Arsenal aren't as bad as recent displays suggest, but there is notable room for improvement all the same, both in terms of personnel and tactics. With regards tactics, here is one piece of wisdom I would happily give every Arsenal full-back and winger: stop crossing the ball into the box. There is no point. You neither possess the quality to hit consistently accurate crosses nor the targets to make those crosses count. For a team praised for their passing game, Arsenal really do pump way too many aimless balls into the box.
I would also adopt the current Barcelona formation: 4-3-3.
With regards personnel, I would get rid of Emmanuel Adebayor and Theo Walcott (though that one is not going to happen). The former has become a liability, and the latter is just not good enough, and hasn't convinced me that he will ever be good enough. Defensively it's hard to know what to do. I think I'd buy in someone like Hangeland, meaning one of Toure or Gallas would have to be axed. I think they're both good players, but much like the supposed pseudo William Wallce, they're just not tall enough. I would probably side with Toure since he's younger and not as troublesome as Gallas (although it must be said that Billy No Mates has been excellent since losing the captaincy). Clichy and Sagna are okay, though they both enjoyed indifferent seasons.
I would buy in an experienced midfielder who can make a tackle and pass a ball. Yaya Toure would be perfect, but it would be foolish to think that he would trade Barcelona for Arsenal. Perhaps someone like Flamin...oh, wait. It's a tough position to fill, and I think players like Song and Denilson are not too far away from slotting in, but they need an older head in the mix to learn from. I shall name him DM for now, but perhaps I can put a real name for that position in the coming weeks and months.
There are maybe a few other tweaks I would make, but here is an extremely provisional Arsenal XI for next season:
I would also adopt the current Barcelona formation: 4-3-3.
With regards personnel, I would get rid of Emmanuel Adebayor and Theo Walcott (though that one is not going to happen). The former has become a liability, and the latter is just not good enough, and hasn't convinced me that he will ever be good enough. Defensively it's hard to know what to do. I think I'd buy in someone like Hangeland, meaning one of Toure or Gallas would have to be axed. I think they're both good players, but much like the supposed pseudo William Wallce, they're just not tall enough. I would probably side with Toure since he's younger and not as troublesome as Gallas (although it must be said that Billy No Mates has been excellent since losing the captaincy). Clichy and Sagna are okay, though they both enjoyed indifferent seasons.
I would buy in an experienced midfielder who can make a tackle and pass a ball. Yaya Toure would be perfect, but it would be foolish to think that he would trade Barcelona for Arsenal. Perhaps someone like Flamin...oh, wait. It's a tough position to fill, and I think players like Song and Denilson are not too far away from slotting in, but they need an older head in the mix to learn from. I shall name him DM for now, but perhaps I can put a real name for that position in the coming weeks and months.
There are maybe a few other tweaks I would make, but here is an extremely provisional Arsenal XI for next season:
.............................................................Almunia........................................................
Sagna...................................Toure........................Hangeland.......................Clichy
...............................................................DM..............................................................
..........................................Fabregas..................Nasri.............................................
Rosicky....................................................................................................Arshavin
.......................................................van Persie........................................................
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