Stuttgart 1 – 3 Arsenal + Bischoff Signs
876 comments July 31st, 2008
I don’t know about you, but seeing the line-up for last night’s match made me feel infinitely better about the forthcoming season. The likes of William Gallas, Emmanuel Adebayor and Robin van Persie returned to the side, whilst new signing Samir Nasri made his debut on the left flank. Our squad still has its weaker areas, but it looks significantly stronger when those names are thrown into the mix.
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The goals that won us the match, however, all came from teenage substitutes. Nicklas Bendtner and Carlos Vela have struck up a fine pre-season partnership, and they combined on two occasions and both finished with aplomb. It’s hard to disagree with Arsene when he argues that he doesn’t need any more strikers. Adebayor and Bendtner are two excellent target men, Vela and Eduardo are left-footed assassins, and Robin van Persie is a volcanic player capable of extraordinary feats of skill (I count Theo Walcott as a winger, for this season at least).
The third goal came from 16-year old Jack Wilshire, whose involvement in a game such as this one is demonstrative of the manner in which he is being fast-tracked towards the first team. For those who’ve yet to see him, I’d describe him as a left-footed Hleb who can shoot. The Carling Cup surely beckons for Wilshere in the coming months.
If there is an area in the squad which is light, it remains central midfield – the fact that Emmanuel Eboue had to play their yesterday is indicative of our plight. Perhaps that’s what moved Arsene to plunge for 21-year old midfielder Amauri Bischoff. He has been capped at Under-21 level by Portugal, but a succession of injuries mean he’s barely played a senior game. Arsene obviously believes in the boys talent, but admits the signing is a “gamble”. Some fans are up in arms at what they perceive to be a pointless signing, but in this gamble, what exactly does Arsene stand to lose? There’s no fee of any note, and I doubt Bischoff is earning a comparatively huge amount. In a squad that seems worryingly short of numbers, bolstering the ranks with an unknown like Bischoff is no bad thing.
Still, a central midfielder is still urgently required. The longer it drags on the more you suspect Arsene may wait right until the end of the window before taking the plunge. Arsenal fans everywhere should celebrate Spurs’ signing of David Bentley – not only does it grant us even more license to hate the cocky bastard, but moreover it might have made us up to £7m, which can be reinvested in our own lightweight midfield. In attempting to get close to us, Spurs may inadvertently help us pull yet further away.
Emirates Cup this weekend. I’m very excited.
