IS A RAMSEY/WILSHERE PARTNERSHIP WHAT’S BEST FOR THE CLUB?

This week’s post is inspired in part by comments made by Aaron Ramsey last week in an interview with RWD Magazine where he was quizzed on the potential of partnering with Jack Wilshere in Arsenal’s midfield.

“I’ve been injured, and then he’s been injured, and then I’ve been injured, so we haven’t had that real chance of playing with each other and showing what we are capable of doing together. Definitely when we’re on the pitch together we’re on the same wavelength.”

I’ll be honest; this is not a question I’ve ever looked forward to tackling. I mean, I know there was a lot of talk about Ramsey and Wilshere being the future of Arsenal’s midfield ever since they made their respective debuts, but back then I thought it was too soon to tell. The two made their first-team bows exactly a month apart (Ramsey-13^th August 2008, Wilshere-13^th September 2008), but have only started 50 games together in the nearly-seven years since. This, as Ramsey indicated, is largely down to injury spells between the two players, but even then you can probably count the number of games that the pair started as a duo in the heart of midfield. Or let’s take a look at this pre-season so far, where both players have been fit but have yet to be paired in midfield…Wilshere has started on the right twice, so perhaps Arsene Wenger is yet to warm up to that idea of a Ramsey/Wilshere partnership. But I’ve been doing a bit of digging on this, so let’s take a deeper look at this.

First off, a Ramsey/Wilshere partnership is not entirely conventional. Look at it this way: the league’s top teams last season all favoured a more-orthodox midfield partnership of a DM and a sort-of box-to-box midfielder (Matic and Fabregas for Chelsea, Fernando/Fernandinho and Yaya Toure for City, Carrick and Herrera/Fellaini/Rooney for United and Santi Cazorla and Francis Coquelin ourselves). Neither Wilshere nor Ramsey is really renowned for their defensive prowess at the moment. Wilshere is an excellent dribbler; he carries the ball from deep with both drive and flair, while Ramsey’s late runs into the box and outrageous finishing ability yielded 16 goals in 32 appearances in 2013/2014. But, as some would say, a few seasons back we did have a midfield partnership featuring Mikel Arteta and Alex Song, who operated as a double pivot in the middle. Neither really played as an out-and-out DM, and posted perhaps respectable averages in terms of defensive stats (Song averaged 2.1 tackles and 2.1 interceptions per game, Arteta averaged 2.5 tackles and 1.9 interceptions per game). But the pair were a great asset for the club going forward, and here memories of Song’s lofted through balls for Robin van Persie come to mind. He ended the season with one goal and 11 assists, while Arteta scored six goals and provided two assists. Coquelin, last season, had zero goals and zero assists. So perhaps a Ramsey/Wilshere partnership would be more productive in this regard?

I also took a look at a few defensive stats from Wilshere and Ramsey from last season, and as a means of comparison, will contrast those with Arteta in 2012/2013 and Coquelin in 2014/2015.

	Tackles won (%)	Interceptions (per game)	Aerial Duels won (%)
Arteta (2012/2013)	52%	2.9	52%
Ramsey (2014/2015)	31%	1.1	46%
Wilshere (2014/2015)	33%	0.4	25%
Coquelin (2014/2015)	49%	3.6	64%

So not looking too great there for either Ramsey or Wilshere. However we do have to be cognizant of the fact that Wilshere and Ramsey’s roles have changed somewhat over the years. Remember when Ramsey was largely thought of as a liability in the team while playing on the right, and then he moved back to the base of midfield and went “back to the basics”? He was posting averages of 90%+ passing accuracy per game, over 100 passes per game and looking pretty solid. Fast-forward two seasons and Ramsey was scoring 16 goals a season, which shows you how his role in the team has morphed over time. In 2012/2013, Ramsey averaged 1.8 tackles and 1.2 intercepts per game, and had a 62% success rate on tackles as compared to 31% last season. Wilshere on the other hand averaged 1.1 tackles and 1 intercept per game, and a 53% success rate for both tackles won and aerial duels won, which is a step-up from his figures last season. Wilshere has also been used as the deepest-lying midfielder for the England national team and earned rave reviews then. Therefore, a Ramsey/Wilshere partnership while being unconventional, might still work out. Will we see this partnership this season? I think that’s highly unlikely. Coquelin has become indispensable in the current squad, while there’s Cazorla, Arteta and Mathieu Flamini to think about as well before we begin to consider partnering Ramsey and Wilshere there. 

After the 4-0 win over Singapore Select XI a couple of weeks back Arsene was quizzed as to where Wilshere will feature in the team:

“Already in the last two or three games of the season he has found his burst back with acceleration. Like with Alex Oxlade Chamberlain, that’s a big part of their game…For me he can play in all the offensive positions-wide and central. I have so many good and creative players. If you ask all of them where they want to play, they will always tell you central. Unfortunately some of them have to go wide as well.”

There you have it. The question of whether a Ramsey/Wilshere partnership can work is, to borrow a phrase, a “non-issue” for now. In the future, I’m sure this will come up again. Can it work? Yes. Would I advise it? I don’t think so. For anyone interested by the way, in 2011/2012 with that Song/Arteta double-pivot we conceded 49 league goals. Last season, we conceded 36, and only 14 in the 20 matches that Coquelin started.

OF INTEREST THIS WEEK:

Now I deliberately delayed last week’s post till now just so I can say that we’ve now won two trophies in my last two blog posts (smiles), following the club’s fourth Emirates Cup triumph on Sunday. Petr Cech has also won two trophies in his first two games for the club, so Petr and I are on for a hat-trick this Sunday when we play for the Community Shield. Giroud, Oxlade, Iwobi, Ramsey, Ozil and Cazorla all got on the score-sheet as we kicked things off with a 6-0 rout of Olympique Lyon, which we then followed up with a 1-0 win over Wolfsburg to clinch the cup. I liked the fact that all seven goals we scored in the tournament were scored by seven different players, and I certainly hope that this will be the trend this season. Last season, only Alexis (25), Giroud (19) and Ramsey (10) managed to get into double figures in terms of goals scored in all competitions. In fact; Danny, Theo, Santi, Oxlade and Ozil only scored 31 goals in all competitions between them. Wenger, when speaking to press ahead of the Emirates Cup last weekend, did allude to the fact that we need to look for more goals from within the current squad before we bring in more goals in the form of another striker.

“Our target is to improve the number of goals…we want to combine defensive efficiency with ten more goals. In the second part of the season we only conceded 13 goals in 19 games. So we want to keep that and add a few more goals. I think we can find that from inside, I am convinced of that. If we can find it from outside then we will do it as well.”

In other news, Wojciech Szczesny looks set to leave the club on a season-long loan to Italian side AS Roma. Wenger did, however, insist that the Pole still has a future with the Gunners.

“I believe he will have a future at Arsenal because I rate him highly. I don’t want the opportunity he had at a young age to be wasted.”

The acquisition of Petr Cech earlier in the summer of course necessitated a move away from the club for either Szczesny or Ospina, so this comes as no surprise. I just hope he comes back though.

I leave you with this interesting stat I picked up from whoscored.com:

“Arsenal conceded the fewest goals from outside the box in the Premier League this season, with 3.”

Alexis vs Ozil? Plus yet another trophy...

I've realised that I never quite know how to start my posts. Having given this particular prelude a lot of thought, 12 minutes to be exact, I decided it would be best to admit that I haven't figured out how to start this post. Then proceed to talk about football as if nothing awkward just happened. Bet you never saw that coming. On a serious note however, my eternal gratitude goes to everyone who continues to read, comment on and share my posts... Your feedback, positive or otherwise, is valued.

Last week I touched on the performances of one Alexis Sanchez when deployed in that no. 10 role behind the main striker, and I thought to follow that up with an in-depth look at this tactical switch this week. Alexis made four appearances behind the traditional centre-forward, scoring six goals and an 8.91 rating on whoscored.com. But just to give this more perspective, let's do a comparison between Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil, who you would feel is the club's natural first choice for the no. 10 role. The German made 14 of his 26 appearances "in the hole" last season, scoring twice and laying off three assists. You should have already begun to see the difference in how these two pros apply their unique qualities and skill sets when deployed in this role, but if you've ever stopped to ask yourself exactly how different Alexis and Ozil are, let's go deeper. I sampled stats from two different games in which Alexis and Ozil featured as no. 10's, the 3-0 league home win over Burnley at the Emirates and the 4-1 win over West Bromwich Albion at the same venue.

	Ozil (vs West Brom)	Sanchez (vs Burnley))
Attempts (on target)	0 (0)	7 (5)
Key Passes	6	3
Passing Accuracy	90.2%	70.6%
Touches	96	85
Crosses (accurate crosses)	6 (2)	4 (1)
Dribbles	1	9

The two are on opposite ends of the scale in virtually every parametre you can bring up. Interpreting the figures above therefore should be pretty straightforward... Ozil will generally seek to retain possession while picking his moments to release a team-mate in space in advanced areas, as is illustrated by his superiority under the "Key Passes" and "Passing Accuracy". Alexis, on the other hand, takes greater risk and is by far more direct when on the ball, hence nine dribbles and seven attempts on goal as compared to just one dribble and no attempt on goal from Ozil. I also included their crossing figures because I discovered an interesting difference between the two players in how they interpret this no. 10 role... Ozil on this occasion attempted six crosses (two successful) while Alexis put in four (one successful). In the FA Cup semi-final against Reading, Ozil attempted eight crosses (four successful) while Alexis attempted just two (one successful) despite the Chilean being deployed wide. A look at the respective players' heatmaps provides greater meaning to this stat, because Ozil tends to drift to either flank quite frequently even when starting from the middle, while Alexis stays central, dropping deep at times to pick up possession before surging forward to get into a goal-scoring position. The licence to roam is imperative to Ozil and to Arsenal as he causes problems particularly for opposing fullbacks while leaving space for the likes of Jack Wilshere, Aaron Ramsey or Santi Cazorla to roam forward from deeper midfield positions. 

I therefore think a case can be made for either player to feature as the club's no. 10. What would I prefer? If the Arsenal medical staff could somehow find a way to create a hybrid between Ozil and Alexis, that would be absolutely perfect. What would be the outcome when you breed Alexis and Ozil? I think Wayne Rooney. Rooney, I feel, is the embodiment of a cross between the playing styles of Alexis and Ozil...and that's why I have always maintained that Rooney is the best no. 10 in the Premier League's modern era. And on THAT bombshell... 

OF INTEREST THIS WEEK:

Arsenal were yesterday crowned the Champions of the Barclays Asia Trophy after a dominant 3-1 win over Premier League side Everton in Singapore. The Gunners got to the final after beating a Singapore Select XI 4-0, with a Chuba Akpom hat-trick particularly catching the eye. The final, interestingly, saw Aaron Ramsey and Cazorla paired up at the base of midfield, and Wilshere given a run-out from the right. Santi was effervescent in his use and distribution of the ball, culminating in a brilliant goal and two assists for Theo Walcott and Ozil, while new signing Petr Cech had precious little to do aside from tipping a Steven Naismith header over the bar. Everton's consolation, a stunner from Ross Barkley, did leave a sour taste though. But anyway. On to the Emirates Cup next weekend, and the Community Shield game against Chelsea the week after.

Arsene Wenger also confirmed that 19-year old forward Chuba Akpom will not be leaving the club on loan this season, which I found interesting if not puzzling. While Chuba has perhaps outgrown the U21 side, many would be forgiven for thinking a loan move would be on the cards for him to gain first-team experience...especially where the chances of him securing that first -team berth would be more likely than at Arsenal. With Olivier Giroud, Danny Welbeck and Theo Walcott all ahead of Chuba in the pecking order, I can only hope that the season ahead will be fruitful for him.

The manager also confirmed that Hector Bellerin has committed to a new long-term contract at the club, surely just reward for the stellar displays he put on last season. I mean, who would you now pick as your first-choice right-back between Bellerin and Mathieu Debuchy? I bet it's not an obvious choice compared to this time last year, is it? It was also announced that Carl Jenkinson will spend the 2015/2016 season at West Ham, but only after signing a new five-year deal with the Gunners. The club's future at right-back looks to be well secured in the short and mid term with Bellerin and Debuchy (who turns 30 on 28th July), and in the long term with Bellerin and Jenkinson, which I feel is as good as it gets.

And lastly, King Henry was in the press yesterday talking up our prospects of winning the EPl next season. Henry however claims that we need at least four new signings for us to mount a serious title challenge, a comment which I find outlandish at best. I mean, four? Where would they go? Perhaps an argument can be made for a signing in defensive midfield, not because of our lack of options in midfield, but because Francis Coquelin is the club's sole DM that is not Mathieu Flamini. But what would such a signing do to Coquelin's confidence and growth? What of Mikel Arteta, Flamini, Ramsey and Wilshere? You see, debatable. The signing of a centreforward is also made complex with the presence of Giroud, Welbeck, Akpom and Theo already competing for that slot. So four signings? But this is just me. What do you think?

That's it from me this week, cheers.

ARSENE WENGER; TACTICALLY SPEAKING (PART 2) AND A TRIBUTE TO THE DEPARTED

Greetings to all, and as always my sincere appreciation to everyone who has taken time out to read previous posts on this blog and for your feedback on the same. Now, last week’s post was the first of a two-part series where I try to highlight five tactical wins for Arsene Wenger over the course of the recently concluded 2014/2015 season. I spoke about the signings the manager made and the loan dealings in January as the first two tactical wins, and if you haven’t caught a glimpse of that you can take a look by following: (lloydnixx.blogspot.com/2015/07/arsene-wenger-tactically-speaking-part-1.html
Here’s the second part of that post.

1. Game management:

After some freak results in the 2013/2014 season (3-6, 1-5, 0-6, 0-3) it was pretty evident that we needed a change of tact if we were to avoid similar results last season. In fact, we generally showed a distinct naivety in our approach to “big” games even before 2013/2014, which of course led to Patrice Evra famously commenting that it was “men against boys” whenever we played Manchester United. So what changed this past year? With the exception of the 2-1 reverse against United at the Emirates, we tightened up and adopted a defensive discipline that was previously not associated with Arsenal, certainly not under Arsene Wenger. We watched some proper “1-0 to the Arsenal” stuff, but we need to clear two issues up here. First, not every close win could be attributed to defensive discipline and shrewd game management. The late wins over Crystal Palace at the Emirates, and away at Anderlecht for instance featured particularly tepid Gunners’ performances. We did just enough to win those games, and only just. Winning ugly is the hallmark of champions, isn’t that how the cliché goes?

Secondly, game management does not simply refer to defensive shape. It points towards discipline and a blend between the potency of attack and the application of tactics and logic. Rather than trying to win it “the Arsenal way”, we simply did what we had to do to win without exposing ourselves to the opponents’ arsenal. Most pundits give the excellent 2-0 win over Manchester City as an example to prove this point, but wins over Newcastle, Burnley and Manchester United in the FA Cup were just as similar. Even the 2-0 win over Borussia Dortmund, where the possession was pretty even (52%-48%), is still comparable with the 2-0 win over City (62%-38%) if based on this parameter alone. We managed to nullify the opposition threat, winning more aerial duels and posing a significant threat going forward while at it too. Controlled in possession, disciplined without.

2. Reconfigured Arsenal midfield:

Now of course there is an element of luck to this particular point, seeing as Francis Coquelin was recalled from his loan at Charlton Athletic amid a defensive injury crisis at the Emirates. We were without Laurent Koscielny, Nacho Monreal, Mikel Arteta, Aaron Ramsey, Abou Diaby and Jack Wilshere at the time. The club was thus forced to bring back Coquelin on the 12th of December, 2014, and he made three substitute appearances for a combined total of 13 minutes before his first start against West Ham on 28th December. Perhaps Coquelin was initially no more than a stop-gap measure, but he ended the season as the club’s second best player of the season despite missing virtually half of it. We won more games, conceded the fewest goals and got the highest points tally of any team since Francis Coquelin made his first start since his return. In the 20 league games since 28th December, we won 14 games (two more than Chelsea), conceded just 14 goals (five less than Chelsea), while scoring 39 goals (second only to City) and accumulating 45 points (three more than Chelsea). So Arsenal worked better as a functional unit with Coquelin in the team.

But this is not just about Coquelin. The manager had to find a way to fit Coquelin in the system, and so he did by asking Santi Cazorla to sit in deeper alongside Coquelin. So good was Cazorla in this withdrawn role that Aaron Ramsey had to make do with a role wide right when he made his return from injury. His re-discovery of the role of the deep-lying playmaker was particularly fascinating and enjoyable to watch as he destroyed teams from deep, finishing the season with seven goals and 13 assists.

3. Alexis Sanchez as a no. 10?

Does anyone else remember a little period in November-December 2014 when Alexis was deployed behind the main striker, whether it was Danny Welbeck or Olivier Giroud? Well, according to statistics from whoscored.com, Sanchez made four appearances as a no. 10, scoring six goals. It’s also over this period that Sanchez received his highest whoscored.com rating of 8.91, scoring braces against Sunderland and Burnley and single strikes against Anderlecht and Swansea.

Most of Sanchez’ work in these matches came deeper in the middle third, dovetailing with Cazorla who featured primarily on the left over this period. This also meant he was heavily involved in possession for the Gunners. Take the game against Sunderland for instance, where he had 96 touches of the ball, had five attempts on goal and three on target, as well as making six tackles. He led all players in these categories, and was 2nd on the number of passes attempted (70) with an accuracy of 84.3%. Against Burnley, he scored twice, had seven attempts on goal and five on target, meaning he was the central figure in all that we mustered going forward. He also had 85 touches, the second-highest of all players. If anyone watched the Copa America final, Sanchez had a somewhat similar role when Chile faced Argentina in this game, sparking off a lot of attacks for Chile before making late runs into the box to get into a scoring position. This is perhaps what Mesut Ozil doesn’t do enough of? But that’s a discussion for another day.

As a purist, however, I did find one issue with Alexis figuring in this position. This can be best illustrated by his passing accuracy over these four matches. Against Sunderland it was 84.3%, but nowhere near as high in the three games since- 70.6% against Burnley, 72.6% against Anderlecht and 70.7% against Swansea. Retaining possession may not be everything, but I do find that my heart beats more calmly whenever we have the ball.

OF INTEREST THIS WEEK:

German international and hash tag King #Lukas #Podolski # #PrincePoldi has sealed his move to Turkish giants Galatasaray in a €2.5 million deal. The Gunners will, interestingly, also receive €500,000 every season that Galatasaray qualify for the UEFA Champions League, for the next three seasons.  Podolski will be earning €3 million annually at his new club, and Galatasaray do retain the option of extending his contract for one more year as per the permutations of the deal. The move will really come as no surprise to Arsenal fans as the acquisitions of Danny Welbeck and Alexis Sanchez last summer relegated the German to the role of a bit-part player really. Podolski made just two starts (against Southampton in the Capital One Cup and away to Galatasaray in the Champions League) and 11 appearances off the bench over the past season, scoring thrice. He then moved to Inter Milan for the remainder of last season, where he managed just one goal and one assist to show for his efforts. I’m just glad that Arsene Wenger was real enough with him and agree on a move that was beneficial to all parties involved, not least for Podolski himself. And so, after a creditable 31 goals in 82 appearances in red and white, thank you for the memories and Godspeed Lukas. You swung your sledgehammer of a left foot against Montpellier, Bayern Munich and Galatasaray, and I shall never forget.

A rather more sentimental exit this past week saw the 10-year relationship between Abou Diaby and Arsenal come to an unfortunate end. While his undoubted abilities had seen him hailed as the club’s next Patrick Vieira and led to former France national team manager refer to him as the best midfielder France had in 2008, his 10 years at the club yielded only 180 appearances and just two appearances over the last two seasons. His atrocious injury record curtailed, for all we know, what might have been the moulding of the next Arsenal midfield great, and I can only imagine how devastating it must have been for the Frenchman.  Here’s to better times ahead. Finally, David Ospina has been in the press recently talking about his desire to see out his contract with the club. 

“Next season we’ll work next to an excellent keeper in Cech, who is recognized and admired, and I’d be honoured to share with him, he’s a player with great experience.”

Earlier last month Wojciech Szczesny was also in the media talking up the prospects of learning his trade as understudy to Petr Cech, and of course this poses a problem for the manager as we have to let either the Colombian or the Pole move on. Current reports point towards a move to either Fenerbahce or Everton for Ospina, and while Ospina seems ready to stay and fight it out for his position at Arsenal, he doesn’t seem to be totally averse to a move to Merseyside either.

“There are some possibilities of working on other teams, and I always look and analyze things…Everton are a competitive team, and showed good things in the league last season. It’s a club to consider and a great opportunity.”

Definitely a situation to keep an eye on. Till next week folks.

ARSENE WENGER; TACTICALLY SPEAKING (PART 1):

Greetings to you, and I trust you’ve all been well this past week. Many heartfelt thanks to everyone who took time out to read last week’s post, and for the positive feedback that received as well. I’ve had a rather unpleasant week that I would rather be left in the confines of history; therefore excuse the lack of a proper pre-amble…straight into the football.

As promised last week, this post will largely focus on Arsene Wenger and what I felt were five of his most key tactical wins over the 2014/2015 season.

1. Signings:

In what was arguably the first summer transfer window after which we were left with next to no complaints whatsoever, the manager brought in Alexis Sanchez, Calum Chambers, Danny Welbeck and David Ospina. The signing of a goalkeeper was necessitated by Lukasz Fabianski’s switch to Swansea on a free transfer, and we wasted little time in snapping up David Ospina from Nice after he starred for Colombia in the 2014 World Cup. It was tough going for the Colombian early on as he struggled with both injuries and lack of playing time, but once he got a crack at first-team action he took his chance with both hands as he benched Szczesny till the end of the season. Ospina out-performed the Pole in almost every statistic one can pull up: 8/18 clean sheets (3/17 for Szczesny), 0.61 goals conceded per match (1.24 for Szczesny), 3.18 saves per goal (1.4 for Szczesny), and the list goes on. Ospina was part of a much-improved Gunners back-line in 2015, and credit is due to him for it.

Danny Welbeck was a signing that perhaps split opinion. He’s quick, puts a good shift in, and can do a job out wide, but his goal return was poor (29 goals in 142 appearances for Manchester United). While his goal return is yet to reach the desired levels (8 in 33 last season), I feel he’s done nothing but improve our forward line. It was pretty evident that we needed an auxiliary centre forward to compliment Olivier Giroud after the 2013/2014 season, and Welbeck did exactly that for us. He, alongside Alexis Sanchez, also allowed Arsenal press higher up the pitch whenever we lost possession and improved our potency on the counter-attack due to his pace. Just a little more in front of goal Danny, that’s all we ask.

Calum Chambers was an interesting signing for me. I knew little of Chambers before he began deputizing for the then injured Nathaniel Clyne at right-back for Southampton last season, but what struck me the most even then was the ease which he showed when in possession. When he played in the Community Shield and subsequently in the league at centre-back, I was absolutely convinced his future was in the middle and not wide. He still looked as comfortable as ever in possession and solid enough without it, though the regularity with which he picked up bookings was particularly worrying (five yellow cards in his first five league appearances). His honeymoon sort of ended with that roasting by Jefferson Montero when Swansea beat us 2-1 at the Liberty Stadium, but he’s had a solid first season nonetheless. Looking forward to seeing more of him next season, perhaps at DM?

Alexis Sanchez. Haven’t we run out of superlatives to describe this guy already? Do you remember whom else they said that about? Thierry Henry. How many goals did King Henry score in his debut Arsenal season? 26. How many goals did Alexis score in his debut Arsenal season? 25. Arsenal’s 2^nd marquee signing after Mesut Ozil cost the club 32 million pounds, and 25 goals and 12 assists in 52 appearances later it was money well-spent. Over certain periods last season Arsenal were coasting simply on the brilliance of the effervescent Chilean, and he definitely deserved winning the Arsenal player-of-the-season award. In fact, my only regret was that he scored four braces but is yet to score a hat-trick for us.

 2. Loan Dealings, and the Signing of Gabriel Paulista in January:

Arsene Wenger also shipped a number of players out on loan for various reasons, and I feel he got each and every one of those loan moves spot on. Carl Jenkinson went to West Ham on a season-long loan where he established himself as the Hammers’ first-choice right-back, featuring in all but six league games and assisting two goals. In January, we moved the hashtag king Lukas Podolski to Inter Milan and he scored once in 18 appearances. Joel Campbell went to Villareal on loan and scored once in 16 appearances. Yaya Sanogo moved to Crystal Palace and scored once in 11 appearances. Meanwhile, Arsenal scored 55 goals in 2015.

The January transfer window also saw the signing of Gabriel Paulista from Villareal, another move which I felt was facilitated by injury troubles in defence, especially with Laurent Koscielny. The Brazilian centre-back has also acquitted himself well despite making only eight appearances, with a crazy 81% (17/21 aerial duels won) success rate in the air (Mertesacker’s was 70% and Koscielny was 56%). 

OF INTEREST THIS WEEK:

The club finally made the move official-Petr Cech has joined Arsenal on a “long-term” contract for an “undisclosed” fee. Hmmm. Anyway, having a living Premier League legend in goal excites me, and Cech is likely the closest we have come to replacing David Seaman. Which also got me thinking, when did we last make a signing of Cech’s caliber from a direct (ish) rival in the Premier League? Danny Welbeck was deemed “surplus to requirements” by Louis van Gaal, and before Welbeck it was Mikael Silvestre (remember him?) also from Manchester United in the 2008/2009 season. Before Silvestre came William Gallas in a swap deal with Chelsea for Ashley Cole in the 2006/2007 season. Meanwhile, we lost Ashley Cole, Kolo Toure, Emmanuel Adebayor, Gael Clichy, Samir Nasri, Robin van Persie and Bacary Sagna to Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United over the same period. What point am I driving at here? It’s nice to see the roles reversed for a change! This is a signing that signals at least the beginning of a shift in the balance of power in England’s top flight, and hopefully Cech will win us the league this season so that we can really drive this point home.

Also, Chelsea have today confirmed the signing of striker Radamel Falcao on a season-long loan from AS Monaco. Did you know that 324 players across Europe’s top five leagues scored more goals than Falcao (4) last season? That’s 190 forwards, 122 midfielders and 12 defenders.

Right, onto a therapy of pizza and assorted junk foods this weekend for me. Keep an eye out for part 2 of this post next week!