Not Ugly Enough
There is also Diaby and Rosicky to come back soon. One caller pointed out that Song was highly rated in both the African Nations Cup and the Olympics. He had rave reviews in both competitions but some Arsenal fans do not seem to have noticed that.
However Groves argued that Arsenal needed a big Ugly Centre Half (apparently Silvestre is not ugly enough), by that he meant a big man prepared to attack the ball and be first to the tackle. Arsenal are caught out too often on corners and free kicks. He believes that Gallas and Toure are too similar; they both like to play the ball out from the back. He also felt that Silvestre and Djourou would not compensate for not having a big and ugly CB.
To my mind it is unlikely that Wenger will go big and ugly, he likes defenders who can play and add to the team's attacking dimension. Without doubt there are problems in the defence and they need addressing. But before we chuck the baby out with the bathwater it is worth remembering that Gallas and Toure were as good a pairing as any in the Premiership for over half of last season.
After Toure returned from the ACN the pairing never re-established itself. Maybe Toure was tired by the length of his season, and putting him at right back made matters even worse. I assume Wenger believes he can get the pair playing at top form again. If Wenger is right about that, and Groves is right about the midfielders then Arsenal may continue to overachieve.
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Quote:AJ The Gunner
time will tell.if we under achieve again this season then wenger should be blamed.