Bleacher Report - Articles by Jack Spiller

Arsenal vs Celtic: Will Wenger and Mowbray Stick or Twist?

Jack Spiller — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 21:06:04 -0400

As Wenger and Mowbray prepare for Wednesdays Champions League qualifier second leg tie, both mangers will have much to consider.

For Wenger the big question will be who to rest ahead of the weekend's league match, against champions Manchester United.

An early season result against one of the serious title contenders, and fellow member of the EPL's "Big Four," would be an important result. With a two away goal advantage over Celtic, Wenger might therefore be tempted to put out a weaker side on Wednesday.

Manchester United play a high paced, direct style of football, that relies heavily on stamina. This has often been the reason for their ability to snatch injury time winners.

With United not playing a midweek match, Wenger may well decide to rest key players, with this in mind. However a run out might provide the opportunity for some to find match sharpness, that is often lacking this early in the season.

Playing on the big stage of the Champions League is vital for a club of Arsenal's ambition though. When you add to that the revenue generated by qualification, especially considering the club's current financial constraints, they dare not risk failing to qualify.

Looking back to the first leg tie against Celtic, Arsenal were certainly fortunate to get the result they did. The two away goals coming from a lucky deflection and an unfortunate own goal.

While they were worthy winners, Arsenal's attacking flair was stifled by Celtic's defensive endeavour. Celtic managed to carve out their own chances, their best two falling to Scott Brown, who disappointed on the night.

Based on their 5-2 rout of St Johnstone, at the weekend, they can certainly find the back of the net. In that match, new signing Fortune opened his account for Celtic, contributing two goals for the Hoops. After the match he said "I can't wait until Wednesday."

As a pragmatic manager, Wenger will probably not make too many changes to the line-up. Keeping experienced players in the side, rather than risk missing out on qualification. It's likely he will also want the team to play a slower paced game, emphasising defensive safety.

This would also be an ideal opportunity to give a few of the younger young guns a chance to shine. With Fabregas ruled out, this may be Ramsey's chance to take to the European stage. If the first half goes to plan, I would expect to see early substitutions in the second, with hopefully more chances going to the youngsters.

Tony Mowbray's own conundrum is somewhat more straight forward. To take the game to Arsenal or play it safer to avoid a humiliating result.

While at first you might think that Celtic have nothing to lose, Mowbray certainly does. He will have seen Arsenal's recent demonstrations of their ability to ruthlessly punish teams. A more attacking attitude in Wednesday's match, from the Bohys, may leave them too exposed to this.

He may well be wonder whether an overwhelming scoreline against his team might unsettle his board's faith in him, this early in tenure. However, he will also need to show that his ambition matches his clubs.

His comments regarding the forthcoming fixture, indicated this may be in his thoughts, when he said "I understand that if we lose 2-0 again, I will be judged to have got the team wrong again but if we win 3-0 then hopefully everyone will be pretty happy."

Celtic showed against Dinamo Moscow, in the previous qualification round, that they can overhaul a home defeat in Europe. Dinamo certainly do not have Arsenal's quality though, and the goal difference is double.

An energetic start from Celtic may well be on the cards. As an early goal, in their favour, would make a big difference. Higher commitment to attacking would be unlikely to be sustained, as Arsenal can be very effective on the counter, and judging by the second half of the last leg, they are the team with greater stamina.

Ultimately, how Mowbray and Celtic approach the game, will be influenced by the noises coming from the board. Their negativity or positivity directly reflecting the boards attitude toward the tie.

As club that has a lot of pride, I would hope that they endeavor to make a fight back. That pride might alternatively be the reason they play it safe.

Like any football fan, I hope that it will be a good open game. Experience tells me that it's more likely to be a more cagey affair.

Will Arsenal's Senderos Stay at AC Milan?

Jack Spiller — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 10:42:19 -0400

Senderos hasn't exactly been a fan favorite amongst Gooners, so his transfer fate won't be the number one question in their minds. However, it's fair to say that the nature of his past mistakes in an Arsenal shirt has led to an unfair appraisal of his abilities amongst fans.

He has put in many commanding performances, from a very young age, despite his permanent worried expression. His participation in the 2005/06 Champions league run to the final, saw him play a vital role in their 10-match CL shut out record, illustrating his true potential.

This past season he has been on year long loan at AC Milan, who have the option to buy him. No doubt the Rossoneri were influenced in their decision to sign him, on loan, by his solid performance against them in the two legs of the previous years Champions League, which saw them humbled by an incredibly youthful Arsenal team.

Senderos has clearly enjoyed his time in Milan, where he was reunited with his former Arsenal playmate Flamini. This is understandable simply by virtue of the quality of the players he was training with.

As a center back, the opportunity to learn from Maldini, Nesta and Zambrotta would be a dream come true. Not to mention the opportunity to play with the likes of Kaka, Inzaghi, Pirlo, Ronaldinho, and Beckham.

Sendoros has publicly stated his desire to remain at Milan, saying, "I feel very good here and I would like to stay.

"I have worked extensively with the coach and I have always had the support of my peers and the club and this helped me a lot for the second part of the season where I played a little more."

Along with the rest of the AC Milan team, Ancilotti's leadership and coaching was clearly appreciated by Senderos. As we all know though, the manager has now taken charge at Chelsea.

The departure of Ancelotti, and installation of the inexperienced Leonardo, has created uncertainty at Milan. There is also the matter of the ageing nature of the Milan squad, where over 50 percent of the first team is over 31 years old. All but four of the remaining members of the squad are very young and inexperienced.

There is also now a good chance that Kaka will be moving to Real Madrid, with owner Berlusconi revealing, "I don't know if we'll be able to keep Kaka at Milan because they (Madrid) offer him so much money."

There are further rumours of players following their former coach, Ancelotti, to Chelsea. With the resources at his disposal, and the players fondness of him, this certainly seems a possibility.

These factors may make Senderos start to question the merits of staying in Milan. If Wenger makes it clear that he will be central to his plans at Arsenal, he may think a return to the Emirates might be the right decision.

The ultimate decision on Senderos' stay in Milan, however, is with the Rossoneri. The purchase clause in the loan deal means that Arsenal would be unable to stop them keeping him.

The question is whether a player that only had twelve starts and seven substitute appearances for Milan, is seen as part of their plans. Milan will probably need to start moving towards rebuilding their team, and Berlusconi clearly seems to believe in imitating the Real Madrid "Galactico" model.

There is a good chance that Senderos will not be seen as part of the plan to build a team of "stars", and they might prefer to invest the money in a bigger name purchase.

If Senderos wasn't to stay in Milan, there may well be interest from Hertha Berlin. Their manager Lucien Favre had previously coached Senderos at Servette, and Favre clearly rates Sendoros, recently saying, "The fact is that Philippe was, and still is, a very good player."

Hertha may need to strengthen at the back because Josip Simunic, the center back who was voted the clubs player of the year, might be leaving in the summer. The buy-out clause in his contract meaning they would be unable to stop him leaving, and clubs including Fulham are reportedly interested in gaining his services.

Hertha have already added to their defence though, by signing Christoph Janker on a free transfer. This does not however rule out the possibility of an offer for Senderos.

The Senderos loan deal was instigated by Wenger's signing of Silvestre from Manchester United. Silvestre was seen as an opportunity to bring more experience to the back line and replaced Senderos in the auxiliary support role.

Silvestres' season has however been a massive disappointment and his performances have been lackluster at best, contributing to a poor defencive record. Strengthening this defencive area is now Wenger's stated priority.

While Wenger may be tempted to cash in on Senderos, there are those at the club that believe stability will be more important than new signings.

Toure has recently voiced his opinion on the Arsenal website, saying, "I think keeping the team together is the most important thing.

“When you stay with your team mate for three or four years you start to learn how he plays. That helps you for the games and I think...it’s important for our improvement next season.

If Wenger agrees with this assessment, which going by his track record he likely does, then he may wish for Senderos to return.

No Goal-Line Technology, Why Not Still Kick a Pig's Bladder Around?

Jack Spiller — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 16:08:54 -0400

Anyone watching the FA Cup Final between Chelsea and Everton on television this past weekend probably came to the same conclusion: Football needs goal-line technology to be introduced.

From the comfort of your sofa, you would have clearly seen that when Malouda shot from a distance, the ball clearly looked like it crossed the line. On the pitch, however, the view was very different. It would not be fair to blame either the referee or any of his assistants for missing the goal as even the commentators completely misjudged it.

What's amazing is that the debate about goal-line technology has been going on in earnest for a very long time, but it appears than we are no closer to it being introduced.

In 2005 FIFA, under Sepp Blatter's presidency, agreed to tests being conducted at the U-17 world championships. The form of goal line technology used involved microchips in the ball that activate a message being sent to a watch the referee wears, when the ball crosses the line.

After the tournament, Blatter stated, "The evidence wasn't clear so we will carry out trials... at the 2007 World Club Championship."

This is exactly what they did. Then at the annual IFAB (International Football Associations Board—the body that governs the rules of football) meeting in 2009, they halted any further progress regarding goal-line technology.

Blatter explained the decision by saying that the microchipped ball had failed in one of the seven World Club Championship matches due to interference to the signal sent to the referee and that it would be difficult to implement the chip technology in the many types of football used around the world.

Instead, a decision was made to pursue a new scheme using two extra assistant referees behind the goals, an idea put forward by Platini (the President of UEFA).

In March 2009, Blatter clarified the official position on goal-line technology, saying: "The IFAB believes that football is a game for human beings and, as such, we should improve the standard of refereeing—and not turn to technology."

Throughout the whole process of investigating the use of goal-line technology, a major condition was that it should be goal-line technology and nothing else. Meaning that it should be an electronic confirmation system and in no way involve any kind of video footage replay. This is clearly where the real issues lie.

Blatter and Platini are clearly part of a camp that vehemently opposes the introduction of video replays to the profesional game. Goal-line technology, especially any that uses video cameras, is seen as a step towards the introduction of video replays being used to make refereeing decisions throughout a match.

This should have been clear from the beginning, when they showed a preference for the Cairos system (that uses intraball microchips) over the English FA and Premier league backed Hawk-Eye system.

The Hawk-Eye system for goal-line technology uses six cameras in the stadium that are used to triangulate the position of the ball in three dimensions, it can also be used to calculate (using physics) the future path of the ball.

The strange thing about that choice of preference is the fact that it's Hawk-Eye that has been used in other high profile professional sports for a while now, not the Cairos/Addidas one. It's notably used in tennis where it forms part of the adjudication process.

Blatter rejected the Hawk-Eye system, stating that: "You cannot ensure it works when there are a bunch of players inside the goal mouth and you cannot see the ball, or when there is poor visibility."

Dr. Paul Hawkins (the founder and managing director of Hawk-Eye) clearly disagrees. After the 2009 IFAB meeting, he said:

"Blatter said he was concerned about our technology because if a flare went off in a stadium, it might get in the way of one of our cameras. Firstly, that's ridiculous, and, secondly, that's the reason we have six cameras. Have you ever known a televised game where a goal can't be shown because a flare has blocked a camera angle?"

The proposed extra goal-line assistants systems will obviously help, but can it ever be as good as an accurate technological answer?

It's quite clear that the decisions on goal-line technology have been influenced by a fear of the introduction of video replays becoming part of the refereeing system. What is the problem with this possibility, anyway?

According to UEFA chief executive Lars-Christer Olsson: "Video-refereeing would stop the flow of the game...This would also open up windows for further commercials in the middle of the match, which would damage its image, and secondly this would lead to a referee's authority being undermined."

The fact is that video-refereeing has been a success in professional rugby. It actually helps to empower the referees rather than undermine them.

As for creating delays in play, much more time is spent watching overpaid footballers put on amateur dramatic performances when they get the slightest tap than is spent waiting for video replay decisions in rugby.

The truth about the block on goal-line technology probably comes down to that quote from Blatter: "Football is a game for human beings and, as such, we should improve the standard of refereeing—and not turn to technology."

If that really is the viewpoint, then perhaps they should consider looking into banning referees using watch technology or at least block new technological advancements in this area.

Perhaps more than that, they should look into reversing the advancements in ball technology and revert back to using pigs' bladders.

Arsenal's Fabregas Hopes For a New Partnership

Jack Spiller — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 10:04:32 -0400

Because of recent comments from Fabregas there has been renewed speculation over the transfer of Liverpool's Xabi Alonso to Arsenal.

Fabregas said "We need someone in the middle to make competition and make a difference, plus give us a new dimension.

"Xabi would be great. He's experienced and can score goals. I'm sure the boss is aware of that fact."

Due to the superb season Alonso has just had, and Cesc's national team ties to the player, it's obvious to see why Fabergas would want to play alongside him next season. This does not seem likely to happen though.

Last summer it seemed as if this was a move that would happen, with Barry replacing Alonso at Liverpool. In the end Barry stayed committing himself to seeing if Villa could break into the Champions League, and the Alonso move ended dead in the water.

In the year that followed Alonso proved himself as one of the world's best midfielders. Benitez now sees him as a vital part of the team, and in the follow up to their strongest league run under the Spaniard, he's very keen to keep his best players and build on that success.

Benitez' conviction on this matter has already been tested by reported interest from Real Madrid, to which he replied "The situation is clear, we do not want to sell our best players and that includes Xabi.

Fabergas' comments about bringing in a "competitive" midfielder seem well founded, as this is an area where Arsenal have at times struggled this season.

After the departure of Viera in 2004 a lot of people believed that Arsenal would struggle without the strength of their talismanic skipper playing in the middle. While over the course of the season he was clearly missed in the league, the increased fluidity of Arsenal's build-up play saw the Gunners make their furthest ever progress in the Champions League, reaching the final after a record CL shut out run.

In the years that followed the departures of Edu, Gilberto and Flamini have left this area severely weakened. The failure to sign Alonso left Wenger relying on youth in this role for the last season.

Diaby, Song and Denilson show great promise for the future, but did not have the required experience or consistency in the role this past season. What's more pertinent is that none of them appeared to sufficiently "click" with Fabregas in the middle of the park.

During Fabergas' absence, through injury, we saw various pairings of this trio put in strong performances. Working in a shared role of two holding midfielders allowed their combined strength to add up to something more substantial.

Despite their development, there is still a strong case for a more experienced player to be brought in to pair with Fabregas, in the 4-4-2 system that Wenger prefers. As Fabregas pointed out, Alonso would be the ideal man for this role.

With Benites' determination to hold onto him and his £20 million+ price tag proving a stretch for the currently tight Arsenal budget, it would seem that he will not be coming to the Emirates. So who could be Wenger's potential targets for this role?

Gareth Barry would be the obvious man for the job. He has made it clear that he wants to play in the Champions League and Villa's failure to break into the top 4 may see him depart from Villa Park.

Manchester City and Tottenham have both been rumoured to be interested in him. Without any European football at either of these clubs next year the player would no doubt see a move to either of them as a step down. While this makes a Barry move to them unlikely, it will still probably push up his valuation - something that may put off the necessarily thrifty Wenger.

Lorik Cana has indicated that he may look to leave the Marseille team he captains, and he's openly stated that he'd like to play in either the English or German league. It's reported that Wenger is a big fan of the player and he would be a player with the attributes and experience that Wenger will be looking for.

There are rumours that Benitez is also interested in the player, but his arrival at Liverpool would be as a replacement for Alonso, which could then possiably open the door for Alonso's exit.

Filipe Melo de Carvalho was a rumoured Wenger target during the winter window and he could be a good long term resource in this position. He has indicated that he want's to stay where he is and his club sound very determined to keep him.

While Fiorentina will be returning to the Champions league they did however disappoint in last years group stage, winning only 1 game. The opportunity to play a CL knock-out regular club might tempt Carvalho.

David Pizarro would be an ideal candidate. He appears to be somewhat surplus to demands at Roma now and could possibly be leaving the Champions League exiles this summer. A move to Juventus would be more likely though, as part of a deal seeing Trezeguet moving the other way.However if he isn't going to Juventus, they will still want to raise money for buying Trezeguet.

Gökhan Inler is a player targeted by Wenger last summer and will possibly be in his's thoughts again. His agent has come out to say that he will not be moving to England this summer though and has talked up a possible move to Inter instead.

Jérémy Toulalan would be an obvious candidate to be inheritor of the Viera role, a player the French national team coach certainly see's as Viera's natural successor in the France squad. However he's stated he's happy to stay at Lyon and the club will want to keep him as they rebuild this summer, after a disappointing season for the deposed French club.

Nuno "Maniche" is currently out of contract he'd be able to arrive at the Emirates on a free transfer. As a UEFA Cup and Champions League winner with Porto he certainly has key experience on his side.

He would probably not be the ideal partner for Fabregas though and doesn't show the quality that Wenger looks for in signings. When he previously played in the EPL, with Chelsea, he certainly didn't impress. Although available for free, I really can't see this one happening.

Alou Diarra has been touted as a possible target, but it would seem very unlikely that he would want to leave the French champions to play for Arsenal. His previous experience of employment in the EPL with Liverpool, where he never played a competitive match, certainly won't bring back fond memories.

Yaya Toure would certainly be a signing the fans would love to see at Arsenal, but it would be ridiculous to suggest (as was last summer and even just this February) that this move might happen. Despite anything his brother might say, why would any professional footballer want to give up a regular first team place at Barcelona right now.

Patrick Viera... well who better to fill the eponymous Viera role at Arsenal. He looks certain to be leaving Inter in the summer, but a more likely destination would be Lyon. Certainly the fans would welcome him back, but he will most likely be seen as too old to be a worthwhile investment of precious resources.

It's possible that we won't see any new Arsenal signing for the defencive midfield role (unless you include 15-17 year olds). Wenger may decide to concentrate his efforts on bolstering the back line rather than add to the midfield.

With Ramsey likely to be more involved next season, Wenger already has four options in this position. The back line however has a lot less cover. Substantial addition to the centre back role might also give Toure the opportunity to at times play in midfield again.

Whatever happens, Fabregas is certainly confident in Wenger when he says: "We will see what happens in the summer but the boss knows what is missing and I am sure he will do something about it."

Arsenal's Defence: Out with the Old, in with the New?

Jack Spiller — Sun, 31 May 2009 09:49:50 -0400

The rumors have begun regarding possible exits and entrances at the Emirates over the summer, the latest suggestion is that Gallas will be leaving during the transfer period. At 31, Gallas certainly fit's the traditional profile of a Wenger sale, but he is a top performer in an area where Arsenal need to strengthen, even with him in the squad.

Wenger has already highlighted the defencive area as the key to Arsenal's disappointing season. The fact that Arsenal scored an identical number of goals in the league as the champions Manchester United, yet conceded 13 more than them (a whopping 45 percent more) illustrates just how right he is.

Gallas and Toure make a formidable center back pairing, unfortunately during the '08/'09 season all too often either one or the other has been unavailable and there hasn't been the strength in depth in this position to compete at the highest level with these absences.

Silvestre's signing was an attempt to shore up this area with experience, his performances however have let the club down in a big way.

His speed and agility are well below the necessary level and at his age (31) a lack of games is even more influential at exacerbating his apparent lack of sharpness. If Gallas is being considered for sale, then certainly so too should Silvestre.

Additional support in this role comes in the form of the swiss pairing of Senderos and Djourou. Both of them have massive potential for the future but are they ready to be considered regular first team picks for the big games?

Judging by Djourou's performances, especially in the 1-3 home defeat to Manchester United in the Champions League, he's not quite ready yet.

Song's fill in job at the close of season illustrates his possible potential in this role, but he doesn't have the positional experience under his belt to really provide a solution in the short term.

So what would be the answer? Another over the hill centre back? Another inexperienced young gun? No, there is a dire need for a top quality, peak age (24-29) centre back signing, two if Gallas is departing. But who?

Philippe Mexes would be the ideal signing. At 27, he is at his peak with plenty of experience and young enough to provide at least another 4-5 years of regular appearances.

However he has stated he would like to play out his career at Roma and after recent interest from AC Milan he has reiterated his desire to stay.

However, Roma will not be in the Champions League next year. There is uncertainty over Spalletti's future at Roma (his presence being a stated reason for Mexes wanting to stay), and with the World Cup coming up next summer, he might possibly be tempted by an opportunity to play for Arsenal, where he would no doubt flourish under his fellow Frenchman Wenger.

While there was already rumour of a Gallas sale and Mexes purchase during the 2008 winter transfer window, when Milan showed interest a £30-35 million price was estimated, which would currently seem a prohibitive price for the current Arsenal finances.

Giorgio Chiellini seemed a more likely prospect, with rumors of Wenger showing an interest in him and Juventus's Ranieri wanting Gallas (the player he introduced to the EPL), a possible trade plus cash deal could have been on the cards. Ranieri's departure as Juventus Manager changes the situation some what though.

However, with Cannavaro set to return to Juventus for next season this could still be a possibility. At only 24 he already has lots of experience and represents further potential for the future. His performance against Spain in Euro '08, where he was able to silence the front pairing of Torres and Villa, illustrated exactly how good a defender he is.

Brede Hangeland has been touted as another possible target. He has impressed at Fulham and played a pivotal role in helping them secure their highest ever Premier League finish, with the fourth best defencive record in the league.

At 27 the Norwegian fits the profile of exactly what Arsenal require, and his 6'5" stature would certainly add some needed height to the Arsenal back line. Premier League experience and the leadership qualities he displays as national team captain also make him a very attractive proposition.

There have already been rumours of an £8 million offer from Arsenal, which would be a good return on a payer who only cost £2.5 million one and a half years ago.

The noises from the Fulham camp are that he's happy to stay and will be offered an extension to his current two-year contract; however it was reported that he had already rejected a contract only a month ago.

Thomas Vermaelen is a player that Arsenal have been rumoured to be looking at and are preparing a £7.5 million offer for. However at only 23 years old and 5'11", he wouldn't really bring the experience and physical stature that is needed at the centre of the Arsenal back line.

He is a versatile player though, who can also play at left back. If Clichy was to depart then he would seem a likely candidate to replace him, as a replacement for Gallas however he doesn't fit the required profile.

Per Mertesacker be a strong addition to the club. At 24 he still has a long career ahead of him, yet already has plenty of experience. His 6'6" would add much needed height and he is a quick player for someone of his size.

He has international level experience, playing in the Champions league and reaching the 08/09 final of the UEFA Cup with his club, as well 55 games under his belt for the German national team.

It seems likely that he will be leaving tenth placed German club Werder Bremen in the summer. However there has already been reported interest from Bayern Munich, AC Milan and Wolfsburg, with Munich seen as front runners in the chase.

Because of this interest from two very big clubs, Arsenal would be very lucky to capture his signature.

Robert Huth has been another suggested candidate and with Middlesborough's relegation he will likely be available for transfer.

While he has experience and physical stature, his performance for Middlesborough in the '08/'09 season should make this one a no starter—reliability is the number one characteristic of a top quality center back, and he hasn't shown that in the past year.

Joseph Yobo is another rumored potential target. At 28, he is at his peak and while only 6'1" he wouldn't be the tallest potential target he certainly is physically strong. Also his level of experience in the EPL is a very attractive quality.

However we've been here before.

In 2006 delays in the signing of a new contract led to rumours of a possible switch to Arsenal that never materialised. Wenger has previously stated he's an admirer, but signing the third choice centre back from your closest rival outside the "big four" does not scream ambition.

While one to have an eye on, I think there are better candidates for the job and a potential free transfer in a year would constitute a much better prospect.

In my opinion the best option would be the signing of both Hangeland and Chiellini. Hangeland's experience in the EPL would mean he would not need time to adapt to English football and add instant strength to defending the set piece situations that Arsenal have looked vulnerable at.

Chiellini would no doubt need some time to adapt to the pace and style of English football, but could prove to be a vital ingredient in those big games (like both this season's semi-final exits) and mature at a pace with the other key Arsenal players of the same age.

With the possible exit of Gallas and Silvestre, Arsenal would then have three mature centre backs competing for places, which is always a healthy situation. When necessary it could also provide the opportunity for Toure to at times venture back into his early career role of defencive midfielder.

The big question however would be the financing of these transfers. At a net cost of probably £20 million (with the sale of Gallas and Silvestre) this would seem to be beyond the reach of Wenger's budget and might ultimately be dependant on either other transfers or assistance from Arsenal's two largest stakeholders...