Rumors recently emerged that Arsenal along with Liverpool were keenly contesting for the signature of Aston Villa winger, Stewart Downing. Liverpool’s dearth of a top quality winger has been fairly obvious this season and Downing was one of the names the Merseyside club had nominated to quell their problems.
But now it has emerged that the Gunners too are keenly contesting for the Aston Villa man, who has had a breakthrough season this year after overcoming poor performances last season after signing from Middlesbrough.
But with Samir Nasri’s contract issue still not sorted out and with the club growing anxious over his delaying, Downing has been pinpointed as a replacement. This added with the imminent sale of midfielders, Andrei Arshavin and Tomas Rosicky, Arsenal will have a shortage of quality midfielders and Downing would be a welcome addition to the club.
Arsenal have identified him as the replacement for Nasri if he chooses to leave the club. Although his style of play is vastly contrasting to that of Nasri, he would be a decent replacement, simply because unlike Nasri, Downing is an out and out winger and will enjoy playing on the flanks, more than Nasri will.
But I believe that Downing should be signed no matter how the situation with Nasri progresses. Downing is an out and out winger, something which few players, if any are in the current Arsenal set up.
Arsene Wenger uses a 4-2-3-1 formation in order to maximize the performances of Fabregas, his talismanic captain. But this means that players like Andrei Arshavin, Theo Walcott, Samir Nasri and even pure strikers like Nicklas Bendtner have been forced to move into the wings.
All this has definitely affected the performances of these players. While Nasri has played well on the wings, there is no doubt that his performances will definitely be better if he plays in his preferred central attacking midfield role.
The same applies with Arshavin and with Bendtner who has been forced to play in the wings despite him lacking the technical skills to be a good enough winger.
By bringing in Downing, Wenger ensures that he has a player who is comfortable on the wings, a player who actually enjoys playing in the wings, unlike a majority of Arsenal’s wingers.
With Wenger widely expected to sign a proven striker, someone like Karim Benzema, it is essential that the Gunners put in quality balls into the box. While Arsenal have the ability and talent to pass the ball close to the goal, they struggle to put in threatening balls into the box. You very often see that during any of Arsenal’s attacks, the Gunners put in a truly pathetic ball into the box and see the attack break down.
The lack of quality balls is further compounded by the inability of Arsenal’s fullbacks, Bacary Sagna and Gael Clichy to deliver good crosses into the box. Sagna maybe one of the league’s best centre backs, but sadly his crossing is suspect at times. He is a good crosser but lacks consistency, an aspect no Arsenal player can boast about when it comes to crossing.
The entire point of playing with another striker along with van Persie is to provide a target man for the players to aim at and if Wenger hopes to increase the Gunners’ efficiency in attack then the Gunners need to cross the ball more regularly, with more consistency and with more accuracy.
Last summer, Wenger signed Marouane Chamakh from Bordeaux, who is arguably one of the best headers of the ball in England and yet Arsenal failed to exploit his strengths by failing to cross the ball properly. Instead of focusing on his strengths and looking to play to his strengths, the Gunners focused on playing it their way, which while pretty to see, tends to be ineffective at times.
We always stress on the need to have a plan B but merely signing a player capable of providing that is not just enough. Arsenal also requires the team to play to his strengths so that the Gunners indeed have an alternative plan that can tick and guarantee them another method to win games.
So if the Gunners play with Chamakh or a new striker in their formation, the players should cross properly so that the Gunners can score goals
This is where Downing comes into play. He has performed remarkably this season and while he might have been overshadowed by Ashley Young, he is a good, solid buy for the Gunners.
He is a good crosser of the ball, with some neat ball control and a fairly good pace down the flanks. He might just be the signing that gives the Gunners an edge when it comes to changing their tactics during the match. He has shown that he has the ability to deliver pin point crosses into the box for the attackers to attack. So often in Arsenal’s attacks, the final ball has been wanting and signing a proven and out and out winger like Downing is the solution to Arsenal’s winger problems.
Downing’s skill set is different from most players in the current Arsenal team. This does not mean that he is better than him, but what he offers is something that no player can match right now. While Nasri and Walcott have in no means done a bad job, their best work comes centrally and not when whipping in crosses.
Downing has shown this season that he can deliver the goods consistently as he notched up eight goals and nine assists for Villa. He might have gone slightly unnoticed this season but he has proved himself to be a real force down the left. He has played with consistency this season and has chipped in with some valuable goals as well, scoring the winner against Liverpool in the final day.
While he is not guaranteed a starting spot, he will definitely get plenty of playing time especially if Arshavin or Nasri decide to head away from Arsenal. He will be definitely one of the better crossers of the ball in the Arsenal side and his ability could prompt Wenger to use him regularly especially against those teams when Arsenal’s passing and free flowing approach isn’t working.
He has expressed his desire to play for a bigger club, a club with the lure of Champions League football, something which the Gunners can offer him. This desire to play for a big club, could translate into solid performances on the pitch as he strives to achieve his dream.
Arsenal have the advantage of European football over Liverpool and they should use that leverage to bring the English winger to the Emirates.
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