Category Archives: Morgan Schneiderlin

Thursday Transfer-Talk: Ospina? Khedira? Balotelli?

Okay, so “Thursday Transfer Talk” doesn’t quite roll off the tongue as smoothly as it should, lacking the actual alliteration all of us aspire to, but there’s something in it nonetheless. The signings of Alexis Sánchez and Mathieu Debuchy were announced at the club website on Thursdays (17 July and 10 July, for those counting). Heck, Mathieu Flamini’s signing was also announced on a Thursday (29 August 2013, for those curious and lazy enough to enquire). There are a few outliers, to be sure—Sanogo was announced on a Monday, as was Özil, but they are shall serve for now as the exceptions that prove the rule. I’ll be going to bed shortly, but, given the six-hour time-difference between here and London, anything could happen, ranging from the announced signings of Khedira, Ospina, and Balotelli, to the signing of no one at all.

It’s anyone’s guess as to what, if anything, may happen on this day. With a 20-man squad arriving in New York City to face the Red Bulls, it’s entirely possible that there will be nothing at all to announce. Why distract from the prospect of Henry facing off against his former club, after all?

Then again, such a clash raises the expectations. Henry, perhaps more than any other player, embodies the successes and glories of Arsènian football: a Frenchmen, plucked from relative obscurity and converted from one position to another, to become a talisman and hero to Gooners on either side of the Pond.

At whatever level, we’ve seen a different, more-ambitious Arsenal of late. Whether this newer version has risen to a level that will satisfy is another question. All too often under Arsène, we’ve been asked to wait and wait again until a marquee-signing (if any) was announced. In this transfer-window, we’ve been treated to the signing of Alexis and Debuchy while being teased by the potential signings of Ospina, Khedira, Schneiderlin, Balotelli, and others. Heck, there’s even been talk of getting Casillas on a free transer, but let’s not go nuts.

We’ve been busy already, at least by our own standards, and there’s been business enough to suggest that we’re ambitious and looking to capitalize on many, many years of penny-pinching. With FFP at least threatening to consider forming a committee to study doing something, Chelsea and Man City have at last pretended to at least look at their books, if not balance them. Meanwhile, for the first time under Arsène, Arsenal are looking to break the bank, not just once for Alexis, but perhaps again for a true striker and a defensive midfielder. On top of that, we may still be in for a keeper and a center-back. Where does it end?

For what it’s worth, the trip to New York City may trump all of this talk. A chance to see Henry play against Arsenal may be just too much. Why try to add hype to hype? Instead, it might be best to just enjoy the meaningless friendly for what it is: a mindless jape for a few Academy players to ply their wares against a squad of once-were’s, never-will-be’s, and one, glorious, always-will-be.

Then again, with an eye to spectacle, could we see Henry, that one, glorious, always-will-be, greeting some kind of heir-apparent? I would hardly deign to suggest that Balotelli or Benzema could rise to the challenge. It’s enough, though, to make minds wander…

All this Khedira-talk guarantees we’ll sign [Schneiderlin]. Shhh!

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Ever since the World Cup ended in victory for Germany, much has been made of the idea that Arsenal should strengthen its German contingent, bringing in Sami Khedira to establish an end-to-end Der Mannschaft spine, from Per to Khedira to Özil to Podolski and into the net. While there’s something to be said for familiar faces and bedding in, I can’t help but think that all of this talk has triggered Wenger’s Law of Inverse Relationships, which stipulates that there is an inverse relation between how early and how often we’re linked with a player and how likely we are to sign him. It was first postulated back in May 2013, and here are a few names, offered here to jog your memory: Jovetić. Higuaín. Suárez. Gustavo. Draxler. Fàbregas.

Of course, each of those names was linked intensely and exhaustively with a move to the Emirates, only for the move to fall through for various reasons. Instead of signing any of those players, we settled for Mesut Özil, to whom we were linked only as the transfer-window was about to slam shut, thereby proving Wenger’s Law. Of course, the more-recent signing of Alexis Sánchez might challenge the Law, demoting it to a mere Theory; then again, the signing of Sánchez might serve as the exception that proves the rule. In other words, you can’t have an exception to a rule unless the rule itself exists in the first place.

With such ideas in mind, then, all of the bluster around Khedira coming to Arsenal (bluster to which, I might add, this blog has contributed…) might serve as a smokescreen of sorts that conceals the pursuit and signing of someone else entirely. For fear of triggering Wenger’s Law in the case of this “someone else”, we shall heretofore only refer to him as Mr S. Suffice it to say for now that, should Wenger’s Law win approval from a peer-reviewed journal, all of the coverage of Khedira will itself prove the undoing of that particular transfer. Whether it’s tapping up on the part of Real, Sami, or Sami’s agent, a misdirect on the part of Arsène, Gazidis, or anyone else, I can’t quite bring myself to shed a tear for us missing out on Khedira. He’s a world-class player, no doubt, and I’ve suggested that we should go after him—unless the reports of his expectations around weekly-wages (upwards of £180k?) prove true.

Instead, why not look a little closer to home? Again, without naming names, there’s a certain Prem player to whom we’ve been occasionally linked, if not as early, often, or intensely as with Khedira. All you need to know for now is that he’s French, he knows the Prem, and he’s as close to a true defensive midfielder as we may find. A little research suggests that he’s just now rounding into form. On many levels, this Mr. S surpasses Khedira: his transfer-fee might prove to be similar, but his weekly wages look like they could be less than half. What’s more, he tackles at three times the rate that Khedira does (2.83 to 0.83). He makes more forward-passes per game (39.68 to 33.26) while passing more-accurately than Khedira does (89% to 86%). Still not convinced? Mr. S makes interceptions 2.21 times per game, nearly double Khedira’s rate of 1.21. He’s played in front of a high, pressing line, a role that has forced him to double down as a defender.

For all of Khedira’s vaunted prowess going forward, accentuated by Real Madrid’s dominance of what are known as “opponents”, he’s surpassed on several levels by this mysterious Mr. S. What’s more, Khedira’s rival also appears to play with more tenacity and grit. By contrast with Khedira, Mr. S is not coming back from ACL surgery and might see a move to Arsenal as a promotion rather than a lateral move.

For as much as we might dream of a German axis, a French one might serve just as well, if not better. We do have a French center-back, last I checked, and might add to that a French right-back. It might be sexy to think of two box-to-box types in the defensive pivot, but it might prove more pragmatic and productive to secure the services of someone else. Someone…frenchier.

Transfer round-up: Cavani fizzles, Sanchez sizzles, Schneiderlin suggests…

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The World Cup’s round of 16 has already offered a bit of drama, what with host-country Brazil defeating Chile thanks to the woodwork and the heroics of Julio Cesar, and with Uruguay failing to make up for the lost of Luis Suarez. Still, eight of the final 16 hail from the Western Hemisphere: Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, Colombia, Mexico, Costa Rica, Argentina, and your correspondent’s home-country, the U.S. For as proud as I may be for my half of the world’s showing thus far, I’m still drawn back to what all of the action means for Arsenal. To wit, I’m thrilled that Suarez is out of action for four months (and may be out of the Prem). I found myself doing double-takes as I at first cheered on the efforts of Mertesacker and Özil before realizing I was cheering against the U.S. Looking beyond that, though, the World Cup does offer Arsène a chance to vet a few players before tendering offers. With that in mind, who’s seizing the opportunity?

“My ‘come hither’ look. Hm? Hmm?”

At some level, we have to admit that it’s a bit silly to look at one World Cup match and judge a player on his performance. If nothing else, he’s probably playing a role very different from the one he plays for his current club or might play for Arsenal. At another level, many of these players are completely worn down, especially those whose clubs were involved in grueling league campaigns, Champions League campaigns, or travel related to their country’s preparation for and competition in this World Cup. That said, Arsène has found time to play some footy on the beach, so surely he’s sizing up the talent as well?

I gotta say, Edinson Cavani, for one, has not impressed. Whether it’s been in support of Luis Suarez or in replacing him, Cavani just hasn’t delivered. Yes, he did score against Costa Rica when Suarez was out, and he also delivered an assist in the defeat over England, but I feel like I haven’t seen enough from him, either in this World Cup or in his time with PSG, to justify the £70m or so we might have to pay to get him. Yes, he scored 16 goals in 25 starts and 5 sub-ins for PSG, but how well would that translate to the Prem? On one hand, he did have to defer to Zlatan, so that might suppress his tally. On the other, PSG obliterated Ligue 1 with a +61 goal-differential, so it’s hard to make much sense of his stats. He might be an upgrade on Giroud, but might that money be better spent elsewhere, especially when we have a fair number of other positions to address?

A better value for our money might be Alexis Sánchez, who has turned in a number of stellar performances for Chile, displaying tenacity and creativity enough to help Chile come within inches of defeating Brazil on Saturday. His play for Barcelona has been drool-inducing, with 19 goals and 10 assists from 27 starts and 7 sub-ins. Like Cavani, his stats might be inflated by Barcelona’s bullying of various La Liga sides, and they might again be suppressed by having to defer to Messi, but he could be had for half of Cavani’s asking-price. A rumored £32m is making the rounds, not bad for a 25-year old who might be poised for a dramatic leap forward after platooning at Barcelona.

Perhaps less salivating but more practical would be Morgan Schneiderlin, who hasn’t dazzled at the World Cup but who has enticed at various levels. Unlike Cavani or Sánchez, we can make a more-confident prediction about his future-performance. Not only has he played in the Prem for the last six years, he’s done so for Southampton who in many ways emulate some of the elements of Arsenal’s style. He’s savvy, a good distributor of the ball, and technically astute. These traits may not seem as sexy as the goals on offer from the likes of Cavani, Sánchez, or other strikers, but it’s possible that he could be had for a bargain-bin price close to £15m. What with the apparent exodus from St. Mary’s, this one might be far, far likelier than other rumors we’ve been hearing.

For those who worry about our scoring needs, consider that we were the fourth-highest scoring side in the Prem. Where might we have been, though, with the likes of Schneiderlin instead of, say, Arteta or Flamini, shielding the back four? There’s more than one way to skin a cat, and considering our multiple needs (keeper, right-back, defensive midfield, striker…), it might make more sense to build from the back than the other way ’round. We could probably address the first three for less than we’d spend for the fourth. While such an approach might feel anticlimactic, it might solidify the squad in more fundamental, substantial ways. The key, of course, lies with Arsène. Whether we’re talking about signing one player or four, regardless of the fees and wages involved, ultimatelly, it seems to come down to the whims of Wenger (I know it’s more like “Venga” but grant me the poetic license).

Let’s face it. He’s far more likely to sign three or four players, each in the £15-20m range, than he is to sign one in the £60-70m range. While practical and prudent, would that prove purposeful enough to see Arsenal climb from fourth (and relieved to be there) to something a bit more?

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Will Pochettino spur an exodus to North London? Shaw, Schneiderlin, I’m looking at you…

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With news that Spurs have announced Mauricio Pochettino as their next manager, the next, inevitable question is ‘who will follow him to North London?’ I’m less interested in how Pochettino will affect Spurs’ style of play at the moment and more interested in who among his former players might make a move to North London (assuming along the way that they’re looking to improve their lot in life, rather than degrade it. Many of Southampton’s players are just starting to get noticed by their national clubs, and a judicious move could bolster both Arsenal’s fortunes as well as their own. We do, after all, have a bit of a pipeline from St. Mary’s already. If a few Saints are assessing their futures, why not extend an invitation to the Emirates?

Already has the look of a Tottenham manager…

To be clear, though, I admire Southampton and would regret seeing them lose any of their key players. I would love for them to continue their rise in the Prem, even more so if it comes at the expense of Tottenham. If we can then pip them in their pursuit of, say, Luke Shaw or Adam Lallana, all the better. Rivalries aside, I couldn’t say to such players that a move to White Hart Lane represents a significant upgrade in their prospects. The instability and chronic struggle to finish any higher than fifth hardly seems an enticement, not for young players looking to develop as players and pursue silverware. Players like Shaw, Lallana, Schneiderlin, and Clyne are young and looking to impress. They’re just now starting to attract the attention of their national clubs, and a move to the right club in the summer might even burnish their reputations that much further. To say to Hodgson or Deschamps that you have signed for Arsenal is sure to raise an eyebrow if not juggle some lineups. I’m not sure that boasting of joining Tottenham carries the same cachet.

Of these players, we’ve previously been linked with Shaw and Schneiderlin. With Pochettino’s exit, the rumors will only proliferate. Part of this is the silly season, part of it derives from Southampton’s history of developing young players and selling them on (whether by choice or by necessity). Then again, the same could be said of Arsenal or Tottenham. The difference between us and Tottenham here is that we can legitimately claim to compete on many fronts for silverware, actually earning it from time to time (ahem), while qualifying for the Champions League as a starting point for expectations, rather than the Europa League as a hoped-for destination. If a player wants to play on a bigger stage and for bigger stakes, I daresay Arsenal emerges just a smidge ahead of Tottenham. No offense, Spuds.

More and more, Tottenham looks like a way-station, a rest-spot, a place to grab a cup of coffee while continuing on to points distant. Pochettino is, of course, their 11th manager in 17 years. For young players looking to develop, is their best bet to stay at Southampton under a new manager, follow Pochettino to Tottenham, or switch to Arsenal? Even setting aside my own biases, I’d have to go with a move to Arsenal. We don’t yet know who will take over at Southampton. It’s unclear how close Pochettino got with his players after just one year there. If player-tweets are anything to go by (something I’ve learned to play a little more attention to…), Luke Shaw tweeted that he “would like to thank Mauricio for everything he has done for me. Great manager, great guy and has helped me a lot. Wish him all the best.” Thoughtful, if not heart-rending, from a guy widely rumored to be leaving the club—and who doesn’t sound like he’s following Pochettino anywhere anytime soon. Unfortunately, he’s linked most closely with Man U, and Lallana’s said be to chased by Liverpool. Of any Saints, the one to whom we’re linked most often is Schneiderlin, which is a fine start. Let’s hope that’s what it is: a start.