Tag Futebol

Since wowing fans in Belgium as a young teenage striking sensation, Romelu Lukaku was expected to take the footballing world by storm with his brutal nature in the opposition’s third and cool composure in front of goal. The Anderlecht star eventually signed for Chelsea in a big money move that saw many deem the strong centre-forward as the ‘new Didier Drogba’ down at Stamford Bridge.

A disappointing lack of game time with the Blues, however, led to loan spells at West Brom and Everton. Despite Lukaku impressing in both, the striker never established himself as a starter with Chelsea. Many saw Jose Mourinho’s loss as Roberto Martinez’ gain, but as he cost the Toffees in the region of £28 million, some of the more pessimistic voices within the footballing community have already labelled Lukaku as a flop.

In light of such developments, should Everton think twice in the future about breaking their transfer record and putting all their eggs in one basket? Or should the The Toffees keep the faith with the Belgian starlet?

When analysing Everton’s powerful No. 10 and what he can offer in the Premier League; it is important to remember that Lukaku is still only 21-years-old. The former Chelsea man is more than capable of developing his game in the next few years. Already a bustling presence up front, the Belgian international can still improve technically and positionally in order to really become a formidable star of English football.

[ad_pod id=’football-friends’ align=’center’]

For all those who have said that he has not lived up to expectations this season, Romelu Lukaku would still likely get into most team’s starting XI’s in the Premier League. It could even be argued that Chelsea could still have a use for the Belgian striker, who would be more than willing to test Diego Costa’s ability to hold down a starting place under Jose Mourinho this year. Whilst this has been far from a vintage season for Lukaku, the Everton man has still recorded an impressive 10 goals this campaign, with a lot more likely to come if the team can improve in the second half of the season.

Although the Toffees have been somewhat struggling of late, Everton fans can lay little blame at the feet of Lukaku, whose scoring boots have in fact been more firmly on than many of those around him. Roberto Martinez has had the added pressures of Europa League football to deal with, an ageing squad and the much famed ‘honeymoon period’ very much coming to an end.

That said, Romelu Lukaku hasn’t exactly looked dangerous in every game he has played this season, and as his World Cup in Brazil was certainly one to forget. Martinez needs to make sure he gets the most out of his main man if Everton are to have a better second half of the season than they did the first. On several occasions this campaign, the former Everton loanee has lacked a bit of sharpness, not been as mobile as Toffees fans know he can be, and verged on the predictable.

However, the big Belgian star doesn’t deserve the criticism he has received from some quarters this year. The former Anderlecht favourite still has everything going for him, and as he is remains only 21-years-old, there is every chance the £28 million will one day be considered a bargain.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

[ad_pod id=’ricco’ align=’center’]

[ad_pod id=’ffc-video’ align=’center’]

The footballing world is hardly notorious for having much in the way of a long memory, but in the case of Arsenal’s Olivier Giroud, it feels a touch more selective rather than forgetful.

If you cast your minds back to earlier on in the season, the Frenchman’s time in English football was already being cast off as a wasted journey, within some quarters of English football. Giroud, who cost Arsene Wenger’s side £9.6million during the summer, began November having scored a paltry three goals in 15 appearances, with only one of those coming in the Barclays Premier League.

Yet would you believe it, only three months later and the former Montpellier man looks to have found his feet in the English game. Giroud now has 14 goals to his name in all competitions and his strike against Liverpool during the Gunners’ 2-2 draw on Wednesday night, has taken him to one short of double figures for the league season.

Although while Giroud has managed to hit a particularly rich vein of form during his last three games, his current exploits in front of goal shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone within the game. In fact, any eyebrows currently being raised in Giroud’s direction probably go a long way to explaining how woefully shortsighted some of the evaluations aimed his way were in the first place.

The looming backdrop that was Robin van Persie’s summer departure was always going to leave Arsenal’s summer recruits as a collective of sitting ducks to media criticism and somewhat predictably, they duly managed to deliver.  Of course, the fact neither Giroud nor Lukas Podolski had ever plied their trade within a league outside their native divisions was conveniently overlooked. But why let objectivity get in the way of a good story?

[post_link url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/premiership/arsenal/when-did-arsene-wenger-become-so-out-of-touch-with-the-market,https://www.footballfancast.com/football-blogs/simply-the-20-most-shocking-premier-league-away-kits-of-all-time,https://www.footballfancast.com/premiership/top-10-deadline-day-disasters” target=”_blank” type=”tower”]

Whether Giroud or Podolski are ever likely to hit the goalscoring feats of Van Persie is perhaps an argument for another day, but the point remains that neither were given anything resembling a fair crack of the whip. And although Podolski’s deployment slightly wider on the left saw him shed some of the goalscoring expectation, for Giroud, this simply wasn’t the case.

English football snarled, sneered and scratched its collective heads at its latest Gallic import. How had he managed 21 goals in Ligue One for Montpellier last season, yet was seemingly unable unable to instantly produce the goods for his new club from the off?

Yet while Giroud seemed to come in for pelters from the more cynical contingent of English football during the early phases of the Premier League season, there was something painfully ironic in some of the praise one of his Arsenal teammates was beginning to receive.

Considering Arsenal’s current defensive plight, you have to go back a fair way to find the sort of praise Per Mertesacker was receiving earlier on this term, but as the ‘Steve Bould movement’ was in its pomp, the German was heralded as its leader. Which felt somewhat strange given the similar sort of position to Giroud that Mertesacker found himself in last term.

Indeed, here was a man that many had written off as little more than a defensive comedy act following some of his showings in an Arsenal shirt last season. But after a year to settle, adapt and acclimatize to the rigors of the Premier League, it was suddenly deemed that actually, Mertesacker wasn’t quite such a rubbish defender after all.

This isn’t rocket science, here.

Giroud’s current goalscoring glut isn’t a middle finger up to the critics, a triumph for the plucky underdog or anything that we should be remotely surprised at. It’s simply the response of a top goalscorer doing his job after finally settling down within his new surroundings.

The lack of patience that Giroud was afforded earlier on during the season was staggering considering the circumstances. The ‘we want it now, we wanted it yesterday’ sort of attitude that’s bedded itself within the Premier League is hardly a new phenomenon, although even by the impatient standards of the game today, Olivier Giroud wasn’t given a chance.

And on what grounds? Yes, Giroud didn’t exactly cover himself in glory with some of his early performances and for as difficult as it is moving to another league, it shouldn’t drain you from the ability to get the bread-and-butter parts of your game right –some of his initial performances certainly didn’t leave much to the imagination.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

But for every Papiss Cisse, who made an instant impact upon his move to the Premier League, there are another ten Olivier Girouds. Everyone from Vidic to Ronaldo or Henry to Schemeichel experienced their difficulties in adapting to English football. Even for the greatest foreign imports of all time in this league, success and form wasn’t established overnight.

When Giroud made his move during the summer, he wasn’t simply moving to a new club. He was moving to a new country, a new culture and a new way of life. In moving to this new league, he was also playing with new teammates, under a new manager and within a new formation.

This isn’t to say that every foreign player arriving on these shores can be afforded an unlimited amount of time to adapt. Not all will adapt and the circumstances at some clubs will demand that form is found sooner rather than later.

But even though Olivier Giroud’s fate may have remained unaffected by the unfair extrinsic pressures of public expectation, that isn’t the case for every player joining this league from further abroad. Patience is, after all, a virtue. English football would do well to remember that.

Newcastle United midfielder Mohamed Diame has insisted that his team are not yet safe from the threat of relegation.

The Magpies have only lost one of their last six Premier League matches, with that solid run of form leaving the team in 13th position in the table.

That said, Rafael Benitez’s side are only four points clear of the bottom three, and defeat at home to Huddersfield Town this weekend would put them in a difficult position.

Diame, who has scored twice in 23 Premier League appearances during an impressive season, has claimed that little details will play a key role in determining whether Newcastle survive.

Diame told the Chronicle:

“We’re in a good place but we know we aren’t safe yet. There are eight games left, we’re doing well and we need to keep going now.

“Two or three months ago we were making small mistakes but we worked on them. We need to keep working on those details because we know that they might make the difference.”

Newcastle have won eight, drawn eight and lost 14 of their 30 Premier League matches this season – scoring 30 times and conceding 40 during an inconsistent campaign.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

Benitez’s side have won their last two league fixtures at St James’ Park, however, and are unbeaten on home soil in the top flight since Manchester City beat them back in December.

Without Sergio Aguero, Man City lack that spark

Anyone would miss a striker with 30 Premier League goals in his last 33 games in the top flight, however, a squad with City’s aspirations shouldn’t be totally dependant on one footballer. When Aguero went off injured, it was clear City lacked any drive or impetus and, if it wasn’t for the penalty, they might never have taken the lead.

Everton are going backwards

Under David Moyes tenure, the Toffees established themselves us a top seven team. Then, when Roberto Martinez took over at Goodison Park, Everton kicked on again and ran Arsenal very close for fourth spot with many expecting Martinez’s side to go one step further this season. However, all isn’t right with Everton at the moment, and they need to sort things out and fast.

Premier League title race is very much alive

At the end of the day, it is a results-based business and Man City are now just three points behind Chelsea even if the Citizens’ performance against Everton wasn’t the most impressive.

We’ve seen it before; in fact English audiences love to get carried away with the next big thing.

Christian Benteke arrived in the Premier League in fairly typical circumstances; not many had heard of him and Aston Villa were perhaps taking a gamble on a youngster who was unproven in any of the top leagues in Europe. But you’ve really got to be impressed with the way Benteke has adapted quickly to English football: a real powerhouse of a forward who’s able to lead the line at Villa Park with authority.

And then came all the fireworks and the talk of a move away. A handful of bigger teams in the league were said to be interested, and the player appeared to tick the boxes of what was needed at each club. Well what exactly is that? An unknown who six months ago had a number of question marks hanging over him? And let’s be honest, is he even that good? Now, I’m not questioning his talent or commitment at a struggling Villa, but he’s not going to fire anyone into the Champions League – at least certainly not now.

[cat_link cat=”aston-villa” type=”list”]

I like the player, I think he’s exactly the sort of player the Premier League needs. He’s exciting to watch, he scores fantastic goals and he’s a massive lift to most at his current club. But it’s far too early to get carried away. I mean it has only been six months, and more than anything the player is further proof of how easily audiences get carried away.

I don’t think the phrase should be, “Aston Villa would do well to keep him at the end of the season,” because if they stay up the player would do well to remain at the club and keep himself grounded. He may turn into the next Didier Drogba, and I don’t doubt he has the talent to be something close to what the former Chelsea player was. But that’s well into the future and in an environment where he’s ready to make the next step up.

You look at players like Michu and everyone would love to have him in their side. But sometimes you have to ask why he isn’t playing for a bigger club. First of all, Swansea have proven themselves to be a good Premier League side and have done exceptionally well to pick up the bargain signing to wash away all other bargain signings; but we don’t have any proof in Michu’s history of him contributing to this standard at a top level club. He’s never played Champions League football, and despite his age and experience, we really don’t know how well he’d adjust.

Can’t all of that be said about Benteke, who is only 22? You look at a player like Romelu Lukaku and you’d say both he and West Brom (and Chelsea, in fact) have made a positive move for the player’s development in offering him a low-pressure environment to grow in England. Aston Villa, despite being in a relegation scrap, is the perfect club for Benteke to harness his qualities and become a leading figure in the English game.

He’s got the power, technique, awareness, and scoring touch to be a success. But I don’t think anyone would be doing the player any favours by forcing him onto a stage like Liverpool or Arsenal any time soon.

Victor Moses is another name who needed the move to Wigan, and you never know how Wilfried Zaha will pan out at Manchester United. But the difference between those two players is that they aren’t arriving at big clubs with the weight of expectation and the pressure to take their new teams onto the next level. Zaha isn’t replacing a name like Cristiano Ronaldo and Moses was brought in to add depth to an already impressive Chelsea squad.

Just once it would be nice to see those who know what’s best for a player ignore the clamour for something big. Sure, Benteke could make the significant step up in English football, but at the same time he could end up somewhere well away from the top tier of Premier League football and in another league altogether. I’m not saying the player is a flash in the pan, but it’s far too soon to tell if he’s the real deal.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

I don’t doubt that Paul Lambert is a good manager for him, and that’s exactly what he needs as of now. A big move in the near future could raise the excitement levels for some, but it’s very easy for it to be equally damaging to the player. Let him learn the English game for longer than a season before any great deal of faith is placed in him.

[youtube wBvjytG5a6I]

Tottenham Hotspur will have a big mental battle to overcome following Tuesday night’s Champions League exit.

Mauricio Pochettino’s men were in a strong position heading into their last 16 second leg against Juventus at Wembley.

The team fought back from 2-0 down to secure a 2-2 draw in Turin, giving the North London outfit two away goals.

On Tuesday, the night started off perfectly for Tottenham as Son Heung-min put the team 1-0 ahead in the 39th minute.

Spurs looked in control, but the shape of the game shifted after the break when Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri switched his team’s formation to 4-4-2.

Gonzalo Higuain and Paulo Dybala scored inside three minutes and held on to send Juve into the quarter-finals of the competition.

Tottenham have not won a trophy since the 2007-08 season when they lifted the League Cup, and they have fallen short ever since.

Former Arsenal player Paul Merson believes that the team will be suffering with a “hangover” when they take on Bournemouth in the Premier League at the Vitality Stadium on Sunday.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

Even though the pundit has tipped Spurs to win 2-1 in his Sky Sports predictions, he thinks that there could be a few nervy moments for Pochettino’s players.

“There’s got to be a Champions League hangover for Tottenham. They were cruising along, 1-0 up, and then three minutes later they’re out. It’ll have an effect. They’ll have one eye on next week in the FA Cup, and another season without winning anything.

“I think Spurs will win, but if Bournemouth are on it they could get something, most definitely. They have a go, they open up and have a go. Sometimes they get punished for it, but sometimes it pays off. I like the way they play.”

[ad_pod ]

Angel Di Maria has been excellent since his move to Manchester United, and with three goals and six assists in his 10 league appearances he’s quickly becoming the best of the bunch at Old Trafford. However that hasn’t stopped the rumours that LVG is willing to let him depart to PSG to fuel a move for preferred signing Marco Reusof Dortmund. Di Maria cost United just short of £60m – a British transfer record whereas Reus has a release clause of £20m. There’s profit to be made, which may be needed should The Red Devils fail to qualify for the Champions League this season.

Angel isn’t the only of LVG’s summer transfers who is rumoured to be leaving. Ander Herrera was another pricey signing for Van Gaal costing £29m. Yet the Spaniard has made just five appearances so far for The Red Devils. He has managed to score twice in his limited chances, but at almost £30m he’s a very expensive substitute, especially when there is not enough defenders to go around.

The signing of Radamel Falcao was perhaps the most bizarre from LVG. With Rooney, RVP & Welbeck in the squad LVG ditched the young ‘Welbz’ and brought in Falcao for a season-long loan for a fee of £6m and a weekly wage of £350,000, as reported by The Mirror. A very expensive player who had only recently returned from a long spell out with a knee injury. The gamble hasn’t worked thus far with the Colombian international, who has made the same amount of appearances as Herrera but scored a goal less. Of course after initially signing on a one-year loan, he was always expected to return to Monaco at the end of the season. But United do have an option to sign the 28-year-old for a fee of £43m – unlikely to happen if his current struggles continue, that’s for sure.

So that’s three of Man United’s most recent summer signings who may all possibly be straight out at the next opportunity. Is it safe to say that Louis Van Gaal got his first transfer window with The Red Devils wrong? For a start he’s doing worse than David Moyes, not great ay?! Angel Di Maria has been a revalation but when you spend a British transfer record that’s the least you expect. his stats are impressive, but seemingly not worth £60m to Van Gaal on second thought.

Man United are a team in transition since the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson. David Moyes took the brunt of the abuse and now Van Gaal has an easier ride. Therefore there’s increasingly less attention from the media on the Dutchman’s shortcomings. He’s doing well enough by Moyes’ standards, but like Moyes he’s miles off Sir Alex’s performances. There’s no doubting that every manager makes mistakes in relation to transfers, but it’s not a great start by Van Gaal. A very expensive window and a not so successful one so far. There is one positive though, at least he appears to be a manger who is willing to accept that he has made mistakes.

Whether there’s any truth in the various rumours only time will tell, but at least he didn’t spend £27m on Marouane Fellaini. Every cloud.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

[ad_pod id=’ricco’ align=’center’]

Manchester City will have to break the bank, even for their standards if they are to land Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid, according to the Express.

The Portugese star left Old Trafford to join Real Madrid in 2009 for a record £80million fee but he is understood to have become increasingly frustrated at the Bernabeu which has put Europe’s top clubs on alert.

With the modern day culture in football of rich foreign ownership and the nature of fees that players are sold for, figures Real Madrid would be expecting for them to consider an offer for the 27-year-old forward have been reported by Spanish newspaper AS of being as much as £160million.

Ronaldo, regarded as one of the greatest players to have played the game has once again enjoyed a prolific campaign for the La Liga champions, scoring 22 goals from 27 games in all competitions so far this season.

An eventual return to former club Manchester United has also been rumoured and it would be expected that if the two clubs were to agree a deal then that would be his preferred destination, as he openly speaks about his respect for the club and what Ferguson did in developing him into the player he now is.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

Manchester City no doubt have the financial power over United at this moment in time though. If they were to put in an offer that was too good to refuse and couldn’t be matched, stranger things have happened in football although for now it is all speculation.

As reported by The Daily Record, Celtic have yet to decide to on the futures of derby heroes Scott Bain and Odsonne Edouard, with both currently due to leave the club at the end of the season.

What’s the story?

Scott Bain is currently on loan from Dundee, but his contract at Dens runs out at the end of the season and it seems unlikely he’ll still be with the Dark Blues next term.

The Hoops hold an option to buy Odsonne Edouard from Paris Saint-Germain, though with that option reported to be for a fee of around £7m, how feasible that would be is another matter.

The Daily Record report that the club won’t be rushed into a decision on either and are set to wait until closer to the end of the season before deciding whether to make their move.

Are the club missing out on not making an early move for the duo?

[ad_pod ]

Are they waiting too long?

With so much money on the line in the potential Edouard deal, it makes sense that Celtic would wait for the season to play out before making a final decision on the young Frenchman. After his stunning winning goal away to Rangers, it would be tempting to rush in and sign him up, but there’s plenty of football left and while impressive in bursts, the striker’s form has been inconsistent this season.

Bain on the other hand has a proven track record of being a reliable goalkeeper in the Scottish Premiership and after his wonderful debut at Ibrox, the Hoops should already be working on a deal to make his stay in Glasgow a permanent one.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

In his case, the likes of Hibernian are still reported to be interested and if the Hoops take too long in making their decision, Bain might favour stability more than the promise of life at Celtic Park.

Hibs are unlikely to be the only suitors for his signature either and after clearly showing he has the right mentality to shine for the Hoops, it’d be a shame to see him leave the club so soon.

In part due to inadequate defensive depth, Arenal’s 2014/15 Premier League title bid is already over.

Indeed, whilst 5 foot 10 full-back Nacho Monreal continues to deputise for the injured Laurent Koscielny at centre-half, the Gunners have thrown away nine points from winning positions in the Premier League this season, not to mention their three-goal capitulation against Anderlecht in the Champions League.

So instead of being within a win’s distance of Chelsea, Arsenal are now twelve points behind the undefeated league leaders.

Something simply doesn’t add up; Arsenal’s defensive frailties were tested enough times last term, yet the north Londoners entered the current campaign with one less defender, as Thomas Vermaelen, Carl Jenkinson and Bacary Sagna were replaced by only Calum Chambers and Mathieu Debuchy.

Quiz Wenger on the issue and the same excuses emerge; ‘we already have the players capable’ or ‘there simply aren’t any available defenders out there’.

So to prove the Emirates boss could have easily addressed his squad’s defensive weaknesses this summer without breaking the bank, here’s FIVE signings he could have made for £10million or less – in fact, some involve no transfer fee at all.

[ffc-gallery]CLICK ON NACHO MONREAL TO REVEAL

[/ffc-gallery]

TOBY ALDERWEIRELD (loan)

Having fallen by the wayside at Vincente Calderon last season as Atletico Madrid launched a surprise coup for the La Liga title whilst simultaneously reaching the Champions League final, Southampton snapped up disillusioned defender Toby Alderweireld this summer on a one-year loan.

The Belgium international, who comes with a preceding reputation from his six seasons at Ajax, winning three consecutive Eredivisie titles under Frank de Boer, has already put in a number of strong displays for the Saints, who currently boast the best defensive record in the Premier League.

That’s certainly not all down to the 6 foot 2 centre-back, but his form has been consistent as regular partner to Jose Fonte:

It makes you wonder what Arsenal were up to while the Alderweireld deal was going on, having been strongly linked to the 25 year-old before he moved to Spain in summer 2013 and again in January this year after admitting his desire to leave the Mattress Makers.

Famed for his versatility, being capable of playing anywhere across the back four, the now-Southampton star would have been the perfect signing to cover for injured French duo Mathieu Debuchy and Laurent Koscielny. Here’s a clip of Alderweireld in action:

//www.youtube.com/embed/RFL2-xH2cis?rel=0

FABIAN SCHAR

Statistically speaking, FC Basel prodigy Fabian Schar was the best defender in the Champions League last season:

He comes with an impressive and intoxicating front-footed presence too, a style reminiscent of Jan Vertonghen’s that would have suited the Gunners perfectly. Here’s a clip of Schar in action:

//www.youtube.com/embed/ZpiVFCUXbz0?rel=0

And a wonder-goal from his FC Wil days, because, why not?

//www.youtube.com/embed/Dr8-L3tWaOU?rel=0

It appears Arsenal could be lining up a January bid for the £10million-rated centre-back:

But they could have signed him for precisely that sum during the summer and due to the Gunners’ lack of defensive depth this season, their title bid is already over.

ALEX SONG (loan)

Clearly Arsene Wenger had no interest in re-signing former Gunner Alex Song this summer on a season-long loan, instead surrendering that privilege to West Ham, but it’s difficult to understand why.

Not only is the Cameroon international well acquainted with Arsenal’s unique style of play – bagging twelve assists in his final season at the Emirates and coming second in the Player of the Year award to top-scorer Robin van Persie – but he would have added vital variety to the north London outfit’s midfield, in addition to extra cover at centre-half. Here’s a look at Song in action for the Gunners:

//www.youtube.com/embed/Dgw0H1KA-XI?rel=0

The holding midfield role has been a real problem for Arsenal this season, with Mikel Arteta clearly on the decline and Mathieu Flamini hopelessly out of form, but the 6 foot 2 Song would have been perfect for it – at least until next summer.

Furthermore, the 27 year-old’s availability had been well documented for some time, having made just 39 league appearances – the majority as a substitute – during his two full seasons with parent club Barcelona.

Instead, he’s spending the season with the Hammers, adding vital physicality and quality to their midfield as the East London sit two places above Arsenal in fourth. Here’s a look at his stats this term compared to the Gunners’ other central midfield options:

JOLEON LESCOTT

Now 32 years of age and having made 227 appearances in the Premier League, at this point, we all know the strengths and weaknesses of Joleon Lescott.

The occasional England international can be clumsy, especially in possession, and often looked a bit out of his depth when representing the Three Lions, or Manchester City in Europe.

But the now-West Bromwich Albion man has forged a Premier League-winning centre-back partnership with Vincent Kompany before and is famed for his consistency when it comes to the nuts and bolts of the defensive trade; tackles, interceptions, headers and positioning.

Furthermore, former club Manchester City let him leave the Etihad on a free transfer last summer, which the Baggies wasted no time in taking advantage of.

Experienced, proven and impeccably reliable, Lescott would have been perfect back-up to Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielney, even if for the duration of the current season alone. Here’s how Lescott’s form has compared to Arsenal’s centre-backs this term:

Rather tellingly, West Brom have kept three clean sheets out of a possible seven with the Premier League veteran in the side this season, compared to just one without him.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

And for those of you keen on nostalgia, here’s the highlights from Lescott’s legendary 2007/08 campaign at Everton, where netted ten times across all competitions:

//www.youtube.com/embed/xm49e-plhow?rel=0

Stefan de Vrij

Following an impressive World Cup campaign with the Netherlands, where he was statistically the best defender at the tournament:

..Lazio wasted no time this summer in striking up a £7million deal for former Feyenoord defender Stefan de Vrij.

And the 22 year-old is already proving to be quite the revelation in Serie A as Le Aquile lay sixth in the Italian table, averaging an impressive 3.5 interceptions per match:

Young, versatile and clearly talented, the Dutch international would have slotted in to the natural hierarchy of Arsenal’s squad, providing competition for Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny and extra cover at right-back.

De Vrij is already proving to be one of the best deals of summer 2014, but once again, Arsenal were nowhere to be seen as the 6 foot 3 centre-back swapped the Eredivisie for Italy. Here’s a look at de Vrij in action:

//www.youtube.com/embed/hU9JNUVik1Q?rel=0

[ad_pod id=’ricco’ align=’center’]

[ffc-quiz ]