On Monday, July 4^th, the last of the Championship Medal winners from Arsenal’s “Invincibles” of 2003-04 left the club.  Incredibly (and sadly), the 2011-12 season will start in August with Arsenal employing no players at the club who have won a Premier League Championship Medal for Arsenal.

French International Gael Clichy, Arsenal’s first-choice left-back since the beginning of the 2006-07 season, is headed to the blue half of Manchester in a deal worth a reported seven million pounds.  With his departure, there are no more remnants of the team that went undefeated throughout an entire Premier League season. Though he wasn’t first-choice on that squad, this does signal the end of an era at Arsenal.

Here’s hoping the next great era is about to begin.

Patrolling the Left

Gael Clichy was a great servant to the North London club and spent eight seasons with Arsenal. Clichy worked hard and never lacked for effort on the pitch.  He was rarely unavailable through injury and was a stalwart at the left-back position.  His above-average pace and keen ability to intercept passes were vital to the Gunner’s success in recent seasons.

Clichy was the youngest Medal Winner on a Premier League Champion when he played in 12 games for Arsenal during the 2003-04 campaign, the last time they were crowned Champions of England.

Clichy was named in the 2008-09 PFA Team of the Year after a season in which he made everyone forget about his predecessor, the greedy self-serving Englishmen who left for Chelsea. Clichy was by far the best left-back in England during that campaign, and arguably in all of Europe.

Time to Say Goodbye

Gael Clichy was a great player for Arsenal.  But with that being said, he was a player with 12 months left on his contract and he is 25 years old. It would seem it was time for both parties to go in a different direction as Clichy has failed to quite match his form from 2008-09.  Quite frankly, seven million pounds for a left-back with 12 months left on his contract seems to be good business for Arsenal (provided that money gets re-invested in new players).  He was prone to mental lapses on the pitch and he added little offensively (two goals in 232 appearances and few crosses that led to anything significant).  Clichy is a replaceable player, though I continue to dislike the policy of always having to replace players rather than strengthening the squad.

The Replacements

The most obvious replacement at left-back would be Kieran Gibbs, the 21 year old England International.  Gibbs has been the heir apparent to Clichy for roughly the last two years, but is he ready right now to be first-choice for Arsenal?  Gibbs has started just 13 Premier League games and has proven to be injury prone, picking up injuries in what seems like every fixture he starts.  Can a team with title ambitions rely on an oft-injured inexperienced defender?

No, it cannot.

Don’t get me wrong, I like Gibbs.  I think in time he will be a useful player for Arsenal and possibly for England.  Gibbs could have used a season out on loan where he could have received significant playing time (like Jack Wilshere at Bolton).  A team with true championship ambitions cannot have a defender gain experience on the job.  You simply wouldn’t see Manchester United or Chelsea using that much youth and inexperience in their first-choice team defensively.

Arsene Wenger has tried to get Gibbs more experience by starting him in Carling Cup games and Champions League games, but he seems to always be injured.  It’s a wonder he has not already earned the nickname “Mr. Glass.”  Now is not Gibbs’ time, at least not if the Gunners are serious about winning trophies in this campaign.  With all of the shortcomings of last year’s squad, defending was clearly what cost Arsenal the most.  Too many lapses on defense will not likely be cured by inexperience.

Another possibility being talking about is moving Belgian defender Thomas Vermaelen to left-back.  Barring the purchase of a truly World-Class defender, Vermaelen is Arsenal’s best defender.  So good in fact, he earned a spot in the PFA Team of the year after the 2009-10 campaign, his first in the Premier League.

Vermaelen is rarely out of position.  He is a great organizer and plays with heart and ambition.  He is intense and is a great leader for the Gunners.  His efforts were sorely missed during his injury plagued 2010-11 season.

Could Vermaelen play left-back?  Yes.  Is that the ideal scenario for the Gunners?  No.  He is a center-back, the best one at the North London club.  You simply don’t play your best central defender out of position.  When you play your best players out of position by design and not necessity, you are setting yourself up to fail.

Bottom line:  Arsenal needs to look outside the ranks for a new left-back and allow Vermaelen to play in the middle (hopefully beside a new central defending partner).

A New Left-back, Right Away

Ideally, in my opinion, Arsenal would lure Leighton Baines from Everton to play left-back.  Baines is a player I rate highly, and would be a great signing for the club.  Baines put more crosses into the box last season during open play than any other Premier League player (247).  A fullback on the left-side who could do that would be an upgrade and add something different to the Arsenal attack.

The problem with obtaining Baines (like Gary Cahill of Bolton) is that he is English, meaning his transfer valuation is inflated.  My worry is that Arsenal will not be able (or willing) to match what Everton are asking for the sale of the England International.  If Arsenal are able to make a deal with Bolton for Cahill (who are asking for 17 million), their transfer policies tell us that they won’t spend what it will take to get Baines as well.  That could change however; depending on the possibility of the big money sales of Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri (I’d rather have Fabregas stay than have any of the others).

Another intriguing answer on the left side of the defense is Spaniard Jose Enrique of Newcastle United.  Toon manager Alan Pardew seemed resigned to losing Enrique when discussing the Clichy transfer with BBC Newcastle on Monday:

“We're trying to persuade him to stay, but as he's got a year to run on his contract and has a desire to play Champions League football, at his age it means it'll be difficult to keep him.”

Enrique is a skilled passer and would fit into the Arsenal build-up style of football.  He is also looking for Champions League football, which Arsenal can offer.

Another rumored transfer target of is Aly Cissokho of French outfit Lyon.  Though a decent player, I’d prefer Arsenal sign a defender with Premier League experience.  Wenger signed Laurent Koscielny from Lorient before last season, and though he looks to be a useful player, he has taken some time to settle at Arsenal and the physical play of the Premier League game can be tough for him.

The defensive problems for the Gunners needs sorted out immediately if they are to qualify for the Champions League again this campaign, much less challenge for the title.  There just isn’t time for players to settle.  You have to believe you know what you are getting with Cahill, Baines, or Enrique.  They are players who have played in England and excelled.  I’d rather see the Manager go in that direction.  Though I’d say many said the same thing about the signing of Bacary Sagna from Auxerre, and look how that turned out.

Sorting Out the Backline

With few exceptions, the team that defends the best will win the title.  Last season Manchester United won the title while allowing 37 goals.  Meanwhile, in a season were the title was there for the taking, Arsenal were busying coughing up 43 goals, the most since the start of the Wenger era.  Shockingly that includes four consecutive Premier League clean-sheets, tying with Liverpool for the top streak of the season.

Manchester United has Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand in the centre of their defense.  They are solid, reliable defenders who do their job and eliminate mental lapses.  They are both many time capped International players who instill confidence in their squad when they play together.  Arsenal needs a pairing they can rely on to do the same (which I would venture to say a Vermaelen-Cahill paring would do).

When Arsenal were playing beautiful football during the early 2000s and winning trophies, they were lauded for their offense (Henry, Bergkamp, et al).  But it was their defending that was so important and under-rated.

When you look at the 2003-04 team, the central defensive pairing was Sol Campbell and Kolo Toure (pre-bout with weight-loss pills).  Campbell was a great organizer of the defense, good in the air and played with great effort and intensity.  Toure was a great athlete, using his athleticism to make up for his short falls tactically (though Campbell was usually there).  They were a great tandem together; using each other’s strengths for the optimum betterment of the club (this speaks to keeping to Vermaelen in the middle, where he benefits the team more).

The defense must be sorted out and strengthened through the transfer market this summer.  Even with Vermaelen back, the other central defenders include Djourou (a useful squad player), Koscielny (young and improving) and Frenchmen Sebastien Squillaci (one thought and two steps behind everything happening on the pitch).  That squad will not win the Premier League.

For the mental lapses that Clichy did have, my fear is that if he is not replaced he’ll be one of those players that you don’t realize what you have until he is gone.  How many times will we be left to say “Clichy would have intercepted that pass” or “Clichy had the pace to get there?”  If Arsenal starts the season with Kieran Gibbs as first-choice left-back, it will be with an eye to the future and not to the present.

Using the past two seasons as a model, Gibbs would likely be injured by the second fixture, leaving Wenger to play Vermaelen out of position and Djourou and Koscielny in the middle.  We’ve seen that central pairing before.  It doesn’t fill me with confidence against Wayne Rooney, Didier Drogba or (gasp!) Darren Bent.

Sort out the defense.  Keep Fabregas and Nasri.  Add Gervinho and Baines.  This would be my dream week for the Gunners.  Here’s hoping.

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