Firstly, let me wish our former captain, Thomas Vermaelen, the very best of luck for his future at Barcelona. It's very hard to hold anything against him when he gave 100% in every game, took lower wages to avoid going to a rival Premier League club, and didn't involve himself in any media speculation. He really is a true professional; he has shown the utmost respect to Arsenal and will be remembered fondly. While causing us some problems in defensive cover, the deal also represents good value for Arsenal. In comparison to our £30m spend on a 25 year old Alexis Sanchez, receiving £15m for a 28 year old Thomas Vermaelen, with just 1 year remaining on his contract and unable to get into our first team, seems remarkable.
Wenger always seemed to go for centre backs who were quick, strong in the tackle and powerful, most notably Toure and Campbell. Vermaelen, for me, encompassed all of these qualities, but with the extra benefits of being strong in the air, able to score goals from set pieces, and always having the right attitude. We saw this positive attitude right from the start; when other defenders would start to look nervous when left one on one with an attacker, Vermaelen seemed to love that situation. When one on one he was one of the best. And yet Mertesacker, who has a distinct lack of pace, has forced his way into Wenger's plans ahead of Vermaelen. This, for me, is symbolic of a change in Wenger's approach to his defence. While in the days of Toure and Campbell, Wenger would put fast and powerful individual defenders in the team knowing that should we lose the ball, they can recover quickly, it now seems that the partnership of Mertesacker and Koscielny carries more weight.
Now let's consider our current squad, where our main area for improvement from last season is our results against the big teams:
Having said yesterday how impressed I've been with Chambers' start to his Arsenal career, it seems to me that starting a Premier League game against a big club, with Chambers and Monreal at centre back, is asking for another 0-6 drubbing. The sale of Vermaelen has made this possibility all the more likely, especially when you consider that Mertesacker has only just returned from the World Cup, and Koscielny has been struggling with injury.
While I am sure that this is not what Wenger intends, the pre-season playing of Monreal at centre-half suggests that this will be the chosen pairing should we not find a replacement for Vermaelen. This approach is similar to that used last pre-season, where Sagna was deployed at centre-back in preparation for him providing centre-back cover for the season ahead. However, Sagna was our most natural defender, and this is far from how I would describe Monreal.
A few weeks ago, Wenger was saying that should Vermaelen be sold, a replacement would be bought. However, this seems to have changed, with more recent comments to the media suggesting that a centre-half will be bought only if the opportunity arises - it seems that central defenders are in short supply. So, either Wenger has been impressed enough by Chambers to make a central defender less of a necessity, or Wenger is adjusting his messages to the media so that we are not held to ransom by the clubs we are negotiating with. I very much hope that it is the latter because, while he has impressed me hugely, Chambers is not so good as to compensate for playing alongside Monreal.
Another key development when considering possible additions to the squad is that Arteta has been made club captain. For me, this suggests that Arteta is very much part of Wenger's first team plans, so he is unlikely to now bring in a player that would relegate Arteta to the bench. We have Flamini to provide cover in this position too, so I suggest that the signing of a strong CDM is unlikely. While I'm quite pleased with the appointment of Arteta as captain for sentimental reasons, as he seems to have the dedication and commitment required, I will be disappointed if we don't strengthen this position for the season ahead. For me, the issue is not cover - both Flamini and Arteta provide solid cover - the issue is that neither are quite at the level required for our first team. Arteta is good positionally and good on the ball, but lacks pace and bite, whereas Flamini offers bite and tenacity, but also lacks pace, and doesn't offer enough when on the ball. This was highlighted in our game against Chelsea last season, where they pretty much allowed Flamini to keep the ball with no pressure, knowing that he offered no threat to them offensively.
My hope is that we sign both a centre back and a CDM, but deep down I've always thought that just one of the two is more likely. More recently, I'm beginning to think that we may end up facing the season ahead with neither.
Photo: Taken from www.telegraph.co.uk
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