Caligula wrote:
I'd still take him over those lumps who are supposed to be backing up van Persie.
I'm not sure that I agree with that. Neither Bendtner nor Chamakh have impressed lately but they've both got qualities that, at least in theory, are a good fit for the way we play. I can't see anything about Dzeko that would make him a good fit here.
Consider Chamakh for a moment for instance. He's a poor goalscorer but what are his strengths? His combination and link-up play is top class, and his workrate is impeccable. His technique is pretty good too and it's suited to playing along the ground. And how do we play? With centreforwards who drop deep to bring others into play, who often operate with their back towards the goal and has to be able to make intelligent decisions rather than to run in straight lines. In reality this worked very well too during the first half of the season even if he's lost the plot lately. It was one of the main reasons that some of us were very keen on bringing him in last summer.
As for Bendtner he's clearly a thinking footballer but his feet let him down. You can tell just by watching him play that he's intelligent as far as you can stretch the concept in football terms. He's got a bit of vision on him, reads the game well and could've been a great support striker if he'd had a more flexible body. He's also good at taking up goalscoring positions which, again, points to an ability to read the game. His inconsistent touch, poor technique, slow body and bad attitude means that he doesn't get as much out of it as you need to make it at Arsenal though.
Now consider Dzeko. As Tim has already pointed out, his link-up play is mediocre. He lacks power, acceleration and vision. He's got a bit of sharpness in front of goal with both feet and a good header on him, and he's got the size obviously. But he's neither very mobile or very good in his general play. He's the type of player you park in front of goal and spend the genius of a more creative one (like Grafite at Wolfsburg and, lately, Tevez at Man City) to support. He's bound to up his goalscoring stats eventually if they adapt the team to him but he is what he is. I've never had much time for him for that reason. The real indictment on City is that Aston Villa signed a much better and more proven box player in january for less money. And that player was Darren Bent who cost £24 million.
