Deconstucting the Gunners

Trying to make sense of yet another wild pre-season transfer saga

This little piece is being written by a long time (and one might say long suffering) Arsenal fan , during a long and tedious flight, even as Arsenal begin yet another season trying to cope with the loss of another talismanic player.

The loss of former skipper Robin van Persie has been bivalently received across all sections of the media. The majority (a significant number of them likely Mancunians) view RVP’s switch from London to Manchester as the potential death knell for Arsene Wenger; a blow that would probably finally ensure the Professor’s unblemished record of qualifying for the Champions League is ended. Of course, these writers do not even consider the Gunner’s chances at the EPL title even worthy of mention. Not a negligible few writers  however , have claimed that though Wenger was undoubtedly held to ransom by his captain , the ultimate result might turn out to be fortuitous for his team , especially considering how he’d already pre-empted the move and struck early in the transfer market to acquire 3 very differently capable players to replace the Dutchman.

Wenger : Furrows Galore

Let us consider the merits of both arguments:

At first sight, the Arsenal-bashing appears to need little debate to vindicate. RVP scored thrice as many goals as any other Gunner last season, and was single handedly responsible for his team either winning or drawing a number of games which could easily have gone the other way (fixtures against Everton and Liverpool readily spring to mind). His passing was first rate , set piece routines , above average at most times , and finishing in front of goal was exemplary. Add to this the fact that he has managed to remain fit for almost a year and half now, easily in longest span in his Arsenal carer.

The latter fact is what would be both United’s great hope and greatest fear. If the dreaded injury strikes , van Persie has shown that he is notoriously slow to recover from it. Add to this the undeniable dip in his performance over the last 2 months of the season, something which culminated in him headlining the dutch horror show at the European Championships. At the Euro’s he scored a sublime goal against Germany, but contrived to miss a hatful, some from positions which made you wonder if it was indeed him or his Arsenal teammate Marouanne Chamakh on the pitch. It is quite possible that rest and recoup since then, his batteries would be fully recharged and playing alongside Wayne Rooney and shepherded by Sir Alex Fergusson, he might proceed to put all doubts to rest. Time will bring out whether this is another historic coup by Sir Alex akin to Ruud van Nistelrooy and Eric Cantona or whether RVP is likely to end up as another failed transfer similar to the likes of Fernando Torres and Andy Carrol.

So all in all- 24 million for a transfer which at the face of it could not be prevented is not a bad deal , but the deal is likely to really rankle if RVP strikes gold at Old Trafford.

In my view , there is a more important transfer saga than RVP which the Gunners have to prevent at all costs – the switch of Alex Song to old nemesis Barcelona (the snatcher in chief of so many of Wenger’s boys before moneybags Man City came along..... Henry, Overmars, Gio , Hleb and of course Cesc). Van Persie may have got all the plaudits last year, but Song contribution was at least equal to the striker’s if not more. Although he still retains the propensity of picking up undesirable yellow card , there is no one better in the premier league in tracking attacking midfielders, and I’ve lost count of the number of last ditch tackles he made last season. Add to it a new found propensity to provide regular assists (especially via raking through balls and long balls) and popping up with the odd goal, and you have an indispensible asset to the arsenal system. Wnger excuse for letting Song go (with 3 years remaining on his contract) is that he has a fit Diaby and a Wilshire nearing fitness. I have not heard worse excuses: Diaby has hardly set the place alight in all of his years at the Emirates, and frankly is a defensive liability. Own goals, red cards , slack defence, letting strikers free on set pieces : he’s done the lot. Wilshere, for all his precocious talent , hasn’t played a minute in anger for more than a year. To expect him to settle down into the frenetic pace of the premier league with both a creative and defensive presence is too much to ask.

Song : More crucial to the Arsenal Setup than RVP

So to summarize my expectations for Arsenal’s season :

(1) EPL title : it’ll snow in hell if they win it.

(2) UCL qualification : probable , but chances likely to be dented if Song departs.

(3) Will they miss RVP : Unquestionably , the combination of Podolksi and Giroud will not even get them close to the 37 that the Dutchman scored last season. Goalscoring is going to be the major problem. Big scoring contributions needed from Walcott (assuming he stays put) , Carzola , Oxlade-Chamberlain, Wilshere, Ramsey and Arteta because the forward line is going to misfire big time.

P.S.: Arsenal managed a goalless draw in their first game against Sunderland after having 70% possession and 23 shots on target. Giroud contrived to miss an open goal. Wenger has sold Song to Barcelona citing Diaby as his number one choice in central midfield. The season is only a day old and I’m wincing already.