Wednesday passed in a cloud of hilarity, as Manchester United sank into deeper and deeper trouble after their Champions League exit to Real Madrid. It may say a lot about the condition of Arsenal at the moment that one of the happier moments of the season comes from a rival team losing, but you take what you can get.

Getting the rubbish out of the way

Paper talk was empty rumours personified today, with the only notable link being to Real Madrid’s Raul Albiol, who is severely out of favour these days, with Pepe, Sergio Ramos and the incredible Raphael Varane keeping him out of the line-up. As Arsenal’s defence is the latest section of the side to cock up spectacularly, it’s not really surprising the major links are to defensive players.

Albiol is a decent enough centre-back, though he isn’t what you’d call ‘top quality’, and Arsenal passed him over back when he was at Valencia. He wouldn’t be a poor signing by any means, just not really much of an improvement on Vermaelen, for example.

The Midfield

As promised, today begins my series of sections on where Arsenal are going wrong in various areas of the pitch, and how to remedy this, both with current personnel and the introduction of new players. I’ll be looking at tactics, fluidity, and analysing the best way to use each player in contention to start.

Arsenal’s midfield was unusually disciplined against Spurs, with constant pressing only twice lapsing, though this naturally led to the two goals conceded. A common problem with Arsenal this season is the relative uselessness of the midfield at times. Arteta and Ramsey sat fairly close to the centre-backs, giving them simple passing options. This hasn’t been done often enough, meaning the defense are put under pressure when on the ball, and are too easily exposed when opposition sides either play high balls over the midfield or simply breeze past them.

This is a problem that was remedied against Spurs and was one of the few encouraging parts to come out of the game. We will have to see whether it is consistently maintained, however.

Options

Arsenal do have fairly good depth in midfield, the main issue being that certain areas are well stocked, while others are less so.

A standard midfield 3 in the 4-2-3-1 formation favoured by most sides nowadays, consists of three parts: The deep lying playmaker, the box-to-box midfielder, and the number 10, or advanced playmaker. They all have a specific role to play, either distributing the ball from deep and intercepting the ball, disruption opposition attacks and aiding the transition from defence to attack, and generally buzzing around the final third, looking to create or score, or simply create space for others.

Early in the season our midfield consisted of Arteta-Diaby-Cazorla. This was an almost perfectly balanced midfield, with Arteta performing a Pirlo-esque role with aplomb, Diaby providing a physical presence and taking players out of the game with his running, and Cazorla providing incisiveness further up.

The issue was, that after Diaby received his traditional injury, there was nobody to replace that more powerful midfield position. Aaron Ramsey was trialled there but was still in poor form (I’ll come back to Ramsey later), while Francis Coquelin was more successful, though he often failed to contribute further up. Jack Wilshere occupied that position for a time, but he’s returned from injury as a more aggressive player, leaving Arteta stranded far too often. Arteta can perform a DLP role very well, despite criticism of late, but he isn’t a Sergio Busquets-type who can shield a back 4 all by himself. The absence of a player to form a second wall in front of goal has hurt Arsenal this season.

After Abou Diaby, there is no notably physical player available for Arsenal. Rosicky, Ramsey and Wilshere are all more attack-minded, and only Ramsey can sit effectively, as demonstrated when he fulfilled the Arteta role during the Spaniard’s injury (the much-maligned Welshman finally appears to have found his future position. Not an attacking midfielder, but a deep one, in the Michael Carrick mould. It’s always nice to see a player find themselves, and it’s even better considering what Ramsey has gone through). Coquelin is a terrier, and while he can tackle and annoy players he lacks power and presence, and his attacking abilities, while improved, are rather poor.

Further forward, and with Santi Cazorla preferred out wide we are left with Rosicky and Wilshere. Tomas Rosicky has fantastic vision and can still glide past his man, but he has injury problems and doesn’t always find the right pass. He’s still an excellent option, however. Wilshere is an enigma. Right now, he is a supremely awkward player. He lacks the discipline to sit and dictate play as he did last season, and as a box-to-box player he strays too far forward. The number 10 role is probably best for him, but he hasn’t discovered that final ball just yet. In general his goals and assists tally needs work if he’s going to become the player we know he can be.

What’s needed?

What area do Arsenal need to target, then? At first glance, it’s most likely the box-to-box physical player. Abou Diaby cannot be trusted, so a player is needed there. Etienne Capoue from Toulouse is an option, with the ability to sit and defend while able to cover ground. At 6”3 he’s not exactly friendly-looking either. Another option, though an expensive one, would be Shaktar’s Fernandinho. A player with the attacking ability of all Brazilians, with box to box running and superb defensive awareness. Probably ideal for what Arsenal need, but much coveted and expensive.

Aside from this, Wilshere and Cazorla competing for the advanced role is perfect. Two excellent players, challenging each other to stay at the top of their game. However, a DLP could be needed, as a successor and competitor to Arteta. Two names, both French, stand out: Maxime Gonalons, who has conducted Lyon to challenge for the Ligue 1 title, and Morgan Schneiderlin of Southampton. Don’t laugh, he’s fantastic. With more interceptions and tackles than any other midfielder in the Prem, as well as great passing stats and a goalscoring streak, he would fit in almost anywhere.

A long one, but then Arsenal have quite a few issues. Tomorrow I’ll look at the defence, before saving the best till last-our forward line.

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