Arsenal's first eleven is excellent and arguably the equal of any other in the league. But the flaw in their title hopes is the complete lack of decent cover in defence and the number of injury-prone players the squad contains...
The title aspirations of each member of the Big Four are reliant - to varying degrees - on good fortune in the form of avoiding injuries, but none are so reliant as Arsenal.
The Gunners boast a first-rate first team but it would be generous to describe their second team as second-rate. While the weakness of Arsene Wenger's squad is commonly perceived to be a dependency on Cesc Fabregas, it is the absence of any viable or reassuring cover behind their first-choice defence that threatens to undermine their season.
Such concerns begin at the very back following the appointment of Lukas Fabianski as Manuel Almunia's deputy in the wake of Jens Lehmann's departure. As he is inclined to do, Wenger has endorsed the youngster's credentials but the young Pole's appearances last season were notable only for their hesitancy and his failure to repel five of the six shots he faced at White Hart Lane.
Armand Traore is a promising but untried prospect behind Gael Clichy at left-back, while Justin Hoyte cannot even be considered Bacary Sagna's deputy after Wenger opted to redeploy Kolo Toure at right-back instead when the Frenchman was injured in the spring.
That decision in turn provided a reminder of Philippe Senderos' inadequacies and the season ended with Alex Song - currently at the Olympics - promoted to the role of third-choice centre-half, ahead of both Senderos and Johan Djourou. Song is a novice in the position and were either Toure or William Gallas to suffer a long-term injury, it would spell calamity for the Gunners. Having announced at the start of the summer that he would sign an experienced defender, Wenger's about-turn and refusal to fulfil his pledge (made at an end-of-season fans' meeting) is extraordinary and laced with danger.
The one type of player Wenger remains in the market for is a defensive midfielder - hardly surprising considering he has sold three in little more than six months - but, at the time of writing, the Frenchman is poised to begin the season with only Denilson (too similar), Abou Diaby (too inconsistent, too injury prone) and Aaron Ramsey (too young) as candidates to partner Cesc Fabregas.
A generous fixture list means that Wenger can wait until August 31 before revealing his solution but it is essential that a midfielder with greater defensive nous is acquired. Denilson and Ramsey are both creative players while Diaby is a poor tackler more accustomed to playing as a winger. Without the purchase of a midfielder capable of fulfilling a deep-lying role it is difficult to see how Wenger could consider re-introducing a 4-5-1 for the Champions League and difficult away encounters in the league.
Yet while they are weak in defence and in the centre of midfield, the Gunners are arguably stronger now elsewhere than 12 months ago. Theo Walcott has finally begun to fulfil his potential and will rectify Wenger's misguided belief that Emmanuel Eboue could flourish as a right-sided midfielder, while Samir Nasri is a rare example of Wenger buying a young player who can immediately slot into Arsenal's starting eleven. Even if he justifies only a fraction of the hype, Nasri should be able to provide more than the six-assists-and-three-goals Alex Hleb.
Naturally, Arsenal begin the season with injury concerns, but although Tomas Rosicky will not return before September at least there is reason to hope that a proper solution to his never-ending injury trouble has been sought. Eduardo's return is further away but in the meantime Carlos Vela has the opportunity to display his talent after being recalled from a lengthy loan stint in Spain and gaining a work permit. The Mexican, who joined Arsenal as long ago as November 2005, is highly regarded and Wenger has declared he will be used as a striker rather than on the wing. No doubt he had Robin van Persie's tendency to spend longer on the treatment table than the pitch when he considered how best to exploit the 19-year-old's overdue arrival at the Emirates.
All Bases Covered? How The Arsenal Squad Measures Up
Goalkeeper:Manuel Almunia, Lukas Fabianski.
Right-Back: Bacary Sagna, Justin Hoyte.
Left-Back: Gael Clichy, Armand Traore.
Centre-Half: William Gallas, Alex Song, Johan Djourou.
Centre-Half: Kolo Toure, Philippe Senderos.
Right-Midfield: Theo Walcott, Emmanuel Eboue.
Centre-Midfield: Cesc Fabregas, Denilson.
Centre-Midfield: Abou Diaby, Aaron Ramsey.
Left-Midfield: Samir Nasri, Tomas Rosicky.
Striker: Robin Van Persie, Carlos Vela, Eduardo.
Striker: Emmanuel Adebayor, Nicklas Bendtner.
Pete Gill
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Your Comments
wengbeliever
"Kopoffwivyerwife we may have capitulated but that was in early April. If I remember correctly Liverpool capitulated in early NOVEMBER after a 3-1 defeat to none other than Reading! Gerrard may have won you the CL in 2005 but Vieira led Arsenal to 2 Prem titles in 02 and 04 and was a powerhouse in 98 when we won the first of two recent Doubles. He is also a World Cup and Euro Championship winner. Add to that two Serie A's and the one he won with Juve that later was stripped. Gerrards career honours read something like: 2 or 3 Carling Cups, A CL and 2 FA cups. If he is the most complete CM in the world how come he hasnt inspired Pool to a Prem or England to a respectable finish in a major tournament? England's squad is, arguably on paper been stronger than the French over the past decade. Vieira, along with Zizou inspired France in 98."
guerillagorilla
"its usually the highlight of my day reading F365 comments made by Kopoffwivyrwife. inaccurate, misleading, lacking a real point, and pretty abusive... the man has talent.. for proving he is a big girl... mate, you should stick whinging about liverpool, and dreaming of a PL trophy that will never come, and stop trying to discuss footy with the men.. seriously my mum knows more about football than you.."
GunTalk
"Oh and this thing about English grit. Where was it at Euro 08?? Hahahaha"
kragh
"'Kopoffwivyrwife' - you silly phuck..Gerrard is an overhyphed muppet who can just run with the ball like a toddler. And when he enters the penalty box, he looks for an excuse to fall down. Thats about it...and nothing else. Creative - Nope, Tenacious - nope, Schemer - you bet! Don't compare Gerrard the idiot with Viera who had an incredible work rate, awesome ability and formidable midfield presence!"
Kopoffwivyrwife
"ps kopoffwivyrwife is my first name, my surname is wengbeliever!!!"
Kopoffwivyrwife
"wengbeliever, it would seem iv touched a nerve, whats up? truth hurt? when was the last time we challenged for anything? when was the last time you won anything? even without the free kicks and penalties gerrard is miles ahead of viera in terms of goals, just look at the number of assists by either player. gerrard is the most complete central midfielder in the prem in a generation. he, for many years played in a weaker team than the arsenal team viera was part of, yet managed to win the champions league single-handedly. he inspires confidence throughout the team - did viera ever manage to do it to the same extent? was viera ever named the most valuable player in europe? i rest my case YOU cocky f*ck. the reason benitez hasnt used gerrard in a defensive role is simply that we have alonso had sissoko and replaced him with mascherano. with defensive midfielders of that quality gerrard is afforded the freedom to get forward and attack. u must be a serious retard if you think that despite not needing to play gerrard in a defensive role, we should - but then you are a gooner. as i said earlier your team has quality in abundance but no character, u might not like it but deep down you know its true. how else can you explain the way you capitulated last year? ok so you lost key players but you didnt just play badly against big clubs, you did it against mediocre teams as well, surely you have enough qualty to dispatch of bottom half teams even without some of yr players. so it can only be put down to having no grit and determination ie lack of character. its all well and good playing fancy football but when the going gets tough, can you grind results out? no, bcos of a lack of character. personally i put it down to a lack of english players, even cole said in the arsenal dressing room he felt like the foreigner. im not against foreign players but many lack english grit. muppet"
wengbeliever
"Kopoffwivyrwife, if that is yer real name, answer this ye little bas****,, when is the last fuc*** time that the Pool challenged for the Prem?, you cocky little f***! Gerrard used to put in 'Key tackles' when Houllier managed him because he was obviously told to do so but Benitez has rarely harnessed his def ability. Completely unfair argument, Gerrard takes freekicks and pens and, although being another one of the 'gladiator' CMs he has a slight leaning towards attack. Vieira has a slight leaning towards defence (Gerrard may score more but Vieira tackles much more). Perrygroves, yes I would take back Petit at the mo, just the same as I'd take Tony Adams back. But what I'm saying is that if you gave any Defensively oriented player in the squad like Touré or Eboué say, with some match-practice they would be well able to play there. Possibly, wenger may see Song as the main candidate and that could be why there has been so much indecision in the market."
Kopoffwivyrwife
"no such thing as a 'truly gifted' DM??? have you ever watched a little known player called Mascherano? muppets. and lets get another thing clear viera was a effectively a DM (and a decent one) because hes strength was tackling and breaking up plays. A true 'gladiator of a CM' as you so eloquently put it believer is someone like gerrard who can make crucial tackles, distribute, shoot and score, how many goals did viera score? i bet gerrard scored that many by the time he was 21. and as for gunner south 1 saying your season fell apart when eduardo got injured, thats the point u idiot!!! when you lose key players you dont have the depth in your squad to replace those players successfuly. anyway the eduardo injury is a feeble excuse used by gooners (youre called the GOONers for a reason) the true turning point was when you got trounced 3 nil at OT by a practicaly second string utd team, they made you lose your nerve, in the same way they ended yr 39 odd game unbeaten run. wake up and smell the coffee, your team has ability but no charachter."
Gunner_South1
"As is the case last year, I just feel that we are underestimating Wenger. Our Season fell apart only after Eduardo was taken out of the Equation. Until that moment we were still well on track to win the league, and for us i think that it is a big must...we need to win the league. But I still beleive there is a lot of resolve in the youngsters that we have. Gilberto (on the field) is not really a big loss - his form the last 2 years has not been great. As for Flamini, lets see what he does with AC Milan without Cesc next to him. I must admit I always liked Hleb, but he is the type of Player that is replaceable. Nasri, Ramsey or Diaby can do what he did for us. But this Season will be interesting...Remember, we were also written off last year!"
perrygroves
"American?? stay off the glue dude! Defensive.....whats the opposite.....offensive..attacking..whatever... The argument here is you said that being a defensive midfielder take no special talent. I think it does. My point was then if you have a player who can successfully do both...Viera being the best example I can think of over the last 10 years. I pose you this question, you say Petit was a defensive midfielder and according to you it does'nt take any special talent to be one but now if you could put Petit in the current Arsenal midfield at his peak would you?..cause Id bit your hand off because its such a crucial role! it takes talent to be that player."
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