Arsenal have the most Premier League scorers this season with 15 and have evolved since they relied too heavily on a chrous of mini-midfielders
• Jack Wilshere steps up his return from injury for Under-21s
“Arsène’s softer centre in my later years reflected the players he brought to the club. Samir Nasri becomes available, so Arsène takes him. Rosicky becomes available, so he takes him, because he’s his type of player. Arshavin becomes available, so in he comes. When you acquire a lot of these players, they are almost clones.”
That skewering of Arsène Wenger’s transfer business by Sir Alex Ferguson in his autobiography chimed with so much of what the casual observer thinks about the Arsenal manager. Along with the cliched comments about the Frenchman’s love of fleet-of-foot, diminutive No10s came the befuddled bemusement at his refusal to purchase the solid, wardrobe-sized central midfield enforcer he seemed to love in his early days at the club. His “softer centre” seemed to be perfectly encapsulated in the purchase of Mesut Özil for £42.5m at a time when fans were crying out for something sturdier.
But now what are we to think? Arsenal are the form team in the Premier League, and the side with the most goalscorers in the league this season – 15 in all. A squad at last, rather than a talented XI doomed to be undone by troublesome absences year after year. This time, rather than sinking their campaign, the apparent misfortune of injuries allowed Francis Coquelin to return from loan at Charlton and step in to the holding midfield role to demonstrate just what Arsenal had been missing. It’s no surprise that the reliably conservative 23-year-old is the only midfielder to have featured and not found himself on the scoresheet (Mikel Arteta has not found the net in the league, but has a cup goal to his name). Of course, a narrower selection of goalscorers needn’t hinder a team – Swansea have the joint-fewest on seven – but it certainly eases the pressure on individuals to perform; pressure which at times in the past has cramped Arsenal’s style.
Liverpool and Manchester City – both teams with a plethora of attacking midfielders that Wenger would approve of – both have 14 league goalscorers a piece – but what is striking is the way they have been shared out. While Sergio Agüero tops the charts with 17 league goals, David Silva, Yaya Touré, Frank Lampard and Stevan Jovetic all have five or more. In contrast, Liverpool’s top scorers are Steven Gerrard, Jordan Henderson and Raheem Sterling – all with six. Replacing the goals of Luis Suárez was always going to be tough but Brendan Rodgers surely did not expect such a lack of goals from a team who pride themselves on exciting, attacking football. The absence of Daniel Sturridge (through injury) and Mario Balotelli (through lack of form) has left the Merseyside club with a reliance on Wenger-esque midfielders (Adam Lallana, Philippe Coutinho, Lazar Markovic, Sterling) which has seen their attacking play blunted by sameness.
Liverpool’s goal difference of just +9 is some way short of their opponents for the top four; City with +33, United +27 and Arsenal +30. Southampton, now just a point behind the Merseyside team are on +20 – in no small part down to the meanest defence in the division. None of their 13 goalscorers has more than Graziano Pellè’s eight, but the squad have shared the burden and maintained defensive discipline to keep alive hopes of a European place. The heft of Morgan Schneiderlin and Victor Wanyama in midfield, behind the more deft talents of Dusan Tadic, James Ward-Prowse and Sadio Mané, has been key to their success.
And what of United? Ferguson may have scoffed at Wenger’s penchant for a mini-midfielder, but it has been Louis van Gaal’s rediscovery of the charms of Juan Mata that has rejuvenated their season. With 12 goalscorers, United have the fewest of the teams in the top four, but where Liverpool often have a host of similar attackers, Van Gaal has a diverse group to play with. He can call on the bulk of Marouane Fellaini, the bombastic drive of Wayne Rooney and (occasionally) the lethal precision of Robin van Persie’s left foot to complement Mata’s guile – and share the burden between them. Tottenham have a similar number of names on the list – 11 league goalscorers this season – but were it not for the exceptional return of 19 from Harry Kane their top-four bid would have ended some time ago. Injury or loss of form would leave their squad horribly exposed.
So perhaps that is the lesson to take. While Arsenal were beset by a chorus of sprightly attackers they never looked like escaping their habitual fourth-place finish. But with a sprinkle of Alexis Sánchez’s dynamism, a dash of Olivier Giroud’s lumpen charms and a hefty dose of Coquelin’s disciplined solidity a first top-two finish since 2005 (and Patrick Vieira’s departure) looks on the cards. Even Özil has bulked up. A similar selection of disparate talents (Agüero and Touré, Fellaini and Mata, Diego Costa and Cesc Fàbregas) is in evidence in every team in the top four, while the chasing pack have a more one-note group to pick from.
The idea of 10 Santi Cazorla’s on a pitch at one time may have great appeal, but as George Lucas found, the attack of the clones is never likely to satisfy.
Total goalscorers
Arsenal 15
Liverpool 14
Manchester City 14
Chelsea 13
Crystal Palace 13
Everton 13
Newcastle United 13
West Ham United 13
Leicester City 12
Manchester United 12
Southampton 12
Hull City 11
Tottenham Hotspur 11
West Bromwich Albion 11
Queens Park Rangers 10
Aston Villa 8
Stoke City 8
Sunderland 8
Burnley 7
Swansea City 7
Nenhum comentário:
Postar um comentário