maybe. but it's hard to see us improving after fabregas leaves. wilshere and ramsey both have a lot of growing up to do (literally and figuratively) before they can really dominate matches consistently. arshavin's in his decline phase, too, so by then we'll be short of penetration and goal threat from the attack.
as others have said, i dont think we'll make the necessary investments to stop this merry-go-round of talent. it seems once we plug one hole, someone leaves and another one opens up.
Better defensive coaching being second only to keeping Fabregas imo. Fair enough, we' havent exactly had a settled back four for too many games but we're still careless at times.
Maybe a season playing with Wilshere and Barcas continued financial difficulties could see Fabregas stay on a bit longer. Thus allowing us to continue with a Song, Jack, Fab midfield for another couple of years. Add 2 centre halves under 25 in TV and Kos as well as either a resurgent Clichy or a come of age Gibbs with a still solid Alex Song, then a come of age, hardier more durable Theo as well as a mature, vocal, blistering Nasri and there are only a couple of areas to add to the team.
Anyway back to the real world. In the long term who plays AM and who plays CM between Ramsey and Wilshere?
Fabregas plays AM, Qs. He's still here, and there's no certainty at all that he'll be leaving any time soon. And that's not wishful thinking either.
If it was purely between Jack and Ramsey? I think that will be Jack's best position in due course. Much more to come from him in the final third than we've seen to date.
I think they can both play either position. Jack is more likely to be the better creator, so it might be worthwhile letting him playing ahead of Aaron, but they could cover the central midfield together. I am dying to see both of them healthy and next to Fabregas in our 4 3 3. These guys together could be a starting midfield for the next 10 years. They're all talented and they have big cojones.
Let me echo what Kel (and others) said about Fabregas. The kid is an otherworldly talent. I believe the reason that Fabregas is not in the conversation about world's best player is simply because he is not playing next to other great players. I struggle to think of the last world player of the year who played around mediocre players. I really hope we continue to tell Barca to f**k themselves with a broomstick; but also endeavor to put some star quality next to Fab.
I would rather see neither Ramsey or Wilshere in that number 10 role. We should have gone all out for Ozil in the summer but if Cesc leaves we'll have to rethink the shape of that midfield three in my opinion (and maybe we should rethink it anyway).
Forget Oezil. Bloody v d Vaart was available for a fistful of dollars and not a penny more. We could've bought him, and pushed Fabregas back with Song in our starting line-up. Pisses me off to see such a quality player at Spurs
Would selling Cesc definitely facilitate a change in formation or tactical shift?
Don Pacifico wrote: Would selling Cesc definitely facilitate a change in formation or tactical shift?
Not so sure. I think we still have enough players who are not authorities in any one position that it makes sense to blend them in a 4 3 3 / 4 5 1 or variant thereof. It's not clear what guys like Nasri and Diaby are, even an Arshavin or a Walcott. If we were to play 4 4 2, would we have enough healthy wingers? I doubt it.
I would like to see more wide players brought in whether for 4 3 3 or 4 4 2, but in the absence of these, I cannot see much of a tactical shift.
theoretically, diaby should be a winger but he's awful there. i sort of feel like we're trying to shoehorn him into being a CM when it's not really his game.
and winger is? I think his position is whatever Baptista's was supposed to be :-)
Rio Ferdinand is tapping him up on twitter:
@jack_wilshere nice 1! Big goal last night,pure #silks! Lil man doing big things. Stay focused playa!
😆
What a gangsta!
And an aging one at that :S
So in the current 4-3-3 whats do people feel is the strongest three for the majority of games? Fab-Song-Jack?
Denilson as cover for Song with Rambo/Diaby covering for Jack and Fab? Does this mean Nasri should remain on the wing?
Jack definately has the ability to replace Fab at some stage. Some of his interplay around the box is exquisite. He needs more time though - whoever replaces Fab will have a massive expectation placed on them. Might be a little much for young shoulders! (ironic considering Fab is still so young I guess)
Has to be Fab - Song - Jack at this point. Jack is so far ahead of Diaby and Denilson it isn't funny. On some occasions it might be worth taking advantage of Diaby's power and ability to run the open field, but in a more closed game, Jack is it.
Yes, it means that Nasri should remain as one of our wing options.
imo, ignoring short-term injuries but not long-term ones, our best team right now is:
fabianski sagna, koscielny, vermaelen, clichy fabregas, song, wilshere walcott, van persie, nasri
When Gibbs is 100% I'd probably take him over Clichy but aside from that, I'd go with that
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/default.stm
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger says he is confident he can keep hold of Cesc Fabregas "for a few more years". "He is from Barcelona and has an attraction to where he grew up," Wenger told shareholders at Arsenal's AGM on Thursday. "At the end of the day, I believe he wants to win with this club. For how long I don't know but hopefully for many, many years. I'm not pessimistic. I'm confident we will keep him for a few more years. He deeply loves this club, believe me. If he did not love the club, he would have gone."
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger says he is confident he can keep hold of Cesc Fabregas "for a few more years".
"He is from Barcelona and has an attraction to where he grew up," Wenger told shareholders at Arsenal's AGM on Thursday. "At the end of the day, I believe he wants to win with this club. For how long I don't know but hopefully for many, many years. I'm not pessimistic. I'm confident we will keep him for a few more years. He deeply loves this club, believe me. If he did not love the club, he would have gone."
The combination of Barca's minuscule summer bids and the financial concerns give me hope that we may yet get to see lots of Jack and Cesc playing together. The FFP rules start from 2012 so if Barca don't land him next summer they may have to wait quite a while.
You know, a Charlton supporting mate of mine {ok, ok, but he knows his football} reckons JW is nailed on to be an England starter for the next decade, and eventual England Captain.
I think he's right, of course.
I have believed he can become that good since just about the first time I saw him play. Never quite seen genius like it, not at that age. When he's fully developed at 20-something, I shudder to think just how good he will be.
