I agree with many Gooners out there that Gael Clichy has been out of sorts in recent times.
It's a shame because he is a such a loyal player to the club and is the last link we have to the Invincible team of 2003/04.
It's hard to pinpoint the exact reason why Clichy seems to have regressed.
Maybe the current formation doesn't suit him as he doesn't seem to get a lot of protection from whoever plays in front of him.
I'd say that Gael looks a lot more comfortable in the 4-4-2 formation Arsene Wenger used to use.
So much more comfortable in fact a couple of years ago I was confident that he would one day become the best left-back in the world so I'm certain that he can't have turned into a bad player overnight.
Maybe Gael needs a time-out to recharge his batteries and get his head together.
Obviously Kieran Gibbs is next in line for the left-back slot but his injuries are so common at the moment a regular run in the side for him is impossible.
I feel for Kieran. He clearly has potential but every time he gets a chance to shine he gets injured. Despite him being injury-prone I've no doubt that he will be Arsenal and England's future left-back.
Whilst Clichy has been inconsistent and Gibbs spends a lot of time in the treatment room I think that Thomas Vermaelen could be a short term answer to the position.
Of course he is injured at present but when he recovers he could play there and a back four of Vermaelen-Djourou-Squillaci-Sagna looks very solid in my book.
There is the problem that Vermaelen is probably our best centre-back so it may seem daft to take him out of the centre of defence but surely it would tighten us up at the back?
Thomas plays left-back for Belgium quite regularly and did so for Ajax too. He is used to the position so I'm sure he would be comfortable there.
We all know he likes to get forward and Wenger encourages his full-backs to roam forward at every opportunity so he would enjoy it.
The most important aspect though in my opinion is that he defends first and obviously is a natural defender, definitely more so than Clichy and Gibbs at present.
And Arsenal need to defend better.
Keep it Goonerish.........
35 comments:
I've got to say mate, it's a splendid idea. He would provide a lot more stability and give SQ, Kos and JD a sense of security. I am a football man and didn't ever think of this, so I'm very impressed!!
oh yeh coz i centre of defence is SOOOO solid isnt it that we shud put R best defender out at LB bcoz of a coupl eof mistakes clichy has made.!..how r u even allowd to post such a statment like that is beyond me..
Arsenal fans should just give up as long as wenger is still the coach. The team hasn't evolved, they are not dynamic, and can't defend. Any great must have a defense that can carry the team on a day they are not playing well, but it seems arsenal have to outscore the opposition in every game by atleast two goals to guarantee victory, and to think that AW had all summer to sort his defence out. Its a shame really how a man that has done so much for this club, is gradually tarnishing his image.
No, Vermaelen needs to be at centre back. Kos and the Squid are not starting XI material. DJ and TV need to be starting in the middle of our shaky defense. We made record profits last season and have increased ticket prices this season. Why not solve the LB problem by buying a solid fullback, you know like legitimate clubs do?
here's a thought, how about we sort out the midfield? The midfield just don't put the work in and leave the defence horribly exposed.
how easy is it for the opposition to get to our defence? the answer, far to easily.
Monday night was a cruel exibition of just how little work the midfield do, putting the defence under constant pressure in contrast to the high work ethic of the technically inferior opponent
I've actually thought of this idea quite a lot of times! And seeing as Madrid are reportedly interested in Clichy, I don't think there is a better time to do it. If I was manager I would:
1)Do the swap deal of Benzema and Clichy.
2)I would then sell Van Persie (quality player but always injured) for around 25 million.
3)I would then buy 2 new centre backs with that money, ideally Gary Cahill and someone else with more experience, chucking in around 10 million extra if needed.
I think that will sort all of our problems out, as we will have 4 solid defenders and a prolific goal scorer which we have been missing for years.
Please pass on my tactics to Wenger, Wrighty :)
He's not even a good centre back,so why do you think he will be better at left back???
This is Raihaan again, I posted before lol.
In my previous comment I said we needed to buy Gary Cahill and another more experienced central defender. I think Per Mertesacker will be perfect as he has height, strength and experience and will be around 15 million as well.
I think Arsenal should employ me as the manager, even though I'm only 17!
clichys problem is wats in front of him...arshavin doesnt work enough when we dont hav de ball particularly against the top teams......cos of this clichy has no outlet and no cover....
This season it seems everyone is having a go at Clichy. I for one do not understand why? And these chorus always increases when we lose matches.Whenever he puts in a decent shift, no one mentions him. Initially, it was the central defenders and now its the LB.Gael in my opinion is not the problem, when he is over exposed at every turn how would you expect him to solid defensively. When, he makes those marauding runs forward no one covers for him. So, i guess he's just a fall guy for the midfield that has not been up to the scratch.Lay off the lad.
Why not put Kos there? The fact that he does not go forward much will make up for arshavin not tracking back.
Every team that uses counterattacking play against us exploits that wing.
Keep the Verms central.
IF by chance a new a new excellent central defender comes in I can see Verms moving to defensive midfield.
Lets sure up our defense.
I love the idea, and have done for a while. It does, however, depend on our signing a capable, strong and vocal defender. I really like the idea of 4 defenders that are all effectively centre-halves. My ideal back four would be -
Vermaelen Cetin Djourou Ivanovic
Alas, this won't be coming true...
the team have a ton of problems, nobody talks in the middle and you suggest taking our best defender and putting him in a place he is not the best at?
thats like saying put hleb on the wing or walcott on the wing or bendnter on the wing or arshavin as a striker
how did they work?
exactly - not very well
Wrighty,you are a TOP CLASS MORON !
I can see where you're coming from with this but think the main problem is the lack of cover in front of him, our 3 midfielders stay narrow and Arshavin dosnt track back like Nasri does on the other side. So no suprise that his form has dropped the last two seasons, we could have the best leftback in the world there but when they are constantly against 2 players what chance do they have?
so basically your idea is to keep our broken defence broken. i think maybe if a centre back needs to be placed at left bck how ab out knocielny. a quick, compposed character that is not 100% solid at right back.
If half the current squad is made up of spineless pansies with brains the size of walnuts, taking directions from a profoundly disturbed Frenchman, how does shifting one CB to LB gonna change anything in the grand scheme of affairs is beyond my comprehension. But kudos to you for trying to help our cause, less can be said of the people who ought to be doing their jobs.
i mean not solid at centre back
Vermaelen would do brilliantly in the defensive midfielder's role that Song (supposedly) plays in. Yes, he's been a left back before playing for Arsenal. But his sweet left foot (a la Petit) would be very useful as a holding midfielder.And he can crunch into those tackles.
What are you lot on?
We are starved of a decent CB - and you want our BEST CB to play out of position????
Get Clichy OUT put Gibbs IN - buy another LB and SELL CLICHY!
End of!
your a good man wrighty, hanging in there like the rest of us, hoping for the miracle that will never come. god bless you, eventually you will get round to sorting out the gunners problems, and then we will have implement the change
No way,
We need him in the centre of defence. Gibbs can come at Left back.
So let me understand you correctly...a team with one decent centre-half and 3 who would struggle to make a mid-table Championship side, should take the good guy and stick him at left back? Hmmm...I think Clichy is as useless as the next bloke, but maybe the answer is to BUY SOME DECENT F*CKING DEFENDERS!
i would love to play vermaelen at LB permanently because i think he'd do a great job but the problem is that kos and squil are not good enough to be in the first team and djourou would need an experienced leader to partner him at the back. if it were up to me i would buy chiellini and have a back five of:
szczesny
sagna djourou chiellini vermaelen
although i also think we need to teach our midfielders to track back and help out more
The problem is not Clichy but the general mediocrity in the team. Besides Nasri and Sagna noone is putting in decent performances at the moment.
Its never gonna work... We are not buying anyone in Jan and will have to stick to what we have. Which I would say is not too bad looking at the table. In My suggession, Leave clichy where he is, Get SQ out and Verminator in alongside Kos. it is more solid to me, Get Arshavin to the bench and Roc in Arshavin's position and swap him 60-70 mins later with arshavin...we will win...In Arsene we trust!!!
If i'm not mistaken, I think Vermaelen onced metioned he didn't like playing at left-back.
It's not Clichy, it's the lack of support. See DesiGunner blog about that and it's true...
actuallyit is clichy,dot you remember birmigham city, didt you see him the other night tackle ai win the ball then try asist him? flippig hell, forget aboutplaying vermiator at left back though,its either gibbs gets fit or they bring someone in
Yes, let's move our best central defender to LB.
Fucking shit idea.
Slight variation, in light of the draw. Against Barca I would play Vermaalen at left back, with Song and Kos as centre backs. Diaby, I would sit in front of them and, I mean just in front.
Paul
Yes we couls, but the reason we won't is because we have Gibbs and we need Vermaelen in CB position. Unless we recruit some other german giant....
Just think this out:
Gibbs Vermaelen Mertesacker Sagna
Schzesny/Fabianski
There are so many comments here and so many suggestions but what we really have not noticed is that Gael Clichy has to work very hard because he always works alone. He is always under pressure and he is always against more men than he can handle. he is still quite a great player. The only problem is that he never has cover and that cover is supposed to be Andre Arshavin. You guys blame Clichy too much and you let Arshavin get away with everything. Loos and see where Clichy's problems started. They started when Arshavin Arrived. Now I am not saying that Arshavin is not a good player. I am just saying that he never offers cover for Clichy and he should.
what the fuck are you peopl,e going on about
this is why i never came on the week later
clichy had 'world class Nani' in his pocket all game
so dont even fucking go there
this is what i hate about some stupid fucking fans always looking for a scapegoat
blame Sagna he had a bad game
blame the fucking fucking together theyre were too fucing scared to go foward alway going sideway
for fuck sake i used to even used to like your shitty blogs
What are you lot on? We are starved of a decent CB - and you want our BEST CB to play out of position???? Get Clichy OUT put Gibbs IN - buy another LB and SELL CLICHY! End of!
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