Arsenal in crisis? Not even slightly.

It's been a while since I wrote a post. And a lot has happened since then. To sum it up, Podolski, Giroud and Cazorla have come in, and mainly Robin and Song have left us. There hardly seems any point in discussing that, plenty of posts have done so! There are majorly two "crisis" Arsenal seem to be in 1. Not scoring goals and 2. Not buying enough players. I shall call them Crisis-1 and Crisis-2, respectively.
Moving on to the start of our season. Two games, two goal less draws. Not great, but not too bad either, considering the fact that one of the games was against Stoke, a team that has always bullied Arsenal physically. But something that seems to be worrying Arsenal fans is the lack of goals. Or no goals at all. Honestly, that does not worry me one bit. Losing Robin is a big loss, but I don't think that will lead to Arsenal not scoring goals. And here is why - In 2011-12 Arsenal scored 74 goals, third highest in the league, in 2010-11 Arsenal scored 72 goals, second highest in the league, in 2009-10 Arsenal scored 83 goals, third highest in the league and in 2008-09 Arsenal scored 68 goals, second highest in the league. Now, if you look at these past few years and think about the number of strikers, attacking midfielders and attacking formations Arsenal have played, it's a huge huge number. But Arsenal have always managed to score a huge number of goals. This shows, that apart from maybe last year, Arsenal have not been reliant on one player to score over a long time. We have changed players, but have always scored goals! The answer is, the way Arsenal play, the philosophy with which we play, leads to goals. Arsenal's silky attacking playing style is responsible for the goals. This is helped by having an able striker up front. But, are Giroud and Podolski not able? Yes they are! And that will ensure that Arsenal will score in coming games. That should be the least of our worries. Rather I think we have had a strong start to the season, with our defense looking absolutely brilliant, that too without Szczesny, Sagna and Koscielny. The key to Arsenal doing well this season will be to concede fewer goals, have a stronger defense, and I think we are well on track there. So,  Crisis-1 not so much a crisis.
Moving on to address Crisis-2, Robin and Song left us. Let's say, for the sake of convenience, that together they helped us score 30 goals last season. Just Robin and Song together. Are not Podolski, Giroud and Cazorla capable of scoring those many together? Again, yes they are! I think more than 30 goals. This year we may not have one super goal scorer, but combined together I think Arsenal can score more. If you are going to say that we cannot be sure that they will score those many, then let me ask you, before last season did you ever think Song and Robin would combine to score the goals they did? Or that Robin would play every game? No. No one did. That's how football is. If we look at the midfielder in Song that we have lost, we have gained Diaby and Wilshere. Arn't those two enough to replace Song? They are. If you say that they are injury prone, wasn't Robin also? Hence, I can safely say, Crisis-2, is laughable.
I would have loved Arsenal to add to the current team too, but not doing so, is far from a crisis. We have successfully replaced all our outgoing players and are in a really good shape. I have said this before, amongst the madness in the football world right now, Arsene seems to be the only sane one. Trust him to do a good job, as he always has. Any team, player or fan thinking Arsenal are weaker this season is kidding himself. Keep the faith.
Liverpool tomorrow then! Expect goals. 

The goals are coming.

Transfer talk. Difficult for Arsene.

A lot is being said about the coming transfer market. For the first time since I remember, theres news of Arsenal signing players before the market starts. Yes, Podolski looking done and dusted if most views are to be believed. Many also believe that Matias Suarez has also signed a pre contract agreement and will be joining Arsenal for sure. So, that looks like two players done already, and I have to say, very un-Arsenal like, isn't it? Moreover, we seem to have started talks with Mario Götze, another fantastic player, the kind every team would love to see in their ranks. 

I did a poll recently on TalkOfTheArsenal, on which players would fans want to see in an Arsenal shirt next season, here are the results. First is Lukas Podolski with 26.01% votes, second is Mario Gotze with 22.47%, third is Jan Vertonghen with 20.45% and the Eden Hazard with 10.61%. 

All the above players are fantastic, their technique is second to none and are all players anyone would love to see in their team. And I do believe that Arsenal needs to sign a couple of more players to really have a go in all the four competitions. Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of the team we have right now, and we're doing great, but sometimes we lack a little bit of an edge. To just kill the game off, or to find that killer defense splitting pass. Here is something else I also believe in, technique and skill is important to win the league, but so is team spirit. Look at our teams in the past few years, you'll see something missing which is there this time around, it's fantastic team spirit. 

Before I go on to why this transfer market will be difficult, let me help you recall the 2007 Carling Cup final that Arsenal lost 2-1 to Chelsea. I remember a fellow gooner saying that Wenger should play the big players, we have to win the trophy, but Wenger played the same team that had taken Arsenal to the final, and we lost, against the likes of Drogba and company, our players were probably not there yet. Why did Arsene do that? Why didn't he play the big players? Here is why, playing the 'kids' in the final was only being fair to them. They were the ones who got the team to the final, they deserved the plaudits for playing the final. Would you like it, if you worked hard for something and then were replaced by someone else just before the finale? No. It would leave a bitter taste in your mouth, wouldn't it? Wenger tried to keep the spirit alive. And kudos to him.

Now look at what I just said above with a broader perspective, when we started this season, we were classified as a team that were not good enough for the Champions League spot, and look at where we are now. These players have proved everyone wrong, they've worked together and clawed their way back to where they belong. They deserve all the praise they're getting right now. Now, how do you think a first team player will react when he is just replaced at the start of next season after he has fought so hard this season? He won't like it. How will other players around him react? There will be a question mark in their minds. People may say this is part of a players life. That maybe, but how many players who have taken Arsenal to third place this season be happy sitting on the bench next season? Few. And fewer will take that positively. Let's say we sign Vertonghen, who do we replace? Koscielny, who has been so instrumental at the back? Or Vermaelen? Who is one of the best defenders around. And if we don't will the Ajax captain, who is one of the most wanted defenders in Europe right now, be happy on the bench? Think about it. 

I do think Arsenal need a few more players, but not at the expense of the spirit they have right now. We need cover for Van Persie, Podolski would be a good option. But we need to make sure that we look after the players we have right now, make sure we tell them that they are integral to the club's future plans. We need a good center back, but I think a capable understudy to Koscielny, Vermaelen and Mertesacker would suffice. Someone like Jenkinson , or Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who we can rely on. Arsenal do not need someone like Eden Hazard, who has made it his duty to flirt with every big club. Trust me, one difficult season at Arsenal and he'll be flirting with all the clubs around. We don't need that. 

Money can buy good players, but it cannot buy team spirit, which is equally important. Arsenal have to maintain the balance. And that is Wenger's responsibility. That's why I say, this transfer window is going to be the toughest one for Wenger. And I think he knows it. Think about it, it's never as easy as it seems. Simply signing players is never the solution.

I'll leave you with that thought! Until next time then! Keep the faith!

Smells like team spirit