Arshavin needs to prove a point, Fabregas and manager of the decade

Andrei Arshavin has recently come under the spot light for his lackluster performance against Birmingham. Some have argued that he doesn’t give his hundred percent and looks out of touch. But his stats tell a different story. He has been on target 5 times with three assists in all competitions this season. He might not look like giving his best but he still is effective.

So what more do we want from him? A bit of more involvement in the game i guess. Though i will be content if he just scores a few goals and create for others. He might not look like the one to lead the team but he is a game changer.

Arsene Wenger has spoken in his favor:

“If you look at the stats, he is the player who has created more chances than everybody else in the Premier League this season, so his numbers are quite surprising to people who think he has not done so well. I believe that since the start of the season in the Premier League, he has been better at creating chances than anyone else. He has a long future at the club – as long as his contract lasts at least, or until we extend his contract, and that is for I think 18 months. We are always in negotiations now because when you sign a player for four years, after two years you have to renegotiate so we keep it as quiet as possible.”

I agree with Wenger. You won’t find any better creators then him in English football. He can create, he can score though he still can’t backtrack and defend which is one thing he lacks. Still if he contributes upfront, I won’t be too much bothered about the defending. He is one of the few players in the Arsenal team that are not afraid to take their chances. He gives us an added advantage.  He is that type of player that can win you matches out of nowhere. He may not look like in the match but out of a bloom he will do something that will leave you awestruck.

I think recently the problem is that he might be trying to do more and as a result ruining his own performance. You would have noticed that whenever he receives the ball he tries to be more spectacular with it than to find the easy pass. If he fails with it he loses his focus. He then goes on to his deft flicks which if successful can be great to watch but they tend to miss their target and we further question his contribution. We need to cut him some slack for his and our own good. We have been too much critical of him, the reason being we expect too much from him. We need to let him play the way he plays.

Due to this some have also been saying that he should not start in todays match. I totally disagree with it. He should start because he performs in the big matches.  It would do well to his confidence if he has a blast today. And I believe he will because he has a point to prove.

As for the contract extension, we should extend it because we won’t find any better players than him.

 

Fabregas: 'It will be difficult'

Elsewhere Fabregas has spoken about Man City and today’s game :

“Yes definitely [it’s like playing a main rival], they are improving. They have a lot of money, they are buying good players so obviously you expect them to be at the top level. It has always been difficult since I’ve been here to go to Manchester City. I remember my first few years it was difficult but obviously now they have some of the very good players in England. It will be difficult. We definitely [go into the game in a good frame of mind]. It’s really good. We have been suffering a little bit so it’s good to have a good advantage and a good performance like that before an important game like Sunday. For us, it is the same. You want to go game by game. That’s what we said at the beginning of the season. Not thinking ahead too much and that is what we are trying to do.”

Yes, it is going to be difficult today but we have that extra creativity that will be enough to just nick this game with the maximum points.

Wenger: Manager of the decade

The news that I have been most excited about is that FIFA has officially announced Wenger as the manager of decade. Some food for thought for the anti-Wenger brigade I guess. He might not have won too much in terms of silver ware but he has kept a team at the top level with consistency against the odds.

The Man City match is just an hour away and hopefully we can nail it today or else we can kiss goodbye our title credentials.

Keep the faith. See you on the other side with a win.