Kevin Whitcher
It was an interesting to see Mohammed Elneny play in an experimental position in the back three in the second match of Arsenal’s pre-season excursion to Australia and China. Given the quality of the opposition, no-one is going to read too much into this as a long term option, but it did get me thinking about players moving to different positions with great success, and how pre-season matches are utilized.
Obviously there are absences from the Arsenal party due to international commitments in various senior and age limit tournaments. So the likes of Sanchez, Mustafi and Holding did not travel and are currently enjoying a month’s break. So we won’t see anything even resembling the manager’s first choice eleven until, I imagine, the Community Shield game, and even then, assuming Alexis intends to see out his contract, the Chilean will probably start on the bench.
The established players that can play in the back three that travelled to Australia were Mertesacker, Kolasinac, Bielik, Koscielny and Monreal. The first three started the opening game and Elneny played between the latter two for the 3-1 win on Saturday. So to me it suggests that it was simply a matter that no player was going to start both matches and the manager was looking for an option that could play there. Given the stature of the opposition (even though Arsenal did conspire to concede a ridiculous goal after Martinez picked up a back pass), it was a gamble that was unlikely to turn out too badly.
My mind started to wander down the tangents of past pre-season matches where different things were tried out. I remember watching Kolo Toure play at centre back for the first time in the 2003-04 pre-season. I think the first game he played in the position was at Celtic, partnering Sol Campbell. The rest, as they say, is history, but previously I had Toure down as a sometime liability when he played at full back. However, you can’t argue with an unbeaten league campaign, and this was a pre-season experiment that definitely paid dividends. It’s ironic that Toure ended up at Celtic in this respect, and although he only played nine times, it appears he is valued at the club as they are considering extending his contract with a view to him helping out on the coaching side of things. A positional switch of a different kind.
Lauren was moved to right back in place of Lee Dixon in the 2001-02 pre-season. The player had vied for a position (vacated by Manu Petit) next to Patrick Vieira during his first season at the club, but the manager sometimes played either of Gilles Grimandi or Ray Parlour in there, a selection dilemma solved by the arrival of Gilberto Silva as the Cameroonian was tried at full back. So two experiments that led to title wins.
Some other successful positional changes have happened during the season itself, a case of needs must. George Graham converted Mickey Thomas from a full back to a central midfielder halfway through the 1987-88 season (he displaced Steve Williams in the starting eleven) and the 1988-89 title winning campaign followed. Thierry Henry, of course, was purchased as a left winger, and started there in the 1999-2000 season until Marc Overmars’ return to fitness meant he was given a try in the front two.
So, I can see that Elneny as a ball playing centre back would fit Arsene Wenger’s philosophy of football, but I can’t see it working long term. It will be interesting to see if he is tried there in either of the matches against better quality opposition in China. If he isn’t, I think we can safely say that idea was a one-off. Let’s face it, when everyone is fit and available, the club currently have a glut of players who can play in a back three.
Summer T-Shirt Sale Continues - As Thierry Henry is mentioned in the article above, a good opportunity to dig out another pile of t-shirts in the ongoing summer clearance. These were issued in celebration of the striker’s return to the club for a few weeks in January 2012, hence ‘The Legend Continues’ wording, which, given his reputation grows with every passing season since his retirement, is still kind of relevant today. These are on sale at the knockdown price of only £2.99 each with free postage (UK only). We have small, medium, large and XL sizes. If you are interested, then drop us an email at [email protected] with your requested size, name and address and we’ll give you details of how to pay – which will be via PayPal or online bank transfer. We’ll be plugging these on the Gooner Twitter account too.
