Squad Analysis 2013/14: Page 92 - The Arsenal discussion forum and community: One More in the Tolly

Squad Analysis 2013/14

Ray

When we play 4141 which is in most big games, Cazorla starts, when we play 433 then Cazorla drops and Welbeck/Walcott/Ox come in.

yuv

Theoretically. It just didn't happen before, as we didn't have better options anywhere. Now, as key players hit top form, it could happen.
But all I was saying (like 500 times) is - we need to actually see that the said better options are actually better in reality, not just on paper.
For all we know until now, the team without Cazorla could just lose it (no, I don't actually think it would happen. But I wouldn't take him out of the equation
too quickly, even if everybody's fit. And I don't think Wenger will either).

Meatwad

i don't care about getting a wide player, just less money to spend in the areas we actually do need. the ox will deliver next season. we see what a class 2 way right back has meant to the team. we need that at LB.

GK, DM, LB, CF

est

Monreal on current form is as good as anyone in the League.

Armor

Monreal is the most 2 way full back we have. Bellerin is more 1 way. Still poor enough defensively imo.

est

No. Bellerin is very good defensively. And that's not even considering his age.

Rex

Cazorla was riding the pine at the beginning of the season, and I reckon he won't be a starter next season either. I know we started poorly as a team, but that's how I see it anyway.

In my world Ramsey and a defensive minded CM is always in our best midfield. Then Özil and Alexis are nailed on starters for me too. That leaves one spot, and Cazorla is certainly not the player I would pick for that spot.

The thing with having a better squad is that you have to get rid of really good players and replace them with players better fit for purpose. Moron didn't think twice about selling Mata and De Bruyne to raise funds to buy players he felt was a better fit. I'd easily sacrifice Cazorla to part fund a deal for Marco Reus.

Claudius

What Rex said. If we can get better players, some of the guys we have are expendable. It's good that we have depth, but now we need to get 1) higher quality players and 2) the right players for each position. If that means sacrificing some depth, so be it

Burnwinter

Not going to pick up a better player than Cazorla that easily. He's been on par with peak Nasri this season, and is probably a £20m value.

Rex

Ideally, I'd want to keep Cazorla in the sort of role Rosicky has, but there are a few things that make that hard:
a) We don't have infinite resources. Cazorla is one of the few expendable assets we can actually get a decent fee from. Cazorla is also on high wages, so getting him off the wage bill is better than to get Rosicky off it for instance.
b) I don't think Cazorla would be interested in a role like Rosicky's. He just recently said that he wants to stay as long as he feels valued here. I take that to mean that he wants to remain a starter.

Selling a good player and replace him with a great player is good thinking in my book.

Mirth

Indeed, that would be bad business in my eyes. Cazorla can still cover a couple of positions across midfield (even if he's not naturally suited to it) and still perform to an adequate level. If it was a direct choice between Reus and Cazorla then, sure, go for the German but in terms of squad building there's literally no logic in selling him, particularly after the season he's had.

Rex

Burnsy, that's why we should sell him now. We need a top class wide forward much, much more than we need Cazorla as a central midfielder or a number 10 IMO, and Cazorla can't hack it on the flank. If we can sell Cazorla and pick up Schneiderlin for about the same fee and wages, then that is a top deal for us. We need a Schneiderlin much more IMO. That would also mean that we could splash big on that top class wide forward we desperately need.

Burnwinter

We don't really need a top class wide forward unless you don't rate what Sanchez, Walcott and Oxlade-Chamberlain can do from those positions. That said you might well advocate selling Walcott.

NB I'm not saying we shouldn't buy Reus, but I'm very reluctant to break up what we've currently got going on in the front half for a lesser player.

For me I'd try to hang on to the likes of Cazorla and Walcott, I'd look to strengthen either central defence or defensive midfield, and add one player who'd still be getting selected for one of the front three positions with our current form and options. Leave the options open a bit—one defensive, one offensive—and focus on getting in "super quality" …

Ideally fix GK as well, but you can't have everything.

goon

I think it's madness to want to sell a player who's been a fairly integral part of our revival and recent shit hot form. One of the reasons why we've not won the league for a decade is because we've been doing precisely that. Now I'm all for signing better players to raise the standard and perhaps push the likes of Santi down the pecking order, but I'll give you Flamini, Arteta, Diaby and Rosicky before those who are making a real positive contribution.

Rex

We are not Madrid or Man City who can keep several £100k per week players in a fringe role. Podolski out is an absolute must this summer, and that will be hard enough. I don't for a second think that Schneiderlin is a better footballer than Cazorla, but I'd much rather have him in THIS squad over Cazorla. I'd also rather have Walcott on big wages in a fringe role than Cazorla, because he offers something that is quite unique to the squad. In my opinion Cazorla doesn't.

I also don't think a top class wide forward is optional if we want to really compete. I think it is absolutely vital to get a player into the starting XI in the front line.

Rex

The worst scenario for me is that we keep Cazorla for next season, but he is reduced to a Rosicky type role. Next summer we will then have a 32 year old player coming off an indifferent season. If we do that we basically give up on about £15m in transfer fees. Now is absolutely the time to cash in and replace with a better fit for purpose player.

Meatwad

Armor wrote:
Monreal is the most 2 way full back we have. Bellerin is more 1 way. Still poor enough defensively imo.

😆 give away a penalty and now you're poor.

Patters

Fiscalistically speaking, it's a nice thought. But I don't think we would save much getting rid of Cazorla in any case. I seriously doubt any one will give us £15m+ for Cazorla. He should be an excellent player for another 2 seasons (at least) but clubs are wary of spending big on players over 30. We're capable of taking a £10-15m hit to get 2 good seasons out of him. He's settled in the team, there aren't many uncertainties.

goon

But we can afford it. Get rid of the four I mentioned earlier as well as Podolski and Campbell and that's nearly £400k+ a week freed up right there without having to compromise at all. We're also going to head into a TV deal that's increased by a massive 70% the season after next, the sort of 'savings' we're talking about making are almost redundant. There is no footballing or financial reason to sell Cazorla.

Qwiss

otfgoon wrote:
I think it's madness to want to sell a player who's been a fairly integral part of our revival and recent shit hot form. One of the reasons why we've not won the league for a decade is because we've been doing precisely that. Now I'm all for signing better players to raise the standard and perhaps push the likes of Santi down the pecking order, but I'll give you Flamini, Arteta, Diaby and Rosicky before those who are making a real positive contribution.

I completely agree with this. Take Cazorla away from this season and we don't finish top 4. He's been one of our most important players, arguably 2nd after Sanchez. You can trot out all the first 11s and ideal squads you want but when theory goes out the window and you look at who's available most weeks of the season Santi is an obvious choice about 75% of the time.

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