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By GEORGE PEACE Marouane Chamakh’s arrival at Arsenal has appeared to divide opinion more than many other signings have done in the past. I’ve spoken to some Gooners who have, rather over-excitedly, pegged him as the solution to all our problems. Other slightly more cynical fans have labelled the Moroccan ‘a bog-standard striker’ who’ll add very little to the team – a pointless signing to distract us from losing our captain. For the record, I don’t hold either of these opinions.
So what does the induction of this new striker tell us about Wenger’s strategy for next season? Well, now Chamakh has joined our ranks we have five senior strikers in the squad, that’s quite a lot for a team that currently deploys a lone striker system. Our three main forwards are known to switch positions during games but unfortunately very few of them are accomplished when out wide. Van Persie is probably most suited to switching to the flanks but he’s been so prolific in front of goal, shouldn’t he act as the tip of the arrow? I’m not denying that our strikers can play wide but all of them prefer to operate in that central role.
One prospect for next season then, is that we might be switching back to a more traditional 4-4-2. With five strikers on our books, most of whom play centrally, this isn’t such a wild idea. It would certainly suit Edwardo who has always seemed to operate best as a secondary striker, poaching off loose balls. A central pairing of Edwardo and Bendtner may be the best way to take advantage of these two players’ abilities. And, as much as I hate to mention it again, if Fabregas does leave us, a major modification of tactics will take place anyway.
Something else that the arrival of Chamakh could usher in – is sales. If we do indeed remain true to the formation that saw us have such a blistering start to last season, then there’ll undoubtedly be many benched forwards. Despite being fit for most of the run-in, Edwardo spent alot of his time warming the bench – and the few appearances he did make failed to produce anything of consequence. If Wenger does decide to ‘reduce the clubs wage bill’, I think Edwardo could be one of the first to pack his bags. Fortunately though, I trust our management have the intelligence to use this transfer window to bolster the squad, not trim it down.
Ofcourse it’s most likely that the signing of Marouane Chamakh is simply Wenger giving the team another option in attack. Maybe even our most stubborn manager is resigned to the fact that Robin Van Persie cannot complete a season without a major injury. At the age of 26 too, Chamakh will provide the squad with that little bit more experience that many critics and fans have been calling out for.
Lastly, I don’t think there’s cause for the amount of doom and gloom that I’ve encountered from so many Gooners recently. We’ve already added more depth to our team, going forward at least, and the transfer window is yet to even officially open. Our manager is already quoted as saying that “we’ve given ourselves more options up-front, now we must concentrate on the other parts of the team that need strengthening”. I’m convinced a new centre-back will join our ranks in the coming weeks and I even hold a small amount of hope for a new goalkeeper and holding midfielder. Arsčne Wenger may be slow when buying new players but he’s generally a very astute judge of talent. If Chamakh and any others can have the same impact as our previous two new Gunners have had – then there’ll be many reasons to be positive about the start of 10/11.
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Arsenal v Shakhtar Donetsk – Match Preview
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