He’s regarded among Gooners worldwide as a respected commenter and his forays into the Arsenal blogging scene have been highly successful. Now, former journalist and avid fan Mike Urbanski has joined the Young Guns team to offer his analytical inside into all things Arsenal Reserves and Youth. Known among many as SKA Gooner, his Sunday column – SKA Sunday – continues today.
Before we start – Note to self: Remember to check the grocery store BEFORE Saturday evening to make sure they’re well stocked with Carlsberg. Writing a blog article in the company of Stella Artois puts me in an irritable mood. And trust me, you do NOT want me hanging out at the local for a couple hours pre-blog because the grocery store was out of Carlsberg. God knows what kind of Arsenal-related literary train wreck that would lead to.
Right. Lets away, shall we? Tonight’s SKA Sunday music selection is the Bad Manners radio station on Pandora.
As we revisit the issue of available first team opportunities for the current loan and reserve players, I’d like to reiterate my main point from the first article in this series. Arsenal have, undoubtedly, the best youth and reserve system in all of England. Arsenal also have, in their starting XI and extended first team roster a VERY young squad. These two critical parts of the Arsenal whole, I think, are going to start butting up against one another shortly in terms of playing time opportunities. Thus – the double edged sword of Arsenal’s youth policy – talented youth and reserve players sitting behind a currently very young team.
This week I’d like to talk about the midfield. Being a bit of a formations and tactics junkie, I’m constantly thinking about all manner of devilish ways Arsene Wenger can manipulate the side for effectiveness. 4-3-3, 4-4-2, 4-5-1 – who goes where, what are the player options, etc. It’s madness, really.
We can’t really begin a discussion about what opportunities might present themselves in the midfield without looking at who’s already there. Cesc. Diaby. Song. Rosicky. Ramsey. Nasri. Theo (depending on formation). Arshavin (depending on formation). Denilson. It’s…ummm…well, rather full up at the moment to say the least. And that’s not even counting Jack Wilshere, who’s off learning the physical side of the game up at Bolton right now but will probably figure in the regular first team next season. Beyond the fullness of the staff though is the issue of age – Cesc is 22, Diaby 23, Alex Song in at 22, the geezer Rosicky 29, Aaron at 19, Samir only 22, Theo just turned 21, Shava waddles in at 28, Denilson just 22 and 18 for young Jack. At present I’ll leave out Fran Merida because it looks like we’ll lose him on a free this summer. Beyond that, I’m not even considering everyone’s favorite dancer, Eboue, who I think does more for the side playing at right back. Any rational assessment says that this is not a midfield, save for injuries or outright departures (and no, I do not think Cesc will leave this summer, no matter what tosh Barca tells the Spanish press), that’s going to see many openings for playing time in the short term, I’m afraid.
Right. So, we’ve got a stacked midfield of players whose average age is 22.5 years, the bulk of whom still have room for a lot of growth on the pitch. And as far as potential transfers into the first team go, Arsenal have been linked with every footballer who looks good on FIFA10 it seems. I won’t bother with speculation on that because the permutations are just too mind numbing to consider. Given all this though, what’s a loan or reserve midfielder to do?
I mentioned formations a bit earlier, and I think any consideration regarding reserve or loan players in midfield must be looked at with formations in mind. Cesc is a staple. If he’s fit, he starts. Period. Regardless of formation. Song is at the point where he’s a lock. But, depending on formation, we could potentially have as many as 3 or as few as 1 remaining midfield spots open to opportunity.
In a standard 4-3-3 we’re looking at Cesc in central midfield and Song at the back. Depending on the needs of the match, Diaby and Denilson have both worked the partner role with Cesc. Aaron Ramsey was gaining time as well before the injury. If Arsene continues with the 4-3-3 as the base formation for the first team next season, Carling Cup and early FA Cup matches will be the only opportunity available for any of the current loan or reserve players who are attacking mids. At the back though, we could see something develop if no cover for Alex Song is brought in through transfer this summer. Craig Eastmond has already had some minutes this year and showed himself to be productive. Francis Coquelin or Henri Lansbury could see at least bench call ups should they comport themselves well in their Carling Cup and FA outings.
The 4-4-2 formation gives us something different. With the anticipated arrival of Marouane Chamakh this summer, Arsene might well be tempted to revert to this as he’d have three tall and powerful strikers to take advantage of in Robin van Persie, Nicklas Bendtner and Chamakh. This would see Arshavin and Theo, Nasri, Rosicky or Eduardo move back to the midfield as wingers or attacking mids partnering with Cesc, and Song at the back. But the 4-4-2 also gives the opportunity, depending on the opponent, to have Cesc and 1 winger, plus a holding midfielder and a defensive mid in the formation. Think Cesc-Shava-Diaby/Denilson-Song. This really creates a logjam at attacking mid though and if it’s in Arsene’s mind to go this route, instead of talking about playing opportunities for reserve or loan players we might well be talking about some regular first teamers taking a loan spell (Eduardo comes to mind here) or getting sold. The back of the midfield, again, is where the openings for playing time will exist. The ability to utilize both a holding mid and defensive mid in this formation could give Eastmond, Coquelin, Lansbury or someone like Oguzhan Ozyakup an outside chance to at least see the bench and get some late match minutes on occasion.
Arsenal’s standard European formation has been 4-5-1 for quite some time. We didn’t use it this season though simply because we didn’t have the players available because of injury. But looking forward, the 4-5-1, in the Champions League group stage, might see some sunlight peek through for an opportunity. Indeed, even this season Arsene ran out a decidedly Carling Cup-esque side against Olympiakos with Fran Merida, Aaron Ramsey starting in midfield and Kyle Bartley partnering Kerrea Gilbert and Thomas Cruise along the defense. The 4-5-1 then, with 3 attacking mids, a holding mid and a defensive mid, might be the Full Monty of opportunities for the current loan and reserve players at midfield.
So, there we have it. In real estate, they say it’s all about “location, location, location”. In Arsenal football, it’s all about “formation, formation, formation” as far as midfield playing time opportunities go for the reserve and loan players getting into the first team. Of course we can always count on some insane injury crisis as well, but who really wants to dwell on that? Or lets say Arsene goes on a bender, downs a gallon of port in one sitting while watching Top Gear, and drunk dials a deal for Felipe Melo, Gokhan Inler (red top favorite two seasons ago) or Eden Hazard. Guess what – no playing time at defensive mid for anyone not named Song, Melo or Inler and one less opportunity for the reserve or loan attacking mids. All kidding aside, the Arsenal midfield might be the most clogged situation possible with so many young and talented players already ahead of the reserve and loan guys. It’s like a fat guy eating cheese – nothing is going to move through without some kind of drastic event. As I mentioned when discussing goal keepers and defenders, this summer is likely to see some very hard decisions made as to who stays with Arsenal and who is allowed to pursue their footballing dreams elsewhere. For us as supporters though, that’s not all bad as the best of the best will remain and continue their progress through to the first team when the chance comes. And the chances will come at some point.
