World Football Postulant

Cesc Fabregas may not have directly contributed to any of Arsenal’s goals, but it is no coincidence that the Gunners played their best match of the season on the day the Spanish midfielder returned to the lineup.  With Fabregas out for the first two matches of the season, Arsenal scored one goal in two games, had a 186 minute scoreless streak, and split matches against clubs expected to finish near the bottom of the table.  On Saturday, Arsenal handed a quality Newcastle United team their first lost of the season, posting a 3-0 scoreline that did not do the Gunners’ form justice.

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Like Armand Traore loan to Portsmouth last week, Philipe Senderos has become a happy casualty of Arsene Wenger’s mysterious fascination with Mikael Silvestre. The 23-year-old Swiss center back has been loaned out to Milan for the year after falling to sixth on the Arsenal depth chart.   At Milan, Senderos will have a chance a meaningful playing time, as a combination of injury, age, and lack of quality will put him into the mix.  He has to be encouraged by the move.

For Arsenal, getting Senderos a year’s playing time at an elite club while retaining his rights is good development for what’s still a young player. I am not a big fan of Senderos, but he has all the physical skills, even if he does seems to rarely use them. He had a horrible game in the second match of the Champions League quarterfinals, an unforgettable match which saw Ryan Babel draw that miracle penalty (oh, how I wish I had this blog back then) which put the Gunners out. He immediately lost his spot at the back to Alexander Song and looks unlikely to regain Arsene Wenger’s confidence.

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Arsenal spent Saturday’s visit to Craven Cottage showing why so many were reluctant to pick their talented side to improve upon last year’s third place finish, because although they were playing without their best player (Cesc Fabregas), they still had by far the most talented side on the field when they took on Fulham in one of their London derbyies.  Yet Arsenal were rendered impotent by what is expected to be a relegation-embattled club, rarely challenging Fulham goalie Mark Schwarzer and allowing a team that spent last week recovering from wounds inflicted by a promoted club to beat a team what is supposed to be one of the best and deepest sides in the world.  If that sounds melodramatic, it is nowhere near as theatrical as these three words:  Fulham beat Arsenal.

It was their second win over Arsenal in the forty-three years.

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With Mikael Silvestre now second in line at Arsenal’s left back position, 18-year-old Armand Traoré has been loaned out to Portsmouth, where he will be Hermann Hreidarsson’s understudy.

With Portsmouth being a four competition team this year, Hreidarsson’s age (34), and Harry Redknapp probably eager to evaluation Traoré for a permanent move, the French teenager will get ample playing time.  With all of Arsenal’s injuries last season, Traoré got 12 all-competition appearances.  He should get around that many this season should Hreidarsson not be injured.  That would be around ten more appearances than he would have got at Arsenal.

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This is truly kicking somebody when they’re down, but today’s events need to be looked at from Manchester City’s perspective.

First, Djibril Cisse slips through their fingers after Sunderland swoops in and Marseille decides to deal him as soon as possible.  I get the feeling that Sunderland was willing to just take him, as soon as possible, and was more persistent after this weekend when Cisse’s benching made it clear has was about to go.  I can’t help but feel Manchester City’s organizational turmoil prevented them from making a quick decision on bringing in Cisse and his salary.

Second, Mikael Silvestre.  This one is much more mundane, which is why it may hurt even more.  City was about to get Silvestre from Manchester United, who have been trying to find a home for him all summer.  Right as they are ready to bring him in, Arsenal and Arsene Wenger decide they need more depth.  Silvestre was so close to making this deal that he has to call City and apologize for going to Arsenal.

So you have these two issues, another striker injury this weekend, the UEFA cup and open day loses, Tkashin Shinawatra not returning to Thailand, and that soft hum of Ronaldinho using them still audible in the background.

Mark Hughes is staying, Jô will be back soon, but yeesh:  What a difference a year makes.

It is the first time Arsene Wenger and Alex Ferguson have done business, the first time Ferguson’s done business with Arsenal, and the first time since 1974 Arsenal and Manchester United have directly exchanged players.  It took the power of Mikael Silvestre to get it done.

Silvestre was once a regular with Manchester United but injuries and replacements have rendered him a virtual non-factor on the Red Devil roster.  Now that he is healthy, he wants playing time, but he had to move elsewhere to get it.  In doing so, the French defender forgoes his opportunity for a testimonial, have been at the club since 1999.

The fee Arsenal paid was undisclosed, but it couldn’t be much.  Silvestre’s contract was such that it prevented moves to Roma and Bordeaux earlier this summer, both clubs wanting to work out a loan agreement.  That Arsenal was willing to take on Silvestre and sign him to a two year deal may have persuaded Ferguson to make history.

For the Gunners, he may get some infrequent starts with William Gallas in the middle, though he will likely be the understudy for Gael Clichy on the left as well as Wenger’s center backs.  It is still difficult to see the 31-year-old getting much time, but you never know.  Wenger has an affinity for his fellow Frenchmen, with Silvestre becoming the seventh on Arsenal’s roster.

Silvestre had also been linked to Manchester City and Paris St. Germain.

Links
Silvestre seals shock Arsenal switch
Arsenal sign Silvestre - reports
Gunners swoop for Silvestre
Defender Silvestre leaves Man United for rivals Arsenal
Arsenal signs defender Silvestre from Man United
Official - Arsenal Sign Mikael Silvestre
Arsenal sign Man Utd’s Silvestre
Arsenal sign Silvestre
Arsenal hijack Silvestre move
Arsenal scupper City’s bid for United’s star

Arsenal opened the season with an unimpressive 1-0 victory over West Brom Albion today, holding the one goal lead for 86 minutes after Samir Nasri (right) scored almost immediately after making his Premier League debut.

The stories after the match hail Nasri’s contribution, another example of looking too hard at the score sheet, not enough at the play.  It’s a habit a lot of us get into.  You can’t watch every match.  But most watched this one, which makes the praise being thrown at the young French star curious.

Nasri played well today, but it wasn’t a dominant match.  The only player on the pitch who was close to dominant for Arsenal was Gael Clichy (right, second picture), who continues to make his case as to why he is the best left back in the world (and Raymond Domenech is a curious fellow for barely using his for France).  Nasri’s fourth minute goal was the result of some sharp play up the left side from Clichy and Denilson.  Clichy played a ball towards the touch line right of goal.  Denilson beat West Brom to it, put a ball back to the trailing Nasri who had a very easy goal when West Brom’s center backs failed to read the play correctly.

For the rest of the match (save some flash in possession in towards the end), Nasri was indistinguishable from the rest of Arsenal’s club, a team that showed little desire to secure the match after being foiled in a deliberate attack through the initial twenty minutes.  After West Brom weathered an opening onslaught, through which they looked utterly star-struck, Arsenal barely threatened.  They were still ambitious in their play, but they rarely tested WBA netminder Scott Carson.

Much of Arsenal’s ineffectiveness could again be placed at the feet of Emmanuel Adebayor (right, third picture).  The Togoan was not bad today.  In fact, he was the defining aspect of a Gunner attack that constantly fed through balls between WBA right back and right-center.  Adebayor exploited that slot, established a left-side attack that was bolstered by Clichy, but always seemed to do one, subtle miscue to prevent Arsenal from having a real opportunity.  Often he was too conservative, making a meaningless pass instead of shooting.  Other times he read the play wrong or gave away a good opportunity with a bad touch.  For every nice piece of skill or athleticism he exhibited - and there were plenty of those - there was a touch that would remind you of last season and all the complaints Gunners’ backers held in April and May.

More than mere decision-making problems, Adebayor missed two chances that you would expect a striker of his stature to convert.  Arsenal should have put more distance between them and Albion, and Adebayor is the main reason why they did not.

Arsenal was playing without Cesc Fabregas and elected not to start Robin van Persie or Kolo Touré, so Arsene Wenger was clearly confident in his side’s ability to get three points from the newly-promoted in their Emirates opener.  Albion, however, showed why they look to avoid the drop.  They were overwhelmed against an Arsenal team that exploited  what was a porous back line, yet they still showed an ability to create opportunities that almost drew them even in the fiftieth minute.  Work initiated by Ismael Miller led to Manuel Almunia being beaten before an Arsenal defender cleared the ball off the line.

Miller, in particular, should be able to score goals in this league.  He showed an athleticism and persistence that will serve him well throughout the year, and while he tried some skills which will not work against the more seasoned defenders of the Premiership, he looks capable of adjusting.  If Tony Mowbray will finally play he and Roman Bednar (who didn’t play until the last quarter of the match) together in a 4-4-2 (as opposed to the 4-3-3/4-5-1 they played today), they will be able to better exploit the half of the table against whom they can be expected to get points.

My highlight of the match was seeing Bacary Sagna (right, fourth picture) and Gael Clichy playing together again.  Sagna missed the last two months of last season with an ankle injury.  When he’s playing, Arsenal has the best pair of backs on the outside in the world.  Because Arsenal elected to play up the left side more than the right, Sagna was not on the ball as much as Clichy, but in his opportunities, has was just as brilliant.  A rifle left footed shot off a ball coming out of the West Brom area in the first half almost gave him his first goal since the match in which he was injured, but a Brom defender was able to get in front of the ball.

If William Gallas plays throughout the season as he did today, he, Clichy, and Sagna could least Arsenal to a much improved back line.

Note: This post will be edited for posting to American Soccer Reader.

Links
Nasri gives Arsenal winning start
Arsenal kick off new season with win over WBA
Arsenal 1-0 West Brom
Gallas pleased with opening win
Player Ratings: Arsenal 1-0 West Bromwich Albion
Arsenal fail to impress despite Nasri’s winning debut goal
Arsenal v West Brom stats&ratings
Arsenal win opening game of the season
Nifty Nasri sparks Gunners’ bid
Arsenal 1-0 West Brom
Arsenal kick off new season with win over West Brom
Nasri strike sinks battling Baggies

Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fábregas came out of Monday’s training with a hamstring injury which will keep him out of action for two weeks.  In addition to missing Wednesday’s Champions League match with the Netherland’s FC Twente, the Gunners’ star midfielder will miss Arsenal’s Premiership opener Saturday against West Bromwich Albion.

Although it is possible he could return sooner, the club’s quoted timeframe will also see the Spaniard miss their visit their match at Fulham on August 23.

Even without Fábregas, Arsenal will be heavy favorites in all their matches over the next two weeks thanks to a fortunate Champions League draw and arguably the easiest opening schedule in the Premiership.

What looked like a lucky turn when the schedule was released now seems particularly fortuante given Arsenal’s mounting injuries.  In addition to Fábregas, Arsenal will be without eight other first team players.

Tomas Rosicky and Eduardo de Silva are still recovering from long-term injuries incurred last season.  Abou Diaby and recent Portuguese signee Amaury Bischoff have also suffered injuries which will have them out for prolonged periods of time.

Celebrated acquisition Samir Nasri did not travel to the Netherlands due to a knee injury.  Kolo Touré is suffered from a hip problem.  Center back Philippe Senderos has a hamstring problem, and center back/midfielder Alexander Song is with the Cameroon team in Beijing.

With so many injuries, Arsene Wenger will have few tactical options in the midfield and at the back when his Gunners take the pitch on Wednesday.  Seventeen-year-old Aaron Ramsey will likely start in midfield, making his Arsenal competitive debut after being acquired from Cardiff City this summer.  He will play in the middle with 20-year-old Brazilian Denilson, with Theo Walcott and Emmanuel Eboue out wide.

At the back, Gael Clichy, Bacary Sagna, and William Gallas will take their normal places, but with Senderos and Touré both likely unavailable, 21-year-old Johan Djourou, who spent most of last season on loan at Birmingham City, is likely to start.

Expect Emmanuel Adebayor and Robin van Persie to start up top with Manuel Alumnia in goal.

FC Twente finished fifth in last season’s Eredivisie but took the league’s second Champions League spot after winning the Dutch League’s playoff for the bid.  The club is coached by former England coach Steve McClaren, who spent five seasons as coach at Middlesbrough before being named coach of the national team.

This article was posted to World Football Postulant in preparation for American Soccer Reader.

Links
Fábregas  out as Arsenal hit by injury crisis
Wenger turns to Ramsey as injury woes continue
Arsenal missing Fabregas for qualifier
Fabregas joins injury list
Fabregas blow rocks Arsenal
Arsenal’s Fabregas misses FC Twente clash

Le Championnat, the French football championship, starts this Saturday, marking the beginning to the European club season.

Because of Euro 2008 and the Olympics, the off-season has been squeezed on both sides, making for a much shorter down period than many would have liked.  I, however, can not wait for the season to start, and if you remember the circumstances behind Lyon’s seventh consecutive championship, their quest for their eighth can not start soon enough.

Bordeaux, under new coach Laurent Blanc, transcended the gap between Lyonnais and the rest of the table.  They sat only two points back of the champions on the last weekend of the season.  In that 38th round, Lyon beat Paris St. Germain while Bordeaux tied Lens, giving the holders a four point gap.  It was a gap that near evaporated after Blanc’s side went undefeated in their last nine, with six wins.  Bordeaux had improved by eighteen points while Lyon only slipped by two, foreshadowing a 2008-09 rivalry that will define the season.

While the dominant summer story line has been Lyon’s quest for eight, it bears wondering why Bordeaux can not challenge for the title again.  Their goal differential last season was +27, indicative of a team that was getting by on talent over timing.  They bring back their team in tact, ready to shoot down Lyon, while having added young, star forward Yoan Gouffran from Caen.

My predictions for Ligue 1 will come later today, but if you are looking upon France football from a far and seeing a one team league, consider the first of ten reasons why you should follow this season’s Championnat.

1.  Lyon will be pushed for the title

Bordeaux is not going anywhere.  With a year’s experience chasing Lyon and a little more firepower, they will be as strong.  Blanc’s side took 0 of 6 possible points from Lyon last season.  If they can come up with one win (or draw both matches), the four point gap is closed.  They do not need to improve that much to take the title.

Lyon has responded to this threat be restructuring their team.  They let center back Sebastien Squillaci move to Sevilla, goalie Gregory Coupet go to Atlético Madrid, and famously sold Hatem Ben Arfa to Marseille.  All of these players have been replaced, and in the case of the first two, Lyon’s taken the opportunity to get younger.  How the new additions fit into the squad Claude Puel, in his first season managing Lyon, designs will determine whether Lyon can maintain the league while continuing to push for European success.

No matter if you are looking for continued Lyon excellence or toward Bordeaux to snap the string, it will be a story to follow into May.

2.  Karim Benzema

Karim Benzema (pictured) has been knocked this summer for a Euro 2008 performance that was perceived as disappointing.  I even saw a list that held his two games amongst the most disappointing aspects of the European Championships, a claim that made my jaw drop.  Benzema was playing out of position for a manager who did not favor him.  A classic lead striker, Benzema was lined-up to accomdate the legend Thierry Henry.  Watch Benzema this season and you will see a player who should be accomodating nobody.

Follow Lyon and you will see a player that deserves his reputation.  At 21, he is clearly the best player in the league and probably the best player at his age in the world.  While he has gotten by to this point in his career on his superior athletic ability, he has continued to develop his technical ability and is on the verge of being a player who is consistently considered for World Footballer of the Year.

Get in near the ground floor on Benzema so you will be able to put his career and the French national team’s impending rise into context.

3.  League of Young Stars

Le Championnat has developed Benzema and has readied Samir Nasri for Arsenal.  They are only two of a series of French stars that are coming through the ranks.  The France national team disappointed at Europe 2008 with a series of aged stars.  The squad will reload for South Africa off the prospects blooming in Ligue 1 - prospects who can match technical ability with the youth of any country in the world.

4.  Overall quality is right below the big three

There is this mild misconception that the Bundesliga is the fourth best league in Europe, and while there is no way to prove otherwise, I will argue this point with anybody:  France has the fourth best football league on the continent.  The success of their clubs in Europe can back up this claim, as can watching the games.  The technical ability on display in France can be compared (if not favorably, then closely) to that of Spain and Italy.  The league lacks the athletes present in La Liga and Serie A.  The league is nowhere near as fast and demanding as the Premiership,and it does not have the same drawing power as any of the big three.  But as far as quality of play technically, France is top shelf.

The league is ranked fourth in UEFA coefficients (and has been for a while), one spot above Germany; five above the Eredivisie.

I’m just saying.

5.  Looking for the next, non-big three Champions League winners

It’s been almost five years since Jose Mourinho led FC Porto to the Champions League title.  Since then, the big three have had a stranglehold on the Champions League, with teams from outside their leagues rarely showing well in the knock-out phases.  It has become a quest to identify which club from other leagues might break back through.  When you look around for candidates, Porto, the Bundesliga’s Bayern Munich, and Lyon jump out.

To a greater extent than even Munich, Lyon is turning their attention to Europe.  Winning seven titles in a row will tempt you to do that.  Last year, they lost 1-0 on aggregate in the Champions League Round of 16 to eventual champions Manchester United.  Because they were drawn against United and knocked out so early, fans forget how good their team was.

This season, they have brought in Puel with the mandate to make Lyon a player on the continent.   As the team adjusts its goals, maintains one of the strongest midfields on the continent, and continues to groom Benzema as a player that can steal matches, Lyon will grow as a threat to the continent’s mega-clubs.

6.  For a broader Europe

As the big three leagues have continued to grow in power, wealth, and influence, us fans have seen our exposure to the great leagues in Germany, Holland, and Portugal dwindle.  Russia’s performance in Euro 2008 with a team made-up exclusively of Russian Premier League players reminded the world:  There are many places around the world where good football is being played.

French football has not been overlooked like the leagues in Russia or Brazil, but their exposure is more like that of those leagues than the big three.  Supporting Le Championnat, the Bundesliga, the Eredivisie, and the Portuguese Liga helps broaden the game and, depending on how you view the implications of that, improves the sport by increasing its scope.

7.  African presence in Le Championnat

The benefits of increasing the exposure of these leagues:  diversity.  As fans, we get exposed to more players - different players, different styles.  It really excentuates the beauty of the game, to see how many different styles and forms can be employed to play the same, simple game.

In France, one product of diversification is the African influence.  France’s history in northern Africa has led to a pipeline of African talent being recruited into Le Championnat. Some teams within Ligue 1 will have more than half of their starting XI made up of players with African origins.

The same multi-cultural spirit that’s defined the French national team over the last decade is seen throughout the French league.

8.  The rebirth of Paris St. Germain

One of the interesting aspects of the French league is the lack of clubs in the country’s largest city.  Paris St. Germain is the capital’s club, yet lest season they were almost relegated, needing a run of play over the last rounds to finish in sixteenth.  They found themselves in this precarious position despite winning the Coupe de la Ligue and qualifying for this year’s UEFA Cup.

Their plight and their wont to recover has drawn the attention of a number of expatriate Frenchmen, including Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger and captain William Gallas.  While that Gunner duo will not be in Paris this season, the club was able to convince icon Claude Makélélé to trade Chelsea for PSG to close out his career.  Former Roma winger Ludovic Guily has also returned to try and reestablish the club, hoping to make last season look more anomaly than pattern.

9.  It is the first league out of the gate

If you are like me and do not need a summer break, then the club season can not start soon enough.  Le Championnat is the first of the big leagues to start.  The Bundesliga and Premiership start next weekend, which gives us a whole week to either love French football or over-scrutinize the big three league.

I vote for France.

10.  World Football Postulant will follow Le Championnat with you

Throughout the year, I plan to post match predictions and reviews on Le Championnat, even if time constraints have help me from watching as much as I would like.  It is always more fun following a league with somebody else, so let’s do this together.  Stay with WFP all season long as we follow these and all the other story lines which evolve from one of the best leagues in the world.

Together, we will either become experts on Le Championnat or be berated by an expert who finds us.  I’m looking forward to both possibilities.

Later today, I will be posting my season predictions, as well as may picks for the first weekend of the season.  Please post your own predictions and picks, and we can hold each other to them as the season progresses.

Welcome back, football.  Welcome back, football fans.

The good news for Arsenal is that most of their summer transfer drama is over. They have finished Arsene Wenger’s bargain shopping tour (which always seems to work out well) and after losing Mathieu Flamini in May, did not lose anybody irreplaceable (apologies to Alexander Hleb, your shoes will be filled).   The return to health of many vital cogs will lift the Gunners as the year moves on.  Though they still have the empty space Flamini’s eastern journey left, Arsenal has said they may be done shopping.  In addition to the good news of the team being mostly set, Arsenal has a squad that can compete in the Premiership, with their attack being left in tact, if not bolstered.

The bad news is that their attack not changing means Emmanuel Adebayor will return.

Adebayor is a world-class talent, to be sure, even if last year’s goal total (30) exaggerates his contributions. If his tally fell to below twenty he would still be a valuable part of the Arsenal team, his physical stature and ability to push the back line providing a needed dimension. With Robin van Persie due to be healthier, Carlos Vela in the fold, Nicklas Bendnter and Theo Walcott’s improvements, the acquisition of Samir Nasri and the returns of Eduardo de Silva and Tomas Rosicky (it really is an embarrassment of riches at the Emirates), Wenger will have no problem finding players who can pick up for the ten to 15-goal-drop Adebayor should encounter.  Adebayor had 36 goals in his six year career before Cesc Fabregas’s improvement helped him to his remarkable season.  It may be too much to expect replication.

As long as Arsenal has Fabregas performing at an elite level and can surround him with talent, players like Adebayor are expendable. That Arsenal was not about to cash-in on a £25 to £30 payday is the bad news. Adebayor could easily be replaced from within, or the money could have been used to upgrade a number of positions.  Flamini has yet to be adequately replaced, and some would like Arsenal to admit their center backs could be better. Both of those problems could have been addressed with the money Wenger would have gotten from Barcelona or AC Milan.

Even sell him to Chelsea and hope that the Blues use that as reason to get rid of Didier Drogba, the player whose two goals in last season’s reverse-fixture helped ruin the Gunners’ league campaign.

Wenger may value Adebayor much higher than most. Either that or he misjudged what Barça would be willing to pay. Instead, Wenger has given Adebayor a contract extension which will run until 2012, doubling his pay rate to £80,000 per week. Both sides were effusive yesterday in announcing the deal, happy that they could put this summer behind them and concentrate on the season.

Wenger’s happiness not withstanding, Arsenal fans have not forgotten or forgiven so quickly. Adebayor was booed at home when Arsenal faced Juventus today in the Emirates Cup. Perceived now as ungrateful and greedy, Adebayor will have to win back the hearts of Arsenal fans who had already started to turn on him after his poor showings in the second half of last season were blamed for Arsenal’s failings in the Premiership and Champions Leagues. The respect the supporters have for Wenger’s evaluations might not be enough, in the short term, to make Gunner fans forget that the Togoan seemed willing to go everywhere and anywhere for a raise.

Contrasted with those feelings, £25 million in Arsene Wenger’s hands looks pretty good. The increasingly moody Adebayor, who this summer expressed disappointment with how he was received at the end of last season, would be best to let the impending criticism run off his back. Give effort on the pitch, regardless of whether that leads to goals, and you will win the fans back. But in the interim, you will not be winning any fan’s player of the year awards.

We must live with the decisions we make, as confusing as that can be when you re-sign with a club you spent all summer trying to leave.

This article will be edited and posted to American Soccer Reader at some point today.

Quotes

“Now I can tell everyone that yes, I will sign a contract.” - Adebayor
‘When I was on holiday I never went on to the internet, I never read the newspapers, so to be honest I was with my family so my phone was off, so I didn’t know what was happening.  When I came back I realised what was happening - but, you know, the thing has happened already so now the most important thing is behind me and I will show everyone this club has given me a lot of things.” - Adebayor
“I have four more years’ contract. I am very happy that we have found a solution to stay here and my heart is with Arsenal.” - Adebayor
“All I have to do is play my football and I know the fans always love me, so there is no reason to not love me anymore because I am still here.” - Adebayor

Links

Another preseason setback for Arsenal
Ade booed as Arsenal are beaten
Adebayor has change of heart on Arsenal future
Adebayor jeered as Arsenal ensure another pre-season setback
Adebayor signs new Arsenal deal
Ade extends Gunners stay
Wenger sees off Barcelona and Milan to sign Adebayor for four more years
Adebayor agrees to sign new Arsenal deal
My heart is with Gunners, says Adebayor
Adebayor to extend Arsenal deal through 2012
Adebayor staying at Arsenal
Adebayor says he’s staying at Arsenal
Adebayor vows to stay at Arsenal
I will sign new contract says Adebayor
Adebayor sticking with Gunners
Adebayor says he is staying at Arsenal