Ex-England Manager Terry Venables reckons Andros Townsend has the ability to make a real impact at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, according to the Evening Standard.
Townsend burst onto the international scene earlier in the month, starring in both of England’s two crucial World Cup qualifiers against Montenegro and Poland.
The form of the 22-year-old has come as a surprise to many, considering he had previously been loaned out by Tottenham on nine different occasions.
But this season has seen the winger become an important first team player under Andre Villas-Boas, and Venables reckons he can do the same for Roy Hodgson’s men.
“All those loan periods count for nothing,” Venables said.
“It didn’t matter whether he had been to one club or a hundred, the only thing he should be judged on is how he plays in any particular game.
“The fact is he has a lot of things going for him.
“Andros has fantastic awareness and his raw pace is always going to make it difficult for defenders.
“He has this ability to hug the touchline, go fast, but still have time to look up to see what he wants to hit in the middle.
“Even when he runs out of space, he has a repertoire of other crosses in his locker; cut-backs, back post, near post.
“It is still early for him but we are all excited about the future because of the performances he has put in.”
Townsend is the latest young player to emerge ahead of the World Cup, and Venables is excited about the likes of Jack Wilshere, Danny Welbeck and Daniel Sturridge competing alongside Townsend in Brazil.
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“At times people have said there are too many experienced players, at others too many young players,” he added.
“I look at that group and think it is one of the best.
“The experienced players need the legs of the younger one. The younger players need the help of the older ones.”
Arsene Wenger has always been somewhat of a transfer-sceptic. In the January window just gone, we were once again privy to the Arsenal manager’s annual condemnation of the mid-season transfer market, citing how it creates unnecessary tension amid the most taxing period of the Premier League season and often gives certain clubs an unfair advantage, using Chelsea’s sale of Juan Mata to Manchester United as a case in point.
Admittedly, Wenger has always been a manager that favours showing faith in his players over taking a gamble on the transfer market, and in the modern climate, where the Premier League spent over £650million on summer transfers alone and Real Madrid saw fit to splash out £86million on a single player in Gareth Bale, there’s certainly something loyally refreshing about that point of view.
But the current Premier League campaign is arguably the closest we’ve ever seen throughout the division, and it’s Arsenal’s first significant involvement in the English title race for the best part of a decade. So with just a single loan signing – Spartak Moscow’s Kim Kallstrom – to show for an entire month of mid-season transfer escapades, one can only ponder whether the Gunners gaffer’s lack of transfer ambition has ultimately cost the North Londoners their shot at the Premier League crown.
I’m sure I’m not the only one left rather bemused by Arsenal’s temporary acquisition of the Swedish international. Not only will Kallstrom be unavailable through a back injury until March at the earliest, but he’s not even been an automatic pick for Spartak Moscow of late. This is a player who the European elite looked at and deemed unworthy some time ago, so at the veteran age of 31, it’s surprising Wenger is now giving him a chance in the most coveted top flight in world football.
Even the Emirates boss has admitted Kallstrom is by no means an ideal signing. ” I would not have signed him if we had two or three more days to do something, but it was Friday night at five o’clock, so it was a case of you sign nobody or you do it under these conditions,” Wenger told reporters on February the 2nd.
But I have my qualms with that declaration too; admittedly, the January window never throws up ideal scenarios or the fruitful opportunities of its summer counter-part, but the Frenchman had a whole month to consider and weigh up his transfer options. Failing that critique, prior to the window opening on the turn of the year, Wenger had an entire half-season to plan, plot, scout and examine potential targets.
Most bizarrely, Kallstrom will strengthen the only department of the Arsenal first team that didn’t require immediate attention last month.
For example, the inadequacies of the North London outfit’s strikeforce is well-known. Olivier Giroud has been providing a vital service in the final third to find ten goals this season, leaving him as the club’s top scorer, and his six assists demonstrate how integral the 6 foot 4 striker has become to Arsenal’s game plan going forward.
But he’s been tremendously overworked as the only dependable front-man on the Emirates roster, starting in 24 of a possible 26 Premier League fixtures and only subbed off on seven occasions. Most tellingly in regards to his fitness however, Giroud has been benched just once before the 70 minute mark this season. Understudies Nicklas Bendtner and Yaya Sanogo are just not up to standard, and the option of playing Lukas Podolski up front is like using a square peg in a round hole.
Additionally, the loss of Theo Walcott through a six-month ACL injury lay-off could have a huge impact on Arsenal’s title plans this season. The 24 year-old had racked up five goals and four assists in nine Premier League starts.
Not only is he by far the Gunners’ most impactful substitute, but his roaring pace and penetration made the England international the perfect counterweight to Arsenal’s one-touch football, stretching the area of play and exposing gaps behind opposition defences. Barring the relatively unblooded Serge Gnabry, there is no like-minded attacking outlet in the Emirates squad.
And it’s not as if options to add to Arsenal’s striking depth of find a replacement to Theo Walcott weren’t out there this January, despite the Emirates manager often suggesting otherwise. Real Sociedad’s Carlos Vela particularly comes to mind; Arsenal still have a £4million buy-back clause on the ex-Gunner, who has bagged 35 goals and 24 assists in 91 La Liga appearances since switching to Anoeta in summer 2011.
Then there’s team-mate Antoine Griezmann, a speedy, tricky winger who has netted 14 times from the left-hand side this term. According to the tabloids, Wenger launched a £12.5million bid for the La Real star, but did not see fit to up the transfer ante and meet his £25million release clause.
Admittedly, that’s a lot of money for a 22 year-old with one campaigns’ worth of Champions League experience. But will this player be any cheaper in the summer? Unquestionably not after another stellar season, and If Wenger wanted him, he should have put some proper money on the table.
Failing that, deals could have been made for the likes of Dimitar Berbatov, Pato, Mirko Vucinic, Sebastian Giovinco, Javier Hernandez, Jefferson Farfan and Javier Pastore to name a few, not to mention £38million-rated Julian Draxler.
Money certainly wasn’t an issue in terms of availability; Arsenal still had a wealth of their summer warchest left over, and have today announced a turnover of £130million. Rather, it’s undoubtedly Wenger’s spendophobia which has stood in the way; he’s reluctant to bring in the wrong player for the wrong price, and most importantly be accused of panic-buying.
But if there’s one transfer window where the Frenchman could be forgiven for taking an ill-fated gamble, it was undoubtedly last month. As previously stated, this is Arsenal’s best opportunity to claim the Premier League title for nearly ten years, and despite Wenger’s many critics, none could have accused him of anything but optimism if he had sought to add to his Gunners’ cast in January.
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That’s not how Wenger sees it; he sees the five year plan, the ten year plan, the twenty year plan, and always maintains loyalty towards his own players. But for all his long-term strategising, one has to wonder where and when a Premier League title-winning Gunners side will actually emerge, especially whilst the Arsenal manager continues to reject the notion of pragmatic signings and only condones transfers that will guarantee value for money.
The way I see it is simple; if you have to overspend on a target to guarantee his signing, and he becomes part of a Premier League winning squad, then he’s automatically worth every penny.
But once again, Arsenal’s inevitable flaw remains – they’re a side that shows great promise, potential and quality, but they’re never fully complete. Arsene Wenger had the opportunity to bring the squad closer to its ultimate this January, but declined. At the end of the season, Gunners fans will be right to question whether their manager could have done more last month.
It takes a special kind of man to believe that the best person to replace themselves is them-self. But this appears to be exactly Sir Alex Ferguson’s thinking when it came to choosing his successor. In appointing David Moyes, Ferguson believed he had found the man who was most like himself, and therefore the obvious choice to continue his good work at Old Trafford. Tragically, it seems that in this great narcissistic act, Ferguson managed to overlook vanity.
One of the oft-quoted mantras from Ferguson’s time at Manchester United was ‘no one is bigger than the club’. However, it’s quite clear that he did not include himself in these rankings. He had established himself a position of unrivalled power within the Premier League club that is rarely seen in world football. Such was the extent of his influence that even in the corporate-driven world of modern football, no one questioned who would be in charge of picking his replacement once the venerable Scot decided to retire.
In his final speech at Old Trafford, the Scot laid heavy emphasis on the fan’s duty to support the next manager. Not the club, or the team, or the players, but the manager. For Ferguson, it seems that this was what football had come to be about: management. The sport itself was just a secondary aspect. It only mattered to the extent that it provided an arena in which he could have complete control of all aspects within it; the players, the media, the transfer dealings, the image of the club.
Anyone who didn’t like it was quickly discarded, regardless of value or talent. What mattered was that you subjugated to the control. Players became divided into two strict groups: ‘Manchester United players’ and ‘not Manchester United players’. It was possible to move from the first group to the second, but once you entered the second, there was no turning back.
Ferguson obviously felt that the most likely way to continue the success of Manchester United was to keep this structure in place. But in order to do so, he needed to find a man capable of handling the demands of such power. In looking for the criteria, Ferguson looked at himself. And then who better than David Moyes? A hard-working Scotsman, from a similarly humble background, with a fierce temperament and the requisite loyalty to create a second dynasty.
However, in choosing the man that most resembled himself, it seems Ferguson overlooked the one quality that he was indulging: vanity. Moyes is clearly not an egomaniac. He lacks the supreme confidence and infallibility necessary to fill the grand puppet master role that Ferguson created at Old Trafford. How can you be the main decision maker on all facets of a club as big as Manchester United if you do not have absolute conviction in your decisions?
That David Moyes is lacking in this complete belief is evident. His reaction to his side’s lame defeat at Olympiakos was that he ‘hoped’ for another big night at Old Trafford in the return leg. Hope? Ferguson never hoped. His teams could only lose when the world had conspired against him. Some may argue that Moyes’ confidence is just low given the rough start that he has endured at Man United. However, it’s hard not to feel that Moyes was doomed for failure from the moment he revealed that Ferguson summoned him to his house to tell him he was the next Manchester United.
Anyone with the requisite ego for the Manchester United job does not get ‘told’ anything. In the vanity of trying to pick the man who was most like himself, Ferguson failed to realise that this man was different in one very important aspect: vanity itself.
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Arsenal can’t win the Champions League. The be all and end all of qualifying for European football means nothing to those who value sporting achievement over financial gain. Arsenal are very much in Uefa’s top competition to feel the windfall of its revenue, not to challenge the best on the continent.
It’s a harsh reality that doesn’t require much digging to support its claim. Arsenal do have the resources to match the best in Europe. That’s why the club fought initially to move into the Emirates Stadium and then feed of its success, first through gate receipts and then to maximise on commercial sponsors, which we’re finally starting to see.
Arsenal far outstrip Atletico Madrid’s capabilities in building a squad. Borussia Dortmund’s wage bill of last season was smaller than QPR’s, and yet they finished as the runner-up to Bayern Munich, annihilating Real Madrid in the semi-final in Germany.
It’s the mentality that Atletico and Dortmund have that Arsenal can’t come close to. Atletico wiped the floor with AC Milan, beat Zenit and Porto in the group stages, and have now beaten Barcelona to advance to the semi-final. Arsenal don’t have that kind of mental capacity. They don’t have the organisation to hold a lead and withstand an attack that features Lionel Messi and Neymar. There is no motivation to turn over one of the biggest clubs in Europe at home.
For sporting reasons, Arsenal’s participation in the Champions League is built on the modern thinking that the competition adds prestige to a club’s name, as well as the fear that missing out for one season will result in years without top European football.
Like the struggles faced by David Moyes at Manchester United as an excuse not to change the manager at Arsenal, Liverpool’s fall out of Europe and Tottenham’s inability to build on that solitary season in the Champions League are the only two references used to tell of the importance of qualifying each and every year.
Arsenal don’t have the capacity to challenge on four fronts. They barely have the strength to do so on two. Injuries play a part, but the destruction of the squad on a year-on-year basis is the club’s own doing. Freak injury plagues occur, seen this season at Borussia Dortmund, who went the majority of the season without three of their first-choice back four. But what is happening at Arsenal can’t be dismissed or explained away as misfortune.
A year out of the Champions League for Arsenal will provide perspective. It will provide perspective to supporters who fear the unknown, just like with a change of manager. It will also provide perspective to the board and management, who seem to think that making do every season with a half complete squad will be enough; that a manager who has done it before, seemingly against the impossible, will continue to do it no matter what is going on around him at other clubs.
Investment is needed, and not just in new players. Atletico Madrid of this season and Dortmund of the past two or three years should be the models Arsenal follow. Neither of those two teams have invested or are capable of investing in the way their domestic title rivals are. For Arsenal, it’s now a matter of choice not to invest in the way Manchester City or Chelsea do.
Instead, those teams are buying into a strong idea, a footballing identity that is far more solid than what their cash reserves should allow. Diego Simeone’s players will break down walls for him; the same is true of Jurgen Klopp’s team, at least those who are have become accustomed to his coaching style.
They’re drilled to play in a way that speaks of their manager’s mindset and ideals. Atletico Madrid don’t play the prettiest football; Dortmund do and have done so. But vitally neither team can be accused of fragility. Their strengths come from in house, in terms of fitness – of which there are mountains of evidence – and the excellent and effective development of youth. At Arsenal, problems with the former has had a knock-on effect with the latter.
Like Atletico and Dortmund, the way Arsenal play and the attitudes of the players speaks of the mentality of the manager and club overall: a perceived lack of interest in bettering what’s currently available. Stagnation is rife at Arsenal, and only something as big as a drop out of Europe can change the attitude of the club.
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Arsenal may yet fall out of the top four this season, meaning a season in the Europa League is on the cards. But even that might be a distraction – and not because it should be seen as a pointless trophy.
This is not a club capable of handling four competitions with the way it is currently run. There may be comparisons to Liverpool’s season and that they’ve had the fortune of not being distracted by midweek travels around Europe, but they also have a manager who is able to adjust to what he has and bring the best out of his squad.
Arsenal may have to be forced into taking action through failure to qualify for Europe. It shouldn’t be the only option for a club of its resources, but dropping out of the Champions League can do a lot more good than bad.
While Manchester United are spending heavily to help repair the damage caused by David Moyes’ spell in charge at the club, Manchester City have kept themselves relatively quiet in the transfer market thus far.
In Willy Caballero and Bacary Sagna, they’ve signed two low-key veterans to help fill out the squad, while Porto’s Fernando will likely be a rotation option with Fernandinho.
City’s title win last season wasn’t a given, nor were they standout favourites at any stage of the season. The Jose Mourinho factor at Chelsea had many tipping them for the title at the start of the campaign, while Liverpool’s heroics during the second half of the season had them as frontrunners to land the league title. On top of that, doubts remained about Manuel Pellegrini’s credentials, or lack thereof, in taking City to the title, having never guided a team to major honours during his time in European football.
On the pitch the team didn’t always play up to the imperious feats displayed at the Etihad. Games such as the away loss to Cardiff City highlighted the defensive frailties in the side, both in goalkeeper Joe Hart and his back four.
The team’s lack of depth at centre-back also became an issue; while Martin Demichelis had to fight off his undeserved early detractors, Vincent Kompany was far more at fault for poor defensive displays throughout the season.
The problem City had in the summer following their 2012 title win was that they didn’t build on what they had. Players like Robin van Persie were chased and the team very much needed a strong midfield presence to play alongside or in place of Yaya Toure. Instead of moves that would have taken the club forward, the signings of Javi Garcia, Jack Rodwell and Scott Sinclair were even less than sidesteps, with the club failing to mount anything resembling a serious title challenge, something made even more clear following Alex Ferguson’s departure from United after landing the 2012-13 title.
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Despite their form at home for much of last season, few can say for sure City will defend their title amid the kind of strengthening taking place at Chelsea and Manchester United – the latter of which is surely not over.
Sergio Aguero had a torrid World Cup with Argentina, one which came off the back of another frustrating domestic campaign due to injury. Stevan Jovetic, similarly, struggled to get going, while there was plenty of concern that Alvaro Negredo hit only one league goal in the entire second half of the season.
If the league season isn’t a sure bet, the club are also in need of strengthening to further themselves on the European stage. The Champions League is a competition where Pellegrini has a good track record, but the loss at home to Bayern Munich displayed the gulf in class between City and the team widely considered the best in Europe.
Yaya Toure’s agent has become a nuisance more than anything of late, a fire which the club will want extinguished as quickly as possible. But it is a problem. Toure was the team’s most valuable cog in winning the league title last season in the prolonged absence of Aguero. Losing him, either altogether physically or just mentally, will have a resounding effect on the club’s efforts to retain their title.
As good as they can be, there are still holes in this side. City have a squad full of fantastic players, but it’s difficult to think of any beyond Toure and Aguero who can drag the side over the line to major silverware.
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The makeup of the behind-the-scenes staff differs from what it was two years ago, and there’s something about City’s quiet behaviour that plays to Pellegrini’s natural demeanour. But the Premier League can be unforgiving. City didn’t win the league last season because they had the best or strongest squad. Instead, they were gifted that opportunity through the self-inflicted mistakes of others. Chelsea, in particular, have moved quickly to address those shortcomings.
There is nothing certain about the state of City’s three most important players, Kompany, Toure and Aguero. But based on recent events, it could prove costly if the club set out to rely too heavily on those three individuals to see them to the top of the mountain once again.
Are you a frequent reader of footballing publication ‘The Blizzard’? Is your favourite formation Glenn Hoddle’s 3-6-1 from the early 2000s? Do you own a replica Real Mallorca shirt with ‘Hutton, 2’ printed on the back? Have you always felt that Michael Carrick, over Paul Scholes, Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard, deserved to be England’s key midfielder? Do you more frequently check the results of Icelandic top flight Pepsi-deildin than you do the Premier League?
Have you ‘always rated Danny Welbeck even when everyone thought he was dross and way before people started comparing him to Daniel Sturridge’? Then you my friend, are a football hipster.
Since signing for Arsenal on summer deadline day in a £16million deal, Danny Welbeck’s personal bandwagon has taken the nation by storm, as if the football hipsters reproduce by mitosis. His brace for England last week has only exacerbated the situation – justifying ‘long-held’ theories that a move up top would see him bang them in for fun.
Friends, foes, acquaintances, neighbours and pundits are now all fighting over credit for spotting the 23-year-old’s potential first, as if Gary Neville will come down from a spaceship, shake your hand in recognition and then beam you up to his home-planet of footballing superiority.
Not that I have anything in the slightest against Danny Welbeck. Of course, my praise for him will now be laced with hypocrisy, but even the Arsenal forward’s biggest critics would admit that he’s a decent, hard-working, earnest footballer, unfortunate to find himself competing with the likes of Wayne Rooney, Robin van Persie and Javier Hernandez at Manchester United.
Yet the drastic change in public opinion since deadline day has been nothing short of embarrassingly fickle. A few months ago, Welbeck was relegation fodder, a player who epitomised everything wrong with the England national team, someone who had earned his places for club and country by potential and apparent favouritism, rather than merit. A few months ago, Welbeck was being compared to Emile Heskey.
One headline-grabbing transfer and a decent performance against Switzerland later, suddenly Welbeck is destined for greatness. Stan Collymore believes he should be starting over Wayne Rooney for England, John Cross has labelled the £16million striker ‘the bargain of the transfer window’, whilst The Telegraph’s Jeremy Wilson, Chris Cutmore of the Daily Mail and by The Guardian’s Amy Lawrence, albeit considerably less rigorously, hypothesise Welbeck’s move to north London will trigger a Daniel Sturridge-esque transformation on his goal tally.
Pay no mind to Daniel Strurridge probably being the best finisher of his English generation. Pay no mind to him reaching 30 league goals for Liverpool faster than any player since the 1890s. Pay no mind to the fact quality finishing, throughout underwhelming spells at Manchester City and Chelsea, was always Sturridge’s stand-out characteristic, whilst Welbeck’s biggest flaw is unquestionably his inconsistency in front of goal – even the forward’s first strike for England at St. Jakob Park bounced into the net off the his shin.
I have no doubts that joining Arsenal, receiving a greater share of game time and deployment in a more suitable role will bring a higher confidence to Danny Welbeck’s game. Alas, it seems logical to suggest he’ll improve upon his return for Manchester United, 20 goals in 90 league appearances, at the Emirates.
But let us deal with realities and not potential extrapolations. The 23 year-old’s unreliability in front of goal was part of the reason, in combination with his work-rate, tactical understanding and athleticism, that he found himself more commonly out wide than up front for United. He made nearly 150 appearances in all competitions for the Red Devils, but never even came close to making that role his own.
Arsenal’s acquisition – the idea that they’ve pulled off a masterstroke by signing a player for a position he’s yet to excel in – should be viewed as a major risk. Would any other Premier League club sign Welbeck as one of their two leading strikers in a year they’re meant to be challenging for the title?
Even Arsene Wenger clearly has doubts, after revealing this morning he preferred a loan move and wouldn’t have signed the striker permanently if he was in London, as opposed to refereeing a charity match in Rome, on deadline day.
Diverse opinions are the underlying beauty of football. Everyone has a right to their own and, amid a game that’s developing, evolving and changing all the time, no opinion can be considered the absolute, impenetrable truth. It’s all a matter of perspective.
But how much of this support for Danny Welbeck is true opinion, and how much of it is simply the power of vogue? It’s almost as if genuinely enjoying Welbeck’s performances whilst he contributed just two goals in 27 appearances to United’s last successful title bid became so uncool, it’s now somehow emerged as cool again – like overpriced vintage clothing from an independent boutique that wouldn’t look out of place in your grandmother’s wardrobe. Does that really make you any more of an individual than shopping in Primark?
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If you’ve always appreciated Danny Welbeck’s talents (or rather, his lack of), then good for you. Well done – you’ve finally reached the promised land after three years of unjustifiable performances, you truly are a football hipster.
But, if deep down, like the rest of us, the prevailing pleasure Welbeck has given you in that same time period is the licence to heckle your television, bemoaning every misplaced pass for England, every squandered opportunity for Manchester United, whilst regularly commenting on his inadequacies not just as a winger, but as a goal-scorer, only to completely u-turn this opinion because of the positive reaction to his Arsenal move in the British press and Media, then shame on you – there’s nothing worse than a football hipster than a wannabe football hipster.
Then again, in this modern age of world-wide exposure to every player in every league, irreverent statistics and 24-hour football news channels, whether we like it or not, to echo John Prescott in 1997; perhaps we’re all football hipsters now.
With the future of Glen Johnson still unknown, it is tipped that he will be leaving Anfield either in January or once his contract expires at the end of the current campaign with Roma keen on acquiring his services.
It is likely that Brendan Rodgers will want to cash in on the England right-back before losing him for free so that he can use his sale in the hopes of reinforcing his wing back role as well as his shaky defence.
So, if Johnson decides to depart during the upcoming transfer window, here are five possible replacements Rodgers should consider when preparing his team for the second half of the season.
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Mattia de Sciglio
//www.youtube.com/embed/Ych46xXpu3o
Name: Mattia de Sciglio
Age: 22
Position: Right / Left Back
Nationality: Italy
Club: AC Milan
Price: £10 – £15 million
Mattia de Sciglio should be a strong contender to replace Glen Johnson as he has already featured for the Italian national team on 17 occasions despite being only 22; he still has so much room for improvement and could very well become the next long term Liverpool right back.
He surely has the potential due to the fact that La Liga giants Real Madrid are also monitoring his situation so Brendan Rodgers may need to act fast with the January window closing in.
Dani Alves
//www.youtube.com/embed/AgWpBqV708I
Name: Dani Alves
Age: 31
Position: Right Back
Nationality: Brazil
Club: Barcelona
Price: £6 – £8 million
Although Dani Alves is already 31, he is still regarded as a quality right back with huge experience due to his trophy-filled years playing at Barcelona. He is sometimes criticised for his lack of defensive contributions, but he definitely makes up for that with his ability to attack, scoring and creating goals as though he was a winger.
Tipped to leave the Catalan giants in the near future, Liverpool face though competition from Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United, and Chelsea, all of whom are interested in adding him to their ranks for a cut-price deal.
Stephan Lichtsteiner
//www.youtube.com/embed/e25IrtVb9BI
Name: Stephan Lichtsteiner
Age: 30
Position: Right Back
Nationality: Switzerland
Club: Juventus
Price: £8 – £10 million (asking price)
The experienced Stephan Lichtsteiner could be a great addition for Liverpool with his high work rate as well as his attacking and defensive qualities. He is a type of player who is never scared to get stuck in and make last ditch tackles and is often seen playing further up, sometimes like a winger.
Last season he managed to score two goals and provide eight in 24 starts for Juventus and is well on his way to replicating his form again this season, netting two and creating four in his nine starts.
Martin Montoya
//www.youtube.com/embed/VGa-SuCkQVw
Name: Martin Montoya
Age: 23
Position: Right / Left Back
Nationality: Spain
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Club: Barcelona
Price: £16 million (buyout clause)
Another young right back Liverpool can consider is Barcelona’s Martin Montoya, a player that has already proven his quality despite very limited playing time at the Camp Nou. Since Brendan Rodgers is still unsure who his usual wing back pairing are, the ability for him to play on both sides on the defence can be seen as a huge boost.
Having only made one appearance this season and just 12 last season, a possible switch to Anfield could mean that he is given a lot more regular first team opportunities, increasing his chances of a bigger role for his national side.
Nathaniel Clyne
//www.youtube.com/embed/kTzoYIBfhGA
Name: Nathaniel Clyne
Age: 23
Position: Right Back
Nationality: England
Club: Southampton
Price: £14 – £18 million
Having already bought three Southampton players during the summer, Liverpool may regret not signing Nathaniel Clyne as well because he is now currently seen as England’s best right back. He featured in all 11 matches for the Saints this season and is enjoying his football as his team now sit in second place of the Premier League.
Due to his recent call-up to the national team as well as his rise in form, Ronald Koeman knows that interest in Clyne is on the rise as he is urging the club to offer him a new deal in order to make sure he stays. However, with Brendan Rodgers needing a quality right back, there is no better Englishman for the job.
Chelsea have long been linked with Roma’s Mattia Destro, but it’s now emerged that Arsenal are firmly in the battle. The Italian is one of his nation’s most highly-rated forwards, and has once again been in decent form for his side of late by notching four Serie A goals.
However, we think Arsenal should avoid Destro, and here are FIVE reasons why…
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Better options out there…
Even though Destro boasts a decent record in Italian football, there are better options out there for around £20m. West Brom’s Saido Berahino is likely to come in at a similar value, while a fee of around £10m more would land Gonzalo Higuain from Napoli. Both players are more likely to compete with Danny Welbeck for a guaranteed starting berth, while the Baggies ace can also operate from the flank.
No better than Danny Welbeck
Football – Arsenal v Galatasaray – UEFA Champions League Group Stage Matchday Two Group D – Emirates Stadium, London, England – 14/15 – 1/10/14Arsenal’s Danny Welbeck looking dejectedMandatory Credit: Action Images / Andrew CouldridgeEDITORIAL USE ONLY.
As mentioned before, Destro would probably not be a significant upgrade on Welbeck. The Italian’s strengths are present in the 18-yard box, while, as unglamorous as it may sound, ‘Welbz’ offers energy and industry through runs into the channel. His assist for Alexis Sanchez at Swansea was a prime example of the threat the Englishman brings with his selfless playing style.
May not adapt to English football
On the most part Italian strikers have struggled to transfer their abilities across the to the English game. The pace and intensity, although a little cliché, in the Premier League differs from Serie A, and while Gianfranco Zola and a few other have thrived, Mario Balotelli and Fabio Borini’s struggles at Liverpool right now illustrate the very opposite end of the spectrum.
A central midfielder/centre-back is a more pressing concern
While attracting a striker would be a massive boost for the Gunners, snapping up a centre-back or holding midfielder look to be priorities for Arsene Wenger. A lack of depth at the back has been ruthlessly exposed by injuries so far this term, while the energy now missing from Mikel Arteta’s game is a problem in the engine room. The likes of Fabian Schar and Virgil van Dijk are cost-effective options at the heart of the rearguard, while Christoph Kramer is a rumoured target for the centre of midfield.
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Joel Campbell deserves a chance
After his World Cup heroics over the summer, it seemed a certainty that Campbell would be given his chance this season. However the Costa Rican has barely been given any playing time, leading to inevitable links with a January move away from the club. Campbell has been a Gunners player since 2011, but work permit issues forced a series of loan deal. Now eligible, surely he’s earned a shot?
Tonight was the French U21’s 19th compeittive appearance for the Gunners and, finally, after so many memes, vines and jokes about the hapless striker, Yaya Sanogo found the back of the net for Arsene Wenger’s side! And after just 73 seconds!
Arsenal are learning
When Alexis Sanchez doubled Arsenal’s lead, you could sense the world of football hold its breath, as they waited to see whether the Gunners would take note of their recent capitulation against Anderlecht and, instead of going gung-ho for the third, they’d instead retreat, relax and see out the game. Thankfully, they did the latter and comfortably saw out the three points.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has the world at his feet
It is quite incredible that tonight’s game against Dortmund was the England international’s 100th appearance for Arsenal; he turned in another impressive display and that will excite the Gunners faithful, and also followers of the Three Lions.
Queens Park Rangers (4-4-2): Green, Isla, Dunne, Caulker, Hill, Vargas, Barton, Mutch, Fer, Zamora, Austin
Queens Park Rangers have only two major injury concerns with Alejandro Faurlin and Yun Suk-Young both unable to feature whilst Sandro and former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand are still a doubt. This means Richard Dunne will start alongside Steven Caulker while new loan signing Mauro Zarate may only have a place on the bench. The injury to Suk-Young will mean Clint Hill is likely to get the knod to start ahead of Armand Traore. Harry Redknapp looks to use the aerial abilities of both Charlie Austin and Bobby Zamora to cause problems for United’s back line.
Manchester United (3-5-2): De Gea, Jones, Smalling, Blind, Valencia, Fellaini, Carrick, Di Maria, Shaw, Falcao, Rooney
Manchester United’s injury crisis is almost over with Ashley Young the only major concern for Louis van Gaal while Marcos Rojo, Rafael, and Robin van Persie are still a doubt for the trip to Loftus Road. Luke Shaw, Daley Blind, and Marouane Fellaini all featured in last week’s lost to Southampton and could be used once again for the clash with Queens Park Rangers. Louis van Gaal looks to continue his 3-5-2 formation, but with the ankle injury to van Persie, he could move Wayne Rooney back to his usual strikers role alongside Radamel Falcao while Angel di Maria is dropped back into a more midfield role.
What the fans are saying…
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Earlier this season in the reverse fixture, Manchester United kept a clean sheet over Queens Park Rangers with a 4-0 victory. Both teams need to win this match as Louis van Gaal must keep pace with the top four while Harry Redknapp’s job is said to be on the line.