The Problem With Arsenal...

Guest Article, Written by @Kevin_Mega

Currently our strongest team would be:             

I think that team is more than capable of mounting a seriouschallenge for the Premier League and Champion’s League. But all that is lackingis quality squad depth. The game against Udinese, saw more injuries to ourdefenders and this should now press Arsene Wenger into buying the players wedesperately need.

Currently, we will be approaching the Liverpool game with noLeft back because both Gibbs and Traore are injured. Worse, if they won’trecover in time, we will be forced to play Vermaelen at LB and the woefulSquillaci in defence against Suarez and Carroll. 

The main problem with Arsenal defending was the defending ofthe whole team not just individuals. I know its early season but the new waythe team has been defending set pieces looks more solid than last season.Remember last season Koscielny and Djourou had a formidable partnership before thecollapse at the end.

The Udinese match exposed how Arsenal lacksquality squad depth. Chamakh and Joel Campbell are simply not good enough to beRVP backup. We know RVP struggles to stay fit throughout a season and I dread seeingChamakh or Campbell leading the line for long periods of the season.

In DM all we have is Emmanuel Frimpong who has never playeda full premier league season and with Alex Song banned for 3 games, he wouldhave to step up against Manchester United and Liverpool. Scott Parker would bean ideal purchase but knowing Wenger, he probably values the progress of Frimpong over I don’t think he would buy him are any DMso that Frimpong can continue improving.

With Rosicky now playing in the deep lying playmakerposition, we now have 5 wingers and only Walcott and Arshavin have Premier Leagueexperience and I don’t think either are good enough to be first team startersbut because of our situation one of them has to start on the opposite wing toour new signing Gervinho. Walcott gets the nod ahead of Arshavin because of hispace and his ability to help out in defence. 

In conclusion Arsene has a difficult two weeks ahead of him.On top of buying new players, he has to prepare the team for crucial matchesagainst Liverpool, Udinese and Manchester United. I know it would be difficultto buy a LB, DM, CB, Striker and a winger in 14 days but the priority should bedefenders first then possibly a striker.

Guest Article, Written by @Kevin_Mega

Follow Me on Twitter @DBSFootball

Time for Arsenal to move on

Guest Article, Written by @Kevin_Mega

I was saddened to see Cesc Fabregas leave Arsenal as I wasn’t expecting him to leave this season. I was so confident that he would stay that I made a bet at the end of last month that we would see him captaining Arsenal this season. But he’s gone now, he gave arsenal eight years of great service and he will be sorely missed but it’s now time for Arsenal to move on.

As Wenger built the side around Fabregas, I believe the team may struggle as no-one can replicate the service he provided to Arsenals attacking players. Statistics have showed that the teams win percentage decreases when he isn’t in the line up. So what now for Arsenal?

External Recruitment
Many fans will be calling for Arsenal to spend the money made from the Fabregas sale on a player who’s experienced and able to take over the creative duties. Many names have been suggested by the media including Mata and Jadson however Wenger ruled them out in his press conference this week.  A player who I would like for Arsenal to try and purchase is Wesley Sneijder but I don’t see it happening as he’s not your typical Wenger signing.

Acquiring new players will also depend on whether we qualify for the Champions League. Failure to qualify would be a catastrophe as it would lead to Arsenal not being able to buy the ‘super quality’ players Wenger wants, and the £25m we would receive if we win the tie would give Wenger the extra cash to invest in a new DM and a striker.

Frankly I don’t see Wenger being able to sign a player to match Fabregas’ quality so I see him using one of the many centre midfielders he has at his disposal.


Internal Recruitment
The players who can perform for Arsenal in the hole behind the striker are: Rosicky, Ramsey, Wilshere, and Arshavin. All those players at one point have played in the centre attacking midfield position, except for Arshavin who should at least be given a few games in that role to see how he plays as the other mentioned players have never really performed.

Before he came to Arsenal, Arshavin used to play behind the striker, so he would be more than capable of excelling in that role. I however don’t see Arshavin getting a chance to make his mark there as Wenger prefers playing him on the wing.

Rosicky played in that position last season and he didn’t exactly impress either. This season however, Wenger has placed him in a better position alongside Song and he’s played well in the few games we've seen.

Ramsey is a player I rate highly, who I know for a fact would have been playing alongside Song last season instead of Wilshere if it wasn’t for the recovery process involved in his horrific injury.

He still hasn’t recaptured his form, but with the departure of Fabregas, he could rediscover it and forge an impressive partnership with Jack Wilshere. We saw a glimpse of them playing together when they ran the midfield against Manchester United at the Emirates last season, and this is the option I would choose if I was the Arsenal manager, if not, play Rosicky along with Song and Wilshere ahead of them.

Change of Formation to 4-4-1-1
I doubt Wenger would do this but I would love if he bought a very good striker, possibly Benzema, who would partner Arsenal's new captain, Robin Van Persie in attack. I know RVP is great as a lone striker as he showed last season but he has tendencies to drift out of the danger area, leaving our full backs and wingers with no-one to supply crosses to.

If Wenger buys a great striker it would allow Van Persie to play like his idol, Bergkamp. He already has his shirt number, and now it’s time for him to play in his role behind the striker. This I believe, would be a better option than the ones I’ve already mentioned, but again, I don’t believe Wenger would consider this option because it would halt the progress of Ramsey and if he was to change formation he would have done so in pre-season.

To conclude, I hope Wenger doesn’t build a team around one player because that’s why Arsenal seem to be collapsing. The invincible team was great because it had 11 quality players performing, and many more on the bench. It is time now for Arsenal to work as a unit just like they did in 2007-08 season after Thierry Henry left. Wenger is already looking to the future with the acquisitions of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain,  Carl Jenkinson, Ryo Miyaichi and the promotion of several youngsters into the first team like E. Frimpong, Henri Lansbury and Benik Afobe. I support building for the future but at the moment we need more experienced players.

Guest Article, Written by @Kevin_Mega

Follow Me on Twitter @DBSFootball

Is Modric worth £35m & More?

Written by a DBS Football guess writer - A Chelsea Fan

Luka Modric's much publicized desparation to leave White Hart Lane for West London has been of vested interest to all Chelsea supporters, but is he really worth the £35m or more that Harry Redknapp is demanding "ease the pain" of Modric leaving?

A first important factor which determines this astronomical sum of money is the long term contract in which modric signed last year (2010) with the Spurs that is supposed to keep him at the club until 2016. This inevitably has risen his price considerably and is something Modric has done previously at Dinamo Zagreb. At he Croation side, he signed a 10 year contract before boarding a plane and flying across Europe to sign for Tottenham two years later. Modric's loyalty is therefore bought into question.

His impact on the pitch may statistically be questioned when considering that in 110 appearances for Tottenham in all competitions, he has only been credited for 16 assists and 12 goals and therefore surely not justifying such a vast amount of money.

In comparison, another midfielder wanting away from North London is Arsenal's Samir Nasri. In his 109 appearances for Arsenal he has 13 assists and 27 goals, meaning that perhaps Nasri would be a more shrewd move for Andre Villas Boas than Luka Modric.

However, it is important to note that with Modric's slick varied range of passing, amazingly quick feet and creative ability helped Tottenham Hotspur to a credible 5th place in the Premier League and advanced stages of the Champions League and those factors cannot be put into statistics. It is these qualities that Chelsea need to acquire if they are to one again be Premier League champions.

Written by a DBS Football guess writer - A Chelsea Fan

 Follow Me on Twitter @DBSFootball

Premiership New Boys Transfer Movement

Written by a DBS Football guess writer - Follow Him on Twitter @RealJoeFranklin

When a club is promoted from the Championship to the Premiership, it is never an easy feat to settle in to the league that is often hailed as 'the best in the world'. Norwich, Queens Park Rangers and Swansea all have points to prove as they enter what now seems to be the top tier of English and Welsh football.

Norwich have forced their way forward with back to back promotions, QPR earned promotion after several seasons of Championship football, and Swansea had also seemed settled in the Championship since their promotion from League 1 in 2005.

Transfers are seen as the most important factor when a club wants to move up the ranks, so how have the Premier League's newest arrivals acted in this summer's market?

Norwich have been busiest in terms of bringing in new players, but only three of the seven have come from Premier League clubs, and two of those (De Laet-Manchester United, Naughton-Tottenham) are loanees. The other is the signing of James Vaughan from Everton for £2.5million. The remaining transfers are Pilkington (Huddersfield, £2milllion), Morrison (Millwall, £2.8million), Elliot Bennet (Brighton, undisclosed), and Johnson (Leeds, free). Manager Paul Lambert has also let go of Daley, Gill, Habergham, and Askou, receiving no transfer fee for any of them. 

Lambert has explained that he intended to bring in players who are hungry for success, and wanting to fight for a place in the team, regardless of which team and league they come from. This is understandable, but there is no use in a team of players who are barely established at Championship level when coming up against sides like Manchester City who have completely transformed in the last couple of years. For example, when captain Grant Holt plays his first match in the Premiership against Wigan on 13th August, he will have played in four divisions in as many seasons. It shall be interesting to see how Norwich fare for the entire season. 

QPR have not been as active, as they seem to have had complete focus on keeping star asset Adel Taarabt, which cannot have been easy with PSG lining up a big money move for the Moroccan. However, signings such as Danny Gabbidon, Jay Bothroyd and Kieron Dyer are sure to provide QPR with more balance and quality throughout the team. Pascal Chimbonda has also been released, and he is a player who has previous experience in the Premiership, but could barely force his way into the team last term. QPR have also not received any transfer fees for the players who have left, showing how room needs to be made at clubs that are intent in the transfer market.

Swansea have also only signed 3 players thus far; Danny Graham (Watford £3.5m), Steven Caulker (Tottenham, loan) and Jose Moreira (Benfica, undisclosed). These are no doubt quality signings, and I cannot wait to see how Swansea's passing method of play works out in the Premiership. One of the key players of last season, keeper Dorus de Vries, has been offloaded to Wolves for free, and he had proved to be an incredibly valuable part of the team, keeping a great number of clean sheets. Also, Darren Pratley (free) has moved on to sign for Bolton, proving there is already Premier League quality in the squad.

Teams in recent years have been promoted from the Championship, and cemented their place in the top tier, if only for a couple of seasons. Teams such as Wigan, who are contenders for the drop again this year, have now been in the Premiership since 2005. Other clubs such as Sunderland, and particularly Stoke, have also excelled in the Premier League. 

So the question is, can the new Premiership minnows survive, or will they make a swift return to the second division from whence they came?

Written by a DBS Football guess writer - Follow Him on Twitter @RealJoeFranklin

 Follow Me on Twitter @DBSFootball