Part 2: Arsenal’s in team competitions for a place in the starting eleven
One of the biggest positional dilemmas that Arsene Wenger would be facing will be when he is forced to choose between Samir Nasri and Thomas Rosicky. Both the players play in a very similar fashion and possess very similar skills and attributes.
In the pre-season leading up to the kick off of the season, the best player on the Arsenal squad was easily Samir Nasri. In fact he was considered to be the pivotal figure in Arsenal’s squad this season, following the ‘Cesc Fabregas transfer saga’. It was believed that Fabregas wasn’t going to be at his best and everyone assumed Nasri to step in for the player and become the driving force in the team.
In the teams opening game of the season against Liverpool, Nasri was by far the best player for Arsenal. He was all over the pitch and dominated the game from the start. However that was only till the second half, when Thomas Rosicky was brought onto the pitch.
Rosicky had been missing for Arsenal over the past, due to a number of injuries that he picked up over the last couple of seasons. However after spending a very long time on the benches and in rehab clinics, the player is now returning to the best form of his life. The player was a delight to watch during the match - his passing, ball retention and shooting were as good as they have ever been.
The Czech international can also play on the wings along with the ability to play down the middle. This is what makes him a very dangerous player to have on the Arsenal side. He tends to make overlapping runs with the wingers and cross over into the midfield almost seamlessly. This causes confusion amongst the opposition as they don’t realize where the player will pop up in the next few minutes. Rosicky displayed some of this flair and intelligent run making against Blackpool and Bolton, Arsenal also went onto win both those games.
The only aspect of Rosicky’s game which is not at par with Nasri, is when it comes to clinical finishing. Rosicky tends to let his emotions get the better of him, which is why he looks to blast the net rather than gently stroking the ball past the on rushing keeper. This is why Nasri is often used in the squad as a second striker as well or as part of a dual attacking midfield formation.
Nasri however managed to injure his knee in the season’s opener against Liverpool and has since gone under the knife to get his knee in check, so that he can be back on the pitch as soon as possible. The player has already completed his month long wait to be included in the squad again and was present on the bench for the teams match against Bolton, which can only mean that he is not yet fully fit to participate in a full match, or because Wenger is saving the player for the Champions league fixture.
Considering one of the players still needs time to recover, it’s fairly obvious that Rosicky will get the nod above Nasri in the immediate future. However, once he returns to full fitness, it would be a very tough decision for Wenger to decide what player to play ahead of the other. This is why both the players would be looking to impress every time they take the field for the team. That way, they can earn a spot in the starting eleven and hence won’t have any complaints when one of them is selected over the other.
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