Arsenal might have failed to land Blackburn Rovers’ defender, Christopher Samba in the January transfer window, when they really needed him, but Arsenal’s end of the season collapse has ensured that Arsenal will be interested in signing the defender.
He has been a dominating and consistent performer for Blackburn Rovers and many have predicted him to be the solution to Arsenal’s long lasting defensive woes.
This Johan Djourou and Laurent Koscielny briefly formed one of the league’s best defenses but towards the end of the season, they along with the rest of the team disintegrated and fell flat on their faces.
Arsenal missed defensive leader, Thomas Vermaelen for the entire season save for five games, the first three and the last two. His absence was vital in Arsenal’s defensive woes but despite his return, there is no doubting that Arsenal need a sturdy presence or two at the back in order to make this team good enough to win the league.
Right now the Gunners have four central defenders but with Squillaci failing to impress, the Gunners will be looking to sign some top quality players. Even Wenger has identified that the Gunners have lacked defensive solidity and he has promised to strengthen the department in the transfer window.
With the transfer window upon up, talk about Samba moving to Arsenal has already made plenty of headlines. The Congolese defender has expressed his desire to play for the Gunners and the Gunners did try to sign him during the winter transfer window but they look set to renew their interest in the former Blackburn captain.
Signing him would be a great boost to the team and here is why.
Past Premier League Experience
There is no doubt that the English Premier League is one of the most physical leagues in the world and takes a lot out of the body. Players that came from other leagues usually take sometime to get used to the pace, rigor and physicality of the league. All players might not adjust as seamlessly as Thomas Vermaelen did in the 2009-10 season as he became an instant hit at the Emirates. This fact was exposed this season when Arsenal’s summer acquisition, Laurent Koscielny struggled to make an instant impact at Arsenal as he struggled in the first few games. It was only towards January that he started making the desired impact.
But there is no doubt that while he has proved to be a good defender, he did cost Arsenal a few games with his dodgy defending and less than convincing displays.
Next season the league will be ultra competitive with Liverpool and Manchester City becoming far stronger. In such a situation, the Gunners cannot afford to sign a player who will take time and potentially cost the Gunners points and valuable ground in the title race.
But Samba is one player who has 144 games for Blackburn, having spent three full seasons at Blackburn. He has established himself as a physically imposing player and his experience in the league will come in handy for the Gunners.
By signing him, they are ensuring that the player they sign won’t take time to get used to the league, simply because he has spent the best part of his career at England and is used to the style of the game played in England and won’t have any problems coping.
Strength and Physical Presence
Johan Djourou, Laurent Koscielny and Thomas Vermaelen are all good defenders, no doubt, but they are hardly the kind of imposing defenders that can frighten opposition players. These are players who rely more on pace and anticipation that pure strength and physical prowess. Samba is not like that. His limitations are known to him and so he uses his strength and force to resist opposition players.
Standing at a solid 193 cm, Samba adds a certain steel and strength to the backline that none of the Arsenal defenders can boast of right now. His brute force and power mean that Arsenal now can have their own repellent to the physical play of teams like Stoke and Samba’s current club, Blackburn.
Arsenal have for a long time lacked a defender who can get stuck in the faces of the opposition. Samba thrives against physical players, using his physical prowess to ward of opposition attackers. His abilities make him a force in the air and its hard to envisage many players who can win a physical battle with the imposing Congolese defender.
Manchester United’s Nemanja Vidic showed the contributions of having a dominating, no-nonsense defender in the side and that is exactly what Samba can become for Arsenal. While Samba is definitely no Vidic, he certainly is capable of being that tall and imposing defender for Arsenal.
For a team normally accused of being too ‘nice’, Samba could prove to be that player who turns them into a new ruthless Arsenal.
Attacking and Defending Set Pieces
Many of Arsenal’s defensive frailties have been exposed by their last three opponents but none was as obvious as Arsenal’s inability to defend set pieces. Anytime there is a free-kick which allows the ball to be launched into the box or whenever the Gunners are defending a corner, as an Arsenal fan you pray that the team can deal with it properly. But most times the Gunners either end up conceding a goal or look shaky and unconvincing.
Samba’s strength and power mean that it will be difficult to outmuscle him and create space to win headers. Very often in many of the goals Arsenal concede, there is a problem with their marking as the Gunners seem timid when attacking the ball. Even Wenger went as far as calling set pieces, Arsenal’s Achilles heel. It has been true that Arsenal just cannot be trusted when defending set pieces and an experienced player like Samba can help overcoming that to a great extent. It will make Arsenal more physically rigid and it will add an aura of composure to the faltering defense.
But Arsenal’s problems are not just defending set pieces, they can neither score from them. There have been few instances when the Gunners have truly made their set-pieces, whether it be a free-kick or a corner truly count. Usually their set pieces, simply end up being cleared easily and without much fuss.
There will always be matches when Arsenal’s attack can fail and on such occasions, the Gunners need to have an alternative ploy and that can come through corners and free kicks. Arsenal’s quick flowing and smooth style of attacking play means that they usually earn plenty of free kicks and corners. But they rarely convert them into anything noteworthy.
Samba can be effectively used by Arsenal here. He is a player who has no qualms about attacking a ball and Arsenal have some fantastic corner kick takers in players like van Persie, Nasri and having a player like Samba can make the Gunners far more attacking and deadly on set-pieces.
Perfect Foil for Thomas Vermaelen
During the summer of 2009, Arsenal signed Thomas Vermaelen from Ajax as a replacement for the departing Kolo Toure and saying that he made an impact would be an understatement. He exceeded everyone’s expectations and was solid at the back and scored an extremely impressive eight goals including some absolute screamers against Wigan and Blackburn.
But there were some flaws in his game and this sometimes cost the Gunners goals. Vermaelen has a tendency to venture out forward, towards the half line especially when the ball is in the opposition half. This opens up pockets of space behind him and between the two central defenders. This means that a long ball over the top of Vermaelen will often cause a lot of havoc as it did against Barcelona two seasons back.
When he was partnered with the experienced William Gallas he was often rescued or he used his pace to make last ditch tackles. But his tendency to go forward was causing problems.
Having a player like Samba is the perfect foil for a slightly attack minded, Vermaelen. Samba is the kind of defender who went venture too forward and he prefers to stay back. While Vermaelen is a quick defender who relies on pace and anticipation, Samba is a defender who prefers strength over class and fairly effectively.
They could form what I feel a really solid defensive option. Samba’s defensive approach could help neutralize Vermaelen’s instincts and could help them flourish as a central defensive pairing.
Arsenal already have Koscielny and Djourou, who when fit, form an impressive partnership like demonstrated against United, Barcelona and Chelsea.
Signing Arsenal would provide the Gunners two defensive pairings that are both solid and good and could provide the Gunners the depth required to shuffle their squad around and rest players when needed.
Not too Expensive
Phil Jagielka, Gary Cahill, Christopher Samba: All these players have been heavily linked with the Gunners for the past year now. But out of all these it is Samba who is currently the cheapest option.
Cahill’s huge price tag could end Arsenal’s interest him and the same applies with Jagielka as well as both their clubs have set a huge price tag on both the players.
But when compared to the two English defenders, his price tag is comparatively small and yet at the same time he does possess enough quality to make a significant impact at Arsenal.
While Wenger has promised to spend if he finds the right players he has also said at the same time he will not spend over the odds for any player, which is definitely the right thing to do. So with a fee in the region of £12million, Samba would be a solid buy and yet at the same time not too expensive.
Both Cahill and Jagielka are around £5-7 million more expensive and with clubs with more financial resources competing, it is unlikely that Wenger will break the bank for either player.
But Samba would represent a shrewd piece of business who could add the required steel and strength to a struggling Arsenal back four.
No comments:
Post a Comment