Part Deux of the season review. You know how I do

Aaaaaand that’s the extent of my rhyming skills. On that note, lets dive (put your hand down, Mr. Busquets) into the second part of this epic saga that is my season review.

Today we’ll be discussing the topic of midfield. Its generated a lot of frustration and good vibes this season, often at the same time. Now, instead of going through it like I did yesterday, by position, I’m gonna look at our strengths, weaknesses, and so on.

Strengths

I feel this season when our players held their positions in midfield, the trio of Song, Arteta and Rosicky were outstanding. Arteta’s work-rate, coupled with Song’s strength in protecting the back 4, and Rosicky’s creativity were all great sights to see. They did the things you want your midfield to do. Assist in defense, break up play in the middle, distribute and move the ball quickly, and set up the front 3 for scoring opportunities.

Arteta proved to be the most important factor in the equation as we only won 1 game (WBA) without him in the side. His rapid movement of the ball, cool head on the field, and great distribution made him our most accomplished passer and exactly what Arsene knew he could be. The Spaniard seemed happy with his role and got some goals for us that included a brilliant golazo vs Man City. His work-rate was un-matched this season and at times he seemed to drive the whole team on.

Ramsey was used in both the box-to-box role and also at attacking mid (more the former, than the latter) . His instinctive passes and balls through were excellent. He showed good vision and strength.

Rosicky’s rebirth was probably the best happening in the midfield this season, to be fair. That and Song realizing he’s actually a Brazilian playmaker and getting all those great assists this year.

But in all seriousness, Song’s contribution to the attack was absolutely brilliant this year. If he developed a good shot, I’d have no qualms over him fully converting to an attacking midfielder. He wouldn’t have to track back and defend as much, not that he does much of that anyway. Heh. His assists have been worthy of a Silva, Mata, and even Rosicky himself. When he goes forward and trusts his instincts, he can be one of the best with the ball at his feet.

Weaknesses

With the exception of Arteta, who was often our deepest lying midfielder, the movement in midfield was fairly poor this season. We again, struggled to break teams down who parked the bus against us and at times, instead of starting a break with some good movement into open areas of the pitch, our midfielders would slow down play and allow opposition to recover into their defensive positions.

The fast, lethal counter was a staple in the play of the Invincibles and that was often created by someone making the slightest movement to the side or a ball over the top.

Another thing: when defending, our midfield was not quick enough to get back and help the defenders at times, leaving them exposed. All too often we did not pressure the ball while playing a high line and players got in between our defenders and our goal.

In a 433 formation, those middle 3 have to work twice as hard as the rest of the team to ensure the ball is not given up cheaply. Positional discipline and hard work is what make this formation and the midfield functional. We missed that during crucial games this year.

Injuries (again) played a big part in the midfield and many have pointed out that perhaps that created fatigue in players that played a lot more than was originally anticipated. I’d give this point credit if we had progressed in the cup competitions a little further than we actually did. If I’m not mistaken, by early March we were only involved in league play. These are professional footballers we are talking about here. Training vigorously every day, they should be able to handle playing once, even twice a week. That’s why the “fatigue” card doesn’t fly with me.

Overview

My general feeling on the midfield is that it still needs a lot of tinkering and work from the manager’s point of view. Its great to have Song provide those perfect assists but wouldn’t you rather see him make a more committed effort to actually playing DM if that is actually the role he is being assinged? Sure, sometimes that means coming forward, but all too often, he got caught getting too far up the pitch. He’s got the skill-set, strength, and brain to be a beastly defensive mid but his mind wanders, I’m afraid.

In Arteta we have an experienced, committed, and able midfielder who is able to do his job and excel at it. I believe he is our best midfielder. In Rosicky we have a Mozart re-born. Having risen from an injury hell only Owen Hargreeves knows the depths of, he has put in an excellent (half) season.

The need for a long-term solution at CAM (Rosicky will be 31 soon) is another thing the boss is going to have to seriously consider in the summer. Maybe he has already chosen a certain Welsh captain but in my mind, he has to keep his eye out if the right player becomes available.

Speaking of Aaron Ramsey, I still feel he can become a great player for us. No, he didn’t have a good season. He had good moments. He was also, for the most part, asked to play a role that wasn’t his and he hadn’t any previous experience in. Having risen from his own career-threatning injury, he was brave and did his best. At the moment, that left most of us wanting more but I feel with the return of Jack Wilshere next season *grabs rabbits foot, knocks on wood, crosses fingers and toes*  he can play in the role he was originally being groomed for. If the way he came back from having his leg snapped in 2 by The Ogre Shawcross is any indication of his attitude and resilience, I am more than willing to let this kid develop and grow into his natural, attacking mid position.

Fans often complain about the lack of loyalty and commitment from players and in the same sentence, often, are quick to write off young players and saying they are not “worth the time.”

Lastly, a young man by the name of Coquelin has impressed me vastly on his appearances this season. He has been used all over the pitch and done well in each position. Struggled with pace when played at fullback a bit but when asked to play in his natural CM role, he has been fantastic. A brilliant tackler, smart passer and technically skilled. I really, really rate this kid and if he can stay healthy he can be a great utility player and fantastic fill-in for Song.

Well, that’s it for the midfield section of our season review. Halfway there! I hope you’re enjoying this series of the blog. Feel free to comment (good or bad) and share your thoughts. We’ll talk about forwards in the next edition. Peace!