Big Huge Giant Season Preview, Part V

By: Martin | August 14th, 2009

Season preview concludes today ahead of the season getting underway tomorrow. Today we answer the big questions regarding Arsenal. As always, leave questions and thoughts in the comments section.

Question 13: Come January, what Will be the Biggest Story Everyone is Talking About?

Martin: Maybe it’s wishful thinking, but this offseason has reminded me more than a little of two summers ago. Then, you’ll remember, Arsenal had just sold a high-profile striker (Thierry Henry), and sold off two other key players (Freddie Ljungberg and Julio Baptista), and only brought in a couple of low-profile players (Bacary Sagna and Eduardo). This, despite the fact that the club had just barely finished 4th the previous season and another club looked primed to take the Gunners’ spot in the Big 4—in fact, most pundits predicted that Tottenham would break into the top 4 in 2007-2008. Instead, the Gunners came out and mounted a legitimate title challenge, ultimately finishing 3rd, just 4 points behind Manchester United. Similarly, this summer, we’ve sold off several key parts, including a key striker (Adebayor and Toure), and have only brought in relative unknown Thomas Vermaelen. A lot of pundits are predicting Manchester City will knock us out of the Top 4. As Yogi Berra said, it’s déjà vu all over again. So I say Arsenal will once again get into an “us against the world” mindset and make a legitimate title challenge. So I think the story come January will be “Can Arsenal actually win the league?”

Travis: I’m going to go the entire opposite direction—for two reasons: the first, simply to be counter-intuitive, the second because I’m really good at being pessimistic. So here’s this for an answer: “Will Arsenal make the top four?” It played out for a long time last season, and I could see the same thing happening—a club like Everton, Manchester City, or Aston Villa making a run at either Arsenal or Liverpool for the fourth Champions League spot.

Question 14: Will Arsenal’s New 4-3-3 Formation Work?

Martin: Yes. Yes it will. And I actually think it’s more like a 4-2-3-1, with Song sitting in front of the d-line, Cesc playing as a deep-lying playmaker behind three more attacking midfielders and a true striker. The thing is, Arsenal doesn’t really have any true run-down-the-wings-and-bomb-the-ball-into-the-box wingers; even if we did, we don’t have the kind of aerial threats at striker to capitalize on those opportunities. And crossing the ball in isn’t a strength of either Sagna or Clichy, either. So Arsenal’s game has got to be pass the ball up through the center of the field and around the box until someone finds an opportunity for a shot or a through ball, and playing a little bit narrower and a little further up the pitchworks well for that. Furthermore, we’ve got a number of players who can play either up front or midfield/on the wings, like Arshavin, van Persie, Vela, Walcott, and Nasri. Wenger can put those guys out there somewhat interchangeably—if they see the opportunities to get behind the defense and make runs, they’re capable of doing that, but if they see space between the backline and midfield, they’re capable of dropping back and capitalizing on that as well. The fact that those guys can switch positioning and move around is going to cause defenders trying to mark a specific player fits, almost like a modified version of Holland’s vaunted total football game in the 1970s. No one else in the Premiership really plays like this, either, so it can catch teams off guard, and we’ve got the personnel to pull it off. I think it’s a much better tactical fit to get the most out of our squad than a standard 4-4-2.

Travis: I’m not convinced on this one. It’d be easy for a team to run out in a 4-5-1 and 4-4-2, sit back, and clog the midfield, preventing Arsenal from attacking in their usual style. It’s happened before, especially against lesser opposition. Does that mean the 4-3-3 won’t work? Not necessarily. But it remains to be seen how Wenger will use it, and if it will be a true 4-3-3. I could imagine it as a 4-5-1, with the two attacking wingers pinching back to help defend and not really sitting all the way up top with the striker. So my answer? No. It won’t.

Question 15: Final Prediction Time: Will Arsenal Win a Trophy this Season?

Martin: Yes. I really think we can. But you know that already, based on my seemingly insane pick of Arsenal to win the league. But I think we’ve got a strong shot at the FA Cup as well, and as good a chance as any non-Spanish club to win the Champions League. And if I’m wrong, I’ll just cheat and claim that my prediction is technically accurate because we won the very prestigious Emirates Cup…

Travis: Yes. Even if it’s the Carling Cup or the FA Cup, I think in one of these four competitions something will click and Wenger’s kids will get it right. Is it bad to accept that? Maybe. But like I’ve said before, unless the Toure and Adebayor sales were genuine “addition by subtraction” moves, it’s hard to predict that a team that looks eerily similar to last season doing more than just matching what happened the previous year. Fortunately, I’ve proven in the past how truly little I know about the game in England, so here’s hoping that it bodes well for the Arsenal.

Well, that’s it for the season preview–we’ve put some polls at the bottom of the post for you to weigh in with your own views. Season finally starts tomorrow. I can’t wait. In the immortal words of Journey, via the totally awesome kids of PS 22 (watch it–I promise it’s awesome at the end when the chorus comes in, around the 2:20 mark)…