Alex Bellotti
The last week has seen the Gunners jet-setting across the entire breadth of Asia in an effort to get some extra dollar and give fans from the other side of the world the chance to nab an autograph off their favourite player. From a purely footballing perspective though, the trip gave us the chance to see Arsenal in action three times, so I thought I’d share some thoughts on what Wenger might have taken away from it regarding each section of the team.
In terms of goalkeeping it’s quite clear that Szczesny is our first choice goalkeeper, and he’s now got the number one jersey to prove it. The problem lies behind him, with neither Fabianski nor Mannone seemingly happy to remain as backup choices. The tour didn’t particularly tell us anything we didn’t know about either keepers, but I have a feeling as long as Fabianski doesn’t depart, the club won’t be in a hurry to bring anyone in to challenge Szczesny. Indeed our most promising option is nineteen-year-old Damien Martinez, so if there’s anyone to watch for the remainder of the summer, it’ll be the Argentine in the reserves. Fabianski for all intents and purposes will probably remain as a stopgap until Martinez is ready to become second choice, so we can only hope that Szczesny’s Polish comrade can recapture some of the form he showed early in 2010 if he needs to be called upon this season.
Defensively, the tour has in many ways showed us there’s still a lot of work to be done. In each of the three matches we’ve played, we looked pretty damn suspect at the back but arguably not too much should be read into that. In the absence of senior options like Koscielny, Mertesacker, Sagna and even Vermaelen, who’s been used quite sparingly, Wenger gave game time to younger players like Bartley, Miquel, Jenkinson and even/bafflingly Eastmond. Considering those players were marshalled in defence by Johan Djourou, it’s no surprise that a few goals were going to be conceded. The real work will begin in the next few weeks when Steve Bould gets to impart his legendary defensive knowledge when coaching our first choice stoppers. At the top of his priorities should be sorting out our left side. Whilst typically dangerous going forward, Gibbs and Santos are both so easily caught out of position with any high ball over the top, and as senior players this is something that needs to be fixed urgently.
Ultimately, such a fix might prove too much for Jenkinson. He’s a true Gunner and I’d love to see him make it, but his positioning needs so much work you have to wonder if he can improve that much. Yennaris impressed against Malaysia when he played at right back and it’s a pretty damning statement when two defensive midfielders are better in that position than Jenkinson. In the absence of Sagna, I hope that Coquelin fills in as deputy, he’s looked tidy in pre-season, if not immune to the odd lapse, and he’s certainly the most experienced to play at Premier League level.
The real interesting selection in terms of defensive backup this season though might lie in Kyle Bartley. Recently promoted to the first team, he’s always seemed a bit hyped because a) he’s English and b) he’s English. However given a lot of chances this tour, he didn’t look too out of place and may just need to continue that solid form considering we usually have spells during the season where approximately 99 per cent of our defence is crocked for a few months.
Our midfield was essentially a playground for the kids on the tour with Wenger giving generous time to a couple of academy players who took their chance with aplomb. Aneke scored against Malaysia and continued to impress in the following matches with great displays of strength, passing range and crucially tactical discipline. Any promising young black midfielder at the club always has the burden of being labelled “the next Viera”, but the African he reminded me of more was Yaya Toure. At times Aneke’s vision was fantastic, but he looked equally happy to sit deep and keep things ticking, even though he’s so naturally attack-mined. With a loan spell mooted at our best finishing school, Bolton Wanderers, it might be a year too early for a breakthrough yet, but at least he’s shown every sign that he’s capable of making one.
The biggest revelation though was the exciting talent that is Thomas Eisfeld. Much frustration was voiced when he signed in January because he had the indignity to not be Mario Götze, but he looks very much like he could be a great player in his own right. Tidy in possession, he demonstrated that rare ability of being in the right place at the right time and rewarded Wenger with two goals in two appearances. The noise around Eisfeld has been so little that it’s unclear what the club’s intentions are for him, but you sense that, like Aneke, he’s not too far away from the first team already in his short Arsenal career.
It’s fairly hard to judge the forwards because we basically didn’t bring any, in terms of strikers at least. Chamakh looked better than he has done in holding up play and making intelligent runs, but his finishing still looks completely devoid of confidence. If he stays at the club, which if Van Persie goes, he may well do, he’ll be third choice in his position and that’s completely what he should be in his current form. Afobe would have been hoping to challenge for that third spot this season, but he also displayed a fair amount of rustiness with his shooting, despite otherwise looking quite able to lead the line. Walcott looked particularly sharp in comparison and seems a bit more confident in his own finishing than in previous years. Continuing to draw influence from Henry, he tested out some long-range curlers against Man Citeh and Kitchee with a fair amount of accuracy and could just push for that much-sought central role this season if partnered with someone a bit more physically dominant like Giroud.
Miyaichi was fairly quiet for such a naturally explosive player, but you sense it’s still early days in his career, having made such large step ups in a short space of time recently. The biggest positive in wide areas though, and of the tour in general, was Gervinho. Last season was hardly the worst of debut seasons, but it was hardly amazing and he seemed bereft of self-belief after returning from the stupidly disruptive African Cup of Nations. So far this summer though, he’s impressed on every occasion and yesterday against Kitchee he was absolutely unplayable. By the end of it, the crowd were cheering in excitement every time he got the ball and he seemed to take confidence from it, taking two or three players on in a row and cutting through towards the by-line like there was no one there. If he’s on top form, I don’t think we have anyone in the squad who’s more direct and dangerous than him, so fingers crossed he truly settles this season a la Pires’s second campaign and establishes himself as a player of real worth.
Overall, of course pre-season games are purely for fitness, but considering our usual onslaught of injuries and the fact that apparently players like Podolski and Giroud might not be ready for the start of this season, it’s worth considering which players could fill in or breakthrough if need be. The Asian Tour showed that there’s still a lot of work to be done if we’re to properly challenge for trophies, but also showcased a few talents in Aneke, Eisfeld and Gervinho that we can rightly be optimistic about. Now that the team’s back together in London, let’s hope the other players can raise themselves to the same sharp levels before the League kicks off in a few weeks!
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