How much will this change for the coming season? I can see it being more like the line-up below
Lehmann
Lauren Toure Senderos Cole
Ljungberg Fabregas* Pires* Reyes
Hleb
Henry
This is the real area up for debate.
Pires - Not his natural position but can slot in there. As he matures as a player it may suit him better than being out on the wing
Fabregas - Fabulous player but is he too inexperienced to rely on for a full season in the engine room?
Flamini - Not as talented as Fabregas but a few yrs old, more robust & has a better engine
Gilberto - Will add experience and athleticism to the midfield but was always second filddle to Vieira..don't think he has a good enough all-round game to replace Vieira
I can see many different combination of these 4 players above used throughout the season - they may even go out and buy a direct replacement for Vieira.
As Arsenal have a team of talented, adaptable footballers (Reyes, Hleb, Pires esp) all capable of playing in multiple positions it'll come down to how well Wenger blends them and tailors his line-up for the opposition (esp. in big games)
Wenger didn't look to perturbed yesterday after the match (they still have a great squad) like United Arsenal will be there or thereabouts this season although obviously Chgelsea will be firm favourites to win the league.
The gap between the winners this year (Chelsea imho) and (1) the 2nd placed team and (2) the fourth placed team will be significantly smaller. While Chelsea's new-found financial muscle isn't to everyone's taste it will have the effect of pushing United, Arsenal & Livepool on to a higher level they wouldn't have reached otherwise.
Chelsea will be the team to beat this year. Teams will raise their game against them & will put deep thought into counter-acting them. for example the use of pacey full-backs and a keane/hamann/makalele type defensive midfielder will serve to nullif Robben/Duff/SWP to a certain extent as they won't be able to roast full-backs at will and have free reign on any knock-downs from Crespo/Logba.
it would have been a good thread to debate except till I read what you wrote about gilberto. after that i stopped reading the thread
I wrote:
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Gilberto - Will add experience and athleticism to the midfield but was always second filddle to Vieira..don't think he has a good enough all-round game to replace Vieira
Please tell me what was so offensive about the line above that caused you to stop reading the thread?
To be honest philby,couldnt believe it either when i saw you hadnt included gilberto.gilbertos absence cost arsenal alot last year.compare their form/results while he was out to when he returned,big difference.i can see them being alot closer to chelsea this season if they can stay injury free
i think the gunners midfield will be
It is widely accepted that gilberto down the majority of the work and a big cause for vieiras supposed decline and arsenals weak title defense was because the brazilian was missing.
To first pick a team and not include him is farcicule but to say that he played second fiddle to vieira is even more nuts.
I could go on and ask how at 33 in october a player like pires will mature more?
but I wont.
Gilberto is more important to the arsenal team than vieira was. It took his absence for everyone (including me) to realise that. Which is why vieira was sold and wont be replaced.
1. Pires is 31 and will be 32 in october, not 33. In terms of maturing it's natural that once a player hits that age he will lose a bit of his pace & may benefit more from playiing centrally where his ability to link the play & set people up are more important than being able to burn a full-back with pace
2. I never said Gilberto wouldn't start, in fact I said that it was an area that was very much up for debate.
I can see many different combination of these 4 players above used throughout the season - they may even go out and buy a direct replacement for Vieira.
3. Vieira was a better all-round player than Gilberto. He did the donkey work for years at arsenal (and still managed to make regular forward forays) but the inclusion of Gilberto gave him more freedom to dictate the play and link with the strikers/wide men. If required he could do the defensive midfielder role every bit as well (imho better) as Gilberto.
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Gilberto is more important to the arsenal team than vieira was
I don't buy that. Vieira's was the heartbeat of the team for years & his influence was massive. Arsenal will miss this in a big way imho.
If Vieira has a bad few games everyone notices. If Gilberto does likewise it's hardly mentioned. He set implausably high standards and was judged by those. With the expectation that Vieira previously carried now firmly on the Brazilian's shoulders he won't able to hide.
Vieira's loss will be keenly felt in North London (although in the long-term it may have been necessary to further develop the team as a whole).
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To first pick a team and not include him is farcicule but to say that he played second fiddle to vieira is even more nuts.
So you are saying that Gilberto has outperformed Vieira since the brazilian's arrival at the club? No chance.
Arsenal's first choice lineup this season
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