So friends, following my own post on Chelsea in the "Landing the Big Fish" series, we now move on to Arsenal. It's been a weird summer for the Gunners, with Arsene Wenger signing as many as 5 players on the deadline day. Welcome Prathamesh Prasanna Bhanap, as he gives his opinion about exactly who among the new arrivals can fire Arsenal to their long-lost glory.
Arsenal - The team on the verge of extinction or maybe on
the brink of evolution. Every pre-season fixtures were a joy to watch, goals
scored without the help from the stewardship of the team....everyone doubting
'The Professor' were happy to see their team performing well, even though they
knew that this was an end to the days of the Barca boy & the new-found French midfield
dictator.....!!
A few transfer made up which included Gervinho, Jenkinson,
and two Barca youths were good, but not replacing the players which went out.
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| Per Mertesacker can add some much-needed steel to Arsenal's back-four |
A
sketchy start to the season. Starting with a draw and a loss was okay
considering there are still 36 matches to go and Wenger bringing in
reinforcements.....but when....?
There
were doubts in fans minds about the Premiership...the team was good but not
good enough for the honours....best players abandoning the ship.....this had
happened before, the leadership of number 14 taken by number 4. So, everyone
expected it to happen again in the form of 10,14,19 or maybe a 16......just
like a fairy tale!
But....as
every fairy tale has a devil, this one had too....not 1 but a whole team of
11....none other than Manchester United.
Arsenal
recorded a loss of 2-8 in the premiership on the 125th year in the making. Fans
started to exit the doors of Arsenal FC from their hearts. Questions arose
regarding the professor's tactics and his ability to spend in the
market.....along came the last day of the transfer season....next morning, news
came out that Arsenal FC made 5 deals at the last moment snatching up Per Mertesacker,
Mikel Arteta, Park Chu-Young, Andre Santos & Yossi Benayoun. Now the team
was looking complete.
The
scoreline 8-2 told about two things-
1.
The '2' said that attack is capable of breaking the UEFA Champions league
finalists' defenses.
2.
The '8' said that defense is far worse than required to survive in the
premiership.
This
led Arsenal to their best signing in the market in the form of Per
Mertesacker.... Defense being a constant problem in the 6-year trophy drought
was to be solved by this man.....pairing up with Thomas Vermaelen, this would
be one of the top defenses in the country.
Technical
Attributes of Per Mertesacker-
A
6ft 6in tower with ability to defend on ground and also in the air which was
pretty much required by 'The Gunners'. A perfect candidate to pick while taking
an Indirect free-kick or a corner. Reads the game well. Has a commanding
influence in the defense. Immense physical presence. The most interesting thing
is, he has been booked only twice in three years -1 yellow & 1 red- for his
former club Werder Bremen which is creditable considering the competition from
oncoming strikers.
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| The Giant defender also has an excellent disciplinary record |
His
Statistics-
Has
significant experience at both club and international level, enjoying eight
seasons in the German top flight -five with Werder Bremen and three with
Hannover 96- making 221 league appearances in total and finding the net 19
times along with an experience of 53 matches in Europe. Influential member of
the national team reaching the Semi-final of 2006 and 2010 World Cups and to
the final of the 2008 Euro. Has won 75 caps for the country scoring 1 goal.
Per
Mertesacker, along with other signings has given Arsenal a ray of new hope, as
everyone is ready to put the 8-2 game behind themselves and regain the long
lost glory....Football is a funny game.....who knows, maybe there is a
reincarnation of 'The Invincibles' in the making....!!
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