Arsenal’s in-team competition for a place in the starting eleven
Over the years, Arsenal has been one of the few teams to have very little or no depth to their squad. However all of that seems to have changed this season. Arsenal showed their squad's depth and strength in this Saturday’s game against Bolton.
It was a game that saw some crucial players like Robin van Persie, Theo Walcott, Nickolas Bendtner and Aaron Ramsey being left out of the squad due to injuries. Despite that they still had a bench which had players like, Abou Diaby, Denilson, Samir Nasri, Carlos Vela, Bacary Sagna and Gael Clichy on it. Arsenal still went onto win that game by a score line of four goals to one against a more than resilient Bolton, despite the fact that the teams star strikers were missing in action.
Arsenal will no doubt be fielding some key players for all their games, including the likes of Cesc Fabregas and Thomas Vermaelen. However there will also be a strong sense of competition between the team to try and get a spot in the starting eleven. There are also a number of young players who are looking to break into the team and with the displays that they have given in the pre-season; it wouldn’t be long till they manage to do just that.
Kieran Gibbs was handed his first game of the season against Bolton and the player relished the opportunity and went onto say that a healthy competition within the squad was good for the team and the players. The player was reported to have said, "It is good for people to get a chance. Not only is the competition going to be good for Gael to play well, it is also going to be good for the club as well because we are both fighting to win help the team win something this year."
This healthy competition could help bring out the best in the team.
Here is a look at the different players who would be competing for the different spots available in the team.
Goalkeepers
One of the most problematic areas in the Arsenal squad is the one in goal. The team has been in desperate need of a good shot stopper ever since Jens Lehmann left the team. The player who came in to replace the outgoing German was Manuel Almunia.
At the time when Almunia was brought into the team, he managed to have more than his fair share of blunders. However everyone decided to look past that, because they believed that he was relatively new to the team and his nerves were just getting the best of him.
However, a couple of years down the line and a whole lot of field time later, the player seems to have made no improvements to his game. He is just as shaky as he was in his opening game for the team.
The only other keeper that Arsenal has to replace Almunia in goal at the moment is Lukasz Fabianski. Fabianski is one of the very few keepers in the world, who actually manages to make Almunia look good, which is a giant feat in itself and tells us a lot about the Polish keepers’ credibility and playing ability.
Arsenal were expected to purchase a new keeper in the summers transfer window, however they didn’t manage to secure the services of a world class keeper before the window closed and are now stuck with their current two keepers.
Considering Almunia has been doing a decent job so far, he is more than likely to continue his role as the team’s first choice keeper, till someone else is brought in the January transfer window.
Tags: