understand where all the Cesc gloom is coming from. He’s got years left on his contract and Farca simply don’t have the cash on hand to pay our asking price unless he’s the only signing they make this Summer. And even though I hate them, I don’t think they’re stupid enough to splash out all their cash on a player that they don’t even need.
Why do you say they have no cash? 40m in the kitty to start, then they said whatever else they can generate from sales of players. Lo and behold 9m from sale of Krkic – that’s 49m. They haven’t spent a dime on Sanchez yet, so all the money is there. You throw in Alcantara, who I would value at 15 million minimum, possibly a lot higher given his age and ability, and you then have a deal. I don’t think they’re bluffing on wanting him.
What I think Barcelona are trying to do is look out for the PR with their fans and shareholders – the outcry at spending a huge amount of money on getting a player back that was their’s originally, and that they feel is a product of La Masia, that’s why they’re coming in low. It’s not that they undervalue him.
@Masterba…ker, They are absolutely looking at the PR. How will they justify spending what will be required to prise Cesc away then? Unless you think Arsenal will sell low or agree to less money and taking some cast offs. You mention Thiago, but why would Arsenal want a player who may or may not be as good as Cesc in a few years and who most likely will have the same drama around him if he is any good? Selling Thiago won’t be a very popular move among their fans either. With Cesc’s contract having many years Arsenal don’t have to sell at anything than close to his real value.
@Masterba…ker, That’s exactly my point, though. If Barca actually come good and buy Cesc, it’ll be their only major buy of the Summer, and they just don’t need him that much.
To my mind, the whole business is of a piece with the Nasri to ManU bother. The opposition knows that as long as they keep blowing kisses towards our more valuable players, then even if those players themselves don’t become unsettled, the others on the team might be.
In a way, it’s rather a back-handed compliment, as it shows that they’re sufficiently worried about Arsenal as a team that they’ll pull just about anything to try to unsettle us before the competition even begins. It’s cheap, it’s easy, and until we start calling “tapping up”, it’s absolutely cost-effective.
@Masterba…ker, There’s also a nice knock-on effect in the transfer market. Keep everyone thinking that Cesc and/or Nasri are leaving, and it’s harder for Arsene to convince the really best options out there to come over to the Gunners. Rumour and innuendo are the best and cheapest ways to weaken your opponent before a fight. That… and slipping them a Mickey…
@Masterba…ker, You could also slip them a lasagna
Regular reader but, first time poster.
Fact, Cesc is our engine of creativity.
Fact, Cesc would be missed if or when he goes.
But, i don’t entirely agree that we lack full creativity when he doesn’t play. Fine, we lack some measure of creativity but, we always create enough to win any match no matter how bad will play. Our achilles heel is our defence.
Look at the Chelsea and Aston Villa games of last season away from home where Cesc didn’t play. At the bridge, we created a deluge of chances but couldn’t score then boom, the defence caved in.
At Villa Park, Cesc was also absent. It should have been 5-0 at half time but because of the defence, it was a nervy 4-2 finish.
If he goes, it would be a psychological blow but, as a creative team, we would still have tonnes of chances.
The question is; we the players take those chances? And can the defence protect a lead?
@Gunner From Nigeria, There was some stat about games won with Cesc that’s like 63% v. games won without and it’s like 37%. or something. Basically, he’s out most important player by a large margin
Well Tim: I’m gonna be short and quick. Howdy by the way
Well goodbye to Cesc and 4-3-1 formation and hello 4-4-2 and the New Arsenal, New team, new beginning. Everybody wanted change; well it appears to be coming at an Arsenal entrance near you.
I am being ironic. In the real world I am going to remain calm and wait until it’s on the Website that Cesc is gone, and that Thomas is going to be the new Captain. Until then… like we say in the UK … KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON.
P.S. Even with TV wearing the away kit… its ghastly… what was Nike thinking.
Nike is going crazy with away kits. Have you seen the France Away kit?
@London Calling, Both Nike and Arsenal only change the kit in order to get people to buy them.
I don’t think Wenger will change formations, because he is overall a conservative coach. Changing several key players (especially if Fabregas goes) AND the system is too many changes. Not necessary, and too risky. I think he will trade post-for-post, and push players like Wilshere & Ramsey to take on more responsibility.
As far as Fabregas, as much as he is clearly our best player, if we get ~50M for him, it will be silly not to sell him. And although he is extremely important for our play, in Arsenal today, the system overwrites the player – all players. Maybe this team needs fresh leadership. I am actually looking forward to Vermaelen as Captain (or RVP).
Good piece, and some interesting stuff in the comments. I agree that Cesc is pretty much unique in terms of creativity, and there are no ready-made replacements out there. Arteta was all the rage a while back but had a stinker this season.
Trying to be optimistic: you know, maybe the closest thing to a Cesc replacement is already in the team. Wilshere has not got that final ball at the moment, but that might be a function of the role he’s being asked to play. Ramsey is very tidy and has the passing range. Between them they can do a job, and the fact that they’re doing it together rather than as a one-man show might actually put us in a better position.
We’ve struggled for balance ever since we’ve based the team around Cesc. The closest we came was with Hleb and Flamini in the side. Maybe without him we’ll be forced to find that balance again.
I actually like the away kit.
And isn’t anyone else a little worried about LB? Clichy seems set to go, and we only hear of Left Wingers or CBs. I know we generally don’t do our business in the public (hehe), but Baines aside, we haven’t heard a peep about any other LB. And even the Baines rumors have died down.
@feygooner, Gibbs and Traore.
Good point Tim, selling Cesc definitely means changing the playing style.
The current Arsenal “style” of play is a half baked Barca style. We’ve got a few short players who are quite good with the ball, and we pay them well. And that is where the similarities stop.
This style of play is nice to watch and did fill the stadium, but it is wrongly implemented for the realities of the EPL.
Barca excels with their off the ball play, defensive strategy, and a great club philosophy together with a young and ambitious management. All these are missing at AFC, and there are no signs of plausible changes.
It is wrong to build a team on the qualities of one player, no matter how good he is, especially when he said that he wants to leave sooner then later.
Not changing the person responsible for building a team without character, with a defeatist mentality, is even worse.
@Arsenalistul,
Your analysis is partly correct. The style that Arsenal has adopted needs to be pushed further towards Barca with the addition of precisely the defensive strategy you touch on in passing: intense pressing at all times. Arsenal has a sizable squad of young players with resilient legs, and use needs to be made of them.
There is nothing wrong with the management.
The team does need changes, but maybe the change we need the most is a new coach.
spot on about nasri but
while you’re very right that arsenal’s game depends on cesc. which is why we’re cashing in. it’s not working. cesc is the most elegant player in the world’s most exciting league, but you won’t win the league with that. you win it with jaap stam in the back and lebron james up top (i am not being sarcastic, sign him up).
as for nasri, we’ll spend a portion of cesc’s transfer fee just paying his salaries for the next year or two before he goes to inter or real, disappears, then washes up on the burnt down coast of greece to don a panathanikos kit. he’s a quality player, and we need quality, but i think resting everything on him would be a poor investment.
and why hasn’t anyone mentioned RVP for the creative role? i have a feeling we’ll see some of RVP playing behind walcott with a couple of “true winger” (?) this year. either way, you’re right, cesc leaves, our game changes. i say hooray, as it stands it doesn’t work very well after september.
Great post. We will suffer without Cesc. And, I also hate the away kit.
Here is the official position of FC Barcelona with regard to transfers this summer, as stated by Sandro Rosell in a recent televised interview: Barca’s maximum transfer budget this summer is 45 million euros. However, Rosell stated clearly and unequivocally that Barca WAS NOT willing to spend more than 40 million on Cesc. Unless Arsenal is willing to sell Cesc for less than 40 million, he is NOT going to Barcelona. End of story. Also, while Rosell did appear to confirm that Barca was in negotiations over certain other players, he claimed that he had “no idea” whether or not the club might try to sign Cesc this summer. Personally, I would read that as “no.” However, if Barca IS in negotiations to sign other players, that would take an even bigger chunk out of the 45 million before Barca would have money to spend on Cesc. Reading between the lines of Rosell’s interview, I don’t think that Barca is even planning to make an offer for Cesc. Finally, I want to address the issue of Cesc’s supposed “dream” to return to Barcelona. I have heard Cesc state publicly on more than one occasion that he is happy at Arsenal, and does NOT want to leave Arsenal to go to Barcelona. All he’s ever said is that he would enjoy having the chance to play at Barcelona SOMEDAY, but he has no idea whether that will ever happen. But he’s perfectly happy at Arsenal. Personally, I would suggest that you take Cesc’s word on this, as opposed to the words of various “others” who have attributed to him this supposed “desire” to leave. Ok, that’s the end of my “Cesc transfer saga” rant. In truth, if you don’t believe me by now, you probably never will, so I’ll leave you to it. Cheers
@dean, Holy shnikes! Someone who applies critical thinking to the BS media narratives.
This is how I read the scenario too, assuming you can take Rosell at anything close to face value. The only caveat is that (as the Swiss Ramble makes clear) transfer fees are often spread out over a couple years of payments, so theoretically Barca could spend less this year on Cesc if they’re willing to push their debts out into the future a little.
Oh, and on a related note to the above post:
I would also like to make it clear that Barcelona DID NOT make a 27 million euro offer for Cesc, as was reported last week. If Barca had made an offer, it would have been formally announced by the club, which has not happened. We’ve also had no official statement from Arsenal about any “offer.”
In fact, the whole story emerged from an EXTREMELY dubious and completely unsourced claim in the Sun that Sandro Rosell had called up Ivan Gazidis and made a “verbal offer” of 27 million, which was immediately rejected. Personally, I don’t believe it. And in any case, a “verbal offer” isn’t really an offer at all. So, Barcelona has not made any offers for Cesc this summer, and I don’t expect them to.
Think about it. If Barcelona is so short on money that they can’t afford to make color copies, then surely they don’t have enough extra paper lying around to be sending it straight to the rubbish bins in the Arsenal offices. It doesn’t make any sense
Lille signed winger Dimitri Payet. Deal for Gervinho done?
the history of Wenger at Arsenal is the history of pulling rabbits out of hats – over and over again. I suggested in a piece recently that we might be moving over to 4-4-2 or 4-4-1-1 in the next season, and if so, Cesc would not easily fit into that.
Wenger performed miracles with 4-4-2 and not just by putting Vieira and Petit in the middle – remember he had Parlour playing in the Petit role for some time. With so many teams going to 4-3-3 and copying us in the last two years, this could be the moment to switch back, and then Cesc is not nearly so central to what we want to do. Song/Wilshere or Song/Ramsey would work much better.
Just my view, of course, not too sure what Lady Nina would say.
why wouldnt cesc do well in 4-4-2? he has always done well at arsenal. He even made(assists) Adeboyor score 30 goals in 1 seasons, plus MANY chances he gave him. So 442 or 433 it doesnt matter.
I really like the new kit, I think it’s better than the yellow/burgundy from last season (of which I own). Definitely going to get this, not sure if I would get the long sleeve one though