Quite worrying to see how old our squad is, the years before we often mentioned that we are too young and inexperienced. Wenger or new manager shoud look for young, hungry players.
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Squad Analysis 2015/2016
- Thread starter Hunta
- Start date
- Replies 1,892
- Views 158,655
Coolin
Doesn't appreciate the mighty Nacho
The problem with our squad right now is we have too many players higher up the pecking order than they should be. The likes of Walcott, Ox, Ramsey and Giroud might be good enough to challenge for the weakest league title in years. But that's not enough quality to challenge in Europe or even next season when the big teams bounce back in the Prem.
Truth be told - whilst not being awful - they should all be understudy's to better players. Until that happens I don't think this team will ever reach its potential.
Truth be told - whilst not being awful - they should all be understudy's to better players. Until that happens I don't think this team will ever reach its potential.
Country: Iceland
Nah it is healthy the age difference in our club.
Rosicky, Arteta and Flamini will probably all leave in the summer.
We've got some already IMO, they just need an opportunity.
I'd like to see more players like Iwobi get games. A player who understands the game that we play, and has the technique and intelligence to carry it out, instead of shoehorning players in that clog up the system rather than enhance it in the name of "experience". If he's not going to buy (which he should) then he should at least be brave and do that. Players are underperforming in the forward positions as it is, why can't Iwobi get a game here and there to prove himself beyond short subs and cup appearances?
Country: Scotland
They'll bring the average age down when you consider Elneny is a replacement for at least one. Cech can play until he is 40 looks after himself and had an unenforced season out so his body would have done a lot of recovering during that period.
The defence is a concern but we have Bellerin Chambers and Gabriel already there to take over. We'll obviously need new guys in eventually.
Country: South Africa
Player:Nketiah
http://www.fourfourtwo.com/features...erm-patch-over-long-term-hole#:Po6QW5Zz5iHlpA
The problem with Flamini: a short-term patch over a long-term hole
19 hours ago
Robert O'Connor
Arsenal’s two-time midfielder has filled in for a large part of the season, but Robert O’Connor says it really shouldn't have been that way…
It took Arsène Wenger years to solve his problem in defensive midfield. The Patrick Vieira-shaped hole that opened up in 2005, and saw countless title challenges slip through it, looks like it has been filled now – in the medium-term at least – with the coming of age in 2015 of Francis Coquelin.
The Frenchman’s absence since being injured at West Brom in November, however, left Arsenal short, with no reinforcements brought in during the summer or January windows. Wenger once again put his faith in ‘internal solutions’.
Need for speed
“
Seven minutes in he was caught out in possession high up the pitch, hustled off the ball as he tried to carry it forward by three energetic Bournemouth players
For most of that three-month spell the solution has been Mathieu Flamini, who has been anchoring midfield while Aaron Ramsey patrols higher up, but who at 31 years old is beginning to show signs that his utility as a regular starter is on the wane. His contract is up at the season’s end, and it seems unlikely that it will be renewed.
Against Bournemouth the signs were there early. Seven minutes in he was caught out in possession high up the pitch, hustled off the ball as he tried to carry it forward by three energetic Bournemouth players keen to force the tempo early on at the Vitality Stadium. Moments later he was fortunate to escape a red card for a two-footed challenge on Dan Gosling, with frustration setting in early as the pace of the game hurried away from him.
It set the tone for a difficult first half for Flamini, which bordered on the ineffective. The Frenchman made just one successful tackle during the first 45 minutes, failed to recover possession once and made just one successful interception.
It’s that ability to break up play and recycle the ball in the Vieira mould that has whipped up such optimism about Coquelin as the former captain’s full-time successor, but against Bournemouth, Arsenal were lacking that balance of power and precision.
Safety first
“
Just fewer than half of his 47 attempted passes were forwards, with his most frequently completed pass being backwards to Laurent Koscielny
Flamini’s struggles were most obvious in the moments when his midfield partner Ramsey was at his best. At one point late in the first half, with Arsenal 2-0 up and in control, Ramsey received the ball in his own half with his back to goal and spun effortlessly away from the attentions of two markers to break upfield with the ball.
It was the kind of channelling from the back four that used to spark wave after wave of Arsenal attacks, but with Flamini occupying one of the deep midfield berths those moves have slowed – the Frenchman no longer shows the ball control or physical power to receive the ball, turn and play.
He seemed reluctant to receive the ball from his back four throughout. More troubling, though, was his difficulty in turning with the ball and looking forwards. Just fewer than half of his 47 attempted passes were forwards, with his most frequently completed pass being backwards to Laurent Koscielny, which he attempted nine times.
Conversely, he received only four from his back four in the defensive half of the pitch in 90 minutes, with Nacho Monreal being the principal conduit out of defence down the left channel towards Mesut Özil and Alexis Sanchez.
Repair kit
“
On the hour mark, Gunners outcast Benik Afobe skipped past him like he wasn’t there, leaving the back four exposed
The left side proved a fruitful outlet for Arsenal on a day when they were far from their fluid best. For the first goal, Özil fed the ball to Flamini from the wing, and the Frenchman kept the move going at a good pace with a slick ball inside to Hector Bellerin. In turn, the Spaniard fed Ramsey to provide Özil’s goal. It was Flamini’s most effective contribution of the game, breaking free from his position as the team’s anchor and floating into a position to provide enough numbers for Arsenal to tap their way through.
It was a reminder that Flamini still has a role to play at Arsenal, reminiscent of the two goals he scored in the 2-1 win at White Hart Lane in November’s League Cup tie that seemed to reignite not just his season but career after a spell in the cold. That night he was on hand to sweep home a loose ball from close range and then thump in a volley from 18 yards, reminding Wenger that he can still make an effective contribution to his team’s rapid transition play.
But there is a hole that needs repairing deeper in the Arsenal machine, and Flamini’s powers there are weakening. On the hour mark, Gunners outcast Benik Afobe skipped past him like he wasn’t there, leaving the back four exposed as they have been so often by the team’s fragile midfield.
Arsenal’s title rivals in recent seasons have all been heavily reliant on that kind of imposing presence in the middle of the pitch; players able to break up and generate movement almost in one movement. Yaya Toure and Nemanja Matic have been instrumental in that role for Manchester City and Chelsea respectively in the last two seasons, N’Golo Kante similarly this year for Leicester. Andrew Surman dispossessed Flamini with ease in the same position late in the game, as Arsenal continued to look underpowered in the middle.
Coquelin's return
“
It’s hard to think that Flamini, a dependable lieutenant for Wenger for so many years across two spells in north London, has no part to play in the title run-in
After 70 minutes of hesitant play he miscontrolled on halfway under pressure from a Bournemouth midfield that harried to the end. He sought refuge, again, in Koscielny some 20 yards behind; a promising sequence of snappy passing broke down at his feet.
Coquelin’s first Premier League appearance in nearly three months – he replaced Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain with a quarter of the game to go – will have come as a welcome sight to Arsenal fans. Those 25 minutes will have gone some way towards restoring him to fitness ahead of Leicester’s visit to the Emirates Stadium on Saturday.
Flamini has played seven of his 13 seasons under Wenger
But it’s hard to think that Flamini, a dependable lieutenant for Wenger for so many years across two spells in north London, has no part to play in the title run-in. As he showed at White Hart Lane there is still a dynamic streak to the former Milan man’s game, a fuse that can burn for short spells when required to step in and provide bite higher up the pitch.
As for filling the gap vacated by his countryman a decade ago, however, the time has come for another Frenchman to assume responsibility.
The problem with Flamini: a short-term patch over a long-term hole
19 hours ago
Robert O'Connor
Arsenal’s two-time midfielder has filled in for a large part of the season, but Robert O’Connor says it really shouldn't have been that way…
It took Arsène Wenger years to solve his problem in defensive midfield. The Patrick Vieira-shaped hole that opened up in 2005, and saw countless title challenges slip through it, looks like it has been filled now – in the medium-term at least – with the coming of age in 2015 of Francis Coquelin.
The Frenchman’s absence since being injured at West Brom in November, however, left Arsenal short, with no reinforcements brought in during the summer or January windows. Wenger once again put his faith in ‘internal solutions’.
Need for speed
“
Seven minutes in he was caught out in possession high up the pitch, hustled off the ball as he tried to carry it forward by three energetic Bournemouth players
For most of that three-month spell the solution has been Mathieu Flamini, who has been anchoring midfield while Aaron Ramsey patrols higher up, but who at 31 years old is beginning to show signs that his utility as a regular starter is on the wane. His contract is up at the season’s end, and it seems unlikely that it will be renewed.
Against Bournemouth the signs were there early. Seven minutes in he was caught out in possession high up the pitch, hustled off the ball as he tried to carry it forward by three energetic Bournemouth players keen to force the tempo early on at the Vitality Stadium. Moments later he was fortunate to escape a red card for a two-footed challenge on Dan Gosling, with frustration setting in early as the pace of the game hurried away from him.
It set the tone for a difficult first half for Flamini, which bordered on the ineffective. The Frenchman made just one successful tackle during the first 45 minutes, failed to recover possession once and made just one successful interception.
It’s that ability to break up play and recycle the ball in the Vieira mould that has whipped up such optimism about Coquelin as the former captain’s full-time successor, but against Bournemouth, Arsenal were lacking that balance of power and precision.
Safety first
“
Just fewer than half of his 47 attempted passes were forwards, with his most frequently completed pass being backwards to Laurent Koscielny
Flamini’s struggles were most obvious in the moments when his midfield partner Ramsey was at his best. At one point late in the first half, with Arsenal 2-0 up and in control, Ramsey received the ball in his own half with his back to goal and spun effortlessly away from the attentions of two markers to break upfield with the ball.
It was the kind of channelling from the back four that used to spark wave after wave of Arsenal attacks, but with Flamini occupying one of the deep midfield berths those moves have slowed – the Frenchman no longer shows the ball control or physical power to receive the ball, turn and play.
He seemed reluctant to receive the ball from his back four throughout. More troubling, though, was his difficulty in turning with the ball and looking forwards. Just fewer than half of his 47 attempted passes were forwards, with his most frequently completed pass being backwards to Laurent Koscielny, which he attempted nine times.
Conversely, he received only four from his back four in the defensive half of the pitch in 90 minutes, with Nacho Monreal being the principal conduit out of defence down the left channel towards Mesut Özil and Alexis Sanchez.
Repair kit
“
On the hour mark, Gunners outcast Benik Afobe skipped past him like he wasn’t there, leaving the back four exposed
The left side proved a fruitful outlet for Arsenal on a day when they were far from their fluid best. For the first goal, Özil fed the ball to Flamini from the wing, and the Frenchman kept the move going at a good pace with a slick ball inside to Hector Bellerin. In turn, the Spaniard fed Ramsey to provide Özil’s goal. It was Flamini’s most effective contribution of the game, breaking free from his position as the team’s anchor and floating into a position to provide enough numbers for Arsenal to tap their way through.
It was a reminder that Flamini still has a role to play at Arsenal, reminiscent of the two goals he scored in the 2-1 win at White Hart Lane in November’s League Cup tie that seemed to reignite not just his season but career after a spell in the cold. That night he was on hand to sweep home a loose ball from close range and then thump in a volley from 18 yards, reminding Wenger that he can still make an effective contribution to his team’s rapid transition play.
But there is a hole that needs repairing deeper in the Arsenal machine, and Flamini’s powers there are weakening. On the hour mark, Gunners outcast Benik Afobe skipped past him like he wasn’t there, leaving the back four exposed as they have been so often by the team’s fragile midfield.
Arsenal’s title rivals in recent seasons have all been heavily reliant on that kind of imposing presence in the middle of the pitch; players able to break up and generate movement almost in one movement. Yaya Toure and Nemanja Matic have been instrumental in that role for Manchester City and Chelsea respectively in the last two seasons, N’Golo Kante similarly this year for Leicester. Andrew Surman dispossessed Flamini with ease in the same position late in the game, as Arsenal continued to look underpowered in the middle.
Coquelin's return
“
It’s hard to think that Flamini, a dependable lieutenant for Wenger for so many years across two spells in north London, has no part to play in the title run-in
After 70 minutes of hesitant play he miscontrolled on halfway under pressure from a Bournemouth midfield that harried to the end. He sought refuge, again, in Koscielny some 20 yards behind; a promising sequence of snappy passing broke down at his feet.
Coquelin’s first Premier League appearance in nearly three months – he replaced Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain with a quarter of the game to go – will have come as a welcome sight to Arsenal fans. Those 25 minutes will have gone some way towards restoring him to fitness ahead of Leicester’s visit to the Emirates Stadium on Saturday.
Flamini has played seven of his 13 seasons under Wenger
But it’s hard to think that Flamini, a dependable lieutenant for Wenger for so many years across two spells in north London, has no part to play in the title run-in. As he showed at White Hart Lane there is still a dynamic streak to the former Milan man’s game, a fuse that can burn for short spells when required to step in and provide bite higher up the pitch.
As for filling the gap vacated by his countryman a decade ago, however, the time has come for another Frenchman to assume responsibility.
MaraDon
Wants you to learn about football
flamini is everything that Arsène hates/needs about football in 1 player, he knows that he is going to give 110% and he is the glue that keeps our team togheter, he is the boyfriend of our star and he is always trying to create a group.
he is that player that you are scared in the dressing room, that organices meals in his house and takes you to strip clubs.
we hate him because on the field he is embarrasing, but he is doing the job and he has a nice record at home.
he is that player that you are scared in the dressing room, that organices meals in his house and takes you to strip clubs.
we hate him because on the field he is embarrasing, but he is doing the job and he has a nice record at home.
Country: Iceland
Everyone wants to be his best friend. Fabregas, Özil, Wenger.
Must be something about his 20 billion dollar company.
Must be something about his 20 billion dollar company.
Bearded Toaster
Equally angry as Furious
33 is really no age for a goalkeeper, 30-31 isn't a bad age either as you'd expect players of that age to have plenty of experience and still plenty left in the tank pending on position maybe? Arteta/Rosicky and possibly Flamini won't be here come summer. Giroud @ 29 isn't old at all for a footballer plus with what Coolin said, "there are too many players higher up the pecking order than they should be" but unfortunately that is the managers fault for not buying/getting rid of dead wood.
There are hungry players but they don't get a chance. I mean look at Campbell - how many times has he been on loan spells and only since the injury crisis was he given a chance? He shined in the w/cup last summer and was one of the stars too but how close was he to getting shipped out again???
Its either there is no money for wenger to spend or he is too blind to see the dead wood that needs shifting
Bould14
Well-Known Member
Problem with our squad is that a lot of the players play of a similar level and Wenger tries to shove all his favorites in the team. Usually a top team has a 3 World class players and the rest of the squad works hard for them either by defending or making runs for space.
RandyMarsh
Established Member
MaraDon
Wants you to learn about football
if i had some video editing skills i could prove that, since i dont, im just going with this emoji:
OG J0E
Well-Known Member
Flamini is ****ing Pritt Stick.
LordBump
Active Member
He rolled the dice with Theo and it didn't pay out.
He rolled the dice with Ramsey and it hasn't really payed out.
Giroud the same
Everyone he tried at DM before Coquelin.
List goes on and on.........
Too loyal to move on and replace. That's what has held us back.
The Mirror are late
I feel like our current 1st eleven feels clunky, seems like we have several hammers and screws.
We want the hammer, it bashes people better, but we want nails with them. Yet we have screws. Not that they are all bad screws, but we want nails because they work well with hammers.
You guys feel me?
We want the hammer, it bashes people better, but we want nails with them. Yet we have screws. Not that they are all bad screws, but we want nails because they work well with hammers.
You guys feel me?
Last edited:
Welbz, Teo and OG havve until the summer to convince him. I think we may see Wenga actually take out atleast one of them (probably Walcot)
GDeep™
League is very weak
Flamini, Arteta and Rosicky to leave according to Cross.
Country: Canada
And there was much rejoicing.
