A Totally Unqualified Arsenal Preview

A few weeks ago, I got one of those email article suggestions from Zander. Normally, I read them, sketch out an article, and then trash it because it a) doesn't say anything new or b) sounds like a 2nd grade reading primer:

Athletes should stay retired.

They get old and break more easily.

Brett Favre looks like the "before" picture on a Just For Men advert.

This one, however, caught my eye: Write a preview of Arsenal's upcoming season. Should be pretty easy, I've followed Arsenal pretty closely for the last five or so years, and I write previews for MLB, NFL, and NBA teams all the time.

That's when I remembered why I rarely write about the EPL: I have never, um, actually seen Arsenal play.***

Sure, I watch all the highlights on footytube, and I always read the BBC's text updates, but finding somewhere that will broadcast the game on the Southside of Chicago isn't easy.

Nevertheless, after dilligently following the transfer market and reading as much analysis as I could, I feel slightly more qualified to throw my position-by-position views of the new Gunners onto the page.

Moving from back to front:

Keeper:

The loss of Jens Lehman is really more symbolic than a loss on the pitch at this point. At his peak, Lehman was one of the best shotstoppers in the world, but those days are long gone. Lehman, now 38, is still a serviceable keeper, but Arsenal truely lost their marquee keeper a few years ago.

Manuel Almunia isn’t as good as Lehman was, but he is better than Lehman is now. He will perform well for Arsenal, but likely won’t join the ranks of Cech, Van der Saar, and the other elite keepers in the Premiership. He is good enough to carry Arsenal far in both league and cup play, but will need improvement from his defense.

Defenders:

William Gallas was recently presented with the Arsenal captaincy for the second year in a row. This leads me to believe one of two things: either Wenger believes Gallas has earned the armband, or he is using it as an incentive.

My guess is that it is the second. Wegner believes that by giving Gallas the honor, he will play up to it, and I’m inclined to agree. That said, if Gallas doesn’t improve his leadership and play, I can see Wegner calling the experiment over around New Years.

The rest of his backfield mates need to step up as well. Phillipe Senderos made some of the same errors in Euro 2008 that he made last season, and needs to show that he can grow past them. Clichy and Sagna need to stay healthy to anchor the back and provide support to the attackers.

Midfield:

Much ink has been spilled covering Arsenal’s midfield losses. Alex Hleb and Matthieu Flamini were both quality players and losing them will make the Gunner’s lives more difficult. Arsenal now needs to replace one attacker and one defender.

Samir Nasri may be young, but he should be able to step in for Hleb quite well. He fits the style of football Arsenal wants to play, and should be able to take much of the pressure off of Cesc Fabregas because of his passing ability. If he and Cesc can establish a good rapport and trust for one another, Arsenal will be hard to contain on the break.

The X-factor will be the play of 17-year-old Aaron Ramsey. Ramsey is an ambitious player who has made no bones about his desires: He wants to be nothing less than a first team regular. I do not believe that he will accomplish that goal from the beginning, but if he shows that he can effectively stop attacks and knows how to move the ball in space, he may find himself a key player in late season matches the way Theo Walcott did last season.

Also critical to the success of the midfield is the health of Tomas Rosicky. Rosicky missed almost all of last season, and this summer’s European Championships with nagging leg injuries. If he can regain match fitness, he will be a huge asset, especially if Arsene goes with a 4-4-2 line. Rosicky could provide the scoring threat from the midfield that Arsenal seemed to lack for large parts of last year.

Strikers:

Emmanuel Adebayor is back at the Emirates despite a long summer of rumor and innuendo that he wanted out. San Siro and Nou Camp were his likely destinations, provided Arsenal didn’t pony up with his huge wage raise. As the dust settles, Adebayor is still here, and trying to make amends for his actions. My sense from other Arsenal supporters is that the key for Adebayor is proving he is worth the money.

He said he wanted what Thierry Henry was paid, but has yet to earn that type of pay increase. He needs to be more efficient in converting his chances. 30 goals is a solid season, but with all the chances Cesc provided for him, he could have done better still.

His partner up front should be Robin van Persie, who also missed much of last year due to injury. Like Cesc Fabregas, van Persie looked good for his national side this summer, which should give Arsenal fans hope that he will return to form for his club side. If van Persie stumbles in his fitness, however, Theo Walcott will be right there to take his place.

Walcott impressed at the end of last season when he was placed on the first team, and has earned the backing or Arsene Wegner as he tries to get playing time for England’s national side. He is one of the only domestic players on the North London side, and has shown tremendous speed and skill with the ball.

Conclusions:

Arsenal are an exceptionally young side, which can be good or bad. If the youth perform to the level Arsene seems to believe them to be capable of, then the Gunners should have their core set for many years to come. If their inexperience leaves them vulnerable to a more experienced side like Liverpool or Chelsea, then the experiment has failed for this season, and the holes will need to be patched.

Given Wenger’s past successes in choosing excellent youth players, I’m inclined to believe that even though these players are young, they have played in enough big games to get over the potential problems of inexperience.

As with all teams, fitness will be a huge issue for Arsenal. Rosicky and van Persie are two key players to watch, as well as the rehab of Striker Eduardo. However, since Arsenal lacks the depth of some of the other elite Premiership sides, fitness will be a bit more important for their side than some of the teams in league competition.

While the competition for the league title will be tough, I believe Arsenal can rise to the challenge. They will be a difficult side to play against, especially if they can utilize the speed of Walcott, Nasri, and Clichy to exhaust other sides. If Arsenal only hoists one trophy this year, I believe it will be the as the winners of the Champions League.

Man U, Chelsea, Liverpool, and, yes, even Tottenham will all have quality sides this year, and I fear that Arsenal will suffer a few small injuries that will keep key players out of important league matches. European competitions however, seem to favor Arsenal’s pace and style of play, which I believe will carry them far in the Champions League.

*** End note: This all changes when I arrive in London to study for the fall. So, if anyone knows where or how to get cheap tickets, I would be quite grateful, as I plan on attending as many matches as possible!