Cazorla & Giroud & Podolski, OH MY!

By: Perry | August 8th, 2012

Quite the transfer market for our gunners huh!? Obviously by now we are all well aware of our latest signing, Santi Cazorla from Malaga. To be perfectly honest, even though I had only heard of the guy in passing prior to the rumor mill starting to turn, this most recent signing is the one that excites me the most. I think we can all agree that our midfield lacked creativity last season and the addition of Cazorla should help to drastically change this. Don’t get me wrong; Song was pretty damn creative last season, so much so that you might think he has some Barca DNA in him…more on that later though.

caz
Let’s focus on our new Spaniard for the moment. First off, it seems like he really WANTED to come here and play for Arsenal and is saying all the right things about his ambitions. He spoke with both Fabregas and Pires for advice prior to signing and heard good things. From the photo shoot, it looks like he and Arteta get along well and having them both on the pitch working in tandem could be truly awesome. He is already in training with the team and made the trip to Germany for our last preseason fixture. I am still not great at using this technology so you are not going to see a fancy graph displaying all of his stats in seasons prior with Villareal and Malaga. After all, isn’t that what Wikipedia is for?

Here is what we are getting, a 27 year old versatile midfielder that has been playing at a high level for the last 7-8 years. From what I have read, he can play both centrally and out wide on the wing. He has been capped to play for Spain 40+ times and would probably be an every game staple in most other national sides. He has a great work rate and is not afraid of being on either side of a tough tackle. Have we all watched his YouTube videos yet? The few I have seen have showed some nice skill on set pieces so maybe he and Mik can fight over those. Also, the guy just seems to throw the ball around the pitch with his foot, sending high long balls right on the money across the pitch to the wingers and forwards. Like I said before, the prospect of what he can do in a squad of such quality as Arsenal is really exciting. Also, Fabregas has been quoted as saying that he is “special” so what else do we need right?

Some pundits out there are saying that Cazorla could be the signing of the summer across the EPL, and at less than 20MM($) to boot! Going into this season we seem to have a plethora of midfield options and combinations. I’m not really sure where he will play at this point but I would guess that he will play more of a central here for Arsenal sitting right behind the strikers in the “Fabregas role” (we need a new name for that). We have some pretty solid options out on the wing between Ox and Theo and Gervinho and even Podolski to an extent. So I hope to see Cazorla central from the get go. It’s not like Wenger has every signed someone and asked them to play outside of their normal position right? Anyway, I would guess that we will see competition between Cazorla and Rosicky for playing time in that role. With Rosicky coming back from an injury he picked up at the Euros it will be a great opportunity for Santi to establish himself firmly in the squad. Then again, with Wenger pulling the strings you really can’t guess at where a guy is going to be played. The fact that he is comfortable playing centrally, as well as out wide, makes his addition even more beneficial in my opinion. So welcome to Arsenal Santi Cazorla and please, just stay healthy!!!

So is Arsenal done yet in the transfer market as far as new signings go? There is still talk of us bringing on Nuri Sahin for a season long loan from Real Madrid, which I would welcome. A few days ago, the rubbish reports were saying the only hold up was Real Madrid’s pursuit of Modric. Now rubbish reports are saying that we would only bring on Sahin if Alex Song were to be sold to Barcelona.

Those Barca pricks are talking again, but is Alex listening?

Wtft!!?? Song to Barcelona!!?? Yep, they may just be at it again. I already saw an article quoting Iniesta about how great Song is and how they would welcome him at Barcelona. He’s now been added to the list of Barca players that I would like to punch in the mouth. I have no idea how accurate these reports are but man would that suck! I will be thoroughly upset if we decide to try and cash in on Song right now. It would seriously taint a very positive transfer season for us. I hope its 100% rubbish; from what I have found Song is under contract through 2014, so there is no real pressure to sell him right now. If he won’t extend at the end of this season then you shop him, but no way do you sell him right now.

In other news it looks like we might miss out on signing M’Baye Niang, the young up and coming striker currently playing for Caen. He had a trial with us earlier this year and it’s been reported that we have had one bid for him turned down already. Reports are saying that he is close to securing a loan deal with AC Milan with an option to buy. Eh…whatever I guess. We have some other young strikers and I wouldn’t be incredibly upset if this does fall through. Nothing has been solidified as of yet so there is still a chance that he ends up at The Emirates.

The start of the season is only a little over a week away and I must say that I am filled with optimism for the season ahead. Compared to how I felt at the start of last season this is a breath of fresh air. We need to have a solid start to the season so let’s hope that all of these new signings can gel quickly and make the adjustment to the EPL. Oh yeah, and DON’T SELL ALEX SONG TO BARCELONA!!!

Be well fellow Gunners!
~Felegy

P.S. Have we sold VanPerise yet?

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Ji86ivn

What players would be good signings for Arsenal? And I’m not talking about their talent, I’m talking about what type of player they are.The first player that comes to mind is Inter Milan veteran, and the most decorated Argentinian player of all time, Esteban Cambiasso. Now, I am not talking about signing a player who is 32 years old this month, but I am talking about his style of play, a Cambiasso-like player.
What I see him doing for Inter Milan, is running non-stop. Firstly, he will become the third centre-back, or cover for an out-of-place full-back. Then he will suddenly pick up the ball, and charge forward, with the ball or without it. He can then slot the ball into a winger or striker ahead of him. If the Inter team have just attacked, and are now having to defend, he stays in the centre of the park, and he is almost a defence by himself in front of the actual defence. If he is beaten, which only happen about four times out of ten, he then tracks back and attempts to win the ball back or position himself in a area where he will win it back.
Wilshere reminds me of his style of play, essentially a box-to-box player, although he is not as strong, and does not have as good an eye for goal as Cambiasso. For example, he scored against Chelsea in the Champions League, and they went on to win it. One problem with this, though, is that Jack is injured, and every day that goes on, and he isn’t back in training, I worry he may never play again.
Song also plays like this, although he is much more defensively minded, but when he comes forward he can give some amazing assists. He finished the season with twelve, some almost winning us the game, for example against Everton, Liverpool and Tottenham, and he provided a great one in the Aston Villa game at the Emirates.
Arteta is also very capable of doing this. He was bred to become a central defensive midfielder, was turned into an attacker at Everton, and was then put back into that more defensive position at Arsenal. He is talented in attack, and can score from distance, like he did against Wigan and Man City.
But Arsenal don’t have anyone trained to be a box-to-box player, one who is as good at defending as he is at attacking. Song is arguably better in defence, and Arteta is better in attack. The reason Arsenal need a player like this is that Premier League players are some of the fittest in the world and run at full-pelt right up to the 90th minute. If we bring on a substitute who can attack and defend from midfield, then, if we are drawing, they can score, and, if we are winning, they can help prevent a goal - something every football team needs, in my opinion.
The next type of player who would fit into Arsenal’s team, possibly the starting line-up, could be a Sergio Ramos. Once again, I am not saying that we should sign Ramos, as we could never match his wages at Madrid, and I personally think that we have a good enough right-back, but that isn’t where I would play him. I would play him on the left. He was talented at centre-back as a young boy, but was told that he was too small to be a centre-back, even though he is six foot, so he was played at right-back and was an obvious talent. During the Euros, all of the Spanish centre-backs were unavailable expect Pique, so Ramos played centre-back and Arbeloa replaced him at right-back. We have versatile players in defence who can play at full-back, but are really centre-backs (Vermaelen and Koscielny), but we don’t have a full-back who can play at centre-back if needed.
This is something I believe Arsenal need, because we still don’t have a full-back who can defend as well as attack. Sagna and Gibbs are not the greatest defensive attackers in the world and Santos is not the greatest defender. A player who has been converted from a centre-back to a right-back has proved that he can defend, but he will also have the innate ability to attack which Sergio Ramos does. Wenger has been playing a system where the wingers sometimes come into the centre of the park, and that means that the full-backs then have to replace them when we are on the attack. Santos does this and can’t get back well enough, and Sagna gives good assists but can’t score.
After the purchase of Giroud, and - hopefully - van Persie staying after hearing the news of Cazorla’s purchase, and hopefully Şahin’s arrival this week, Wenger may now play the team in a different formation from last season’s 4-3-3. A 4-2-2-2 may be a better approach, and, if the wingers cut into the middle, then the full-backs are going to have to replace them as I have said. We need a Ramos-like player as he has been proven to be able to score goals and his Euro 2012 performances quietened anyone who claimed he couldn’t defend, and as Arsenal need a player like that in both full-back positions.
But really, who knows what Wenger is plotting in his head? Maybe he will buy Cambiasso or Ramos, or maybe even Heskey?! Let’s just wait and see. The summer window is a long way from closed.
Blank

The only thing creative about Song is his hair
Rico

New pictures up on the arsenal website of them training in Germany, RVP is in with them and is actually smiling/laughing in one. Could this be a turn around? or am I dreaming?
AlexM

You think Arsenal would let photos of him sulking and pouting hit the Net? Hell no. Besides, it must be nigh impossible not to smile in the presence of Andre Santos
On a side note, gotta applaud the official website for keeping posting pictures of RVP after the backstabbing. We're actually displaying defiance for once.
Rico

I wasn't saying he would be pictured sulking, I was merely noticing he's still in the squad and he seemed to be enjoying himself.