It's a good thing to be positive about the coming season but I think some people are a bit too confident and we have to be careful not to become arrogant, something we have accused the Man United fans of in the past.
Its also interesting listening to the media who as usual have come to the conclusion that its not a matter of who is going to win the championship but who will finish behind Man United. And they have come to this conclusion simply because Man U have bought Ferdinand; are things in football that simple ? can a player really make that much difference ? if so, how many players do we need to match them ? we have only just won the double and finished 10 points ahead of them.
Yes we have lost 2 of our great players in Adams and Dixon, plus Grimandi, Wright and Inamoto. But, we have brought in Silva who is a world class player, Carini who potentially looks to be better than Wright and Cygan who we don't know too much about, other than he has been voted the best defender in France and very highly rated by Wenger.
There is no doubt that we will miss Adams experience on the field and his leadership qualities but how many games did he play last season ? in total 13 !
With all our young players also waiting for their opportunities I feel optimistic but please control yourselves and keep your fingers crossed.
Here are my views on our 2002-2003 squad :
GOALKEEPERS : Seaman, Carini and Taylor
At the moment, Seaman is the best English goalkeeper in the country by a mile and there is no doubt that he will start the season. Dave has of course over the years made some so called famous errors e.g. Gazza free kick 1991, Nayim 1995 and of course v Brazil only a last month. In my view, the Nayim and Brazil goals were freaks. What separates the good goalkeepers from the great goalkeepers is the least number of mistakes that are made and Dave has made very few mistakes at the very top level. Seaman has a presence about him that makes opponents nervous, he is extremely calm and his positioning is great. One of the best goalies in recent years was Zoff of Italy who was a world cup winner at the age of 41 and at only 39, Seaman is still a baby in comparison.
Fabian Carini is only 22 but has already played 38 times for his country; he made his under-20 debut at the age of 17 and at the age of 19 he was named the best goalkeeper in the FIFA World Youth Championship Nigeria (1999). Later that year he made his full international debut and has never looked back since then. Unfortunately for him, Juventus also had the most expensive goalie in the world (Bouffon who cost £32m) and the chances of Carini were basically non existent. In a recent Sky Sports interview he was described as the player most likely to eventually break the world record for most international appearances, that is how highly he is rated. I hope that he is given a few opportunities, e.g. Cup matches to impress and then he signs a long contract with Arsenal because its imperative that we find a great goalkeeper to replace the great Seaman.
My view is that Taylor has potential but still a long way from a number 1 position. I wouldn't mind him playing occasional (less important) games to gain important experience but I would be very concerned if he was thrown at the deep end for 2-3 months. He is one for the future and by that I mean 4-5 years away.
DEFENCE :
When Wenger first arrived at Highbury, the so-called experts were saying that Arsenal would be on their way down because the famous back 5 (actually 6) of Seaman, Dixon, Winterburn, Bould, Adams, and Keown had finished and would never be replaced. Well, 5 years later, they had won 2 doubles (o.k. Bouldie and Nigel only won 1) and they have been mostly replaced without much difficulty. Lauren replaced Dixon, Cole replaced Winterburn, Campbell replaced Adams, Keown is still there with Cygan and Tavlaridis waiting to replace him and of course Carini waiting to replace Seaman.
I would be surprised if anyone disagrees with my choice for the first match of the season. :
Lauren Keown Campbell Cole
And for cover we have :
Right back : Luznhy, Volz, Toure and even Halls and Tavlaridis if necessary. And how about Parlour ? he has played at right back a couple of times so I wouldn't mind him there in an emergency.
Left Backs : Juan, Van Bronckhorst (when fit), Upson and even Luznhy or Lauren who played well in that position last season.
Centre halves : Cygan (the new Bould IMO, but he will need time to adjust to the pace and power of the premier league. Its important that we give him the time because I am sure you all remember how Pires and Edu started). Tavlaridis who I really rate, Stepanovs who did well last season before he was injured, Upson who must make the most of any opportunities plus Toure, Chivers and Halls.
There are obviously a few youngsters in the squad but isn't time they got their chance ? its important that they play the occasional game provided we are not forced to throw in several of them at the same time.
MIDFIELD :
My Preferred choice knowing that Pires, Freddie and Gio will be out until October :
Wiltord Vieira Silva Edu
Wiltord had his critics but for me was one of last year's successes. He always gives 100%, he defends, creates chances and scored 17 goals.
Edu has at last showed what he is capable for and IMO will be one of the stars in the new season.
I have noticed that Vieira still has a few critics. Lets just say that I disagree with them and I hope that he will sign a new contract because it will be a great shame if we lose such a great player. IMO he is one of the best 5 players I have ever seen at Arsenal in 35 years.
Silva as we all know has just become a World Cup winner and some of you may also remember how Terry Venables kept going on about his performances. He is basically someone that we have been looking for to protect the defence and therefore allow Vieira the freedom to go forward a lot more as he used while Petit was with us. His performance again Munich was very encouraging.
I hope that Parlour will continue his end of season form. I saw him against Stevenage and his attitude was spot on. Was captain for the day, lead by example and kept encouraging the young players.
And the cover :
Pennant must be given lots of chances. I believe that Wenger will give him a few appearances as a sub and then get him more involved depending on his performances. I really hope that Pennant has learned from Wiltord and Pires because he must come back to help the full back. He was outstanding for England U-19 last week.
Svard is a player that I have been really impressed with and reminds me so much of Vieira.
Volz is another player who seems to be comfortable at either right back or right side of midfield and had a great match last v England and also captained Germany U-19 to the final.
Toure – what a match he had v Munich; bring him on, that is all I have to say !
My Arsenal player for the future is definitely David Bentley who I believe will become our new “Brady”. He seems very skilful and is the U-19 captain at only 17. It was interesting to see him taking the free kicks v Stevenage when there were so many other very experience players around him. Its also interesting that Wenger took him to the pre-season tour and has played him in some games so far. I think Wenger rates him and that is good news for Bentley.
Sidwell, Jerome Thomas and also look really good players but my understanding is that they are on loan with Baveren.
FORWARDS
We obviously have to start we Bergkamp and Henry
I feel that Bergkamp will have another great season. He had a good rest and no injuries (keep fingers crossed) and just watch him go; shame about the lack of European travels.
I amazed that people still criticise Henry, one of the most gifted players ever at Arsenal. His goal scoring ratio is absolutely fantastic (86 in 142 matches ?) and he loves the club. There are rumours that he is due to sign a new 5 year contract, so great news if its true.
Cover :
Kanu, Jeffers and Aliadiere
I am not too sure what the injury situation is like so we may well have some problems. Its now obvious that Jeffers will not be available for the start of the season.
Wenger really rates Aliadiere and in the pre-season matches, Aiadiere is repaying Wenger's faith in him; he has already scored 3 goals and assisted in some others so lets hope that Wenger has discovered another diamond.
Wiltord is of course another option but I prefer him on the right of midfield.
Its important that we have a good start to the season and keep it going until October. Can you imagine if we are leading the table then we have Pires, Freddie and Gio to return ? and if Jeffers gets back to full fitness then I really see a few more trophies coming to Highbury next season.
I don't want to be as arrogant as Giggs and Beckham who keep telling us how they are going to win everything again, but lets just say that I am optimistic.