Bacary Sagna is nearing full fitness, and his return
will present Wenger with a welcoming selection headache as the
youngsters have deputised admirably...
Arsene Wenger is going to have quite a selection headache in the forthcoming months – and it isn’t the thought of where
Jack Wilshere
will slot into his purring midfield. No, it is at fullback.
The
consistently consistent Bacary Sagna is nearing fitness following his
second leg break last season (although whether he’ll be the player he
was remains to be seen) and he will surely be hoping that he will
continue where he left off; slotting into the right-back berth that he
has made his own, usurping Emmanual Eboue almost immediately after he
joined the Gunners from Auxerre in 2007 and proving to be the most
consistent right-back to pull on the red and white since the bullish
Cameroonian Lauren left for Portsmouth in 2006.
Wenger will be loathed to rush him back in immediately, even though
he is on record as saying that the right-back is ‘the best in the
Premier League’, after two dreadful injuries – the second break costing
Sagna an almost certain berth in France’s European Championship squad.
However, and this may influence
Wenger’s decision, Sagna is also nearing
the end of his contract (sound familiar Arsenal fans?) and has recently
voiced his frustrations about the sale of Robin van Persie and,
especially, Alex Song this summer, whose departure to FC Barcelona was a
move that actually surprised him and were actions that went on to earn
him a word in his ear from his frustrated boss. Wenger said at the time,
during his
pre-Southampton-match press conference (which Arsenal went
on to win 6-1)
“I had a chat with him about it, I think he loves the
club and he will stay here… I believe any player or any employee has to
defend the company he works for and if he’s not completely happy with
it he has to go somewhere else. That’s basically what I think.”
With Internazionale allegedly eying Sagna up, there is a distinct
possibility Carl Jenkinson’s superb form whilst deputizing in his place
this season could keep him out of the team for good. However, both
players offer Wenger a different ‘weapon’ to deploy on the field; Sagna
is a solid defender who can overlap and link well with the wide-men, but
his crossing has much to be desired. Jenkinson is a dangerous crosser
of the ball and also overlaps well (indeed it seems like the Arsenal
right is finally looking dangerous, after years of left-wing attacks
from Marc Overmars, Ashley Cole, Thierry Henry, Robert Pires and Andrei
Arshavin) but is still learning the trade as an Elite right-back when it
comes to defending and closing down crosses. And Jenkinson is only
going to get better. Roy, you’d best get that lad to rethink about
playing for the country of his mother’s birth; Finland, because he is
going to be one heck of a player when the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil
comes around…
There may be, however, an ‘out’ for Wenger’s selection conundrum…with
injury-prone England starlet Kieran Gibbs sadly straining his thigh at
the start of the month, the versatile
Jenkinson
could in theory slot into his left-back place, especially if Wenger
doesn’t fancy his speedy/speeding Brazilian #11 André Santos playing in
Gibbs’ place (his defending does at time leave a lot to be desired, even
though he is far better than his may detractors give him credit for)
and can therefore save both face and hopefully Jenkinson’s promising
start to the campaign.
With Internazionale allegedly eying Sagna up, there is a
distinct possibility Carl Jenkinson’s superb form whilst deputizing in
his place this season could keep him out of the team for good.
What I feel Wenger needs to do, is to recreate the successful
flank-play that helped seal league title wins in 1998, 2002 and 2004,
and FA Cup wins in 1998, 2002, 2003 and 2005, a period when the
departing legends Nigel Winterburn and Lee Dixon were replaced with
Silvinho, Ashley Cole, Lauren and Oleg Luzhny (okay, Luzhny wasn’t a
great success…), and as they went into the team, they linked up with the
new attackers Wenger bought in ahead of them on their flank, thus
allowing them to forge electric partnerships and great understanding as
they all arrived at the club at around the same time; Overmars, Pires,
Henry, Freddie Ljungberg and Sylvain Wiltord all had great understanding
with their fullbacks and the titles and cups were duly won with the aid
of their swashbuckling wide-play and lightning fast counter attacks
that used the full width of the pitch.
I think that these partnerships on the flanks have been in short
supply of late; Jose Antonio Reyes didn’t work out as an Arsenal player,
let alone as a consistent left winger for the team,
Arshavin,
Tomas Rosicky and Alex Hleb all drifted in field and aren’t/weren’t
traditional wide players (not that Henry, Wiltord, Ljungberg or Pires
were traditional wingers, but ones who were certainly more comfortable
beating an opposing fullback with pace than the aforementioned eastern
European four), andof course players like Cole and Silvinho moved on.
There is hope that Theo Walcott’s understanding with Jenkinson on the
right is coming along well after some on-field spats (such as at Old
Trafford during the infamous 8-2 drubbing), whilst Lukas Podolski and
Gibbs on the left look like they were raised playing in the same
playground.
So, should Wenger leave his flanks alone and allow these two sets of
partnerships to cultivate (unless injuries dictate otherwise), or should
Sagna slot in when he is fit and leave Jenkinson looking on from the
very sidelines many fans had relegated him to before the season had even
started, and ignore his potential to operate just as well on the left
to allow Andre Santos to learn Podolski’s game on that flank whilst
Gibbs recuperates?
More great Arsenal stories…
Walcott: Being Benched Is The Kick Up The Backside He Needs To Thrive
Per Mertesacker: How Arsenal’s BFG Proved The Critics Wrong
Played In His Correct Position, Arshavin Proves He Can Still be Arsenal’s Creative Spark
