I can’t remember the last time this has happened for Arsenal. 4 signings and it isn’t even August! Who needs deadline day! Oh the despondent irony of Arsenal fans saying that.
Let’s welcome Alexis Sanchez, Mathieu Debuchy, David Ospina and Calum Chambers to the club. We replaced France’s second choice right back with its first choice right back. Some more irony. The first two on the list most fans would have heard of and witnessed in action, but what of the latter two? Ospina had an osp-iring world cup for Colombia which Arsene pointed out as well. The majority of fans though would not have heard of the Colombian prior to the tournament however and so along with the obviously relatively unknown Calum Chambers, I’d like to take a closer look at the two newcomers. What do they bring to the club? What can we expect Arsene to improve on?
First, let’s put the ex-Southampton player under the microscope. A third Englishman we’ve enticed from The Saints and it’s safe to say that we can expect promising performances from Chambers. The first port of action for him though is to settle a court case that Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain wants to set up…to battle over the nickname of “Chambo.” I think Ox will do for him. Can you imagine the nightmare for Andre Marriner though? “Chambers? No. Chamberlain? No. Gibbs? Walcott? Chamberslain.”
The 19 year old right back is known to be a versatile player with the ability to play in central defence and looming at 1.83m, he’s also been known to ply his trade in defensive mid. Time…no, Arsene will tell just where the Englishman’s future lies. He broke into The Saints’ XI last season making 22 Premier League appearances in total which consisted of 15 whole games. Not too shabby for a team that finished 8th in the toughest league in the world. According to Squawka, Chambers is more defensive than offensive, a side of his game which he probably needs to improve on.
Winning 38/62 of his tackles as indicated above is quite a mean feat as his “headed duel” success rate of 55%. As indicated however, his take on rate leaves much wanting, an area Le Prof will certainly have to analyse and work his magic on. Watching his games, he’s not afraid to take on his man down the wing, but still needs the ability and strength to beat his opponent. With an “average of six defensive actions a game – with 29% of those being interceptions – the stats suggest he is already a keen reader of the game.”
The key to Arsenal’s game as most know, is possession of which the Three Lions’ U-19’s talent boasts a 79% success rate. Seemingly, he’ll have no problem fitting into the squad behind Mathieu Debuchy. In the last few years as well, Arsene’s game plan (and that of modern day football in general) has included however, the presence of attacking fullbacks. With the 12 chances in 22 games that Chambers has next to his name, he’ll certainly want to improve on that stat, and what better way to do it then under the tutelage of Arsene and his trusted staff? Considering Jenkinson is close to going out on loan (to West Ham probably), Chambers will definitely get game time in order to give Debuchy rest. A good pre-season is absolutely vital for the news boys and it’s fantastic that our club and better yet, our longest standing Manager has acted on this principle and made the signings nice and early.
For those wondering why we would loan Jenko out, it makes sense considering he’ll pick up match experience and it’ll most likely be in the Premier League. Handy. With Chambers’ height and tackling success rate, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Arsene morph him into a through and through centreback. To be defensive mid, he’d need to work on his strength and further develop his reading of the game. Masterstroke by Arsene if you think about it. Chambers morphing would allow Jenko and Bellerin to fight it out for right back in the future also factoring in Debuchy’s age (29) presenting the notion that he won’t be at the club for too long. Besides, who would want to get rid of a talented, “bleed for Arsenal” young man?
Onto Aspina then.
Everyone who watched the World Cup and Colombia’s games will have noticed one of their star performers. No, not James Rodriguez, their keeper. Even though the World Cup can be something of an illusion, considering players would bring out their best for the tournament, his performances overall boast some wild statistics. Someone relatively unheard of by the general footballing world, but someone that Arsene knew about right since the departure of Lloris to T*ttenscum. And it’s no wonder as well. He was fairly consistent in Ligue 1 last season.
With an average claim rate of 98% and a work rate of 2.79 average saves per game, signing him for a mere £3m became inexplicably obvious. While our number 1 keeper in Szczesny is still quite talented with a bright future, lapses of concentration and a lack of competition could see complacency settling in as was the case two seasons ago leading to the Pole being replaced by the other Pole in our midst, Fabianski. Ospina’s performances ensured Nice avoided relegation considering he maintained 12 clean sheets and conceded only as many goals as 5th placed Lyon. “Ospina proved far more solid between the sticks than Szczesny despite facing far more shots on goal, as the Colombian stopper made a massive 3.39 saves for every goal he conceded, while the Gunners’ number one made just 1.95 per 90, a respectable total in the Premier League, but remarkably less than his next potential usurper.”
Make what you will of the comparison between our two keepers.
Surely though, Ospina will not have as much game time as Szczesny so will he perform the same given the limited playing time? Or will he perform brilliantly enough to highjack Szczesny’s coveted position? Time will tell.
There’s one thing for sure. With the new additions, this season should be an exciting one for all Gooners.
The best part? We may still take a dip into the Transfer pool. Who’ll be the next to fall to Arsenal’s seductive ways?
‘Til next time Gooners. This is Arsenal.
-Sir Gunner
*All stats are a courtesy of Squawka.com
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