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“Making the Arsenal” – the book of Arsenal’s rebirth
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Twitter us on follow, or maybe the other way around @UntoldArsenal
by Don McMahon
During this interminable and terribly dull inter-lull we are all supposed to ¨enjoy¨, it seemed to be a great time to look at the entire Gunners squad, including the walking wounded, select loanees, the bench-warmers, some up-and-coming Youth players and so on, in order to truly assess the depth and solidity of our current teams.
In order to try and be realistic, fair and unbiased, I’ve used ratings from a number of websites and my own observations from games I’ve watched, so the review will focus on each position and will reference a set of criteria that will be rated on a scale of 1-10 and ranked by overall score, with 1 being poor and 10 being exceptional, as follows:
a) Commitment: Is the player happy and committed to AFC, based on his own statements and his performances?
b) Consistency: Does the player perform steadily, energetically, consistently well week in and week out under all circumstances?
c) Winning Attitude: Is the player driven to win, visibly able to step up his game when things aren’t going well, giving 100% over the entire time he’s playing?
d) Skill: Does he display clear and consistent skill and ability when playing and does his skill actually improve the overall team performance and results?
e) Physicality: Is he tough-minded, hard, fearless and assertive in his playing style and what is his injury record?
f) Teamwork: Does he show a team spirit and willingness to work with his teammates and a selflessness that is humble and noble?
g) Tactical and strategic nous: Does the player display adaptability, inventiveness and creativity in one-on-one and small group situations?
h) Potential for Improvement: Is this player past his expiry date or can he offer greater possibilities down the road?
i) Maturity and Intelligence: Does the player remain calm and steady under fire and behave intelligently when facedwith stressful or provocative situations?
So here we go…
| KEEPERS | A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | TOTAL/100 |
| Szcesny | 9 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 6 | 80 |
| Mannone | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 67 |
| Fabianski | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 64 |
| Almunia | 9 | 5 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 57 |
| DEFENDERS | A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | TOTAL/100 |
| Koscielny | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 82 |
| Vermaelen | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 81 |
| Sagna | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 81 |
| Jenkinson | 9 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 72 |
| Mertesacker | 8 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 70 |
| Santos | 8 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 66 |
| Gibbs | 9 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 66 |
| Djourou | 8 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 62 |
| Squillaci | 9 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 60 |
| DEF.MID | A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | TOTAL/100 |
| Frimong | 8 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 75 |
| Song | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 74 |
| Lansbury | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 72 |
| Coquelin | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 68 |
| Diaby | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 68 |
| MIDFIELDERS | A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | TOTAL/100 |
| Wilshere | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 84 |
| Arteta | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 82 |
| Ramsey | 9 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 80 |
| Rosicky | 9 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 73 |
| Benayoun | 7 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 72 |
| Arshavin | 7 | 8 | 6 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 67 |
| STRIKERS | A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | TOTAL/100 |
| RVP | 8 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 7 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 84 |
| AOC | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 81 |
| Gervinho | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 79 |
| Park | 8 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 77 |
| Miyachi | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 77 |
| Walcott | 9 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 73 |
| Chamakh | 7 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 64 |
And that was it. ……Certainly a totally subjective classification of Arsenal’s strength in numbers. I am absolutely sure that many bloggers will have other opinions and that the AAA’s out there will rubbish every player that AW brought in recently and critique me for wearing rose coloured glasses……
But still, it was fun to do.
LATEST…
- Untold Arsenal on Arsenal.com commenting on the Norwich game (with special reference to the car park).
- And… for the second time in four days Arsenal.com are featuring an Untold article by Walter Broeckx on Media Watch Any minute now they’ll be asking Tony to write a page in the programme. Oh…
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- FIFA: If the FA had any moral stance it would resign from Fifa now.
- PLAYERS: Finally let us move back to what is really important
- PLAYERS: Arteta is a gem, but spare a thought for poor Everton
- CORRUPTION: What the Sun and Mirror might have said about Mr Redknapp if he had worked for Arsenal
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Untold Arsenal – the (fairly) complete index
Untold Arsenal on Facebook here
- Untold History…Untold Media … Untold Ref Reviews …
- Untold Economics … Untold Corruption … Untold Wenger …
- Untold News … Untold Fifa … Untold Players … Untold Injuries
- Untold Statistics … Untold Tactics … Untold 2011/2 …
- Untold match reviews … Untold fans …
- Untold Stadia … Untold Literature …
- Untold humour …Arsenal History Society … “Making the Arsenal” …
How are Wilshere, RvP and Chamakh not 10 for A?? 🙂
The total should be out of 90
Calculated on 100 you get
Szcesny 88,89%
Mannone 74,44%
Fabianski 71,11%
Almunia 63,33%
DEFENDERS
Koscielny 91,11%
Vermaelen 90,00%
Sagna 90,00%
Jenkinson 80,00%
Mertesacker 77,78%
Santos 73,33%
Gibbs 73,33%
Djourou 68,89%
Squillaci 66,67%
DEF.MID
Frimong 83,33%
Song 82,22%
Lansbury 80,00%
Coquelin 75,56%
Diaby 75,56%
MIDFIELDERS
Wilshere 93,33%
Arteta 91,11%
Ramsey 88,89%
Rosicky 81,11%
Benayoun 80,00%
Arshavin 74,44%
STRIKERS
RVP 93,33%
AOC 90,00%
Gervinho 87,78%
Park 85,56%
Miyachi 85,56%
Walcott 81,11%
Chamakh 71,11%
But the idea stays the same but you just get higher numbers
Am I getting it wrong or are you seriously suggesting that, in your estimation, Frimpong is better than Song? Frimpong’s skill set is nowhere near Song’s. Teamwork: You have grossly underrated Song. The Frimp is not even close to him. Frimpong scoring more than Song on Maturity & Intelligence? Are you kidding me? Frimpong is not even close to Coquelin on that one; not even on Skills. You need to take cognaisance of Arsene’s own views on these players.
But I salute your effort all the same.
Lansbury as a defensive midfielder? Only in the sense that he’s aggressive and mobile. Positionally he’s weak when his team isn’t in possession but he has great vision, stamina and ability with the ball. He’s a 100% attacking midfielder.
Can’t argue with the ratings as they are of course purely subjective.
Oh and it’s Frimpong 😉
I think Song should be higher!!, and how have shezzer and frimpong and wilshere not scoring 10’s for commitment?! Jacky boy said the other week he wanted to be at Arsenal for life! Frimp has said he loves Arsenal more than the man who started it!! And shezzer has repeatedly shown his commitment and love for us.!
Great Idea though, think you got pretty much everything spot on! Only the frimpong song comp. stood out as being strange!
Looking at the list, Gotze would fit in a treat, he can fill Benny’s place when he goes or maybe Rosicknote??
What 1 player if we were to get someone in Jan would you get??? and who would you sacrifice in the pecking order for them?/ It’s a tough onE, but I would love to know what peeps think!
There is a balance to this team at the moment!!! Diaby needs to prove himself this season or be replaced, it is sad, because he could’ve been some player! Although on the flip side if he does stay fit his commitment will be big as he will owe us a lot!!!
Strange piece and very strange grades.
What justification is there for you to say that Mannone grades higher than Chesney on being “calm and steady under fire and behave intelligently when facedwith stressful or provocative situations”? You actually grade Fabianski higher than Wojnech in the department. WHY?
Koscielney gets a 10 for “potential for improvement”, but Vermaelen, who is younger, gets an 8? Odd.
Lansbury is not a DM. Frimpong ahead of Song? That makes your whole grading system look ridiculous.
And Park and Miyachi ahead of Walcott? Come on. That is just silly. Ryo hasnt played a game for us yet and Park has looked way, way off the pace when he has played and you are putting them ahead of Theo?
I know we all have personal bias but that is just a bit too much.
@Goon in 60 seconds: Diaby will owe us the same way like Van Persie owes to Arsenal a big time…
Arsenal made him this great player as well as were patient with his injuries every year.. So after being treated badly by their national teams these players should check themself if they are really fit to play these matches.. Our captain and vice captain surely fall in this category..
Does anyone else here feel that Van Persie owes us the most even more than Fabrgas.. He should not have taken captain’s role if he wanted some guarantee before signing a new contract.. I dont have anything against Van Persie(infact I love him a lot) but I would be really disappointed if he leaves us in search of money or trophies..
Interesting list and scores.
Bad news on our backs, Jenks out for unspecified time due to a small stress fracture in his back (why do we get so many of those – Gilberto, Denilson, think Clichy as well) and Gibbs out 4-5 weeks due to hernia and surgery.
Shame, I have been really impressed with KJ and was looking forward to seeing more of Gibbs – the guy must be cursed1
Jenkinson being out means more playing time for one of Frimpong or Coquelin at right back, which makes the situation a little easier to take.
I’m not sure which one would be preferred by Wenger, I suspect Coquelin is a bit more composed but Frimpong is more aggressive. Depends on the opponent in some ways.
has anyone come across this:-
http://sport.uk.msn.com/football/arsenal-will-be-the-top-team-in-the-premier-league
I would rate song higher in various areas-he has been an anchor this season, and one can see more discipline and improvement in his overall performance.
Alternatively, I cannot quibble with a 6 for Szceny on maturity/intelligence, he’s still growing. I see a Casillas-clone in his future.
What a great and studied response to this article from Gooners! I warned you that this was entirely (or almost) subjective and that it was based on one person’s opinion, at arm’s length from across the Pond so don’t get too upset at my rationales.
1)Frimpong versus Song: they are so close in so many areas LRV but I gave Frimpong the edge on teamwork because he doesn’t lose his cool as often as Song? The real problem is that I haven’t seen enough of Coquelin and Frimpong to compare them fairly so may have to revisit these rankings after the next 8-10 games.
2)Woolwich P …I saw him play at Norwich and a bit in WestHam games and he seemed to be in the defensive midfield position in a 4-3-3 but I could be wrong. He is positionally immature but is strong in the tackle and very energetic!
3)Goon in 60 seconds …..If we could have one player in January, I’d go for someone like Vertonghen or Goetze as they can really add to our already strong defense and/or midfield.
4)to those who question the commitment scores…my rankings simply reflect the Post-traumatic stress disorder after both Nasri and Cesc left. I doubt most players’ full commitment and maybe wrongly so…at least I hope I’m not being too conservative!
5)Paul Collins ….Szcesny, lately at least, seems to be doing a Jens Lehman with his aggressive sorties out of his area and his strange attitude towards his opponents…neither Mannone nor Fabianski ever showed this kind of aggressiveness….again totally subjective assessment.
Regarding Kos versus Vermaelen, I believe the Verminator is at the top of his game and Kos has a few more steps to make to reach the Verminator’s level but maybe Im underestimating Vermaelen’s potential?
Park and Ryo are ahead simply due to my belief (perhaps mistaken) that Walcott is too inconsistent. I have watched Park in all his international games and he is a tue fox-in-the-box. I haven’t seen enough of Ryo to truly compare him to Walcott but when he does play he brings more passion and directness to his game than Theo seems to…..but its only my opinion.
This being an open-ended and easily revised article, why don’t those who disagree, submit their own evaluations based on their personal observations and AFC information available?
vertonghen will solve a myriad of potential defensive problems if we get him n january. note that if arteta gets injured or needs a rest we can move song into a more attacking position and slot experience into songs role immediately. the verts could play centre back while the verminator moves to cover santos. he could spell kos or per while kos covers at right back. that’s like getting three players for the price of one.
I wouldnt call it currently and embarassment of riches in regards to strength in depth.
When you consider Jenkinson Spine and Sagna broken leg are both missing at right back for the foreseable future. Also with one of our left backs Gibbs missing for a few weeks after the hernia op, we have one fit full back ?
@Dan:
Wow, that’s quite a departure from the usual press angle, I have to say 🙂
Can anybody answer my question: why do you think this article is better than articles of le groove or the sun?
This article is not Untold one – this is typical the sun article. Totally subjective, totally biased.
@Dom,
The old trying to work out role from position problem strikes again. Did you see him trying to chip the keeper from kick-off for West Ham against Milwall? He would have been a Hammers’ legend if that had gone in.
Alek….do you mean LeGrove? Did you forget the indefinite article ¨an¨ in your 2nd sentence?
Subjectivity and bias are NOT identical. One can have a subjective opinion which is not the same as an objective one but there is no such a thing as objective bias!
Now Alek….I invited anyone who disagreed with my admittedly subjective evaluations to propose their own system, so stop whining and suggest an alternative or write a ¨better¨ article or go back into your closet.
@Dom
I think this was a very thoughtful attempt to quantify the attributes of our players and I admire your efforts.
What I like about the team this season is that there seems to be a collective team spirit and willingness to work for each other, this was missing towards the end of last season when too many were displaying itchy feet syndrome.
@Dom
Yes, I do.
Yes, I did. My English is poor but my logic is OK.
From what part of my comment do you get that ‘Subjectivity and bias ARE identical’?
From what part of my comment do you get that objective bias exists?
By the way some lawyers think that objective bias exists.
admittedly subjective?
I want to remind your words
LRV asked you:
And this your answer:
This is not a fact. Is anybody else thinks this way? What about your words ‘In order to try and be realistic, fair and unbiased, I’ve used ratings from a number of websites and my own observations from games I’ve watched’
Show us these ratings where ‘Frimpong … doesn’t lose his cool as often as Song’
I see your bias to Frimpong and nothing else.
You did not answer the question: ‘[Why] Frimpong scoring more than Song on Maturity & Intelligence?’
You did not answer because you have no answers. Or your answer will be like this: ‘Frimpong scoring more than Song on Maturity & Intelligence because Frimpong … doesn’t lose his cool as often as Song’
You do not like to answer the questions because your answers show that you have no facts. You have your fantasy and nothing more.
My alternative is simple. If you want to show to everybody that Frimpong is better than Song – find stats like this http://desigunner.wordpress.com/2011/11/15/arteta-v-wilshere-are-the-stats-really-lying-other-comparisons/
If you can’t do this – go back into your closet.
Alek….Lets be very clear here, I ranked Frimpong higher than Song but by 1 point so take it as you want. In actual fact Frimpong hasn’t been sent off for retaliation, nor has he been caught committing serious foul play like Song does, on admittedly rare occasions.
Your logic, as you call it, is suspect at best and totally fallacious at worst. I checked 4 sites for stats on both players and their relative merits and they were so close that, despite your pretention that objective bias exists (which is an oxymoron in English-meaning self-contradictory or mutually exclusive)and your claim that you didn’t use my subjectivity or supposed bias to support your arguments and confuse the two, I noted you used the term bias in your original post and in your repost in the same sense as if it were the same as my subjectivity…apparently it is a crime to admit subjectivity in your view.
I challenge you to provide facts and stats to prove that Frimpong is vastly inferior to Song as you seem to be intimating. What I really object to is your cavalier attitude about writing a competing article or evaluation of the players or are you afraid you’ll post an article worthy of the Sun or LeGrove instead of a valid post?
Domhuaille MacMathghamhna
Frimpong is a reserve player. Song was in starting 11 in 3 seasons: 08-09, 09-10, 10-11.
Frimpong started 2 games in EPL because Song was suspended. So Song was and is in starting 11, and Frimpong was and is a reserve player. This is the facts.
Song in his first games (9 games started) for Arsenal 2007-08 hasn’t been sent off.
Song in his first full season (37 games started) for Arsenal 2008-09 hasn’t been sent off.
Song in his second full season (35 games started) for Arsenal 2009-10 hasn’t been sent off.
Song in his third full season (39 games started) for Arsenal 2010-11 has been sent off one time.
Frimpong in his FIRST GAME started for Arsenal has been sent off.
Song started for Arsenal 135 games and get 2 red cards. 0,014815 red cards per game.
Frimpong started for Arsenal 5 games and get 1 red card. 0,2 red cards per game.
So Frimpong gets red card 13 times more than Song.
This is the facts. So who is cool?
Give us a links for these 4 sites.
Why don’t you to google ‘objective bias’ and find out these links http://journals.ametsoc.org/doi/abs/10.1175/2010WAF2222407.1
http://www.fxstreet.com/webinars/sessions/session.aspx?id=eeaf3de1-5d0f-471b-a6c7-f880eab24f21
http://www.mop.ie/news-and-insight/insight/pages/objective-bias2
http://buckplanning.blogspot.com/2009/10/objective-bias-found-in-ruling-by-bord.html
Give us facts. What’s the use of your subjectivity?
I challenge you to provide facts and stats to prove that Frimpong is vastly inferior to Song as you seem to be intimating.
See above. If this is not enough I give you more facts.
Untold published some of my posts.
http://blog.emiratesstadium.info/archives/11996
http://blog.emiratesstadium.info/archives/11965
http://blog.emiratesstadium.info/archives/11218
And all my posts are based on facts not subjectivity.
Alek…..let’s be frank about a few things;
1)Frimpong is in the list of first team players on the AFC website so, despite fewer appearances than Song, he is considered by Wenger to be a first team player.
2)Here are just a few of the many links I use to find out some player information and since you asked for them, go bust a nut reviewing them:
Who scored.com,Zonalmarking.com,Swiss Rambler(e-mail review), ladyarse.com,guardian.co.uk/football/chalkboards,arsespeak.com, castrolfootball.com and so on.
3)I never said that either player was ¨vastly inferior¨ to the other and you got it wrong in your statement: ¨Frimpong is vastly inferior to Song.¨ I maintain that both are very close in skill and ability….but after watching Song against Dortmund tonight, I have to admit that he is an absolutely fabulous player, which Frimpong has yet to have a chance to display….if he keeps up this quality of performance over the season, I’ll revise my evaluation! I believe that Frimpong is within reach of Song’s level this season…which would be great for AFC and all Gooners.
4)Why don’t you do a player analysis for Untold on tonight’s game and we can read how you rate the players we are talking about? your last article you quoted in your repost was from last April so lets see something new.
Anyway, evaluating players is very challenging and unless you are looking at RVP or Szcesny, it can be a very debatable exercise in ranking so have a go mate as you obviously love to analyse everything AFC, as I do. I’m eagerly awaiting your match/player review.
Domhuaille MacMathghamhna
You are absolutely right about Frimpong. I did not want to say that Frimpong is a player of the reserve squad. But he was starting on the bench. Therefore he is considered by Wenger to be a second choice.
Sorry but this is your words.
I just forget to make it as quotation.
I think this is the core of you problem. One should never to revise an evaluation of player because of one game. Every player has highs and lows. But if player will continue to perform what he performed in one game then you can revise. Frimpong is enigma because he played small amount of games for the first team. Song is well-known. Song made an assist last game. But he has been playing this way before. http://blog.emiratesstadium.info/archives/11996 You can see that he was almost as effective as Jack Wilshere in attack last season.
I wish you are right.
I do not like to make an analysis of one game. I like to work with big data.
Anyway, Untold is the place to discuss stuff so it is not supposed to be on one wave with everybody. So we can be friends, isn’t it?)))