Arsenal Squad Assessment Part 3.

Continuing on from the previous two sections that focussed on the goalkeepers and defenders, this is for the midfielders.

Midfielders

2. Abou Diaby. This will be his 5th season at the club, and despite flickers of what he is capable of, it is safe to say we are still waiting for him to arrive as a big player for the club. He still had a few lingering injury problems, which hopefully will have been cured after his summer with renowned physical preparation specialist Renaud Longuevre to improve his physique. Size will never be an issue with Diaby, what has been a problem is mental application, he seems to hide and hope no one mentions it when he plays badly,unless this changes and he applies himself, he will remain an enigma. He also needs to have more confidence to make use of left foot to open the pitch up. Still a long way to go for the tall midfielder.

4. Francesc Fabregas. The new captain, the 2008-2009 season was underwhelming at best for the fulcrum of the team. He sustained an injury that kept him out for just over 3 months. Before his injury he never held the midfield as he had done the season before, after his injury he was deployed at the apex of the midfield where his mobility was exposed against elite opponents. Technically, there is little for the Spaniard to improve on, maybe to develop a greater use of his left foot to open the pitch up more. Mentally he was a let down at the end of the season, as captain it is a prerequiste that he is the last one to let his head down, but he was among the first to do it. Regarding his comments not having a 'defensive insurance policy' behind him is a vote of no confidence in his team mates that played there, maybe he should have adapted his game to aid this area, Arsenal have the same players this coming season in central midfield, and unless he adapts to this reality, it may be another lost season for his immense talents.

7. Tomas Rosicky. The Czech international never made an appearance all of last season, and in that time there were disgraceful rumours on why this was. Despite being the forgotten man, he was the glue in the team that challenged on three fronts the season before last. His chemistry with Hleb off the flanks created chances galore for all the other players. In his absence, Arsenal missed a genuine leader and organiser of the structure of the midfield due to his maturity, something that Andrey Arshavin rectified in his short time at the club, which emphasises the impact of an established player. To get fully match fit and stay fit is where Rosicky will need to get for this season, if he achieves this, he will be a candidate to start all the matches as he has all the attributes to be a leader in midfield.

8. Samir Nasri. An encouraging début season from the French playmaker, the goals came all in a few months which indicated to him becoming a key player. However he struggled to adapt to playing on the flank, he was unable to come inside with or without the ball, and this stole his biggest attribute, finding passes to the strikers or runners. He still hasn't developed sufficiently from his biggest weakness at the Stade Velodrome of scoring more goals after very good work. For him to make a bigger impact will depend on his deployment, central midfield is where he shines most as shown in his cameos there when Fabregas was injured, notably Roma (home) in the Champions League where he was finding the passes. If he remains on the flanks, he needs to find a way to come inside and still be creative which took Hleb two seasons to master, a hard transition for a natural playmaker.

14. Theo Walcott. The English striker-cum-winger had a decent season. He scored a hat trick against Crotia which elevated his confidence before becoming a targeted man and that led to many injuries. 6 goals in all competitions is a decent return, he has a lot of deficiencies, but that indicates he also has a bit upward curve still to arrive, the question when will it? He still hasn't got the better of a top level fullback over 90mins, the elite opponents shut him down completely because of his tactical and technical shortcomings such as not being able to come inside with the ball with conviction and not having a left foot to increase his options. If he gathered these skills rapidly, combined with his speed, he would scare elite opponents, at the moment speed is the only weapon he has, and speed can always be countered by well prepared tactics, which the likes of Ashley Cole and Patrice Evra have executed on him.

15. Denilson. The player with the most appearances last season in the league, the Brazilian had a break out season despite his many critics. He only missed one game due to being rested by the trainer Wenger against West Ham, after that he was a constant. He was the only one to fully realise that there was a spot for grabs and he gave his all to obtain it, he although maybe tried to hard which led to blow out for him. He also played on the flanks and showed tactical understanding to move flanks to help a team mate. Many say he is not a good holding player, however they should watch his performance against Roma (home) where he delivered a textbook performance in how to execute it. He still has scope to improve, to be better positionally and maybe enhance his long passing range to augment his good short passing qualities. If he isn't given an opportunity to build on his solid displays from last season and other players keep their jerseys, there will be a sign of favouritism from the trainer.

16. Aaron Ramsey. He had many of his chances in the Carling Cup where he was the director of the symphony, however in the bigger games, he never had the same impact. Tactically there is still a long way to go for the Welsh youngster, and he needs to develop the mentality of a player at a prestigious club which means every player must have the capacity to make the difference in every game, regardless of age.

17. Alexandre Song-Billong. The Cameroon midfielder grew in the latter stages of the season, and the start of this came after the disaster 0-0 match with Sunderland where him and Denilson passed across and not forwards, leading to Fabregas telling both of them that they were wearing important shirts and needed to show more courage when wearing it. After that, he was like a man reborn, he had shown small stretches of good form like in the closing stages against Chelsea (away) and Liverpool (home) where he took responsibility to keep his team in the game. Until then he was only showing 20-30 mins of quality, in the last third of the season he was giving 80+ mins of quality which has led to him being demanded as a starter for Arsenal. He still has scope for improvement, to be better positioned and setting the scheme of the midfield. More use of his left foot as well will be very welcome, as well as more communication with the defenders.

19. Jack Wilshere. Another youngster who is still far away from the first team despite his prodigious talents. He was good in the Carling Cup, even better in the FA Youth Cup where he was head and shoulders above everyone else despite being the shortest player on the pitch. I do not forsee him playing in the bigger exposure games yet, he is still very young and needs to identify his weakness' and work on them himself.

23. Andrey Arshavin. In 4 months, he has revitalised the fortunes and hopes of the team, aiding the team with goals and assists, he is a mature performer who showed his experience in being the organiser and leader of the midfield and how they should structure themselves. Added to this, after a goal, he was the one speaking to the players on what they must do instead of celebrating wildly. For him to improve though, he must get into the game more often, a scary thought as he does so much without being in the game much. Maybe his deployment as well may give greater returns to the team if he is placed behind a striker than on the flank.

Verdict: The numbers are present in midfield for Arsenal not to have to juggle too much, however deployment and collectively is where the destiny will be decided in the most important part of the pitch. Nasri and Arshavin are not at their best when deployed on the flanks, Diaby so far is not at his best on the flank or as a deeper midfielder, Fabregas has shown no confidence in his current team mates so how will he react, Walcott as yet is not a top level wide player. If positive solutions are found to these doubts, then the Arsenal midfield have won more than half of the battle with their technical ability alone.