Yesterday I blogged about Arsenal up front, now let’s look at the midfield. This really comes in two parts – one is about Arsenal going forward and that story is largely about whether Fabregas it staying or going; the other is about providing the first line of defence.
Lets I think that Arsenal need a new Remi Garde or Gilles Grimandi. They were not the most technically gifted players Arsenal ever had, or the most youthful, and a persistent knee injury limited Garde to just 30 appearances. But they had an important job to do and they stuck to it. Their task was to ensure that what Arsenal had, they held. When you saw Garde or Grimandi on the touchline waiting to come on you knew that Arsene had said to Pat, ‘this is as good as we’re going to get today, let’s make sure we hold on to it’.
I don’t think we have enough players like that today. The only defensive midfielder we have is Alex Song and there have been occasions this season when he hasn’t stuck to the task. Don’t get me wrong, this is not an anti-Song piece, I’m still a big fan, but we need more. There are games, or stages of games, where he needs help or needs to be replaced with fresher legs. At the moment, the replacement options are Denilson and Diaby.
I always thought Denilson was a promising player, but his development seems to have stalled and he isn’t the real deal as a defensive player. He doesn’t look too bad in Champions League games against middling opposition, but he struggles to make an impact in the intensity of the Premiership.
Abou Diaby promises to be a Patrick Viera type, who can play from box to box. Sometimes it’s true, but not often enough. The rest of the time he goes missing or dawdles on the ball until he gets mugged.
It may be that Frimpong can play this role in the future. He was being talked up by the club pre-season last year before his cruciate ligament injury sidelined him. But even when he is fit again he is just young. A bit of maturity can be an advantage for this sort of player who needs the discipline to be single-minded when you’re one nil up at Old Trafford with eight minutes to go!
Is Scot Parker that kind of player? He could well be and in the West Ham fire sale he could be the right man at the right price.
Alternatively, a budget-busting move for a new central defender could mean the option of Djourou or Koscielny doubling up as cover for both midfield and defence.
Attacking midfielders tomorrow. Have a nice day now.
