There is an Arsenal XI that can win the 08/09 Premier League
18 comments August 16th, 2008
Amidst all the panic over our ever-so-thin squad, it’s easy to forget that with just one addition, we could have a starting XI strong enough to challenge any side in the division.
In goal, Manuel Almunia proved last season that he is a consistent and reliable performer. An excellent shot-stopper, and increasingly commanding of his area, Almunia fills me with nothing but confidence.
On paper, our francophonic back four should be excellent. Each individual is a magnificent player in their right: Sagna, Toure, Gallas, and Clichy are some of the best in their positions not just in the country, but in the world. Whilst the centre-back partnership have never quite achieved the defensive stablility one would hope for (what with them being defenders and all), if they can overcome those problems then there’s no doubt they are fine individual defenders. Arsene must’ve have seen something to make him renege on his desire to sign a centre-back – let’s hope we see it soon enough too.
The midfield is an area of significant concern, but it’s easy to forget that if we can sign a suitable replacement for Flamini and keep Cesc fit (forever), we could well be fine. Who knows, the player we sign might even be an improvement on Flamini.
On the wings, two from Rosicky, Nasri and Walcott are potentially an improvement on the unproductive Eboue and Hleb, whilst if Van Persie can stay fit, his partnership with Adebayor ought to be as good as anything out there.
If that midfielder arrives, and the rest of the players stay fit, there are few limits on what we can achieve this season. But today, we’ll have to do without Cesc and his potential partner, with Aaron Ramsey possibly being forced into an earlier Premier League debut than anyone anticipated. At least Kolo Toure and Samir Nasri could be available – Nasri’s debut could see Emmanuel Eboue move inside to play alongside Denilson as he did in Amsterdam.
West Brom will be up for it on their first day back in the Premier League, but even our injury-stricken squad should be more than capable of picking up three points, and being briefly top of the table.
I’m going to end with a quote from our beloved manager, Arsene Wenger, about the need to win trophies this season:
“The job of the media is to imagine the worst and the job of the manager is to imagine the best. If I go into a season and say, ‘For fuck’s sake, if we don’t win anything, they will all leave,’ we are already beaten.”
Excellent stuff. That said, if we don’t win anything, they will all leave. So let’s win something.