A lot has happened between my last post and this one. There is great news and there is some bad news. Obviously the great news first.We caught a big big fish to our rod. Yeah!. We got Mesut Ozil! Yeah! I am not dreaming!
Mezut is wonderful signing. He can strengthen any team in the world and not just Arsenal who as it was, looked fragile in every department. He is really a top top signing and as I mentioned in my blog some time ago, Arsene will deliver on his promise to make a big signing and that is what he exactly did.
It is a shame we are in a inter-lull now and can't see him in action right-away. But I guess it is a blessing in disguise as it would offer him just the right amount of time to acclimatise in his new found home! Just that extra bit of training with the rest of team would suit him well which is very very important for a creative chance-creater like him.
Ever since the transfer window has closed down, everybody in Arsenal fraternity is busy analysing Mesut Ozil and his game. They are trying to identify where he would play to how he would play to how he will fit into the system and how it would benefit the team. Articles are raining and raining, not that they don't make sense. In fact it is quite interesting and enjoyable to read through the imaginations of the pro, the not-so-pros and the rookies.
My take is Ozil is just the right person in our hyped midfield and he brings in a variety and a new dimension through his lateral movements and an eye for identifying runs.
Arseblog said it well when he said Ozil is not a classical playmaker but a new breed of No. 10.
Ozil is a top of the world signing, but I still worry that the squad is not sufficiently refilled. We still have only two fit centre-halves, and one fit regular striker. The fact that Morinho killed the deal with Demba Ba on the last minute ( which I thought would have been an excellent stop-gap solution, which I also believe would have been a wonderful signing in the last January window in the first place!) means that we are seriously a center-forward down. We are hanging on the knife-edge with Giroud, hoping that he not only stays fit but also holds his current form consistently till atleast the next transfer window.
The ballyhoo created by Ozil signing has distracted many, but I still believe we are nor yet strong to compete for the Championship, As I feared the signing does makes us good to finish up for top 4 but does not make us Champions quality. Not because the current squad lacks quality, we showed our class against Spurs, but because we lack depth. The same squad can't play the League, FA Cup, the Carling Cup and the Champions League. I can't see how our team does not get fatigued playing them through. We saw how fatigued Santi got in the mid-season last year and how his form dipped in between.
I still hold the opinion we are just not good enough purely on the basis of squad depth! You can't win a race hopping in a gunny-bag!
Coming to the bad news, it was inter-lull- meaning our first team players were on international duty and our worst fears have come true. We got new injury concern.
Rosicky seems to have picked up a thigh injury battling the Italians and that means he is out for this weekend's game against Sunderland. Thank god we have replacement!
In another injury news, 16 year wonderkid Gedion Zalelam will be out for at least 2 months. His bones need to get tougher!
That effectively means our subs bench will see have a new face besides Viviano ( I guess he would replace Fabianski) and I wont be surprised if the new face is Nicklas Bendtner!
Ohh Dear Goonerrss.. you might have to pay to watch B52 play!
On the lighter side of not so good news, he have been handed the toughest draw for the Champions League Group stage. We are against Borussia Dortmund, Marseille and Napoli, Its gonna be tough and that makes the league more enthralling for all us Goonerrsss.
The challenge begins for the players immediately after the lull as we play twice a week henceforth for quite some time. It is going to get stressful for these bunch of player. Hope they get really used to it!
Adios!
