Watford v Arsenal: defence v attack and the injuries

By Bulldog Drummond

There was a very interesting piece this week by Jason Burt, the Chief Football Correspondent of the Daily Telegraph on the topic of Watford and their new manager Quique Sánchez Flores in which it is said that “Flores was the best defensive coach they had employed and one who could organise them in a way to get the most out of an impressive midfield and attack…”

Certainly in terms of their current Premier League run Flores has had the best record – in 2015/16 when he was at the club they let in 50 goals, having scored 40.   Last season they conceded 59 – so yes they let in nine more than in his previous season.   But the key difference in my view was not the tighter defence that he brings, but the whole emphasis on defence.  For last season not only did the club let in 59, they scored 52 – 12 more than when Flores was with the club before.

So it is the strengthening of the defence at the cost of the attack.  In other words the statement, “Flores was the best defensive coach they had employed and one who could organise them in a way to get the most out of an impressive midfield and attack…” is untrue.

Watford’s goal difference over their four years in the Premier League has been -10, -28, -20, -7.  So yes, in Flores previous time at the club he managed to do much better in the defence / attack balance than in the two subsequent years, but last year was the best ever – and the team that achieved that has just been sacked!

Now we might well expect owners and their staff to talk gobbledegook when explaining their decisions, but surely it is the job of journalists to check and question, not instead, mindlessly to repeat what the press release says.

And in case you are interested, in the past four seasons, Arsenal’s goal difference has been +29, +33, +23, +22.  So in Mr Emery’s first year that goals for / goals against balance remained virtually the same as in Mr Wenger’s last year.

However Arsenal have now strengthened the attack – and we are awaiting the strengthening of the defence with the return of our injured parties.  So here’s the latest on the injuries.

Sadly Sports Mole’s statement “Arsenal to have fully-fit squad for Watford clash” is not what those of us who are a bit picky about the details would call true.   The Express has said, “Arsenal set return dates for Tierney and Bellerin in update to delight fans and Emery” and here the word “set” might be a little misleading.

But Rob Holding has played with the under 23s and did not play against Northampton with the under 21s, suggesting that the coaches think he is now match fit.

Meanwhile we are told Hector Bellerin, Kieran Tierney and Konstantinos Mavropanos are all “nearing a return to action.”

Here’s an abbreviated version of the physioroom.com summary of the injuries…

Player	Reason	Further Detail	Potential Return	Status
Hector Bellerin	Knee Injury	Aug 29: “Continuing with on-field rehabilitation. Progressing well and aiming to participate in full training in September.”	30 Sept	Ruled Out
Konstantinos Mavropanos	Groin/Hip/Pelvic Injury	Exactly as above	30 Sept	Ruled Out
Kieran Tierney	Groin/Hip/Pelvic Injury	Exactly as above	30 Sept	Ruled Out
Joseph Willock	Calf  Injury		15 Sept	100%
Granit Xhaka	Calf/Shin/Heel Injury	Sept 08: “I’ve been suffering from Achilles tendon pain for a few weeks now. I felt it during the game. It hurts now, but it should be okay otherwise.”	15 Sept	50%
Lucas Torreira Di Pascua	Other	Muscular Injury	No Return Date	25%

And just for fun Football.London has presented its own version of Arsenal’s strongest first team squad

Leno;

Bellerin, Luiz, Sokratis, Tierney;

Torreira, Xhaka, Guendouzi;

Pepe, Lacazette, Aubameyang

 

Oh yes and one leftover from the summer…

“Wilfried Zaha axes his agent after failing to secure a move away from Crystal Palace” according to the  Daily Mail.  I am sure we all feel sorry for both of them.