So I’m going to do this player by player, let’s start with Marouane, shall we?
Marouane Chamakh
For those who do not know yet Marouane is a Target Man. A Target Man is a striker who holds the ball up for midfielders and wingers to attack the space behind him. One thing Marouane is known for is his hard work, strength and agility. One thing that annoys me is the fact that every Arsenal fan nowadays expects every striker we have to be like Robin, which is ridiculous because every striker has his style of play.
When Marouane arrived at Arsenal, he was in splendid form and was playing well, then Van Persie came back and MC suffered a little bit due to Robin’s form and the tough nature of the premier league. Now he’s back and it is difficult for him to get any play time because of Robin and everybody seems to think he is rubbish.
For Robin to get to this form he needed a run of games (which he got when Chamakh was given a break around this time last season), so you think Chamakh is just going to get in form out of nowhere? And not to mention the psychological effect it is having on him whenever Arsenal fans grunt or make funny sounds when he gets a touch of the ball, or when he makes a mistake. I believe he will get back in form soon enough. Why? Because he’s hard working and has a genius for a coach.
Andrey Arshavin
Andrey is not known for his hard work but recently that has been changing quickly. He has been working harder chasing balls and closing down players, but why I salute him for this is because it has never been his style of play to do this.
When he was back in Russia he really didn’t have to do all the closing down and running he is doing now, and (if you do not know already) it is difficult for older players (27 and above) to change their style of play because they have experienced a lot of football and have acquired a lot of skill to their style.
Andrey is naturally a centre attacking midfielder and for Arsenal he plays on the left wing which isn’t so easy for him (refer to what I said about older players changing styles).
Take the Carling Cup game against Bolton for example. Andrey played behind the striker and look how well he did, he tormented Bolton throughout the game. But we can’t risk playing him in that position in the PL because we need more balance in midfield and Andrey can be easily dispossessed which can hurt us.
Someone like Robin can play across the front three of behind the striker but no position suits him better than being a centre forward, and Robin learnt most of his trade in the Premier League which makes it easier for him to adapt in such positions when asked to. I believe in Andrey because he has the ability to produce something special and every Arsenal fan knows that. Just like Marouane he just needs more game time.
Ju Park
I remember when Park was banging them in for his country earlier this season, Arsenal fans were quizzing Le Boss on why he wasn’t picking Park to play. Now people think he should be sold.
We’ve seen what Park can do on his day; he’s a clinical finisher and hard worker and just like many foreign players he needs time; game time.
I can’t wait to see Park on the pitch because he is a quality striker which Arsenal fans are yet to see.
New Striker?
No, I do not think we need a new striker. Robin is the front man and the strikers behind him are quality but need more play time. Any striker we get now will most probably be foreign and might need time to adapt and before you know it, Arsenal fans will be calling for his head too.
And Arsenal fans are not even thinking about the other strikers we have on loan (not sure Bendtner is going to play for us again) like Vela (still think he has a chance), Joel Campbell who is doing well and looks like a fantastic prospect.
Buying isn’t always the answer; it definitely isn’t in this case.
Thierry Henry
It was great to see The King back in the Red and White and the goal he scored was class you can’t take away from champions like him. But people forget Henry wasn’t fantastic from the very start, he also needed time.
On Twitter, when Henry scored the goal, I started seeing tweets like- “Why can’t MC do that? It’s so simple”, “Watch and fcuking learn MC”, “Henry makes MC look like shit”. There are two things I have to say to this:
Are you seriously comparing an out of form MC to the one and only King Henry? You obviously can’t compare an in-form MC to what Henry has achieved as an Arsenal player. Henry didn’t achieve legendary status overnight; it took him years to do so. Therefore I think comparing a guy who is in his second season at Arsenal and has struggled for a good part of it to Henry is pretty low.
Henry is a legend, but he is only going to be with us for about 2 months then he’ll definitely leave, while our other out of form players will be here for the rest of the season or more. My point is that Henry is here as a bit-part player and more focus should be put on our players to support them back to form. That’s all we can do cause they ain’t leaving anytime soon and we shouldn’t chase them out (as long as they work hard).
Conclusion
In our different facades of life when we aren’t doing well we want chances to turn things around and in football if your chances aren’t coming consistently it isn’t easy to get back on track. So I encourage all Arsenal fans to support their players and play a part in getting them back to form.
Written by Ajibade BabajideFollow him on Twitter @ajibade_jide
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