This is my second football club review after the one on Man Utd. ( do read and comment on it too ... )
Arsenal are also known as The Gunners One of the most succesful clubs in England, are one of the top two clubs in England today. In recent years, they have won the FA Premiership twice, FA Cup 3 teams and have been runners up in the UEFA Cup. They created the record of scoring for most number of consecutive matches last year in the premiership.
Arsenal are managed by the frenchman Arsene Wenger. He has proved himself to be one of the top managers in the world today with his successes with the Highbury based club and was also being chased by Real Madrid for the vacant manager’s spot. But he has committed himself to Arsenal.
Lets take a look at the present Arsenal squad :-
Goalkeepers :-
Stuart Taylor:- This young keeper is one of the new breed of young english keepers with a bright future. He has been the Arsenal no 2 with David Seaman for two years now and deputised for Seaman when he was out with injuries. He has proved himself to be a dependable keeper and made a number of good saves but perhaps lacks a little bit of experience.
Rami Shabaan:- He was bought by Arsene Wenger last year but spent most of the year on the sidelines after suffering from a injury during training. He is also a good prospect for the future but lacks sufficient first team experience at the hisghest level.
Defenders
Ashley Cole:- This young chap is already the first team choice at both the club level and international side at the Left Back position. He is deadly when going forward in attack and links well with the midfield as well. His defensive abilities have been under the magnifying glass but his attacking prowess makes up for that. Product of the Arsenal youth team, has a really bright future at the club.
Sol Campbell :- Created a uproar when he moved across London frm arch rivals Tottenham Spurs last season, has settled into his central defensive role pretty well at Arsenal. One of the best defenders in the premiership, he is a master of the last ditch tackle. He is the heart of the gunners defence and proven to be a worthy succesor to the legendary Tony Adams
Martin Keown :- One of the veterans of the squad, plays in the central defensive role alongside Sol Campbell. He is tough and strong and has a very good positional sense.
Lauren:- This Cameroon international has adapted from his earlier midfield role to be in the right back role for Arsenal. He has performed admirably in this position and also offers something when going forward.
Pascal Cygan :- Was touted as the new Tony Adams when he was signed last yr but hasnt really lived up to it. His first yr has been a mixture of decent performances and bad ones but hopefully with time and experience, he will improve.
Midfielders
Patrick Viera :- Arguably one of the best midfielders in the world, he isnt known for his attacking abilities and doesnt score many goals as well. But what he is reowned for is his abilities to break down attacks and orcheastrate attack for his team. One of the best tacklers and passers in the game, he has really been one of the key members in this gunners squad. Has refused interest from Real Madrid and a host of other clubs to remain at Highbury. He is also the captain of the club.
Robert Pires:- Player of the year for 2001/02 season is really one of the beast attacking midfielders in the premeirships. His sprints and runs in the oppositions areas cause havoc and he has scored some of the most exhilirating and beautiful goals u will ever see. His passes are deadly and he creates lots of goals for gunners. Even after missing nearly half of the season due to injury, he returned to be the second highest scorer for Arsenal this season. One of the key members of the squad.
Fredrick Ljungberg:- This Sweedish midfielers has really revelled in the last 2 yrs with the gunners. Last yr he scored 17 goals and most of them were the crucial ones. This yr he hasnt been in top form but still can be a handful to opposition.
Silvian Wiltord:- The club’s record signing has transformed himself frm a striker to a winger at the club. In the beggining of the season was in sensational form and scored many goals. Is known for his pace and superb passing skills.
Ray Parlour :- Is a bull-terrier like presence in the midfield. He is a brilliant tackling midfielder and never shies from having a battle or two in the middle of the park.
Gilberto :- This brazilian world cup winner partners Viera in the middle of the park. He settled in the team straightaway like he was here for the past 10 seasons. He is also a tackling midfielders, more content in creating the attack and breaking down other teams attacks.
Also othe midfielders in the squad are van Bronkhost, Kolo Toure, Edu and Jermaine Penant. They havent really excelled in the Gunners jersey yet but all are really bright hopes for the future.
Strikers
Thierry Henry:- The most complete forward in the world today. He isnt a natural goal poacher, but creates most of the goals himself. Last 2 seasons have been really superb for this man as he has finished as the top scorer for the club and among top 3 in the premiership. This year he also had the highest number of assists in the premiership as well. His solo run goal against Tottenham was voted the goal of the year. He also got both the players and the writers player of the year award. Surely the driving force behind Arsenal.
Dennis Bergkamp:- This dutch veteran is one of the key members of the club. One of the most cool finishers in the game, never acts in haste in the penalty area. Has got a superb touch , and although he is not young, his experience brings a lot to the team.
Francis Jeffers :- This youngster brought high hopes with him from Everton but his 2 years at the club has been besieged with injuries. BUt has got the talent and the age on his side to perform .
Kanu:- He has shown occasional flashes of brilliance but one feels this nigerian has his days numbered at highbury.
So this was the Arsenal first team squad. This season started really well for Arsenal but everything got horribly wrong in the end. Still Gunners were the FA cyp champions and finished second in the league. They showed really how classy they can be many a times during the year.
But Arsenal also needs to strengthen the squad if they want to get success at the European stage. Arsene will be looking for a central defender, experienced keeper and a forward during this summer. Another problem with Arsenal is the limited transfer funds available due to the construction of their new stadium.
At present Arsenal are based in Highbury with a capacity of around 38000 which is quite small when compared to rivals Man Utd ( 67000 ), Liverpool ( 45000 ) and Newcastle Utd ( 55000 ). So they do need the new stadium being built so that they can get more gate revenue.
Anyway its quite laudable how Arsene has created such a wonderful squad despite being on a budget around 2-3 times less than his rivals.
Being a gunners fan, I do hope arsenal will get a lot of success in the coming yrs.